UFC 274 may have ended in a bang, but there was a lot of whining along the way. Charles Oliveira made it clear that without a belt or not, he is still the king of the lightweight category. Meanwhile, Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas staged one of the worst title fights in UFC history. And while Michael Chandler has won the most important knockout of all time, he carries a serious sense of apprehension about Tony Ferguson’s ongoing MMA career.
So will Oliveira or Chandler win the battle with Connor McGregor they are looking for? Will the UFC ever consider reserving Namayunas against Esparza for the third time? Did Brandon Royval just throw himself into the circle of contenders for the flyweight title?
To answer these questions – and much more – I will use the classic methodology for booking Silva / Shelby battles from the UFC from previous years. This means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers and similarly retained talents against each other. Hopefully, following this pattern, some of these fighting ideas will really come out of the page and into the octagon. Now let’s move on to the battles!
CHARLES OLIVER
Another tough battle, another decisive victory for Charles Oliveira. At this point, the injury and demolition seem more like a death sentence for his opponent than a sign that the Do Bronx itself may be in trouble. It has become a huge advantage for him to be lying on his back on the carpet, slightly dizzy, carries exactly zero threat of someone chasing him with subsequent blows – no matter how big a hitter he is.
After scoring his 11th straight victory, Oliveira did something like a no-call call to Connor McGregor. I understand that the “red pants night” thing still has an impact on light and light heavyweight fighters. But I would be lying if I said that I feel like any reasonable reservation. Lately, McGregor seems less of a dangerous contender for the title. Although he may not have the restrained appeal of a fight between McGregor / Getji / Poirier, Islam Makhachev does look like a top contender for the lightweight title right now, especially after Dariusz was recently injured. It is also as close as possible to the battle between Habib / Oliveira, which we would all like to see. Charles Oliveira against Islam Mahachev is the battle for the lightweight title.
Justin Gate
With all that said, Justin Gage got exactly the battle he needed. Fast pace, chaotic, many possibilities for exchange in your pocket. Charles Oliveira just did better. Once the ‘Do Bronx’ starts spinning, there is no safe place to hide, no way out of the constant pressure he can insist on. It is dangerous from a distance, it is dangerous in the pocket, dangerous in the clinch and dangerous on the carpet. Getty himself is extremely aggressive, but there were places where Oliveira could take him that Gate didn’t want to go to. The same cannot be said for the (undressed) champion.
There is still no doubt, however, that Highlight is a big problem for anyone who decides to enter the octagon against him, and he still has a lot of fun battles to endure. A reservation of Rafael Fiziev and Rafael dos Agnos is forthcoming, the winner would be a great match for Getty – especially if it happens to be Fiziev. Dustin Poirier’s rematch would not be a bad idea either, given that both men come out of the same defeat. The other option I see is a fight against Beneil Dariusz when he returns from injury. Since I don’t know when that will be, I will say that Gaethje against Poirier 2 is the best reservation for both men at the moment.
CARL ESPARS
Carla Esparza is a UFC champion again, I guess. What a miserable, god awful, painful performance in a title fight, not only for her, but for Rose Namayunas. What’s worse is that it kills absolutely any interest in seeing any kind of trilogy, to make up for the complete lack of battle they just had. More than anything else, however, this means that the upcoming battle between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk is definitely not. 1 contender’s fight. The winner of this battle must be next in line for the title. Carla Esparza vs. Weili Zhang / Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2 is the only title fight that can be done.
ROSE NAMAYUNAS
I have no idea what was going through Namajunas’ head. Every time she actually led the battle to Esparza, she seemed to come out with a solid attack. But she did it with so little frequency that the judges could not see a way to give her victory. A miserable performance by her in a battle she was usually expected to go through. Jessica Andrade has just won a big victory. It’s time for a trilogy. Andrade against Namajunas 3 will at least guarantee some action. Either that, or the loser from Zhang against Jejejczyk.
