Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 79

UFC Vegas 79 went down last night (Sat., Sept. 23, 2023), which saw Mateusz Gamrot defeat Rafael Fiziev via technical knockout (TKO) after “Ataman” suffered an unfortunate fight-ending injury (recap here). In further action, Bryce Mitchell defeated Dan Ige, while Marina Rodriguez defeated Michelle Waterson-Gomez one again, this time a bit more convincingly (highlights).

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Winner: Mateusz Gamrot

Who He Should Face Next: Michael Chandler (yes, seriously)

While it’s not the way Gamrot would have liked to win the fight, a victory is a victory. That said, as a result of the injury from Fiziev, there is no telling if it will do much for Gamrot’s hopes of climbing up the rankings. Currently ranked No. 7, Gamrot vs Chandler just makes sense. I understand that Chandler desperately wants to hold out hope for a fight against Conor McGregor, but that fight doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon, if ever. Chandler has been sitting on the sidelines for nearly a year, and if decides to hold out for “Notorious” it could be until early or mid-204 before that fight happens. Chandler vs Gamrot is a great stylistic matchup and they are only separated by two spots in the rankings. I get that going from a potential big-money, big pay-per-view (PPV) fight against McGregor to fighting Gamrot isn’t sexy, but if “Notorious” wasn’t in the picture wasting everyone’s time, this is the obvious fight make, in my opinion. Gamrot stated that he’d wait to fight Charles Oliveira if he loses to Islam Makhachev, but I’d still prefer Gamrot vs. Chandler.

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Winner: Bryce Mitchell

Who He Should Face Next: Giga Chikadze

Mitchell got back in the win column by out-wrestling Dan Ige last night in “Sin City,” which was a good rebound victory after losing for the first time against Ilia Topuria. A like a fight against Chikadze next since he is also recently got back in the win column after defeated Alex Caceres last month. Chikadze is currently ranked No. 8, while Mitchell sits at No. 10, though that could change early next week after his latest win.

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Winner: Marina Rodriguez

Who She Should Face Next: Luana Pinhiero

After Rodriguez beat Michelle Waterson-Gomez to a bloody pulp, her second win over “The Karate Hottie,” the Brazilian standout relived some of that pressure following her two-fight skid. Now she looks to start another path toward title contention, and if she can get a win over someone like Pinhiero, it would go a long way in her cause. Like Rodriguez, Pinhiero is coming off a win over Waterson-Gomez, and currently sits just one spot behind Marina in the rankings.

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Winner: Bryan Battle

Who He Should Face Next: Alex Morono

Battle picked up his second straight stoppage victory after forcing A.J. Fletcher to tap to his rear-naked choke (see it). Battle is six fights deep into his UFC career with a record of 5-1, so he’s done pretty well in his short amount of time inside the eight-sided cage. I like a fight against a longtime veteran like Morono next. Morono defeated Tim Means via submission in his last fight this past summer, putting him at 5-1 over his last six fights.

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Winner: Charles Jourdain

Who He Should Face Next: Billy Quarantillo

Jourdain picked up his second straight win after submitting Ricardo Ramos in the very first round (highlights). Jourdain has been fighting for UFC for about four years now and he has yet to win more than two straight. Quarantillo also made his UFC debut in 2019, and while he did win his first three fights inside the Octagon, he has been very inconsistent since, alternating wins and losses over his last six contests. He is coming off a big win over Damn Jackson just a few weeks ago, so I would like to see matchmakers consider this matchup between two 145-pound contenders looking for a breakthrough.

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For complete UFC Vegas 79: “Fiziev vs. Gamrot” results and play-by-play, click HERE.