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

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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Max Holloway

(#3) Charles Oliveira out grappled and bested (#4) Max Holloway in the pair’s rematch over a decade in the making, in order to capture the BMF belt. Holloway is now 2-2 since moving up to the lightweight division in 2024. Holloway has only fought elite competition in the division including Justin Gaethje, Illia Topuria and Dustin Poirier.

Max should take on either (#8) Dan Hooker or (#5) Benoit Saint Denis next. Both fights would be absolute bangers as both gentlemen would be willing to stand and trade with Holloway. Easy main event booking for either fighter. Hooker is coming off a pair of stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint-Denis. Dan was last in the octagon on January 31 so the timing would also matchup. Hooker is 2-2 in his last four similar to Max.

BSD on the other hand has won four fights in a row and has stopped all four of those guys (Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker). Holloway would be an excellent elite level litmus test for BSD. and Benoit would be a welcome and fun scrap to get Holloway back on the right track (and close in rankings).

Holloway’s next fight: Benoit Saint Denis or Dan Hooker

Reinier de Ridder

(#7) Caio Borralho landed the more damaging shots to win a unanimous decision over (#8) Reinier de Ridder on Saturday in the co main event of UFC 326. It was a heavy-lifting matchup for the division a with the Fight Nerd product coming out on top. RDR has now lost two fights in a row and is 4-2 with the promotion since joining in late 2024.

Walking back a previous loser’s article pick for this one. RDR has to take on (#6) Anthony Herandez next. Fluffy just got stopped by Sean Strickland in the third round of their bout on February 21. The timing would work. Not to mention, RDR was scheduled to take on Hernandez back in October before Fluffy got injured and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Both guys are now coming off of losses and after the performance Saturday, this fight makes more sense than ever. Could be a main event or co main event of a fight night card or high up on the main card of a PPV card. Winner is knocking on the door of a title eliminator bout with a flashy finish.

de Ridder’s next fight: Anthony Hernandez

Rob Font

Raul Rosas Jr. smothered and shut out #13-ranked Rob Font on Saturday as Font just was not able to get his boxing offense going before repeatedly ending up on the canvas in grappling exchanges. This was a changing of the guard fight, with the youngster passing with flying colors. 38-year-old Font now falls to 12-9 under the promotional banner and he has now lost two in a row.

The perfect next fight for Font would be to give him the winner of Adrian Yanez vs Ricky Simon. That fight goes down on March 28 so the timing would match up. Ricky is 10-6 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts. Yanez is 6-3 with the promotion and has dropped three of his last four. The winner of this fight might draw a ranked matchup if it’s a thrilling finish, but if not, they may need another fight before getting a ranked matchup. Font will likely slide just outside of the rankings and would offer a perfect opportunity. Of course, either fighter that Font draws offer him another opportunity to prove he isn’t over the hill and still belongs within the ranked bantamweight fighters. This fight could land on the main card of a fight night card.

Font’s next fight: Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez winner

Michael Johnson

Drew Dober smoked Michael Johnson with a beautiful left hand in a fight where ‘The Menace’ was looking really quick and sharp to start out. After finding some stability in the form of a 3-fight win streak (Darrius Flowers, Ottoman Azaitar and Daniel Zellhuber) a loss like this was the absolute last thing that the 39-year-old needed. Johnson now sits with the peculiar record and stint of 16-16 over 16 years with the promotion.

Good next matchup for ‘Mr. I’ve Fought Everyone on the Roster’ would be against the loser of Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson. That fight is scheduled for March 28 so the timing could be okay depending on Johnson’s recoup time. Both guys are extremely entertaining fighters. McKinney is 7-5 with the UFC and has gone 2-2 in his last four. He has yet to hear the final bell in one of his UFC fights. Kyle Nelson is 5-5-1 and has gone 3-1 in his last four. Great matchup whichever way this goes, but the ideal matchup here would absolutely be Johnson vs McKinney. That bout has a real chance for fireworks. This is for relevancy and keeping your head above the shark infested waters of the UFC’s lightweight division. This fight could be on the main card of a weaker fight night card or potentially a feature prelim- very likely to be a banger.

Johnson’s next fight: Terrance McKinney vs Kyle Nelson loser

Brunno Ferreira

(#13) Gregory Rodrigues flatlined (#15) Brunno Ferreira with one of the first punches he threw in the pair’s rematch on the main card of UFC 326 Saturday. The finish earned Robocop a bonus while Ferreira had a 3-fight win streak snapped and all his momentum halted. The 2022 Contender Series product is now 6-3 with the UFC.

