Manuel Torres

Rafael Fiziev proved he belonged back in the win column with his highlight reel second round finish over (#13) Manuel Torres in the main event of UFC Baku on Saturday. Torres, who appeared on the 2021 season of the Contender Series has now gone 5-2 with the UFC. Manuel hasn’t seen the final bell in his career with the promotion yet. All of his wins are first round performance winning stoppages. And Manuel’s other loss came in September of 2024 to Ignacio Bahamondes in the first round of their bout.

Menuel’s next fight should be against a man he’s already been scheduled against, Beneil Dariush. This is a pick that was featured on a previous edition of losers and in this scenario, it’s aged well. The pair were supposed to fight in April of this year, before Torres withdrew. Beneil fought Quillan Salkilld instead and was finished in the first round in early May. Dariush has now lost four of his last five but had ripped off an 8-fight win streak before that. Not to mention those other three losses were to Charles Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Sanit Denis. This is a good fight to determine who is worthy of staying within the rankings at lightweight between a young gun and a proven vet. Timing works too and this could be a co main of a fight night card, easy.

Torres’s next fight: Beneil Dariush 

Michel Pereira

Shara Magomedov bested Michel Pereira in a break-neck back-and-forth middleweight standup battle in the co main event. Michel has now lost 4 of his last five bouts. He’s now 10-6 with the UFC and 4-4 since moving from welterweight in 2023. This has been a rough stretch for Michel as he’s been finished by Anthony Hernandez and Kyle Daukaus during 5-fight line up. Abus Magomedov is the other fighter Michel dropped a unanimous decision to. Only victory was Zach Reese by spit decision back in February.

Michel should take on the loser of Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Brad Tavares. That fight is schedule for July 18th so the timing would be great. At this point, Pereira has all but solidified himself as a middleweight gate keeper. MAB has almost everyone at middleweight and is purely a “bombs-away” fighter with a 6-10, 1 NC record within the UFC. He’s on a two-fight skid losing a pair of unanimous decisions to Shara Magomedov and Mical Oleksiejczuk. Pereira has already fought Oleksiejczuk and defeated him back in _____. But long story short, MAB has also lost four of his last five. Brad Tavares is a 16-year UYFC vet with a record of 16-12. He’s lost four of his last five too. He’s on a 2-fight skid, getting finished by Robert Bryczek then dropping a unanimous decision to Eryk Anders in March. give Pereira the loser. Guaranteed action at a similar level of competition and fresh matchups.

Pereira’s next fight: Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Brad Tavares loser

Nazim Sadykhov

Matheus Camilo landed a picture perfect straight right dropping Nazim Sadyhkhov before leaping on him to violently finish the job on Saturday. Nazim’s losing streak now climbs to two as the 2022 Contender Series veteran was coming off a second-round stoppage to Fares Ziam last December.  Sadykhov is now 4-2-1 with the promotion, though he still has notable wins over names like, Evan Elder, Terrance McKinney, Ismael Bonfim, and Nikolas Motta.

Perfect next fight for Nazim would be the loser of the Mike Davis vs. Nurullo Aliev fight. That fight is scheduled for July 25th so not bad for the timing. Davis is 5-2 in the UFC, and his last loss was to Fares Ziam back in February of 2025. Aliev is 11-0 as a pro and 3-0 within the promotion. He’s got wins over Rafel Alves, Joe Solecki and Shem Rock. If Mike gives Nurullo his first loss, then Nazim would be the perfect follow up.  And if the fight has the other outcome, Nazim and Mike have had the same opponent and outcome recently. Good booking here and could sneak onto the main card of a fight night too.

Sadykhov’s next fight: Mike Davis vs. Nurullo Aliev loser

Charles Johnson

(#7) Asu Almabayev waited until the late in the third round of his one-sided performance to pull off a nasty suloev stretch in one of the most painful submissions UFC fans have watched in recent history. Devastating outcome for (#15) Charles Johnson who is now 8-7 with the promotion and has bounced between the win and loss columns in his last six bouts. Win over Sumudaerji, a loss to Ramazan Temirov, then the first fight to beat Lone’er Kavanagh. After that, stopped in the first by Alex Perez back in January before turning around and beating Bruno Silva via split decision less than two months later.

Charles should fight Jose Ochoa in his next fight. Ochoa is 9-2 within the UFC and has lost unanimous decisions to Lone’er Kavanah and Asu Almabayev. Ochoa’s UFC victories included a bonus winning second round finish over Cody Durden and his last outing a unanimous decision victory over Claytopn Carpenter in May. Giving Ochoa Charles as he’s coming off a win makes more sense as Johnson was rounding out the flyweight rankings heading into UFC Baku. This one could be on the prelims of a numbered card or main card of fight night card.

Johnson’s next fight:  Jose Ochoa

Brunno Ferreira

Ikram Aliskerov defeated Brunno Ferreira on the main card of UFC Baku on Saturday in a strategically fought victory. Ferreira has now lost two in a row, falling to a 6-4 record with the promotion since being singed off the 2022 season of the Contender Series.

Brunno’s next fight should be against Michal Oleksiejczuk. Veering away from a previous losers pick here of Edmen Shahbazyan, thought Edmen would make a great backup. Brunno is on a downward slide but has fought some exceptional guys (Marvin Vettori, Gregory Rodrigues). Brunno also has a submission loss at the hands of Abus Magomedov, but it came in October of 2024. Ferreira needs to prove he can stop the slide and deserves to fight for spot within the rankings at middleweight. Michal might do that a little faster for him than Edmen, but again, just fine as a second option.

Ferreira’s next fight: Michal Oleksiejczuk or Edmen Shahbazyan 

Michal Oleksiejczuk

Abus Magomedov craftily weathered some powerful strikes early to secure a guillotine choke late in the first round on Saturday. Michal, who was riding a 3-fight winning streak, now falls to 10-8-1 within the UFC. Oleksiejczuk is quickly becoming one of those fighters that has taken on nearly everyone. His win streak was a couple of wins away from bringing him out of his gatekeeper status as well.

Michal’s next fight should be against Brunno Ferreira who also competed on the card. The timing would be excellent, the two have a common opponent and are at around the same level currently. Good backup here for Michal would be a bout against Mantas Kondratavicius. Mantas is 1-0 in the UFC and got his shot with the promotion off of his performance on the 2025 season of the Contender Series. Mantas defeated Antonio Trocoli back in March via unanimous decision in his promotional debut. Michal would be a good litmus test for the newcomer.

Oleksiejczuk’s next fight: Brunno Ferreira or Mantas Kondratavicius

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Kyoji Horiguchi

Manel Kape completed the come from behind victory on Saturday to finish Kyoji Horiguchi in the pair’s rematch, nearly 10 years in the making. The loss was just the second of Horiguchi’s 11-fight UFC career. The first stint of which, came from 2013-2016. Horiguchi was re-signed to the promotion in late 2025 and has gone 2-1 since. His two victories were against Tagir Ulanbekov and Amir Albazi.

Horiguchi’s next fight should be against the loser of Brandon Royval vs.  Lone’er Kavanagh. That bout goes down on July 11 so the timing would be great. Royval is 7-5 with the UFC and on a 2-fight losing streak. He’s lost to Joshua Van (in a fight of the night winner) and was finished by Manel Kape in his last fight back in late 2025.

Lone’er is a 2024 Contender Series product that is just 3-1 with the promotion so far. In his second to last fight, he suffered the first defeat of his pro MMA career in the form of a late second round finish at the hands of one Charles Johnson. Lon’er got back on the right track with a surprising upset victory over former UFC flyweight champ, Brandon Moreno, in his last fight.

Giving Horiguchi the winner of this bout makes sense in timing, rankings, and fight style. Either matchup presents an interesting and entertaining matchup for fans. Co-main or featured high on the main card of a Fight Night card.

Horiguchi’s next fight: (#4) Brandon Royval vs. (#6) Lone’er Kavanagh loser

Ion Cutelaba

Navajo Stirling passed the test on Saturday in the form of 21-fight UFC veteran Ion Cutelaba. Stirling showed he was more than competent in mixing the martial arts and melting his opponent to get the finish. Cutelaba falls to 9-11-1 in his 10-years with the promotional giant. Ion is 3-3 in his last six fights. He’s lost to Philipe Lins, Modestas Bukaukas and now, Stirling. Cutelaba has defeated Ivan Erslan and stopped Ibo Aslan and Oumar Sy in the first rounds.

