UFC: Almeida vs. Garbrandt is in the books, so it’s time to do some fantasy fight matchmaking.
There are more than a couple fighters who have to ask themselves some hard questions after this latest UFC Las Vegas fight night card. Guys who came in expecting to roll through their opposition who themselves got rolled, and fighters looking for career revitalizing wins who instead got chalked up with another loss. On both accounts, that makes for some careful matchmaking duties.
Who do you set up for another potential setback, who do you give a better style matchup to? What makes the kind of fight that everyone’s still interested in after a bad loss? After all, it’s not half as hard to sell a winner. Those are the questions I’m sure Sean Shelby and Joe Silva are asking, so they’re the questions I’m here to answer.
As usual, I’ll be going after the Shelby/Silva style of booking. Winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured opponents. So, let’s get to the fantasy fights:
CODY GARBRANDT: Mookie’s made my job a bit easier with his post fight analysis piece, and frankly it’s just the fight that makes the most sense. Another action fight between young fighters, a step up in experience, but not a leap into the deepest ends of the pool. John Lineker and Michael McDonald are scheduled to fight. Garbrandt should get the winner. Garbrandt vs. Lineker/McDonald winner.
THOMAS ALMEIDA: Part of me wants to just make some chaos and put Thomas Almeida in with Aljamain Sterling. They’re both 4-1, both coming off a loss, etc, etc… but that feels lazy and wasteful. If we want to go winner vs. loser, I think a fight with Takeya Mizugaki would be great, and a good way to give Almeida a hard fight without putting him against a power puncher. Could also say the loser of McDonald/Lineker, for a complete all-violence round-robin, but I’ll go Almeida vs. Mizugaki instead.
JEREMY STEPHENS: Since Stephens obviously deserves a big bump up in fight notoriety after this win, the cruelest parts of me want him to face B.J. Penn when/if Penn returns from suspension. But that could be years with USADA. Unfortunately the upper end of 145 is pretty booked up right now, or full of guys Stephens has already lost decisively to. The best of the latter option would be a rematch with Cub Swanson, since Stephens broke his hand early in that fight. If Ricardo Lamas beats Max Holloway, that’s a good fight for Stephens. If he doesn’t, however, I say give Stephens the loser of Edgar/Aldo. Sure he’s not likely to win, but he deserves some kind of shot at a big fight and it’d be a nice bounce back for either guy. Stephens vs. Aldo/Edgar loser.
RENAN BARAO: It’s probably time to just go out and make sure Renan Barao can get a good win, still. He looked great in bursts against Stephens, but he also looked overly reliant on his chin and like he couldn’t muscle people the way he used to at 135. He may drop right back down, for that matter. If he doesn’t, I say Barao vs. Siver, whenever Siver comes back. If that’s too long, then he could also fight Clay Guida, if Guida loses to Brian Ortega. Still, Barao vs. Siver for now.
RICK STORY: Somehow I forgot Rick Story… so this is a late addition and I owe the man an apology, because I’m very glad he’s back. So, with Story back now, I really want to see him fight the winner of Hendricks vs. Gastelum. He’s fought both men before, beating Hendricks on Hendricks’ way to the title and losing to Gastelum. With such a long layoff under his belt and both men having changed a lot since then, it feels like the right time for a rematch. I’d also love love love to see him fight Matt Brown, once Brown is done doing terrible things to Jake Ellenberger. But Story vs. Hendricks/Gastelum winner for now.
TAREC SAFFIEDINE: Sometimes a fighter loses and a the sensible fight just falls right into your lap. Albert Tumenov vs. Tarec Saffiedine seems like it makes a ton of sense and gives both men another shot to show off their striking. If Saff wants to test himself against another clinch grinder, Court McGee is out there, but I think we all just want Saffiedine vs. Tumenov.
CHRIS CAMOZZI: It sucks that Leites is coming off a loss, because I really think that would be a great chance to see if Camozzi can overcome the classic “BJJ guy with suspect gas tank” foe that has plagued his career. Same with a rematch against Rafael Natal. But, Camozzi deserves a winner and, what do you know? Thiago Santos deserves a step up. Chris Camozzi vs. Thiago Santos would be great. Let’s make that fight happen.
