The UFC made its 25th Anniversary trip to Denver, Colorado tonight, and the show completely delivered. Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and everyone else that competed in the first UFC event would be extremely proud of the action that ensued tonight. However, while we all want to enjoy the violence we witnessed tonight, there are still many elite fighters that need opponents, and I think I have a few ideas.
Luis Peña vs. Julian Erosa
Despite the immense hype that surrounded “Violent Bob Ross” Luis Peña, he came up short against TUF 27 winner Michael Trizano. While he did have his moments in the fight, he just wasn’t able to put it all together mentally, and suffered his first professional loss because of it. Taking a fight against Julian Erosa, someone who also suffered a loss tonight, could be a way to decide who has a future in the UFC.
Michael Trizano vs. Davi Ramos
Michael Trizano finally proved that he deserves the title of The Ultimate Fighter, and with that will come even more people who want to challenge him. Davi Ramos scored a huge submission win over one of Trizano’s former opponents tonight, and with him already calling out Khabib Nurmagomedov, fighting Mike Trizano could be a good place for his title run to start. This would be a clash of styles that would make Royce Gracie and Gerard Gordeau blush, and I would love to see which of these two men are championship material.
Hannah Cifers vs. Amanda Cooper
Hannah Cifers got absolutely demolished by Maycee Barber in her UFC debut, but that doesn’t meant that she is not a world-class fighter. Cifers actually hurt Barber on a couple of occasions, and proved that she has what it takes to fight in the big show. Amanda Cooper also lost on the prelims earlier in the night, so pitting these two ferocious women against each other could prove to make for an epic battle.
Maycee Barber vs. Mackenzie Dern
Maycee Barber’s nickname is “The Future,” and she certainly held true to that tonight. It’s not very often that you see such a violent knockout in the lightest UFC weight class, which makes Barber a special athlete already. After the biggest win of her career, she called out Mackenzie Dern in her interview, and I think that she should be granted that opportunity.
Thiago Moises vs. John Gunther
Thiago Moises had a tough outing in his UFC debut, but that could just be because of the level of competition. Beneil Dariush is one of the most seasoned veterans in the Lightweight division, and Moises just wasn’t ready for that kind of athlete. John Gunther also suffered his first UFC loss in Denver, so matching the two men up could provide the matchmakers with the information needed to determine who is world-class and who is not.
Beneil Dariush vs. Devonte Smith
Beneil Dariush was able to grind out a dominate victory over UFC newcomer Thiago Moises, but he did so by playing it safe every step of the way. He wouldn’t be able to do that against Devonte Smith. Smith proved tonight that he has some extremely heavy hands, and I would love to see him test those against the elite of the division.
Raquel Pennington vs. Tonya Evinger
Raquel Pennington lost her second fight in a row in her hometown tonight, on top of missing weight. Because of her weight miss, I think that she should test the waters up a division, and who better to welcome her than former Featherweight title challenger Tonya Evinger? There is no telling what has attributed to Pennington’s losing streak, but I think that a change in weight could be positive for her future.
Germaine de Randamie vs. Amanda Nunes
Germaine de Randamie is a former champion and one of the best fighters in the world, and I think she has done enough to deserve another title shot. Whether Amanda Nunes beats Cris Cyborg at the end of the year, or she remains the Bantamweight champion, I think that de Randamie can challenge her at either weight. While I am not a fan of how de Randamie conducts her business, she is still an extremely talented athlete, and she has a chance to dethrone the dominate Amanda Nunes.
Mike Perry vs. Niko Price
Mike Perry vs. Niko Price is a fight that I have wanted to see ever since both men made their debuts, and I think that it’s time for it to happen. Both fighters like to throw heavy leather, and both guys have an underrated ground game as well. While Price is coming off of a win and Perry is coming off of a loss, it would still be one of the best matchups to make in the Welterweight division.
Donald Cerrone vs. Alexander Hernandez
Although Cowboy Cerrone bounced back at Welterweight tonight in order to make UFC history, he expressed interest in moving back down to Lightweight. As the number 12 ranked fighter in the division, it only makes sense for him to draw the number 12 Lightweight in the world, and that is Alexander Hernandez. This is a classic old school vs. new school matchup, and I would love to see which knockout artist prevails.
The Korean Zombie vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
The Korean Zombie took part in one of the best fights I have ever seen, and was winning the fight comfortably until Yair Rodriguez caught him with the most ridiculous elbow ever thrown. I don’t want to take anything away from Rodriguez, but Zombie proved that he had the better all around skills tonight, and he deserves another ranked opponent after this. Zabit Magomedsharipov is somebody that everyone has wanted to see Yair fight, but I think that it would make more sense for him to fight a lower ranked opponent, and there is no guarantee that he would be able to catch Jung with the same elbow.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Jose Aldo
Yair Rodriguez has been a dark horse in the Featherweight division ever since he lost to Frankie Edgar, but he proved tonight that he has what it takes to fight for the belt one day. In order to do that, he would have to go through Jose Aldo. Aldo has pretty much run out of opponents, so fighting a young stud like Rodriguez makes sense for him as well, and this could be the fight that potentially gets Yair a title shot.
