4 Fights We Need to See After UFC 330

Twelve fights came and went.

Most results were completely expected. Some were best labeled surprising.

But an entertaining reality of Saturday's UFC show at Xfinity Mobile Arena—billed at UFC 330—was the callouts.

Winners stood alongside a mic-bearing Joe Rogan in the center of the cage and took verbal shots at fighters they hoped would be next in competitive line.

Sometimes the shots pay off with a fight. Sometimes they don't.

But the B/R combat team tasks itself to inventory the callouts and indicate the ones that ought to be a priority. Here are four from Saturday in south Philadelphia that we believe make the cut.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

Islam Makhachev vs. Carlos Prates

Let's make one thing clear: Islam Makachev didn't call Carlos Prates' name.

Though the powerful Brazilian was cage-side for Makhachev's dominant defeat of Ian Machado Garry, the champion didn't mention his name, or anyone's name, while chatting up Joe Rogan in the middle of a crowded octagonal mat.

But pretty much everyone else is doing it for him.

Though Makachev has little to prove after recording a title defense in his second weight class and establishing a UFC record with a 17th straight victory, it won't be long before those in the know (or those who think they're in the know) begin touting Prates as a sure-fire boogeyman due to his size and power.

After all, Prates is 6'1", has a 78-inch reach and has scored KOs in all seven of his UFC victories while climbing to the No. 1 contender position, though he was beaten across five rounds by Machado Garry when they met 16 months ago.

Prates puffed on a cigarette and mimicked a belt being strapped around his waist when shown on camera in Philadelphia while wearing a T-shirt with the words "I'm Next" across the chest.

That shirt, incidentally, is available for sale.

But it's not the 32-year-old's fashion sense—rather, his activity—that might move the needle in his direction rather than unbeaten No. 3 contender Michael Morales when it comes to Makachev. In fact, though Morales weighed in as the backup fighter for Saturday's main event, it's no guarantee that he'll be next in line.

"He's a good contender. One of the contenders, for sure," Makhachev said at the UFC 330 pre-fight media day. "Just one thing I don't understand is why he don't fight. He has to deserve (a title fight) because Prates is still active and fighting. But I don't know."

Mackenzie Dern vs. Zhang Weili

OK, perhaps it's time to give Dern a bit of a breather.

After all, her grueling defeat of fourth-ranked Gillian Robertson in Saturday's co-main event for the strawweight title was her fourth in a row over the last two years amid a resurgence from a 1-3 skid that yielded her first career championship.

So throwing the 10-year MMA pro back into the mix against former two-time champ Zhang Weili seems a bit punitive given Weili's dominance at 115 pounds.

Now 37, Weili was champ after stopping Jessica Andrade in one round in 2019 and defended once before losing the belt to Rose Namajunas in 2021.

She regained the strap with a second-round submission of Carla Esparza in 2022 and defended three times before vacating to challenge Valentina Shevchenko at flyweight.

Dern snatched the vacant belt with a win over Virna Jandiroba in October and her defeat of Robertson was her first successful defense.

But if you're wondering whether she thinks she needs to defeat Weili to validate her claim on the championship, the answer is no.

"I felt like the champion before when I won the belt, but I just think I solidified myself even more as a champ for the fans, you know, that they would say that," she said at Saturday's post-show press conference. "But I don't think I, I need to, to win Weili to be a champ.

"I think I proved that I was a champ. Gillian was on a five-fight win streak, (Jandiroba) was on a five-fight win streak. I just became a four-fight win streak, so it's like, I mean, I don't know how much more I need to do to, to prove that."

Neil Magny vs. History

Given that Neil Magny has been a pro for 16 years and a UFC roster member for 13—without ever having a title fight or a particularly lofty spot in the promotion's ranking at welterweight, the word "gatekeeper" comes easily as a label.

But don't expect the "Haitian Sensation," who had a delayed celebration for a recent birthday (he turned 39 on Aug. 3) with Saturday's second-round KO of Ramiz Brahimaj on the early prelim show, to just nod his head and smile.

Sure, the defeat of Brahimaj extended Magny's promotional record for welterweight wins to 25, but that doesn't mean he's OK with simply being considered a measuring stick for those with eyes on loftier prizes than he ever captured.

In fact, he followed the defeat of Brahimaj with a suggestion that he'll try to stick around to chase an even bigger milestone—the UFC's record for all-time victories that's currently held by 42-year-old Jim Miller, who pushed the count to 28 with a first-round submission of Jared Gordon in May.

"I think Father Time is working in my favor to be able to catch up to Jim," Magny said at the post-card press conference. "I mean, the dude's a beast. He probably fights 'til 50 if he chooses to. But I think just from, durability and timing, I think I might be able to catch that record eventually."

And considering that they're separated by just one weight class (Miller fights regularly at lightweight and weighed 155 against Gordon), perhaps a winner-take-all bout for the record could be in the cards if both men are up for it prior to retirement.

Magny, though, says dropping the gloves in the center of the cage isn't even on his radar at this point.

"Most guys get done training and they just kinda throw their gloves on the mat," he said. "I refuse to drop my gloves on the mat after training 'cause it's like, it symbolizes retirement, so to speak.So I'm holding onto these things as long as possible and going out there and fighting as often as possible.

"I'm grateful to have the opportunity to go out there, and do something I love and, and do it with passion. I mean, the day that I'm no longer able to do this is inevitable, this comes for all of us. But as often as I'm able to go out there and continue doing this, continue loving it, I'll keep showing up."

Jeremiah Wells vs. Staying Active

Go ahead. We dare you.

Find a better stage for making a case to continue a career than Jeremiah Wells did.

The 39-year-old Philadelphian was battered through two rounds while hearing his hometown crowd cheer for Kyrgyzstani opponent Myktybek Orolbai.

But after landing a big right hand gave Wells a third-round opening, the 14-year pro knew continuing his career depended on what came next.

So he quickly cinched Orolbai into a guillotine choke that rendered the prohibitive betting favorite unconscious and gave Wells his sixth win in eight UFC outings a legitimate case for securing a long-pursued top-15 ranking at welterweight.

He'd missed chances for a promotion with losses to Carlston Harris (SUB 3) and Max Griffin (SD 3) in 2023 and 2024, then was not raised to the elite at 170 pounds after defeating Themba Gorimbo (UD 3) in November.

Wells began peeling his gloves off as Rogan approached following the Orolbai finish, and indicated to the analyst that he would indeed retire from active participation unless the new computerized rankings have him among the top 15 when the new lists are released on Monday.

"If I'm not in the 15," Wells said, "I think I'm gonna be done."