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  

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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

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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

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

Of UFC 327’s 12 bouts, five were on the main card, with three finishes and the retirement WEC and UFC legend, Cub Swanson. Theme for this fight card’s losers, definitely upsets, leaving five guys to find new dance partners for.

Jiri Prochazaka

(#3) Carlos Ulberg flatlined (#2) Jiri Prochazaka with a check hook and follow up ground n’ pound to capture the vacant UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday night in Miami. Jiri practically fumbled at the one-yard line, so to speak, as Carlos suffered a catastrophic knee injury just movements earlier. The New Zeeland based fighter couldn’t even put weight on his leg- a stinging defeat for Jiri.

Best matchup for Jiri here would be to give him the winner of the Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov fight. That bout is scheduled for UFC 328 in May so the timing could work well. Miraculously, Jiri has yet to face former light heavyweight champ, Blachowicz,l or rising contender Bogdan Guskov. Both men are coming off a majority decision draw to each other back in December. This rematch should determine who faces Jiri. Bogdan is riding a four-fight unbeaten streak and is 4-1-1 in the UFC only having lost to (#9) Volkan Oezdemir in 2023.

Jan on the other hand, is in an interesting situation. He’s 1-2-2 since losing his belt to Glover Teixeira back in 2021. Both fighters are obviously at completely different spots in their respective careers, but either could make sense and offer a fresh standup matchup with Prochazaka.

Prochazka’s next fight: (#5) Jan Blachowicz vs. (#8) Bogdan Guskov winner

Azamat Murzakanov

(#NR) Paulo Costa stopped a battered and broken (#6) Azamat Murzakanov in the final round of the pair’s fight in the co main event on Sunday. The loss marks the first defeat of Azmazt now 17-fight professional MMA career as he slips to 6-1 with the UFC.

Best fight for Azamat here, considering he was undefeated headed into this and drew a fighter that wasnt even ranked- Johnny Walker. Johnny lost an uneventful split decision to Dominick Reyes earlier in the night. Azamat could need some time following his defeat as he took a surplus of damaging kicks. However, it could still work, and Walker would benefit from a fight against a fighter that truly pushes the standup action like Murzakanov. This matchup could and should be on the main card of a pay per view card. Winner looking for a top fiveish matchup. Just depends on how fast Azamat is ready to comeback.

Murzakanov’s next fight: (#12) Johnny Walker

Curtis Blaydes

(#NR) Josh Hokit shocked nearly everyone in the arena on Saturday with his victory over (#5) Curtis Blaydes, mic work, and immediate turnaround booking with (#8) Derrick Lewis. But Blaydes might have been the most surprised as Hokit avoided drawn-out grappling exchanges and forced one of the better heavyweight standup wars in recent memory. Terrible loss for Curtis here, even though this was an early potential fight of the year candidate.  Curtis is now 2-3 in his last five fights including his unsuccessful shot at the Interim UFC Heavyweight title in 2024, opposite of Tom Aspinal.

A good matchup for Curtis is to give him the winner of Shamil Gaziev vs. Brandon Pericic. That fight is in May so of course, considering how much damage Blaydes took, timing may not line up. But being extremely optimistic here. Gaziev is a 2023 Contender Series veteran that would be 4-2 in the UFC with a victory over Brandon. Shamil is currently coming off a first round stoppage loss to (#4) Waldo Cortes Acosta who also stopped Derrick Lewis in his most recent bout. So that would keep Curtis still in the loop and on track for a potential rematch with Hokit down the line.

Pericic, the other option here, is 6-1 as a pro and 2-0 in the UFC with two first round finishes. Those came against Elisha Ellison and Louie Sutherland. So, Brando would be in a similar position as Hokit headed into UFC 327. Main card of pay per view type of fight, with the winner drawing a descending top 4-8 fighter.

Blaydes’s next fight: (#13) Shamil Gaziev vs. (#NR) Brandon Pericic winner

Johnny Walker

(#10) Dominick Reyes edged out (#12) Johnny Walker in a very bland split decision that saw little output from either fighter. The 2018 Contender Series alum now falls to 8-7 with the UFC and has dropped three of his last four bouts.

