Matches To Make After UFC 272

UFC 272 went down last night (Sat., March 5, 2022) in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Colby Covington defeat Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision after months of back-and-forth bickering between the two (see it again here). In the co-main event of the evening, Rafael dos Anjos took on and defeated Renato Moicano to win a unanimous decision (recap here).

Winner: Colby Covington

Who He Should Face Next: Chimaev vs Burns winner

After Covington put Masvidal in his rear-view mirror once and for all following a dominant performance, “Chaos” called for a fight against Dustin Poirier, another one of his former American Top Team (ATT) training partners. The problem with that is, Poirier is a Lightweight and he has never competed at 170 pounds as a pro. And while “Chaos” would love nothing more than to earn his fourth straight win against a former ATT teammate (Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley, Masvidal), I just don’t see UFC going for it. Instead, Covington should focus his attention to the winner of the upcoming fight between Khamzat Chimaev (No. 11) and Gilbert Burns (No. 2). The two are set to throw down at UFC 273 on April 9 and the winner should get a title eliminator fight against Covington, who still ranked No. 1.

Winner: Rafael dos Anjos

Who He Should Face Next: Rafael Fiziev

After “RDA” dominated Renato Moicano after 25 minutes of bloody action, it seems re-booking the Fiziev fight is the only logical step to make. Fiziev was forced out of the fight for the second time, with COVID-19 being the culprit this time around. Booking it in July during “International Fight Week” makes sense. Let’s not overthink this one.

Winner: Bryce Mitchell

Who He Should Face Next: Giga Chikadze

Mitchell improved his record to 15-0, 6-0 UFC by dominating striking sensation Edson Barboza for 15 minutes to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision. The win will likely catapult him into the Top 10, which could set up a nice fight against Chikadze, who is currently ranked No. 8 on the official UFC rankings. Chikadze is coming off a loss, however, losing to Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision. Prior to that, though, Giga had won nine straight, seven inside the Octagon. It’s a good fight for both men and a win would be big whichever way it goes.

Winner: Kevin Holland

Who He Should Face Next: Kyle Daukaus

After picking up his first win in his last four fights, Holland earned some much-needed confidence. What I would love to see next is a rematch against Daukaus. Their first fight ended in a No Contest (NC) following an accidental clash of heads in Oct. 2021. Daukaus is coming off a first-round submission win over Jamie Pickett in February, so their turnaround times should sync up.

Winner: Serghei Spivac

Who He Should Face Next: Walt Harris

Spivac rag-dolled Greg Hardy and stopped him via strikes in the very first round to put himself back into the win column following a 2021 knockout loss at the hands of Tom Aspinall. Despite earning a 5-2 mark inside the Octagon, Spivac can’t seem to lock down a Top 15 ranking. If he can defeat Walt Harris (No. 14), that should do the trick. While Harris is on a three-fight losing streak, he has what Spivac wants at the moment, which is a place among the best 15 big men on the UFC roster.

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For complete UFC 272 results and coverage click here.