UFC 223: Fights to Make

All the best, most interesting, and unashamedly coolest fights the UFC should book following their latest PPV card in Brooklyn, NY.

UFC 223 wasn’t a bad card, all told. It just wasn’t anything like the card it started out as. What was supposed to be a defining moment for the lightweight division turned instead into a circus. And while some questions were answered – Khabib is now THE champion (at least on paper) – even more questions were asked. Who’s next for Khabib? Is it Conor? Tony? What about that GSP idea? And what about all the divisional sorting we were supposed to get from Chiesa vs. Pettis and Iaquinta vs. Felder?

To figure out where all the chips should fall, I’ll be employing the classic Silva/Shelby model of fight booking. That means matching winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. If you’d like to take your own chance at making some A-grade fights, leave a comment below starting with, “I just want to be a Canadian Gangster, that’s it. I Have a ‘stache, I say sorry, I cry, that’s it man.” I’ll pick one response to join me next time.

This week’s winner is returning BE reader Rickyc123:

I am glad to be back for another Fights to make. I had a great time making my last one which was the UFC 221 fights to make. Please feel free to let me know how you think I’ve done in the comment section below.

KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV

Ricky - Khabib himself called out GSP after the fight but that is more than unlikely to happen at least in the short term anyway. All of the top light weights are currently booked apart from Tony Ferguson and Eddie Alvarez. Before the messy bus incident. I was going to match Khabib with Conor but it looks like it will be a while before he’ll be back in the octagon. There’s the outlandish opponent in Nate Diaz who gets suggested to fight every lightweight. But back to Ferguson and Alvarez. Alvarez would make a lot of sense to be the next opponent. He’s a new opponent for Nurmagomedov and is coming off a win against a top 5 competitor. For me though there is only really want fight to make and that is against Tony Ferguson. I know Dana White said he’s never going to make that fight again but I can’t see why you could possibly deny the fans of this and with each and every cancellation of the fight, the anticipation grows. You never know it could be fifth time lucky??!!!

Zane - I’m just going to go ahead and assume that a full tear of a knee ligament is going to take long enough to heal that Tony Ferguson isn’t a viable next fight opponent for Khabib. (Although I’m also seeing that full LCL tears may only take between 3-9 months for full recovery, not too bad.) But, assuming the worst at the moment, that should put Conor McGregor square in the bullseye. However, if UFC 223 isn’t a huge PPV success, then I don’t know that Conor McGregor is going to want any part of Khabib. That pretty much leaves two people. Eddie Alvarez, or Dustin Poirier off a win over Gaethje. Might as well give Alvarez the next shot, assuming neither Tony nor Conor can happen.

AL IAQUINTA

Ricky - A possibility for Iaquinta is to have his initially planned fight against Paul Felder but it looks as though he’ll be on the the shelves for at least a couple of months and Felder wants to be back out straight away. Plus now that we know Iaquinta can last at least 5 rounds against arguably the best lightweight in the world, a battle against an un-ranked fighter may be just too much beneath him. You could match him up against Anthony Pettis or James Vick, both of who are near him in the rankings and would make intriguing stylistic matchups. However, in my opinion the best matchup for Iaquinta would be to have him face off against the loser of Kevin Lee vs Edson Barboza. It would be suitable for many reasons including the fact that it would happen a good couple of months down the line which would fit into Iaquinta’s schedule, he would also be going against somebody who is also coming off a loss to a high level fighter and most importantly it would be an absolute barnburner especially if it’s Kevin Lee as he’ll want two avenge his early career loss.

Zane - I wouldn’t at all mind seeing a rematch of Al Iaquinta vs. Michael Chiesa right now. The plot line of two former TUF finalists facing off again, years after their first bout would be a fun one. Especially as both men have had their fare share of success and setbacks. Otherwise, the loser of Barboza vs. Lee would be fine, as would a fight with James Vick. But somehow, the Chiesa idea really grabs my attention. Let Chiesa heal up from his cuts, let Al heal up from his loss, and then give these two another shot at one another. Al Iaquinta vs. Michael Chiesa 2.

