He does deserve the big shots, however I think he might need an in between fight to get the confidence back up. Might need to hit the gym and refine some of the skills as well. It's crazy he went straight after Diaz coming off a TKO loss but he is a warrior defined so wouldn't surprise if he puts himself straight back.
Soto-Rios makes the most sense. It's a guaranteed all-action fight between two fighters who are perfectly matched for each other. If Soto wins, he's in as good a position as he'll ever be to challenge JMM. Rios would probably need another couple of fights but he'd be ready for anyone else in the division.
I think he needs another good win. Beating David Diaz and Antillon alone doesn't do it for me. The 135 division isn't very strong just now but I think you should still have to do more to earn a shot at someone like Marquez.
Look at the Pac fans saying JMM needs to fight Soto. ah man you guys crack me up. Anyways I thought Rios was Sotos mandatory. Any combination of this would be great. Katsidis, Soto, Rios and Guerrero. If JMM is still around and Pac keeps ducking him then he takes on the winner of those.
From what I hear, the plan is for Antillon to fight Miguel Vasquez while Soto-Rios looks a certainty. I'd like Katsidis-Acosta too. That would give us three important fights at 135 whic, as a bonus, should all be fan-friendly.
The fact that Pac needs a credible dance partner and JMM is there. Making the Soto fight would be a waste right now. I would like to see it dont get me wrong but i would prefer a Pac fight so thats why i said if the Pac fight doesnt come off the winner of those matchups i mentioned. As far as the ducking. When you turn down 7 mil to fight for 3 mil. Thats plain ducking right there.