With that in mind, Ion’s next fight should be against the winner of Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs. Felipe Franco. That fight is scheduled for July 18 so the timing would be fine. Felipe is a 2025 Contender Series alum that received the call up after stringing together a couple more wins on the regional scene. Felipe is 0-1 with the promotion as he lost his debut to an undefeated Mario Pinto back in March.

Levi will be making his UFC debut in his bout against Franco. The 2025 Contender Series alum had his first-round finish overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for nandrolone metabolites. Levi is only 5-0 as a pro so his debut will be a large litmus test. Winner of this bout should draw a veteran like Ion who is known but outside of the rankings. Light heavyweight is super shallow, so with a good performance these guys could climb pretty quickly.

Cutelaba’s next fight: Felipe Franco vs. Lucas Rodrigues Jr. winner

Hyder Amil

Christian Rodriguez turned a highlight reel combination into a fight stopping guillotine choke late in the first round to get the victory over Hyder Amil on Saturday. Hyder is now riding a 3-fight losing streak and is 3-3 with the UFC. Hyder was 11-0 prior to the skid. Amil was stopped in less than 30 seconds by Jose Delgado, lost a unanimous decision to Jamall Emmers and now, Rodriguez took less than a round to stop him.

Hyder’s next fight should be against the veteran Andre Fili. Andre fought to open the main card of UFC 119 and lost to Vincius Oliveira, who was making his featherweight debut. Amil was once a very hot prospect with the promotion and Fili is a guy incapable of participating in a boring/noncompetitive scrap. This should be an easier one for match makers to book, though fans shouldn’t pretend that there aren’t plenty of other options within the division.

Amil’s next fight: Andre Fili

Melsik Baghdasaryan

Murtazali Magomedov stayed perfect as a pro and completed a nearly flawless UFC debut with his 87 second modified twister finish over Melsik Bagdasaryan on the main card of UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday. It’s been a rough three-year stretch for Melsik who has gone 1-3 in the time period. Not to mention, Melski has had four cancelled fights during that time period. The 2020 Contender Series alum had high hopes and started off hot at 2-0 with a performance, bonus to his name.

Melsik’s next fight should be against another 2020 Contender Series veteran. Baghdasaryan should take on Jordan Leavitt. Jordan last fought on June 6 when he lost late in the first round when Joanderson Brito submitted him. Brito is a fighter that Melsik has been booked against twice- in late 2022 and late 2025. Brito is now 7-3 in the UFC, so that doesn’t make too much sense. But Leavitt is 6-4, so that makes way for sense as a matchup for Melsik. Jordan is also 3-3 in his last six fights since mid 2022. His losses during that time period are respectable finish losses to Paddy Pimblett, Chase Hooper, and now Brito. With wins over, Victor Martinez and Kurt Holobaugh-both first round stoppages. Jordan’s most recent win came against Yadier del Valle back in February. Great scrap to make, even though Melsik seems to be a little weak on the ground.

Baghdasaryan’s next fight: Jordan Leavitt

Andre Fili

Vinicius Oliveira took a massive amount of damage in a two round war that saw him finally crumpling the veteran Andre Fili, to notch a victory. This main card opener was so good, it ended up securing fight of the night honors. Fili now falls to 13-13, 1 NC with the UFC. Andre has lost four of his last six fights. Within that stretch he’s lost to Dan Ige, Melquizael Costa, Jose Delgado and now Oliveira. His two wins are split decisions over Cub Swanson and Christian Rodriguez.

Very familiar and common opponent names here to another fighter on this edition of losers, Hyder Amil. That’s the low hanging fruit here, and the right matchup to make for a soon-to-be 36-year-old Fili. Who is still very game.

Fili’s next fight: Hyder Amil

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Regardless, all seven of the fights ended with a finish including the two final title fights to cap off the night. Some matchups made more sense than others and some were certainly more competitive than others. In the main event, Ilia Topuria suffered the first loss of his professional career as Justin Gaethje legitimized his UFC Interim Lightweight title. In the co-main event, top ranked UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane stopped Alex Pereira, denying him of a historic third belt in three different weight classes. The heavyweight and lightweight division were left especially reeling from this card.

Ilia Topuria

(Interim C) Justin Gaethje battered and brutalized the face of (C) Ilia Topuria, leaving him nearly unrecognizable on his way to a stoppage between the third in fourth round of the main event on Sunday. This was the first loss of Ilia’s now 18-fight career. He’s now 9-1 with the UFC.

The best fight for Ilia here is for him to stay at lightweight and establish himself. There are some climbing fighters fighting next month that could offer Topuria the perfect opportunity. Giving Topuria the loser of Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoit St-Denis makes a lot of sense here. Those two fight on July 11 so the timing could be fine. Topuria is going to need some time to recover. If Paddy loses, he’d be on a two-fight skid as he lost a unanimous decision to Gaethje back in January. Paddy would be 7-2 with the promotion. BSD is riding a four-fight win streak after he was finished twice; by Dustin Poirier then Renato Moicano in 2024. Either way, Ilia drawing one of these fighters would be an optimal way for him to start a rebuild. Easy co-main of a ‘PPV’ (numbered card).

Topuria’s next fight: (#6) Paddy Pimblett vs. (#5) Benoit St. Denis loser

Alex Pereira

(#1HW) Ciryl Gane had (#2LHW) Alex Pereira out on his feet against the cage early in the second round of their bout in the co main event slot of UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday.  Alex has lost two of his last three fights and is 10-3 with the promotion.

Alex said that he would speak with his coaches regarding whether or not he would be staying at heavyweight for his next fight or going back down to light heavyweight. Should Pereira go back down, he should take on the current champion, Carlos Ulberg. Since Pereira was forced to vacate his strap, Carlos took just a round to smoke former champ, Jiri Prochazka. Putting my eggs in the basket that Pereira and his camp elect to pack it up and go back down to 205lbs. and this would produce the matchup that makes the most sense. Not to say Alex doesn’t come back up, but he’s definitely looking to keep active.

I could see Alex drawing any number of names in the heavyweight division if he elects to stay. (#4) Waldo Cortes Acosta and his snappy boxing is a name that comes to mind that is coming off a loss as well. Last in the cage against (#2) Alexander Volkov last month losing a unanimous decision.  Of course, whatever Pereira elects to do will be on a number card in a co main or main event slot.

Pereira’s next fight: (LWCHMP) Carlos Ulberg 

Aiemann Zahabi

(#3) Sean O’Malley delivered yet another highlight reel KO on Sunday night with his second-round finish of (#6) Aiemann Zahabi. The finish had all of the signature style that ‘Suga’ has come to be known for, during his tenure with the promotion. Aiemann falls to 8-3 in the UFC as he suffers his first defeat in over seven years. After starting 1-2 with the promotion, Zahabi ripped off 7-wins in a row nearly ascending into the top 5 of the division.

Now Aiemann has to pick up the pieces after facing the former champ. Zahabi’s next fight should be against the loser of (#4) Cory Sandhagen vs. (#7) Mario Bautista. That fight is on July 11th. Cory is 2-2 in his last four. He’s coming off an unsuccessful title shot opposite of Merab Dvalishvili last October. Mario has 9 of his last 10 heading into this bout. His only loss in that stretch came to Umar Nurmagomedov in October of last year. Giving Aiemann the loser would make a lot of sense rankings-wise as well as timing-wise. Could see a bout like that as a co main or main event of a fight night card, easily. Big implications for an ever-moving bantamweight division.

Zahabi’s next fight: (#4) Cory Sandhagen vs. (#7) Mario Bautista loser

Derrick Lewis

(#5) Josh Hokit outclasses and dispatched a 41-year-old (#9) Derrick Lewis in an interesting, but lopsided heavyweight fight on Sunday. This may have been a ‘special order’ bout, but that doesn’t help it make too much more sense. Especially considering Hokit was heading into this one on the heels of his April victory of Curtis Blaydes.

But anyways, back to Derrick. “The Black Beast” is now 20-12 with the UFC and 2-2 in his last four. Firmly in the exciting and established gatekeeper realm. Derrick’s next fight should be against the loser of Marcin Tybura vs. Alexsandar Rakic. Aleksandar is moving up to the heavyweight division after an ugly four-fight losing skid stemming from a nasty knee injury opposite of Jan Blachowicz four years ago. Rakic was a force to be reckoned with and is 6-5 with the promotion. He’s only lost to killers; this current losing streak includes Jan, Jiri Prochazka, Magomed Ankalaev and Azamat Murzakanov. Interested to see him with the big boys, as he’s got a large frame.

