5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 291
UFC 291 went down on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, and just like the last card the promotion brought to town, it was packed with exciting scraps and wild finishes.
The biggest winner of the night was lightweight contender Justin Gaethje, who avenged a 2018 stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier with a highlight-reel head kick knockout win in the second round of the main event, which also earned him the promotion's "BMF" title.
Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira also picked up an important win on the card, battling former light heavyweight title-holder Jan Blachowicz to a split-decision victory in his first fight in the weight class.
Earlier on the card, heavyweight fan favorite Derrick Lewis bounced back from the worst slump of his career with a quick knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Kevin Holland impressed with a quick submission win over ranked welterweight contender Michael Chiesa.
It was the kind of card that opened the door to a long list of exciting matchups. Here are five we're hoping to see when everybody is healed up and ready to get back in there.
Justin Gaethje vs. Makhachev-Oliveira winner
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After his stunning knockout win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291, Justin Gaethje is now on a two-fight streak, having picked up a thrilling decision win over Rafael Fiziev in his next most recent fight.
That streak is expected to earn him a crack at the UFC lightweight title, but he's got some waiting to do.
The belt will next be up for grabs at UFC 294 in October when the champion, Islam Makhachev, defends it against the man he won it from last year, Charles Oliveira.
Gaethje has yet to fight Makhachev, who is considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, but met Olivera in a title fight early last year and suffered a first-round submission loss after stinging the champion in the early going.
He would most likely be the underdog against either fighter, but after his knockout win over Poirier, it's clearer than ever that he has the skills and finishing prowess to take out any lightweight in the world, even championship-level talents like Makhachev and Oliveira.
It probably won't happen until sometime in the first or second quarter of 2024, but once the winner of UFC 294's lightweight title fight is back in fighting shape, Gaethje should be their next challenger.
Dustin Poirier vs. Beneil Dariush
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Dustin Poirier's title aspirations took a big hit at UFC 291, and while he is clearly still one of the best lightweights in the world, his future in the lightweight division looks a bit murky.
One option for him going forward is a trilogy fight with Gaethje. The two lightweight action fighters are now 1-1 and both of their fights have been thrilling—albeit in different ways. A tiebreaker definitely makes sense at some point, but with Gaethje awaiting a title shot that isn't likely to occur until sometime in 2024, Poirier will likely need to fight somebody else in the meantime if he wants to remain relevant.
Our pick for his next opponent is Beneil Dariush, who will most likely be ranked one spot behind Poirier when the rankings are updated this week.
Poirier has expressed disinterest in this matchup, noting at the UFC 291 post-fight press conference that it was offered to him before, and didn't excite him.
"Before this one when they offered me Beneil, I was just like, 'Ah, I'm not that excited about it,'" he said.
However, this would seem like the best option available for him and he will probably start to realize that in the coming weeks.
Dariush is riding a TKO loss to Oliveira, but before that, was riding eight straight wins. Unless Poirier is interested in running it back with somebody he's already beaten like Michael Chandler or Dan Hooker, then this seems like the fight to make.
Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka
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Justin Gaethje isn't the only fighter looking at a title shot after UFC 291.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champ Alex Pereira seemingly locked up a title opportunity for himself, defeating Jan Blachowicz by split decision in his light heavyweight debut.
Things have been chaotic at the top of the light heavyweight division over the last year.
The trouble began when Czech striker Jiří Procházka, who won the belt with a submission defeat of Glover Teixeira in the summer of last year, suffered a bad injury in training and vacated the belt. The UFC then assigned Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev to fight for the vacant title, only for the two contenders to battle to a draw, leaving the throne unoccupied. The UFC then booked another fight for the light heavyweight belt, this time pitting Teixeira against Jamahal Hill. Hill won the fight by decision, but then suffered the same fate as Prochazka, vacating the belt after an injury.
Pereira, who now holds a win over one of the best fighters at light heavyweight, seems like a shoo-in for the UFC's next attempt at crowning a champion in the division. The big question is who he fights.
The best option is seemingly Prochazka. While the former champ probably has a bit more healing up to do, he is easily the most deserving fighter in the weight class, and he and Pereira match up beautifully on paper as two of the most dangerous knockout threats in the entire sport.
Hopefully, the two can fight to a decisive outcome sometime in the next six months or so, and we can finally bring some order to the top of the division.
Derrick Lewis vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
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Derrick Lewis had his back to the wall ahead of UFC 291. He had lost three straight fights, all by stoppage, and would have spiralled into irrelevance had he lost to the unranked Marcos Rogerio de Lima on the event's main card.
In the end, he got the win he sought, and did so in quick and brutal fashion, cutting his Brazilian foe down with a flying knee and follow-up punches inside a minute.
With the win, Lewis fulfilled the final obligation on his UFC contract and as one of the most popular and experienced fighters in the heavyweight division, he is likely to receive offers from a number of major MMA promotions, most notably the PFL, who will soon need to begin the hunt for former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou's first opponent in their cage.
However, the UFC surely sees Lewis as a valuable commodity, even if his time as a title contender is over, and will likely move to re-sign him.
If the promotion succeeds, it will be interesting to see who they match Lewis up with. He has fought the majority of the fighters in the Top 15 with varying results, and many of them quite recently, as he has always maintained a very active schedule of competition.
While it's possible he could end up in a rematch with somebody like Alexander Volkov, our pick would be on of the few fresh matchups left for him in the weight class: Surinamese striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
It's kind of a miracle Lewis and Rozenstruik haven't fought yet, as they've shared the top of the heavyweight division for years. Today, the matchup makes as much sense as ever.
While Rozenstruik is riding a loss, he is still ranked inside the Top 15 and seems like a fair assignment for Lewis who, even after his win over de Lima, has some serious work to do if he aims to become a contender again.
Kevin Holland vs. Garry-Neal Winner
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Kevin Holland picked up one of the best wins of his career on the UFC 291 main card, choking out No. 12-ranked welterweight contender Michael Chiesa in the first round.
With that impressive win, Holland is now on a two-fight streak in the weight class, having knocked out Santiago Ponzinibbio in his next most recent trip to the Octagon.
That streak pretty much guarantees him a big fight next time out, particularly given that he's one of the most popular fighters in the welterweight division.
As a newer face in the weight class, he has a ton of options, as he hasn't met many of the division's top fighters yet. Fights with the likes of Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns all seem like good options, but our pick is Ian Machado Garry or Geoff Neal, who are set to fight at UFC 292 on August 19.
Neal is currently ranked No. 8 at welterweight, while Garry is ranked No. 14, and the winner of their fight will be just the kind of test Holland deserves. Both potential matchups look fun on paper too, as Neal shares Holland's predilection for impressive knockouts, and Garry is one of the fastest-rising contenders in the weight class.
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