4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 223
UFC Fight Night 223 went down on Saturday night in Las Vegas, and while it was a little short on big names, it still produced some memorable action.
The card was originally expected to be headlined by a lightweight bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Renato Moicano, but that plan fell through when Moicano suffered an injury. A bantamweight fight between Song Yadong and Ricky Simon was then moved from last week's UFC Fight Night 222 card into Saturday's headlining spot.
Song won the fight in decisive fashion, denying his foe's takedowns to win by TKO in the fifth and final round.
In the co-main event, rising Brazilian middleweight contender Caio Borralho defeated former light heavyweight Michał Oleksiejczuk by submission with a second-round rear-naked choke.
Rodolfo Vieira, another Brazilian middleweight, also won his fight by second-round submission, tapping Cody Brundage with an arm-triangle choke, while the earlier portions of the broadcast featured impressive wins from a mix of prospects and veterans.
Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled.
Song Yadong vs. Rob Font
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Song Yadong got back to winning ways in Saturday's main event, rebounding from a loss to Cory Sandhagen with an impressive win over Ricky Simón.
The Chinese bantamweight contender was in control of the bulk of the matchup with Simón, denying his American rival's trademark takedowns and mounting a dynamic striking attack that culminated with a fifth-round TKO.
The win will set Song up for another big fight at bantamweight. Our pick is a clash with Rob Font.
Font, who is known for his boxing skill, recently rebounded from a pair of tough losses to Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo with a slick first-round knockout of surging contender Adrian Yanez.
He's currently sitting two spots ahead of Song in the bantamweight rankings, at No. 6, so the fight makes sense from that vantage point, but the real appeal is the way the two men match up on paper.
They're both great boxers with plenty of power, so it would probably be a fun fight for as long as it lasted.
Caio Borralho vs. Brendan Allen
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Rising Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho keeps getting co-main event fights, and he keeps winning them.
His latest co-headlining win occurred at UFC Fight Night 223, when he choked out former light heavyweight contender Michał Oleksiejczuk with a rear-naked choke in round two.
It was Borralho's 13th win in a row, and his fourth in the UFC, and it should set him up for his first fight with a Top-15 opponent.
Our pick is No. 13-ranked American grappling specialist Brendan Allen.
Allen is on a nice streak himself, having picked up a fourth-straight win when he choked out Andre Muniz in February. He was set to fight Jack Hermansson on June 3, but the fight fell through when Hermansson sustained an injury.
He needs an opponent, and Borralho is both available and deserving of the opportunity. Book it.
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Jacob Malkoun
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Decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rodolfo Vieira has been hot and cold in the UFC middleweight division, but on the UFC Fight Night 223 main card, rebounded from a decision loss to Chris Curtis with a second-round submission of Cody Brundage.
He is still a long way from the rankings, and at 33, may never crack the Top 15, but deserves a good fight next time out.
Our pick is a matchup with Australia's Jacob Malkoun.
Malkoun, a chief training partner of former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, has also been inconsistent in the Octagon, but is currently riding a solid decision win over Nate Diaz' stablemate Nick Maximov.
He and Vieira are in similar positions in the middleweight division, and they're both great grapplers, so it should be a fun fight. Throw it on a summer Fight Night card.
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Marcos Rogerio De Lima vs. Derrick Lewis
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The UFC heavyweight division is always begging for fresh contenders, and ahead of UFC Fight Night 223, Waldo Cortes-Acosta looked like he might become one. Then he ran into experienced Brazilian Marcos Rogerio De Lima, who evidently didn't get the memo.
De Lima defeated Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision on the event's main card, building on the momentum of a first-round submission win over ageless former champion Andrei Arlovski.
Win streaks of any kind are commendable in the heavyweight division, where one punch can change everything in an instant, so De Lima deserves a big name next time out.
Our pick is former title challenger Derrick Lewis.
Lewis, ranked No. 11, holds the record for most knockout wins in UFC history, and remains one of the division's most fearsome punchers, but he's in the middle of a tailspin after three straight stoppage losses.
He's due for a bit of a step down in competition, and De Lima would be exactly that. It's a winnable fight for both big men, and it would tell us a lot about where they belong in the heavyweight pecking order in 2023.
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