Walker should take on Azamat Murzakanov as the fight has huge upside for both guys. However, a decent backup for Walker, if Murzakanov is on the shelf for a while would be Julius Walker vs Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev winner. That fight is scheduled for late June.  Julius would be 2-2 in the UFC if he got the win against Abdul. Currently, his most recent fight was a second round TKO loss to (#14) Dustin Jacoby. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev is a 2025 Contender Series alum that is 2-0 in the UFC. He finished his Contender Series opponent and both guys that he’s faced in the UFC inside of the first round. He’d be 3-0 facing Walker and looking for a ranking. This fight could be on the main card or a co main event of a fight night card.

Walker’s next fight: (#6) Azamat Murzakanov or Julius Walker vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev 

Nate Landwehr

Cub Swanson had the perfect retirement fight as he delivered a clean combination to score a TKO victory over Nate Landwehr in the first round of the UFC 327 main card opener on Saturday. Landwehr now falls below .500 in the UFC, as he’s now 5-6. Nate’s also on a 3-fight skid and has dropped four of his last five, so he’s really struggling.

Straying from a pick on a previous edition of losers matchmaker here, best fight for Landwehr would be to give him Patricio Pitbull. Patrico just fought in the feature prelim of UFC 327 and lost to Aaron Pico via unanimous decision. He’s 38 years old while Landwehr is 37. Similar recovery times even though Nate was stopped. Pitbull is 1-2 since coming over to the UFC from Bellator where he was a former champion. His only win is opposite of Dan Ige who has also fought Landwehr, though Nate lost a unanimous decision.

This would be a true base level litmus test for Patricio and could do some heavy lifting for Nate. Timing would line up great for these guys and it’s a guaranteed good scrap. Could land anywhere, from a co main event of a fight night card to main card of a weaker pay per view potentially. Fight of the Night potential.

Landwehr’s next fight: Patricio Pitbull

The post What’s Next: UFC 327 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chris Duncan

(#10) Renato Moicano showed that he was still a legitimate force to be reckoned with as he dropped, battered and submitted the streaking unranked Chris Duncan, in the main event on Saturday. “The Problem” now falls to 6-2 in the UFC and loses the momentum of his four-fight win streak.

Chris has some options for his next bout since this was a huge step-up fight for him. A fight against Nasrat Haqparast is a very attractive option. Only thing that doesn’t really work is timing as Haqparast was last in the cage back in October. Haqparast is 10-5 with the UFC, but has gone 4-1 in his last five and was also finished in his most recent bout just like Duncan. These guys are in a similar spot, and this is a good fight to make that could sneak onto the main card of a Fight Night.

Giving Chris the loser of Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics could make a lot of sense as a backup. That bout would match up well timing-wise as it’s slated for UFC 327 on April 11. Gamrot is inside the top 10 but has gone 1-2 in his last three bouts. He’s lost to Dan Hooker, and in his most recent bout, was submitted by Charles Oliveira. Gamrot would be 1-3 in his last four leading into his fight with Chris (and have just lost to an unranked fighter). Esteban is currently 4-2 with the promotion and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Ribovics is similar to Duncan in getting this opportunity at a ranked matchup as he’s impressed recently, earning three straight Fight of the Night honors

Duncan’s next fight: Nasrat Haqparast or Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics Loser

Tabatha Ricci

(#3) Virna Jandiroba out grappled (#7) Tabatha Ricci on her way to a fairly routine victory in a huge strawweight fight in the co main event of UFC Vegas 115. Ricci now falls to 3-3 in her last six bouts as she has stepped up in competition. Her losses over this nearly three-year, six-fight stretch are to Lupita Godinez, Yan Xiaonan and now Virna Jandiroba. Ricci was not stopped in any of those bouts.

Ricci’s next matchup should be against (#11) Fatima Kline. Fatima is just outside the top ten at 115lbs. and is 3-0 with the promotion since her short notice promotional debut loss in 2024. Her last fight was against Angela Hill in November of last year where she scored a unanimous decision victory. Timing wouldn’t work the best here, but it’s still an excellent fight to make and could do some heavy lifting for both fighters. A halfway decent backup would be Amanda Lemos, who just fought and lost last month to Gillian Robertson. As mentioned in that loser’s article, the UFC won’t be doing Lemos any favors anytime soon. Fans could expect to see the nearly 40-year-old fighter against a younger lesser-known fighter, and Ricci somewhat fits that bill.  Fight could easily be on the main card of a fight night card with the winner moving into the top five.

