Matches To Make After UFC Nashville

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC Nashville went down last night (Sat., Aug. 5, 2023) inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. In the main event of the evening, Cory Sandhagen defeated Rob Fon…

UFC Fight Night: Andrade v Suarez — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC Nashville went down last night (Sat., Aug. 5, 2023) inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. In the main event of the evening, Cory Sandhagen defeated Rob Font in an underwhelming Bantamweight bout (recap). In the co-main event, Tatiana Suarez choked out Jessica Andrade in the second round (video here).

Winner: Cory Sandhagen

Who He Should Face Next: Merab Dvalishvili or Usman Nurmagomedov

While some fans — and even UFC president, Dana White — weren’t too thrilled with the action, or lack thereof, between Sandhagen and Font, a win is a win and Sandhagen has now won three straight. As it stands, the only other man in front of “Sandman” in the championship race is Merab Dvalishvili, who is currently ranked No. 1 at 135 pounds. Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his Bantamweight belt against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 later this month. The winner could likely be out of commission depending on the results. So why not have Sandhagen and Dvalishvili duke it out to see who gets next. If that isn’t in the works, UFC can always re-book him to face Usman Nurmagomedov, which is the fight that was supposed to go down this past weekend.

Winner: Tatiana Suarez

Who She Should Face Next: Yan Xiaonan

Suarez remained undefeated by putting on another masterful performance thanks to a second-round submission over Andrade, extending her record to 10-0, 7-0 UFC. The wrestling standout is slowly making her way back into contention after missing nearly four years of action, and already has two wins in the last six months alone since her return. She should get a huge bump up in the rankings after defeating the No. 5 ranked fighter at Strawweight, putting her on the fast track to a title fight. But that won’t happen next because Zhang Weili will defend the belt against Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 later this month. For now, I would love to see Suarez square up against Yan Xiaonan — who has won three straight and recently defeated Andrade — to see who gets next.

Winner: Dustin Jacoby

Who He Should Face Next: Dominick Reyes

Jacoby snapped his two-fight losing streak after picking up a first-round technical knockout (TKO) win over Kennedy Nzechukwu (highlights). The win went a long way in helping him hold on to his Top 15 ranking in the Light Heavyweight division. While Reyes has lost four straight, I think it would be a good matchup for Jacoby. As I mentioned earlier, Jacoby wasn’t without his own struggles before turning things around last night, so a fight against a struggling former title challenger who is currently ranked No. 12 would be a good fit.

Winner: Tanner Boser

Who He Should Face Next: Devin Clark

Boser also managed to end his two-fight losing streak after picking up a win over Aleksa Camur via unanimous decision. A fight against Clark could be in order for Boser, who is 2-4 in his last six UFC fights. Clark hasn’t competed since coming up short against Kennedy Nzechukwu three months ago. Clark is also 2-4 in his last six fights. Two struggling fighters looking for some momentum? Book it.

Winner: ?udovít Klein

Who He Should Face Next: Joel Alvarez

Klein picked up his third win in four tries — the other being a draw with Jai Herbert — so the Slovakian-born fighter has been on a nice quiet little run after picking up his latest win over Ignacio Bahamondes. A fight against Alvarez sounds like a good pairing. Alvarez is coming off a submission win over Marc Diakiese, moving him to 5-1 over his last six fights.

Winner: Diego Lopes

Who He Should Face Next: Billy Quarantillo

Lopes picked up his first win inside the Octagon after throwing up a dud in his debut, destroying Gavin Tucker’s arm, in the process. As for Quarantillo, he also got back into the win column last night on the undercard, defeating Damon Jackson via unanimous decision. Quarantillo is just 3-3 in his last six fights inside the Octagon, alternating losses along the way.

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