LORENZ LARKIN: The welterweight division is Lorenz Larkin’s oyster right now. Matchups with Nelson, Magny, DHK, and Story all make some kind of sense for him to try and take a jump up against he fringes of the top 10. Of all those, I think Magny makes the most interesting style matchup. Magny is the kind of dude willing to fight anyone, anytime, so lets book Neil Magny vs. Lorenz Larkin.
JORGE MASVIDAL: Another crushing loss for “Gamebread” and it’s worth wondering what makes a good next step for him, now with two losses in a row and three in his last 4. Do you throw him in the next toughest fight available or try and get him a bounce-back win so he stays around longer? I’ll split the difference and say the UFC should give him Court McGee. McGee is tough and a willing scrapper, who should give Masvidal a good action fight, while still being someone, on paper, Masvidal should beat. Court McGee vs. Jorge Masvidal.
PAUL FELDER: There are a number of borderline top 15 talents in the UFC’s lightweight division, and they’re all clumped together without a fight right now. Paul Felder, Mairbek Taisumov, and Adriano Martins… Oh and Rustam Khabilov too. I actually think Felder vs. Martins would be the best of those fights, since Martins isn’t as likely to piece Felder up or just drown him with wrestling like Khabilov would. Paul Felder vs. Adriano Martins, book it.
JOSH BURKMAN: Assuming he gets another fight in the UFC, this would be as good a time as any to take on Efrain Escudero. If that can’t get done, the loser of Lauzon/Sanchez or Miller/Gomi would be just as good. Of all of those, I’d say I like the idea of Burkman vs. the Miller/Gomi loser the best.
SARA MCMANN: She could probably use another win or two to really cement herself as a true gatekeeper, but there’s no doubt this is the best McMann’s GnP has looked in a long time, which makes her a more difficult opponent than ever. I’d love to see McMann take on the Holm/Shevchenko winner, but the UFC may have bigger plans for them. If that’s the case and since Cyborg won’t be fighting GdR next (from the sound of it), then Sara McMann vs. Germain de Randamie is a great fight to make.
ABEL TRUJILLO: Trujillo continues his run of winning more than he’s losing without ever quite separating himself from the lightweight pack. This was a tough won victory in which he looked more patient, but also less “killa”. This might make him a great next step fight for Kevin Lee, after his win over Efrain Escudero. But if the UFC wants to slowplay Lee a bit more then I’d be fine with Trujillo vs. Madadi… In fact, lets just go with that. Abel Trujillo vs. Reza Madadi.
ERIK KOCH: Koch looked absolutely fantastic in his long overdue return from injury, and as such it’s time to get him a tougher fight. I still don’t know what Nik Lentz is doing, so while I’d love to see that, it doesn’t make tons of sense for me to throw it around with Nik Lentz not seeming to get booked. Otherwise, Koch vs. the winner of Dariush vs. Vick would be great. Or, if you really want to see where he’s at, Rustam Khabilov. I’ll say Koch vs. Dariush/Vick winner.
BRYAN CARAWAY: I don’t know that Caraway will ever get the respect that he deserves for his ability as a fighter. That’s just his cross to bear, I suppose. But this win does set him up for a bigger fight. Assuming the winner of Assuncao/Dillashaw gets the next shot, then this is the time for Caraway vs. Dodson. I wanted Dodson/Lineker but that’s not happening. This is a good second for it. Bryan Caraway vs. John Dodson.
ALJAMAIN STERLING: Sterling’s got some serious kinks in his game to work out. He’s a good kicker, but without a boxing game or good footwork, he’s exceptionally open to being rushed and taken down while off balance. I’d like to see him fight Mitch Gagnon, but Gagnon hasn’t fought for more than a year, so that seems unlikely. Manny Gamburyan would also be a good fight, but I have no idea when Gamburyan will be back from getting quick KO’d by John Dodson. Without a better option on offer, I’m going to say Sterling vs. the Wineland/Saenz winner. Not a typical matchup, but desperate times = desperate measures.
OTHER BOUTS: Miranda vs. Scott, Rinaldi vs. Horcher, Collier vs. Askham, Uda vs. Di Chirico, Milstead vs. Harris