Matches to Make After UFC 306

On Saturday inside Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, UFC 306 served up a double dose of historical import, as the first-ever live sporting contest to take place inside the state-of-the-art venue, and as the second installment in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s “Noche UFC” series of events timed to coincide with Mexican Independence Day and focusing on Mexican and other Latin American talent.

Once the LED dome dimmed and the cage door shut, however, UFC 306 ended up not being such a grand celebration of Aztec warriorhood, as Mexican-born fighters went 1-6 on the night, 2-7 if the umbrella were extended to include bilingual Mexican-Americans Brian Ortega and Raul Rosas Jr. Nonetheless, the 10-fight card leaves us with plenty to analyze and process. “Noche UFC” saw two worthy entries for the “Round of the Year” as well as upsets, gruesome injuries, and two belts changing hands. In the wake of UFC 306, here are some matchups that ought to be made.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

“The Machine” lived up to his nickname, plying his trademark furious pace and relentless wrestling to dethrone bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley in a bout that felt more one-sided than the 48-47 tallies turned in by two of the judges would seem to imply. Unable to keep upright for most of the fight, “Suga” was reduced to a few isolated moments when he landed clean punch combinations on Dvalishvili, none of which seriously hurt him.

Here’s hoping the UFC resists the temptation to book an immediate title rematch. For one, there is no good reason to expect that a second fight three or four months from now would go differently. Second, if O’Malley’s star power truly is as great as he and the UFC believe, he will be perfectly fine if he has to go win a fight or two before getting a shot at winning his belt back, and the promotion could use those bouts as Fight Night headliners or even pay-per-view co-main events. Finally, the division has enough rising contenders that it would be an injustice to put them all on ice for six months or a year while Dvalishvili and O’Malley completed a rematch or even a trilogy.

Enter Nurmagomedov, who dominated perennial contender Cory Sandhagen in the headliner of UFC on ABC 7 in August. The stoic Dagestani with the famous surname is now 18-0, the last six of those in the UFC, and has barely broken a sweat even as he has ascended into the Top 10. The 28-year-old would present an intriguing mix of top-shelf wrestling and diverse striking, not to mention being younger and bigger than the new champ; Nurmagomedov might be the only bantamweight on roster who would not be a prohibitive underdog to Dvalishvili.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot

The greatest female flyweight of all time announced on Saturday that she is not quite done compiling her legendary résumé, as she took a stunningly dominant decision over Alexa Grasso, the woman who defeated her for the title last March, then retained in a split draw at the first “Noche UFC” a year ago. In the trilogy fight, “Bullet” appeared to remember that despite her extensive kickboxing and muay thai background, her most dominant skill set in MMA might be her wrestling and top-position grappling. She grounded Grasso with ease in almost every round, smothered her with airtight positional grappling and strikes, and reduced her foe to low-percentage submission attempts from the bottom.

Much like the men’s bantamweight main event, hopefully the UFC does not elect to book these women in an immediate fourth fight. The division is not short on rising contenders, and those contenders have already been in a holding pattern for a full year while Shevchenko and Grasso took time off to coach a season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And despite the series now standing at 1-1-1, Shevchenko’s performance on Saturday felt like a statement, a sneak peek at what a fourth meeting would look like.

In order to find Shevchenko’s next foe, the UFC should not have to look very far; no farther than the distance from the cage to the front row, where Manon Fiorot sat after weighing in as a backup for Saturday’s title fight. The 34-year-old Frenchwoman is on a 12-fight win streak, seven of them in the UFC Octagon, including former strawweight champ Rose Namajunas, former title challengers Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia, and fellow hot prospect Erin Blanchfield. Fiorot represents another market the UFC appears highly motivated to conquer, and perhaps more than any other woman in the division, carries the kind of size and raw physicality that might match up well with Shevchenko.

Diego Lopes vs. Ilia Topuria

Lopes picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday, battering two-time former title challenger Brian Ortega en route to a dominant unanimous decision. The fight, which had originally been scheduled to take place six weeks ago, offered little suspense, as Lopes was much faster and sharper on the feet, and showed little fear of Ortega’s vaunted jiu-jitsu on the occasions the fight went to the floor.

The 29-year-old Brazilian by way of Mexico has now rattled off five straight wins since his short-notice debut loss to Movsar Evloev last May, and with his one-sided disposal of a tough veteran like Ortega, he may have shown that he is ready for a shot at the title. The UFC could match Lopes against the winner of the Aljamain Sterling-Evloev bout next month, but the winner of that fight is probably up for a title shot next—especially former bantamweight champion Sterling. Instead, why not have Lopes challenge Topuria next, then have the Sterling-Evloev winner on deck for whoever emerges victorious?

Esteban Ribovics vs. Drew Dober

Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber collaborated on a “Fight of the Night,” and a potential “Round of the Year,” in their lightweight clash. What had already been a fantastic scrap through two rounds went nuclear in Round 3, as Ribovics was knocked down early by a spinning elbow strike, then recovered, rocked Zellhuber with a huge right hand, and swarmed for the finish. Despite landing what felt like 100 unanswered strikes as Zellhuber tottered all over the cage, Ribovics couldn’t quite corral his damaged foe, and Zellhuber not only regained his wits but recaptured the momentum by the time the final horn sounded. While Ribovics collected the split decision win, both men emerged $50,000 richer for their efforts.

Ribovics is an intriguing lightweight prospect, still on the right side of his 30th birthday, but is probably not ready for a Top 15 foe just yet. Having cemented himself as an action hero and bonus magnet, it only makes sense that he should be matched with an opponent who can help accentuate those qualities. Dober, who has been filling that role with the UFC for nearly a decade, fills the bill perfectly.