Tybura is on a two-fight losing skid having lost to Ante Delija and Tyrell Fortune most recently. Tybura and Lewis fought in 2018 and Lewis finished him in the third round. This would be a fun one to run back as Marcin in Derrick’s age and being used similarly. Timing isn’t great as this fight doesn’t go down till early August. Still plausible.

Lewis’s next fight:(#12) Marcin Tybura vs. Alexsandar Rakic loser

Michael Chandler

(#9) Mauricio Ruffy looked as spectacular as ever as he had an answer for nearly everything that his hyper-explosive opponent, Michael Chandler, threw at him on Sunday. Chandler now has the miserable promotional record of 2-6 with the added bonus of one of his wins being against a fighter no longer with the UFC (Tony Ferguson). Chandler’s other win is Dan Hooker in his UFC debut in early 2021.

40-year-old Michael Chandler is in a horrible position after the loss at the White House.  But he could still pull a huge fight and an even bigger payday. Chandler’s next fight is a no brainer here; he should draw the loser of Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway. That fight goes down on July 11 so timing would be great. Conor will be days away from turning 38-years-old in his next appearance (if you can believe that) and has lost three of his last four fights dating back to 2018. That stretch includes fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone, and Dustin Poirier, twice. If Conor loses to Max in the pair’s rematch and doesn’t retire, then Mike is going to get his money fight. Only other fight on the table for Conor would be a Diaz fight, at least that makes sense.

Holloway is 4-3 in his last seven bouts dating back to 2022. He’s been way more active than Conor, obviously, and has lost to Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria, and Charles Oliveria in that stretch. All title fights. He’s coming off a five round unanimous decision defeat to Charles back in March. If he somehow loses, why not give him Chandler? Mike will likely somehow stay in the rankings, and it’d be a fun fight for fans.

Chandler’s next fight: Conor McGregor vs (#4) Max Holloway loser

Kyle Daukaus

Bo Nickal made quick work of Kyle Daukaus, dropping his opponent with a nice right hook and finishing him off with some terrifying ground strikes. The loss was Kyle’s first since being resigned to the UFC last year. In this second stint with the promotion, he had two finishes under a minute. One over Michel Perira and then over Gerald Meerschaert last November. The result on Sunday brings Kyle’s UFC record to 4-5, 1 NC.

Kyle should target former welterweight and middleweight title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum for his next bout.

Kyle was originally scheduled for the bout against Vicente Luque on April 11 but got rescheduled to take on Bo on this massive card. Vicente took on Kelvin in April instead and steam rolled him in a round. So great fighters to match up here, considering they had a similar outcome. Timing isn’t the greatest, but it could certainly work as Gastelum is a name a Daukaus has earned that. Kelvin is 2-3 in his last five, losing to Sean Brady at 170lbs. and Joe Pyfer at MW. Of course, Kelvin’s missed weight in that stretch so he always has a question mark next to his name. Fun scrappy fight to make between two capable fighters who have yet to put it all together in the UFC, albeit for two totally different reasons.

Daukaus’s next fight: Kelvin Gastelum

Steve Garcia

(#2) Diego Lopes notched another wild finish to his resume with his spinning stoppage over (#9) Steve Garcia to win the first bout of UFC Freedom 250 in the first round. Steve entered Sunday riding a seven-fight win streak as he was another fighter who had started off 1-2 with the UFC before streaking. That seven-fight win streak also featured six finishes. Truly devastating for Steve.

Going to do something a little different here. Jean last fought at the end of January and likes to stay pretty active. he’s gone 6-1 with the UFC in two years. His only loss with the UFC was in his second to last fight when Diego Lopes finished him in the second round. Jean bounced back with his last win over Arnold Allen via unanimous decision. Silva is likely going to be booked for a fight any day now. Steve should draw the loser of that bout as that is guaranteed to get him on the right track with a banger of a fight. He can’t rebuild the streak in one fight, but he can recapture some of the hype.

Garcia’s next fight: (#6) Jean Silva vs. next opponent loser 

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Belal Muhammad

(#11) Gabriel Bonfim looked like he was in the matrix on Saturday as he cruised to 50-45 unanimous decision victory over (#5) Belal Muhmamad in the main event. Belal is now riding a three-fight losing streak originating from his unsuccessful title defense against Jack Della Maddalena in May of 2025. The other name in that skid was Ian Machado Gary, who Belal lost to via unanimous decision in November of 2025.

Given the circumstances and the performance from Belal on Saturday, he deserves respect but given he’s turning 38 years old in just a month, will he ever make it back to title contention? That’s for Belal to answer.  But a fight that makes a lot of sense right now is letting him take on a name like Shavkat Rakhmonov.

The pair were originally supposed to fight in late 2024 but Belal broke his foot. Instead, Shavkat took on and defeated Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision. Due to injury Shavkat has been on ice since that appearance. He’s completely slid out of the rankings due to inactivity. Shavkat still has that notoriety at 7-0 in the UFC but needs a way to insert himself back into the division. What better way than matching these guys up to see where both stand? Fight Night main/co-main event where the winner gets a relevant ranking and an eventual path towards the title.

Muhammad’s next fight: Shavkat Rakhmonov

Edmen Shahbazyan

(#4) Brendan Allen logged an entertaining victory against Edmen Shahbazyan in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 118 to position himself closer to a title shot. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Shahbazyan that saw him defeating Dylan Budka, Andre Petroski, and Andre Muniz. The 2018 Contender Series alum is now 9-6 with the UFC. Shahbazyan was scheduled for a fight against Jun Yong Park in April, but the bout was cancelled after Park was injured.

That Park fight could be a good backup, but with that performance, Edmen should draw the loser of (#15) Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferriera. That fight goes down on June 27 so the timing would work. Ikram has won two in a row since getting smoked by Robert Whittaker in 2024. He’s 4-1 in the UFC. And his most recent fight was a victory against Jun Yong Park in October of last year. Ferreira is 6-3 with the UFC and coming off a devastating first round KO at the hands of Gregory Rodrigues. Shahbazyan drawing the loser of this huge fight is an excellent, but dangerous, matchup. Could be on the main card of a Fight Night or the undercard of a PPV. Winner fights a ranked name.

Oh, and deviating from a previous loser’s article pick of Israel Adesanya here. It’s not something completely outside of the realm of possibility, but at the movement, just feels like a little too harsh of matchmaking for Izzy, all things considered. Just doesn’t work as well right now.

Shahbazyan’s next fight: (#15) Ikram Aliskerov vs Brunno Ferriera loser or Jun Yong Park

Fares Ziam

Tom Nolan completed the mild upset of Saturday with his unanimous decision victory of (#14) Fares Ziam. The loss snapped a 6-fight win streak for Ziam who now falls to 8-3 with the UFC. Absolutely devastating outcome for Ziam who had finally climbed into the shark infested rankings of the lightweight division.

Ziam’s next scrap should be against a fighter like MarQuel Mederos. The 2023 Contender Series alum is 3-0-1 within the UFC. MarQuel has defeated Landon Quinones, Austin Hubbard, and Mark Choinski before he fought Chris Padilla to a majority draw in his most recent outing. MarQuel is on the climb and giving him a recently ranked fighter in a guy like Fares Ziam makes perfect sense. On the other side of the coin, Ziam needs to reset, a solid win against a respected fighter, preferably a finish, that’ll draw him another shot at the rankings. Only thing off here is that MarQuel last fought on April 11, so maybe the timing doesn’t matchup the greatest. Backup here is Chris Padilla (MarQuel’s last opponent), who is 4-0-1 but missed weight in his last outing.

Ziam’s next fight: MarQuel Mederos or Chis Padilla

Santiago Luna

Bryce Mitchell submitted his short notice replacement, Santiago Luna, in the final 10 second of their bout on Saturday. Considering the circumstances, short notice, and his second fight with the UFC, against a high-profile opponent, Luna had a decent showing. It’s still a bitter pill to swallow for Luna, as that was the first defeat of his professional MMA career. Santiago is now 2-1 with the UFC since being signed in September of 2025.

Good next fight for Luna would be to match him up against John Yannis. John fought on the undercard on Saturday and also lost. Yannis was taking on a tall task in formerly ranked fighter, Marcus McGhee (who was coming off a main event loss to Petr Yan). So, the timing would match up well here. Yannis is 1-2 with the UFC but his losses are to McGhee and Austin Bashi. Very respectable defeats. Excellent fight to make here, offering both guys a litmus test that is more in line with their trajectories.