Ricci’s next fight: Fatima Kline or Amanda Lemos

Brendson Ribeiro

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev stayed perfect Saturday, scoring a rear naked choke victory and becoming the third fighter in a row to finish Brendson Ribeiro in the first round.  This was Brendson’s fifth time facing an undefeated fighter either with the UFC or the Contender Series. Ribeiro is now 2-3 (one of those victories was on the CS). Brendson is now on a 3-fight skid and is 2-5 with the UFC.

It’s debatable whether Brendson is in danger of being cut considering that he is within one of the weakest divisions in the UFC. More likely than not, Brendson will be kept with the promotion. His next bout should be against Julius Walker or Urlan Satybaldiev. Julius Walker is 1-2 with the UFC and last fought in February when he fell to Dustin Jacoby via second round stoppage. Urlan is 1-1 with the promotion. Julius vs Urlan was a matchup featured on a past Losers article, as the bout been made before. If that fight doesn’t materialize, Brendson is a good backup for either light heavyweight.

Ribeiro’s next fight: Julius Walker or Urlan Satybaldiev

Rafael Estevam

Ethyn Ewing stayed perfect on Saturday as he found the liver with a perfectly placed hook in his fight against Rafael Estevan in the third round. Devastating loss for Rafael as it’s the first loss of his 15-fight career and he’s now 3-1 with the UFC. Rafael has UFC victories over Charles Johnson, Jesus Aguilar and Felipe Bunes. Also worth noting here: Estevam has struggled heavily on the scale. Rafael has missed weight three times in the UFC, and now across two different weight divisions.

Lots of potential matchups for Rafael here as flyweight-featherweight has lots of guys who are forced up in weight classes. Best fight for here is to matchup Rafael with the loser of Aorquileng vs Cody Haddon.

Everyone knows how the UFC feels about fighters who miss weight, especially repeatedly. Nothing special will be done for Estevam. He should stay at bantamweight, make weight, and look for the loser of that May 30th bout. Aoriquileng would be 4-5, 1 no contest if he loses to Cody. While Haddon would be 1-1 with the UFC. Haddon was matched up against Malcom Welmaker for his second fight before breaking his foot and forcing the Ethyn Ewing short notice coming out party. Aoriquileng’s record may look spotty but he’s lost to names like Cody Durden, Aiemann Zahabi, and most recently, Raul Rosas Jr. Great fight to make and would provide endless action.

Estevan’s next fight: Aoriquileng vs Cody Haddon Loser

Manolo Zecchini

Tommy McMillen melted Manolo Zecchini with punches and knees in the first round of their mini war on the main card of UFC Vegas 115. The fight was under four minutes but still secured fight of the night honors, a rare feat in the UFC. Manolo came up short against an undefeated prospect and now falls to 0-2 with the promotion. Zecchini has been on the shelf a while, as his debut came back in September of 2023 when he was finished in the first round via body kicks by Morgan Charriere. That was also Morgan’s promotional debut, and he has gone 2-3 since then, only losing to top competition (Chepe Mariscal, Nathaniel Wood, Melquizael Costa).

Easiest fight to make here is to simply pair Manolo up with Robert Ruchala. Robert fought just before Manolo on the main card of UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday. They have identical records with the promotion, and both fighters were paired up against tough guys for their promotional debuts. Their standup styles also mix well. This matchup has the potential to be a nice scrap that could land on the undercard of a fight night.

Zecchini’s next fight: Robert Ruchala

Robert Ruchala

Jose Delano pieced up Robert Ruchala on the feet on his way to a unanimous decision victory to open the main card of UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday. Jose, a 2025 Contender Series product was making his much-anticipated UFC debut. 27-year-old Ruchala, on the other hand, falls to 0-2 with the promotion. He dropped his debut against a tough nosed William Gomis via decision last September.

