After a rare two-week break between cards, the MMA leader was back in action with UFC Nashville on Saturday.
The promotion’s seventh trip to Nashville had an “Old Guard vs New Gen” type of feeling to it. The card’s top three fights saw veterans Derrick Lewis, Stephen Thompson and Calvin Kattar all go up against younger fighters on the come up with only “The Black Beast” being victorious. Let’s break down who the winners at UFC Nashville should face next!
Derrick Lewis
Another fight, another knockout for the now 40-year-old “Black Beast.” This type of card is what Lewis is perfect for. Aside from a few exceptions here and there, he’s always been a guaranteed highlight and a fan-favourite everywhere he goes. After fighting for the belt twice, it’s now clear that Lewis’ title contention days are behind him, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still find heavyweights for him to clash with. I could see the UFC just re-book the Jhonata Diniz matchup from last November, but I prefer the winner of the upcoming Martin Buday vs Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida fight coming up in two weeks.
Lewis’ next fight: Buday/Buchecha winner
Gabriel Bonfim
The youngster Bonfim may have got the nod from two of the three judges sitting cage side on Saturday, but the overall sentiment from the fans is that he lost the fight. The Verdict fan-scoring as well as 12 of 14 media members on MMA Decisions scored the fight for Wonderboy. This win will propel Bonfim into the rankings, but I doubt his performance will earn him another ranked name right away. He will instead have to defend his spot against an unranked, lesser-known fighter. That’s why I have him facing the winner of the Muslim Salikhov vs Carlos Leal fight on the Abu Dhabi card later this month.
Bonfim’s next fight: Salikhov/Leal winner
Steve Garcia
Heading into UFC Nashville, Garcia was on a 5-fight win streak entering this contest with all five wins coming by knockout. Though Kattar wasn’t able to get the victory, his insane toughness made sure Garcia’s KO streak stopped there. Garcia took advantage of a post-knee surgery Kattar to earn 30-27s across the board. After taking out one staple of the featherweight rankings of the past half-decade, let’s see if he can take out another one in Josh Emmett. Kattar and Emmett have a lot of common as opponents for Garcia, let’s see if the 33-year-old can keep his streak going.
Garcia’s next fight: Josh Emmett
Morgan Charrière
After waiting for a perfect counter shot for the first two rounds, Charrière came out like a bat out of hell for the third to KO Nate Landwehr just 27 seconds into the round. This was an important knockout for the Frenchman in two ways. First off, it’s restorative for his reputation as his performance against Nathaniel Wood in March left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths. Secondly, it means there’s a good chance he’ll be able to make the turnaround to September 6th for the annual Paris card. As for his opponent, there’s a list of names that could be interesting, but I ultimately landed on Julian Erosa, who’s a good test for anyone. “Juicy J” is a veteran of the game who’s been super active as of late and isn’t afraid of a challenge.
Charrière’s next fight: Julian Erosa
Vitor Petrino
I’m not sure what to think of Petrino as a heavyweight. He used to be a bright spot at light-heavyweight, but back-to-back losses in 2024 to Anthony Smith and Dustin Jacoby saw his stock plummet. The move to heavyweight seemed a bit desperate, but he did look like he actually took the time to bulk up. He wasn’t exactly facing top tier competition in Austen Lane at UFC Nashville, but he finished him inside one round like he was expected to. Since I’m still unsure about what we have in Petrino at heavyweight, let’s give him another fighter in that same tier. Mohammed Usman seems like a good second test for the Brazilian in his new division.
Petrino’s next fight: Mohammed Usman
Tuco Tokkos
After dropping his first two UFC bouts to undefeated prospect last year, Tokkos was probably fighting for his job against Junior Tafa. The Englishman not only pulled off the win, but he did it via finish. After going 5-for-9 on takedowns, Tokkos finally secured the rear-naked choke in the second round. For as much as I think there aren’t a ton of unranked names at 205lbs for Tokkos to fight, I also think you can’t go wrong when booking him. So why not Ivan Erslan? A man who is in the same position as Tokkos was entering this fight: 0-2 in the promotion and probably fighting for his job.
Tokkos’ next fight: Ivan Erslan
