5 Fights We Need to See After UFC on ESPN 44
UFC on ESPN 44 went down on Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri, and it featured some big names and some exciting MMA action.
In the main event, former featherweight champion Max Holloway—one of the division's greatest fighters—picked up an impressive unanimous-decision win over rising contender Arnold Allen.
The co-main event saw longtime lightweight and featherweight contender Edson Barboza stop Billy Quarantillo with a knee in Round 1—the latest addition to his jaw-dropping highlight reel.
Rising light heavyweight contender Azamat Murzakanov also impressed on the card, defeating fellow striker Dustin Jacoby by decision, as did established flyweight contender Brandon Royval, who dashed Matheus Nicolau's hopes of locking up a title shot with an impressive first-round knockout.
Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled.
Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung
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Max Holloway is back in the win column after defeating England's Arnold Allen by unanimous decision in the UFC on ESPN 44 main event, but the Hawaiian MMA legend is in a bit of a tough spot.
With three losses to reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, he is going to have to move mountains for another title shot—even though he is clearly the second-best fighter in the weight class right now.
The good news is that Holloway seems willing to put in the work, and he even has an opponent in mind for his next fight: The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung.
"That is the only guy in my time with the older guys that I didn't get to fight," Holloway said at the event's post-fight press conference, calling out the Korean MMA legend. "I would love that fight. There's a fight in my agent's freaking country, Australia—Australia's supposed to be happening sometime. We don't know when. And if Korean Zombie wants it, he can get it. I would love to fight him. That's one of the guys I've been growing up and watching.
"I'm kind of tripping out, how didn't we fight yet? How did we not fight? If that's one of the guys, then that's one of the guys. I'd love to fight and share the Octagon with him. He's one of the OGs that I didn't get to fight yet. We came up in the same era and we didn't fight each other, so if that's it, that's it."
It's an incredible matchup on paper—the pair are two of the most exciting fighters in the division—and it really is a miracle it hasn't happened yet.
Now's the time.
Arnold Allen vs. Josh Emmett
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Arnold Allen's 12-fight unbeaten streak finally came to an end at the hands of Max Holloway in the UFC on ESPN 44 main event. It was a bit of a disappointing performance from the Brit—he was inactive enough to catch some flack from UFC President Dana White—but he is unlikely to lose much ground in defeat.
There's no shame in losing to Holloway. Pretty much everybody not named Alexander Volkanovski does it.
We'd like to see Allen begin his journey back to title contention by taking on American knockout artist Josh Emmett.
Emmett is in a similar boat, having recently been submitted by Yair Rodríguez in a bid for the interim featherweight title.
It makes perfect sense based on their stations in the division—Allen is ranked No. 4, and Emmett is perched at No. 5—and it should be a fun fight for as long as it lasts.
Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff
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Edson Barboza has one of the most exciting highlight reels in all of MMA. It's packed with stunning knockout victories, and at UFC on ESPN 44, he picked up another, shutting the lights out on Billy Quarantillo with a first-round knee.
From here, we'd like to see the Brazilian striking whiz take on Nigeria's Sodiq Yusuff.
Yusuff is ranked two spots ahead of Barboza at featherweight, at No. 12, so it makes sense as far as the division's pecking order is concerned.
It's also a fight that we nearly got a few years ago. The pair were scheduled to fight in 2020, but the fight fell through when Yusuff withdrew with an injury.
Today, when both men are riding quick wins—Yusuff recently choked out Don Shainis in 30 seconds—it makes as much sense as ever.
Throw it on a summer Fight Night card.
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Azamat Murzakanov vs. Khalil Rountree
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Russia's Azamat Murzakanov is now 13-0 after an impressive unanimous-decision win over Dustin Jacoby on the UFC on ESPN 44 main card. More importantly, he is one of the most compelling new contenders in the light heavyweight division, with slick striking technique and huge power.
He's still a couple of wins away from title contention, but it's starting to feel like it could be a matter of time.
Our pick for his next opponent is Khalil Rountree. The fight makes sense from a rankings standpoint, as the pair are actually tied at No. 13.
The real appeal of this fight is that Rountree, an aggressive and crafty muay thai specialist, is one of the future fighters in the division with the striking and firepower to rival Murzakanov's.
Don't blink in this one.
Brandon Royval vs. Figueiredo-Kape Winner
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Had Matheus Nicolau defeated Brandon Royval at UFC on ESPN 44, he might have earned a shot at the winner of champ Brandon Moreno and challenger Alexandre Pantoja's upcoming flyweight title fight.
However, Royval had other plans, knocking the Brazilian out with a knee and punches in Round 1 of their undercard fight.
It was Royval's third win in a row, but his fairly recent losses to both Moreno and Pantoja means he probably has a bit more work to do before earning a title shot himself.
Our pick for his next dance partner is the winner of a newly announced fight between former champ Deiveson Figueiredo and his fellow KO artist Manel Kape, a former titleholder in Japan's Rizin Fighting Federation.
That one is set for UFC 290 on July 8, and the winner, like Royval, will be one of the division's top contenders.
Book Royval against whichever man comes out on top, and sweeten the pot by promising the winner a belt fight.
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