The UFC closed out their 2024 calendar with a bang. The promotion’s fourth-ever trip to Tampa, Florida delivered an entertaining event with seven knockouts, six decisions and a whole bunch of highlights. As we look forward to 2025, let’s see what matchups should be next for the winners from UFC Tampa this past Saturday.
Joaquin Buckley
This was by far the biggest fight of Buckley’s career thus far, and the lights weren’t too bright for him. In his first ever main event, “New Mansa” extended his win streak to six with a third-round doctor’s stoppage over Colby Covington. This win should push him near, or maybe even inside the top5 in the next rankings update.
In his post-fight interview, Buckley called out three names and let the audience decide his next opponent via an “applause-o-meter.” Of the three names he called out, champion Belal Muhammad makes the least amount of sense unless Shavkat Rakhmonov is out for a prolonged period. The other two were former champions Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. Edwards, who is said to headline the London Fight Night card on March 22, needs an opponent. Buckley has been active and wants it to remain that way, so a turnaround in late March shouldn’t be too quick for him, considering he took a negligible amount of damage from Covington.
Buckley’s next fight: Leon Edwards
Cub Swanson
“Killer” Cub’s stunning one hitter quitter KO over Billy Quarantillo in the UFC Tampa co-main was reminiscent of Robbie Lawler’s KO of Niko Price in his retirement fight. It has to be one of the better ways a fighter can dream to retire… if he does retire. The long-time veteran and fan-favourite Swanson has been hinting at an imminent retirement for his last few fights but seemed reluctant to fully commit to it. This Saturday was no different as he refused to take off his gloves and make it official.
If he does have one more in him, there is an age-appropriate matchup out there for him. Swanson has called for a fight with Urijah Faber in the past and Faber seemed up for it. He may be 45 and without a fight booked since 2019, but Faber has been staying in shape with some grappling matches here and there, including two this year. Plus, the UFC still has him listed as an “active” fighter on their roster.
Let the man with the “SoCal” tattoo on his chest fight “The California Kid” and let’s do it in California.
Swanson’s next fight: Urijah Faber
Manel Kape
“Starboy” lived up to his nickname and put on his best performance yet in the UFC on Saturday. He styled on Bruno Silva for two rounds before putting him away in the third despite taking multiple low blows. He then called for a title shot, hoping this performance would launch to the top of queue. With the blurry title picture at flyweight, he’s probably just one more fight away from it.
However, he’s still just one fight removed from the very disappointing Muhammad Mokaev bout. Also, with Deiveison Figueiredo now looking to throw his name into the hat, 125 might have more options than we thought.
Kai Kara-France is also right there with Kape as contenders next line. They were once booked against each other, there is bad blood, and the fight now makes more sense than ever. Let them go at it to determine which of the two really deserve their crack at the title.
Kape’s next fight: Kai Kara-France
Dustin Jacoby
In a fight that had the fans booing due to its lack of action, Dustin Jacoby put Vitor Petrino out cold at UFC Tampa with a right hand very similar to the one Kamaru Usman slept Jorge Masvidal with. This type of win was just what the doctor ordered for Jacoby who had lost his previous two fights and came into this one 1-4 in his last 5.
In terms of rankings and meritocracy, the winner of Ion Cutelaba and Ibo Aslan in Seattle makes a lot of sense. Selfishly, I’d like to see Jacoby face Artem Vakhitov. Both are former Glory kickboxers but have never faced each other. Vakhitov is most known for being the last person to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing. If the UFC is looking to replicate the storyline that they created between Pereira and Israel Adesanya, giving Vakhitov a debut against a kickboxer right outside the rankings might not be a bad idea.
Jacoby’s next fight: Artem Vakhitov
Daniel Marcos
Despite Marcos’ four UFC wins, a split decision over Adrian Yanez at UFC Tampa might not be enough to get him a ranked opponent due to how stacked with talent the division is. The undefeated Marcos turns 32 in March and I consider Yanez a quality win, so I’m willing to throw him against ranked opposition.
Kyler Phillips hit a roadblock against Rob Font this past October, so it would make sense for him to face someone outside the rankings. Thus, Marcos is a sensible opponent and the matchup itself should make an entertaining fight.
Marcos’ next fight: Kyler Phillips
Navajo Stirling
Navajo Stirling closed as a near 10-to-1 betting favourite and while he did show some promise, he also showed he is still very green. At 6-0 and after just turning 27 in November, there is a case to be made that he maybe shouldn’t be in the UFC this early into his career. Though, being this young at light-heavyweight isn’t the end the world since heavier weight classes tend to age slowly. The promotion should be in no hurry to push him up the ladder.
With Stirling firmly in the UFC, he should be matchmade for as if he were still on the regional scene. When Carlos Ulberg, another City Kickboxing product, lost his debut, the UFC spent his next five fights matching him up against the lower tier of the division. Tuco Tokkos was a perfect opponent for his debut, and Ozzy Diaz is exactly the type of opponent Stirling should get next.
Stirling’s next fight: Ozzy Diaz
