Fights To Make After Classic UFC 275 PPV
If you missed out on ordering UFC 275 or finding a way to go watch it somewhere, you missed out on an all-timer PPV. The action was non-stop even in the prelims, with fantastic finishes, a fight of the year candidate, and the changing of the guard at 205lbs. There is a lot to take away from this classic card last night, and we will start our coverage by playing matchmaker and booking the next fights for the main card fighters. There are a lot of fascinating fights that could be on the horizon for some, and we will try to find the best ones here!
If you would like to read our preview of UFC 275 to see where myself and James Herrick thought the fights were going, click here.
Jack Della Maddalena (W) vs. Ramazan Emeev (L) (Welterweight)
There might not be a person who made a bigger statement on the UFC 275 main card than Jack Della Maddalena. The vicious combo he landed on Ramazan Emeev was highlight-reel material en route to a TKO victory. He will come next, but we start with Emeev here. I understand the idea behind pairing two up-and-coming fighters to prove who really is a rising prospect in the division, but this stylistically was a bad matchup for him. For Emeev, getting him a fight to build that confidence back up while also a nice challenge is a right idea. I LOVE the idea of him against Gunnar Nelson in a grappling fest, but Nelson is much higher on the totem pole, so maybe the winner of Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler.
As for Della Maddalena, this kid deserves a push. There are fighters you watch and you can see the potential just ooze out of them, and the 25-year-old Australian has it. I don’t think a ranked fighter is the way to go just yet, but someone on the outside looking for a way to crack the rankings is the move here. Daniel Rodriguez would be a fight between guys on a solid win streak, and the matchup could co-main on any fight night card easily.
Andre Fialho (L) vs. Jake Matthews (W) (Welterweight)
Another outstanding performance here and a great fight to watch, Andre Fialho showed flashes in this fight before being simply overwhelmed by the punches in bunches gameplan thrown at him by Jake Matthews. A loss here by Fialho definitely won’t do him any favors in terms of cracking the top-15 of the Welterweight division, but his potential should land him another solid opportunity. The first guy that comes to mind is Niko Price, who has had a rough go of it as of late. Thus providing a prove-it fight for both men. Max Griffin would also pair up well with Fialho, take your pick.
Jake Matthews proved a lot of people wrong last night, myself included. I was worried about the punching power of Fialho but I guess I should’ve been worried about the punching power of Matthews. His performance last night was outstanding and should have him flirting with the top-15 of the division for sure. As a fan, I think a fight between him and #14 Michel Pereira would be pure violence and would give both men motivation to potentially make their way into the top-10 even. If the UFC didn’t want to give him a ranked fighter, I like the winner of #12 Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov would be a nice consolation prize.
Zhang Weili (W) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (L) (Women’s Strawweight)
Since Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement in the octagon last night, I will take this piece of the article to give my thanks for all she has done for MMA as a whole. Watching her rise the ranks and become a dominant champion was a joy to watch and we will never see someone quite like her ever again. I would have loved to see her move divisions, but retirement was in her heart and who am I to hate on that? The MMA community will miss her, dearly.
For Zhang Weili, she looked every bit the motivated and hungry fighter that won the Women’s Strawweight Championship before. But finding her next fight is difficult. You can make the argument retiring one of the greatest of all time calls for a title shot against new champion Carla Esparza, but her back-to-back losses to former champion Rose Namajunas make that hard to understand. I think you make a number one contenders fight between her and #4 Marina Rodriguez. This could easily co-main a PPV and provides a clear number one contender at 115 lbs.
Valentina Shevchenko (W) vs. Taila Santos (L) (Women’s Flyweight Championship)
This one will be short and sweet: you have to run this back. I think the reason for this is that headbutt changed the course of the fight, plus Talia Santos gave Valentina Shevchenko arguably her biggest challenge since Amanda Nunes, and that is saying something. You can argue that the winner of #2 Katlyn Chookagian vs. #3 Manon Fiorot should get a crack at the belt, but their fight isn’t until September, which means you wouldn’t see another Women’s Flyweight Championship fight until Q1 2023 at the earliest. The UFC should definitely look to run this back after their fight at UFC 275.
Glover Teixeira (L) vs Jiri Prochazka (W) (UFC 275 Main Event: Light Heavyweight Championship)
Ladies and Gentlemen, last night we witnessed the 2022 Fight of the Year, hands down. A back and forth war that saw both men have opportunities to finish the other multiple times. For Glover Teixeira, he was 30 seconds away from defending his Light Heavyweight Championship successfully, and that could be reason alone to run it back. Fans will be clamoring to watch this fight again, plus Teixeira is a fan favorite. Looking at the rankings at 205 lbs, I could see it honestly. But, booking rematches for back-to-back UFC PPV fights isn’t really the MO of Dana White, so let’s find Glover a fight. You’ll immediately want to put him back against a contender, so let’s do the winner of #4 Magomed Ankalaev vs. #8 Anthony Smith.
We witnessed the changing of the guard in the Light Heavyweight division last night as Jiri Prochazka earned the biggest win of his career becoming the new champ. I can think of only one fight I want to see.
This is the fight to make (if they do not book a rematch). You find a way to get a PPV in Europe in early 2023 and you throw these men in the main event. Put this card inside some sort of stadium and I guarantee it sells out. This one isn’t that hard.
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