All the best, most interesting, and unquestionably coolest fights the UFC needs to book following their latest event in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
The UFC’s first trip to Moncton had its moments, but overall, what looked like a potential slog of a card on paper became a slog of a card in reality. Anthony Smith made his case to be the next light heavyweight title contender, and Don Madge announced himself as a new potential hot prospect, everyone else just kind treaded water.
With that in mind, however, is Smith really the best option for the Gus/Jones winner? And what can we take away from Sean Strickland and Calvin Kattar flipping the switch on their respective opponents? Does beating Artem Lobov really tell us anything new about Michael Johnson?
To answer all these questions – and maybe a couple more – I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby matchmaking model of UFC years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent against one another. If you’d like to take your own shot at some fantasy fight booking, drop a comment below starting with, “Let’s be honest, we’re all winners after a performance like that.” I’ll pick one winner (sorry you’re not all winners, actually) out of the responses to join me next time.
This week’s winner is BE mod Ben Kohn:
Hi BElitists, Ben Kohn (the nice mod) here and I’m joining Zane once more to help him figure out who in the wide world of MMA these guys should be fighting next. I appreciate being brought on once more and hopefully my picks aren’t eviscerated for their faulty logic and reasoning. Be gentle.
ANTHONY SMITH
Ben – Well shit, Smith is fun as all hell. He’s now beaten the #2 ranked LHW and is on a 3 fight win streak since moving up from MW (and a loss to Thiago Santos, who has also moved to LHW so….). To be realistic, Jones/Gus 2 is for the #1 contender spot so Smith will likely be an alternate for that while being booked for another fight. I think Blachowicz makes the most sense. Both are on win streaks and Jan should be ahead anyway, but the UFC will not want to give Jan the fight, so this makes the most sense for me. Anthony Smith vs. Jan Blachowicz.
Zane – It’s hard to imagine Anthony Smith as a legit contender to Jon Jones in the UFC, even after a grueling come from behind win like this one. But, then again, it’s hard to imagine any of the top contenders at 205 competing with Jones. Assuming ‘Bones’ regains his title against Gustafsson, then the top contenders become Blachowicz, Smith, and the winner of Santos vs. Manuwa, with Dominick Reyes bringing up the rear. I’m tempted to say that the UFC should just throw Smith in for the belt, but on the off chance Gus wins and prompts a rubber match, or Jones wins and runs off to do something else (or just gets suspended again) I’ll assume Smith needs at least one more bout. Since he’s already lost to Santos, why not let him fight Blachowicz. Winner has a great claim for a title fight. Anthony Smith vs. Jan Blachowicz is my fight.
VOLKAN OEZDEMIR
Ben – Well then, now 3-2 in the UFC with 2 straight losses. While he’s likely never going to contend again, he is still a solid name and fighter. He should fight another former elite on the downslide, and that man is Glover Teixeira. One of two things happen, Glover wins and sticks around the top 10 or Volkan still retains some value with a win. Granted Glover is recovering from an injury so I don’t know when it can be booked, but I’m fine with waiting. The fight will also likely be quite fun too. Volkan Oezdemir vs. Glover Teixeira.
Zane – Rough loss for Oezdemir. He looked decent early, but by a similar token, he never really took over the fight – even while clearly winning the first two rounds. Smith slipped a lot of shots, and when Oezdemir got top control, he didn’t exactly crush Smith with GnP. He let Smith hang around and Smith made the best of it. Misha Cirkunov called him out after his fight earlier in the night, and that rematch would still make some sense right now. But… what about a fight with Nikita Krylov. Glover is injured, Reyes is coming off a big win, and it’s not like Krylov is less experienced than Oezdemir. Make the fight, it’d be a fun one; Niki Thrillz vs. Volkan Oezdemir.
MICHAEL JOHNSON
Ben – I’m not too impressed with Johnson at FW and I think it was a mistake to drop, but he’s now 2-0 so keep on going I guess. To me, I think it’s time to pull the trigger on Johnson at FW. He’s only 32 but 10 years into his career with 32 fights too. Throw him at Josh Emmett, someone else who’s explosive, but he also won’t really present the same issues that historically break Johnson either. I want to see how Johnson handles someone comparably fast and explosive. Michael Johnson vs. Josh Emmett.
Zane – This was more a fight Johnson had to win than it was a fight that moves him up the division for winning. Beat Artem Lobov and you’re still a UFC level talent, that’s about the limit of what it says though. And since most of the top of 135 is coming off a loss, there’s only one fight that really stands out for Johnson right now: Alex Caceres. Like the ‘Menace,’ ‘Bruce Leeroy’ has made a UFC career out of winning and losing exciting action fights trending toward a .500 record. And like beating Lobov, Caceres taking out Martin Bravo just doesn’t tell us that much. Put them in the cage together and see which of these action-fight vets can keep winning. Caceres vs. Johnson should be a fun fight. If that doesn’t work, he can always fight Volkanovski or Magomedsharipov to see if either prospect can use him as a potential name win.
MISHA CIRKUNOV
Ben – Now having snapped his 2 fight losing streak, Misha is back on track and his grappling is still dangerous as hell. While beating Cummins isn’t a huge deal, it is nice to get that confidence back, I imagine. With Manuwa scheduled to face Thiago Santos, I think the winner of that fight makes sense for him, especially if it’s Santos. I’m going with Misha Cirkunov vs. Manuwa/Santos winner.
