All the best, most interesting, and unquestionably coolest fights the UFC needs to book following their latest event in Charlotte, NC.
UFC Charlotte wasn’t bad, per se, but as a card that didn’t have any standout narrative heading into it, the biggest one to come out of it was bad judging. And that’s not a great thing. Jacare Souza put a solid punctuation on the evening with a headkick KO over Derek Brunson. But where does that leave him? Is he going to contend for the interim middleweight title? Or just fight another top contender looking for a bout? Andre Fili enters the bantamweight rankings, but what credit does that get off a fight most people don’t think he won?
To answer these questions, and more, I’ll be employing the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking model. 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 fantasy matchmaking immortality, leave a comment below starting out with, “I’d like to go fishing tomorrow. I know North Carolina’s probably pretty good fishing, huh?” I’ll pick one winner from the responses to join me next time out.
This week’s winner is BE reader Highlight.
Hello BE, some of you might recognize me from my time on MMA twitter where I antagonize Mookie Alexander and Tim Burke. Follow me @high_light if that’s something you’d enjoy like.
RONALDO SOUZA
Highlight – Jacare had a strong but not unexpected showing last night. Booking him in anything other than a title fight seems like wasting him to me, but David Branch just lost his dance partner for UFC on Fox so that seems like the clear place to put him if forced to place him in a fight.
Zane – Maybe Robert Whittaker will be bounce back and be ready to go again ASAP, but I’m not going to bet on it. Staph in your stomach just sounds like a nasty nasty thing to go through, and it could easily mean that Whittaker doesn’t fight again until late this year. If I’m wrong, then Whittaker gets the Romero/Rockhold winner and Jacare fights either Weidman or Gastelum (probably Weidman). If I’m right, however, and Whittaker is going to be on the sidelines for a minute, then Jacare vs. the winner of Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold is the way to go.
DEREK BRUNSON
Highlight – Brunson is in a weird place right now, 2-3 in his last 5. I’d be looking to get him a very winnable fight but with a ranked fighter. If Eryk Anders beats Lyoto Machida I’d like to see that match up, if only for the UFC to possibly get new blood at the top end on 185.
Zane – This loss doesn’t diminish Brunson that much. He was a gatekeeper to the top 10 before this fight, and that’s still exactly who he is afterward. But, it did very much reassert that Brunson has probably reached his zenith as a talent, and it’s as a gatekeeper to the top 10. That means it’s time for another fighter trying to establish himself as a top tier middleweight. Krzysztof Jotko hit a couple hard losses against David Branch and Uriah Hall, Brunson might be a logical next fight? Otherwise the UFC could go winner loser and put him against Brad Tavares or Paulo Costa. I like the Jotko fight, but with two losses already, moving him up against higher ranked opposition to potentially lose again feels weird. Instead I’ll say, go winner-loser and book Brunson against Brad Tavares. Two longtime veterans who have somehow avoided each other to date, with Tavares trying to move beyond the edges of the top 15.
ANDRE FILI
Highlight – This is hard for me to pick, mostly because I scored the fight for Bermudez. This win likely puts Fili in the top 15, though it really shouldn’t. If Miles Jury is free I think he should be the one to test if Andre actually belongs on the top 15 list.
Zane – It wasn’t much of a win (and arguably it was more of a robbery), but being real for a second, Andre Fili has way more fights to book as a newly ranked featherweight than Bermudez does as a guy who has seemingly already fought everyone of note. Myles Jury and Mirsad Bektic are ranked fighters coming off wins; Renato Moicano is coming off a tough loss but would make for a solid fight. Eventually I feel like the Moicano booking makes the most sense. Considering Fili didn’t exactly ‘win’ this bout and Moicano is ranked off way less experience, it feels like just the right matchup of questionable records. Andre Fili vs. Renato Moicano, book it.
GREGOR GILLESPIE
Highlight – Gregor Gillespie sort of snuck his way onto the main card as far as I’ve noticed. I can’t think of many guys that are 11-0 at Lightweight in the UFC that I can’t remember what they look like. A fight between him and the winner of Desmond Green/Michel Prazeres is my choice.