Best fight to make here is Robert vs Manolo.  Despite these two not getting into the win column while with the UFC, it’s doubtful either of them faces the axe just yet.

Ruchala’s next fight: Manolo Zecchini

The post What’s Next: UFC Veags 115 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

All six main card fights in Seattle, WA produced exciting finishes. The feature preliminary bout between Tofiq Musayev and Ignacio Bahamondes set the tone with a Fight of the Night winning blood bath. And one of the all-time GOATs of MMA, Demetrious Johnson, was announced as a 2026 UFC Hall of Fame inductee.  All-in-all, it may have been an exciting fight card, but many fighters are in dire positions in this week’s edition of What’s Next.

Israel Adesanya

(#14) Joe Pyfer seized his opportunity to catapult up in the rankings with his second round TKO thrashing of (#4) Israel Adesanya in the main event on Saturday. The finish earned Pyfer a fat performance bonus too. Adesanya has now lost four fights in a row, he’s been stopped in three of those bouts, and is winless since beating Alex Pereira in early 2023. 1-5 since early 2022 is a rough stat, whether Izzy was the champ during some of those bouts or not.

Izzy has a lot of options for his next fight. The 36-year-old needs a win against respectable competition, though there’s a possibility, although slim, that his next opponent may not be ranked.

Moving forward, Israel should be paired up with the loser of the Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brendan Allen fight on June 6. The timing is a little funky but either fight could make sense. Allen has won two in a row, and is currently coming off a win against Reinier de Ridder into the -+bout. He would have lost to an unranked fighter in Edmen, so could potentially be in a similar, position to Izzy. Shahbazyan is currently riding a 3-fight win streak with two, first-round finishes. So, he would have faltered off of a large test, and against a grappler.

Could be a bit of a stretch, so backup pick here is MVP. Page is 4-1 in the UFC and on a three-fight win streak. Page was last in action at UFC London last week, defeating Sam Patterson, but if he decides to move up to 185lbs., like he has twice before, MVP vs ‘The Stylebender’ could be a fun one.

Adesanya’s next fight:  Edmen Shahbazyan vs. (#6) Brendan Allen Loser or (#13 WW) Michael Page 

Maycee Barber

(#4) Alexa Grasso unleashed a nasty bombardment on (#5) Maycee Barber midway through the first-round rendering Barber out on her feet before sliding in a sub for good measure. Devastating loss for Barber as she loses step up fight/title eliminator, got her seven-fight, five-year-long win-streak snapped. Maycee also falls to 0-2 vs. Grasso.

Barber’s next fight should be against Tracy Cortez. A fresh name, a relevant ranking and the last fighter to take on Erin Blanchfield.  Barber has been unsuccessfully matched up against Erin twice before, with both bouts being cancelled before the fighters could make it into the octagon. Timing is a little off for this matchup however, as Tracy fought back in November of last year. But she’s 2-2 in her last four. A good backup would be Rose Namajunas, who is a little bit of a stretch and coming off a loss to (#1) ranked Natalia Silva in late January. Main card matchups here, PPV or fight night.

Barber’s next fight: (#8) Tracy Cortez or (#6) Rose Namajunas

Niko Price

Michael Chiesa made quick work of fill-in Niko Price, securing a rear naked choke in the first round of a picture-perfect retirement fight on UFC Seattle’s main card, Saturday.  Price is now on a four-fight losing streak and has gone 2-7 in his last nine fights with the promotion. Niko has looked rough, in his last stretch of fights, but at least for UFC Seattle he truly was a last second replacement.

Price announced shortly before the fight that it would also be his last, retiring alongside Chiesa.

Should Price change his mind (he didn’t even get mic time post-fight), Chiesa’s original opponent, Carlston Harris, had to withdraw due to visa issues. But he’s on a two-fight skid, against Santiago Ponzinibbio and Khaos Williams, and both fighters stopped Harris. Carlston is also 4-3 and has been with the UFC since signing in 2021. Niko and Carlston are at a similar level, and this could be a decent scrappy fight that could land nearly anywhere on a fight night card.

