Now that Randy Couture has driven James Toney out of the UFC you have to wonder what is next for “The Natural”. Couture signed a six fight contract with the UFC prior to his win over Brandon Vera at UFC 105. There are three fights left on his deal and at 47 years of age Couture can’t fight forever (or can he?). Couture said he wanted big fights when he signed his latest deal. Who is out there for him to fight?

ATO will break down some potential opponents and the likelihood of the matchup happening.

Jon Jones 30%
It seems like the UFC is looking for a high profile opponent for Jones. Coming off of two big wins on the Versus shows Jones is one of the hottest guys in the UFC. Couture would be a good fit but “Captain America” would likely be the underdog coming into the fight. If Couture is serious about contending for the light heavyweight strap he may have to go through “Bones” to do it.

Rich Franklin 25%
A fight with Frankin isn’t that far fetched. The two fan favorites were rumored to mix it up this summer until Tito Ortiz dropped out of The Ultimate Fighter. Dana White inserted Franking and the rest is history. Right now Franklin is taking time off to heal his broken arm he sustained in his fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115. Franklin is in the mix at 205 and a fight with Couture could go a long way in determining who would continue to climb the ladder towards Shogun Rua’s belt.

Thiago Silva 20%
Silva was slated to fight at UFC 117 but an injury forced him off the show. Silva seems to be one of the gatekeepers at 205 and if Couture were to get by him another win against someone like Rampage or Rashad Evans in 2011 would likely get him a crack at the title.

Stephan Bonnar 10%
After a big win over Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 Bonnar has seen his stock go back up in the UFC. With a job for life for his fight with Forrest Griffin at the first Ultimate Fighter Finale Bonnar could lose to Couture and still have a spot on the roster. Bonnar would be an underdog to Couture and would have a hard time keeping up with Couture on the ground. The fight isn’t very marketable but would be a great main event for a show on Versus or Spike TV.

Forrest Griffin 5%
A Randy Couture-Forrest Griffin fight would sell tickets and pay per views but there is just one problem. Forrest trains at Xtreme Couture and is very close to Couture. This fight would likely never happen but it’s one that would be very marketable.

Phil Davis 5%
With three straight wins in the octagon Davis is someone to watch out for the in light heavyweight division. The problem with a fight against Couture is that it would be hard to sell Davis as a top contender because he has only fought on the undercards. Davis would need a win or two before he would be deemed worthy a shot at Couture.

Chuck Liddell 5%
Will Dana White let him fight or not? Liddell-Couture 4 would be an easy sell but I don’t think the UFC would want to try to make this fight happen again. Liddell clearly dominated the last two fights and both men have moved on in their careers.

Fedor Emelianenko 0%
It’s a shame M-1 Global had it’s head up it’s ass. A Couture-Fedor fight would likely break a lot of pay per view buys. Now that Fedor has been shown to be human a fight with Couture is still intriguing. But it’s no longer 2007 and Couture and the UFC have moved on and this fight isn’t the dream fight it once was.