4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez

Sean Strickland looked better than ever in his latest UFC win. That's a tough pill to swallow for the increasing number of people who have grown tired of his rage-baiting schtick, but it's an objective fact. He looked like one of the best in the world.

Strickland, who enjoyed a brief reign as middleweight champion in 2024, returned to action in the main event of Saturday's UFC card in Houston to take on Anthony Hernandez.

Hernandez had won eight straight fights heading into the matchup, which made him a substantial betting favorite. In the end, though, Strickland flipped the script, first softening his opponent up with jabs, and finally finishing him off with a knee to the body and volley of follow-up punches in round three.

The near-perfect win reaffirmed that, despite some recent losses, Strickland is still an elite middleweight. There's no question it will set him up for another big fight, but who will be his next opponent?

Keep scrolling for our pick for Strickland's next opponent, as well as the matchups we'd like to see get made for three other big winners from Saturday's UFC card in Houston.

Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev

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Ahead of the UFC's Saturday card in Houston, the expectation was that the next crack at middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev would go to French contender Nassourdine Imavov.

Strickland's impressive main event win over Hernandez has cast some serious doubt on that.

On paper, Imavov is on a way better win streak than Strickland. He's won five straight, notably knocking out former champ Israel Adesanya in his last fight, while Strickland's win over Hernandez was his first since a decisive loss to Dricus Du Plessis. However, it's not quite that simple.

Strickland's case is strengthened by the fact that he's a former champion, and even more so because he holds a win over Imavov—he's actually the last person to beat the Frenchman.

Most importantly of all, he's also a huge star, who will generate far more buzz against Chimaev than the soft-spoken Imavov could ever hope to.

For those reasons, it feels like a near-certainty that Strickland will skip ahead of Imavov and get the next crack at the belt—possibly at the upcoming UFC White House card. In a vacuum, that would definitely be unfair to Imavov, but there's a lot more to earning a UFC title fight than putting together a long winning streak. Welterweights like Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards have proved that in the past, and like Arman Tsarukyan down at lightweight, Imavov is likely to become an example of this unfortunate truism.

We might as well accept it. It will be Chimaev vs. Strickland for the belt next, and there's going to be non-stop drama between the two trash-talking middleweights from the moment the fight is announced until long after it's over.

Uros Medic vs. Leon Edwards

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It's always exciting to watch a fighter evolve from a prospect into a real contender. That's precisely the metamorphosis Uros Medic went through in Saturday's co-main event, when he knocked out No. 12-ranked welterweight Geoff Neal. It was the biggest win of his career, and it will propel him right into the welterweight top-15, possibly at the expense of Neal or another mainstay like Colby Covington.

Once Medic has a number beside his name, there will be nothing but big names on his bout offers. If he gets his way, his next opponent will be former welterweight champion Leon Edwards, whom he called out in his post-fight interview.

At first, this callout from Medic seemed a bit over-ambitious. After all he is just entering the rankings, while Edwards is a former champion who recorded multiple title defenses during his reign. In terms of accomplishments and longevity, they're not even in the same galaxy.

When you think about it though, it makes some sense. After beating Neal, Medic has won three straight. Edwards, meanwhile, has lost three straight, including a brutal knockout at the hands of Carlos Prates in his last appearance. In other words, Medic is ready for a big step up in competition at the very same moment that Edwards clearly needs a bit of a step down.

Edwards' involvement in the matchup would also make it a solid main event for a smaller-scale show, such as the UFC's planned stop in Medic's homeland of Serbia this summer.

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Book it.

Melquizael Costa vs. Arnold Allen

Brazil's Melquizael Costa had an almost identical experience to Uros Medic on Saturday.

Heading into his main card featherweight scrap with No. 14 ranked contender Dan Ige, he had won five straight fights, but had yet to crack the rankings himself. After becoming the first man to knock Ige out (thanks to an insane, first-round wheel kick), he's all but certain to debut in his division's rankings when they're next updated — just like Medic is.

Also like Medic, Costa had a post-fight callout prepared to accompany his victory. In his interview with Michael Bisping, the Brazilian set his sights on a clash with two-time title challenger Diego Lopes.

That's an interesting idea, for sure, but it seems like the wrong matchup for right now. While Costa definitely deserves a big step up, Lopes is still near the very top of the mountain at featherweight, with his only UFC losses coming against the legend Alexander Volkanovski and No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev, all by decision. He doesn't seem like the type to turn down a fight with Costa, but as the division's No. 2 contender, he should probably be matched up with somebody in the top 5 or 6 instead — like his arch rival Yair Rodriguez, hypothetically? Just spitballing here, but that seems like a much better option for him.

If Lopes is off the table, our pick for Costa's next opponent would be England's Arnold Allen.

Allen has been a member of the featherweight top-15 for years. However, after a tough loss to Jean Silva in his last outing, it seems that his days as a serious contender may be over.

If the Englishman wants to prove otherwise, he can do it by taking out a red-hot contender like Costa. Costa, meanwhile, would rocket into the featherweight top-10 if he defeated Allen.

It makes sense given their current trajectories, and it's also a very fun matchup on paper, as both men are known for entertaining scraps.

Serghei Spivac vs. Curtis Blaydes

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If you had Serghei Spivac outstriking Ante Delija on your Saturday bingo card, hats off to you.

If the hulking heavyweight from Moldova was going to win the fight, it seemed far more likely he would do so with his wrestling and submissions. Instead, he used his jab and combinations to pick Delija on the feet, surviving a second-round scare to win a unanimous decision.

The win over Delija separated Spivac from back-to-back losses Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Jailton Almeida. After the win, he has options, but his next move is going to depend on how UFC matchmakers proceed with the festering heavyweight division.

Here's how we'd do it.

With champion Tom Aspinall out of action due to the eye injuries he sustained in his title defense against Ciryl Gane, book Gane for an interim title fight against Alex Pereira.

Alexander Volkov deserves to be part of a potential interim heavyweight title fight, but Pereira, the UFC light heavyweight champion, is a far bigger name, and will definitely get the opportunity if he wants it, which he seems to. So let's just accept that one, the same way we're accepting a Chimaev vs. Strickland fight at middleweight.

With that covered, match Volkov up with the surging Cortes-Acosta, and have the winner take on whoever is holding the belt once the Aspinall-Gane-Pereira situation is resolved.

Then, match former interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich up with new contender Rizvan Kuniev, and pit Spivac against No. 4-ranked contender Curtis Blaydes.

All of those matchups make a lot of sense. In the case of Spivac vs. Blaydes, it's an easy sell. They're both in the top 10. They're both riding wins over decent competition (Blaydes eked by Kuniev last time out). Despite spending years in the rankings together, they've somehow never fought. And last but not least, they're two of the best grapplers in the division, which should lead to some interesting action in the cage.

Follow this course of action, and we may have something resembling order in the chaotic heavyweight division by year's end. The UFC matchmakers can thank us later.