Luna’s next fight: John Yannis

Junior Tafa

Iwo Baraniewski stayed undefeated on Saturday with his first-round destruction of Junior Tafa to open the main card of UFC Vegas 118.

Iwo was originally scheduled to take on Billy Elekana who is 3-1 with the UFC. After Billy withdrew, Tafa answered the call. Junior is now 3-6 with the promotion and has lost three of his last four fights. Tafa is in a sticky situation as if he wasnt in such a shallow division, he likely would have already been cut.

Best fight to make here is to rebook one of Junior’s fights that have been cancelled. A scrap with Ibo Aslan seems like exactly what the doctor ordered in this situation. The pair were originally supposed to fight in September of 2025 before Tafa suffered an injury. Tafa is 1-2 since that fight fell through. Aslan is 0-1 since it was booked. But that loss was also to Iwo Baraniewski. And it was also a first round finish. So, this matchup works great- and considering Ibo is riding a 3-fight losing skid, the loser of this bout will likely be facing the axe.

Junior’s next fight: Ibo Aslan 

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A few ranked matchups dotted this card, with the main event featuring a spirited scrap between former UFC flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Yadong Song, in an important bantamweight bout. Lots of ranked and nearly ranked fighters left picking up the pieces in this edition of losers. All but one of the main card fights ended before the final bell.

Deiveson Figueiredo

(#5) Song Yadong pulled off a guillotine submission victory at the end of the second round in his main event against (#7) Deivesion Figueiredo. Easily the biggest finish of Song’s career, as he pushes Figueiredo to just 1-4 in his last five fights. Figgy has also missed weight in that stretch.

Now 38 years old, Deiveson could be paired up against Raoni Barcelos who is on a 5-fight winstreak and just turned 39 years old at the beginning of May. Barcelos took down a host of names in that run including former UFC flyweight champ, Cody Garbrandt, Payton Talbott, Ricky Simon and Montel Jackson.  Barcelos is 11-4 since signing with the UFC in 2018 and is still a fighter that often times flies under the radar. Solid matchup for both men here that makes sense in the rankings as much as it does in the cage. Backup fight here could be against a fighter like Payton Talbott.

Figueiredo’s next fight: (#14) Raoni Barcelos or (#11) Payton Talbott

Mingyang Zhang

(#15) Alonzo Menifield looked stellar as he weathered an early storm to upset the hometown fighter and turn in a first-round TKO thwarting the unranked Mingyang Zhang. Despite the loss and the first-round stoppage, Zhang still secured the fight of the night bonus, a somewhat rare feat, and a promising sign in the aftermath of a stoppage loss. Mingyang has now lost two in a row. He’s been stopped in both. Johnny Walker got him out of there in two, last August.  Before that, Zhang was 3-0 in the UFC with as many bonuses and finishes. The Chinese born light heavyweight has cooled off considerably since that streak.

With that fact in mind, Zhang should target Jimmy Crute for his next fight. Crute had a fight against Dustin Jacoby scheduled for late January before he tore his ACL. Zhang took some time off after his Johnny Walker stoppage loss- this was the first time we had seen him since that appearance. Perhaps Crute’s comeback and Zhang’s recovery could match up well timing-wise Both have faced Menifield and lost. Crute pulled a majority draw in early 2023 before losing via second round submission to Alonzo, a few months later. Crute is 6-4 with the promotion while Zhang is 3-2. Perfect. Crute is riding a 2-fight win streak but with all the slowed momentum, a fight like this on the main card of a fight night could be more than plausible.

Zhang’s next fight: Jimmy Crute

Tallison Teixeira

(#3) Sergei Pavlovich proved he’s still here to stay within the upper ranks of UFC’s heavyweight division, with his 39 second KO of (#15) Tallison Teixeira on Saturday. The 2024 Contender Series alum now falls to 2-2 with the UFC and has gone 1-2 in his last three. His only win in that stretch was a unanimous decision against a shell of Tai Tuivasa back in January.

Tallison’s next win has to give him legitimacy within the division. Not too much harm done in this loss, as it was a large leap, but he needs that signature win, all the same. Teixeira should fight the loser of Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune. That fight will go down on July 25th, a ways away, but Tallison got stopped anyways.

Tyrell Fortune is a former Bellator standout that is currently 1-0 in the UFC. His debut was a very legitimate unanimous decision victory opposite of Marcin Tybura. Rizvan is 1-1 in the UFC. The 2024 Contender Series product dropped a split decision in his debut to Curtis Blaydes. Rizvan defeated Jaliton Almedia in his last fight back in February before the heavyweight was bizarrely released by the promotion (riding a 2-fight losing skid and 8-3 with the promotion).  Giving Teixeira the loser of this bout makes a lot of since as he’ll likely keep a ranking.

Teixeira’s next fight: (#8) Rizvan Kuniev vs. (#10) Tyrell Fortune loser

Cameron Smootherman

Former Rizin champion, Kai Asakura, finally got into the win column within the UFC Saturday. It took Kai under two minutes to smoke Cameron Smootherman. Smootherman is now on a 3-fight losing skid. He’s 1-3 in the UFC with his only win coming against Jake Hadley (who is no longer with the UFC).

Cameron’s next fight should be against Aoriqileng. Aoriqileng fought and lost on the undercard of UFC Macau. He was also finished with strikes. Aoriqileng is 1-2, 1 NC in his last three bouts. His only win in the stretch came against Cody Gibson who is seated in a bit of a hot seat himself. Cameron has to be careful here. So does Aoriqlleng, who is a 5-year vet of the promotion. He’s 4-5, 1 NC with the UFC. This fight is one of the numerous fights that could be made for a guy like Cameron Smootherman. This division is deep; fans should expect any name here. But Smootherman can’t necessarily afford another loss.

Smotherman’s next fight: Aoriqileng

Carlston Harris

Jake Matthews turned in an excellent body of work in the form of a unanimous decision victory over Carlston Harris on the main card of UFC Macau on Saturday. Jake’s striking was just too much for Carlston who has now lost three in a row and is 4-4 in the UFC since being signed in 2021. Worth mentioning here, but Jake was originally supposed to face Muslim Salikohv before his opponent withdrew from the bout.

Carlston’s next fight should be against Nicloas Dalby. Certainly couldn’t make the case for it to be the absolute best person for Harris to fight but, it’s not absurd. Nicolas turns 42 later this year, while Carlston turns 39 next month. Dalby has had a 10-year stint with the UFC and his 8-5-1, 1 NC during the stint. Nicolas is 1-2 in his last three with his most recent fight being a split decision victory over Saygid Izagakhmaev in November of 2025. Dalby was supposed to take on Jerimah Wells on May 16th before an injury forced him out of the bout. Wells actually faced and was submitted by Harris in the pair’s bout in 2023. Fight could make a lot of sense in this context.

Decent backup would be Victor Valenzuela who is 1-0 with the UFC against Max Griffin, who is no longer with the promotion.

Harris’s next fight: Nicolas Dalby or Victor Valenzuela

(#11) Alex Perez and (#NR) Sumudaerji

The main card of UFC Macau opened with a truly gruesome scene for viewers as the first bout resulted in a no contest after a low blow. Perez was left heaving over a bucket after repeated fouls by Sumudaerji. This was an important matchup as Alex Perez took on an unranked and surging, Sumudaerji- who was riding a 3-fight win streak heading into the cage. Perez, on the other hand, was 1-2 in his last three and coming off of missing weight but getting a victory over Charles Johnson (the last man to defeat Sumudaerji).

This would be a decent one for the promotion to run back.

The post What’s Next: UFC Macau Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Only a couple of ranked fighters on the main card of this one, with the main event seeing (#7) Arnold Allen proving he still belongs amongst the elites of the featherweight division with his five round unanimous decision shut out of the ascending (#12) Melquizael Costa on Saturday. Some interesting matchups to come out of this event!

Melquizael Costa

Arnold Allen secured the unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday. It was the grappling and transitions that sealed the defeat for Costa, as he has his six-fight win streak snapped. Melquizael is now 7-3 with the UFC.

The best next fight for Costa here is to have him take on (#8) Youssef Zalal. This matchup was featured in a previous losers article and it makes even more sense with the outcome on Saturday. Timing makes sense too, as Zalal just fought on UFC Vegas 116 on April 25th. Zalal also lost a unanimous decision snapping a lengthy (8-fight) win streak. And Zalal also lost against higher ranked competition in the form of Aljamain Sterling. Perfect reset fight for both of them, that could potentially be a fight night main or co main event. Both are coming off of their first UFC main events. Both bring the action on the feet and are relatively new faces within the upper ranks of the featherweight division. Easy one to book for matchmakers.

