It’s time to play matchmaker.
Here are several fights that we believe the UFC should make to close out the year.
Ant Walker says that he’s “all-in” for a Dominick Cruz vs. Jose Aldo matchup. He says that now is the time for this fight to happen. Both fighters are heading in the same direction in their careers and we’re seeing the back half of what they can offer in the UFC. It would be an intriguing fight and one that would excite many hardcore fans.
Drake Riggs calls for Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas. Well, in fact, Riggs wants to see Weili against any opponent, but Namajunas is the one that makes the most sense right now. It’s also the best fight on the table and one that would prove to be very exciting. Riggs also calls for a Ryan Hall fight against anybody.
Matthew Wells wants to see Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier. If the conversation on Twitter is anything to go by, this one seems to be shaping up. Wells says it’s time to do make this fight happen.
Wells also raises Nate Diaz vs. Dan Hooker as an option. Walker responds by saying that it would be a great fight, but he questions whether it’d be enough to get Diaz back into the cage.
But on the topic of Nate Diaz, Walker suggests a Michael Chandler vs. Diaz matchup. He says it’s a fight that makes sense for both guys and from a business perspective, as well.
And who should Khamzat Chimaev fight next? Walker says Brad Taveres. Riggs says Chris Weidman. And Wells says it should be Neil Magny. All interesting options and the UFC can’t really go wrong with either of them.
What fights do you want to see happen in the next couple of months? Let us know!
I’m with Riggs on Weili vs. anybody. While I definitely want to see Weili vs. Rose the most, JJ is a close second and Tatiana, a third. The problem with all of them is that I don’t see any of them contending in the near future, certainly not this year. Rose has beene averaging a fight/year the past 3 years. Given her nose injury and surgery, and her proposed opponent, I would be surprised if we would see such a fight much before summer 2020. Are you good on not seeing Weili compete until then? I’m not. JJ indicated earlier that she doesn’t anticipate competing until next year, ideally for the title, but did not provide any specifics for her time table. I doubt if she’s in a rush for the rematch for the title either. We have no clue as to when Tatiana will be returning, and if she does, she will probably need a tune-up fight.
With Claudia Gadelha vs. Xiaonan Yan less than a month away, I would be good with the winner challenging Weili. Not sure why Carla pulled out of her fight with Amanda, but given that she has a longer win streak than anyone ranked above her, I would even be OK with seeing her challenge for the title as she has requested. I have little hopes of it being competitive, but not much less so than any of Valentina’s opponents challenging her. Besides, I would like to see her grappling vs. Weili’s if Weili could restrain from striking for a while. In short, I’m good with whoever can challenge Weili soonest.