5 fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green

The UFC’s latest Fight Night went down last night in Las Vegas, and despite a lack of star power, it was a solid show overall.

The big question now, of course, is what comes next for the fighters who starred at UFC Fight Night: Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green.

Many of last night’s stars picked up slightly unexpected wins, meaning the matchmakers will have plenty of options for them going forward, which is never a bad thing.

With that in mind, here are five fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green.

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#5. UFC strawweight bout: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Michelle Waterson

Karolina Kowalkiewicz is on a surprising four-fight win streak [Image Credit: @karolinakowalkiewicz on Instagram]

Karolina Kowalkiewicz was a surprising winner last night, as she outpointed the younger Diana Belbita over three rounds. The victory took the Polish fighter’s current win streak to four, something that seemed unthinkable a few years ago when she’d lost five in a row.

Currently ranked at No.15 in the UFC strawweight division, it’s unlikely that a second title shot lies in the future for the 37-year-old veteran. However, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t warrant a step up of sorts in her next fight.

Therefore, a good match for her could well be No.14 ranked Michelle Waterson.

‘The Karate Hottie’ faced Kowalkiewicz back in 2019 and outpointed her over three rounds in what was an entertaining affair. Since then, though, she’s fallen on hard times and has now lost four bouts in a row.

Could she turn things around by beating Kowalkiewicz again, though? It’s a fair question, especially as, judging by last night, Kowalkiewicz might have more left in the tank.

Overall, this fight would make sense for both women, so it’d be well worth booking in the near future.

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#4. UFC welterweight bout: Joaquin Buckley vs. Matt Brown

Joaquin Buckley looks like a threat at welterweight [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

One fighter who clearly needs a step up of sorts after his win last night is Joaquin Buckley. ‘New Mansa’ once again shone at 170lbs, completely outfighting tricky veteran Alex Morono over three rounds.

Already somewhat of a known star thanks to his viral knockout of Impa Kasanganay in 2020, one idea would be to match Buckley with a top-15-ranked opponent next time out.

However, it might be more fun to have him face one of the most exciting fighters of all time, longtime veteran Matt Brown.

‘The Immortal’ is 42 years old now, but based on his record-equalling knockout of Court McGee in May, he can still crack with the best of them.

Overall, then, a fight with Brown wouldn’t propel Buckley into title contention, but it’d probably be wildly exciting, and ‘New Mansa’ would also be expected to win. If he could take out ‘The Immortal’, the boost to his reputation would be huge, making the clash well worthwhile for him.

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#3. UFC middleweight bout: Joe Pyfer vs. Brad Tavares

Can Joe Pyfer become a star at 185lbs? [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

Hot prospect Joe Pyfer once again shone in the spotlight last night. He dispatched hard-hitting veteran Abdul Razak Alhassan with a second-round arm triangle in their middleweight bout, making it look easy in the process.

It’d be easy to rush ‘Bodybagz’ into a clash with a ranked opponent next time out, particularly as he’s come through three tricky fights unscathed thus far.

However, right now it might be smarter to build Pyfer slowly. He’s got star quality in spades, but he remains largely inexperienced. Therefore, it’s worth keeping him away from the more dangerous fighters in the division for a little longer.

He does need a step up, though, so why not match him with tenured veteran Brad Tavares next?

The Hawaiian is coming off a win over a former champion in Chris Weidman, and he has excellent skills in all areas. He’s also very durable and hard to finish.

Despite this, Tavares isn’t the most explosive fighter and can be beaten by more dynamic opponents – meaning Pyfer would be hopeful of winning.

Even if he were to lose, though, ‘Bodybagz’ would gain plenty from facing such an experienced opponent, and so this fight would be well worth making for him next.

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#2. UFC lightweight bout: Grant Dawson vs. Drew Dober

Drew Dober should look to climb back into contention after his win last night [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

It’s fair to say that lightweights Grant Dawson and Drew Dober had very different experiences at last night’s UFC event.

Dawson not only suffered the first loss of his octagon career, but it came in devastating fashion, too. He was stopped by Bobby Green just 33 seconds into his first-ever headline bout, suffering his first knockout defeat since 2016.

Dober, meanwhile, turned out the lights on Ricky Glenn in the first round, setting a promotional record by producing the ninth knockout of his career in the lightweight division in the process.

The matchmakers usually like to keep fighters coming off a win away from ones coming off a loss, but they ought to break that unwritten rule to match these two against each other next. It simply makes too much sense to avoid.

Basically, we’d find out whether No.10 ranked Dawson can get past a heavy hitter like Dober after falling to Green in such fashion, and we’d find out whether Dober is good enough to make another run at the upper echelon.

This fight would definitely work as a co-headliner for a Fight Night event, so the promotion should put it together in early 2024, or as soon as Dawson is ready.

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#1. UFC lightweight bout: Bobby Green vs. Beneil Dariush

Bobby Green could look to make a late run at lightweight title contention [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

The big winner at last night’s show was undoubtedly Bobby Green. ‘King’ needed just 33 seconds to take out the previously unbeaten Grant Dawson in the headline bout, and at the age of 37, is now back in contention at 155lbs.

Given his lengthy tenure and the fact that he’s already faced so many top fighters, there’s no point in the UFC attempting to build Green slowly. Instead, it’s probably best that they throw him in with another tricky foe, and see what happens.

With that in mind, why not put him in with Beneil Dariush?

The Iranian fighter hasn’t fought since his loss to Charles Oliveira earlier this year, but he remains ranked at No.4 in the division.

More to the point, there are question marks over his chin following that loss – something Green could look to exploit based on his win last night.

If he could get past Dariush – who it’s surprising he hasn’t already faced – then it’d be impossible to deny him a spot as a title contender. If he were to fail, then nobody would’ve lost much anyway given his tenure and age.

Overall, this could make for the perfect Fight Night headliner in the near future.