UFC Fight Night 94 Results: Matches to Make for the Winners and Losers
One-half of the UFC's matchmaking duo is headed out the door at year's end (h/t MMAJunkie.com). In an effort to help the leader of mixed martial arts book their upcoming fights, I'm here to give you a look at what should be next following UFC Fight Night 94.
Michael Johnson made a statement in his Octagon return, Derek Brunson announced himself as a middleweight contender and Evan Dunham righted his ship in the lightweight division. And those were just the final three winners of the evening.
What about the other victors? And what about the losers? What is going to happen next?
Pull up a chair, Mr. Silva and Mr. Shelby. Let's go through this one at a time and identify the next steps to be taken.
These are the matches to make following UFC Fight Night 94 in Hidalgo.
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
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Randy Brown def. Erick Montano via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:18 of the third round
Booking Brown's next fight is simple enough. He called out Bryan Barberena. It's a fight that makes sense. No need to overthink that one.
What's Hector Urbina up to these days? He hasn't fought since November 2015 but still is on the UFC roster. Give him Montano.
Alejandro Perez and Albert Morales fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
This was a good opening fight without a clear conclusion. Run it back.
While rematches should be avoided most of the time, it is important to look at the athletes involved. Neither Perez nor Morales is going to make immediate waves. Book the fight again where you know they'll throw down to excite the crowd.
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
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Gabriel Benitez def. Sam Sicilia via submission (guillotine) at 1:20 of the second round
A case could be made to cut and run from Sicilia at this point, but he is the type of fighter the UFC loves. He will throw down with anyone. That will give him one more shot inside the Octagon. J.C. Cottrell is a good matchup for his next fight.
Gilbert Burns and Michel Prazeres meet at UFC Fight Night 95. The winner should meet Benitez in the winter.
Belal Muhammad def. Augusto Montano by TKO at 4:19 of the third round
Montano is 1-2 in the UFC. His lone win came in 2014. Probably best to cut ties and send him back to the regional circuit to improve.
Muhammad made an impression in his UFC debut against Alan Jouban, and now he is in the win column following UFC Fight Night 94. Give him Michael Graves.
Muhammad needs to be challenged by the mid-tier welterweights before he's pushed too far up the ranks, and Graves has the skill set to do just that.
Antonio Carlos Junior def. Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:46 of the third round
A theme continues among the losers of UFC Fight Night 94: cut Guimaraes. Winless in the UFC and not particularly exciting.
It wasn't a good fight. Carlos Junior shouldn't be rewarded too heavily. In fact, maybe the reward is to complete the fight against Kevin Casey that was stopped due to an eye poke? Good enough for me.
Jose Alberto Quinonez def. Joey Gomez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Gomez is 0-2 in the UFC since making his organizational debut in January. Deliver a pink slip to him and let him work his way back up from outside promotions.
Quinonez now has back-to-back victories. The bantamweight division is not too deep, and as such he could get a meeting with the likes of Joe Soto. Soto is a former title challenger. It would be a big step up, but also a chance to prove himself.
Chas Skelly vs. Maximo Blanco
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Chas Skelly def. Maximo Blanco via submission (D'Arce choke) at 0:19 of the first round
Want to erase the memories of your previous loss? Go out and submit your next opponent in 19 seconds. Mission accomplished for Skelly.
Blanco is wildly inconsistent, but he never even had a chance to show what kind of fighter he would be in Hidalgo. It was over too quickly. With back-to-back losses, he now faces a crossroads. Rony Jason is facing the same circumstances.
Blanco vs. Jason puts one on the cut line while the other gets back into position at 145 pounds.
Skelly called out Darren Elkins in his post-fight interview in the cage. I don't see the value in it at this point. Sure, Skelly wants to erase the loss, but Elkins is on a three-fight win streak. Why should he go backward?
Skelly should still get a ranked foe as a reward for his performance. No. 11-ranked contender Hacran Dias matches up nicely with Skelly for a wintertime scrap.
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Islam Makhachev vs. Chris Wade
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Islam Makhachev def. Chris Wade by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Makhachev and Wade didn't tear the roof off the building, but they put together some very nice grappling displays in Hidalgo. Makhachev is the better grappler and won. It's really as simple as that.
