UFC 319 was one of the most exciting night of fights in recent memory. The card had some competitive bouts, electric finishes, and a belt change hands. In the main event, middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, was smothered by the challenger Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round thrashing. In the co-main event, UFC newcomer and blue-chip prospect Aaron Pico was shocked with a picture-perfect spinning back elbow KO, that left fans speechless. Some very interesting and heavily weighted matchups to make on this edition of losers.
Dricus Du Plessis
Khamzat Chimaev absolutely dominated now-former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis on the way to a virtually flawless, five round unanimous decision victory. Khamzat entered the bout ranked at #3 within the middleweight rankings. The loss was the first that Dricus has suffered in the UFC since being signed in 2020. DDP is now 9-1 with the promotion. It was the first time the South African has lost in some 11 fights, since 2018.
The performance on Saturday from Dricus didn’t lead anyone to believe that he needs an immediate rematch against Khamzat. He’ll likely need two, maybe even three wins for that to even be a topic of conversation.
An opponent that would make the most sense for Dricus is Reinier de Ridder. Reinier is currently ranked at #5 within the division. Timing wouldn’t matchup perfectly, as RDR fought at the end of July, but it’d be close enough. RDR is already 4-0 in the promotion, and it hasn’t even been a full calendar year since his debut. De Ridder’s finished Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. And in his most recent bout he headlined his first UFC main event with his split decision defeat of Robert Whittaker. Dricus has also fought and beaten Whittaker.
DDP vs RDR would be a good striker vs grappler matchup, but Reinier is a much different type of grappler than Khamzat. Much more jiujitsu based than he Khamzat, as Chimaev is a pure wrestler, which in-turn should offer a much different fight for Dricus and fans. Easy fight night main event or main card on a PPV, type of fight. Winner would be a fight away from the belt, potentially fighting for the belt with a spectacular finish.
Du Plessis’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder
Aaron Pico
Lerone Murphy delivered a highlight-reel KO for the ages with his first-round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico on Saturday. Murphy entered the bout ranked at #6 in the featherweight division, while Pico was unranked as it was his promotional debut.
It was a huge gamble for Pico that just didn’t pan out for him. Pico was riding lots of momentum as he had won 9 of his last 10 fights and was on a three-fight win streak.
Pico’s next fight has endless possibilities, but a strong choice would be the loser of Brian Ortega vs Aljamain Sterling. That fight goes down on August 23rd so the timing would matchup.
Aljamain is ranked at #7 in the division while Ortega is ranked at #4. So, giving Pico the loser of this bout works perfectly. It would also work in giving Pico a bit different of a look given the outcome of his debut and given that both Ortega and Sterling are grappling heavy fighters. This bout would also give Pico another chance to get a ‘name’ under his belt with either the former UFC Bantamweight Champion or a former UFC featherweight title challenger. This could be a tentative main event for a fight night card to really try and push Pico, considering he performed well in the minutes leading up to the finish.
Winner could be within striking distance of a title shot with nice mic skills. Loser would be in danger of slipping out of the top 10-12.
Pico’s next fight: Aljamain Sterling vs Brian Ortega Loser
Geoff Neal
Carlos Prates floored Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow in the final second of the first round on Saturday. Geoff, who was once 5-0 with the UFC, has now lost three of three of his last four fights.
Neal entered the fight ranked #11 in the welterweight division, while Prates was ranked at #12.
A good next opponent for Geoff would be Daniel Rodriguez. Daniel last fought in July when he won a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland at UFC 318. D-Rod has actually gone 3-0 since moving down to welterweight in October of last year. Geoff vs D-Rod would be a great boxing striking heavy fight. Daniel is currently ranked at #13 within the division so it makes sense from a ranking’s standpoint as well. This would be a good featured preliminary fight before a PPV card or even a main card fight on a fight night card. That’d be a must win for Geoff if he ever wanted to be in elite discussions again.
Neal’s next fight: Daniel Rodriguez
Jared Cannonier
Michael Page turned in a clinic on Saturday with his three-round, one-sided, unanimous decision beating of Jared Cannonier. Rough break for Cannonier as he has now lost three of his last four bouts.
Cannonier entered the fight ranked at #9 in the middleweight division while Page was unranked at 185lbs. but ranked at #15 in the welterweight division.
A friendly reminder that Cannonier is 41 years old. He’s always in wars.
Cannonier’s next fight should be against Roman Dolidze. Roman last fought in the main event UFC Vegas 109, and was submitted by Anthony Hernandez, earlier this month. This potential matchup was referenced in that edition of losers and it still holds true after UFC 319’s outcome. Dolidze is now ranked at #11 in the division. Roman just had his three-fight win streak snapped so he’s looking to get back on the right track but in a different position then Jared.
Great fight that could easily be as high as a co main event to as fight night card. Winner proves they belong in the top 10 while the loser could very well face sliding out of the top 15 with another loss.
Jared’s next fight: Roman Dolidze
Kai Asakura
Tim Elliott turned back the clock Saturday with his second-round submission finish over Kai Asakura to open the main card of UFC 319. Kai is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed late last year and making his UFC debut in a UFC title fight.
Kai entered the bout rounding out the flyweight rankings at #15 while Tim Elliot was ranked at #11.
So where does Kai go from here? UFC brass threw him in the deep end, and he sank, now what?
While Elliot’s win prior to Asakura is fighting soon (Sumudaerji), versus Kevin Borjas on the main card of a UFC Fight Night later this month, a more suitable opponent for Asakura was mentioned in a previous losers article. Now that Hyun Sung Park has been booked against the #14 ranked Bruno Silva, the Charles Johnson vs. Lone’er Kavanagh winner could make sense again.
At this point, that’s the fight that makes the most sense for Asakura. The timing would align. Charles was ranked in the top 15 earlier this year and also had a strong showing against star prospect turned #1 title contender, Joshua Van. Lone’er Kavanagh is an undefeated Cage Warriors and Contender Series product that is 2-0 thus far with the promotion.
Asakura’s 31 and he’s 21-6 as a pro. With his experience and notoriety, he’s got to continue to fight ‘names.’ No backsteps. If Charles or Lone’er deliver a finish, Kai could be the perfect matchup to provide a good proving ground for both competitors. Fight Night main card caliber of fight with the winner being undoubtedly getting a ranking if they don’t already. Loser of this bout should be unranked.
Asakura’s next fight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Charles Johnson Winer