Zane – Do I just get lazy and toss 4-0 undefeated (in the UFC) lightweight prospects together to see who shines? Gregor Gillespie vs. David Teymur; the career wrestler vs. the career kickboxer. It’s got some serious curbside appeal to it. The UFC could also give Gillespie someone like Pichel, or Makhachev, all would make for tough outs. But why not go for the style clash and see which of these two streaking prospects can take some serious momentum from the other one.
BOBBY GREEN
Highlight – By far the easiest pick of the card. Play back the Lando fight. Not sure why anyone would book any other fight for Bobby Green at this point. A rematch of a FOTN that went to a draw? Everyone would be happy.
Zane – Bobby Green is clearly better than a lot of lightweight fighters out there. But somehow, at least in the UFC, that’s never translated into being quite among the lightweight elite. Beating Erik Koch like he did serves to prove he hasn’t fallen way off, but Koch has his own struggles against top competition. I don’t see Green getting fights with either Lee or Alvarez, like he asked for, but a fight with Beneil Dariush may not be out of the realm of possibility. Instead, however, I like the idea of him taking on another longtime vet who put a couple good wins together. Bobby Green vs. Clay Guida.
MIRSAD BEKTIC
Highlight – Another case of a fighter that I’m caught between protecting and building to contender status. Bektic was on a fast trajectory aimed squarely at the top 5 of the division until Elkins headkicked him back to earth. If the Korean Superboy could be turned around before his military service it’d be a good way to start getting Mirsad back up the ladder.
Zane – Bektic wanted a fight with the winner of Fili vs. Bermudez, and I’m not at all opposed to that. I’d even be fine with him fighting Bermudez, since it felt more like Bermudez won. But the ‘Menace’ has now dropped 3 in a row, putting him against a top prospect looking to make a name feels a bit too much like potentially using him as a stepping stone. Fights against Calvin Kattar or Myles Jury would be good tests right now, and Nick Baldwin mentioned the idea of Bektic vs. Chad Mendes, when Mendes returns this summer. Instead I’m going to say, make the coolest fight right now and book Mirsad Bektic vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov. Zabit’s already proved he’s got the makings of an elite talent, and Bektic looks like a killer, but that Elkins loss still lingers. It has all the feel of an edge-of-your-seat fight. So do it now.
KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN
Highlight – Before writing this I was almost completely unaware of the that Chookagian dropped a weight class. Considering her relatively high rank at 135, I’d like to see her fight the 10th ranked Jessica Eye. Yes, Eye is just now coming off a multi fight skid, but this is MMA where the young eat the old.
Zane – Normally, an ugly win like that wouldn’t mean much in the UFC. But… flyweight is anything other than well sorted right now, and Chookagian has moved to 3-1 off this controversial decision. With a champion like Nicco Montano at the top of the division, every fighter that puts wins together has a reasonable shot at the belt. I struggled to think of what the next right fight for Jessy-Rose Clark might be after beating Paige VanZant, and Chookagian likely fits the bill. Either that, or a fight with Jessica Eye. Clark vs. Chookagian is my option A, though.
RANDA MARKOS
Highlight – Randa Markos has been in a Win-Loss pattern dating back to before she made her UFC debut. She’s a solid journeyman fighter for now, and like all journeymen fighters she should be used to test new talent. The winner of Maroz/Hill is what I’d be calling for as a promoter.
Zane – I still want to see Markos vs. Herrig, but Herrig seems to have already moved on to bigger things, with her upcoming bout against Karolina Kowalkiewicz. In general, given her losses and the state of teh division, there aren’t that many winning fighters ahead of Markos to book her against. She could rematch Carla Esparza, otherwise Waterson, Calvillo, and Gadelha are all coming off losses. I almost wouldn’t mind seeing her take a shot at Gadelha, just to see where she’s at in her career, but a fight with Cynthia Calvillo feels much more the right speed at the moment. Kill any chance at MMA math if Calvillo wins it, too. Randa Markos vs. Cynthia Calvillo.
OTHER BOUTS: Bermudez vs. Johnson, Rinaldi vs. Powell, Dober vs. Laprise, Camacho vs. Good, Koch vs. Oliveira, Pepey vs. Knight, Romero Borella vs. Kish, Lima vs. Casey, Ji Yeon vs. Dobson, Pichel vs. Santos, Silva vs. White, Price vs. Alhassan, Sullivan vs. Musoke, Sandhagen vs. Bravo, Arnett vs. Ige