The MMA Daily

Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – Despite being stripped of his title, Charles Oliveira put forth yet another sensational performance. With the victory, Oliveira not only added on to his legacy, but staked his claim as one of the greatest Lightweight’s of all-time. Up next, a shot to reclaim his belt in a vacant title fight. While I really would love to see Islam Makhachev fight Beniel Dariush, the fact that the fight hasn’t been rescheduled yet, is a bad sign. Timing is everything. And right now, it favors Makhachev being elevated to a title shot.

Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez 2 – After defeating Rose Namajunas for the second time in an action-less fight, Carla Esparza finds herself in a position where there is no justifiable way to run back a rematch. With that said, Esparza’s first title defense should be against Marina Rodriguez. The first time the two fought, it was resulted in a split decision nod to Esparza. Since then, Rodriguez has won four straight, including three top ten wins.

Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor – Needing to get back in the win column, Michael Chandler pulled off an incredible front-kick knockout over Tony Ferguson. After the victory, he ripped an all-time promo and called out Conor McGregor. A fight that makes a lot of sense and would be bound to entertain. The only issue is, when will McGregor be ready to fight?

Ovince St. Preux vs. Volkan Oezdemir 2 – While OSP didn’t exactly light the world on fire with his split decision win over Mauricio Rua, he still got the job done. Up Next? Perhaps another rematch. One in which he would be seeking revenge. A fight with Volkan Oezdemir, who defeated OSP back in 2017 via split decision.

.

Randy Brown vs. Li Jingliang – Randy Brown has come a long way since Dana White signed him off “Looking for a Fight”. After rocky 4-3 start in the UFC, Brown has since caught his stride. With the win over Khaos Williams, he is now 5-1 in his last 6 fights. Up next? A top fifteen ranked fighter in Li Jingliang, who will be looking to bounce back after the mauling he received from Khamzat Chimaev.

Justin Gaethje vs. winner of RDA vs. Fiziev – After yet another tough loss in a title fight, Justin Gaethje will have to go back to the drawing board. A logical next fight, would be the winner of RDA vs. Fiziev. Two top ten fighters who are closing in on becoming contenders.

Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 3 – Unfortunately for Rose Namajunas, this wasn’t the fight she could afford to lose and in the manner she did. While she might want a rematch, she is 0-2 against Esparza and the fight was a complete dud. Needing to climb her way back to the title yet again, a trilogy against Jessica Andrade makes a lot of sense.

.

Tony Ferguson vs. Diego Ferreira – After suffering a brutal knockout defeat, which was his fourth straight loss, Ferguson could be at the end of the line. If not, a fight against a fellow struggling top fifteen fighter in Diego Ferreira would be ideal.

.

Mauricio Rua vs. Ed Herman – Before losing via split decision to OSP, Rua had indicated that he wants one more fight. With that said, it’s only right to pair him up against a fellow veteran at Light Heavyweight. Looking up and down the roster, Ed Herman makes the most sense.

.

Khaos Williams vs. Jake Matthews – While Khaos Williams lost a tough split decision, his stock didn’t really fall. With that said, perhaps a fight against a fighter in a similar place as him in Jake Matthews would work.

Francisco Trinaldo vs. Alex Morono – At 43 years old, Francisco Trinaldo seems to not know who father time is. Defeating Danny Roberts, Trinaldo extended his win streak to two and has won five of the last six. While title aspirations may be tough to reach at this point, there are still fights to make for the veteran. One of which could be against Alex Morono, who has won three straight.

.

Macy Chiasson vs. Josiane Nunes – Sticking to a grinding game plan, Chiasson defeated seemingly the number one contender at Featherweight, Norma Dumont. While the options moving forward at Featherweight are slim, perhaps Josiane Nunes could be next. A fight that would be quite the size discrepancy, but given Nunes has fought at Featherweight and as high as Lightweight – makes sense.

Brandon Royval vs. Matheus Nicolau – While Brandon Royval clamored for a title shot after an excellent submission victory over Matt Schnell, he’s not jumping over Brandon Moreno or Alejandre Pantoja – two fighters who defeated him. If anything, he’s a fight or two away in a division held up by a never ending rivalry. With that said, a fight against Matheus Nicolau would make a lot of sense. Especially given Nicolau has won five straight, three of which came inside the octagon over David Dvorak, Tim Elliott and Manel Kape.

