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UFC 298 was a sneaky good pay-per-view card. The main event saw the featherweight title change hands for the first time in years, opening up so many potential title fights that have never been done before. Lower on the card, numerous matchups sparked a conversation about potential high-profile matchups for the future. And some early UFC careers developed on the prelims as well.
From the Fights To Make perspective of things, there’s so much to cover. Join us as we discuss the top names coming out of this weekend and who they should fight next.
Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria is still undefeated and, most importantly, your new UFC Featherweight Champion. With a new king at featherweight, there’s a whole load of options that we can explore for the first time.
There are so many possibilities for Topuria’s next matchup now that he is a featherweight champ. If Volkanovski won this weekend, we’d likely be discussing what rematch he has to give out next. But with Topuria, there’s a ton of potential pairings that we have never seen before.
The issue is, it’s currently a tough logistical period for featherweight. Many top contenders in the division are tied up in high-profile matchups, making it hard to boil things down to one person for now. I am currently looking at three names who I think could be in the mix for the next shot.
The first potential challenger is Max Holloway. The past few years have been tough for Holloway, as he has beaten everyone that the UFC has put in front of him, except for Volkanovski. At featherweight, the last loss that Holloway took that wasn’t from Volkanovski was against Conor McGregor in 2013. His other loss outside of his rivalry was a lightweight defeat against Dustin Poirier in 2019.
Apart from title fights, it’s been all success for the former champ. Holloway has won four of his last five fights, with all victories being in UFC main events. Last year, he beat Arnold Allen and The Korean Zombie. He’s ranked first place at featherweight, which along with his recent track record of wins makes him a solid contender.
That’s a pretty solid record, but there’s a catch. Holloway is currently booked for UFC 300 in a lightweight fight against Justin Gaethje. The assumption is that the fight will be a one-off, meaning Holloway is still in the featherweight title discussion. But here’s the deal: Holloway and Gaethje are violent dudes. I have a feeling that their fight at UFC 300 could put them both on the shelf for a while.
As much as some people like that matchup, part of me wishes it wouldn’t happen so that Holloway can go right to a new title opportunity. I don’t know what type of turnaround Topuria wants, but I have a feeling he might have to wait sometime if Holloway is next.
So, to help with this, I think a backup plan should be in place. If Holloway has to take a lengthy amount of time off after UFC 300, Topuria should face the winner of next week’s featherweight battle between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega. They are both trying to get back to their winning ways after losing title fights to Volkanovski.
Holloway is, right now, my main choice. But if that can’t happen, there is no shortage of other challengers that can be lined up for Topuria. In the coming weeks, we will likely have a better idea of how this will play out.
Alexander Volkanovski
The dominant reign of Alexander Volkanovski has come to an end. After a brutal second-round finish, he is no longer the UFC Featherweight Champion. It’s a tough pill to swallow for some, as he has gained a strong fanbase through his numerous years of control over an incredibly competitive division.
Volkanovski was one of the most dominant UFC champions in recent years. He held his title since 2019, which is hard to process considering how many reigns in other divisions we have seen come and go within that time. But, now that it’s over, we must figure out what’s next.
After his stoppage loss on Saturday night, Volkanovski threw out the possibility of facing Topuria in a rematch. To be honest, I am not a fan of this idea. Along with his short-notice loss to Islam Makhachev last year, Volkanovski has been finished two times within six months. While he undoubtedly had a dominant reign at featherweight, it feels cruel to throw him in there with a top fighter who just flattened him.
There are two things that I want for Volkanovski. Firstly and most importantly, I want him to take some time off. He has been a total workhorse facing some of the toughest names at 145 pounds for years. After losing three of his past five and suffering a pair of tough finishes, I think it would be valuable for him to remain out of the cage for a little longer than he’s accustomed to.
A counterpoint to that might be the fact that he’s 35 years old. Here’s how I look at it: Volkanovski can either return sometime in the next six months or lose that time due to taking a break. Which has a higher chance of doing more damage to his career? I’d argue the former.
What’s next for him is hard to determine, especially if we’re going to give him time off. When he comes back, I want him to face a name who is arguably one win away from a title shot. Right now, I look at someone like Movsar Evloev as that. Evloev has wins over names like Arnold Allen and Dan Ige, but it feels like he just needs a little bit of an extra push before getting a title opportunity.
This is not to say that Volkanovski should face Evloev next, as like I said, the landscape of the division could completely change by the time he’s back in action. But, someone who is in his position — a fighter on their way to a title shot looking for a meaningful win — is who I would want Volkanovski to face.
It’s honestly challenging to find the right opponent for a fighter like Volkanovski after suffering such a brutal loss this weekend. I hope that before he puts any more thought into who he could face next, he steps aside and makes sure he is truly ready to compete again.
