5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 316

UFC 316 went down on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, and it paved the way for some huge fights, including one of the biggest in the history of women's MMA.

That would be a clash between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes.

Harrison, a former Olympic and PFL champ, claimed the UFC women's bantamweight title with a submission win over Julianna Peña in the card's co-headliner.

Nunes, who is considered the best female fighter, has been retired for a few years, but recently announced plans for a comeback, and she was in attendance for Harrison's fight.

After the fight, the returning legend joined the new champ in the Octagon for a faceoff, confirming the UFC will push ahead on a fight between the two. The big question now is when it happens.

Harrison and Peña were not the only ones fighting for gold at UFC 315. In the main event, Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili retained the men's bantamweight belt with a dominant submission win over former champion Sean O'Malley.

At this point, he has nearly cleared out his division—he had already beaten O'Malley once—but has a few interesting matchups to look forward to.

Outside the top two fights on the bill, the biggest winner of the night may have been bantamweight contender Mario Bautista, who took another step with an upset-decision win over former Bellator champ Patchy Mix, who was making his UFC debut. Popular welterweight contender Kevin Holland also impressed on the card, setting himself up for another big matchup with a submission defeat of Vicente Luque.

Needless to say, the UFC matchmakers have some interesting decisions to make in the wake of the card. Here are five fights we'd like to see in its aftermath.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen

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The fact that Merab Dvalishvili was fighting Sean O'Malley for the second time in less than a year is evidence of the fact that he's almost cleared out the bantamweight division. O'Malley was hardly a deserving contender, having not fought since he lost the belt to the Georgian last September. There just weren't any better options.

Thankfully, that's no longer the case.

Since the Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley rematch was announced, long-time contender Cory Sandhagen rebounded from a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov with a stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo.

That win brought him to 4-1 in his last five, and cemented him as the next man in line for the champ. His case is particularly strong because he's yet to have the opportunity, unlike other contenders like O'Malley, Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan, whom Dvalishvili has already beaten.

Sandhagen certainly wants the chance. Dvalishvili made it clear in his post-fight interview he's open to the fight. Dana White told the media he was on board at the card's post-fight press conference.

We'll most likely be seeing this one before the year is out. Sandhagen will face an uphill battle against Dvalishvili, but his venomous striking and underrated submission game make him a credible threat to the dominating champion.

Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan II

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Sean O'Malley will remain one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, but he is definitely in an unenviable spot. Having lost to Dvalishvili twice—the second time even more decisively than the first—he's really going to have to move mountains to get another title shot, unless the belt changes hands.

We'd like to see O'Malley attempt to get back on track in a rematch with Petr Yan. O'Malley defeated Yan by split decision in 2022. However, that verdict was the subject of significant debate. Given that it was also an excellent fight, it only makes sense to have the pair run it back.

There is one small hurdle, of course. In a truly head-scratching bit of matchmaking, Yan is set to fight No. 13-ranked contender Marcus McGhee on July 26. If he loses, a fight with O'Malley will make a lot less sense, but that seems extremely unlikely, given how much more experienced he is than his next foe.

If the matchup goes the most people expect, he and O'Malley should definitely run it back.

Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes

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As we've already covered, Kayla Harrison is the new UFC bantamweight champion, and her first title defense will almost certainly come against Amanda Nunes.

It's a massive fight. Nunes is considered the greatest female fighter in history on the strength of UFC title wins at featherweight and bantamweight, and victories over legends like Cris Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, and Holly Holm.

Harrison doesn't have quite the same quality of resume, but is a living legend herself, having won gold in judo at the Olympics and two PFL titles at lightweight. The fact that she and Nunes used to train together at American Top Team adds another interesting dynamic to an already fascinating matchup.

Unfortunately, we may be waiting a little while to see this one, as Nunes will need to undergo six months of drug-testing before she can return to competition—unless the UFC decides to bend their own rules.

Whenever it happens, it's going to be a huge fight that could seemingly go either way. Hopefully the UFC has the sense to book a Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili super fight on the same card for an all-female double-header.

Kevin Holland vs. Colby Covington

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After his submission win over Vicente Luque at UFC 316—a D'arce choke—Kevin Holland is now riding back-to-back wins at welterweight, having also beaten Gunnar Nelson by decision in March.

That streak, when combined with the many other impressive wins on his resume, should set him up for a fight with another ranked contender. Our pick is three-time title challenger Colby Covington, who is currently ranked No. 9.

Covington, once one of the best welterweights on the planet, has fallen on hard times, with lopsided wins to Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley behind him. He has always been pretty choosey about the fights he accepts, but Holland is one of the more popular fighters in the division, and will probably seem like a worthwhile opponent for the former title challenger.

It's also an interesting fight on paper. Covington is an absolutely suffocating wrestler at his best. That makes him just the kind of opponent Holland usually struggles with. However, Covington also seems to be losing a step, while Holland has been making slow improvements on the ground, and clearly has a dangerous submission game. It now looks like a much more competitive matchup than it would have been a few years back.

It would make a great headliner for a Fight Night card, or a welcome addition to an upcoming pay-per-view. Just prepare for a lot of pre-fight trash talk if this one gets made.

Mario Bautista vs. Aiemann Zahabi

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Mario Bautista was something of a pariah after his recent decision victory over beloved MMA legend Jose Aldo. Beating Aldo is impressive, to be sure, but Bautista did it with a blend of takedowns and clinch work, which resulted in a heinously boring fight. The fans didn't like it. At all.

He may have earned back some goodwill in his UFC 316 win over Patchy Mix. It wasn't the most thrilling fight, but Mix was making his UFC debut with a ton of hype behind him, as a former Bellator champ with a staggering resume. Perhaps he wasn't at his best on Saturday, but Bautista handled him fairly easily over three rounds, cementing himself as one of the fastest-rising contenders at bantamweight.

After the fight, we'd like to see Bautista matched up with Canada's Aiemann Zahabi.

Zahabi, 37, is on a pretty surprising run for a fighter his age, having extended his win-streak to six with his own forgettable decision win over Aldo at UFC 315 last month. Like Bautista, he is very much on the rise, but probably needs one more win before he's matched up with a top-10 opponent.

Match these two bantamweights up on an upcoming Fight Night card and see who's ready to take the next step.