Brunno should fight Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio next. The pair are actually scheduled to fight on May 9. Timing may not appear like it’d match up, but that was a nasty knockout that Ferreira suffered on Saturday, so he could very well be on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Kopylov would be the matchup that we’re leaning towards here. Roman is 6-5 with the UFC and is riding a two-fight losing skid. The loss was against Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues (Costa was originally slated to fight Ferreira on Saturday before withdrawing). Perfect matchup.

Marco Tulio could be a good fight too, he 2-1 with the UFC and his loss is to Christian Leroy Duncan. This matchup could easily be on the main card of a fight night card or even a feature prelim of a PPV card. Brunno is going to slide out of the rankings so the winner of that scrap would likely draw a ranked opponent.

Ferreira’s next fight: Roman Kopylov or Marco Tulio 

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Brandon Moreno

Brandon Moreno was out-struck and looked a step behind at times in his unanimous decision loss to Lone’er Kavanagh in the main event of UFC Mexico City on Saturday. Massive upset here, as #6 ranked Moreno fell to Kavanagh who is unranked and has only been with the promotion for less than two years. Moreno is now on a two-fight losing streak and is 2-3 since losing his belt to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023.

No need to reinvent the wheel here for the 32-year-old Mexican born fighter, either rebook the Almabayev fight or give him the winner of (#13) Charles Johnson vs (#14) Bruno Silva. With the latter making more sense. Bruno was originally going to take on Kavanagh on March 14 before Almabayev was injured and withdrew from his main event with Brandon, resulting in the matchup fans watched Saturday.

If (#8) Asu Almabayev is all healed up and timing makes sense, that’d be a good second option. But giving Moreno either the fighter that handed Kavanagh his first and only loss (via finish as well) in Johnson, or a fighter Kavanagh was matched against, in Silva, is more appealing. Both men are ranked and it’d still be a solid co-main or main event on a Fight Night card.

Moreno’s next fight: Charles Johnson vs Bruno Silva Winner or Asu Almabayev

Marlon Vera

David Martinez held off Marlon Vera to win a unanimous decision on Saturday, utilizing his quick movement to ensure the largest victory of his career to date. Martinez entered the fight ranked at #10 while Chito was at #9. Marlon is now on a four-fight losing streak stemming from his March of 2024, unsuccessful title attempt opposite Sean O’Malley. Marlon’s last win came in August of 2023 against Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision.

The perfect next fight for Vera here would be against (#12) Kyler Phillips. Kyler is on a two-fight skid after losing a pair of unanimous decisions to Rob Font and Vinicius Oliveira. His last victory came in March of 2024 against one Pedro Munhoz by way of unanimous decision. Great fight to make here, two strikers that have been in nothing but back and forth decisions recently. Both guys need a win, obviously Chito a bit more, but this would be an excellent main card fight, nonetheless. Winner hangs on to a ranking.

Vera’s next fight: Kyler Phillips

Daniel Zellhuber

King Green proved once again that he’s still here to compete as the 39-year veteran wobbled and stopped 26-year-old Daniel Zellhuber to secure the second round TKO victory on Saturday. Zellhuber now falls to 3-4 with the UFC and has dropped his last three fights. All is not lost for the 2021 Contender Series fighter, who had an amazing 2024 calendar year (including a Fight of the Year candidate against Esteban Ribovics). Daniel needs a reset type of fight but winnable and with a solid striking skilled name.

Excellent fighter would be a guy like Edson Barboza. Edson is a respected veteran with 32 fights with the promotion. Barboza is winless since 2023 and has lost his last three including his lightweight debut in his last fight to a returning (from mini-retirement) Jalin Turner. Barboza was finished midway through the first round with punches. Daniel would be a great next opponent.

Hate to make it seem like Zelhuber is beating on the older dogs of the division, but this is too sweet of a matchup to pass up. Barboza poses a lot different of a challenge than Green on the feet, and it’d keep Zellhuber in a standup firefight for fans. Good Fight Night main card or feature prelim bout with the winner getting back on the right track as this fight would do some heavy lifting for Barboza too.

Zellhuber’s next fight: Edson Barboza

Felipe Bunes

Edgar Chairez and Felipe Bunes engaged in a spirited back and forth scrap that eventually saw Mexican born Chairez edge out his opponent at UFC Mexico City. 36-year-old Bunes now falls to 1-3 under the promotional banner and is on a two-fight losing skid. Granted, Felipe’s debut was against now flyweight champion Joshua Van, back in early 2024. But Felipe’s only win in the UFC came against Jose Johnson via first round armbar.