MICHAEL CHANDLER
A crushing knockout for Michael Chandler after a rougher than expected first round against Ferguson. He unlocked the kind of frontal blow you’d expect to see in a Chuck Norris movie; a full field goal that blew Ferguson’s soul into the astral plane. After the victory, Chander had no shortage of calls. Most of all, he called for a rematch with either Charles Oliveira or Justin Getzhi, whoever comes out of the main event with a belt around his waist. But if that doesn’t happen, he has prepared a temporary call for a fight with Conor McGregor in the welterweight division. I don’t know if McGregor wants some of this, but I’d like to see him take it if he wants to. Otherwise, the obvious battle would be against Islam Mahachev (or the winner Mahachev / Dariusz if the UFC wants to go that way). I will say that the UFC should stick to the idea of McGregor, because it seems like a really fun reservation. Otherwise, if the UFC still gives a chance for the title of ‘Notorious’, record Chandler against Mahachev only because of the chaos in the fight.
RANDY BRAVAN
It wasn’t a clear victory that Brown could have hoped for, but he overcame some very bad spots to take over most of the match with his smooth range kicks and powerful clinch knees. A tough decision that sees ‘Rude Boy’ in three straight wins and is probably moving towards a higher profile. It could be a fight against Alex Morono or maybe Lee Jingliang, but I like the idea of a match against Gunnar Nelson. Nelson was once one of the best prospects in the welterweight division. Time and a few losses have obscured this somewhat, but he has recently made a strong comeback, taking control of Takashi Sato. Brown may not be something like Gunni’s grapple level, but it also offers a whole different set of technical issues than Nelson’s last encounter. It seems like a good way to see if Brown can climb to the top 15 and a great way to keep testing Nelson to see if he’s ready for another run. Nelson vs. Brown feels like a great test for both men.
FRANCISCO TRINALDO
I don’t care if it’s a magic potion, a deal with the devil or just a series of fitness DVDs, Francisco Trinaldo has to reveal to the world his anti-aging secret. Below the middleweight category, fighters don’t have to stay so competitive so late in their careers. But here he is at the age of 43, absolutely taking every round of Danny Roberts at a UFC event in 2022. A great win for him that should make everyone prepare to see him in another action game. And while I can list a bunch of different options, from guys like Tim Mines and Matt Brown to fighters like Munir Lazez and Sergei Hondozhko, there’s one guy I absolutely want to see Trinaldo’s face with. Alex Morono has built his place as an exciting action talent in the middle of 170 lbs of cards, the battle between him and ‘Massaranduba’ looks guaranteed fun. Morono against Trinaldo is just such a battle that I have to see both of them.
BRANDON ROYVEL
When Brandon Royval wins a battle, few athletes are more fun to watch. The man thrives in chaos, accelerating the pace that even other flycatchers find stressful. He can make many mistakes on his way to victory, but he will snatch just as many of his opponents. Matt Schnell had a chance to win, but when he left his door outside for Royval, ‘Raw Dog’ rushed at him.
This brings the Factory X fighter back to two straight wins after several heavy losses and should put him on the line for another battle in the top 5 in the flyweight category. He asked for a chance for the title, but I would like to see him another victory. Unfortunately for him, two of them above him are the ones who gave him these consecutive losses. Assuming that the UFC still continues with Moreno against Figueredo 4 and that Kara-France is still next in line, Askar Askarov and Alex Perez will face off. The winner of this battle will make an excellent match for a top contender for the crown. Royval against the winner Askarov / Perez looks like the best available next match.
ANDRE FIALO
For a minute or two, it seemed that Cameron VanCamp had the right ideas to face Andre Fialo. Remarkably, he continued to lure the Portuguese fighter into a wild exchange and find strange angles to hook large hooks. But it would always be a shockingly dangerous plan to play against someone with the strength and rigorous technique that Fialo possesses. One wild exchange too much and VanCamp collapsed on the mat with his chin on his knees. Immediately after the match, Fialho asked the UFC to put him on the upcoming PPV map in Singapore next month, and it seems that his wish has come true. Given the short twist, I will choose him to fight someone who needs to be closer to the battle. It could be Jake Matthews or Song Kenan, but I like Sergei Hondozhko’s idea. He spent a lot of time training at Tiger Muay Thai, it looks like a possible match he could take – and it would be a great action battle. Andre Fialo vs. Sergei Hondozhko will be great.
OTHER TWO: Tony Ferguson vs. …
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