Deiveson Figueiredo defeated Alex Perez at UFC 255 by first-round submission to retain his flyweight title. Valentina Shevchenko was also able to retain her flyweight title by defeating Jennifer Maia via decision. Today we will take a look at what is next for the winners of UFC 255.
Deiveson Figueiredo
Figueiredo’s win over Perez marks his first title defense after winning the title against Joseph Benavidez back in July. Followin the fight, Dana White announced that Figueiredo will be staying in Vegas to defend his belt again on December 12 at UFC 256. He will be defending against Brandon Moreno who won via TKO against Brandon Royval at UFC 255. Well, that makes our job easy.
Figueiredo’s next fight: Brandon Moreno at UFC 256
Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko has successfully defended her title four times now after her win over Maia this past weekend. Although Dana White didn’t book her fight as he did with Figueiredo, he did say that he would like for Shevchenko to fight Jessica Andrade in her next fight. He also said that if she gets past Andrade, he will seriously consider giving her another shot at Amanda Nunes.
Shevchenko’s next fight: Jessica Andrade
Tim Means
Tim Means won a unanimous decision over Mike Perry at UFC 255. This win puts Means on a two-fight win streak. Both of his opponents in his last two fights also missed weight. Means is a veteran of the sport and should be looking to make one last run at the title. With that being said he should be looking to fight former champion, Robbie Lawler in his next fight. Not only would this be a great stylistic match-up, but it would also be great for Means’ position in the rankings should he win. Lawler was originally scheduled to fight Perry, who Means just beat.
Means’ next fight: Robbie Lawler
Katlyn Chookagian
Katlyn Chookagian made a fast turnaround to fight Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 255. She won the fight by a unanimous decision which makes her next fight a tough decision. Andrade will likely be getting the next shot at the title so Chookagian will likely have to fight one more time before receiving a title shot. Chookagian already has recent wins over Jennifer Maia and Cynthia Calvillo, which only leaves Lauren Murphy as a possible opponent in the top five. A lot of fans thought that Murphy should have got that title shot over Maia, so I’m sure nobody would mind her being in a number one contender fight in her next one. Chookagian has actually defeated Murphy once before, but that was four years ago, and Murphy is now on a four-fight win streak.
Chookagian’s next fight: Lauren Murphy
Paul Craig
Paul Craig was able to finish Shogun Rua in the second round of their UFC 255 bout. Shogun was forced to tap to strikes due to a lot of intense ground and pound. Earlier in October, Jimmy Crute scored a TKO over Modestas Bukauskas. This win got Crute the number 13 ranking in the light heavyweight division. Craig is currently ranked at number 15 but he just defeated the number 14 fighter in Shogun. Craig will most likely be ranked number 14 or 13 when the rankings are updated. That fight would also be great stylistically as both Crute and Craig both have great grappling.
Craig’s next fight: Jimmy Crute
