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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event took place in Las Vegas last night, and despite little fanfare, it turned out to be a decent one.
UFC Fight Night: Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva saw a number of fighters pick up big wins, so who should be next for them? With a handful advancing into potential title contention, matching them next time out is going to be an important job indeed.
With that considered, here are five fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva.
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#5. UFC bantamweight bout: Holly Holm vs. Norma Dumont
Based on her performance in last night’s main event, Holly Holm is probably on the downswing of her career. Despite this, she definitely still has some worth – and name value – to the UFC.
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Therefore, it’s probably right that ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ slip into a gatekeeper role going forward, meaning a viable next opponent for her could be Norma Dumont.
The Brazilian picked up her third win in a row last night by outpointing Chelsea Chandler, who had some hype behind her. She's now ranked at No.13 in the division, but could climb the ladder a little after her most recent win.
Sure, she'd be a huge underdog in a clash with 'The Preacher's Daughter', who has far more experience, but she has headlined an event in the past, beating Aspen Ladd, meaning she'd be a live underdog.
Could ‘The Immortal’ beat Holm? It seems doubtful given her style, but then many people said the same about Bueno Silva and she came out on top. Therefore, attempting to move new blood up into the higher end of the rankings by matching Holm with a rising prospect makes sense.
#4. UFC lightweight bout: Francisco Prado vs. Jordan Leavitt
One fighter who really shone at last night’s event was lightweight prospect Francisco Prado. Just 21 years old, the Argentine smashed through veteran Ottman Azaitar, dispatching him via TKO in the first round.
Given his young age and relative lack of experience, particularly at the top level, it’s probably fair to suggest that the UFC shouldn’t rush Prado.
After all, he already suffered a decision loss to the more experienced Jamie Mullarkey in his octagon debut, and while he didn’t look terrible in the fight, he probably needs to avoid another loss so soon after.
However, he does need a step up, so a viable opponent for him could be Jordan Leavitt. ‘The Monkey King’ has an impressive record of 4-2 in the octagon, and has a solid wrestling game as well as few weaknesses.
Despite this, for a high-level prospect, he’s beatable, as both Paddy Pimblett and Claudio Puelles have proven.
Based on Prado’s potential, he could easily reach the same level as ‘The Baddy’ or ‘The Prince of Peru’, therefore, Leavitt would be a great test for him coming off his win over Azaitar.
#3. UFC middleweight bout: Jun Yong Park vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Jun Yong Park is a fighter who’s been flying under the radar for some time in the middleweight division. However, last night’s victory over Albert Duraev was his fourth in a row in the UFC, so he’s clearly doing something right.
‘The Iron Turtle’ is perhaps not ready for a top fifteen opponent just yet, and more to the point, most of the fighters ranked there are booked already.
Therefore, a solid opponent for the Korean fighter could be world class Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Rodolfo Vieira.
‘The Black Belt Hunter’ is coming off a submission win over Cody Brundage in April, which won him a bonus $50k. He hasn’t quite hit the heights some fans thought he would in the octagon, but he remains one of the most deadly grapplers at 185lbs.
If Park could find a way past him, then it’d be hard not to move him into a bout with a top fifteen opponent next time out, meaning a fight with Vieira would be well worth it for him.
#2. UFC welterweight bout: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Sean Brady
It’s arguable that the easiest fighter to match coming out of last night’s event is welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena.
Ranked at No.14 in the division, the Australian only took his fight with Bassil Hafez on a week’s notice after his bout with Sean Brady at UFC 290 fell apart.
Maddalena wasn’t quite as impressive in his win over Hafez as some might’ve hoped, but then he did take the fight on late notice and had to deal with quick back-to-back weight cuts. Therefore it’s easy to excuse his showing and move on.
With that in mind, it’d probably be best for the UFC to simply match him up with Brady again. The dangerous grappler is ranked above Maddalena at No.9 in the division, and the staph infection that sidelined him last weekend should clear up soon.
Hopefully, then, the matchmakers can simply re-book this highly intriguing bout for one of their shows in the upcoming months.
#1. UFC bantamweight title: Julianna Pena vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
The biggest winner at last night’s UFC Fight Night show was definitely Mayra Bueno Silva.
Despite being a big underdog in her bout with Holly Holm, she was able to snatch up a modified guillotine in the second round that forced the former bantamweight champion to tap out.
Coming into the clash, Bueno Silva was ranked down at No.10 in the bantamweight division, but Holm was up in the No.3 spot.
Given that the Brazilian’s finish made her the first woman to submit ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ since 2016, it’s hard to imagine that she won’t usurp her ranking next week.
With this in mind, then, the UFC’s matchmakers may as well make a bout between ‘Sheetara’ and Julianna Pena for the now-vacant bantamweight title.
Both women have spoken about it in the media, and given that Bueno Silva just beat Holm, it’d be a more intriguing fight than one pitting Pena against No.2-ranked Raquel Pennington.
More to the point, if Bueno Silva could capture the vacant title, she’d instantly become one of the more unlikely titleholders in octagon history – making a possible title fight involving her fascinating indeed.