Price’s next fight: Retirement, Carlston Harris

Julian Erosa

Lerryan Douglas dropped hometown favorite, Julian Erosa, multiple times on the way to landing a first round finish at UFC Seattle Saturday. Erosa has now lost two in a row although the first loss was a fight of the night unanimous decision loss to now-ranked, Melquizael Costa. Julian had won three in a row before this current skid.

In Julian’s next fight he’s got to continue to lean into those chaotic fights he’s so good at. Giving him the loser of Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr is a very fun matchup either way that goes. Those two fight on April 11th, so timing would be great. Swanson, a 25-fight UFC vet hasn’t fought since stopping Billy Quarantillo in the third round in a crazy standup war back in late 2024. Cub’s 2-2 in his last four, brings a unique standup style and experience. His opponent Nate Landwehr is a fellow leather-slinger, but not as tenured with the UFC, at just 35-5 with the promotion. Nate is coming off a two-fight losing streak and was finished in the third round of both fights (against Doo Ho Choi and Morgan Charriere).

So, Nate would be 1-4 in his last five or Cub would be 2-3 in his last five. Good matchups that could easily be on the main cards of fight nights or a feature prelim (high action stand up fight).

Erosa’s next fight: Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr Loser

Mansur Abdul-Malik

Yousri Belgaroui crumpled Mansur Abdul-Malik with a well-placed knee to get the TKO in the third round of their hard-hitting middleweight affair Saturday. The loss is the first of Mansur’s 11-fight pro MMA career. The 28-year-old 2024 Contender Sedries product is now 3-1-1 since being signed.

Abdul-Malik is still young in his career here, no need to panic. Give him the loser of Azmat Bekoev vs Tresean Gore. Timing for that fight would be perfect as its on April 4th. Tresean is 5-5 as a pro MMA fighter and 2-4 under the UFC banner. The unofficial The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 runner up, has had a rough go at it with the promotion, currently riding a two-fight skid and missed weight ahead of his last bout against Rodolfo Vieiera. Azamat is 20-4 as a pro, so more experience, but is just 2-1 in the UFC. And Bekoev lost to Yousri Belgaroui via third round stoppage in his last fight too. Honestly, either of these guys would make sense for Mansur and offer a good scrap.

Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Azmat Bekoev vs. Tresean Gore Loser

 Kyle Nelson

Terrance McKinney fought like the stove was on back home, as he always does, to open the main card of UFC Seattle on Saturday. This time delivering a wild high kick finish in under 30 seconds against the Canadian, Kyle Nelson. Kyle has now fully cooled off from his 2023-2024 hot streak where he went 3-0-1. Nelson has gone 1-2 in his last three and was finished in the first round of both losses. To make matters worse, Nelson missed weight in that first loss of the trio of fights, to Steve Garcia and missed weight ahead of the bout. So, he’s been at lightweight the last two bouts.

Looking back to a previous edition of losers here, make Kyle Nelson vs. Michael Johnson. This would be a great fight. And a good test for both fighters at the current positions in their respective careers. Johnson is 32-fight veteran of the UFC but hasn’t fought Nelson. Two standup guys, and Nelson is coming up from featherweight so maybe he’d be able to hang with Johnson’s hand speed. Could see this landing anywhere on a fight night main card or feature prelim.

Nelson’s next fight: Michael Johnson

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

We’ve got a little bit of everything on this edition of Losers matchmaker, from fighters likely facing the promotional axe to fighters suffering their first ever loss.

Lerone Murphy

(#1) Movsar Evloev relied on his endless gas tank and grappling base to narrowly edge out (#3) Lerone Murphy via majority decision in the main event on Saturday. The loss was Lerone’s first of his entire pro MMA career and his UFC record now falls to 17-1-1.

Given how this one went down, five rounds, close fight, Murphy took some damage with at least an injured hip and a nasty gash. Best pairing here would be to match him up against the loser of Steve Garcia vs Diego Lopes.  That fight goes doesn’t go down till mid-June, so it’d give Lerone plenty of time put still present a worth adversary.

