UFC Jacksonville took place on Wednesday, May 13 in Jacksonville, Florida. In the main event, Glover Teixeira defeated Anthony Smith via TKO in the fifth round. Today we will take a look at what’s next for the fighters from this rather entertaining card.
Glover Teixeira
Glover Teixeira is over 40 years old so he is looking to make one last run at the title. Although his win over Smith doesn’t give him a title shot, it likely does put him in a number one contender fight. Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that he would like to see Jan Blachowicz get the next crack at Jon Jones. He also stated that he would like to have Teixeira fight Dominick Reyes for a number one contender fight. By doing this Teixeira would leap over Corey Anderson and Volkan Oezdemir. This wouldn’t be far fetched though, because we saw White do something very similar to Dan Henderson when he was given the title shot against Michael Bisping late in his career.
Teixeira’s Next Fight: Dominick Reyes
Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski came away with an impressive decision win over former PFL champion Philipe Lins on Wednesday. Proving to everyone that he isn’t done just yet and still has a lot to prove. Arlovski is currently in a weird situation because he just defeated someone making their UFC debut. This win shouldn’t be enough to push him back into the top 15 but it should be enough to give him an elite opponent in his next fight. Luckily for him, Ben Rothwell was able to defeat Ovince Saint Preux in the co-main event. Rothwell would be the perfect next opponent for Arlovski because they are in very similar situations in their careers. OSP was making his heavyweight debut, but before that was a top 15 guy at light heavyweight. This should make Rothwell’s stock rise even if it’s just a little bit.
Arlovski’s Next Fight: Ben Rothwell
Chase Sherman
Chase Sherman returned to the UFC on Wednesday to TKO Isacc Villanueva who was making his UFC debut. Sheman told Christopher Rothstein prior to his fight that he signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. Meaning he has three more chances to prove to the UFC that he can be a star in the heavyweight division. Although a win over a UFC newcomer shouldn’t push him into the top 15, he did impress everyone with a vicious second-round TKO. That being said he should be on the path to fighting someone like Greg Hardy in his next fight.
Hardy just defeated Yorgan De Castro in his last fight. Hardy has had a rough start in the UFC but has still managed to lose a hard-fought decision to Alexander Volkov and beat guys like De Castro and Juan Adams. Sherman at one point was cut from the UFC and worked his way back. He is currently on a four-fight win streak and should be looked at as a serious threat in the heavyweight division. This fight would be a win-win situation for the UFC and both fighters.
Sherman’s Next Fight: Greg Hardy
Who do you think these fighters should be fighting next? Let us know in the comments down below.
