Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back at it again last Saturday night (April 20, 2019) as UFC Fight Night 149 went down from inside inside Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the main event of the evening, Alistair Overeem knocked out Aleksei Oleinik in the very first round (see it), while Islam Makhachev took out fellow countryman, Arman Tsarukyan, in the co-main event to collect his fifth straight win.
Winner: Alistair Overeem
Who He Should Fight Next: Alexander Volkov
This is an easy option as the two big men were initially set to headline UFC Fight Night 149 before an injury forced Volkov out of the fight. With “The Reem” taking out Oleinik, it secures the matchup for the future, as Alistair isn’t ready to be thrown into a championship fight just yet.
If that fight doesn’t happen for whatever reason, then I’d like to see Overeem vs. Cain Velasquez once and for all.
Winner: Islam Makhachev
Who He Should Face Next: Charles Oliveira
Let’s start putting a bit more respect on Islam’s name, as all the man has done is win five straight and still can’t get a spot in the officials UFC rankings. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz, a man who hasn’t competed in well over two years, is still there. Up next for Islam, I’d like to see him face off against someone like Oliveira. Islam has scored enough wins against good competition to start getting a crack at the top 15, and Charles is just the man for the job. He himself has won four in a row, and if the UFC rankings voters have a brain in them, they will take DIaz out and put Islam in, paving the way for this bout to go down.
Winner: Sergei Pavlovich
Who He Should Face Next: Daniel Spitz
Sergie scored his first UFC win with a spectacular knockout victory over Marcelo Golm, taking him out in just 66 seconds. A showdown against Daniel Spitz sounds about right. Spitz will be coming off a knockout loss to Walt Harris and eager to get back into the win column. Both he and Sergei are two fresh UFC faces who are trying to gain some notoriety, so a fight against one another is as good as it gets at the moment.
Winner: Roxanne Modafferi
Who She Should Face Next: Alexis Davis
After taking Antonina Shevchenko’s “O” at UFC St. Petersburg, “The Happy Warrior” set her sights on Antonina’s sister, Valentina Shevchenko. While her win was impressive, Roxanne needs to do a little more before she starts eyeing gold. Alexa Davis is currently ranked ahead of her, which could change later this week. Still, scoring a fight against a top five foe will be hard for Modafferi at the moment, as they are either booked or are themselves searching for someone ranked above them.
Winner: Krzysztof Jotko
Who He Should Face Next: Gian Villante
Jotko avoided a potential axe from UFC by avoiding his fourth straight defeat by edging out Alen Amedovski. Up next for him should be a bout against Gian Villante. Gian was knocked out by Michal Oleksiejczuk in his previous fight, so he’d love nothing more than to get right back in there to erase the memory of that loss. Both men bring it and will make for an interesting bout. Looking at the rest of the 205-pound field for UFC, I can’t think of another fight I’d like for either one of them at the moment.
For complete UFC St. Petersburg results and coverage click here.