Easy booking here as Bunes might get into some trouble here hanging onto his spot with the promotion. Let Felipe fight Kevin Borjas who fought and lost just before him on the main card of UFC Mexico City. Borjas is in a similar position to Felipe with the promotion and had the same UFC debut opponent. They are also now 1-2 in their last three and the timing would match up. With loser likely facing the axe from the promotion.

Bunes’s next fight: Kevin Borjas

Kevin Borjas

Imanol Rodriguez stayed undefeated as he dropped and finished Kevin Borjas on the main card of UFC Mexico City on Saturday. Despite a valiant early effort, Borjas now has the misfortune of owning the abysmal promotional record of 1-4. Kevin Borjas should take on Felipe Bunes, it could land anywhere on a card. Both men come to fight regardless of their win/loss rate with the UFC. Borjas, like Felipe, also had his UFC debut against the now flyweight champion Joshua Van (though it was in late 2023).

Borjas’s next fight: Felipe Bunes

Angel Pacheco

Kicking off the main card on Saturday, Santiago Luna stayed perfect as he turned in a stellar 15 minutes of work, defeating Angel Pacheco in draining unanimous decision affair. 34-year-old Pacheco is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed following his 2023 Contender Series loss to Danny Silva. This was also his first fight since March of 2024.

Unfortunately for Pacheco, it’d be extremely surprising if he wasn’t released here. Luna is now 2-0 with the UFC. His first opponent, Quang Le, has since been released. Even Coalan Loughran, who beat Pacheco, is no longer with the organization.

Angel should have to look no further than the undercard of UFC Mexico City for his next opponent (That is, as long as both of these aren’t cut anyways). Pacheco should move back up to 145lbs (as he did for his Contender Series fight) and take on Erik Silva. Erik was choked out by Francis Marshall in the first round of their bout. The 2022 Contender Series veteran is 0-3 with the UFC, though he did win his DWCS fight (sorry Angel). Also worth noting, Silva has yet to make it to the final bell in a UFC fight.

Pacheco’s next fight: Erik Silva

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

Anthony Hernandez

Sean Strickland melted and finished Anthony Hernandez against the cage in the third round of their main event affair to secure a TKO victory Saturday. The loss snapped an eight-fight unbeaten streak dating back six years. The 2018 Contender Series alum now falls to 9-3 under the UFC banner with a loss that truly stings in more ways than one.

Perfect next matchup here for the #4 ranked middleweight is to give him the winner of Reinier de Ridder vs Caio Borralho. That fight goes down in the co main event slot of UFC 326 on March 7th. Both RDR and Caio Borralho are coming off of their first losses with the promotion. (#7) Borralho is 7-1, and lost to Nassourdine Imavov in September, while (#8) RDR is 4-1 and just fell to Brendan Allen in October. Fluffy was even supposed to face RDR instead of Allen in October but a hand injury forced him out of the bout. This could be another main event on a fight night card or on the main card of a pay per view with the winner a fight or two from a title shot.

Hernandez’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder vs Caio Borralho winner

Geoff Neal

Uros Medic took just 79 seconds to flatten Geoff Neal with a left hook and claim a first round victory in the co main event of UFC Houston. Geoff, who entered the fight ranked at #12 in the welterweight division, now falls to 8-6 under the promotional banner. Geoff has now won just one bout in his last five, falling to Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, Carlos Prates, and now Medic. Who knows where Neal will fall in the rankings as Medic entered the bout on Saturday unranked.

A good next fight for Neal would be the loser of Myktybek Orolbai vs Chris Curtis. That fight is on March 14th. Curtis, has had one fight since moving down to welterweight, and was once highly ranked at 185lbs. He’s 6-4, 1 NC in the UFC. Orolbai is 4-1 and is just coming off of a massive first round KO over former highly-ranked middleweight fighter, Jack Hermansson, last November. Myktybek also has a second round neck crank victory over Uros Medic in 2023. Great fight to keep Neal right in it with competitive scrappers as he will likely lose his ranking and be looking for a name without one.

Neal’s next fight: Myktybek Orolbai vs. Chris Curtis loser

Dan Ige

Melquizael Costa caught Dan Ige with a perfectly timed spinning back kick before finishing him off with ruthless ground and pound, securing a finish seconds before the end of the first round on Saturday. Dan, who entered the fight ranked at #14 as a featherweight, will now likely slide out of the rankings. Especially taking into consideration that Costa was unranked heading into the fight. Ige now falls to 11-10 with the UFC. It has been a rough stretch for the Hawaiian who has won just one of his last five fights.

