The UFC’s first ever trip to Qatar and fifth trip this year to the Middle East featured a bunch of fun, important fights with UFC Qatar topped by a pair of potential number one contender bouts.
The main card was off to a hot start as Volkan Oezdemir, Myktybek Orolbai, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Kyoji Horiguchi all scored impressive finishes on our way to our top two fights. In the main and co-main events, Arman Tsarukyan and Ian Machado Garry both called for title shots after their wins. With UFC Qatar now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.
Arman Tsarukyan
After pulling out 24 hours away from his rematch against Islam Makhachev at the start of the year, the UFC clearly wasn’t happy with the Armenian. That’s why he was tasked with winning another bout even after already having earned his title shot. Being the massive betting favourite he was, Tsarukyan had the pressure of not only beating Dan Hooker but doing so in a way that would cement his number one contender status. That’s what he accomplished as he battered the Kiwi on his way to a second-round submission stoppage.
Rumours seem to be flying around that Ilia Topuria will headline the first numbered event of the Paramount era in January. The consensus seems to be that Paddy Pimblett will be his opponent due to the Englishman’s star power and their history. However, Tsarukyan still called for the shot in January, saying he will be ready. There’s no question that from a meritocratic standpoint, Tsarukyan is way ahead of Pimblett in the queue, but time will tell whether the UFC will still opt for Pimblett in January. One thing is certain, whether it’s in January or later, Tsarukyan’s next fight has to be for the lightweight title.
Tsarukyan’s next fight: Title shot
Ian Machado Garry
Like Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry called for a title shot after beating Belal Muhammad. Unlike Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry did not put on the type of performance that will solidify his status as the number one contender. While you could do worse than pick the Irishman as Makhachev’s first title defence, he hasn’t had a truly inspiring win in some time. His loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov upped his stock in a big way, but it was still a loss. His last four wins came against Geoff Neal, Michael Page, Carlos Prates and now Belal Muhammad. All very good names, but none of those tests were passed with what you would call “flying colours”. If anything, I think this win by Garry helps both Rakhmonov and Michael Morales’ cases for a shot. Prates is coming off back-to-back sensational KOs, but his loss to Garry will keep him behind the Irishman. That is also why I think Garry’s loss to Rakhmonov will probably end up keeping him behind the Kazakh fighter. With the public opinion seemingly being that Morales needs one more win, Shavkat will likely get the first crack Makhachev’s belt. That leaves Garry with one of Jack Della Maddalena, Morales, and Kamaru Usman as the contenders he hasn’t faced yet. I like the JDM vs Prates idea a lot, and I think Morales could actually slide into a shot without an issue. So give me Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman in yet another number one contender fight.
Machado Garry’s next fight: Kamaru Usman
Volkan Oezdemir
The fighter from Switzerland stayed put as one of the steadiest fighters in the company. He never allows himself to go on long losing streaks that could derail his career, but he hasn’t put together the kind of win streak to get into the title picture ever since making a splash seven years ago. It feels like he’s been in the top10 forever and this latest first-round KO of Alonzo Menifield will keep him there for a little while longer. It both feels like you could throw any name at him while also having already fought everyone. I think a sensical matchup for Oezdemir next is the winner of the Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas fight in January. Whether it’s a Krylov rematch or a streaking Bukauskas, we can count on Volkan to show up and be a knockout threat.
Oezdemir’s next fight: Krylov/Bukauskas winner
Myktybek Orolbai
A strange fight took place as a former lightweight and a former middleweight met in the middle at welterweight. On paper, the matchup was interesting since there were good reasons to favour both fighters. Yes, Hermansson was the naturally bigger fighter, but he’s now 37 coming off an absolutely brutal KO loss in June. Meanwhile, Orolbai looked a lot smaller, but being 10 years Hermansson’s junior really paid off. Orolbai just walked a tentative Hermansson down and kept throwing looping right hands, just waiting for one of them to land. When he finally connected cleanly on one of them, that was all she wrote. It’ll be interesting to see what Orolbai can do at welterweight after missing weight multiple times at 155 lbs. There’s no wrong way to match him up, but I’d like to see him face Chidi Njokuani next, who’s also a former middleweight.
Orolbai’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani
Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Just three weeks removed from his wild finish of Ante Delija, and on just two days’ notice, “Salsa Boy” flew all the way to Doha to take care of Shamil Gaziev in a minute and twenty-two seconds. What’s even crazier is that Cortes-Acosta called for one more fight before the end of the year and while the calendar is coming to its end, I think the UFC could still squeeze him in if they really wanted to. I think the only fighter that might be down to get off the couch and face WCS on short notice is someone like Derrick Lewis. “The Black Beast” has a lot of respect for the ones who stand-and-bang, so I feel like Cortes-Acosta has gotten on his radar by now. The UFC is in need of some fun storylines, so why not put it as a co-main to Royval and Kape to end the year?
Cortes-Acosta’s next fight: Derrick Lewis
Kyoji Horiguchi
Almost exactly 9 years after his last UFC fight, the 35-year-old looked as good as ever in his dominant showing over Tagir Ulanbekov, who had won four straight coming in. In those 9 years outside the MMA leader, Horiguchi’s only losses came against Kai Asakura (whom he also beat), as well as Sergio Pettis and Patchy Mix a bantamweight. His first stint in RIZIN also included a submission win over Manel Kape. This fight proved that the Japanese fighter hasn’t slowed down and is still arguably a top5 flyweight in the world. With this win putting him in the division’s top10, he should face Amir Albazi next to see if he can crack the top5.
Horiguchi’s next fight: Amir Albazi