If Diego loses, he’s lost three of his last four yes, but two of those being matchups against the Volk for the belt. If Steve loses, he’s still ripped off a seven-fight win streak with six finishes, with one stumble against a highly ranked guy. Both fighters would add nothing but legitimacy to Murphy’s already stellar record and present a good amount of time to heal up. Easy main event of a Fight Night or on a main card of a numbered event.

Murphy’s next fight: Steve Garcia vs Diego Lopes Loser

Michael Aswell Jr.

Luke Riley landed the more damaging shots on his way to a unanimous decision victory over Michael Aswell Jr. in the co main event of UFC London. Aswell was landing punches, but Riley was able to walk through them and return shots that forced big reactions out of Aswell. Michael is now 1-2 in the UFC since being signed and making his promotional debut on short notice last May.

Michael should take on either Kurtis Campbell or Yi Zha. Just depends on if it the matchmakers want to give Campbell another tall task or a more manageable one. Michael Aswell is no easy fight in the featherweight division, but he is a fight that’d be on Campbell’s level. A good back up would be Yi Zha. Yi Zha is 1-2 with the UFC after coming off of Road top UFC in 2023. He’s lost two of his last three fights with his lone victory coming against Westin Wilson who is no longer with the promotion.  Yi Zha does have over 30 pro fights despite his 1-3 UFC record, so it’s a good challenge for Aswell.

Aswell’s next fight: Kutis Campbell or Yi Zha

Sam Patterson

Michael Page out pointed Sam Patterson on Saturday in a very disappointing and lackluster standup affair. Despite the fight not living up to the hype, Patterson still logged a loss, which was his second in the UFC. Sam was actually riding a four-fight win streak where he had stopped every opponent in round one. Tough break for the 29-year-old 2022 Contender Series alum as he losses all his momentum and slips to 4-2 with the UFC.

Good next fight for Sam would be for him to take on Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani. Jean-Paul is a 2025 Contender Series vet that is 1-0 with the promotion. He defeated Phil Rowe in his debut back in February via split decision. Rowe was cut after the bout, though it’s worth mentioning that he did miss weight. Jean-Paul was supposed to draw former Bellator standout, Austin Vanderford in his UFC debut, before Austin withdrew. So obviously, the matchmakers expect a lot out of him. Patterson seems like an excellent matchup for Lebosnoyani, despite coming off of a loss.

Patterson’s next fight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani

Austen Lane

Iwo Baraniewski starched Austen Lane in under 30 seconds to earn a performance bonus on the main card of UFC London on Saturday. Terrible showing for Lane who had been out of the octagon for nearly a year and was making his debut at 205lbs. Lane now has the incredibly ugly UFC record of 1-5 with 1 no contest. Lane’s lone win, and the reason why he’s still with the promotion, came in October of 2024 when he derailed the hype train that was Robelis Despaigne by logging a unanimous decision victory.

Lane should fight the loser of the Brendson Ribeiro vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev fight. That fight goes down on April 4th so potentially the timing could work. If Ribeiro loses it’d be perfect as he’d be 2-5 with the UFC. If Abdul were to lose, he’d be 1-1 with the UFC. This is also assuming that Lane stays with the UFC and at 205lbs.

Lane’s next fight: Brendson Ribeiro vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev Loser

Roman Dolidze

Christian Leory Duncan looked quick and dangerous on the way to his unanimous decision victory over Roman Dolidze on Saturday. The loss is devastating for Dolidze as CLD entered the fight unranked while Roman was ranked at #11 in the middleweight division. Even worse, Dolidze is now riding a two-fight losing streak and is 9-5 within the UFC. Dolidze’s other loss was to Anthony Hernandez via submission in August of last year.

Little bit of a weird pick here but it could make sense. Jared Cannonier. Cannonier hasn’t fought since last August when he lost a unanimous decision to Micheal Page. He’s lost three of his last four fights despite being ranked at #10 in the division currently. Jared recently turned 42 and is likely looking upwards in the rankings for fights. But the two were matched up to fight in 2023 before Cannonier injured his knee, cancelling the bout. Cannonier is 1-3 since then with a win over Gregory Rodrigues in February 2025. Dolidze is 2-3 in the division (3-3 total) in that time period. Still could be main card territory of a fight night, especially if Dolidze stays in the rankings.

