Fights to Make After UFC Vegas 19

Derrick Lewis vs Loser of Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou

(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)

Derrick Lewis gave us a Knockout of the Year contender when he stiffened Curtis Blaydes with a mean uppercut Saturday night. This was a massive win for Lewis’ career and keeps him in the title picture. Beating the number 2 contender in the world should put Lewis into the discussion with the top of the division. He is not going to get an immediate title shot, as the UFC is already planning for Jon Jones to fight the winner of Stipe and Francis. Derrick is next in line, so give him the loser. If it’s Stipe, this is a fresh matchup in the division and an incredible striking matchup. Although I do see Stipe retiring if he loses to Francis. Anyways, if Derrick ends up fighting Ngannou, it can be a chance to right a big wrong within MMA. Lewis and Ngannou have already matched up before in what was supposed to be a battle of the heaviest hitters in the UFC. It actually turned into one of the most gun shy and boring fights ever. Lewis won by decision but this fight is universally hated. I don’t think either man would be as cautious of each other’s power a second time around. Lewis called out Overeem after the fight, but that makes absolutely no sense in the division. Especially with “The Reem” coming off a loss to Volkov. Give Derrick another big name! This win over Blaydes was one of his most impressive to date.

Curtis Blaydes vs Winner of Marcin Tybura vs Blagoy Ivanov

Blaydes is going to have to take a step back in the division after this loss. He looked really sharp in the first round of the fight. His leg kicks were spectacular and had Derrick off balance the whole round. He was also very competitive in the boxing exchanges, landing heavy strikes on Lewis a few times. The problem came when Blaydes realized he couldn’t take down Derrick as easily as he thought. Lewis fought off the first two takedown attempts from Blaydes, something Curtis assumed he could be successful with at any time. This inability, along with Derrick starting to pull away with the hands, caused Blaydes to telegraph his takedowns. An entry from too far out caused him to run into a deadly uppercut that put his lights out. Curtis will be given a fight to get his groove back after this loss. The winner of the UFC 260 bout between #13 Blagoy Ivanov and #15 Marcin Tybura seems appropriate. The Heavyweight division has been bogged down for so long that Curtis has either beaten every other contender, or a matchup with him makes no sense. The winner of Ivanov and Tybura would likely deserve a name in the top of the division and Blaydes has never fought either one. I still believe Curtis is a top 5 Heavyweight in the world, but he is going to have to climb the ladder again.

Yana Kunitskaya vs Irene Aldana

(Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA Today Sports)

Yana Kunitskaya came away with a very close unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Vieira Saturday night. Kunitskaya dropped the first round, but turned it around and dominated the second with her clinch control. The third round split the fans. Ketlen was on top most of the round, and even secured back mount, but landed very minimal damage. Yana was able to land many, many strikes from the bottom and was awarded the victory. A logical next fight for her would be the only other woman to defeat Vieira, Irene Aldana. Aldana was awarded a number one contender fight with Holly Holm after knocking out Vieira, but lost a decision. She is currently ranked #4 and would be a reasonable next step for Yana after beaten #6 Vieira. The winner of this fight would most likely only have one more win before a shot at the Champ.

Ketlen Vieira vs Winner of Marion Reneau vs Macy Chiasson

(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)

I personally thought Ketlen Vieira won on Saturday night. She controlled most of the fight and was dominant throughout the first. Her ability to use her big frame allows her to control position grappling very well. Yana Kunitskaya struggled to get her off her back or escape to the feet for 10 minutes of the fight. With a loss like that, I don’t think Ketlen should have to move too far down in the rankings. #9 Marion Reneau and #10 Macy Chiasson are set to fight on March 20th. The winner of that matchup facing off with Vieira would serve the rankings well, as Ketlen will most likely fall to #7 with the loss. It could be a good opportunity for her to get a bounce back win, or a big win for a rising face in the division.

Darrick Minner vs Seung Woo Choi

(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)

Darrick Minner secured his most impressive win to date with a unanimous decision victory over Charles Rosa. Minner, who is known for more of an action packed style, controlled Rosa on the ground and fought off submissions most of the fight. He was able to take down Rosa at will and not allow him to get off any offense. He isn’t really close to a ranked opponent yet, so Seung Woo Choi could serve as another fan friendly bout. Choi is coming off an impressive win over prospect Yousseff Zalal in February. It lines up with the timeline of each man’s career and would allow one to continue towards a ranking.

