Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 73

UFC Vegas 73 went down last night (Sat., May 20, 2023) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a women’s strawweight fight that saw Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill go to war for 25 minutes. In the end, Dern walked away with the unanimous decision win. In the co-main event, Anthony Hernandez knocked out Edmen Shahbazyan in the third round to pick up his fourth straight win (see it again here).

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Winner: Mackenzie Dern

Who She Should Face Next: Jessica Andrade

Dern managed to get back on the winning track after an epic back-and-forth “Fight of the Night”-winning bout against Hill, giving her some much-needed confidence following her loss to Yan Xiaonan. When looking at the 115-pound field, the only fight that makes sense at the moment is Andrade, who is ranked No. 5 and is coming off a tough loss to Xiaonan. Everyone else ranked ahead of Dern has either defeated her, has a fight booked or ranked too high at the moment to justify a matchup. Dern did call for Namajunas next, but I just don’t know if the promotion is willing to book that fight. Then again, judging by these comments anything is possible.

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Winner: Anthony Hernandez

Who He Should Face Next: Trevin Giles

Hernandez picked up a huge win after knocking out Shahbazyan to earn his fourth straight win, and now he’s eying a spot in the Top 15. As for Giles, he has won two straight and is coming off a split-decision win over Preston Parsons this past March. Both hard-hitting middleweights are starting to find their groove and this fight would make for an all-out war.

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Winner: Lupita Godinez

Who She Should Face Next: Michelle Waterson

Godinez picked up her second straight win after out-scoring Emily Ducote in a back-and-forth fight. “Loopy” is now 4-1 in her last five fights. As for Waterson, she has seen better days because ”The Karate Hottie” has now lost her last three. Normally I don’t like matching up streaking fighters against those on skids, but this one makes sense for the fact that Waterson, despite her woes, is still ranked in the Top 15 while Godinez is making her way there. If “Loopy” can hand Waterson her fourth straight defeat, she should be able to take her spot on the rankings, as well.

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Winner: Joaquin Buckley

Who He Should Face Next: Matt Brown

Buckley managed to snap his two-fight losing streak and returned to his highlight-reel making ways after earning a head kick knockout win over Andre Fialho. As for Brown, while he has his eyes on a very unrealistic matchup against Conor McGregor (see why here), I’d love to see a fight between “Immortal” and “New Mansa.” Brown got back on the winning track himself with a knockout win over Court McGee, so both men will be coming in hot with great finishes looking for another.

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Winner: Diego Ferreira

Who He Should Face Next: Christos Giagos

Ferreira returned after a 17-month layoff and snapped his three-fight win streak by scoring a vicious, one-punch knockout win over Michael Johnson in the second round of the opening main card fight. I like a fight against Giagos next because like Ferreira, Giagos recently ended his losing streak in impressive fashion, knocking out Ricky Glenn a few months ago in “Sin City.” Both men are riding a wave of momentum with newfound confidence, so this should make for a great matchup.

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