Matches to Make After UFC 264

It didn’t end the way anyone drew it up, but Dustin Poirier can now claim bragging rights in the biggest trilogy in the history of the lightweight division.

In the main event of UFC 264 on Saturday, “The Diamond” spent much of the first round thumping Conor McGregor on the ground before dropping him again right before the bell. That sequence turned out not to be a knockdown but a broken left leg for McGregor, prompting a doctor stoppage between rounds. Post-fight, the scene was deeply unsatisfying for all involved: Poirier forced to settle for a strange injury TKO in a fight he was well on his way to winning by conventional means; a defiant McGregor spewing vitriol from a seated position at the base of the cage; the UFC facing the possibility it will need to book this matchup for a fourth time.

However, even if Poirier vs. McGregor 4 ends up being the Irishman’s next fight, it probably won’t be Poirier’s. Due to the impending medical layoff for McGregor, Poirier will be free to accept his next booking, which Dana White has already said should be a shot at Charles Oliveira’s lightweight title. Beyond the main event, several more fighters prevailed on Saturday’s main card and need a next dance partner. In the wake of the strange and stunning UFC 264, here are some matches that ought to be made:

Dustin Poirier vs. Charles Oliveira: In light of the parallels between their careers — both signed with the UFC in 2010, both started as featherweights before moving up to lightweight, and both were longtime fringe contenders plagued by inopportune losses before finally breaking through to the true elite — it is actually a bit surprising that Poirier and Oliveira never fought one another on the way up. Call it serendipity, because this has “Fight of the Year” written all over it was well as being, without argument, the best matchup possible in a post-Khabib Nurmagomedov division. Even if they had fought a few years ago, the advancements in the skill sets and mental game of Poirier and especially Oliveira would have made this an entirely new fight, and one worth booking. Circle this fight on your calendar the instant it’s announced.

Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Chiesa: “Durinho” is going to make things complicated for UFC matchmakers for quite a while to come, especially if he keeps winning. Because of the way he lost in his effort to unseat welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in February, it will be some time before anyone is calling for a rematch. That made his impressive win over Stephen Thompson in Saturday’s co-main event problematic, as it knocked off a viable potential title challenger in Thompson without elevating another. The next matchup for Usman appears to be a rematch with Colby Covington, and after that, perhaps — hopefully — Leon Edwards can haul his nine-fight winning streak into the cage against the winner. That’s actually a good thing for Burns, as it will allow him to get one or maybe two more wins.

Because of the way Burns semi-skipped the line at welterweight, his next fight will probably look like a step down even if it is competitively appropriate. Chiesa takes on Vicente Luque at UFC 265 in Houston next month, and whoever emerges victorious will have vaulted from the edge of the Top 10 right into the title picture. It’s highly unlikely that longtime teammates and friends Luque and Burns would agree to meet in a non-title affair, but if Chiesa defeats Luque, Burns-Chiesa would be fantastic. If Luque wins, perhaps Burns could take on the winner of the rumored Khamzat Chimaev-Jingliang Li fight later this summer.

Tai Tuivasa vs. Chris Daukaus-Shamil Abdurakhimov winner: With all due respect to the other standouts of UFC 264, “Bam Bam” stole the show. From the gleeful, sing-along Spice Girls walkout to the extended tour of “shooeys” on his exit, the affable Aussie had the crowd wrapped around his finger. Oh, and in between those bits of showmanship, he handed Greg Hardy, perhaps the UFC’s most hated fighter, the fastest and cleanest knockout loss of his career. Considering the McGregor-amplified numbers watching, Tuivasa’s performance was one of MMA’s great star-making moments of 2021. More importantly, the win was Tuivasa’s third in a row, all three coming by first-round knockout. In the last nine months, the 28-year-old has come back from a three-fight losing streak and the verge of being cut, all the way to the outskirts of the rankings. However, he still appears to be a slightly better-conditioned version of the same fighter who lost decisively to Sergey Spivak, Blagoy Ivanov and Junior dos Santos, so there’s no need to rush him right back into the cage against a Top 10 fighter. What he needs is an appropriate matchup with a fellow up-and-comer and fringe contender. Daukaus, another member of the youth movement currently happening in the UFC, takes on Abdurakhimov in two weeks at UFC Fight Night 190. Whoever wins would be a definite step up for “Bam Bam,” whose last couple of wins have come against lower-level fighters, but he’s earned it.

Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson-Aspen Ladd winner: Aldana looked sensational on Saturday, overcoming a slow start to bust up Yana Kunitskaya late in the first round of their main card clash. In light of the optics and the opponent, it was probably the best overall performance of Aldana’s career so far, but any elevation of her stock must be tempered by the fact that she missed weight badly, coming in at 139.5 pounds. Considering that her only losses in the last two years have been to top contenders Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington, Aldana has earned another cautious step up in competition — and a chance to prove that the weight miss was an anomaly. Chiasson and Ladd meet in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 191 on July 24. Assuming the UFC does not grant the winner of that fight the next shot at Amanda Nunes, a title eliminator against Aldana would be perfect.

Sean O’Malley vs. Kyler Phillips-Raulian Paiva winner: O’Malley delivered one of the most paradoxical performances you’ll ever see, laying a “Beatdown of the Year” contender on short-notice opponent Kris Moutinho, yet somehow came off looking no better in the process. If anything, the unbelievably game Moutinho was the one who benefited. That isn’t entirely O’Malley’s fault, as the UFC bent over backwards to find him an opponent so overmatched that the only way he could have impressed was with a quick, highlight-reel knockout. However, O’Malley’s un-self-aware cockiness did him no favors in the post-fight interview, as he claimed that nobody wanted to fight him — ignoring the multiple UFC bantamweights who clamored to step in for Louis Smolka before the promotion went with Moutinho — and calling for a fight with Rob Font, who is on the doorstep of a title shot. Font is way too much for “The Suga Show” to ask for right now, but at the same time his devastating wins over Eddie Wineland and Thomas Almeida indicate that the 26-year-old striking wiz has graduated from taking on unranked fighters. Phillips and Paiva, who meet on July 24, are prospects on roughly O’Malley’s level and either one would make for a sensational matchup.