Robert Whittaker
Don’t count Robert Whittaker out just yet! The former UFC Middleweight Champion had a solid performance against the returning Paulo Costa in Saturday’s co-main event to earn a decision nod.
After his victory, Whittaker declared his intentions to fight in a rematch against middleweight title holder Dricus Du Plessis. Most will remember that Du Plessis finished him in a fight last year before becoming a champion in January. While that’s certainly a matchup that could happen in the future, I don’t think that’s the Fight To Make for him at the moment. Costa is a ranked name at middleweight, but he’s also someone who has only won one fight in years. Credit is due to Whittaker for the quality of his performance, but I don’t believe it gives him a title shot next.
Despite the fight between Du Plessis and Sean Strickland being close on scorecards last month, comments from Dana White suggest that the promotion won’t be running the fight match. This opens up the opportunity for Strickland potentially facing Whittaker next. This would be a solid title eliminator fight: Strickland can get a second title shot after narrowly losing his first one, or Whittaker can earn his second consecutive victory against a high-ranked name at 185 pounds.
It’s somewhat hard to tell what UFC is hoping to do at middleweight next. Where will Israel Adesanya get placed when he returns? What if UFC changes their mind on a Du Plessis and Strickland rematch? And how highly will they value Whittaker’s win this weekend? There are so many possible opportunities, and I’m having trouble predicting which direction they will go.
Ian Machado Garry
Ian Machado Garry’s rise at welterweight continued with a sleepy victory over Geoff Neal. Machado Garry is currently ranked 10th at welterweight and is expected to move even higher up the standings after his seventh win in the promotion.
Machado Garry already has his sights set on who he wants next, and that’s Colby Covington. After his fight on Saturday, Machado Garry called out the fighter, who is coming off a title fight loss to Leon Edwards from late last year.
While the optics of defeating a former UFC champion are great, Covington doesn’t seem like a big win for him. Covington has lost a lot of his big fights, and his most recent wins — beating Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal — haven’t aged too well. Seven fights deep into his UFC career, I want Machado Garry to get a better challenge than that. He has built himself up against more experienced fighters who have floated around the rankings for a while, like Neal and Neil Magny. Now, I want him to face someone who is similarly on the rise.
I feel like Sean Brady would be a good next opponent for Machado Garry. Brady was scheduled to face Vicente Luque next month but had to pull out of their five-round fight due to bursitis. Brady’s sole UFC loss was against Belal Muhammad, who is one of the top names in the division. He’s currently coming off a win from December 2023 over Kelvin Gastelum. Brady and Machado Garry are both around similar points in their careers, making this an interesting fight.
I get that Covington has the clout and the experience in title fights. However, I simply think that he is not the one for Machado Garry. For Covington, I’m sticking with the potential fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov that I suggested last year.
Merab Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili added yet another quality win to his record on Saturday night, making it clearer than ever what should be next for him. Allow me to make the easiest business pitch ever and say that Dvalishvili should be up next for a title shot at bantamweight after Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera battle at UFC 299 next month.
Dvalishvili has put together 10 consecutive UFC victories since 2018, and the last few performances have been big wins. Before his competitive but impressive victory against Cejudo this weekend, he beat Petr Yan in a five-round fight, went three against Jose Aldo, and finished Marlon Moraes.
Dvalishvili is ranked second at bantamweight, but he’s practically first when you consider that top-ranked Aljamain Sterling is moving up to featherweight in April. He’s the only fighter in the top five that has never been booked for a UFC title bout.
This should be an easy decision to make. Barring any wild circumstances, I expect Dvalishvili to be challenging the bantamweight champion sometime later this year.
Anthony Hernandez
UFC put a real crossroads matchup in the opening slot of the main card, as Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov faced off. Heading into this fight, they were both on winning streaks and hovering around the top 15 at middleweight. It was Hernandez who kept his momentum going in the division, eventually landing a takedown to submit Kopylov in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
I believe that Hernandez is an incredibly underrated name at 185 pounds. He has put together five consecutive wins since 2021, including four via finish. Along with his Kopylov performance, I place a lot of value in his victories over Marc-Andre Barriault and Rodolfo Vieira. I want to give him a bit of a push up the middleweight rankings with a matchup that I feel he is ready for.
Roman Dolidze is currently ranked ninth place in the division, six spots above where Hernandez is at the moment. However, he’s coming off a pair of high-profile losses over the past year. In 2023, he dropped a decision to former title challenger Marvin Vettori. And just a few weeks back, a five-round majority decision went to Nassourdine Imavov over him.
Just like it’s time for Dolidze to take a step down in competition, it’s also arguably time for Hernandez to take a step up. This is a bit of a challenge for Hernandez, but it’s arguably justified after he picked up yet another finish victory over someone who was considered at the same level as him. Let’s see if he could crack the top 10 against a guy like Dolidze, shall we?