.

Blagoy Ivanov vs. Ilir Latifi – Blagoy Ivanov once again proved that his chin is made of granite in a win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima. The victory was Ivanov’s first in nearly three years. Instead of throwing him back in the deep end, despite being still ranked, a good next test would be against the sledgehammer, Ilir Latifi.

Andre Fialho vs. Niko Price – A hidden gem in the Welterweight division, Andre Fialho is starting to stir up some buzz for himself. After starching Miguel Baeza less than a month ago, Fialho followed that up with a spectacular knockout over Cameron VanCamp. Looking to comeback yet again in short order, Fialho is working himself into a favorite of Dana White’s. While I’m not sure how fast he can get booked, a fight against Niko Price screams violence.

.

Tracy Cortez vs. Maycee Barber – Picking up a big win over Melissa Gatto, Cortez pushed her win streak to ten and improved to 4-0 in the UFC. Expecting a number next to her name come the rankings update, a perfect next fight would be against Maycee Barber.

.

C.J. Vergara vs. Francisco Figueiredo – Albeit the media scoring the fight the other way, you can’t discredit the effort C.J. Vergara exerted in a tough fight. Moving along, perhaps a fight against Francisco Figueiredo would make sense.

Lupita Godinez vs. Luana Pinheiro – There is a looming problem at Strawweight, and her name is Lupita Godinez. With a well rounded game, and a heavy implementation of wrestling, the sky’s the limit for Godinez. A next logical fight could be against Luana Pinheiro, who saw a recent fight against Jessica Penne scrapped.

.

Journey Newson vs. Guido Cannetti – After a much needed win, Newson could be paired up with a litany of opponents. Maybe Guido Cannetti being one of them?

.

Danny Roberts vs. Carlston Harris – After seeing a two-fight win streak snapped, Roberts will have to once again pick himself up. If there is anything positive to take away from the fight, Roberts, for the first time in his career, went the distance in defeat. As for a what’s next. A fight against a fellow finisher in Carlston Harris would make for a highly entertaining bout.

.

Norma Dumont vs. Leah Letson or Ramona Pascual – The fact that Norma Dumont missed weight at Featherweight, proves to me that she isn’t one to make Bantamweight again. Given that, the options are slim. Either Leah Letson or Ramona Pascual is feasibly up next.

.

Matt Schnell vs. David Dvorak – While Schnell came out guns blazing, he got caught on the ground and submitted by Brandon Royval. Still ranked, Schnell should probably be paired up with another ranked fighter who just lost in David Dvorak.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Walt Harris – Marcos Rogerio de Lima threw everything he could against Blagoi Ivanov, but couldn’t put him out. Seeing the scorecards, which is a rarity, de Lima wound up coming up short. While de Lima may never reach a title shot, he is still an exciting fighter. What should be next is a fight against another heavy handed slugger in Walt Harris.

.

Cameron VanCamp vs. Evan Elder – To get knocked out in your UFC debut isn’t exactly a great start, but the matchup itself against Andre Fialho wasn’t ideal in itself. A good next fight would be against a fellow fighter who debuted recently in Evan Elder.

Melissa Gatto vs. Montana De La Rosa – Despite losing her first professional fight, Gatto is still one to watch out for at Strawweight. A fun next fight would be against a similar gritty fighter in Montana De La Rosa.

.

Kleydson Rodrigues vs. Victor Altamirano – While I thought Kleydson Rodrigues did enough to win, the judges saw differently. A logical next fight, would be against a fellow debuter who was recently defeated in Victor Altamirano.

.

Ariane Carnelossi vs. Kanako Murata – After being dominated, Ariane Carnelossi is going to need to work on her takedown defense. A good fight to do such would be against Kanako Murata.

.

Fernie Garcia vs. Kris Moutinho – There is a litany of matchups next for Fernie Garcia, but maybe Kris Moutinho makes sense.