5 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Teixeira

The UFC was back in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday night, with a card that was unusually stacked for a Fight Night.

In the main event, former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis looked to slow the rise of fearsome prospect Tallison Teixeira.

This time, experience won over youth, as Lewis flattened his highly regarded opponent in just 35 seconds, further cementing his legacy as the UFC's most prolific knockout artist.

In the "Music City" co-main event, rising welterweight contender Gabriel Bonfim picked up a decision win over two-time title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. Regrettably, the judges' verdict was not music to the ears of the fans in the Bridgestone Arena, whose booing was echoed by fans on social media.

Still, a win is a win—and this one will set Bonfim up for a fight with a top-ranked foe.

Rising featherweight contender Steve Garcia also picked up the biggest win of his career, defeating longtime contender Calvin Kattar by decision—under much less dubious circumstances than Bonfim. After his victory, he can also look forward to a fight with a top-tier opponent.

Brazil's Vitor Petrino also made a successful heavyweight debut on the card, submitting former NFL player Austen Lane inside a round. Meanwhile UFC mainstays Chris Curtis and Jake Matthews both picked up wins at welterweight, with a decision against Max Griffin and submission of Chidi Njokuani, respectively.

There will be a lot of fun fights to make for the card's big winners when the dust has settled. Here are the matches we're hoping the UFC puts together.

Derrick Lewis vs. Shamil Gaziev

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Derrick Lewis has been part of the UFC heavyweight division for so long that he's fought almost everybody in the top 15, the reason he has increasingly been getting matched up with newcomers like Tallison Teixeira.

After his big win over the Brazilian in Nashville, Lewis will most likely be matched up with another less experienced, less proven opponent—unless the UFC decides to book him for a rematch with somebody like Curtis Blaydes, who is in a similar boat. But that seems pointless.

The best choice is seemingly to match Lewis up with Shamil Gaziev. Gaziev is far less experienced in the UFC than Lewis, but he is more established than Teixeira, with a 3-1 record in the promotion. He's also ranked No. 11 in the division, so he's not a massive step down in competition for the No. 9-ranked Lewis.

Most importantly, he and Lewis haven't fought before.

It may not be a barn-burner on paper, but we at least know Lewis is still capable of delivering electrifying performances in these kinds of matchups.

Gabriel Bonfim vs. Joaquin Buckley

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Gabriel Bonfim's victory over Stephen Thompson may have been controversial, but there's not much that can be done about it now, and it should set him up for another big step up in competition all the same.

Given he is just arriving to the UFC welterweight rankings, there are tons of interesting matchups to be made for him from here. The best of the bunch is probably a fight with No. 7-ranked Joaquin Buckley.

Until recently, Buckley was one of the top contenders in the welterweight division, with five impressive victories behind him—including a stoppage of three-time title challenger Colby Covington. However, his momentum was derailed by a lopsided decision loss to former champ Kamaru Usman recently.

Bonfim is ready for a big step up at the precise moment Buckley needs to correct his course. The matchup makes sense for both fighters, and given their shared habit for highlight-reel finishes, it should be entertaining for as long as it lasts.

Steve Garcia vs. Josh Emmett

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

After his decision win over Calvin Kattar in Nashville, Steve Garcia is now riding six-straight victories, and the other five were all knockouts. Needless to say, he's now one of the hottest contenders in the featherweight division.

From here, it's tempting to match Garcia up with the No. 11-ranked Youssef Zalal, another fast-rising contender with a similar streak behind him. However, there's no sense in matching them up just yet, as doing so would snuff out an exciting up-and-comer.

Instead, let's match Garcia up with No. 9-ranked Josh Emmett, who is riding an April decision loss to Lerone Murphy, which pushed him to a tough 1-3 in his last four. Despite his recent troubles, though, he remains one of the biggest punchers at 145 pounds, and he backs his power up with a wealth of big-stage experience.

He's just the kind of test Garcia needs right now, and it's a matchup that should thrill fans.

Vitor Petrino vs. Rizvan Kuniev

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Vitor Petrino made a splash in his first fight as a heavyweight, tapping Austen Lane with a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Of course, it warrants mentioning that Lane is arguably the least successful heavyweight on the UFC roster right now, but it was still an impressive performance.

Petrino will also benefit from the fact that heavyweight is arguably the UFC's weakest division at the moment. Generally speaking, it only takes a win or two to set up a fight with a ranked contender—hence Teixeira's fight with Lewis in the main event.

From here, we'd like to see Petrino matched up with Dagestan's Rizvan Kuniev. He recently made his UFC debut against No. 4-ranked heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes—another matchup that illustrated the dire straights at heavyweight, and the way newcomers stand to benefit from the situation.

Kuniev lost his fight with Blaydes, but it was only a split-decision defeat. That's impressive for a guy who just got to the big stage.

Despite being 0-1 in the UFC, Kuniev is now ranked No. 15 in the heavyweight division and is awaiting his next fight. Petrino seems like a perfect opponent for him, and the timing could work well, as the UFC recently announced a November stop in Qatar, not too far from Kuniev's home.

Jake Matthews vs. Chris Curtis

Chris Curtis was one of several fighters trying out a new division in Nashville, having dropped from middleweight to welterweight for a fight with fellow veteran Max Griffin.

It was a close fight, but his division switch ultimately paid off, as he left the cage with a split-decision win.

Curtis, who had plenty of success as a middleweight before a pair of losses sent him south to welterweight, has lots of options in his new division. One of those is Jake Matthews, who was also back in action in Nashville.

The Australian made his return against striking specialist Chidi Njokuani. He made it look easy, defeating his opponent with a rear-naked choke in just over a minute.

Matthews is now 4-1 in his last five, with his lone loss coming to surging contender Michael Morales. If he can win one more fight, he is just about guaranteed a fight with a ranked opponent.

Why not match him up with Curtis, who has the skill and experience to give him plenty of trouble? They're both on the same schedule now, and it's an excellent fight on paper, as both men have excellent finishing ability and tons of experience.