4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 248
The UFC was back in Macau on Saturday, and it brought some of its top talent from China and wider Asia along for the trip.
In the main event, former bantamweight champ Petr Yan, a Russian with Chinese heritage on his father's side, took on former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil. Yan ultimately picked up a unanimous decision win in one of the slickest performances of his career.
The co-main event saw China's Yan Xiaonan rebound from a failed title bid opposite flyweight champ Zhang Weili with a decision win over Brazil's Tabatha Ricci, reasserting herself as one of the division's top contenders in the process.
Outside the top two fights of the card, the biggest winners of the night were probably Russian welterweight Muslim Salikhov, who turned back the clock with a stunning knockout of Song Kenan, and Kiwi light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg, who became a legitimate title contender with an impressive decision victory over top-15 staple Volkan Oezdemir.
Keep scrolling for the fights we'd like to see next for Petr Yan and Yan Xiaonan after their big wins atop the card, as well as our picks for Salikhov and Ulberg's next moves.
Petr Yan vs. Henry Cejudo
1 of 4
Petr Yan pitched a shutout in Macau's main event, out-striking a very dangerous Deiveson Figueiredo over five fun rounds. It was one of the most impressive performances of his career, which is saying something considering he's a former champion in one of the UFC's best divisions.
The win put Yan on a two-fight streak after a decision win over Song Yadong this past March, and it further distanced him from consecutive decision losses to a trio of current and former champs in Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O'Malley, and Aljamain Sterling.
Unfortunately, he's in a bit of a tough spot. While Dvalishvili was quick to welcome a title defense against Yan, Yan simply doesn't deserve the opportunity as much as his unbeaten countryman Umar Nurmagomedov, so we can scratch that idea. A rematch with Sean O'Malley is another possibility, but it seems like a better idea to match O'Malley up with Cory Sandhagen instead, so we can scratch that one, too.
Unless Yan is interested in accepting an offer from Marlon "Chito" Vera, who was just dominated by Figueiredo in his last fight, the best option for the Russian in terms of the rankings is seventh-ranked Henry Cejudo, who formerly held gold at both flyweight and bantamweight.
It's admittedly not a perfect fight, as Cejudo has lost back-to-back decisions to Dvalishvili and Sterling. However, it's a great striker-versus-grappler style clash, and it seems like a big enough opportunity to get Cejudo to commit. For a guy who hasn't won a fight since 2020, he's been pretty choosy of late about the fights he accepts.
Yan Xiaonan vs. Tatiana Suarez
2 of 4
After her impressive decision win over Tabatha Ricci in Macau, Yan Xiaonan has officially rebounded from her tough decision loss to her countrywoman Zhang Weili at UFC 300.
It's going to take some doing for her to earn another title shot as long as Zhang holds the belt—their fight wasn't close—but if she can beat somebody like Tatiana Suarez, it's possible.
Suarez, who is undefeated at 10-0 with wins over former champions in two divisions, arguably deserved to fight for the belt before Yan did at UFC 300. Unfortunately, she has been slowed down by a series of injuries and health issues, the latest of which caused her to pull out of two fights this year. She's just been too inactive to lock up her title shot, and the opportunity will seemingly go to streaking Brazilian Virna Jandiroba next instead.
That seemingly sets the stage for a fight between Yan and Suarez, once the former is healthy enough to compete. She recently pulled out of a planned December fight with Jandiroba, but will hopefully be fit enough to get back in there sometime in the first half of next year. When she's healthy, Yan would be a perfect welcome back.
Muslim Salikhov vs. Daniel Rodriguez
3 of 4
Father Time is undefeated, but Muslim Salikhov is putting up one heck of a fight. The Russian "King of Kung Fu" is now 40 years old, and despite that, he is still finding ways to absolutely flatten his opponents—his latest victim being China's Song Kenan.
The win over Song pushed Salikhov to a two-fight streak at welterweight following a decision win over fellow veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio. That's not going to be enough to push him into the rankings—those days are probably long over—but it should set him up for a pretty big fight next time out.
Our pick for his next opponent is Daniel Rodriguez. At 37, Rodriguez isn't much younger than Salikhov, so the matchup makes sense from that perspective—there's no point matching the Russian up with guys in their mid-20s at this point. The pair are also definitely in each other's orbits in the welterweight division as two fighters who often put together great performances but have always been too inconsistent overall to become serious title threats.
It feels like the fight to make, and it's actually kind of surprising they haven't crossed paths already considering they've competed for the UFC 12 times apiece.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Jan Blachowicz
4 of 4
Carlos Ulberg picked up the biggest win of his career in Macau, outdueling former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir to a clear-cut unanimous decision win.
The victory pushed Ulberg onto a seven-fight streak and cemented him as one of the top contenders in his weight class. At this point, the next crack at champion Alex Pereira will almost certainly go to Magomed Ankalaev, but Ulberg is now firmly in that conversation himself. Another impressive win could make him undeniable.
Speaking to UFC reporter Maddyn Johnstone-Thomas after his win over Oezdemir, Ulberg suggested a fight with recent title challenger Khalil Rountree next. That's a great idea, but despite giving Pereira one of his toughest tests to date, Rountree took an obscene amount of damage in their fight and probably isn't going to be ready in time for Ulberg's next walk to the Octagon.
Thankfully, there's another good option: Jan Blachowicz.
Now that he's beaten a former title challenger, it only makes sense for Ulberg to graduate to a former champ. While Blachowicz has seemingly fallen off the face of the earth—having not fought since a split-decision loss to Pereira last summer—he looks like the perfect test for the New Zealander right now.
Hopefully he's healthy and willing to risk his No. 4 spot in the rankings against one of the hottest contenders in the weight class right now.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