Costa’s next fight: (#8) Youssef Zalal

Daniel Santos

Doo Ho Choi delivered yet another thrilling fight and victory on Saturday as he engaged in a war with Daniel Santos before delivering the TKO in the second round, crumpling his opponent with body shots. This fight ended up winning fight of the night honors but snapped a four-fight win streak for Daniel Santos. Santos is now 4-2 in the UFC with his only other loss with the promotion coming in his debut back in 2022 to Julio Arce.

Daniel’s next fight should be against Morgan Charriere. That would be an excellent high-action scrap. Charriere is also coming off of a stoppage loss. The timing doesn’t exactly matchup here as Morgan’s loss came to Melquizael Costa back in December. However, it was a head kick finish while Santos was put away predominately with body shots, so maybe it could work out. Morgan is a bonus machine and in his 6-fight UFC career he already has four bonuses. (Santos has two bonuses in six fights). These guys matchup well and have similar records with the promotion as Charriere is 3-3. This would be a strong standup  matchup that has quick-twitch violence written all over it.

Santos’s next fight: Morgan Charriere

Malcolm Wellmaker

Juan Diaz pulled off the big upset on Saturday with his second round submission victory of Malcolm Wellmaker at UFC Vegas 117. The finish even earned Diaz a performance bonus. Devastating outcome for Wellmaker here, as the 2024 Contender Series alum has watched nearly all of his hype and momentum evaporate since last November. After his first round finish on the Contender Series and two subsequent first round finishes to start his career with the UFC, things were looking up (All of those finishes came via a mean check-right hook too). Last November, after losing multiple opponent,  Malcolm took on last second fill in, Ethyn Ewing, and lost his first pro fight via unanimous decision. Now the outcome on Saturday. Rough for Wellmaker, and its time to reset.

Malcolm’s next fight should be against Timmy Cuamba. Went back and forth with this one (potentially Kai Asakura if he’s badly beaten and finished by Cameron Smootherman.) But the Timmy fight is way more attractive for Malcolm here. Timing would be great too, as Timmy lost earlier on the main card and was also finished.

Kai is a decent backup as he has a name within the sport but has not performed since being signed to the UFC. Asukura is 0-2 since being signed from RIZIN in 2024. He lost his promotional debut title shot opposite of Alexandre Pantoja and lost to Tim Elliot. If Kai loses to a 2023 Contender Series product who is 1-2 with the UFC in Smotherman, well he could potentially be cut. But Wellmaker could be a decent choice in that scenario too, maybe even for Cameron, depending on how the fight ends. That bout is on May 30 so timing would be great too. Still options there for Wellmaker, but he badly needs a win.

Wellmaker’s next fight: Timmy Cuamba or Kai Asukura if he loses to Cameron Smotherman

Christian Edwards

Modestas Bukauskas edged out his short notice replacement, Christian Edwards, on the main card of UFC Vegas 117 to capture the split decision victory. Edwards was making his UFC debut on short notice after Rodolfo Bellato, the originally scheduled opponent of Modestas, withdrew. Also part of the reason that this fight was a catchweight bout at 215lbs. Not a bad showing/debut for Edwards who now falls to 8-5 in his pro MMA career.

Christian should fight Bruno Lopes for his next fight. Bruno is a 2024 Contender Series alum that has gone 1-2 with the promotion. He’s 14-3 as a pro. Lopes is currently riding a 2-fight skid, he was finished in the first round by Dustin Jacoby and was stopped in his last time out by Navajo Stirling back in late March. Bruno’s only win in the UFC came against Magomed Gadzhiyasulov in 2025. Great matchup here for both fighters to try and find their footing within the light heavyweight division.

Edwards’s next fight: Bruno Lopes

Timmy Cuamba

Benardo Sopaj delivered an exciting bout with his opponent, Timmy Cuamba, on Saturday before dropping his opponent and scrambling on the rear naked choke to log a second round submission victory. Timmy, a 2023 Contender Series veteran now falls below the .500 line in the UFC, as he’s 2-3. This loss snapped the 2-fight winning steak that Timmy had amassed in the calendar year of 2025.

Timmy should look for a fight against Ricky Turcios here. This would be a good move for Timmy as Ricky was on the Contender Series in 2017 but also was the The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 winner. Turcios has a decent name but is 2-4 with the promotion. He’s actually riding a 3-fight losing streak. The losses have been against Raul Rosas Jr., Benardo Sopaj and most recently, Alberto Montes, on March 7. So the timing wouldn’t be too bad and they have a recent common opponent. Good high action scrap to make here. But of course lots of options in that bantamweight division for Timmy.

Cuamba’s next fight: Ricky Turcios or Malcolm Wellmaker

Nikolay Veretennikov

Khaos Williams returned to form after a 2-fight skid rendering his opponent, Nikolay Veretennikov, unable to continue with a right hook to log a first round finish. The stoppage didn’t produce a bonus but Nikolay is now 2-4 with the UFC all the same. His victories include a split decision win over Francisco Prado and a first round stoppage against the now-retired, Niko Price. Plainly said, he’s yet to get a win against a current UFC caliber fighter.

Great next fight for Nikolay would be against Chidi Njokuani. Chidi is on a 2-fight losing skid. Jake Matthews choked him out in the first round of their July 2025 bout, and most recently, Chidi lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Leal back in February. Njokuani is a 2021 Contender Series alum that has a 5-5 record with the UFC.

Back up here would be a matchup against Jean-Paul Lebsnoyani. Lebsnoyani is 1-0 with the promotion since being signed off last year’s season of the Contender Series. His debut was a split decision victory over Phil Rowe who was cut from the promotion after losing. Jean-Paul was originally supposed to debut against former Bellator standout, Austin Vanderford.

Veretennikov’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani or Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani 

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 117 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the co-main event, UFC Flyweight Champion, Joshua Van, successfully defended his strap in a masterful boxing performance over challenger, Tatsuro Taira. In the main event, Sean Strickland edged out the UFC Middleweight Champion, Khamzat Chimaev to snatch back the belt. Only one non-ranked fighter on this edition of What’s Next, but a potential move up in weight for a couple of fighters.

Khamzat Chimaev

(#3) Sean Strickland surprised quite a few fans with his split decision victory of champion Khamzat Chimaev to win back the middleweight title at UFC 328 on Saturday. It was a hard fought bout for both men with Khamzat first looking nearly unstoppable, before his grappling started to fail him early/midway through the fight. This loss was the first of Khamzat’s career, though Kamaru Usman notably took Chimaev to a majority decision on short notice back in 2023. Chimaev is now 15-1 as a pro and 9-1 in the UFC since being signed in 2020.

205lbs.

Not sure if Khamzat will elect to move up to 205lbs or not with his 6’2″ frame and 75″ reach. But, according to UFC President Dana White in the UFC 328 post-fight press conference, Chimaev wants to give light heavyweight a go. If Khamzat indeed moves up, an excellent high profile, immediate test would be against (#6) Jamahal Hill. Jamahal is a 2019 Contender Series alum that has the seemingly unimpressive UFC record of 6-4 with 1 NC. He’s riding a -three-fight losing streak. But upon further inspection, he’s a former UFC light heavyweight champion that strung together a 4-fight win streak to take down Glover Teixeira for the belt in 2023. Hill has dropped three straight since then, losing to Alex Pereira, Jiri Porchazka and most recently Khalil Rountree Jr., last June. This fight would be a dangerous striking litmus test for Khamzat at 205lbs. Hill is 6’4″ with a 79″ reach. This fight could serve as part of a PPV card up to the co main event slot.

185lbs.

If Khamzat changes his mind and stays at 185lbs., the next matchup should be against (#5) Caio Borralho. Caio is 8-1 in the UFC and 1-1 in his last two. He lost to (#2) Nassourdine Imavov in September before bouncing back against Reinier de Ridder earlier this year. Timing would be a tad off but it could still make a lot of since and set up a title shot for either fighter.

Khamzat’s next fight: (#6) Jamahal Hill at 205lbs or (#5) Caio Borralho at 185lbs.

