It’s difficult to consistently win on any level of mixed martial arts, let alone in the UFC’s evolving middleweight division.
But on the heels of a return to the promotion back in 2013 after a four-year hiatus, former middleweight title challenger Thales Leites is creating noticeable ripples every time he steps inside of the Octagon.
His submission victory over a hard-nosed Tim Boetsch at UFC 183 not only displayed his resilience in the eyes of a fearless brawler but ultimately extended his current UFC win streak to five, which includes three finishes.
Needless to say, the 33-year-old Brazilian has never looked better and is easily one of the top names to watch in 2015.
But is he ready to scale the division’s Top 10 and work his way back toward a title shot?
You better believe it.
Here are three fights for Leites to take next as he continues to impress:
Tim Kennedy
This is probably the most logical matchup for Leites moving forward.
Having just dropped a tough loss to Yoel Romero back in September at UFC 178, Kennedy is in need of a victory to re-solidify his spot in the middleweight title picture.
He’s most definitely a tougher matchup for the Brazilian than the other potential suitors on this list, but Kennedy is a big name in the division and a guy Leites could use to launch himself to the top of the crop.
It would be a showdown of two of the more active submission experts in the division, who also like to throw heavy hands.
Kelvin Gastelum
Following an egregious weigh-in on Friday, having missed the acceptable welterweight mark by eight pounds, Gastelum has been ordered by Dana White to move back to middleweight, per Combat (h/t to Guilherme Cruz of MMAfighting.com).
That leaves a fantastic matchup on the table between Leites and Gastelum, especially considering the 23-year-old was just one clean weight cut and decisive victory away from a potential title shot at 170 pounds.
Gastelum is already a big enough name in the sport to where a victory for Leites would further increase his chances of fighting a Top Five name by the end of 2015.
However, the UFC rarely pits fighters together who are coming off a respective win and a respective loss.
Winner of Michael Bisping vs. CB Dollaway
Bisping vs. Dollaway at UFC 186 is an interesting matchup in itself, but a potential showdown with The Count is the ideal scenario for Leities in 2015, should he miss out on Kennedy.
With all due respect to Dollaway, Bisping is simply the bigger fight.
He’s fought nearly every middleweight under the sun not named Anderson Silva and serves as a great opportunity for Leites to add another big name to his resume and move up the ranks.
That’s easier said than done considering Bisping is as game as they come, but Leites should be able to utilize his evolved striking and potent submission skills to extend his win streak to six.
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