UFC 276 was an outstanding night of performances. Israel Adesanya avoid any strong warnings that may be issued Jared Cannonier gain momentum and win unanimous decision. Alexander Volkanovski make sure there is no argument after the trio fight, put up a fight against Max Holloway to retain the featherweight title. Alex Pereira no problem with knocking Sean Strickland in the first round of their middleweight title fight, and Jalin Turner don’t even let Brad Riddell a chance to go before submitting him in the first round.
The only fight that didn’t bring included one of the sport’s most discussed prospects in Sean O’Malley who is against? Pedro Munhoz was rendered indecisive after an accidental eye poke.
So who is next for title holders and top contenders? How Does the UFC’s O’Malley Book Move Forward? Time to play matchmaker.
Israel Adesanyamedium
Who will be next: Alex Pereira
Well, Adesanya knows his next title defense will come from the previous fight on the card. And that’s a perfect scenario, because there’s appeal either way.
Or he’ll talk trash Sean Strickland, or who beat him twice in kickboxing in Pereira. In the end, it was Pereira, and Pereira made everyone solid by not only beating Strickland, but doing it decisively.
Adesanya is looking to stay active and wants to ramp up his defense of the title, and this is a great opportunity for him (and the sport as a whole) to see some new blood and have the plot behind the simultaneous fight. Plus, Pereira is obviously very dangerous.
Wild Card: Winner Paulo Costa compare to Luke Rockhold on August 20
Just threw it out there as another option, but it’s not a super realistic option. If Costa beats Rockhold, he’s close to a title, and his first fight against Adesanya has been a smashing success at the box office.
For Rockhold, it would feel silly to hand him a title after a win over Costa, but Adesanya needs new challenges and Rockhold still shines as a former champion.
This is a desperate wildcard choice. Besides no chance, this is the fight the UFC makes.
Alexander Volkanovskifeatherweight champion
1:11
Alexander Volkanovski won all five rounds in front of the judges to retain his featherweight belt at UFC 276.
Who will be next: Winner Brian Ortega compare to Yair Rodriguez on july 16
Volkanovski wants a promotion, and he deserves it. I want to see him get that chance. He might be the best boxer in the world right now. Give him a light kick.
However, timing is everything in this sport, and I don’t think timing is in his favor at the moment. I don’t think the UFC will ignore its lightweight title challengers in favor of Volkanovski right away. I think advertising will do that at some point, but right now, you already Islam Makhachev deserves to be shot. And I hate to say it, you’ve got the champion, Charles Oliveiracall Conor McGregor – and I can’t say for certain that the UFC won’t give in to that request.
Volkanovski wants to be active, and I don’t see him fighting for a lightweight title anytime soon. So in the meantime, it’s the next challenger, the winner of this coming war.
Wild card: Charles Oliveira
All that said, if the UFC do want Volkanovski to jump rope, I’m here for that. It was an excellent battle, Volkanovski and Oliveira. And I think Volkanovski has a very, very good chance of winning it.
I’d love to see this fight next, but ultimately I guess the UFC goes a different path at 155 at this point.
Max Hollowayweight
Who will be next: Justin Gaethje
This is uncharted territory. Holloway had just gone five laps with another man, and he looked lost. Did you ever think you would say that about Holloway?
Volkanovski is a class above Holloway, and that’s something we’re not sure it lasted until Saturday. The good news is – he’s still Max Holloway. He’s very popular, and he’s still brilliant. He’s a ‘big fight’ fighter.
The move to lightweight feels obvious, where he will have a path to a title that doesn’t exist for him right now in featherweight. The MMA world will lose its mind when it announces Gaethje vs. Holloway. It’s a match that will leave fans salivating. And both lost in title fights. This is a fight that can pump power into the careers of both.
Wild card: Conor McGregor
McGregor will return at some point, right? What will his comeback fight be? There are plenty of options, as is the case with McGregor always. As Holloway said himself, he was on that list. He’s always on that list.
Honestly, it’s not the perfect timing if I’m being honest, it’s because of this loss that Holloway is coming. But those are just split ends. Not available bad time for a fight with McGregor, and pound-for-pound, I think this pick for his comeback could be as entertaining as any other option.
Alex Pereiramedium
Who will be next: Israel Adesanya
The UFC got Pereira on the fast track and he made them look smart in doing so. He’s only been in the UFC for three fights, but Strickland is a legitimate contender – and Pereira slept him for one round. The history he has with Adesanya (two fights he won in professional kickboxing) speaks for itself, and it certainly has a long way to go when it comes to selling that fight.
This feels rushed, but is it? Maybe not. I mean, he took down Strickland – a legitimate middleweight contender – and he has the experience (and favorable experience) to go up against the champion. There’s really no reason not to do this fight next, and all sides know it.
Wild Card: Winner Robert Whittaker compare to Marvin Vettori on September 3
This wouldn’t make any sense, but it’s the only “wild card” I can think of. But the UFC will not be able to burn Pereira as a title challenger for Adesanya by placing him in another fight. I’m throwing this in here because I have to anything else in this case, for some reason, Adesanya was not present to face Pereira. But we all know it’s the next fight.
Sean O’Malleybantamweight
0:50
Sean O’Malley explains why he believes he won the match against Pedro Munhoz.
Who will be next: Marlon Vera
I mean, the fight against Munhoz is a drag in the long run. No one can be satisfied with the way the fight ended in a no contest. Can’t do anything about it now and I certainly don’t think you try to fix the problem by restarting the war. We couldn’t see it in full play, but based on what we’ve seen, I don’t see a compelling reason to sign up again. Not when you have a million options for O’Malley, including Chito Vera.
Vera certainly deserves a higher shot, but I don’t think it’s going to be a bad match for his career. O’Malley is one of the biggest fights on the team. I always thought we would see a second fight between them at some point (Vera beat O’Malley the first time they fought, but O’Malley blamed it on a weird injury and don’t consider it a real loss).
I think the timing is really perfect. Both are bigger than when they first met. It’s a lot of fun and an action fight.
Wild card: Pedro Munhoz
See, resetting this is an option. And it makes sense. Why? It was a meaningful fight this weekend, and it still makes sense because we didn’t get the result.
Personally, I wouldn’t be too excited about this getting re-subscribed, and I doubt I’m alone on that. And for that reason, I don’t think that’s what the UFC should be doing. But if this is the way they ended up, I can understand it.
Jalin Turnerlight
1:04
Jalin Turner subdued Brad Riddell with a choking guillotine in Round 1 of their fight.
Who will be next: The loser among Rafael dos Anjos compare to Rafael Fiziev on the 9th of July
This may sound strange, but it is a move in the right direction. Turner is on fire, and Saturday was the best performance of his career. And I want to pair him with… loser of this war? Come again? Although it sounds weird, it makes sense.
Turner deserves to be a worthy opponent, doesn’t he? But there are not many obvious options. Some of the department’s biggest names are in the top 10, and they’re keeping an eye on each other – not Turner. Next week’s main event is a great battle, and a major event in the division. The winner will be searched in the leaderboard. And the loser will look down. I think whoever loses should look at Turner.
Wild card: Mateusz Gamrot
Gamrot wouldn’t like the idea. He was noticed at the top of the tournament, winning first Arman Tsarukyan last week. But such a big win for Gamrot, I don’t know if he’ll make the top 5.
If that wasn’t in the cards for him, this would be a great fight for the division. Again, not something Gamrot is likely to jump into, but for everyone else it would be a great match if booked in advance.
