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Last night’s UFC show was another fun one. UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker – which went down once again from Las Vegas’ UFC APEX facility – saw some tremendous action up and down the card, with six finishes from ten fights and two Fight of the Year candidates on tap.
With the UFC now fully rolling ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there shouldn’t be any issues getting fights booked in the future. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for what should be next for some of last night’s biggest names.
#1 Dustin Poirier
After he lost to UFC Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last Octagon outing, there were some questions around the future of Dustin Poirier. However, ‘The Diamond’ answered them in full by roaring back after a slow start to take the fight to Dan Hooker, outpointing the tough Kiwi over five rounds.
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Given Nurmagomedov has a date in the near future with current UFC interim Lightweight champ Justin Gaethje, for me there’s only one fight that makes sense for Poirier next. That’s a clash with another former UFC interim champ – Tony Ferguson.
‘El Cucuy’ was badly beaten by Gaethje in the main event of May’s UFC 249, and so given the damage also sustained last night by Poirier, the UFC may want to hold off on actually putting the fight together until very late in 2020 – or perhaps even until 2021.
Overall though, this would be a fantastic clash of two of the best 155lbers on the planet. Could Poirier’s technical brawling style break Ferguson down as Gaethje’s power-punching did? Or would Ferguson – the master of putting pressure on his opponents – get back to the form that saw him put together a 12-fight winning streak between 2013 and 2020?
#2 Dan Hooker
New Zealand’s Dan Hooker was within reach of a shot at the UFC Lightweight title last night, but despite suffering a loss to Dustin Poirier, he has nothing to be ashamed of this morning. ‘The Hangman’ put on his second tremendous fight of 2020, going toe-to-toe with Poirier for five rounds and only losing as he faded slightly down the stretch.
Hooker should probably take some time away from the UFC to recover after this war – as he did following his 2018 loss to Edson Barboza – but he could still look to return in the latter months of 2020.
Given his high ranking – and the fact that he’s fought many of the fighters around him – it’s a bit tricky to pick his next opponent. So I think the best route would be to provide the fans with another instant classic, and put him against UFC legend Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Cerrone was most recently seen in a loss at UFC 249 to Anthony Pettis, and he’s actually lost his last three fights. But that doesn’t mean Hooker wouldn’t have anything to gain by beating him. ‘Cowboy’ holds a number of UFC records – including the most finishes in the promotion’s history – and is still a huge name with casual fans.
If Hooker could beat Cerrone, he’d be right back in the hunt for the UFC Lightweight crown. And if Cerrone could defeat ‘The Hangman’, then he’d soon rise back up the ranks himself. And outside of that, it sounds like a tremendous fight on paper.
#3 Mike Perry
In a largely entertaining fight, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry got back into the winner’s circle last night by outpointing Mickey Gall. It was a fight Perry was always favoured to win due to his experience advantage, but he also showed some new wrinkles in winning, including an improved grappling game.
So who should the UFC match him with next? After two straight losses, ‘Platinum’ had slipped out of the top fifteen at 170lbs, and this win isn’t likely to put him back in. However, it should be enough to earn him a shot at a ranked opponent, and so one that could make sense would be Neil Magny.
The well-rounded veteran was last seen at UFC 250, beating Anthony Rocco Martin, and he’s currently ranked at #15 in the UFC’s Welterweight division. Magny definitely has the ability to overcome Perry, but it’s also true that he’s struggled in the past against specialists.
With his brutally heavy hands, ‘Platinum’ could definitely be considered one of those specialists, and so it’d be fascinating to see Magny attempt to take him apart without eating a big shot. For Perry meanwhile, it’d be a real test of his overall skills. Beat Magny and he would almost certainly be considered a genuine contender again.
It’d be a fight worth watching for sure, and one the UFC could easily use as a Fight Night co-main event.
#4 Brendan Allen
Middleweight prospect Brendan Allen had to work hard for his third UFC win, but in the end he was able to just about out-fight newcomer Kyle Daukaus in all areas to see his hand raised. At 24 years old, this rising star clearly has the potential to become a UFC title contender in the future.
But who should ‘All In’ face next? It’s a tricky call to make. In beating Tom Breese and Kevin Holland – both by finishes – he ought to be on the cusp of the top fifteen at 185lbs. But his fight with Daukaus showed he’s not the finished article, so it’d be worth the UFC treating him with kid gloves for now.
The best idea then would be to have him face an experienced veteran, but not one with simply too much for him to handle right now. My pick? Polish fighter Krzysztof Jotko.
Jotko is coming off a win over Eryk Anders at UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris, and is on a three-fight win streak. Overall, his UFC record is impressive – 9-4 – and he has been ranked in the top ten before.
But recently he hasn’t looked all that hot, narrowly outpointing Anders and Marc-Andre Barriault in his most recent fights, and for a talented prospect like Allen, he should definitely be considered beatable.
More to the point, Jokto’s recent fights have hardly been exciting to watch. If Allen could drag something watchable out of him – even if he were to lose – then the UFC would undoubtedly be impressed with his work. It’d be a risky fight for Allen to take, but it could be worth looking at.
#5 Maurice Greene
Heavyweight Maurice Greene was able to come from behind to win last night, submitting Gian Villante with an odd arm triangle from the bottom after suffering a knockdown earlier in the fight. ‘The Crochet Boss’ is now 4-2 in the UFC, and is steadily climbing the ranks.
His recent losses to Sergei Pavlovich and Alexei Oleinik mean he’s probably not ready for a top fifteen opponent, but one fight that could make sense for him would be against one of last night’s other winners, Tanner Boser.
Canada’s Boser picked up his second UFC victory last night, knocking out Philpe Lins in impressive fashion in just under three minutes. Considering Lins went the distance with former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski recently, the win was a real eye-opener for ‘The Bulldozer’.
What’s more, he actually called out Greene in his post-match interview, and the UFC’s matchmakers traditionally love fighters who have a future opponent in mind and verbalise that.
This would be an interesting fight between a heavy hitter in Boser and an athletic and highly underrated grappler in Greene, and the winner would be perhaps ready for a crack at the top fifteen in the UFC’s Heavyweight division.
