Potential Matchups After UFC 306
UFC 306 was a phenomenal event, the movies of the Sphere were highly detailed, in different art styles, and gave a new feel to UFC events. Even with the major success that the UFC had in the Las Vegas Sphere, Dana White is still set on UFC not doing another event at the venue. UFC 306 was a solid card with a lot of great fights besides the main and co-main events, which were pretty lackluster. UFC 306 gave us two new Champions, Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko, and two new contenders, Diego Lopes and Norma Dumont. The match-makers will have a good time making matches for UFC’s new rising stars. Here are my thoughts on who our new Champions and contenders should fight next.
Merab Dvalishvili
Merab smothered Sean O’Malley for a good amount of time during their 25-minute fight. The fight itself was a bit odd, with Herb Dean making questionable calls and Merab shouting at O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch. Other than those moments, it was all Merab pressure and pace and wrestling that won him the bantamweight title. Merab's first title defense should be against Umar Nurmagomedov. Umar Nurmagomedov is the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is undefeated with an 18-0 record, ranked number three in the bantamweight division, and just came off a main-event win over Cory Sandhagen. Umar and Merab have a similar wrestling style, however, with Khabib in the corner of Umar, he will be the perfect challenge to push Merab.
Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso
Alexa Grasso left the arena with her head down after her unanimous decision loss to two-time Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko. Valentina controlled most of the fight on the ground only having to really fight off submission attempts from Alexa Grasso. Alexa looked defeated by Round Three, she was tired and it looked like that passion of beating Valentina had left. After their trilogy, the record between Valentina and Alexa is 1-1-1. Alexa has already said that if she lost, she would want to fight Valentina for a fourth time. I believe Valentina dominated that fight; however, it is only fair for the pair to fight for a fourth time to break the tie in their rivalry.
Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega
Diego Lopes showed out on Saturday night, going from the 13th-ranked featherweight contender to jumping up to number three after defeating Brian Ortega. Diego dominated Ortega in the first and third rounds, one of the most notable moments was when Ortega rushed in with a jab, and Lopes hit Ortega with nasty counterhooks that wobbled Ortega badly. I’m surprised Ortega survived that onslaught. With a huge win over a tough opponent, I think Lopes needs one more fight to solidify his title shot.
Diego Lopes should have a number-one contender fight with former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Despite Volkanovski's two recent KO losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, he remains a formidable challenge for anyone. With fans questioning whether Volkanovski still has the heart of a champion, a match-up with Diego Lopes would be perfect. Brian Ortega dropped to number five in the featherweight rankings, and he will need another win from a rising contender to prove he still has what it takes to stay in title contention. With a high-stakes fight coming up in October between ninth-ranked featherweight contender Aljamain Sterling and sixth-ranked Movsar Evloev, Ortega will most likely have to face the winner.
Norma Dumont and Irene Aldana
Norma Dumont sliced and diced Irene Aldana, leaving a grotesque cut in the middle of Aldana’s forehead. Norma got the judge’s nod, but the damage and Norma's strike accuracy led her to a 30-27 scorecard. Norma was the eighth-ranked women's bantamweight contender; however, with her win over Aldana, she is now ranked fifth. Norma is on a five-fight win streak, and just above her in the rankings is Macy Chiasson, the last person to defeat Dumont.
The last person to defeat Irene Aldana was Amanda Nunes. Since Amanda has retired, the next logical match for Aldana would be a rematch with Holly Holm. Aldana lost to Holm in 2020; however, they are now close in the bantamweight rankings, and if Holly wants to move up, she would need to rematch Aldana. If Aldana wants to climb back up the rankings for a possible title shot, she must defend her sixth-ranked position in the women’s bantamweight division.
