Matches To Make After UFC 260

UFC 260 went down last night (Sat. March 27) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Francis Ngannou brutally knockout Stipe Miocic to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight title (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Vicente Luque handed Tyron Woodley his fourth straight loss after submitting him in the very first round (video replay here).

Winner: Francis Ngannou

Who He Should Face Next: Jon Jones, but it will likely be Derrick Lewis

Jon Jones has stated he will fight Ngannou if Dana White and Co. pony up the cash to do so. But according to White’s statements post-fight, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. And it’s a shame, too, because this 265-pound title fight could be one of the biggest ever for the promotion. Should all sides not come to an agreement, then Derrick Lewis is the next man up. “The Predator” and “Black Beast initially threw down at UFC 226 in 2018 which saw Lewis win a very lackluster decision. Now, the two have a chance to make it right and give fight fans the epic war we all expected.

Winner: Vicente Luque

Who He Should Face Next: Michael Chiesa

Luque picked up his third straight win, giving him nine victories in his last 10 outings. With a record like that I don’t understand how he sit at No. 10 in the rankings, he needs to be higher. A fight against Chiesa seems logical because “Maverick” currently sits at No. 5, one spot ahead of Woodley. Chiesa has won four in a row so putting these two streaking Welterweights against one another seems to make sense. Luque has long been one of the best fighters at 170 pounds, a win over Chiesa will definitely give him a bigger share of the spotlight and get him closer to his first ever shot at the title.

Winner: Sean O’Malley

Who He Should Face Next: Marlon Vera rematch

Why not book O’Malley vs Vera again? “Chito” has a win over “Suga” which is obviously still bothering O’Malley seeing as how an injury aided to the defeat. While Vera has since gone on to lose to Jose Aldo and O’Malley pick up a win over Thomas Almeida, the match up makes sense because you can’t give “Suga” anyone ranked ahead of Vera — who sits at 15. It’s a chance for Marlon to silence O’Malley once and for all, or it gives “Suga” the opportunity to prove that the first victory was indeed “luck.”

Winner: Miranda Maverick

Who He Should Face Next: Maycee Barber

Maverick picked up her second straight win inside the Octagon giving her five wins in a row overall. Since she just beat the No. 15 ranked fighter in Gillian Robertson, she could very well take her spot on the rankings. Up next for Maverick should be a fight against Barber. Once touted as a future contender, Barber has suffered back-to-back losses. That said, she is still ranked No. 14. I’m usually not a big fan of pitting a winning fighter against someone who has struggles as of late, I like this fight because it gives Maverick a chance to take out someone with a decent name and someone who is ranked. On the flip side, it gives “The Future” the chance to turn it around against a streaking fighter.

Winner: Jamie Mullarky

Who She Should Face Next: Leonardo Santos

Mullarky snapped his two fight skid and picked up the first win of his UFC career after knocking out Khama Worthy in the very first round. As for Santos, he recently saw his six fight win streak go up in smoke at the hands of Grant Dawson at UFC Vegas 22. While Santo’s has done enough to garner a lot of the UFC spotlight over the last seven years, he would still be a good notch to have on Mullarky’s belt.

For complete UFC 260 results and coverage click here.