That was a pretty solid night of fights, even if the main event was a bit perplexing. Now that the dust has settled, these are the 5 biggest fights to make coming out of tonight’s card. Disclaimer: I have Volkov, Taira, and Amasov waiting for the outcome of another matchup, so they are not included.
Sean Strickland vs Nassourdine Imavov
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same spot, but that is two top tier specialist champions that Sean has dethroned. I don’t know if I agree with the decision, it was a close fight with plenty of close rounds. But regardless, there is one man who clearly deserves the next shot at the 185 lbs belt. Some argue he deserved this shot tonight. Strickland vs Imavov 2, this time at Middleweight. This time for the belt, let’s go boys.
Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja
Fight of the night, hands down. If it wasn’t then these two men got robbed. With all due respect to the champ, though, he never beat Pantoja. It’s time to run that one back for a proper outcome.
Sean Brady vs Kamaru Usman
What a performance by Brady. Hearing his hometown crowd boo such a dominant win was unfortunate but F them, that was an mma masterclass. Usman is also coming off of a win over Buckley, and is the greatest WW ever not from Canada. This is easily a numbered main card marquee matchup or a fight night main event, book it.
Khamzat Chimaev vs Paulo Costa
Whether it was a bad weight cut, or him underestimating Sean, or both… that certainly looked like the worst version of Khamzat we’ve seen. He could rebound against a middleweight like Borralho or Pyfer, but I actually like those two for a matchup with each other. 205 is wide open right now, I say keep Khamzat busy & check this grudge match off the list in one move. With a win, Khamzat can decide if he wants a chance to get his belt back at 185 or he can move up permanently into a wide open light-heavyweight division.
Ateba Gautier vs Gregory Rodrigues
Time for a shot at a ranking. Admittedly, I am looking at this from a standpoint of who in the top 11-15 will stand & deliver with mini Ngannou. He may walk right into Gautier’s power but this booking feels like the one to make next.
Other Fights To Make:
Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Curtis Blaydes
Joaquin Buckley vs Michael Page
Bobby Green vs Chris Padilla
Jim Miller vs Edson Barboza
Grant Dawson vs Esteban Ribovocs