Charles Rosa vs Jonathan Pearce

(johnsoncitypress.com)

Charles Rosa wasn’t able to continue his climb in the featherweight division Saturday night. Rosa didn’t ever have a chance to get going against Darrick Minner. He is no stranger to young up and comers, and I think he’ll draw another one in his next fight. Jonathan Pearce seems like a good one to pick. Pearce was thrown into a fight with Joe Lauzon after picking up a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. Lauzon, the long time vet, was able to handle Pearce and win in the first round. But Lauzon is a tough test for anyone. Pearce turned it around with an impressive with over Kai Kamaka in November. A matchup with Rosa could give Pearce a push he needs to start collecting bigger names. A win over Pearce would allow Rosa to keep his position among the veteran mainstays of the division.

Chris Daukaus vs Tom Aspinall

(USA TODAY Sports)

Let’s kill two birds with one stone here. Tom Aspinall choked out Andrei Arlovski in the 2nd round on Saturday night. He then called out the winner of Aleksei Oleinik and Chris Daukaus, who would be fighting about an hour later. Daukaus put on his best performance to date and finished the #10 ranked Oleinik in less than 2 minutes. This fight basically made itself and makes sense for both men. They are probably the two hottest prospects in the division, and there’s only room for one. That might’ve sounded corny, but it’s true. The Heavyweight division moves slower than Mario Yamasaki stopping a fight. The winner would push their ticket into the top 10 and could be seen as the next big thing at Heavyweight.

Aleksei Oleinik vs Sergey Spivak

(fanduel.com)

I refuse to say that Aleksei Oleinik should retire. He made his debut before I was even born and has almost 60 professional wins. If he wants to keep going, we should let him. A decent fight for him at this point could be Sergey Spivak. Spivak also fought on Saturday night, opening up the prelims with a vicious TKO victory over Jared Vanderaa. He debuted in the UFC as an undefeated prospect, but has lost his most high profiles fights to Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura. He is currently on a 2 fight winning streak and a fight with Oleinik could allow him to finally get a win over a ranked opponent. If Aleksei pulls it off, he shows that he can still hang with the younger lions at Heavyweight.

Phil Hawes vs Joaquin Buckley

(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)

This fight would be absolutely crazy. The weigh in would be absolutely crazy. The stare down would be absolutely crazy. This fight is a battle of two of Dana’s newest favs. Phil Hawes is now 2-0 in the UFC after a Majority Decision win over Nassourdine Imavov Saturday night. Hawes was able to control the fight on the feet and in the clinch for the first two rounds. In the third, he was completely gassed and got beat up badly by Imavov. One judge scored the last round 10-8 for Imavov, which caused the Majority Decision. After a lackluster win like that, a step up in the rankings doesn’t make a ton of sense. But facing Joaquin Buckley does. Buckley blew up over the summer after he secured the Knockout of the Year with a jump, spinning back kick thing that turned Impa Kasanganay’s lights out. It also got turned into a Kanye music video. Buckley had all the hype in the world, before getting head kick KO’d himself by Alessio Di Chirico in January. These two would put on a show and could fight for Dana affection. If you find me one person would doesn’t love this fight, I’ll fight THEM.

Nassourdine Imavov vs Impa Kasanganay

(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)

Now this is just poetic justice. I guess. Impa Kasanganay hasn’t fought since being on the wrong side of the Buckley KO of the Year. He showed promise in his first UFC and his appearance on the Contender Series. Imavov had a similar kind of hype going into last night’s fight. The winner of this fight would remain a hot prospect in the division despite their recent losses. It’s also just a fun fight that would see two talented strikers bang it out.

Tom Aspinall vs Chris Daukaus

Already covered it people…

Andrei Arlovski vs Maurice Green

(Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Andrei Arlovski is certainly at the tail end of his career, but he doesn’t look ready to retire just yet. Even in his loss to Tom Aspinall, Arlovski looked competitive throughout moments of the 1st round. He landed clean shots and still looked to have a bit of quickness in his game. A fight with “The Crochet Boss” Maurice Green could be a crossroads for both men. Green has been back and forth since coming off The Ultimate Fighter. He is 4-3 in the UFC and has lost 3 of his last 4. A loss to Arlovski could lead to greener, PFL or Bellator like, pastures for Green. A win for Green could finally mark the end of a legendary career for Arlovski.