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UFC commentator John Gooden examines the lightweight division in the aftermath of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s exit.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) commentator John Gooden gives fans a lay of the land in the promotion’s lightweight division.

Lightweight has long been considered one of the promotion’s marquee divisions. Emerging from the shadow of retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, the division is ripe with firework match-ups, top fighters and appetizing storylines.

Reigning UFC Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira made good on lofty expectations more than a decade after his promotional debut. Dustin Poirier is primed for a title shot after cinching his trilogy fight against Conor McGregor (watch highlights); however, a dusty finish leaves room for a potential fourth clash. Juggernauts Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler wait in the wings, Beneil Dariush (no. 3) is in rare form and Islam Makhachev is on a journey to succeed mentor Nurmagomedov. Also in the top 10 are veterans Tony Ferguson (no. 6) and Rafael dos Anjos (no. 7), all-action fan favorite Dan Hooker (no. 8) and wrestling super-stud Gregor Gillespie (no. 10).

A synopsis from the YouTube video’s description reads:

UFC commentator John Gooden takes us through the state of the 155-pound division after a busy few months for the lightweights, which included the crowning of Charles Oliveira as champion.

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Former UFC strawweight Rachael Ostovich did not kill fellow Octagon export Paige VanZant in the BKFC 19 main event last weekend in Tampa, which means the resilient “12 Gauge” will “rise” and come back “stronger” than ever before.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” VanZant told her fans. “Thank you to all my supporters and all my haters. I will rise.”

VanZant is now 0-2 for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship after signing a lucrative deal with the gloveless promotion back in late 2020. Her highly-anticipated debut at last February’s “Knuckle Mania” pay-per-view (PPV) ended in defeat to boxer Britain Hart.

The loss to Ostovich dropped her to 0-2.

“1-1,” VanZant remarked, referencing her submission win over the Hawaiian back in early 2019. “Congrats Rachael Ostovich. Lesson No. 1, don’t fuck with Hawaiians.”

No telling when VanZant will make her return to the bare-knuckle arena but with longtime rival Bec Rawlings finding her way back to BKFC later this year, “12 Gauge” certainly isn’t short on opponents.

Cody Garbrandt would like a fight with Brandon Moreno by the end of the year. 

Cody Garbrandt is ready to drop down from bantamweight to flyweight and meet the newly crowned champion in Brandon Moreno by the end of the year.

Garbrandt prepared to make the change in weight last year to meet then-champion, Deiveson Figueiredo and was scheduled to fight him in the main event of UFC 255 in November. The fight never happened though as Garbrandt suffered a torn bicep in training, which he returned to full-time following a lengthy battle with COVID-19. He was replaced by Alex Perez, but was still promised a title shot once he was healthy enough to compete again.

Garbrandt eventually returned earlier this year and fought the No. 3 ranked bantamweight contender in Rob Font at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt in May. It was clearly not the promised title shot he expected, but there was a good reason for that. Garbrandt recently spoke with TMZ Sports and explained why he decided to take the Font fight instead of waiting for the flyweight champion, who he now wants in his next fight.

“We’ve been speaking to Ali [Abdelaziz], my manager and with [UFC matchmaker] Mick [Maynard] and [UFC president] Dana [White], so flyweight was where I was supposed to go to over a year ago,” said Garbrandt. “I was supposed to fight Figueiredo. I actually got COVID, so I had to pull out and then he had a late replacement and did his thing. He won two fights and then obviously went to the draw [with Moreno]. They said that I would still have the title shot when I came back, but they were going to rematch each other and I wasn’t trying to wait that long.

“I battled back through COVID and was ready to fight, so I took the Rob Font fight,” continued Garbrandt. “Still saying that I would have the title shot, beat Rob Font and I could have it at 135 or 125, so we went with that route because I didn’t want to sit idle for a year. That’s how you kill your career is by not being active. So, I took that fight and it obviously didn’t go my way, but knowing that 125 is my weight class and that’s where I want to go. November, I’ll be ready to go down.”

Garbrandt said he has already been working on his weight management for a fight with Moreno, who he heaped praises on after his stunning performance against Figueiredo at UFC 263. Garbrandt also said that a fight between him and Moreno would be a ‘great stylistic matchup’ — one that he believes would result in a finish by “No Love”.

“It just makes sense,” said Garbrandt. “If Moreno wants to fight, I think he’s a great champion, a great human being. He’s leveled up a lot in his last few fights. I like him. I was super happy for the kid. The trajectory and the career he’s had, being cut from the UFC, being the last pick on the Ultimate Fighter to becoming a world champion. A small percentage is able to be a world champion inside the UFC. He’s done it, did it in miraculous fashion last time with how he beat Figgy, so yeah I think he’s a great fighter. I think it’s a great stylistic matchup for myself and I finally get a fight at my natural weight, where I think I’ll perform the best.”

Moreno appears to share the same sentiment as Garbrandt, who was one of the few names he specifically called out to take on in his first title defense. The champion spoke to media a few weeks ago and revealed that he would like to fight again in November, which aligns with when Garbrandt says he will be available.