4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Klein
The UFC was back on our screens Saturday night, and while it may not have been a huge card, it's one we're going to be talking about for quite some time. That's thanks to the last-minute drama that surrounded the main event.
The card was originally set to be headlined by a high-stakes flyweight fight between popular contenders Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber. It was a fun matchup on paper, and the winner would have emerged as one of the top contenders in the weight class.
Unfortunately, the fight fell through at the last minute—literally—when Barber suffered a medical issue as she headed for the Octagon. That left the broadcast's commentators with the awkward job of informing the masses that the co-main event we'd just watched had actually been the main event, and that the card was, consequently, over.
The good news is that the rest of the card featured a handful of important fights and memorable finishes. That includes the inadvertent main event, which pitted top-10 lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot against rising star Ludovit Klein. It was a high-stakes fight for both men, but Gamrot won it with his grappling over three rounds.
Some of the other big winners of the night included light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby, who scored a first-round KO over Bruno Lopes, and lightweight fan favorite Jordan Leavitt, who was impressive with a bonus-winning submission of Kurt Holobaugh.
Like Gamrot, both Jacoby and Leavitt can expect big fights next time out. Here's how we'd like to see the UFC matchmakers proceed with all three fighters—and how we'd like them to deal with the fallout of the canceled main event.
Erin Blanchfield vs. Natalia Silva
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The UFC's matchmaking team will surely be tempted, on some level, to rebook Saturday's planned main event as soon as possible. The fight made a ton of sense for both Barber and Blanchfield, and they both seemed eager to settle a long-standing rivalry.
However, Barber clearly has some health issues to sort out, and it would be foolish to rush her back to the cage after Saturday's incident. Blanchfield, meanwhile, is surely eager to get back to the cage as soon as possible.
So, who should she fight? Our pick is Natalia Silva.
Silva, who became the No. 1 contender at flyweight after an impressive win over former champ Alexa Grasso, undeniably deserves a crack at Valentina Shevchenko and the belt. However, we'd like to see her and Blanchfield fight first for one simple reason: it's time for a superfight between Shevchenko and strawweight champ Zhang Weili.
We never got Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre. We didn't get Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou. We probably won't ever see Jones vs. Tom Aspinall or Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. Can we at least get this one?
Shevchenko and Zhang are two of the best female fighters ever, and are now 37 and 35 respectively. The time to book this fight is now, which means Silva—and top strawweight contender Virna Jandiroba—will need to keep busy a little longer.
So, let's do Silva vs. Blanchfield while Zhang takes on Shevchenko and Barber heals up.
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Grant Dawson
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Mateusz Gamrot's impressive win over Ludovit Klein separated him from a surprising decision loss to New Zealand's Dan Hooker, and cemented his status as one of the top lightweights in the sport. However, he's one of several contenders closing in on a lightweight title shot at the moment, and unfortunately, he's not at the top of the list.
Here's how we'd proceed with the lightweight top 10: With Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira fighting for the vacant lightweight title next month, have Paddy Pimblett take on Arman Tsarukyan, and match Justin Gaethje up with Dan Hooker (since they were slated to fight earlier this year to no avail).
Moving that way unfortunately leaves Gamrot in a tough position, but the fact is, all four of the aforementioned fighters have more claim to a title shot than he does right now. So let's have him fight No. 14 contender Grant Dawson.
It's a bit of a shame that he'll have to face somebody ranked below him again, but Dawson has won three straight fights over solid opponents, and deserves a step up. The winner of their fight, meanwhile, would clearly deserve to fight somebody in the top five.
Dustin Jacoby vs. Zhang Mingyang
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Former kickboxer Dustin Jacoby was briefly ranked in the UFC light heavyweight top-15, but exited the rankings after losses to Alonzo Menifield and Johnny Walker. Now riding back-to-back knockout wins over Vitor Petrino and Bruno Lopes, he definitely deserves another shot at a ranked opponent. Our pick is Zhang Mingyang.
China's Zhang is now 3-0 in the UFC, and his latest victory, a violent stoppage of former title challenger Anthony Smith, earned him the No. 13 spot in the light heavyweight rankings. Like any contender, he is surely hoping to fight somebody ranked above him next, but a fight with Jacoby makes sense. In fact, in 2025, beating Jacoby probably means more than beating Smith.
It's also a fantastic fight on paper, as both fighters are incredibly dangerous strikers, with 27 knockouts between them. It's the kind of fan-friendly fight that would be a welcome addition to any upcoming card—particularly the UFC's recently announced return to Shanghai. Zhang would surely love to fight at home, and Jacoby, who has competed all over the world as a kickboxer, probably wouldn't mind jumping on a plane for a big fight.
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Jordan Leavitt vs. Jim Miller
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Jordan Leavitt may never be a serious lightweight title contender, but he is very reliable when it comes to entertainment, and has proven he's capable of dominating lower-level opposition.
After his bonus-winning submission against the veteran Holobaugh, he deserves a bit of a step up, and a fight with Jim Miller seems like just the ticket.
Miller is a bona fide UFC legend. He has more fights in the Octagon than anybody else, at 46, and also holds the record for most Octagon wins, at 27.
Now 41 years old, Miller's career is clearly almost over, but he has set the bold goal of hitting 50 UFC fights and 30 UFC wins before he hangs up his gloves. It would be foolish to match him up with world-class lightweights as he attempts to do this.
While he got very close to a lightweight title shot in his prime, and is still clearly quite good, his recent losses to Chase Hooper and King Green are proof of the level of competition he should be fighting. He needs to be matched up with lower-level opposition as he concludes his career. Of course, his status as an MMA legend means that he also deserves fights with the biggest names he can credibly be matched up with.
Leavitt seems like the perfect opponent for Miller right now. He's good, but as of yet, doesn't seem like a world-beater. He's also popular among hardcore fans, and shares Miller's propensity for exciting fights.
Please, just keep this fight out of the UFC Apex. Miller deserves to finish his career fighting in front of fans.
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