UFC 221 Results: Matches to Make for the Winners and Losers

UFC 221 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, delivered a fun night of fights. It was capped off with a blistering KO from Yoel Romero.

Romero came in overweight. As such, he was unable to win the interim middleweight belt that would have otherwise been on the line. Still, Romero finished Luke Rockhold and kept his spot as the division's most terrifying individual.

In the co-main event, Curtis Blaydes won a decision over Mark Hunt to take his place among the heavyweight division's top faces. The guard is changing in the heavyweight division, and Blaydes is part of that renaissance.

The UFC has a lot of questions to answer. How will it handle Romero's situation? Where does Hunt go from here? Well, that is what we are here to help answer. Dear UFC matchmakers, sit back and allow us to give you our two cents.

Here are the matches to make following UFC 221.

Preliminary Fights Quick Hits

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Luke Jumeau def. Daichi Abe by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-27)

• Daichi Abe vs. Loser of Ramazan Emeev vs. Alberto Mina (May 12)
• Luke Jumeau vs. Winner of Alex Morono vs. Josh Burkman (February 18)

Jose Alberto Quinonez def. Teruto Ishihara by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

• Teruto Ishihara vs. Terrion Ware
• Jose Alberto Quinonez vs. Thomas Almeida

Ross Pearson def. Mizuto Hirota by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

• Mizuto Hirota vs. Damien Brown
• Ross Pearson vs. Jon Tuck

Jussier Formiga def. Ben Nguyen via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:43 of the third round

• Ben Nguyen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Jussier Formiga vs. Joseph Benavidez

Alexander Volkanovski def. Jeremy Kennedy by TKO at 4:57 of the second round

• Jeremy Kennedy vs. Rick Glenn
• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Mirsad Bektic

Israel Adesanya def. Rob Wilkinson by TKO at 3:37 of the second round

• Rob Wilkinson should be cut from the roster
• Israel Adesanya vs. Alessio Di Chirico

Dong Hyun Kim def. Damien Brown by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

• Damien Brown vs. Mizuto Hirota
• Dong Hyun Kim vs. Daniel Hooker

Tyson Pedro vs. Saparbek Safarov

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Tyson Pedro def. Saparbek Safarov via submission (kimura) at 3:54 of the first round

Saparbek Safarov should be cut. He is 0-2 in the UFC and has not shown much during his time in the promotion. Even in a shallow light heavyweight division, the 31-year-old has no upside. Cut ties. Sign a better prospect.

Tyson Pedro was put in this position to shine, and he did. Now he needs a ranked opponent.

Of the contenders, the winner of April 21's bout between Patrick Cummins and Corey Anderson seems appropriate.

Both Anderson and Cummins are a long ways away from contention—as is Pedro. There's no reason to put any of them against the division's top tier. Nor is there reason to try to build them up separately. Allow the proven vets to test a charging Pedro.

Li Jingliang vs. Jake Matthews

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Jake Matthews def. Li Jingliang by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)

Jake Matthews is 2-0 since returning to the welterweight division. He looked to be in a rough matchup, but he had almost no issue against one of China's best mixed martial artists.

Li Jingliang is still developing, but he may have hit his ceiling. Still, the UFC should look to foster that a bit more. George Sullivan is on a two-fight skid himself and would be a good matchup for Li.

Matthews probably earned himself a bigger test.

Welterweight is a deep division, both in terms of numbers and talent. Thus, the UFC has few easy matchups. Ask former prospect Warlley Alves, who has hit some rough times since being seen as one of the sport's brightest up-and-comers. He is coming off a victory against Salim Touahri.

Matthews vs. Alves puts the winner on the verge of the Top 15. It's a good fight.

Tai Tuivasa vs. Cyril Asker

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Tai Tuivasa def. Cyril Asker by TKO at 2:18 of the first round

This was a showcase fight, and Tai Tuivasa put on a show. Cyril Asker was little more than a punching bag for the heavyweight prospect.

As little as Asker showed, he has yet to have back-to-back losses in the division. That's saying something and means he's worthy of a return trip to the Octagon. Perhaps against Allen Crowder.

Tuivasa is 2-0 in the UFC after two impressive showings. But the UFC should not rush him, as it did with Francis Ngannou. He's not there yet and doesn't have the steam Ngannou had to warrant such a push.

Timothy Johnson would be the right call. He's ranked but not overly threatening. He's a perfect gatekeeper to see whether Tuivasa is the real deal.

Mark Hunt vs. Curtis Blaydes

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Curtis Blaydes def. Mark Hunt by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)

Mark Hunt nearly got the knockout finish in the first round, but Curtis Blaydes survived and relied on his wrestling the rest of the way.

It's clear Hunt is on his way out of the UFC after this showing. He's 43 has lost two of his past three fights. But there are still compelling bouts for the Super Samoan. He just has to be matched up with the right person.

Todd Duffee is the best available fighter. He's suffered a KO loss to Frank Mir in July 2015 and hasn't returned since because of an injury. He should be nearing a return to the cage, and Hunt should welcome a contest with him. It's a low-stakes fight that should deliver fireworks.

Blaydes, on the opposite end, is back in the thick of things at heavyweight. Should he get a rematch against Ngannou? Only if the UFC has a lapse in judgment. That fight serves no one well.

The only available top-ranked heavyweights are Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez. The latter would be a bad stylistic matchup for fans, but the former would be interesting. The other choice would be Andrei Arlovski, who battles Stefan Struve at UFC 222 on March 3. So who's the right choice?

If he wins his next fight, Arlovski vs. Blaydes is the no-brainer. They both represent Chicago, and the UFC returns to the Windy City June 9. If he loses, then select Overeem for that date.

Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold

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Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold by KO at 1:48 of the third round

Yoel Romero may have missed weight, but he did not miss Luke Rockhold's chin in the third round of the UFC 221 main event. Once he connected, it was all over.

Before we get to Romero and the UFC's difficult position, let's begin with Rockhold.

Rockhold does have options. He is a massive middleweight and could make the move to light heavyweight. Especially with his teammate Daniel Cormier's time winding down, he could easily fill a slot among the Top 15 of the division. But if he stays at middlweight, he needs a hard reset.

Serving that role should be the winner of Krzysztof Jotko vs. Brad Tavares (April 14). They are still ranked, but they are not at Rockhold's level. It's a huge opportunity for both men and a favorable fight for Rockhold to rebuild himself as a contender at 185-pounds.

As for Romero, ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto tweeted that UFC President Dana White's plan is for Romero to rematch Robert Whittaker for the belt. That would be rewarding a fighter who came in three pounds overweight with a title tilt. It's bad form. There's a better option.

Allow Whittaker to defend the title against former champion Chris Weidman, and on the same card, put Romero against Kelvin Gastelum. It's a win-win. There would be two stellar middleweight tilts, it somewhat punishes Romero and the UFC gets a clear-cut top contender. Also, should an injury arise, both Romero and Gastelum would be fine alternates.

The UFC should hesitate on rewarding Romero but also use him as a back-up plan. It would be the better route to take.