Fights to Make Following UFC 300
UFC 300 has now passed and what an insane night of fights it was. All 13 fights lived up to the hype and some historic moments were made. Alex Periera knocked out Jamahal Hill to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight belt. Zhang Weili won an all-Chinese title fight in the UFC Women’s Strawweight division over Yan Xiaonon. Max Holloway sent Justin Gaethje to sleep in the final second of the BMF title fight.
So much nonstop action has happened, but we know that the UFC is an extremely quick-moving promotion. It is time to take a look at some of the fights to make for the stars of UFC 300.
Alex Periera vs Jamahal Hill – Light Heavyweight Title Fight
And still, for Pereira means another title challenger will be up next. There is one guy in the top four that “Potan” has not fought yet and that is Magomed Ankalaev. The 32-year-old Russian makes the most sense at this moment for the reason that he is the highest-ranked guy that the champ has not faced. This fight is also very intriguing because Pereira has yet to face a true grappling expert.
We have seen the champ finish off the division’s elite strikers so it is time for him to face another dangerous opponent in Ankalaev. The No. 3 ranked light heavyweight fought for the belt once in a draw against Jan Błachowicz. However, he also only has one loss in his MMA career which came in his UFC debut in the last second of a fight he was going to win.
As far as the UFC 300 challenger goes, the fight to make would pair up the last two champions of the division. Jamahal Hill has fought and finished some of the toughest guys in the division on his way to the belt. The only fight that makes sense for him now is one against Jiří Procházka. As those watching UFC 300 know, Procházka knocked out the No. 4 ranked contender in the final prelim of the night. A dangerous striker who would go toe-to-toe with Hill in a fight most would not want to miss.
Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonon – Women’s Strawweight Title Fight
While the last title fight of the night made for easy matchmaking for what is next, this one did nothing of the sort. Weili is arguably the best female fighter on the UFC roster and has continued to prove it. The issue that comes with that is she has beaten a lot of the top dogs in the strawweight division. Atop the division are Xiaonon (beaten), Tatiana Suarez (injured), Amanda Lemos (beaten), and Jéssica Andrade (beaten).
It’s hard to vouch for a rematch against any of those that “Magnum” has beaten. If one was to maybe get a shout it would be Andrade after she too won at UFC 300, but showed some flaws in the process. Suarez would be the best option as she is 10-0 and last time out beat Andrade. However, she had spent nearly four years out the last time she was injured so who knows when she could be back.
For Xiaonon, a fight that I would like to see would come against a Brazilian on a three-fight winning streak. Virna Jandiroba has been on her way towards the top for a few years and a fight against China’s second-best would be a way to get a title shot soon.
Max Holloway vs Justin Gaethje – Lightweight and BMF Title Fight
Some people, myself included, were concerned to see how Max Holloway would look moving up a division and going against the lethal Justin Gaethje. The Hawaiian passed his UFC 300 test with flying colors and now has a load of potential options. Does he stay at 155 or go back to 145? The best option would be to go back down and fight for the belt he previously held at featherweight and take on Ilia Topuria.
Following his win on Saturday, Holloway called out Topuria and the champ seemed ready to oblige. There is a slight chance Holloway could stay at lightweight and in that case, him against the winner of Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler at UFC 303 would be a great option. Who wouldn’t want to see Holloway vs McGregor with a title shot on the line?
Gaethje suffered a violent knockout and should take some time off to recover. This is the best thing to do because it allows for some other fights to happen in the lightweight division and gives him a solid option for late this year or early next year. A fight with Mateusz Gamrot is intriguing since the pair have yet to fight. Otherwise, let’s see where Benoit Saint-Denis and Renato Moicano are later this year because either of those two up-comers could use a win to get a shot at a top-ranked guy.
Arman Tsarukyan vs Charles Oliveira – Lightweight Fight
Possibly the easiest next fight to make following UFC 300 is for Arman Tsarukyan. The 27-year-old has been on a roll since losing his UFC debut having won nine of his last ten. With two of the fighters ahead of him losing over the weekend and the other two facing off for the lightweight title at UFC 302, it just makes sense for Tsarukyan to sit back and take on the winner of Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier.
The fight against Makhachev would be very fun since the two faced off in Tsarukyan’s debut with the current champ getting a decision victory. Also, Makhachev has already stated he wants to fight two more times this year so an October or November fight with Tsarukyan would make sense.
Charles Oliveira is in a similar position to Gaethje in terms of having fought a lot of the top guys with the only exception being Gamrot. The former champ has spent around seven or eight months off between his last few months so we shall see what the landscape looks like in the near future. Because truthfully there are no good options for Oliveira at this moment.
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage – Middleweight Fight
It does not have to be a ranked fighter next for Bo Nickal, but is it really too much to ask for at least a big step up in opponents? The 28-year-old is now 6-0 and finally made it to the second round of a fight. If the UFC is pushing for him to make the quick trek to the rankings then a fight against a tough guy in Paul Craig would be a fun fight to see. Craig is probably a bit too big of a step up in competition but would make sense as one to welcome Nickal to the middleweight rankings.
If the UFC sees Nickal as not quite ready for the top 15 yet, then a date with either Gerald Meerschaert or Gregory Rodrigues would be fun.
For Cody Brundage, four losses in his last six fights is not a great look. There are a vast number of guys that could face off with Brundage in his next time out.
Fights to make from UFC 300 Prelims
Aljamain Sterling
His featherweight debut was nearly perfect against Calvin Kattar. A pair of fights that would be good to see include Aljamain Sterling against either Arnold Allen or Movsar Evloev. Depending on Topuria’s next opponent, I would not oppose Sterling vs Alexander Volkanovski as two former champs going at it.
Kayla Harrison
The former PFL lightweight champion showed she can cut to 135 and have success. She may be what is needed to bring some life back to the women’s bantamweight division. While it may not be possible since Julianna Pena may be fighting for the belt next, that is the fight I would like to see happen for Kayla Harrison.
Deiveson Figueiredo
The former flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, made it look easy against Cody Garbrandt and should get a highly-ranked opponent next. The one that would be a great UFC Fight Night main event would be Figgy vs Chito Vera.
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