ROSE NAMAJUNAS

Ricky - Now that Rose is the definitive and secure champ in the division, it opens up a lot of opportunities for many fighters to win the belt who failed against Joanna. A possibility is Kowalkiewicz who has beaten Rose in the past and would be one hell of a fight with the best transitions. A fight against Gadelha would also be a good scrap. However, in my opinion, the fight that makes the most sense is against Jessica Andrade, who other than Joanna is the next highest ranked contender. For me Namajunas Vs the highest ranked competitor is the right choice so Namajunas vs Andrade is the fight to make.

Zane - There’s no other options. It’s Jessica Andrade. Over the months since her loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Andrade has only looked like a more and more complete fighter – rounding out her bullying power boxing style with a more clinical wrestling and GnP game to go with it. She’s tireless, powerful, and I get the feeling that she just may be a nightmare matchup for Rose Namajunas, who still looked like she was going to melt down a bit when Joanna didn’t go away early, and then started landing hard knees in the clinch and cutting down her legs. If Andrade can stay on her with more power and bully her without fear of takedowns, then Rose is in for one hell of a fight. Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade is a must see fight at 115 right now.

JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK

Ricky - As much as I would love to see Joanna rematch against Namajunas, Gadelha and Andrade, I believe she has run her course in the Strawweight division. She has already faced most of the top 5 contenders in the division and beat them all except Rose. If she moves up to Flyweight it would be less strenuous weight cut which Joanna always complains about and she was planning to move up before she lost her belt anyway. As for an opponent I believe that she could get a title shot right away however the next flyweight challenger is Shevchenko and Murphy and Eubank are locked up with each other. That leaves Barb Honchak, for what should be easy win and warm up fight for Joanna in the Flyweight division.

Zane - I was almost thinking of suggesting Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Alexis Davis, because I do agree that Joanna’s future really should be at 125. But, then a better idea struck me. I don’t mind the Barb Honchak fight at all, but the UFC did just pick up another Invicta flyweight champion: Jennifer Maia. I still think it’s a fight that Jedrzejczyk runs away with, no problem. But it has a bit more prestige attached to it than any other bout at 115 ahead of a title shot. One win at 125 and Joanna vs. Shevchenko is unquestionably the fight we need. If, for some reason (*cough* injured pride *cough*), Joanna decides to stay at 115, then give her a fight with Tecia Torres. But, the UFC should absolutely be pushing toward Joanna vs. Valentina, and Jennifer Maia is as good a way to get there as any.

RENATO MOICANO

Ricky - I believe this fight should catapult Renato Moicano back into the top 10. He could still be a future title contender as his only loss is against Brian Ortega, but for now I believe his task should be to maintain his position in the top 10. A fight against Myles Jury would be an entertaining scrap and a fight against Josh Emmett could help propel him into top 5 contention. However, I believe the best possible opponent would be Darren Elkins. This is a fighter who thrives on being a underdog and can take a beating but still be as devastating throughout, as could be seen in his fight against Mirsad Bektic. It would also give Moicano a chance to go a little up the rankings.

Zane - I’ll admit, the part of me that wants to see Darren Elkins go on the worlds least likely title run doesn’t want to see him used as a gatekeeper for every rising kid who looks like he might be a future elite talent. But, Moicano vs. Elkins is as obvious a next fight as they come. Dooho Choi, Josh Emmett, and Yair Rodriguez are all coming off bad losses. Myles Jury is there, but Elkins is the higher ranked fighter that Moicano seems like he clearly deserves. And otherwise, what’s the UFC going to do with Elkins, book him against Jose Aldo? The wildcard would be if Chan Sung Jung is coming back anytime soon from injury, otherwise, Elkins it is.