Tatsuro Taira

Flyweight champ Joshua Van brutalized (#3) Tatsuro Taira with his boxing at UFC 328 on Saturday eventually finishing the Japanese fighter after evading grappling exchanges and submissions. Taira showed massive amounts of grit in the bout and his tenacity eventually earned this scrap Fight of the Night honors. Even though Taira came in as a slight favorite, his stock doesn’t drop too horribly after a gutsy performance like that. Tatsuro is now 8-2 in the UFC since being signed in 2022. Taira is 2-2 in his last four bouts. But he’s earned fight of the night honors in both defeats. Tatsuro was riding a two-fight win streak heading into Saturday with second round stoppages over Hyun Sung Park and Brandon Moreno.

Taira’s next fight should be against the loser of Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi. That fight goes down on June 20 and is also in the main event slot. Timing wouldn’t be the best but it’d be worth waiting for either either fighter. Kape is currently 7-3 with the UFC and is riding a 3-fight win streak that saw him stop (#15) Bruno Silva, (#8) Asu Almabayev and most recently (#4) Brandon Royval.

Horiguchi is 9-1 with the UFC in total but is 2-0 since being signed back with the promotion in 2025. The former RIZIN flyweight champion has defeated (#14) Tagir Ulanbekov and (#7) Amir Albazi in his second stint with the promotion. Both fighters are ascending and with a victory could likely fight for the title. Since Taira just gave a good showing for the strap he’d be the obvious choice for the loser. This bout could even potentially be on the same card as the flyweight championship bout to line the winner up to take on the Flyweight Champ.

Tatsuro’s next fight: (#2) Manel Kape vs. (#5) Kyoji Horiguchi loser

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

(#2) Alexander Volkov turned in an excellent performance, despite a little chaos late, to capture a unanimous decision victory over (#4) Waldo Cortes-Acosta on Saturday night. The defeat cooled off the 2022 Contender Series Alum as it snapped a 3-fight win streak. Cortes-Acosta is now 10-3 with the UFC. His other losses are to Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Sergei Pavlovich. Heading into this fight he had stopped Ante Delija, Shamil Gaziev and most recently, Derrick Lewis.

Curtis Blaydes Matchup

For his next fight Waldo should take on Curtis Blaydes. Curtis was previously matched up with the winner of Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic winner on the UFC 327 losers article. Perhaps that matchup isn’t the best option seeing Brando end up getting the stoppage victory over Shamil along with the heavyweight ranking of #15.  Giving Blaydes a fighter like Waldo seems more appropriate. And it seems like a good step for Waldo as well after a loss to top ranked Volkov. Blaydes is 2-3 in his last five. Those three losses came to (#3) Sergei Pavlovich, UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinal and most recently (#5) Josh Hokit. He’s beat Jailton Alemdia and (#8) Rizvan Kuniev in that stretch. This could be on the main card of a PPV and gives fans a striker vs. grappler matchup between two top-level heavyweights.

Josh Hokit Matchup

Good backup fight here, if everything falls into place for it, would be (#5) Josh Hokit. Josh is a 2025 Contender Series alum and is just 3-0 with the promotion.  If he gets through Derrick Lewis on short turnaround he’d still need another legitimate win. Especially before unlocking a matchup with the upper echelon on the division. Cortes-Acosta could be that name. But only if it materializes right. That fight goes down on June 14.

Waldo’s next fight:  (#7) Curtis Blaydes or (#5) Josh Hokit if he beats (#9) Derrick Lewis 

Joaquin Buckley

(#6) Sean Brady used his grappling prowess on the main card of UFC 328 on Saturday to find the unanimous decision victory opposite of (#9) Joaquin Buckley. This loss marks just the second time Buckley has been on a losing streak in his 29-fight career (the other being 2022 when he lost to Naasourdine Imavov and then Chris Curtis). Stings for Buckley as before this 2-fight skid he was riding a 6-fight wins streak with included stoppages over former title challengers in Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington.

Gabriel Bonfim Matchup

For his next fight, Joaquin Buckley should take on Gabriel Bonfim if he loses to Belal Muhammad. That fight is scheduled for June 6th so the timing would be great. Bonfim is 6-1 with the promotion with his only loss coming to Nicolas Dalby in 2023. Since then, Bonfim has racked up four in a row including finishes against Khaos Williams and most recently, Randy Brown. Bonfim also has a win over Stephen Thompson in that stretch. It’d also offer fans a great standup matchup. If former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad loses, not sure the grappling aspect would be a good option for Buckley considering the outcome of UFC 328.

Yaroslav Amosov Matchup

Good backup option here would be Yaroslav Amosov. Yarolsav is a former Bellator Welterweight title Challenger a promotion where he went 8-1. Amosov is 2-0 with the UFC since his signing last year. Yaroslav has stopped Neil Magny and on the undercard of UFC 328 he took two rounds to submit Joel Alvarez with an arm triangle choke. Don’t sleep on this matchup. It could be a viable option for the promotion if they’d like to push Amosov at all. Could be a co main or a main of a fight night or a PPV opener/ feature prelim.

Joaquin’s next fight: (#10) Gabriel Bonfim if he loses to (#5) Belal Muhammad or (#14) Yaroslav Amosov

Jeremy Stephens

King Green looked as sharp as ever showing off his signature striking before electing to get the job done on the ground via a late first round submission victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 328. Jeremy’s 36th UFC showing went from bad to worse, first 4 lbs. heavy and then proceeded to get finished. Stephens also lost his UFC return last year in a unanimous decision to Mason Jones. Since that fight he suffered a stoppage opposite of Mike Perry during a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bout.

Seemed like Stephens was ready to call it a career after his bout with Green as he removed his gloves. But if he gets another bout in with the UFC a perfect option would be a fighter like Jared Gordon. Jared also suffered a submission defeat on the UFC 328 card. Jim Miller took under a round to catch Jared in a guillotine to bring Gordon to 9-8 with the UFC. Gordon has lost three of his last four bouts. Losses in this stretch include Nasrat Haqparast, Rafa Garcia and now Jim Miller. Walking back a previous losers article matchup here, as an Alexander Hernandez bout just doesn’t make much sense here even though he also is coming off a loss to Rafa Garcia too. Gordon shares three common oppeonts with Stephens: King Green, Charles Olivera and Jim Miller. All losses- except Green vs. Gordon ending via NC

Jeremy’s next bout: Retirement or Jared Gordon

The post What’s Next: UFC 328 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jack Della Maddalena

(#5) Carlos Prates put on a fantastic performance as he out struck (#1) Jack Della Maddalena on his way to a violent third round finish in the main event of UFC Perth on Saturday. The loss was JDM’s second in a row after he lost a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev last November, failing to keep Islam from reaching double champ status. JDM is now winless since defeating Belal Muhammad to capture the welterweight belt last May. He’s now 8-2 since being signed to the promotion off the 2021 season of the Contender Series.

JDM’s next fight should be against another former UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards. The matchup would line up too well. Both are strikers. Both former champs at 170lbs. And both were stopped in their last fight by Carlos Prates. They’ll be relatively close together when the new rankings come out.  Only hang up here is that Leon last fought way back in November so timing wouldn’t matchup too well. But it could still work. These two were actually booked to share the octagon in March of 2025 before JDM rebooked. Leon is currently on a 3-fight losing skid stemming from his loss to Belal Muhammad in 2024. Excellent fight night main event here that would be sure to deliver.

I like this fight more than a potential Kamaru Usman matchup, as Usman is coming off a unanimous decision victory to Joaquin Buckley but has been on the shelf for nearly a year.

Maddalena’s next fight: (#8) Leon Edwards

Beneil Dariush

Quillan Salkilld smoked (#12) Beneil Dariush inside of the first round on Saturday to earn himself a performance of the night bonus. Dariush becomes the fourth first round finish and bonus winning performance for Salkilld in his now 5-fight UFC career. Beneil has now lost four of his last five fights and has been finished in the first round of each. Dariush was originally supposed to face (#14) Manuel Torres in mid-April but that fight fell apart after Manuel withdrew.

Beneil’s next fight should be against (#14) Manuel Torres. Dariush turns 37 on May 6th so this would fight would keep him against relevant (ranked) competition. Plus, the two were obviously the originally scheduled co main for UFC Perth. Torres is 5-1 with the UFC, all of his wins with the promotion have been within the first round and earned him a performance bonus. A pretty dangerous fight for Dariush at this stage in his career.

I’m leaning more towards a matchup against a fighter like Nasrat Haqparast depending on what happens with the rankings (lightweight rankings can be a little finicky sometimes). Haqparast is 10-5 with the UFC and was riding a 5-fight win streak before Quillan Salkilld starched him with a first round head kick last October. That fight could be on the main card of a fight night event and could offer absolute fireworks. Winner gets another shot back at the rankings.