Amanda Lemos
It wasn’t easy, but Amanda Lemos returned to the win column with a victory over Mackenzie Dern on Saturday. Lemos showcased some impressive striking, but it came against an incredibly tough and game opponent.
Lemos had a much more interesting matchup for this card initially. She was previously booked to face Tatiana Suarez, an undefeated contender who is ranked second in the division. However, Suarez had to withdraw. It was a fight that could have set Suarez up to challenge for the belt next.
The victory on Saturday was a bounce-back performance for Lemos after losing a title fight to incumbent strawweight champion Zhang Weili last year. The championship fight in 2023 was incredibly one-sided, with Lemos winning just one round on one of the three judges scoring the bout. This is to say, despite Lemos sitting third in the division, I don’t think it’s fair to line her up with a title shot next. Not until we see her get a few wins and show some real dominance against other contenders.
I think UFC should look to re-book the matchup between Suarez and Lemos. I feared that Suarez’s injury would keep her sidelined for a long time like some of her past setbacks have. But an interview from earlier this month makes it sound like she’s already easing herself back into training.
Suarez is the best non-title fight matchup for Lemos. She’s also one of the few high-up opponents that Lemos hasn’t already faced. I briefly looked at an upcoming fight between Jessica Andrade and Marina Rodriguez for a possible next opponent that Lemos could face, then remembered they have both faced her quite recently.
Suarez is a fresh matchup for Lemos, it’s the highest-ranked name she could go up against, and it seems like it could be done sometime this year. Let’s go for it.
Rinya Nakamura
Rinya Nakamura kept his undefeated record intact this weekend, as expected. He dominated short-notice opponent Carlos Vera, who oddsmakers considered a massive underdog. Nakamura’s record now includes two UFC wins, three victories from the “Road To UFC” tournament, and four Japanese regional bouts. That’s not a bad resume, considering he only debuted in 2021.
Nakamura is a promising fighter inside one of the deeper divisions in the UFC. Frustratingly, he hasn’t faced any solid names in the promotion so far. He was a massive favorite against Fernie Garcia and was once again this weekend. It’s worth remembering that this recent matchup was partially due to circumstance, as original opponent Brady Hiestand had to withdraw.
But after picking up a couple of dominant, one-sided victories and running through the “Road To UFC” tournament with a trio of first-round finishes, I want to see what Nakamura can do against a step-up challenge. I want a more tenured fighter on somewhat of a run to face him next.
A good next opponent could be Montel Jackson. The 31-year-old has won seven of his nine UFC fights and is currently on a three-bout run of wins since 2021. He just beat a real veteran last year, stopping Rani Yahya in the first round.
Nakamura’s performances against low-tier bantamweights prove to me that he’s ready for a bigger challenge. While it might be a big step up in competition, a fight against Jackson is truly what I think would work for Nakamura at this point in his career. If you think it’s too early for him to face someone at the level of Jackson that’s fine, but even then I’d argue he’s probably one win away from a fight like this.
Zhang Mingyang
China now has a light heavyweight to root for, and his name is Zhang Mingyang. The “Road To UFC” alum won his debut with a nasty first-round finish win against Brendson Ribeiro. Finishing is the name of the game for Zhang, as all 17 of his pro wins have come that way in the first round (yes, really).
Over at Fights To Make, we love hearing about a matchup that a winner wants. After all, sometimes they have great ideas! So, Zhang, who do you want? What’s that? You want UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira in the co-main event of UFC 300? Okay, well. As much as I appreciate your optimism, that’s not happening.
Heading into this weekend, I watched a great video analyzing Zhang that is worth considering after his performance on Saturday. This video by MMA Ecosystem mentions how while he has lots of wins, Zhang has beaten a lot of low-level competition in quick wins. And because of that, it’s hard to gauge where his skill level is. His win this weekend was just under two minutes, not giving us that much more to work with.
Despite Zhang’s title opportunity wishes, I want him to slowly build up. Instead of giving him a more experienced name higher in the ranks, I think it would be good to match him with another fighter that is similar to the one he faced this weekend, putting him against a newer name in the UFC that is low on the food chain. While his record of more than 20 fights might make you want to rush him up the ranks quicker, it’s worth remembering he’s still 25. He has time.
I think Bogdan Guskov would be a neat next opponent for Zhang. Guskov picked up his first UFC victory just over a week ago, stopping Zac Pauga in the first round. He lost his promotional debut before then, getting the tough assignment of Volkan Oezdemir in 2023. Guskov is, similar to Zhang, a fighter who gets his opponents out of the cage early.
This would be a potentially explosive matchup between two finishers. A win would help build up either of their careers and maybe help get Zhang closer to the fight against Pereira that he wants. Also, while the record of both fighters suggests neither of them would get a whole lot more cage time, it would probably be a fan-favorite fight.
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