Lerone Murphy:

Lerone Murphy was victorious over Josh Emmett in their five-round main event with Murphy showing some nice technical skills over a strong opponent in Emmett.

I think he still needs another fight before a potential title fight, and I would do an all-British showdown against Arnold Allen.

This would be good for both guys as they are in similar positions and could easily main event a fight night in the UK.

Chang Ho Lee:

‘Korean Khabib’ Chang Ho Lee got a second-round finish over Cortavious Romious in his official debut in the UFC and looked like a fun addition to the division.

For his next fight, I’d give him Bernardo Sopaj.

Both guys are fun, and whoever wins will get a decent opponent afterwards.

Rhys McKee:

The Ballymena man got his first win in the UFC and he looked great doing it after a dominating first round forcing a doctor stoppage.

For McKee’s next fight, I’d like to see him face Austin Vanderford.

Both guys got good finishes in their fights, and it should be a competitive one.

Victor Henry:

La Mangosta was able to show off his veteran skills with the decision win over Pedro Falcão, who brought the fight to Henry.

Next time out I’d like to see Victor Henry take on Davey Grant in a battle of two vets still at a high level.

This would be a fantastic fight with two older guys who are still better than most of the division and could easily be the fight of the night on a PPV card.

These are some of the fights I’d make next. Not as many as I’d like, but the card wasn’t that good, so hopefully, the next ones will be better. What fights would you make next for some of the fighters on the card? Let me know in the comments.

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Brandon Moreno:

Moreno was able to win in front of his hometown crowd in the main event against Steve Erceg.

The problem for Moreno is he’s fought for the title recently enough to where he probably needs one more good win to get another shot.

My choice for his next one is a bit out of left field but one I think could be fun.

For Brandon Moreno, I would have him fight Manel Kape next.

Manuel Torres:

It was a very big result for Manuel Torres in the co-main, getting the first-round knockout of Drew Dober.

Torres has the potential to be a solid star for Mexico and the UFC and I’d be making sure he fights on PPV’s to keep the crowd interest.

I feel a good next fight for Torres is Mateusz Rębecki. I imagine it will be high paced and all action and the perfect fight to open a PPV main card.

Raul Rosas Jr:

Raul Rosas extended his win streak to four at UFC Mexico with a win over Vince Morales.

I feel that Rosas has made improvements but still has tons of room to grow.

I think a good next fight would be Charles Jourdain. It’s a good opponent for him to work on his striking but still a winnable one over a strong name.

David Martinez:

Probably the breakout star of the card was David Martinez making his UFC debut and getting a first-round knockout over Saimon Oliveira.

Martinez has the potential to be another star for Mexico in the UFC, and I hope they keep him on PPVs as well as he likes a finish which can get the crowds excited.

For his next one, I’d give him Ricky Turcios, as It’s a winnable fight but one that should still bring good action.

Ateba Gautier:

Middleweight have a new prospect in 22-year-old Ateba Gautier who made his mark with a first-round knockout over José Medina which is the first time Medina had been knocked out.

Gautier is a prospect that the UFC will be wanting to market properly and hopefully not rush him before he’s ready.

Next time out, I’d have Gautier take on Armen Petrosyan. This would be a fun, striking matchup, but one that Gautier should win, but it’s a good name for his next step.

These are some of the fights I’d like to see next after UFC Mexico. Let me know what you think about them and If there are any you want to see next.

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Sean Brady:

I was very impressed by Sean Brady’s performance. I was worried about his success in the division after losing to Belal, but he’s really turned it around, and getting a win over a former champ will do him wonders.

I feel the next obvious fight is the rematch against Belal Muhammad for the title.

He’s just beaten the number one ranked, so it would be rude not to get it.

Leon Edwards:

Well It seems Edwards time at the top might be on the decline. He’s still a very talented fighter but just not urgent enough or consistent.

I feel if he has another fight, it should be Ian Machado Garry.

Both are coming off losses, but Edwards needs to prove he’s still top five while Garry looks to prove he’s ready for the top five.

Carlos Ulberg:

It wasn’t the most convincing win of all time, but Ulberg got the decision of Jan Błachwicz.

I said it in a previous Fights to Make, but I feel the next fight to make should be now Ulberg v Ankalaev for the title as I wouldn’t want to rush the rematch between Pereira and Ankalaev, so have an in-between fight first for both guys.

It also gives us a new title fight, which should be interesting.

Nathaniel Wood:

My boy Nathaniel Wood got the win and is now on a decent run at 145 which is great to see.

I feel now’s the time to give him a ranked opponent, and the one I’d give him is Calvin Kattar.

Kattar is on a poor run but still ranked, so why not give Wood the chance to enter the ranking.

Lone’er Kavanagh:

Probably the best fight of the night was Lone’er Kavanagh v Felipe Dos Santos where it was a proper scrap where Kavanagh came out on top.

The next fight I’d do for Kavanagh is Clayton Carpenter.

I feel this is a good next fight, as you don’t want to rush Kavanagh. If he does well against Carpenter, you can move him closer to the rankings.

Let me know what you think of the fights I’ve come up with and what next fights you’ve thought of for the fighters on the card.

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Roman Dolidze:

Dolidze got his win back over Marvin Vettori and looked alright but not fantastic, but he should now take Vettori’s number 8 ranking.

