Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 67

UFC Vegas 67 went down last night (Sat, Jan 14, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Light Heavyweight bout that saw Sean Strickland outpoint Nassourdine Imavov via unanimous decision. In the co-headlining act, Dan Ige got back into the win column in a big way by knocking out Damon Jackson.

Winner: Sean Strickland

Who He Should Face Next: Andre Muniz

I honestly struggles to find a good fight for Strickland. He is ranked no. 7 but he hasn’t been fighting like a Top 10 fighter as of late, to be honest. That said, I can’t justify pairing him up with someone ranked ahead of him at the moment. Muniz, meanwhile, would be a good challenge for Strikckland becase e is ranked No. 11 at the moment and has won all five fights inside the Octagon. it might seem like an odd pairing but it’s the best I could come up with, so, please give me your best options below.

Winner: Dan Ige

Who He Should Face Next: Bryce Mitchell

Look, I get that we all thought Mitchell was going to be a title contender, and he very well could be, but he suffered a huge setback after Ilia Topuria dominated him at UFC 282 this past December. So since he is coming off a loss and is ranked No. 11 and Ige — ranked No. 13 — is fresh off a win, let’s pair them up to see what’s what. Mitchell can get back on track with a huge win over a legit vet, while Ige can build off his momentum following a huge knockout win.

Winner: Roman Kopylov

Who He Should Face Next: Michał Oleksiejczuk

Kopylov picked up his second straight win thanks to a TKO win over Punahele Soriano, bringing him to an even 2-2 inside the Octagon. A fight against Oleksiejczuk makes sense, since he is fresh off a win over Cody Brundage last month. Oleksiejczuk has had trouble finding enough consistency inside the Octagon, so a win over Kopylov would be a nice notch on his belt. If Kopylov cant take out Oleksiejczuk it would be his first three-fight win streak in over four years.

Winner: Raquel Pennington

Who He Should Face Next: Julianna Pena

Pennington ended Ketle Vieira’s hopes of fighting for the Bantamweight title next, all while picking up her fifth straight win. When we look at the field in the womne’s 135-pound division, it isn’t too farfetched to believe Pennington can get a shot at the title, or a title eliminator fight against Julianna Pena. She just beat No. 2, Holly Holm — ranked no. 3 — is coming off a loss, while Aldana (No. 4) is on a two-fight win streak compared to “Rocky’s” five in a row. I think all we can do is wait to see how it all plays out at the top, but putting her up against Pena — who is trying o lock down a trilogy fight with Nunes — makes sense.

Winner: Umar Nurmagomedov

Who He Should Face Next: Ricky Simon

Nurmagomedov made quick work of Raoni Barcelos, knocking him out in the very first round to improve his record to 16-0. 4-0 inside the Octagon. He will surely crack the Top 10 this week, which means bigger and better opportunities. Up next, a fight against Simon seems ideal since he is currently occupying the No. 10 spot and is on a five-fight win streak. Simon already stopped the momentum of one surging contender in Jack Shore, so doing the same to Nurmagomedov would be huge for his career.

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