For his next fight I like Ige against the loser of (#13) Kevin Vallejos vs. (#11) Josh Emmett. That fight goes down on March 14th, so the timing could potentially work well.  If Ige draws Emmett it’d be a rematch from their December of 2021 fight where Emmett won a decision. If Josh loses he’d have lost four of his last five (just like Ige). Vallejos is 3-0 in the UFC and most recently stopped Giga Chikadze in December (bouncing him from the rankings).

Ige’s next fight: Kevin Vallejos vs. Josh Emmett Loser or Giga Chikadze

Ante Delija

Serghei Spivac turned in a solid performance defeating Ante Delija by unanimous division on Saturday. Spivac entered the fight ranked at #7 in the heavyweight division while Ante sat at #9. Both fighters were coming off of a loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who was just on fire in 2025. Of course, it goes without saying that no one is safe within the UFC’s heavyweight ranks after a loss.

For Ante, I could see a scenario where he is fed to a younger gun. At just 1-2 in the UFC his sole win came via first round finish against Marcin Tybura in his promotional debut in September of last year. Giving him the winner of Steven Asplund vs Vitor Petrino, which goes down on March 14th has potential. Both are very young (27 and 28, respectively) and are going strong in their UFC careers with winning records (1-0 and 6-2, respectively). They are both Contender Series guys, and both are unranked. Or, looking back a few months to a losers article, you could still give Ante- Shamil Gaziev. Shamil is 3-2 in the UFC and is ranked at #13 in the division. He’s coming off a loss to none other than Waldo Cortes-Acosta, back in late November so it could still work well here.

Delija’s next fight: Steven Asplund vs Vitor Petrino Winner or Shamil Gaziev

Josiah Harrell

Jacobe Smith dominated and finished Josiah Harrell on the ground to get a grimy finish on the main card of UFC Houston Saturday. It was the battle of the undefeated prospects as Harrel entered the fight with a 11-0 pro MMA record, with Smith being an identical 11-0 as a pro. However, this fight was Josiah’s first fight with the UFC. And on a shortened timeframe as Smith’s original opponent, Seok Hyeon Ko ,withdrew from the bout after a suffering a rib injury. Jacobe was a 2024 Contender Series veteran and already had two fights under his belt with the promotion.

So keeping all that in mind, Josiah has options when it comes to his next matchup. The UFC giving him someone with a bit of a name (but also winnable fight) is likely after he stepped up on short notice. A fight with Austin Vandeford, former Bellator title challenger could materialize. Vandeford is 1-1 with the UFC stopping Nikolay Veretennikov in his February 2025 debut before being stopped by Ramiz Brahimaj in October. He’s 13-3 as a pro and a good grappling based challenge. However, he just withdrew from a bout against Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani scheduled this card.

Solid backup would be Phil Rowe. Phil is a 2019 Contender Series product who is 4-5 with the promotion and built a name as a hard-nosed litmus test. He’s 1-2 in his last three, stopping Ange Loosa before dropping a pair of decisions to Seok Hyeon Ko and most recently, Jean-Paul Lebosnyani via split. Although, its worth noting he did miss weight in his last time out as he stepped in for one Austin Vandeford.

Harrell’s next fight: Phil Rowe or Austin Vanderford

Zach Reese

Michel Pereira barely edged past Zach Reese on the scorecards to secure a crucial victory in the main event opener of UFC Houston. Reese now falls to 4-3, 1 NC with the promotion since being signed off the Contender Series in 2023.  Reese has wins over Dusko Todorovic and most recently Jackson McVey, which earned himself a performance bonus in November. But Reese is in the hot seat here.

I’d match Reese up against a guy like Gearld Meerschaert. There are a lot of 185lbs. hanging around that level who have all struggled and fought each other (SD Dumas, Michal Oleksiejczuk, Reese, Marc-Andre Barriault, to name a few). Meerschaert is more established with the promotion than all of the above, and has whole bunch of submission victories too (to put it mildly).

Gerald is 12-13 with the promotion but is currently on a four-fight skid (Reinier de Ridder, Brad Tavares, Michal Oleksiejczuk and Kyle Daukaus back in November). Good match-up here, striker vs grappler, with the loser potentially packing their things.

Reese’s next fight: Gerald Meerschaert

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