Doldize’s next fight:  Jared Cannonier

Kurtis Campbell

Danny Silva kicked off UFC London’s main card with a bang on Saturday, as he flattened undefeated Kurtis Campbell in “The Pink Panther’s” UFC debut. The loss was the first of 23-year-old Liverpool native’s pro MMA career as he falls to 8-1.

The UFC obviously expect a lot out of the youngster as Silva went the distance with newly ranked featherweight, (#10) Kevin Vallejos, last August. ‘The Pink Panther’ should take on Michael Aswell Jr or Kaan Ofli. Michael lost earlier on the card to an undefeated prospect, so it’d be right up his alley.  Or if the UFC wants to continue to push the youngster they could match him against Kaan Ofl. Kaan is 2-2 with the UFC. Olfi is an The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 runner-up, and even though he’s riding a two-fight win streak, one of those fighters is no longer with the promotion (Ricardo Ramos).

Campbell’s next fight:  Michael Aswell Jr. or Kaan Ofli

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Josh Emmett

Kevin Vallejos(#14) peppered and finished Josh Emmett(#11) in the first round of their main event on Saturday to tally the largest win of his career. An absolutely devastating loss for 41-year-old Emmett who has now lost five of his last six fights.

Emmett is in a tough situation here, he hasn’t won consistently in a while. He looked a bit rough on Saturday (yet game), but he made no indication that he was prepared to hang it up. Emmett could slide to the edge of the rankings or out of them altogether.

Good next fight for Josh would be giving him the loser of (#12) Patricio Pitbull vs Aaron Pico. That fight goes down on April 11th, so timing would matchup just fine. Both fighters carry names and are former Bellator standouts. Pitbull is 1-1 with the UFC having lost his debut to Yair Rodriguez, but winning against Dan Ige in July of last year. Pico is 0-1 but lost via a wild spinning back elbow at the hands of top ranked, Lerone Murphy. This bout is going to be fireworks with two, very violent stand up strikers. Giving Emmett the loser keeps him relevant, gives the fans an exciting fight and offers another litmus test for the former Bellator fighters against a former UFC title challenger.

Emmett’s next fight: Patricio Pitbulll vs. Aaron Pico Loser

Amanda Lemos

Gillian Robertson (#8) strategically landed take downs in order to neutralize the striking of Amanda Lemos (#5) on Saturday and capture the unanimous decision victory. Lemos has to be a tad frustrated with herself after the performance in a very winnable fight. The 38-year-old is now riding a two fight losing streak and has lost four of her last six dating back to her 2023 unsuccessful title sho,t against then champ, Zhang Weili.

Amanda’s next fight should be against (#13) Denise Gomes. The UFC isn’t going to do Lemos any favors here, almost a 40-year-old 115lbs. fighter, they are going to continue to feed her to the young guns of the division. Denise is 6-2 with the promotion and is currently riding a four-fight win streak (Eduarda Moura, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Elise Reed and Teicia Pennington). A lot of these fighters aren’t even with the UFC anymore. But that’s not the 26-year-old’s fault. Most of the fighters directly above her a matched up already in the rankings, so what better fight to make than this? Both are strikers, and a fighter like Gomes could very well be the future of the division. A good fight to book and one that could easily sneak onto the main card of a fight night card. Winner propelled into the top 7 easily.

Lemos’s next fight: Denise Gomes

Andre Fili

Jose Delgado just edged out UFC veteran, Andre Fili, in a back and forth standup war on Saturday. Fili, a 13-year UFC veteran with 26 fights with the promotion, has gone 2-3 in the last two years. All losses in the time period have still been opposite some talented competition (Dan Ige, Melquizael Costa and now Jose Delgado). Andre is one of those guys has fought everyone. Not everyone, seemingly everyone…a whole lot of fighters. Often times Fili serves as a litmus test for fighters that want to enter the rankings of the featherweight division.