Zane – A great return to form for Cirkunov, but in a fight he was expected to win anyway. Question now is, does the UFC throw Cirkunov back in to a challenge fight, or do they give him another forgiving matchup? He could fight OSP in a winner/loser battle, or Lil’ Nog off Nog’s win over Alvey. Or he could take on Dominick Reyes. I say be a bit forgiving, let him build a little momentum, and then maybe throw him back at another top tier LHW to see what he can do. Misha Cirkunov vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the right next fight.
SEAN STRICKLAND
Ben – Back on track after the first KO loss of his career, Strickland has kept on knocking on the door to the top 15 and getting pushed back. Maybe we can stop matching him with young prospects and give him shots against older veterans? Maybe UFC? Anyway, to me, a bout against Sergio Moraes, another fringe guy, makes divisional sense. Sean Strickland vs. Sergio Moraes.
Zane – If Strickland is ready to get back in the cage in a hurry, Li Jingliang needs an opponent for the upcoming Singapore card and Strickland would be just right for it. Otherwise, welterweight is neck deep in highly talented under-regarded fighters like him, and his seeming willingness to fight anybody should make for a lot of easy to book match-ups. There’s Danny Roberts, Bryan Barberena, Sage Northcutt, Vicente Luque, Leon Edwards, Sergio Moraes, Jordan Mein, James Krause… almost too many options. Of all those, I actually think I’d be most interested in the James Krause fight. Seems like a fun matchup of the crafty veteran vs. the young veteran. Krause vs. Strickland is good stuff if Strickland can’t make the turnaround for Jingliang.
NASRAT HAQPARAST
Ben – Well he’s certainly still raw as all hell. Nasrat is a potential elite fighter but he still has a ton to work on before getting there. I think the broken hand explains a lot about his performance, but not everything. I think he needs more time at the bottom to feed and grow as a fighter, and with that in mind, I want to see Nasrat Haqparast vs. Vinc Pichel. There really is no need to rush him right now and while isn’t bad, he’s certainly nowhere near elite.
Zane – Part of me says go ahead and throw Haqparast in with David Teymur or Gregor Gillespie and see what happens, or (if his hands heal up quickly) take on Scott Holtzman in an all action fight. Instead of all that though, what about a matchup against Nik Lentz? Lentz has, by turns, been a good stepping stone for prospects like Teymur, and Makhachev, and a competitive winner over notable vets. If Haqparast can take him out, he’s stamped himself as a streaking prospect at 155. If he can’t, then this is how he gets to find out he’s not ready. Nasrat Haqparast vs. Nik Lentz is a make or break fight for the prospect.
CALVIN KATTAR
Ben – Damn, well that was certainly a nice finish. Considering that was the last fight on his contract, I imagine making a statement like that must be good for his wallet. Now 3-1, Kattar is seemingly digging himself in as a legitimate fringe top 15 right now and I think there’s a lot to say about that at FW. I think a bout with the Ricardo Lamas/Darren Elkins winner would be pretty damn good and that’s my pick, assuming he re-signs. Calvin Kattar vs Lamas/Elkins winner.
Zane – There are plenty of potential options for Kattar. Fights with Makwan Amrikhani, Alex Volkanovski, or even Wang Guan, and Raoni Barcelos. But, he wants a fight in the top 15, and there’s one that’s too good to pass up: Zabit Magomedsharipov. At this point, fans know that Zabit is an electric talent with a diverse arsenal. But, he’s also looked like a fighter that can be tagged up a bit by tough brawlers willing to eat shots to land shots. Kattar is as tough as they come, and actually has a fair amount of nuance to his action-kickboxing style. He’d present a great next step challenge for Zabit, and it would also give Kattar the kind of higher profile fight’s he’s asking for. Perfect fight to make right now; Calvin Kattar vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov.
DON MADGE
Ben – Don Madge: Holy shit that kick finish was awesome. With guys coming from EFC, you kind of have to speculate about their abilities as a fighter, but that was a hell of a statement to make. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t see any reason to expect huge things from Madge but I think we can expect a fun guy to watch in the future. I’d like to see him fight the winner of Luis Pena vs Mike Trizano. Pena would be extremely fun, just saying. So Don Madge vs Pena/Trizano winner.
Zane – This is a big ‘pump the brakes moment’ for the UFC. Madge looked great tonight, but he also looked great against a fairly inexperienced prospect who had never won outside of round 1 before. Let’s give Madge another chance or two to prove himself before we start calling for him to take a big step up. Fights against recent signings Devonte Smith or Sodiq Yusuff would probably be good moves to that end. Fights with Felipe Silva, Jason Gonzalez, or Christos Giagos would also be fine if the UFC wanted to go with a winner/loser matchup. In fact, Silva was kind of clubbering Claudio Puelles before getting tapped in the third round. Should make for a fun action fight with a high danger potential. Don Madge vs. Felipe Silva would be good n’ violent.
OTHER BOUTS: Lobov vs. Davis, Cummins vs. Alvey, Soukhamthath vs. Dvalishvili, Martinez vs. Jin Soo, Villante vs. Cutelaba, Herman vs. Ledet, McGee vs. Mein, Garcia vs. W. Alves, Taleb vs. Price, Fishgold vs. Bessette, Bernardo vs. Pudilova, Moras vs. Mazany, Edwards vs. Moret, Bhullar vs. Sakai, Golm vs. Spitz, Ray vs. Dober, Ayari vs. Gonzalez