Dariush’s next fight: Nasrat Haqparast or (#14) Manuel Torres

Tim Elliott

(#12) Steve Erceg extended his win streak to two on Saturday with his hard-fought unanimous decision victory over (#11) Tim Elliot. Elliot is now 2-2 in his last four fights and has an overall UFC record of 10-12 since he signed in 2012. Granted, it’s worth mentioning that both of those wins during this stretch (Sumudaerji and Kai Asakura) have earned him performance bonuses.  Elliot turns 40 in December and still graces the rankings of the UFC’s flyweight division.

Pairing Tim up with the winner of Cody Durden vs. Ode Osbourne could offer a very fun veteran fight. Ode is 5-7 and 1 NC with the UFC while Cody is 7-8-1. Durden is rebounding from a 4-fight losing skid and picked up a victory opposite of Jafel Filho in his last bout. Osbourne has lost four of his last six. Backup option is to give Elliot (#15) Bruno Silva if he beats Edgar Chairez on June 6th. That would actually be the cleanest option here, the one that makes the most sense, but only if Silva gets the win on June 6th. Otherwise, matchmakers might lean towards squaring Tim off against an unranked fighter.

Elliott’s next fight: Ode Osbourne vs. Cody Durden winner or (#15) Bruno Silva if he beats Edgar Chairez

Ollie Schmid

Marwan Rahiki stayed perfect and extended his finish streak as he iced UFC newcomer Ollie Schmid on Saturday. Rahiki, a 2025 Contender Series alum was originally scheduled to take on Jack Jenkins. However, Jack had to withdraw from the fight after suffering an injury. 4-2 pro fighter, Ollie Schmid answered the short notice call while training for his HEX Fight Series 38 bout slated for May 30th.

Ollie’s second fight with the promotion should be against the loser of the Ramon Tavares vs. Kangjie Zhu fight. Tavares is 1-2 with the UFC since being signed off the 2023 season on the Contender Series. He is currently riding a 2-fight losing streak with unanimous decision defeats to Davey Grant and most recently, Jack Jenkins. Kangjie Is coming off of Road to UFC where he won three bouts. His fight with Tavares will be his UFC debut. Giving Ollie the loser of this fight makes a lot of sense and would give him a great opportunity to prove himself against a more evenly matched opponent with a full training camp. Timing would be decent as well as the pair are scheduled to fight on May 30th.

Schmid’s next fight: Ramon Tavares vs. Kangjie Zhu loser

Shamil Gaziev

Brando Percic delivered a stunning KO to punctuate his back and forth fight of the night winning heavyweight scrap with (#14) Shamil Gaziev on Saturday. The bout was pure excitement until it ended late in the second round. The defeat brings Shamil’s UFC record to .500 as he’s now 3-3 with the promotion. A far cry from the 11-0 record he entered the promotion with. After Gaziev’s first round defeat to Waldo Cortes-Acosta back in November, and the result in Perth, he is riding his first ever losing streak.

Shamil Gaziev’s next fight should be against (#15) Mick Parkin.  Mick is a 2022 Contender Series alum that is 4-1 with the promotion since being signed. Parkin was last in action last March when he lost a unanimous decision to Marcin Tybura. Parkin recently withdrew from a fight against Mario Pinto that was scheduled for late March.  Both guys are towards the bottom of the rankings and coming off of loses, so decent fight to make here.

Gaziev’s next fight: (#15) Mick Parkin 

Tai Tuivasa

UFC Perth’s main card kicked off with a heartbreaker for fans in attendance as Louie Sutherland out grappled and neutralized fan favorite Tai Tuivasa over three rounds. Tuivasa, who once fought Cyril Gane in a title eliminator bout, has now lost seven in a row, actually stemming from that Gane loss in 2022. Tai hasn’t won in four years and has been finished in four of those seven defeats. Tuivasa is 8-12 with the promotion since being signed in 2017.

What to do with Tai here. What to do. Logic says he will almost certainly be cut. But I could see a scenario where he is kept around for just one more opportunity. It is the heavyweight division after all, and Tai is extremely likeable and just turned 33. Tai could potentially draw a fight with a guy like Sean Sharaf. Sean is 0-2 with the UFC and was the fighter originally scheduled to take on Tai at UFC Perth. Sean had to withdraw from the bout due to a broken nose. Sharaf’s UFC career has consisted of him being finished in the second round at the hands of Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund. Long story short, don’t be surprised to see Tai cut after this one, but if not, a do or die fight like this is what’ll be next.

Tai’s next fight: Cut or Sean Sharaf  

The post What’s Next: UFC Perth Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

It was an extra-long main card as all but the first fight on the card going the distance. In the main event, an important featherweight scrap, as former UFC bantamweight champion, (#5) Aljamain Sterling out-grappled (#7) Youssef Zalal on his way to a unanimous decision victory. In the co-main event Joselyne Edwards used her constant striking aggression to capture a unanimous decision victory over Norma Dumont.

Four win streaks were snapped on this main card while just two fighters have added to losing streaks.

Youssef Zalal

(#5) Aljamain Sterling put on a clinic in all things grappling and wrestling on Saturday when he smothered (#7) Youssef Zalal over five rounds to log a victory. Bitter defeat for Zalal as this is the first loss of his second UFC stint. Zalal was the owner of a 2-3-1 stretch with the UFC from 2020 to 2022 but that included decision defeats against studs like eventual double champ, Illia Topuria and striking standout, Sean Woodson. Since Zalal’s resigning in 2024, he’s 5-1. Youssef was coming into this fight with a decision win over Calvin Kattar and a first round submission victory against Josh Emmett back in October.

A good next opponent for Zalal would be to give him the loser of Melquizael Costa vs. Arnold Allen. That fight goes down on May 16 so the timing would be just fine.  It’s also a main event so it would make even more sense as a matchup. Allen has lost three of his last four as he has recently had a huge step-up in competition. His last fight was back in late January when he lost a unanimous decision to Jean Silva. Melquizael Costa, on the other hand, is on the ascent. Costa is on a six-fight win streak and has finished his last two opponents, most recently, Dan Ige in late February to earn himself a performance bonus.

Best case scenario for Zalal is he’s facing Costa who has a freshly snapped win streak much like himself. This could be a fight night co-main event or potentially even a main event. Great fighters to build names for.

Zalal’s next fight: (#12) Melquizael Costa vs.  (#8) Arnold Allen loser 

Norma Dumont

(#11) Joselyne Edwards used her muay thai and stayed on the offensive in order to get the victory over (#3) Norma Dumont in the co main event on Saturday. It was a competitive fight, but Dumont suffers a horrific setback suffering her first loss since a split decision in May 2022 (opposite of Macy Chiasson). Dumont is now 9-3 with the promotion. Considering Dumont was originally supposed to take on (#5) Yana Santos before her opponent suffered an injury having to withdrawal, this is a rough defeat.

Norma’s next opponent should be Jacquline Cavalcanti if she loses her fight to Ketlen Vieira. That fight goes down on May 16 so the timing would be fine. The Yana fight would also work fine as a backup as she’s just sitting on the shelf right now. Leaning heavily towards the fight with Cavalcanti though. Dumont was Vieira’s most recent loss, and it was only by split decision. Cavalcanti is 10-1 as a pro and a perfect 5-0 in the UFC.  If she stumbles against Vieira, Dumont could be the perfect next test- especially if it’s a close fight.

Dumont’s next fight: (#10) Jacqueline Cavalcanti or (#5) Yana Santos

Alexander Hernandez

Rafa Garica remained cool and composed for the duration of his bout with Alexander Hernadez, fighting within his game plan to tally a nice unanimous decision victory. Bad outcome for Hernandez- but at least he wasn’t finished. The loss stops Alexander’s 4-fight win streak that saw him defeating multiple TUF veterans before stopping Chase Hooper and Diego Ferreira.

Hernandez should look towards a veteran striker for his next matchup, keep the foot on the gas, but maybe a potentially more manageable matchup. Giving Hernandez the loser of the King Green vs Jeremy Stephens fight could be incredibly interesting. Those guys scrap on May 9th so timing would be perfect. King Green even has a recent unanimous decision victory over Jim Miller, and so does Hernandez. Green is headed into that May matchup with Stephens riding a 2-fight win streak.

