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The UFC’s latest show – UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns – is now in the books, and after a tremendous night of fights, a number of fighters have moved up – or down – the ladder in their respective divisions.So who’s next for some of last night’s big winners?
#1 Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Burns picked up the biggest win of his MMA career last night, destroying former UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley over the course of five rounds. ‘Durinho’ arguably put an even heavier beating on Woodley than current champ Kamaru Usman did last March.
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After the fight, Burns called out Usman for a title fight, and the UFC may well be tempted to go with that, but there are a number of caveats.
Jorge Masvidal is probably the challenger who makes the most sense for Usman next; ‘Gamebred’ is one of the promotion’s biggest stars and he’s coming off huge wins over Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, but recent reports have suggested he’s not all too interested in fighting Usman for the UFC title right now.
That seemingly opens the door for Burns – but UFC President Dana White has also suggested that the UK’s Leon Edwards could be next for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, too. Obviously though, that’s contingent on Edwards – who still trains in England – being available for the fight during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
If it were down to me, I’d probably match Burns with Edwards next, with the winner facing whoever holds the belt after a Usman/Masvidal title fight – but I fully suspect the UFC will actually go with Usman vs. Burns next, and that works too.
#2 Augusto Sakai
Augusto Sakai defeated Blagoy Ivanov via split decision in last night’s co-main event, but the slow, plodding fight will hardly have earned him many new fans. The win should at least push him into the upper echelon at Heavyweight, though – so who’s next for him?
Well, Ivanov was ranked at #12 coming into last night’s show, so Sakai should be on the verge of a top ten ranking. With that in mind, a fight with the #10 ranked Aleksei Oleinik would probably work. The Ukrainian is coming off a big win of his own, as he defeated former UFC champ Fabricio Werdum at last month’s UFC 249.
The fight would also make sense because with Oleinik being a ground specialist, the likelihood of a clash with Sakai descending into another sloppy striking battle would be lower. Sakai would have to hunt for the knockout – or risk becoming another victim of ‘The Boa Constrictor’ and his excellent grappling.
If Sakai wishes to make a run for the top, now is the time – and right now, there are few better gatekeepers to that rarefied air than Oleinik.
#3 Roosevelt Roberts
Lightweight prospect Roosevelt Roberts was one of the more impressive fighters on display last night; he used his sharp striking and long range to take the fight to opponent Brok Weaver, who looked overmatched from the off. And when the two men hit the ground, Roberts comfortably outworked ‘Chata Tuska’ en route to a second round submission win.
‘The Predator’ is now 4-1 in the UFC, and at just 26 years old, his best years are definitely ahead of him. Is he ready for a top fifteen opponent at 155lbs, though? In all likelihood, the answer is no. He still needs to prove that he can fight through adversity, something he struggled with in his lone Octagon loss to Vinc Pichel.
With that in mind, a fight that could work for him might be against Rustam Khabilov. ‘’The Tiger’ is a longtime UFC veteran and while he’s never quite reached his potential, he’s still a heavily stifling grappler who could definitely drag Roberts into deeper waters than he’s seen before.
More to the point, the Dagestani is known for putting on dull fights. If ‘The Predator’ could avoid his stifling top control and force an entertaining clash out of him, it’d go down massively well with the UFC brass. If Roberts could overcome Khabilov, then he’d be ready for a run at the top fifteen.
#4 Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Dern has long been recognised as one of the Strawweight division’s best prospects. A multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Dern arguably has the best pure grappling in the division – but her indiscipline when it comes to weight cuts and her lack of a powerful wrestling game have held her back from truly unleashing it thus far.
Last night she showed a glimpse of her massive talents by submitting Hannah Cifers with a kneebar in the first round, but it wasn’t a perfect performance. Cifers landed some big strikes in the early exchanges, and escaped from a grappling exchange before Dern was able to latch onto her leg.
Essentially, we need to see Dern fight more opponents on the level of Cifers in order to sharpen her overall game before she really steps up to the next level.
With that in mind, a fight with fellow prospect Virna Jandiroba might work for the BJJ expert. Like Dern, Jandiroba is primarily a grappler, most recently picking up her first UFC win, a submission of Mallory Martin, last December.
She’s far more experienced than Dern, with 16 professional fights to her name, but with her grappling background she’d provide the American-Brazilian the perfect chance to test her grappling in MMA against a battle-hardened foe. Dern could even afford to test out her striking game in the knowledge that she wouldn’t be painfully outgunned on the feet.
For Jandiroba meanwhile, the fight would present her with an opportunity to defeat an opponent with ever-growing name value.
Essentially, this would be a fight that would make sense for both parties.
#5 Katlyn Chookagian
Katlyn Chookagian was looking to bounce back from her failed title shot last night, and ‘Blonde Fighter’ did just that, destroying champ Valentina Shevchenko’s sister Antonina in one-sided fashion over three rounds.
Should that be enough to net Chookagian another opportunity at the title? I’d say no; the win was impressive, but her loss to ‘The Bullet’ proved that right now, she just isn’t quite good enough to dethrone the champion.
Despite that, it wouldn’t be fair to push her into the realm of ‘gatekeeper’ just yet. With that in mind, I’d like to see her face off with the winner of the upcoming fight between Lauren Murphy and Roxanne Modafferi next.
Both of those ladies are real veterans of the sport who are on strong winning runs, and a win over Chookagian would arguably give them a case for a title shot – while a win for ‘Blonde Fighter’ over either would also go a long way to cementing her as the second-best fighter in the division.
Things would become even more interesting if Murphy were to defeat Modafferi; ‘Lucky Lauren’ lost to Chookagian in the latter’s UFC debut back in 2016, but the fight took place at 135lbs and both women have changed their games since.