ZABIT MAGOMEDSHARIPOV

Ricky - I believe it is time for a real step-up in competition for Zabit. It could be argued (and it has been by many) that Zabit deserves a ranked opponent already. Originally, I was planning on matching him up with Artem Lobov, who he called out after his fight with Mike Santiago, but it is looking unlikely he will even fight for the UFC again. Then I decided I was going to match him up against Alex Caceres, who is known for his reputation to fight just about anybody and would be a great person for Zabit to make a name off of and then I saw the last round and as a fan I knew exactly who I wanted to match him up against. If Zabit can scrap that much against Kyle Bochniak imagine what he can do against Yair Rodriguez. I say let’s do a battle of the kickers fight in UFC Moscow. Zabit Vs Yair is the fight to make.

Zane - This isn’t the time for Zabit vs. Yair. There’s just no momentum behind it. Zabit is only starting to make his name, Yair is trying to recover his. These are fighters who should be battling for title contention at some point; Zabit using Yair as a stepping stone to getting ranked, or Yair using Zabit as a bounce-back fight just feels wrong. That said, Zabit does need the toughest fight he can get. That may be Myles Jury right now, and that would be a fantastic fight to make. Could also go with Volkanovski, Fili, or hell, even Moicano. But I think Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Myles Jury feels like just the right next fight to see how fast Zabit can make his title run.

KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ

Ricky - A close split decision win from Poland’s second best alliterative Women’s Strawweight. I would love to give her a rematch against Claudia Gadelha, however I find it hard to believe the UFC will have a rematch especially after the last fight happened less than a year ago. But, I do believe there is a gap in quality between those ranked 5th and above, compared to the rest of the decision. I would have matched her up against Jessica Andrade had Joanna won however she didn’t and I’ve got better ideas for Andrade. So, as a alternative I would go for Tecia Torres vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz. And if Kowalkiewicz won that she would be able to rematch Rose. It would be a fresh matchup for both fighters who have both already faced most of the divisions top 10.

Zane - A rematch against Joanna has some clear appeal, although if Joanna won, it would just scrap another potential title challenger for Rose down the line. And I’ll definitely admit that a bout with Tecia Torres looks like a very good idea. Especially since Kowalkiewicz very likely can not bully Torres in nearly the way Andrade did. With the division around her otherwise pretty much fully booked, there really aren’t a lot of other options. Randa Markos? Angela Hill? Nah. Book Torres vs. Kowalkiewicz and see if one of those two can put themselves in position to be a top contender in the near future.

OLIVIER AUBIN-MERCIER

Ricky - I expect Aubin-Mercier to be ranked when the new rankings come out and rightfully so. A fight against Beneil Dariush whose ranking he will probably be take would be intriguing as well as a fight against Francisco Trinaldo who is arguably also on the verge of the rankings. In the end though, I’ve settled on 13th ranked Alexander Hernandez. It gives Aubin-Mercier another chance at a potentially higher ranked opponent and it can also let us know whether or not the Dariush/Hernandez fight was a fluke.

Zane - So, OAM took pretty much zero damage demolishing Evan Dunham in the first round, and Paul Felder is likely going to want to fight in a hurry, after getting his UFC 223 booking cancelled. Paul Felder vs. Olivier Aubin Mercier? I’d show all the way up for that. I’d also love to see OAM vs. Taisumov, but I have no idea when/if/how Taisumov fights again considering his visa issues. A fight with James Vick would also be fascinating, but it doesn’t seem like a fight Vick would be especially interested in. The Hernandez contender/pretender bout wouldn’t be terrible, but honestly there are a half a hundred fights I think Hernandez can take to establish something similar. So for now, Felder vs. OAM is my fight to book.

OTHER BOUTS: Kattar vs. Johnson, Bochniak vs. Tucker, Gruetzemacher vs. Pearson, Herrig vs. Markos, Dunham vs. Trinaldo, Evans-Smith vs. De La Rosa, Clark vs. Edilov, Rodriguez vs. Prachnio