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UFC 271 took place this past weekend and gave fans an idea of what’s to come. Reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya successfully retained his title in his rematch with former champion Robert Whittaker.
In addition, Jared Cannonier made a statement by ending Derek Brunson’s winning streak with a devastating knockout. Another surprise was a new contender emerging in the heavyweight division. No.11-ranked Tai Tuivasa came in as the underdog and knocked out No.3-ranked Derrick Lewis in his hometown.
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The event also featured many entertaining post-fight interviews, with fighters taking advantage of their moment to connect with fans. Casey O’Neill embraced the boos after her decision win over the retiring Roxanne Modafferi. Renato Moicano, on the other hand, spoke about his love for his coaches and that he wanted a post-fight bonus. This list will look at 5 fights to make following UFC 271.
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#5. Renato Moicano vs. Gregor Gillespie
Renato Moicano looked great as he picked up his second straight submission win after beating Alexander Hernandez with a rear-naked choke. Since his lightweight debut, he is 3-1 in the weight class and looks ready to test himself against another ranked opponent. Based on his recent wins, a bout with No.10-ranked Gregor Gillespie makes sense.
Gillespie got back in the win column last year when he defeated Carlos Diego Ferreira by second-round TKO. He had suffered his first career loss in 2019 but didn’t let it hinder his progress. Now that he’s been inactive for a year, a win over a fighter like Moicano could move him up the rankings.
Stylistically, ‘The Fisherman’ and Moicano match up well with one another. Gillespie has a decorated amateur wrestling background, while Moicano has excellent jiu-jitsu and is a submission specialist.
#4. Derek Brunson vs. Sean Strickland
Prior to his bout with Jared Cannonier at UFC 271, No.4-ranked middleweight Derek Brunson stated he’d compete twice more and retire. Regardless of whether he won or lost, he reiterated that he didn’t want to be in the sport too long. He had an excellent opportunity to earn a title shot and rematch with Israel Adesanya if he beat Cannonier.
Despite a good showing in the first round, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ turned things around and knocked Brunson out with elbows in the second round. Sean Strickland is currently riding a six-fight winning streak and could be closing in on a title shot. Some of his wins include Jack Hermansson, Uriah Hall, and Krzysztof Jotko.
A bout between Brunson and Strickland would be a win-win situation for both. If Strickland wins, he makes a stronger case for a title shot. If Brunson wins, he retires from the sport with a win over a top middleweight contender.
#3. Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
Robert Whittaker is in an interesting situation after his loss to Adesanya at UFC 271. It was his second loss to the champion, so earning another title shot might be more difficult.
A comparable is Marvin Vettori, who also lost to the reigning middleweight champion twice. With that in mind, the promotion could book ‘Bobby Knuckles’ in a bout against ‘The Italian Dream'. Both fighters are still top-5 ranked and a win would be meaningful as they attempt to earn a trilogy with Adesanya.
Vettori is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over former title-challenger Paulo Costa. The bout was contested at light heavyweight after ‘The Eraser’ arrived to fight week unable to cut to 185lbs.
‘The Reaper’ matches up well with the second-ranked Vettori, so it’d be a perfect opportunity to remain in the title picture.
#2. Tai Tuivasa vs. former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane
Tai Tuivasa solidified himself as a heavyweight contender with his emphatic knockout win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 271. He came into the fight as the No.11-ranked heavyweight going up against the No.3-ranked and was viewed as the underdog. He hadn’t been in a battle of that magnitude in his career. Furthermore, fighting in ‘The Black Beast’s' hometown of Houston, Texas was challenging.
After the first round went in Lewis’ favor, ‘Bam Bam’ regrouped and let his hands go. He landed powerful strikes in the clinch and dropped ‘The Black Beast’ with an elbow to earn a second-round knockout.
Tuivasa facing former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane could be the next step for the popular Australian knockout artist. ‘Bon Gamin’ is coming off his title loss to Francis Ngannou. Prior to the loss, Gane had defeated Lewis for the interim title. It would be interesting to see whether ‘Bam Bam’ could replicate that performance against an elite technical striker like Gane.
#1. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier
After what transpired at UFC 271, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier is clearly the fight to book next. ‘The Last Stylebender’ retained his championship by defeating Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision in a rematch of their 2019 bout. The champion was taken down a few times, but managed to get back to his feet without taking damage.
After ‘The Killa Gorilla’ knocked out Brunson, he made sure to get Dana White’s attention during his post-fight interview. He told him he’s deserving of the next title shot and White agreed. During his post-fight press conference, the champion Adesanya echoed those sentiments by saying he was rooting for Cannonier to defeat Brunson. The reason being was that he had a few rematches and wanted a new challenger for his next title defense.
‘The Last Stylebender’ mentioned that he’d like to fight again in June. Both fighters didn’t absorb a significant amount of damage, so that’d be a realistic timeframe for their title fight.
