The UFC’s yearly November trips to New York are usually some of the bigger events on the calendar. They say there is magic inside Madison Square Garden that can turn any fight card into memorable moments and this year was no different; people will remember this event for a multitude of reasons. With UFC 309 now officially behind us, it’s time to look at what’s next for its winners.

Jon Jones

This shouldn’t take too long; it’s Tom Aspinall. Is there a number 1 contender, across any division, more deserving of a shot at the undisputed title than Tom Aspinall? People can talk about Magomed Ankalaev and Manon Fiorot’s very strong cases, but Aspinall’s beats theirs without the shadow of a doubt.

Now that Jones finally got the legacy fight he wanted against Stipe Miocic, he has the same two options that Tony Ferguson once gave Conor McGregor on the mic: defend or vacate. If he wants to chase other names he has namedropped this past week like Alex Pereira, Jamahal Hill or Derrick Lewis, then he needs to vacate the heavyweight title. If he wants to keep his belt, then there is no other option than Tom Aspinall.

Jones’ next fight: Tom Aspinall

Charles Oliveira

UFC 309 was the first time in Oliveira’s career that he went into the championship rounds. Despite a fifth-round scare and having to fight through several fouls from Michael Chandler, “Do Bronx” earned the unanimous decision victory.

The former champion isn’t lacking in options. He obviously has a claim to a title shot against the winner of the Makhachev/Tsarukyan rematch, which should be announced any minute now. However, if Islam Makhachev is victorious, his next fight might very well be for a shot at double-champ status, which he will have earned. If Tsarukyan dethrones the champion, Makhachev will almost certainly be granted an immediate rematch. In either scenario, Oliveira might not get his title shot for a while, meaning he will most likely need to fight again.

Dan Hooker, Renato Moicano and Paddy Pimblett are all relevant names at lightweight that he hasn’t fought and could have called out. He might even still be in the Conor McGregor sweepstakes if the Irishman ever does return to the octagon.

In the end, no fight makes more sense than a Max Holloway rematch. Holloway has stated that he’s aiming for a return in the summer at International Fight Week. Oliveira just went five hard rounds and revealed he fought with a knee injury. Letting him recover means a summer return likely works for him as well. It’s the fight I called for in the matchmaking piece that was written after UFC 308, which you can find on this very website. It’s a fight that was booked nearly 10 years ago when both were rising contenders. It’s a shame we didn’t get to fully see it play out after it ended quickly due to a fluky injury. Fast forward to today and both are some of the most accomplished fighters this sport has seen.

It’s a clash of legends we deserve to see.

Oliveira’s next fight: Max Holloway rematch

Bo Nickal

This was a puzzling performance from Nickal. He came in with a 100% finish rate going up against a nearly 37-year-old Paul Craig who was 1-4 in his previous five fights, getting finished in his last three losses. Looking at it that way, it’s not difficult to understand why he was a massive -1200 betting favourite.

When two fighters known for their grappling prowess face other, it’s not uncommon to see the fight play out as a striking affair. But Craig’s striking has never been especially threatening, so it was strange seeing Nickal not press on the gas pedal more despite never really being in danger.

In last week’s matchmaking article, I said that Reinier de Ridder should fight the winner of this fight, but I’m not sure I like that fight as much now. So I’m changing the pick to a fight that was booked before. It made sense when it was announced, and it still makes sense now: Tresean Gore. Gore made an emphatic comeback last week with another brutal guillotine finish. He represents exactly the level of competition that Nickal needs to prove he can beat convincingly before we throw him to the upper echelon of the division.

Nickal’s next fight: Tresean Gore

Viviane Araújo

The veteran Araújo got one of her biggest wins as she handed the streaking Karine Silva her first UFC loss. She holds the gatekeeper role, like a Dan Ige or Jack Hermansson, where she always represents a good test to see where contenders fall within the division’s structure.

Now that she fended off Silva, let’s see if she can do the same thing to Tracy Cortez. Cortez is coming off a loss, but her stock shouldn’t drop too much. She fought Rose Namajunas on short notice and still managed to go the distance. For that reason, I’m still willing to give her someone ranked above her like Araújo. Hopefully Cortez won’t be out too long following surgery, and this fight can take place in the first half of 2025. That appears to be her plan at present.

Araújo’s next fight: Tracy Cortez

Mauricio Ruffy

Opening up the UFC 309 Pay-Per-View, the Fighting Nerds’ product Mauricio Ruffy won a comfortable decision over James Llontop. The UFC had initially announced during the UFC 306 broadcast that Ruffy was scheduled to fight on UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. After failing to find him an opponent for that date, they pushed him to 309 against James Llontop. Because the fight was on relatively short notice, they booked it at a catchweight of 165 lbs, and despite the 10-pound cushion, Llontop still came in above the contracted limit. This could be part of the reason he was able to survive the onslaught that Ruffy put on him in the first two rounds.

While I thought this was a better performance than some are willing to admit, I’m still not ready to throw Ruffy to the wolves. He asked for Benoit Saint Denis in his post-fight interview, but with lightweight having so many unranked fighters on longer win streaks than him, I doubt he gets it.

Nazim Sadykhov is a great option. He’s in 2-0-1 in the UFC against better competition than what Ruffy has faced so far. They are in very similar spots within the division and a fight between them would tell us who to push forward.

Ruffy’s next fight: Nazim Sadykhov