The TUF 22 Finale was a part of the biggest weekend in UFC history but was a tad of a letdown. The preliminary card wasn’t exactly memorable and most of the main card was rather lackluster as well. With that being said, we saw a few crazy fights and finishes that surpassed expectations closer to the end of the night.
In the main event, UFC featherweight contender Frankie Edgar picked up his fifth consecutive win with a devastating first-round knockout over former title challenger Chad Mendes.
UFC Fight Night 80, which took place one night earlier, was completely different though. The entire card was exciting and featured thrilling stoppages. In the main event, Rose Namajunas dominated Paige VanZant, stopping “12 Gauge” in the fifth round by submission.
With that, it’s now time to take over the role of UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby and match up some of the competing fighters with potential future opponents.
Frankie Edgar: The UFC brass cannot deny this man a title shot any longer. “The Answer” is now riding a five-fight winning streak which also includes stoppages over Cub Swanson and B.J. Penn, and has lately proved he’s one of the best 145-pounders on the planet. Since moving down from lightweight, Edgar has never been better and deserves to fight the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, after they fight on Saturday night at UFC 194.
Chad Mendes: Mendes is still a top competitor but it’s tough to see him in title contention any time soon, as he’s 1-3 in his last four outings. “Money” would need a few wins in-a-row to get back into the mix at featherweight, but a few wins in a row is something he can definitely do. The organization will likely give him a top-10 opponent next so he can get back into the winning column. One fight I’d like to see is Mendes against Dennis Bermudez, who’s also riding a two-fight skid.
Rose Namajunas: In my opinion, Namajunas is one win away from a title shot against current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Another fighter who’s very close to getting a shot at UFC gold is Tecia Torres, who faces Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger at UFC 194. I want to see Namajunas fight Torres if she wins on Saturday night in a No. 1 contender’s bout.
Paige VanZant: VanZant’s hype-train died when she was demolished by Namajunas but I’m not sure if this is too big of a setback for her actually, because she’s still very young. The UFC will give her another winnable fight, similar to her first three Octagon appearances, because she still could be a future star. I wouldn’t mind a fight with her against Maryna Moroz, who’s coming off a loss to Valerie Letourneau in August.
Tony Ferguson: Ferguson deserves a very high-profile fight next, after picking up the biggest win of his career. I hope “El Cucuy” gets the next title shot after Rafael dos Anjos defends his belt against Donald Cerrone next week at UFC on FOX 17. Ferguson proved that he’s ready for the best the 155-pound division has to offer.
Edson Barboza: Barboza is one of those fighters that can’t quite crack the top five of their respective division. With that being said, the Brazilian beats most top-10 fighters, which is what he’ll likely get in his next outing. I think a fight with Nate Diaz if he loses to Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17 would make sense and serve as a great matchup.
Michael Chiesa and Evan Dunham: Chiesa and Dunham both picked up impressive wins this past weekend and should fight each other next. Stylistically, this matchup would make for a thrilling scrap. Chiesa is rapidly improving, and Dunham, despite being a veteran, hasn’t looked better and is still improving. Chiesa called for a top 15 opponent in his post-fight interview, but the UFC should set this fight up — it’d be a heck of a fight.
Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon: After losing this past weekend, Miller and Lauzon find themselves in a similar situation. They’re both veterans of the sport, no question about it, but can’t seem to hang with the cream of the crop, or even just ranked opponents. They fought at UFC 155 in 2012, with Miller getting the nod after a war, and a rematch makes sense. Do it up, UFC!
Tatsuya Kawajiri: Kawajiri is currently ranked in the featherweight top 15, but nothing showed me in his fight with Jason Knight that he would be able to hang with top competition. He grinded out a UFC newcomer, who stepped up on short notice, in a fairly lackluster outing. I’d give him a fight with Thiago Tavares, who’s just barely ranked at No. 15, and see who’s ready for a step up in competition.
Sage Northcutt: Northcutt picked up his second UFC win on Thursday with a submission over Cody Pfister. The thing with Northcutt is that he’s still so young at 19 years old so he won’t get a step up in competition for quite awhile. He didn’t look fantastic in the first round of the fight with Pfister, so that’s just another reason to give him a UFC newcomer next, or someone of the same caliber of his last two opponents.
Thiago Santos: I’ve been really high on Santos for quite some time now and I really think he can do big things in the middleweight division. This might be a bit quick but I’d like to see him against a top 10 guy in Thales Leites next, and see how he fares.
Elias Theodorou: Theodorou needs to go to the drawing board after suffering his first professional loss of his career. Overall, I think the Canadian is a top prospect and could do well in the 185-pound division in the future, but he needs to tighten up his all-around game first. There are a lot of options, but a fight with fellow TUF winner Antonio Carlos Junior would make sense.
Aljamain Sterling: Sterling is now a free agent, but it’s highly unlikely he signs elsewhere. Assuming he re-signs with the UFC, he should get a big fight next. Sterling is likely one or two wins away from a title shot and I think a win over Raphael Assuncao or Bryan Caraway would move him closer to a shot at UFC gold.
Johnny Eduardo: It’s tough to say where the Brazilian goes from here, especially at 37 years old. He still has a notable knockout over Eddie Wineland that’ll keep him in the top 15 at bantamweight, but I don’t see him going on a big winning streak before retirement. A fight with Francisco Rivera makes a lot of sense as they’re both coming off losses and would make for a fantastic fight.
Gabriel Gonzaga: Gonzaga finally got back into the winning column but his fight with Konstantin Erokhin was very lackluster. The veteran will likely get another ranked opponent in his next outing, and I like him vs. Jared Rosholt.
Ryan LaFlare: LaFlare returned successfully on Friday night against Mike Pierce with a dominant decision victory. He’s just on the outside of the official UFC rankings and he’ll likely get a ranked opponent in his next bout. A fight with Rick Story makes sense to me, whenever Story is ready to return.
Tim Means: Means rebounded from his loss to Matt Brown this past summer in devastating fashion. He finished veteran John Howard by knockout in the second round. I really hope “The Dirty Bird” gets another chance to crack into the rankings here with a fight against Stephen Thompson — that’d be a ridiculous fight.