4 Fights we Need to See After UFC Fight Night: Oliveira vs. Gamrot

Charles Oliveira looked as good as ever in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.

The former UFC lightweight champion was back in action against Poland's Mateusz Gamrot, a former two-division KSW champion who stepped in to replace the injured Rafael Fiziev on short notice. It was a tough test for Oliveira, who was knocked out by Ilia Topuria mere months ago, but he ultimately returned to vintage form with a second-round submission victory to the roar of his hometown crowd.

Oliveira has options after his big win in Rio. He may not ever get his hands on a UFC title again, but there's no question he remains one of the best lightweights in all of MMA, and it will be interesting to see where the UFC matchmakers take his career from here.

It will also be interesting to see what the promotion's matchmakers have planned for Deiveson Figueiredo, another former champ who scored a crucial win in Rio. Figueiredo, a former champ at flyweight, returned to action for a bantamweight fight with Montel Jackson. It was a close contest, but after three rounds, the Brazilian scored a split-decision victory to rebound from back-to-back losses and keep himself afloat in one of the UFC's best weight classes.

Here are the fights we'd like to see next for the resurgent former champs Oliveira and Figueiredo, as well as two other matchups that should be made in the aftermath of the UFC's action-packed return to Rio.

Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway II

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Charles Oliveira has made his desires clear after beating Mateusz Gamrot in Rio. He wants a rematch with former featherweight champion Max Holloway—with the UFC's novelty "BMF" belt on the line.

Oliveira first met Holloway just over a decade ago, in the summer of 2015. The fight didn't go his way, as he was finished in the first round, but the stoppage was the result of a bizarre esophageal tear that left plenty of room for a do-over. 10 years later, when both men have enjoyed historic reigns as UFC champions, the timing for the sequel seems perfect.

Holloway, having lost the featherweight belt, is now 2-0 in his last two lightweight fights, with wins over Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. He's closing in on a crack at the undisputed lightweight belt, but probably has more work to do, and a fight with Oliveira would definitely help him get the rest of the way there. For Oliveira, meanwhile, a fight with Holloway would help him cement his legacy as one of the best fighters ever, and close out his career with a symbolic BMF title win.

Holloway, for his part, seems open to accepting Oliveira's challenge just as soon as he's healthy.

"I'm interested," Holloway said on a live stream. "Why wouldn't I be? We heard the callout. I'm here. Only time will tell now … A fight at the White House? That's such a long wait. I don't know if I want to wait that long, but we'll see what happens. Never say never.

"We've been talking about this fight," Holloway added. "Me and him have a history. He's blaming it on some type of injury. I guess we get to figure it out now. My hand is getting better; we're just waiting to get cleared."

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Song Yadong

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Deiveson Figueiredo still has a lot of work to do if he hopes to put himself in position for a shot at the UFC bantamweight title, but his Saturday decision win over Montel Jackson was a step in that direction.

After Figueiredo's big win in Rio, it's tempting to suggest a matchup between him and Sean O'Malley. They're both former UFC champs—albeit in different divisions—with big names, so it makes sense. However, such a matchup would come at the expense of a potential clash between O'Malley and Cory Sandhagen, which seems even better. So instead, let's match Figueiredo up with China's Song Yadong.

Song hasn't fought since a fight with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo earlier this year, which saw him win a technical decision after Cejudo suffered a fight-ending eye poke.

That win separated him from a decision loss to Petr Yan, who also beat Figueiredo recently. As such, he and the former flyweight champ are in very similar positions. This matchup is also excellent on paper, as Figueiredo and Song are two of the hardest punchers in the weight class, with underrated ground games to fall back on.

Joel Alvarez vs. Daniel Rodriguez

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Spain's Joel Alvarez picked up one of the biggest wins of his career in Rio, defeating Vicente Luque by decision in his short-notice welterweight debut. The former lightweight was in complete control of the fight from beginning to end, and actually probably should have won by first-round TKO, but was deprived of a stoppage victory by a staggering referee blunder.

After the win, it seems likely that Alvarez will stay put at welterweight, which is great. He is clearly big enough to compete in the weight class and skilled enough to beat fighters in the top 15. He'll make a welcome addition to the 170-pound roster.

From here, he should be matched up with the No. 13-ranked Daniel Rodriguez. Rodriguez has been hot and cold in recent years, dipping in and out of the rankings more than once. However, he's currently riding three-straight victories, including a surprising win over Kevin Holland, which makes him just the kind of step up Alvarez needs after beating Luque.

Mario Pinto vs. Vitor Petrino

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The UFC heavyweight division is always dying for new blood, and it seems to have gotten a sorely-needed infusion in the form of Mario Pinto. The towering 27-year-old from Portugal was back in the Octagon on Saturday's main card, where he scored an impressive stoppage victory over Jhonata Diniz, a decent prospect in his own right.

After the win, Pinto is 2-0 in the UFC heavyweight division and is ready for another tough test.

How about a fight with Vitor Petrino, who knocked out Thomas Petersen on Saturday's undercard? Petrino, from Brazil, is now also 2-0 as a UFC heavyweight, following a hot-and-cold run in the light heavyweight division. He would definitely give up a size advantage against Pinto, but is more experienced than the undefeated prospect, both in terms of the number of fights he's had and the quality of opposition he's faced so far.

It seems like a perfect matchup to see which rising heavyweight is ready to start mixing it up with elite talent, and it would almost certainly end with a knockout. Book it.