4 Fights We Need to See After UFC on ESPN 56
The UFC returned to St. Louis on Saturday night, and heavyweight headliner Derrick Lewis made sure the fans at the Enterprise Center got their money's worth.
The No. 12-ranked heavyweight was back in action against the rising Rodrigo Nascimento, who was new to the UFC rankings at No. 15.
While Lewis has struggled with consistency of late, he got the win he sought in St. Louis, stopping his foe in the third round to maintain his record for the most knockout wins in UFC history.
Earlier on the card, St. Louis' own Joaquin Buckley defended his No. 11 spot in the welterweight rankings with unanimous-decision victory over towering Uzbek prospect Nursulton Ruziboev.
Arguably the biggest winner of the card was upcoming light heavyweight contender and Israel Adesanya stablemate Carlos Ulberg, who earned himself a spot in his division's rankings with a blink-and-miss-it KO over the No. 11-ranked Alonzo Menifield.
Brazilian lightweight Diego Ferreira also won big on the card, stopping streaking Polish prospect Mateusz Rebecki with ground-and-pound in the third round.
Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping will be offered to Lewis, Buckley, Ulberg and Ferreira next.
Derrick Lewis vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
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Heading into Saturday, Derrick Lewis was a brutal 1-4 in his last five fights. Had he lost to Rodrigo Nascimento, he might well have been handed his walking papers by the UFC, despite his immense popularity among MMA fans.
Thankfully for anyone who appreciates the heavyweight's unique brand of violence and humor, he won in style by finishing off his foe with punches in the third round of five.
After his big win in St. Louis, the 39-year-old is in a strange situation, as he has already fought the vast majority of heavyweights in the Top 15 with varying results. However, there is one man in the rankings he has yet to fight: Suriname's Jairzinho Rozenstruik, who is ranked one spot ahead of Lewis at No. 11.
This is one of those fights that has made sense for years but has somehow never happened. Today, when Lewis and Rozenstruik are right beside each other in the rankings and riding hype-derailing wins over newer contenders in Nascimento and Shamil Gaziev, respectively, it makes as much sense as ever.
This potential matchup is also sweetened by the fact that Lewis and Rozenstruik are two of the most dangerous KO punchers in the weight class.
Somebody is probably hitting the deck in this one.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Michael Page
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Joaquin Buckley scored the biggest win of his career in March, stopping Vicente Luque to earn the No. 11 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings—and on short notice, at that.
Given his new station in the division, it was a bit surprising to see him matched up with the unranked Nursulton Ruziboev in St. Louis, but he ended up proving too much for the rangy Uzbek and won by unanimous decision.
After Saturday, we're going to suggest the same fight for Buckley that we did after he beat Luque: Michael "Venom" Page.
England's Page is a former Bellator welterweight champ and one of the best fighters in the promotion's history. He recently made a successful UFC debut with a crafty decision win over Kevin Holland. That win pushed him to No. 13 in the UFC welterweight rankings, just a few spots behind Buckley.
However, the real appeal of this fight is that the two men rank among the flashiest knockout artists in MMA today, with some truly stunning stoppages to their credit. Maybe it would turn out to be a snoozer, but the more likely outcome is that somebody wins with a sequence straight out of Tekken or Mortal Kombat.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Azamat Murzakanov
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Carlos Ulberg has always had a lot of hype, due partly his to his affiliation with Israel Adesanya but also due to crisp kickboxing, which has helped him set up some beautiful knockouts in the Octagon.
He picked up the most important victory of his UFC career in St. Louis, knocking out No. 11-ranked light heavyweight contender Alonzo Menifield to earn himself a spot in the Top `15.
Beating a guy like Menifield is impressive under any circumstances, but the New Zealand fighter did it just 12 seconds, which is another thing altogether.
As a new face in the Top 15, Ulberg has a ton of options, and given his popularity, it's tempting to match him up with somebody in the Top 10. However, a slow build is probably better, so we'll suggest a matchup with fellow striking specialist Azamat Murzakanov next.
The Russian is ranked No. 13 at 205 pounds, which may put him behind Ulberg when the rankings are updated, but he is a tough test for anybody in the weight class. He's been hindered by fight cancellations over the last year, but he should be ready to go again soon, and when he is, Ulberg looks like a perfect opponent.
We'll even take it a step further: Match the winner up with the Khalil Rountree vs. Jamahal Hill victor.
Diego Ferreira vs. Benoit St. Denis
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For a little while, Diego Ferreira was right on the cusp of title contention in the UFC lightweight division. He cracked the Top 15 with wins over the likes of Mairbek Taisumov and Anthony Pettis, but after tough losses to Beneil Dariush, Gregor Gillespie and Mateusz Gamrot, stumbled from his perch on the edge of the rankings. A two-year stretch of inactivity only worsened his standing in the weight class.
The good news is that Ferreira has since rebounded with two straight wins, the second of which came in St. Louis, where he pulled off a big upset with a third-round TKO victory over Mateusz Rebecki.
After his win over Rebecki, who had been beaten just once in 19 pro fights, Ferreira is again right on the edge of the rankings and probably due for a Top 15 opponent. Our pick is France's Benoit St. Denis.
St. Denis was surging until title contention until he suffered a knockout loss to Dustin Poirier earlier this year, but he will soon be ready to get back into action, and a fight with a veteran contender like Ferreira seems like just the ticket for him.
Furthermore, the two lightweights match up beautifully on paper, with proven finishing ability on the ground and on the feet.
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