A solid next matchup for Fili would be pitting him against Chepe Mariscal. Chepe started off red-hot in the UFC back in 2023, ripping off five victories in a row (Trevor Peek, Jack Jenkins, Morgan Charriere, Damon Jackson and Ricardo Ramos). Unfortunately, in his most recent fight, last November, Chepe suffered his first promotional defeat at the hands of Pat Sabatini. Despite the timing not exactly matching up, this would be an excellent fight to get Mariscal back on the board. To get his bearings back and to see if he’s worthy of making a run at the rankings. For Fili, it’d be an excellent opportunity for him to prove he still belongs against a hot prospect that has recently stumbled. Great fight for the main card of an APEX based, fight night card.

Fili’s next fight: Jose ‘Chepe” Mariscal 

Harry Hardwick

Undefeated fighter, Marwan Rahiki, came out on top of an edge-of-your-seat, two-round barn burner, opposite of Harry Hardwick. Harry was unable to answer the call for the third round, as his jaw was badly broken in the second. Rahiki and Hardwick landed the fight of the night bonus for this scrap, an honor rarely given to bouts that don’t go the distance. Harry has had a rough go at it in his short stint with the UFC, especially factoring injuries in now. Hardwick is 0-2 with the promotion. He made his debut last year on short notice and up a weight class and was rewarded by being finished in the first round with a calf kick.

Give this man a break and have him take on a fighter in his weight class, that he can prepare for, and has a similar promotional record. He’s more than proven that he can scrap.

Good next fight for Harry would be to give him the loser of the Tommy McMillen vs Manolo Zecchini fight. This fight goes down on April 4th, but due to Harry’s broken jaw- who knows when he’ll be looking at making an octagon return. Zecchini is 0-1 with the promotion and made his debut back in September of 2023, where Morgan Charriere stopped him in the first round. Manolo will be taking on a undefeated fighter making his UFC debut after winning on the Contender Series last year. Three young hungry guys with solid record, two of them having being fed to the wolves immediately upon entering the promotion. Excellent fight to book here, and defending how the fight goes on April 4, potentially tremendous upside.

Hardwick’s next fight:  Loser of Tommy McMillen vs Manolo Zecchini

Oumar Sy

Ion Cutelaba secured a clever mounted guillotine late in the first to secure a submission victory over Oumar Sy on Saturday. Sy now falls to 3-2 in the UFC after signing as an undefeated fighter in 2024. Oumar started off hot with back to back victories in the UFC, but suffered his first defeat to Alonzo Menifield and has now suffered the first stoppage defeat of his career.

Oumar’s next fight should be against Rodolfo Bellato. Its rare the UFC pairs up a fighter coming off a stoppage loss against a fighter coming of a stoppage victory (especially without rankings invovled), but it makes sense in this scenario. Bellato was scheduled to fight Sy for his second UFC fight, he has gone 1-1-1 with 1 no contest since that bout fell through in 2024. Sy has had his entire UFC stint in that time, going 3-2. So even though Bellato is coming off a win, this fight still makes sense (That win was also against a 6-0 fighter making his promotional debut). This fight is one that should be revisited and still makes sense. The two also share a common opponent in Navajo Stirling.

Sy’s next fight: Rodolfo Bellato

Bruno Silva

Charles Johnson (#14) snuck away with the win over Bruno Silva (#15) to kick off the main card of UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday. Bruno is now 5-5 with the UFC and has dropped three of his last four. Worth noting that those other two losses were stoppages, but against the likes of Manel Kape and eventual champ, Joshua Van.

Bruno should fight the loser of (#10) Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji for his next bout. That fight takes place on May 30th so the timing isn’t the best but it could still make a lot of sense. Perez is coming off a first round victory against Charles Johnson but he missed weight ahead of the bout. So that’s probably why he’s taking on an unranked fighter in Sumudaerji for his next fight. Before that, Perez had lost five of his last six fights stemming from his unsuccessful title shot opposite of Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020.

Sumudaerji has completely turned his UFC career around after a three-fight skid (Matt Schnell, Tim Elliott, Charles Johnson). Sumudaerji has ripped off three huge wins in a row in just under a year (Mitch Raposo, Kevin Borjas, Jesus Aguilar). Perfect fight to give the loser to Silva due to the common opponents in Charles Johnson and where all three men sit in the rankings (or out of them).

Silva’s next fight: Loser of Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji 

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