UFC Nashville is in the books, and turned out to be an entertaining card, outside of a main event that left plans apathetic thanks to the lack of explosiveness (thanks in part to an injury suffered by Cory Sandhagen).
What comes next for the losing side of Saturday’s main card? Read on!
Rob Font
Bostonian Rob Font was dominated in the wrestling department by Cory Sandhagen on Saturday in Nashville. Although he deserves credit for accepting the fight on two weeks’ notice, he could not get anything going in the cage and is now 1-3 in his last four fights, though all of those losses are to elite fighters. He is still 10-6 in the UFC and is ranked seventh at bantamweight until the rankings update on Tuesday, but now he has to fight down in the ranks.
One fighter Font has history with is Ricky Simón, the twelfth-ranked bantamweight in the UFC who is 5-1 since they last fought in 2019, a bout which Font won by decision. Now is a great time for that rematch. Simón was recently knocked out by the hard hitting Song Yadong and needs to test his striking against someone like Font while Rob needs to prove he can beat a wrestler like Ricky and that the listless performance against Sandhagen was an issue he can overcome. That last fight was exciting and hopefully the rematch will be as well.
Font’s Next Fight: Ricky Simón
Jéssica Andrade
A hard matchup against undefeated wrestling phenom Tatiana Suarez led to Andrade losing her third fight in a row by finish. She has never lost more than two in a row before as a professional and had never been finished in back-to-back fights before. The most violent fighter in WMMA history is only 31 but perhaps the battles have added up and caused her to pass her prime quicker than most.
Andrade needs a step down in competition; her three losses in a row have all been against elite fighters like Yan Xiaonan and Erin Blanchfield. In recent years she has flip-flopped back and forth between fighting at strawweight and at flyweight; she is ranked fifth in each division currently. At flyweight she has an old foe from her pre-UFC days that is below her in the rankings and on a winning streak, Jennifer Maia who Andrade lost to in 2012.
Maia has turned back prospects Maryna Moroz and Casey O’Neill on her current streak as she builds her resume for a second title shot in the UFC, and Andrade is the perfect opponent to put her into a number one contender fight if she wins. As for Andrade, a win would right the ship and make her once again the perennial contender that she always has been.
Andrade’s Next Fight: Jennifer Maia.
Kennedy Nzechukwu
Nigeria’s Nzechukwu was in the best form of his career going into his fight with Dustin Jacoby, a fight that could have propelled him into the rankings with a win. However Jacoby landed a perfect right hand that dropped Kennedy in the first round, allowing him to ground and pound his way to a win. Nzechukwu has to fight unranked competition once more as he works his way back up.
A fight between talented unranked light-heavyweights that could see the winner be near the rankings afterwards is Vitor Petrino vs Modestas Bukauskas. Petrino is 9-0 as a professional, 2-0 in the UFC, and has showed well-rounded skills that make him a promising prospect. As for Bukauskas, the ‘Baltic Gladiator’ was cut from the UFC following a brutal knee injury in 2021. However he quickly reeled off two wins in 2022, got back into the UFC, and then won his first two fights of his second promotional stint in 2023. The winner would be on a three-fight winning streak and ready for a near-ranked opponent like Nzechukwu.
Nzechukwu’s Next Fight: Winner of Petrino vs Bukauskas
Ignacio Bahamondes
‘La Jaula’ lost his first fight since his UFC debut, bringing his promotional record to 3-2. At only twenty-five years of age the Chilean is still a promising talent, but has some growing to do before he is ready to be come a true contender. Still, his electric striking style makes any Bahamondes fight a fun one and there are a plethora of suitably exciting opponents to match him with in the talent-rich lightweight division.
Marc ‘Bonecrusher’ Diakiese is a fourteen-fight UFC veteran with a 7-7 record in the promotion who is known for his explosive striking style, though he has turned more and more to wrestling in recent years. He is on a two-fight losing streak at present so pitting these two together would be a true turning point in each man’s career and would be a ‘Fight of the Night’ contender on any fight card.
Bahamondes’ Next Fight: Marc Diakiese
Aleksa Camur
Camur lost to Tanner Boser at UFC Nashville for his third straight UFC loss, making him fall to 1-3 in the promotion. Most fighters on debut contracts cannot lose three straight without being cut but its possible that Camur will stay with the UFC due to the shallow 205-lb division and his relationship with UFC legend Stipe Miocic.
If Camur does stick around then he should fight a fighter with a similar promotional record, like Zac Pauga. Pauga, the TUF 30 heavyweight tournament runner-up, is 1-1 in the UFC, or 1-2 if one counts his tournament finale loss to Mo Usman. Funnily enough, both men have a record of 6-2 as professional fighters, making them perfectly matched in win rate and experience going into this potential fight.
Camur’s Next Fight: Zac Pauga
Gavin Tucker
Gavin ‘Guv’nor’ Tucker returned after more than two years away from the cage to face Diego Lopes, a bout he lost by first-round submission to the BJJ ace. Tucker recently turned 37 years old and at featherweight that is near the end for most fighters. He is now on a two-fight losing streak but is still 4-3 overall in the UFC, a respectable record. If Gavin is going to stick around he deserves a decent, but not highly ranked, opponent next.
Tucker’s next fight: Fighters like Josh Culibao, Andre Fili, etc.
