Edgar vs Cruz On Deck?

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

UFC on ESPN 15 went down last night (Sat., Aug. 22, 2020) from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a Bantamweight bout between Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz. After 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, “The Answer” won a split-decision (highlights). In the co-headlining act, Mike Rodriguez knocked out Marcin Prachnio in the very first round to pick up his first win in 1.5 years (see it here).

Winner: Frankie Edgar

Who He Should Fight Next: Dominick Cruz

Edgar made good on his Bantamweight debut by narrowly defeating Pedro Munhoz after five rounds of action. And no, Ali, it wasn’t a good enough win for a title shot. What I do want for “The Answer” next is a match up against former division king, Dominick Cruz. “The Dominator” hasn’t competed since getting knocked out by Henry Cejudo earlier this year. Both he and Edgar are as seasoned as they come and they have some of the best foot work in the business. Two former champions, all-time greats, mixing it up…what’s not to like? A win for either man here could be the fast track back to title contention.

Winner: Mike Rodriguez

WHo He Should Face Next: Ovince Saint Preux

Rodriguez scored an impressive first-round knockout win over Marcin Prachnio in the very first round, giving him a win in his first-ever co-headlining duties. It was a great way to seize the moment for Rodriguez who was bumped up after Ovince Saint Preux was forced to bow out of his fight against Alonzo Menifield. That’s why I feel he deserves a chance to face “OSP” next. The former 205-pound title contender hasn’t exactly looked great as of late, but it would still be a huge notch on Mike’s belt if he can pull of a win.

Winner: Joe Solecki

Who He Should Face Next: Mark Madsen

Solecki is now 2-0 inside the Octagon following his standing rear-naked choke victory over Austin Hubbard. He remains undefeated at 10-0 and has shown much promise in his young combat career. A fight against Madsen sounds appealing given the fact that they both just defeated Hubbard and they are relatively young in their UFC careers, both with two wins a piece. Madsen obviously has the wrestling advantage, but Solecki has a better overall MMA game. It’s an interesting match up that isn’t as easy as it seems to predict.

Winner: Shana Dobson

Who He Should Face Next: Ashley Yoder

Dobson lived to fight another day inside the Octagon after snapping her three-fight losing streak with a win over Mariya Agapova via second round technical knockout (TKO). She shouldn’t expect UFC to roll out the red carpet for her anytime soon, though, since she has a ton of ground to make up following her skid. A fight against Yoder — another struggling combatant with two straight losses — sounds about right. Yoder came up short against Randa Markos and Livia Renata Souza so she needs a win in the worst way. While one win over Dobson won’t raise her stock all that much it will help her keep her spot on the bloated UFC roster.

Winner: Daniel Rodriguez

Who He Should Fight Next: Alan Jouban

Rodriguez has won nine straight and is 3-0 inside the Octagon after defeating Dwight Grant via first-round knockout. Jouban, meanwhile, signed a new UFC deal after losing to, you guessed it, Dwight Grant, over a year ago. Jouban obviously has the experience advantage here but he is just 1-3 in his last four fights dating back to 2017. A fight against Rodriguez might not be the type of name Jouban is looking for, but given his skid he isn’t in the position to be turning down anything.

For complete UFC on ESPN 15 results and coverage click here.