5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 324
The UFC finally ended a week-long hiatus on Saturday night, and it's safe to say the MMA promotion returned with a bang.
The UFC drought ended with UFC 324, an action-packed show out of Las Vegas. The card was hit with a few last-minute fight cancellations, but it still featured plenty of important fights that will help shape the immediate future of some of the sport's best divisions.
Chief among those was the main event, which saw Justin Gaethje capture interim lightweight gold with a hard-fought decision win over Paddy Pimblett. Gaethje plans to retire in the near future, but thanks to his big win over the Englishman, he will end his career at the highest level.
The UFC 324 co-main event was also a very important fight, with former bantamweight champ Sean O'Malley defeating Song Yadong by decision.
The win separated O'Malley from back-to-back losses to Merab Dvalishvili and thrust him right back into the title race.
Outside the top two fights of the night, the card featured several other impressive performances from high-level contenders. That includes Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who knocked out Derrick Lewis at heavyweight, and Natalia Silva, who outhustled Rose Namajunas at flyweight.
Jean Silva also won big at the event, defeating Arnold Allen by decision at featherweight, as did bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who beat Deiveson Figueiredo by decision.
There's a ton to unpack after the event, especially after so many weeks without any UFC action, but here are the five fights we'd like to see made in the aftermath.
Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria
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It's pretty clear what will be next for Justin Gaethje after UFC 324.
The UFC introduced an interim lightweight title to keep the division moving while undisputed champ Ilia Topuria deals with personal matters outside the cage.
If Topuria were going to be away long-term, Gaethje might defend his belt against a top lightweight contender, like Arman Tsarukyan. However, it sounds as though Topuria will be ready to fight again soon, so we can expect a lightweight title unification bout between him and Gaethje to be made quickly.
If it happens, it will be one of the biggest contests of the year, as Topuria is one of the best fighters competing today, and Gaethje is a living legend with a huge following of his own. It's also an excellent matchup on paper, given their respective knack for highlight-reel knockouts.
Topuria, who is considerably younger than Gaethje, will likely be a big favorite to win the fight, but it will still have the undivided attention of MMA fans everywhere.
Sean O'Malley vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
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Ahead of his UFC 324 fight with Song Yadong, Sean O'Malley made his wishes clear. He hoped to beat Song, then challenge Petr Yan for the bantamweight belt at the upcoming UFC White House event.
There seemed to be a reasonable chance of O'Malley's wish coming true, as he holds a close decision win over Yan, which would give some legitimacy to a possible championship rematch. However, now that O'Malley has beaten Song, it seems he may end up disappointed.
Speaking to the media in Dubai just before UFC 324, Yan revealed that plans are in motion for a fight with Merab Dvalishvili, the man he beat to win the belt in December. If that happens, O'Malley's dreams of fighting for the belt at the White House are effectively done.
O'Malley has since said he's prepared to wait around for a fight with the Yan vs. Dvalishvili winner, but that seems like a huge waste of time in the prime of his career. So, instead, let's match him up with Umar Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov was also in action at UFC 324, picking up a decision win over Deiveson Figueiredo. It was a bit of an uninspired performance, but it put him in a very similar situation to O'Malley: in title contention, but unlikely to get the next title shot.
Let's book O'Malley vs. Nurmagomedov, possibly at the same event as the Yan vs. Dvalishvili fight, so there's a clear No. 1 contender in waiting when the title fight is over.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Alexander Volkov
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After his impressive stoppage win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 324, "Salsa Boy" Waldo Cortes-Acosta is clearly one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division. Unfortunately, getting a title shot is not easy at the moment.
That's because champion Tom Aspinall is on the sidelines facing surgery on both eyes after suffering several terrible eye pokes in a recent fight with Ciryl Gane—a fight that was ruled a No Contest due to the fouls. Aspinall could be out for months as a result, and when he does return, a do-over with Gane seems like the most likely option.
In other words, contenders like Cortes-Acosta will likely be waiting a very long time for the chance to fight for the belt. This basically means he will need to keep fighting and winning to earn his title shot. The good news is that there is another fighter in an identical situation, and it makes a ton of sense to match them up.
That would be Russia's Alexander Volkov. Volkov has been a top UFC heavyweight for years, and after a win over Jailton Almeida, is in a prime position for his first title shot. Unfortunately, he'll also need to keep fighting while Aspinall recovers and presumably runs it back with Gane.
In that case, the only fight that makes sense for him is one with Cortes-Acosta. They're the two top contenders in the division outside of Gane, and the winner of their fight would be undeniable for a title shot. It would just be a question of when.
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Natalia Silva vs. Valentina Shevchenko
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Natalia Silva deserved a flyweight title shot before she beat Rose Namajunas at UFC 324. After her decision victory over the former strawweight champ, she's completely undeniable.
Silva's win over Namajunas was her 14th in a row, and eighth in the Octagon. Highlights of that impressive streak now include wins over two former champs: Namajunas and Alexa Grasso. She has been remarkably consistent in a stacked division and has been beating top competition, too. It's time for a title shot.
That, of course, would mean a fight with dominant champion Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko, who is riding a lopsided win over Zhang Weili, is considered one of the best female fighters of all time. She would likely be a big favorite to beat Silva if they were matched up, but Silva has also shown she has the skill set and intelligence to beat anyone in her weight class under the right conditions. She has as good a chance of dethroning the champ as anybody.
Shevchenko, who has been fighting at the highest level for years, is likely to retire soon and probably only has a few more fights left. Whatever else the UFC has planned for her, a defense against Silva needs to be one of them.
Jean Silva vs. Yair Rodriguez
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Jean Silva needed his UFC 324 main card win over Arnold Allen badly. It was his first victory since he was knocked out by Diego Lopes last year, and it served to push him right back into the featherweight title race.
Of course, Silva isn't going to be next for a title shot. Lopes will be the next man to challenge champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 325 this coming Saturday, and Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev both deserve a title shot after that.
While Volkanovski, Lopes, Murphy, and Evloev all fight to establish a clearer featherweight pecking order, it makes sense to match Silva up with Yair Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, a former interim champ, is riding an impressive decision win over Patricio Freire, but like Silva, still has more work to do if he wants a title shot.
Matching them against each other would give one of them the chance to take a huge step in that direction. More importantly, it's one of the best matchups possible in the division, as the pair are two of the wildest and most unpredictable knockout artists in the game.
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