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One of the biggest UFC events of 2023 went down last night in Las Vegas, and in the end, the show certainly didn’t let the fans down.
UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez featured some classic bouts, stunning finishes and truly memorable moments, making it one of the best of the year.
What could come next for some of last night’s top stars? For many of them, it appears like their next bouts are already set.
Here are five fights to make following UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez.
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#5. UFC lightweight bout: Dan Hooker vs. Grant Dawson
Dan Hooker was involved in a truly crazy fight last night, surviving some brutal shots from opponent Jalin Turner to edge out a tight decision on the scorecards.
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The win was Hooker’s second in a row following his victory over Claudio Puelles last year, and ‘The Hangman’ remains entrenched in the top 15 at 155 pounds.
Naturally, given the loaded nature of the division, there are a number of potential opponents for him. However, one who might work better than most is No.10 ranked Grant Dawson.
‘KGD’ climbed up the ladder with his win over Damir Ismagulov last weekend, and his grappling game could definitely prove to be tricky for Hooker to handle. Likewise, though, the length and striking power of ‘The Hangman’ could prove to be difficult for Dawson, too.
Either way, this fight would be a fun one to watch and could bring out the best in both men.
#4. UFC middleweight bout: Bo Nickal vs. Phil Hawes
Initially, standout wrestler Bo Nickal was supposed to fight Tresean Gore last night. However, when Gore was forced out with an injury, the former NCAA Division I National Champion needed just 38 seconds to dispatch late replacement Val Woodburn.
The UFC could easily look to put the fight between Nickal and Gore back together, but realistically, there’s no point. Based on the evidence thus far, ‘The Allen Assassin’ is worthy of a higher-level foe.
With that in mind, one opponent who could make sense is Phil Hawes.
Like Nickal, ‘No Hype’ was a standout amateur wrestler prior to turning to MMA, and at times, he’s shown flashes of utter brilliance inside the octagon.
However, he’s also suffered three KO losses in his last four fights, meaning he’s no longer seen as a red-hot prospect.
Hawes has the athletic ability to test Nickal as he hasn’t been tested before, but he should still be a beatable foe for ‘The Allen Assassin’. Essentially, then, considering Nickal’s lack of experience, he’d stand as the perfect step up in competition for him.
#3. UFC middleweight title: Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis
The biggest future fight to be set up last night was undoubtedly the UFC middleweight title clash between champion Israel Adesanya and newly-minted top contender Dricus du Plessis.
Few fans saw it coming, but the South African dismantled former champ Robert Whittaker over two rounds, becoming the only other fighter, alongside Adesanya, to beat him at 185 pounds.
Given this showing, it’ll be impossible for anyone to underestimate ‘Stillknocks’ again, and the big question now will be whether his awkward style can give Adesanya problems.
Even if it can’t, their bout will definitely be one of the biggest in the history of the middleweight division.
Adesanya made sure of that last night, entering the octagon to confront du Plessis in wild fashion, dropping the ‘n-bomb’ on multiple occasions.
It’s clear that these two fighters don’t like one another, and naturally, that only makes a fight a bigger deal in the eyes of the fans. Put simply, whenever this bout goes down, it’ll be impossible to look away. For the UFC, it’s pure money.
#2. UFC flyweight title: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Moreno
Last night’s ‘Fight of the Night’ award went to the UFC flyweight title bout between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja, who produced a bloody, five round thriller.
In the end, Pantoja came out on top, claiming a split decision to become the new titleholder at 125lbs.
‘The Cannibal’ now has three wins over Moreno, and usually, that would mean that a fourth bout would be out of the question.
However, due to the quality of their fight last night – as well as the general lack of a true top contender in the division – it seems highly likely that the UFC will simply run the fight back. After all, who wouldn’t want to see these two throw down again?
The truth is that Pantoja may well have Moreno’s number, but given the guts that ‘The Assassin Baby’ showed last night, it’d be impossible to count him out.
Overall, a fourth fight between these two men would be a much bigger deal than their third one was last night, and that alone makes it a fight worth booking next.
#1. UFC featherweight title: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
Last night’s main event saw Alexander Volkanovski stop Yair Rodriguez in the third round, defending his featherweight title in the process.
It’s probably fair to say at this point that ‘Alexander the Great’ is the best 145lber in MMA history. After all, he holds eleven wins in the division in the UFC alone, beating the likes of Max Holloway, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Brian Ortega before this win over Rodriguez.
So what’s next for the Australian? One path could see him look again to claim gold at 155 pounds. After all, he only came up slightly short when he faced Islam Makhachev earlier this year.
However, the man who ended up staring him down last night was another featherweight, No.5 ranked Ilia Topuria.
‘El Matador’ is coming off a huge win over Josh Emmett, is unbeaten in MMA at 14-0, and is arguably on the hottest streak in the division right now.
Whether his style, which mixes heavy punches with quick, strong takedowns would be enough to truly test Volkanovski is another thing, but it’d be well worth finding out.
After all, ‘Alexander the Great’ has now entered that rarefied air – like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre before him – where each time he fights is a big event, and it’s now about finding fresh opponents for him more than anything else.
Therefore, a bout with Topuria makes perfect sense, and can hopefully take place before the end of 2023.
