Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 200

The fight might not have lived up to the implied promise of his serial-killer sound bites, but Sean Strickland firmly established himself as a title contender at 185 pounds.

In the main event of UFC Fight Night 200 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, “Tarzan” soundly outboxed Jack Hermansson, denying the Swede’s takedown attempts and stinging him with a constant barrage of jabs and the occasional right cross or straight. A baffling 47-48 scorecard from Sal D’Amato aside, the overwhelming majority of viewers scored at least four rounds for Strickland, with many awarding him a clean sweep.

With the win, the 30-year-old Californian moves to 5-0 since October 2020, when he returned from a two-year injury layoff with a clean bill of health and a commitment to staying at middleweight. That streak makes him a very interested observer of next weekend’s UFC 271 pay-per-view, with its Israel Adesanya-Robert Whittaker title rematch and a main card clash between Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson that clearly serves as a contingency plan in case Whittaker is forced out, and might well be a title eliminator in its own right. However those fights play out, there is a good chance Strickland’s next opponent is one of those four men.

In the wake of “UFC Vegas 47,” here are some matches that ought to be made for the surging Strickland and the rest of the main card winners:

Sean Strickland Watches His TV Really Intently Next Saturday

And if we’re being honest, he probably yells some pretty questionable stuff at it while the UFC 271 main card plays out, but it’s his living room so it’s his right. There are some moving parts here, but bear with me. If Adesanya and Cannonier both win next Saturday, Cannonier — about to turn 38 and never having fought Adesanya before — will almost certainly be the next title challenger. In that case, Whittaker would be a fantastic next matchup for Strickland. If Adesanya and Brunson both win, Brunson would be on a six-fight win streak since his 2018 loss to “The Last Stylebender,” which should be enough to earn another crack, in which case Strickland vs. Whittaker or Cannonier would be the play. If Whittaker upsets Adesanya, we’re probably going to get an immediate rubber match, so the Cannonier-Brunson winner can fight Strickland, with an indisputable spot in the on-deck circle at stake. It’s a rare situation where just about every possibility yields a great-sounding fight.

Nick Maximov vs. Bryan Battle

In the co-main event, Maximov took a close split decision over Punahele Soriano after a grueling 15 minutes of scramble-heavy wrestling. While the win was far less lopsided than his previous outings, it did answer the question of whether the former junior college national champ could make his ground game go against another good wrestler who was visibly larger to boot. Still just 24 years old and only eight fights into his professional career, the Nick Diaz protégé has tons of upside and, just as importantly, tons of time. There’s no need to rush; just keep giving him incrementally tougher matchups and if Maximov is the real deal, the rest will come soon enough. Battle, who appeared just an hour or so before Maximov, is in a similar position. “Pooh Bear” clearly felt vindicated at UFC Fight Night 200. In taking a unanimous decision over Tresean Gore to win the delayed middleweight final of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29, he silenced any who thought Gore’s injury withdrawal from their scheduled meeting last August had been a godsend for Battle. Put them in a cage together in the spring and see who rises.

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Randy Brown

“Nomad” blasted Carlston Harris with a highlight-reel spinning hook kick, scoring his 15th straight stoppage win to open his career, netting himself a “Performance of the Night” bonus and certifying himself one of the top undefeated prospects in the welterweight division alongside Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Brady. In his three UFC appearances to date, Rakhmonov has completely overwhelmed veterans, fringe contenders and fellow up-and-comers. He’s earned a shot at the next tier of UFC welterweights. Brown, who took a unanimous decision over Jared Gooden in October, seems to have turned a corner from just another all-action guy at 170 and is looking like a potential contender. Book those two, pencil in the fight for one or more bonuses, and the winner for a spot in the Top 15.

Brendan Allen vs. Phil Hawes

Allen picked up an unscheduled paycheck and washed out the sour taste of his December loss to Chris Curtis when he stepped in for the injured Hawes on four days’ notice to face Sam Alvey. He dropped a somewhat tentative first round to Alvey before stunning him with punches and cinching up a rear-naked choke for the second-round finish. Assuming that Hawes’ injury doesn’t necessitate a layoff, he would actually be a suitable next test: another middleweight with obvious upside, who thus far has struggled to put together enough wins to realize that potential. They can even compare “I got knocked out by ‘The Action Man’ too!” stories if the pre-fight press conferences get dull.

Julian Erosa vs. Bill Algeo

Erosa came back to the UFC in mid-2020 as a two-time washout, to the most modest expectations imaginable. “Juicy J” figured to be not much more than a fun undercard action fighter and the answer to a trivia question — the first, and thus far only, fighter to be signed by the UFC as a “TUF” contestant, a Contender Series winner and a COVID-era late replacement? Instead, the third time actually has proven to be the charm, as the lanky Washington native is 4-1 in this most recent run, and has been the underdog in four of those fights. In Saturday’s main card opener, Erosa outstruck, outlasted and out-crazied Steven Peterson in a wild slugfest that won “Fight of the Night,” then ran away with both halves of the bonus since Peterson missed weight. Algeo, who defeated Joanderson Brito last month to go 3-2 in the Octagon, is in a similar place: already having outperformed expectations, he’s now looking to prove himself to be more than “just another guy” in one of the hardest divisions in which to do so.