Jeremy Stephens hasn’t been in the octagon since last May when he lost a violent fight to Mason Jones. Stephens has been all over the place in recent years, from the PFL, to most recently a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships stint. Either one of these vets could offer an interesting and fresh standup battle with Alexander Hernandez. It could be on the main card of a fight night card or prelim of a PPV card.

Hernandez’s next fight: Bobby Green vs Jeremy Stephens Loser

Adrian Luna Martinetti

Davey Grant battered a relentless Adrian Luna Martinetti at the APEX on Saturday to get the unanimous decision victory. Luna Martinetti never gave up, despite his heavily damaged legs, and for that, this fight received fight of the night honors for UFC Vegas 116. The bout was Adrian’s UFC debut as he is a product of last year’s season of the Contender Series. This was Martinetti’s first MMA loss since his third bout, snapping a 15-fight win streak.

Jafel Filho also lost a unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 116, but he fell on the undercard to Cody Durden. Filho is 3-3 with the UFC since being signed off of the 2022 season of the Contender Series. Jafel was fed to the sharks immediately as he faced an undefeated Muhammad Mokaev in his promotional debut. Filho also has a performance bonus under his belt for his 2024 finish over Ode Osbourne. Pairing these two featherweights up could offer a high action fight for fans. Timing makes it too easy of a fight to make as well.

Martinelli’s next fight: Jafel Filho

Montel Jackson

Raoni Barcelos did enough with his grappling and deep submission attempts to steal a split decision over Montel Jackson Saturday, despite Jackson’s early knockdown. This loss extends Jackson’s losing streak to two though his last loss was also a split decision and opposite of former UFC flyweight champion, Deivision Figueiredo. Before this pair of defeats, the 2018 Contender Series veteran was riding a 6-fight win streak featuring three finishes and two bonuses.

Montel Jackson should fight Ricky Simon next. This would be a banger. Simon has big power in his hands and is fresh off a wild majority draw against Adrian Yanez back in late March. Timing wouldn’t be too bad. Simon headed into that fight having dropped three of his last four. But prior to that was his 5-fight win streak that earned him five bonuses in his first five fights with the promotion. Similar fighters in terms of having had their momentums extinguished. Seems like this would be a great time to book this slick standup battle that would have fans on the edge of their seats. This fight could be a co main event on a fight night card.

Jackson’s next fight: Ricky Simon

Marcus Buchecha

Ryan Spann used his 16 fights of UFC experience to expertly navigate the dangerous grappling attacks of Marcus Buchecha before finishing the fight with a two-punch combo in the second. Marcus, who was once 5-1 with ONE Fighting Championship, is now winless since being picked up by the UFC, last July. With a 0-2-1 record with the promotion, it’s worth noting that the 36-year-old heavyweight was originally supposed to take on Max Gimenis on Saturday before Max broke his foot.

Rebook the fight with Max here. Max lost his debut to Josh Hokit, who at the time, was also making his debut. With all the notoriety Hokit has gained recently, giving Max a fight against a fighter that was a name outside of the promotion makes a lot of sense. Plus, the heavyweight division is shallow, and Marcus could be on the shelf long enough for Max to recover from his injury.

Buchecha’s next fight: Max Gimenis

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 116 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC bantamweights Kyler Phillips and Charles Jourdain lit the place up with their scrap in the co-main event slot. Every fighter on this edition of our losers matchmaker in a rough place, but that makes for some high stakes matchups on the horizon.

Gilbert Burns

(NR) Mike Malott turned in a great night at the office, stopping UFC veteran (#11) Gilbert Burns in the third round of the UFC Winnipeg main event. Burns announced that he would be retiring from professional fighting after the loss.

The 39-year-old ends his 12-year career with the UFC riding a five-fight skid but went 15-10 overall across two weight classes. Burns also challenged Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight strap in 2021. ‘Durinho’ will be missed by fans as he brought a good-spirited attitude, slick submissions and unbelievable forward pressure in fights. A solid representative of the sport.

Burns’s next fight: Retirement

Kyler Phillips

Charles Jourdain secured a high-flying, high-action victory over Kyler Phillips via a unanimous decision in the co main event of UFC Winnipeg. It was an important bout for the division with Phillips being recently ranked in the Top 15 and Jourdain ascending through the ranks of the division since dropping down to bantamweight. The fight also ended up scoring Fight of the Night honors. Kyler now falls to 6-4 with the UFC and has dropped three in a row. Philips last earned a victory two years ago with a victory of Pedro Munhoz, who recently retired.

The 2017 Contender Series product needs a win badly here. Good next fight would be a matchup again Said Nurmagomedov. Said and Kyler were matched up previously, back in 2023. But that fight fell through after Said withdrew. Nurmagomedov is 1-2 since that fight cancellation while Phillips is 2-3.  This fight would be a great standup battle though the timing isn’t the best with Nurmagomedov’s last bout having been in July of 2025. The pair also share a loss to (#12) Vinicius Oliveira in the year of 2025. This bout could be high on the main card of a fight night.

Phillips’s next fight: Said Nurmagomedov

Mandel Nallo

Jai Herbert overcame a couple of early knockdowns to finish the Mandel Nallo just over two minutes into the pair’s fight on Saturday. A disappointing promotional debut for Nallo, a Bellator veteran and 2025 Contender Series product. 36-year-old Mandel now has a pro MMA record of 14-4.

Nallo has couple directions here in terms of matchups. An aggressive path vs. a more conservative one. Leaning towards giving him Jamie Mullarkey who is 6-7 with the promotion and has lost three of his last four. All three losses were first round stoppages, but against solid competition, Nasrat Haqparast, (#10) Mauricio Ruffy and Quillan Salkilld. Mullarkey was last in action at the end of January when he was submitted by Salkilld on UFC 325. A somewhat aggressive pairing but one that’s certainly feasible.

Backup choice here would be a pairing with Rolando Bedoya. Rolando is 0-4 with the UFC since being signed in 2023. Bedoya has yet to be stopped and he’s dropped fights to Khaos Williams and Kenan Song at 170lbs., and Jai Herbert and Jamie Mullarkey at 155lbs. Either way, exciting potential matchups for Nallo, but the timing, among other variables would work best with a matchup against Mullarkey. This would work well as a feature prelim type of fight with how Mandel brings it.

Nallo’s next fight: Jamie Mullarkey or Rolando Bedoya

Karine Silva

(#7) Jasmine Jasudavicius logged a hard-fought unanimous decision victory on Saturday, evading submissions from (#9) Karine Silva and landing takedowns and damaging ground n’ pound. Karine has now lost three of her last four and falls to 5-3 with the UFC. Rough four-fight stretch for Karine who, after her 2021 victory on the Contender Series ripped off three straight wins, all by submission in the first round. To be fair, Karine’s other losses in the UFC have been against stiff competition in Viviane Araujo and (#5) Maycee Barber.

Pair Karine up with Miranda Maverick for her next fight. Maverick also lost a unanimous decision to Jasmine, though it was back in 2023. Another common opponent and outcome against, Maycee Barber, who Maverick faced five years ago. These two women are right next to each other in the rankings and Miranda is coming off of a June of 2025 loss to (#6) Rose Namajunas but hasn’t been booked since then. Even though the timing does not matchup this is a great grappler vs. grappler ranked matchup.

Silva’s next fight: (#10) Miranda Maverick

Thiago Moises

Gauge Young got the split decision nod to open up the UFC Winnipeg main card on Saturday opposite of Thiago Moises. Thiago started off strong but was ultimately edged out by the strikes and takedown defense of his opponent. Thiago falls to 8-8 in the UFC and has lost three of his last four. All of Thiago’s losses with the promotion are against solid competition ((#12) Beneil Dariush, Damir Ismagulov, (WWCHP) Islam Makhachev, Joel Alvarez, (#5) Benoit Saint-Denis, L’udovit Klein, Jared Gordon).

A good matchup here for a vet like Moises would be to give him another young gun, this time, Chase Hooper. Hooper is 2018 Contender Series product that is 8-5 with the UFC at just 26 years old. Chase ripped off a five-fight win streak from 2023-2025, which featured three submission finishes. But he’s struggled with his recent step up in competition. Chase was finished in the first round by Alexander Hernandez in August of 2025. Most recently, Lance Gibson Jr. melted the young lightweight with knees at the end of last month.

This would be an excellent grappling matchup and would do some heavy lifting for both fighters. This fight could easily grace the main card of a fight nigh. Could even see it landing in a feature prelim slot of a pay per view card.

Moises’s next fight: Chase Hooper

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