Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back at it again last night (Sat. Dec. 14, 2019), as UFC 245 went down inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington went to war in a thrilling five-round fight that saw “The Nigerian Nightmare” retain his title by knocking out “Chaos” in the final minute of the fight (see it). In the co-headlining act, Alexander Volkanovski upset Max Holloway after five rounds of action to take his Featherweight title (recap). Also, Amanda Nunes retained her Bantamweight strap after a five-round bout against Germaine de Randamie (see it).
Winner: Kamaru Usman
Who He Should Fight Next: Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal’s team wants him to score a big-money fight against either Nick Diaz or Conor McGregor, but trying to land those fights is as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. A title fight against “The Nigerian Nightmare” is much more doable, and realistic. UFC president Dana White stated last night it’s a fight he wants to make, and it would behoove “Gamebred” to take this fight. Many champions are quick to tell you the value of a UFC belt has withered, but the fact remains that once your champion, the spotlight is all on you and the paychecks and opportunities just get bigger. For my money, Jorge should focus on Usman and forget about Conor and the Diaz brothers … for now.
Winner: Alexander Volkanovski
Who He Should Fight Next: Max Holloway rematch
Listen, if Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Cody Garbrandt can get an instant rematch, then so can Max Holloway, who hadn’t lost since 2013 up until last night, and has three title defenses. Plus, “The Great” promised he’d give “Blessed” an instant chance to win his title back prior to their fight, so it’d be pretty crappy to go back on his word. If the promotion doesn’t give Max the opportunity, then the next title fight should go to Zabit Magomedsharipov.
Winner: Amanda Nunes
Who She Should Fight Next: Megan Anderson
Nunes stated that she wanted to defend her Featherweight title next, but that division still has no meat and there are no worthy contenders on a decent win streak up there ready to fight for the strap. Sure, the promotion can always give the fight to a deserving Bantamweight if they can convince her to move up, but if we’re going to stay with true 145 pounders, then the fight should go to Megan Anderson, who submitted Zarah Fairn Dos Santos not too long ago at UFC 243.
Winner: Marlon Moraes
Who He Should Fight Next: Petr Yan
While I would love nothing more than to see a rematch between Marlon and Jose Aldo after what I feel was a bad decision on the judges’ part, I highly doubt it’s going to happen. Also, a title fight isn’t in “Magic’s” future after getting starched by Henry Cejudo. So if Marlon wants to get back to the big dance, he needs to secure at least one more big win under his belt. That’s where Petr comes in. Yan — who was also victorious after knocking out Urijah Faber in the opening fight of the main card — is a clean 6-0 so far inside the Octagon, and should improve on his current No. 4 ranking after his big win. Sure, Aljamian Sterling and Cory Sandhagen are sandwiched in between Marlon and Petr at the moment at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, but I think their paths are set. I still want to see Cory face Frankie Edgar, and Sterling should be in line for a shot at the title once Cejudo gets back into the swing of things.
For complete UFC 245 results and coverage click here.