For his next one, I’d pick Anthony Hernandez

Both are on the rise, and it would be number 8 v number 9, and the winner should then get a big fight in the top five after.

Marvin Vettori:

Vettori made his return after nearly two years off and lost to Dolidze, but he wasn’t completely terrible in the fight.

I feel the only fun and interesting next fight for Vettori is Paulo Costa.

Both guys would be funny before the fight, and then once the fight's over, both can retire as there’s not much left for either to do.

Kevin Vallejos:

What a debut performance by Kevin Vallejos, who got the first-round knockout over Seung Woo Choi.

He’s a great prospect on the rise, and next time out, I’d have him fight Andre Fili.

I feel that's a good next fight against a good name in Fili, but one I think he wins, which will be good for his resume.

Andre Lima:

How could I not talk about Andre Lima after a career-best performance over Daniel Barez?

I’m a massive fan of Lima and think he can go far in this division. For his next one, I think a good fight would be Charles Johnson.

This would be a phenomenal fight and a shot at the rankings, which Lima should get, I feel, and Johnson will need to defend his ranking after a loss last time out. Johnson is a very skilled fighter, so Lima would need to be on his game.

Carli Judice:

Judice finally showed her ability in the UFC after getting a fantastic head-kick knockout to open the card.

I think Judice has solid potential and found that her record doesn’t tell the whole story about her skill. I think a good fight next after a big win would be Montana De La Rosa.

This would be a good fight to follow up on for Judice as it’s a very winnable fight for her and would be a good win over a fighter who’s been in the UFC for a while.

These are some of the fights I’d like to see next for these fighters. What do you think of these matchups, and what are some you thought of?

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Magomed Ankalaev:

After winning the title by detroning Alex Pereira, the obvious answer is a rematch, but I have different ideas.

I feel like it might be smart to have each guy have a fight in between the rematch to build suspense and just for the idea of getting a new title fight.

I would do Magomed Ankalaev v Jiří Procházka for Ankaleav’s first title defense sometime later this year, as they have never fought. I think it could be a fun fight, and if everything goes to plan, Ankaleav will retain. You could do the Pereira rematch either at the end of this year or early next year and build a bit more hype around the fight.

Alex Pereira:

As I mentioned above, I wouldn’t do the rematch straight away.

With Pereira, he’s a guy who likes to fight multiple times a year, so I would potentially have two more fights for him this year, but I’ll suggest one for now.

I feel like the smart thing to do after Pereira's loss is to give him a layup fight to hopefully see him get a knockout and build the hype back up for the title fight.

For this, I’d have him fight the winner of the Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg fight. If Błachowicz wins, he can get a rematch and ideally get a knockout this time. If Ulberg wins, you get the new rising star in a potentially great striking matchup.

Justin Gaethje:

The nickname “The Highlight” is very applicable to Justin Gaethje, as every fight is all action, whether he wins or loses.

He got another win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 and is in a weird place fight-wise, as he’s fought pretty much everyone but isn’t going to fight for the title.

I’d say the fight that makes sense to make is to try to get the Dan Hooker rebooked as Hooker’s one of the few people Gaethje hasn’t fought and that fight would be total violence.

Rafael Fiziev:

I’ve already mentioned that he lost to Gaethje, but after coming in on short notice, I think Fiziev deserves a bit of a gimme fight.

For Rafael Fiziev’s next fight, I’d give him Beneil Dariush as it’s number 9 versus number 11 in the rankings, but it’s a fight I think Fiziev can win. Dariush is still a good level of competition to be fighting.

An alternate shout for just my pleasure would be Rafael Fiziev v Joel Alvarez, but I don’t see that happening yet.

Ignacio Bahamondes:

Bahamondes has finally entered the Lightweight rankings after a first-round Triangle Choke over Jalin Turner.

I’ve been a big fan of Ignacio Bahamondes and am happy to see him improving.

For his next fight, I’d have him face Grant Dawson as it’s another ranked fighter, but one, if he beats, I think, can set him up for bigger fights if he proves he can handle a wrestler like Dawson.

Mauricio Ruffy:

Another Fighting Nerd continues to impress, and Mauricio Ruffy follows the pattern of his teammates with an impressive win over King Green at UFC 313.

I’m a big Fighting Nerds guy and find it very impressive how they’ve just produced solid fighter after solid fighter recently.

For Ruffy’s next fight, I’d do a real fun one with Joel Alvarez, and in my eyes, I’d have that headline a fight night, but I doubt the UFC would do that, which is a shame. This fight would be phenomenal, and whoever wins would get a ranking opportunity afterwards.

Joshua Van:

To finish off, I wanted to mention my boy Joshua Van.

Van is one of my favourites to watch currently, and I love watching him grow every fight. At only 23 years old, I think he has a whole other level he will reach one day.

He was initially scheduled to face 12th-ranked Bruno Silva, but Silva withdrew, so Van did not get his chance at a ranking.

I think now's a good time for Van to enter the rankings, and I’d give him Tim Elliott, who is somehow still ranked 11th even though he hasn’t fought since 2023.

I think Van will win this fight, but it’s still a good level of competition to ensure his readiness for the rankings.

This was fun to do, as it’s always great fun to try to predict what will happen next and think about what I’d like to see next.

Tell me in the comments if you like the matchups I came up with and any ones you think should happen, even if I didn’t mention the fighters.

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