4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 228
UFC Fight Night 228 went down on Saturday night inside the promotion's Apex facility in Las Vegas, and it opened the door to some interesting matchups in a few of the UFC's best divisions.
The biggest winner of the night was Polish lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot, who defeated Kyrgyzstani striker Rafael Fiziev in the main event. It was a bit of a strange win, coming after Fiziev hurt his foot by kicking Gamrot's elbow, but it's a win all the same and should set the Pole up for another big fight.
The co-main event featured two ranked featherweights, with Bryce Mitchell taking on Dan Ige. It was a wild, back-and-forth fight, but Mitchell walked away with a unanimous-decision win that will lead him to more big opportunities at 145 pounds.
The other biggest winner of the night was Marina Rodriguez, a top-10 strawweight contender who picked up her second career win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez—this time finishing her rival via second-round TKO.
Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see next for the stars of Saturday's event in Las Vegas.
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
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Mateusz Gamrot is in a tough spot.
On the surface, the No. 7 lightweight's three-fight win streak looks great. In fact, that's one of the better streaks in the division, as far as the numbers are concerned. Yet his win over Fiziev was dubious, and so were his recent decision wins over Arman Tsarukyan and Jalin Turner.
That makes his post-fight callout of Charles Oliveira a bit of a reach. First and foremost, Oliveira is set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title next month, and while he is the underdog, he could certainly spring the upset. Furthermore, if Oliveira loses to Makhachev as Gamrot expects, it seems far more likely that he fights a bigger name like Dustin Poirier.
With Oliveira seemingly off the table, Gamrot could angle for a fight with Justin Gaethje, who is also on a nice streak, but Gaethje will most likely be next for the Makhachev-Oliveira winner, so that's probably not going to happen either.
Long story short, Gamrot is not likely to get a big step up in competition just yet and will more likely have to settle for a fight with somebody closer to him in the rankings. Our pick of the scant options available is No. 9-ranked lightweight contender Dan Hooker, who is riding back-to-back wins over Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner, and is due for a bit of a step up.
It's probably not the fight Gamrot is hoping for, but if he wins it, he'll be much better positioned to call out the division's top dogs, who should hopefully be free of other obligations by that point.
Rafael Fiziev vs. Jalin Turner
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Rafael Fiziev is riding back-to-back losses to Justin Gaethje and Mateusz Gamrot, but he remains one of the lightweight division's top fighters and shouldn't tumble too far from his No. 7 perch after his latest setback.
Our pick for his next fight is Jalin Turner.
Turner, as we covered above, is riding a pair of split-decision losses to Dan Hooker and Gamrot. Both of those losses were very competitive, however, and there is no question he still has plenty of upside—just like Fiziev.
Matching them up would give them both a great opportunity to get back on track against a proven commodity, and it looks like a fantastic matchup on paper, as they're among the most exciting finishers in the division.
Throw it in a Fight Night co-headliner, or a pay-per-view opener, and get the bonus checks ready ahead of time.
Bryce Mitchell vs. Giga Chikadze
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Bryce Mitchell needed a big win after getting beaten down by Ilia Topuria in his last fight, and he got exactly that on Saturday, weathering some adversity to capture a unanimous-decision victory over his fellow featherweight contender Dan Ige.
The win over Ige, who's ranked No. 12, should give the No. 10 Mitchell a bit of a boost in the division. However, he's still a ways from a title shot and will need to beat a few other solid contenders before he's in that conversation.
If we were invited to UFC matchmaking meetings, we'd suggest a fight between the grappling specialist and Georgian kickboxer Giga Chikadze.
Chikadze is in a similar spot to Mitchell. Currently ranked No. 8, he suffered a tough loss to Calvin Kattar in early 2022, but recently rebounded with a solid decision defeat of featherweight mainstay Alex Caceres.
Matching him and Mitchell makes plenty of sense, and the winner might just be in line for a fight with a Top Five foe.
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Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
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No. 8 strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez rebounded from back-to-back losses on Saturday, battering Michelle Waterson-Gomez to a bloody TKO win.
That verdict brings Rodriguez to 5-2 in her last seven and cements her as one of the division's top fighters. However, her next move will probably depend on who gets the next shot at champion Zhang Weili.
The next title shot will most likely go to Tatiana Suarez or Yan Xiaonan, both of whom are riding stoppage victories over former champion Jessica Andrade. Both women are wholly deserving of the opportunity, and it remains to be seen who gets the chance first, but a popularity contest may favour the fearsome wrestler Suarez, in which case Yan will be left without a dance partner.
Rodriguez seems like a great option in that event, as she is responsible for the Chinese contender's last loss—a close split decision in March of 2022. If Yan gets the title shot, of course, this all goes out the window, but it makes a ton of sense for her and Rodriguez to run it back if the opportunity goes to Suarez.
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