Wade's next opponent should come from UFC 204. Whoever loses the bout between Leonardo Santos and Adriano Martins lines up nicely with Wade.
Makhachev's victory puts him back in the win column, but it shouldn't catapult him up the lightweight ranks. It should be more a small step forward. Jason Saggo is a name that sticks out as the right selection.
Saggo is in a similar spot in the division, and a win for either man proves his mettle. It's a fight to see who earns a significant bout to begin 2017.
Roan Carneiro vs. Kenny Robertson
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Roan Carneiro def. Kenny Robertson by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Oof. This was ugly.
Carneiro walked away with the narrow victory, but there is nothing overly positive from this fight. A more impressive or even exciting performance may have given him another crack at the top 15.
Robertson has now dropped back-to-back fights for the first time in his career. The loser of Thiago Santos vs. Eric Spicely at UFC Fight Night 95 fits the mold for his next opponent.
As for Carneiro, it's a difficult proposition. He is a longtime veteran with a solid ground game. He can be a difficult out for most in the division, but the performance doesn't warrant such a fight. What does the UFC do with him?
Even with a win, Carneiro vs. Josh Samman is an appealing fight. Samman has the physical tools to make a decent run in the division, but he hasn't put it all together just yet. Carneiro is on the downside of his career and could be the right opponent to foster Samman's development.
Evan Dunham vs. Rick Glenn
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Evan Dunham def. Rick Glenn by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rick Glenn came to fight. The short-notice replacement typically fights at featherweight but used this opportunity to join the UFC. Dunham dominated the fight from bell to bell, but Glenn was there every step of the way to make for an exciting bout.
Godofredo Pepey would make for a fun matchup for Glenn's first UFC bout at featherweight. They'll scrap and put on a show.
Dunham looked outstanding. Sure, he wasn't fighting a top lightweight, but he did blend his striking and grappling together quite well. It was some of his best work inside the Octagon.
Dunham should meet Abel Trujillo next. That was the fight originally slated for Hidalgo until Trujillo bowed out with an injury (h/t MMAJunkie.com). When he returns, book it again.
Uriah Hall vs. Derek Brunson
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Derek Brunson def. Uriah Hall by TKO at 1:41 of the first round
Hello, Derek Brunson. Welcome to the UFC middleweight elite.
There may be some questions regarding the stoppage, but what is unquestioned is that Brunson's left hand sat Hall on the mat. Referee Herb Dean made the split-second call to stop the fight once Brunson started throwing ground and pound. Could it have gone on a bit longer? Sure, but the stoppage itself wasn't egregious.
Hall will still be in the mix. UFC 204 is just around the bend, and he should meet the loser of Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi. A Belfort vs. Hall fight would be fireworks, and a rematch with Mousasi would answer the question of whether his finish was pure luck. It's a great rebound fight that is very relevant to the division.
Brunson called for a title shot in his post-fight speech in the Octagon. Unless there are some strange injury circumstances, that won't happen. Unfortunately, neither will a top contender bout. Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Jacare Souza and Yoel Romero (whom Brunson fought previously) are all booked.
That leaves one available name: Robert Whittaker.
It's not the most appealing fight, as they are two of the best up-and-coming middleweights, but it's just about the only fight that makes sense given the landscape of the division. If there are no injuries where Brunson or Whittaker could slip into a bigger fight, then it would appear that this is the only fight to make.
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Johnson
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Michael Johnson def. Dustin Poirier by KO at 1:35 of the first round
Johnson returned for the first time since December 2015, and he looked simply sensational. He pelted Poirier and finished in just 95 seconds. It wasn't just a win; it was an announcement. He's here to contend.
Poirier was making a solid run in the lightweight division, but Johnson's speed and power on the feet didn't give him a chance to show his skills Saturday. It forces Poirier back to the drawing board.
The winner of next weekend's UFC Fight Night 95 bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Paul Felder is the man to go against Poirier next. Whoever wins gets rewarded with a ranked fight, and Poirier has a matchup with an opponent who'll invite a scrap.
After the fight, Johnson identified Khabib Nurmagomedov as his next target, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports. Brian Stann tweeted that Nurmagomedov told him he wanted Johnson too. That makes this very simple.
Johnson vs. Nurmagomedov. Perfect.
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