The UFC Atlanta main card may not have had a finish on it, but it did deliver when it came to storylines. We saw an all-time great fighter earn his first win since 2021 and Rose Namajunas move to 3-2 at flyweight as former champions went 2-1 on the night. Let’s take a closer at those storylines and see what should be next for our main card winners.
Kamaru Usman
“The Nigerian Nightmare” had to wait a long time, but he finally got his hand raised once again. After dropping three fights in a row and taking a 20-month layoff, Usman stopped the streaking Joaquin Buckley in his tracks. “New Mansa” was on a six-fight heater since dropping to welterweight, but he had no answer for Usman’s takedowns.
Though he called for a title shot next, I doubt the UFC is looking to invest that much into a 38-year-old Usman. This was a nice win, but in a title picture as crowded as the one at 170 currently is, we have to imagine he’s at least one more win away from a shot. I could see the promotion try again to use his name value against a young up-and-comer such as Ian Machado Garry, but I do think they’ll choose something else. There’s a bad blood matchup between Usman and Belal Muhammad that has been brewing for some time. Now that the two former champions aren’t holding the belt anymore, there’s a clear window to make this fight.
Usman’s next fight: Belal Muhammad
Rose Namajunas
With a unanimous decision victory over rising contender Miranda Maverick in the UFC Atlanta co-main event, Namajunas moved to 3-2 since making her move to flyweight. Her only losses came to Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield in hard-fought bouts. Rose’s popularity will always work in her favor, meaning she’s never that far away from a number one contender fight. Getting back on track with this win means she can fight upwards right away and get a chance to insert herself back into the division’s top5. I think a fight with fellow former champion and fellow former strawweight Alexa Grasso makes sense and would be interesting. Can Rose make the turnaround for the Noche card San Antonio?
Namajunas’ next fight: Alexa Grasso
Edmen Shahbazyan
Shahbazyan’s fights are predictable in that they often end one of two ways:
- Scenario #1: He either gets the 1st-round KO
- Scenario #2: He gets finished later in the fight after failing to achieve scenario #1
This time, his UFC Atlanta fight with Andre Petroski went the distance marking his first time seeing the judges’ scorecards since his bout with Jack Hermansson in 2021. This also marked his first time winning consecutive fights since 2019.
Someone as exciting as Shahbazyan should be facing fighters who can match his style and deliver fireworks. The upcoming fight between Shara “Bullet” Magomedov and Marc-André Barriault is a great example of that. Shahbazyan can fight the winner later this year.
Shahbazyan’s next fight: Magomedov/Barriault winner
Raoni Barcelos
Barcelos was always looked at as one of the most underrated fighters of his division, but after going 1-4 between 2021 and 2023, which included a brutal KO loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, it looked like age was catching up to the Brazilian. Since then, he bounced back with a submission win over Cristian Quiñonez, a massive betting upset over Payton Talbott earlier this year, and now a unanimous decision win over a former champion in Cody Garbrandt.
Is this enough to get him the shot at the rankings he was never granted? I doubt so, but a fight against Ricky Simón, another highly respected fighter in this loaded division, should produce a win streak worthy of a ranking.
Barcelos’ next fight: Ricky Simón
Mansur Abdul-Malik
The highly touted Abdul-Malik may have seen the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his professional career at UFC Atlanta, but somehow, he still didn’t go the distance. A rare technical decision due to a clash of heads saw a decision being read while still having completed the full 15 minutes of scheduled cage time.
At 27 years of age and just 9 professional bouts, Abdul-Malik is still so young for a UFC middleweight. The physical attributes would make any coach salivate, but he’s still obviously so green that his level of competition shouldn’t be raised for the foreseeable future. An opponent like Ozzy Diaz is what the promotion should be looking at.
Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Ozzy Diaz
Alonzo Menifield
They weren’t exactly exceptional performances, but that is now twice in a row that the veteran Menifield has given the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag to an undefeated fighter. After defeating Julius Walker in February, “Atomic” now snatched the Frenchman Oumar Sy’s 0 as well. Like I said, these weren’t contests that will go in the pantheon of exciting fights, but a win is a win. Now officially back on a win streak and having defended his ranking twice, the 37-year-old has earned another shot at someone ranked above him. Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang are fine options, but I prefer the idea of those two facing each other. So I went with the loser of the upcoming Nikita Krylov vs Bogdan Guskov fight instead.
Menifield’s next fight: Krylov/Guskov loser
