UFC 256 blew the roof of UFC APEX last night (Sat., Dec. 12, 2020) in Las Vegas Nevada, which was headlined by a Flyweight title fight that Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno put perhaps the best title fight in the history of the Flyweight division, via (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Charles Oliveira absolutely dominated Tony Ferguson for 15 minutes to earn his eighth straight win and shoot himself to the front of the championship race.
After “Daico” and “The Assassin Baby” fought to a majority draw, the only option is to have them run it back. This time around, both men will have more than three weeks to prepare. And now that they’ve shared 25 minutes of cage time with one another, you can bet each man will be more than ready once the rematch rolls around. Even UFC president, Dana White, stated during the post-fight presser that running it back is the only option. Now let’s take a look at the rest of the potential matchups for the rest of the main card winners.
Winner: Charles Oliveira
Who He Should Face Next: Title Shot…But Against Who?
I don’t care what happens between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier next month at UFC 257, Oliveira deserves the next shot at Lightweight, no questions asked. Of course, it Khabib doesn’t come back to defend his belt one more time, then Oliveira will likely be facing the winner of “Notorious” vs. “The Diamond” for the vacant strap. “Do Bronx” had quite possibly the best performance of his career by absolutely dominating Tony Ferguson on the feet and the ground for 15 minutes. Only Justin Gaethje had done what Oliveira did to “El Cucuy.” That is now eight straight wins for the long forgotten contender at 155 pounds due to names like McGregor, Poirier, Ferguson Gaethje and now Chandler floating around. Oliveira has been patient and it’s high time UFC rewards him for going three years without tasting defeat, taking out some of the best along the way.
Winner: Mackenzie Dern
Who She Should Face Next: Michelle Waterson
Dern picked up her third straight win be defeating Virna Jandiroba after 15 minutes of women’s Strawweight action. And after Waterson was forced to withdraw from her scheduled fight against Amanda Ribas — which was set to take place at UFC 257 on Jan. 23, 2021 — for undisclosed reasons, I’d like to see “Karate Hottie” face off against the jiu-jitsu ace. Dern (No. 11) should be climbing into the Top 10 after her most recent win, putting her closer to Waterson (No. 7) on the official UFC rankings.
Winner: Kevin Holland
Who He Should Face Next: Derek Brunson
Holland called out Khamzat Chimaev after his big knockout win over Ronaldo Souza, but “Borz” is already in line to face Leon Edwards next month at Welterweight, so that fight is unlikely to happen. Ideally, I would love to see Holland take on the winner of the upcoming fight between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall, which is in line to go down in February, but that would mean Holland would be on the sidelines for five months at least. I don’t see him waiting that long, which means a fight against Brunson is more feasible. Derek hasn’t competed since August so you know he is itching to get back in there, especially with several contenders on the rise making a name for themselves.
Winner: Ciryl Gane
Who He Should Face Next: Tai Tuivasa
Gane earned his four straight win inside the Octagon by knocking out Junior dos Santos in the second round of their 265-pound tilt. Up next for the French big man, I’m feeling a fight against Tai Tuivasa. “Bam Bam” got back on track himself by knocking out Stefan Struve at UFC 254 last October. The win stopped the bleeding of a three-fight win streak, so the big man would be coming in with renewed confidence. And he’ll need it, too, because Gane is proving he’s as legit as they come at Heavyweight.
For complete UFC 256 results and coverage click here.