Matches To Make After UFC 303

UFC 303 went down last night (Sat., June 29, 2024) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a light heavyweight title fight that saw Alex Pereira defeat Jiri Prochazka — a second time — via second-round technical knockout (TKO) to retain his title (see it again here). In the co-main event, Diego Lopes defeated Dan Ige via unanimous decision after “50K” took the fight on four hours notice.

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Winner: Alex Pereira

Who He Should Face Next: Magomed Ankalaev

As much as we would all love to see Pereira move up to Heavyweight in an attempt to become champion in three weight classes. that process could prove to be lengthy. That’s because Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is still not locked in, and interim champion, Tom Aspinall, is waiting his turn. For now, the right move for “Poatan” is to sit back, enjoy some much-needed time off to allow his toe to heal and then headline the end of the year card against Ankalaev in Las Vegas.

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Winner: Diego Lopes

Who He Should Face Next: Brian Ortega

Look, I know everyone’s mad at “T-City” for his scale fail and then bouncing from the fight due to an illness, but if UFC doctor’s checked him out and were the ones to rule him out, we can not hold it against Ortega for getting unexpectedly ill. I still want to see Lopes and Ortega throw down, and having it take place at Noche UFC in September seems like the right move to make. After all, Dana White is trying to stack the “love letter to Mexican fighters” with as many Latino fighters as possible, so re- book it.

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Winner: Macy Chiasson

Who She Should Face Next: Holly Holm

Chiasson secured her second straight win after forcing a doctor’s stoppage against Mayra Bueno Silva due to a nasty cut on her forehead (see it again here). There is no telling if it will move her up in the rankings a whole lot, but she is knocking on the door of the Top 5 (she currently sits at No. 7). Let’s give her former division champion, Holly Holm, who has no plans on retiring anytime soon. Holm is coming off a loss to Kayla Harrison, and is in desperate need of a win. For Chiasson, getting a victory over the former champion definitely puts her into the Top 5.

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Winner: Roman Dolidze

Who He Should Face Next: Paulo Costa

As impressive as Dolidze’s last-minute move up to light heavyweight was by knocking off the No. 10 ranked guy, Anthony Smith, I don’t see him staying there. If he does, then fights against Dominick Reyes and Carlos Ulberg sound good. But the fight to make will be one against Paulo Costa in his true division, middleweight. Dolidze has lost two straight at 185 pounds prior to his big win, but now that he is back in the win column, albeit in a different division, I would love for UFC to give him a decent name, and Costa fits the bill. Costa is on a two-fight losing streak and has lost four of five. As of this writing, he is ranked two spots ahead of Dolidze at No. 8.

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Winner: Ian Garry

Who He Should Face Next: Jack Della Maddalena

Garry called for the fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov after he defeated Michael Page, and it’s a fight that is possible to make at the moment, but that’s not the one I would book. A lot of people (myself included), felt that Page had done enough to steal the fight, but it didn’t work out that way and Garry improves to 15-0, 8-0 UFC, so for my money I would prefer to put him up against Maddalena, who is 17-2, 7-0 UFC. Maddalena is currently sitting at No. 5, so let’s put these two surging stars together to see who gets closer to a title shot.

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