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If you like the lower weight classes of MMA and enjoy when a card is held in front of a loud and proud audience — which likely describes a large number of people reading — last night’s UFC lineup was for you. This weekend was a truly high-quality UFC Fight Night card, feels like they’re hard to come by nowadays. Returning to Mexico City, Mexico, the promotion presented numerous interesting matchups and closed out the night with a pair of high-profile, five-round fights.
This week’s column includes some hard decisions that took me a while to tackle. We’re going to discuss two different title pictures and the many different ways that they could play out. Plus, as usual, we’re going to mention some of the rising names lower on the card. Let’s make some fights, shall we?
Fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval
Brandon Royval
Flyweight is an incredibly frustrating division to book at the moment. There are certainly options for who champ Alexandre Pantoja could face next, but it’s hard to truly determine who is next for him. We’re not in a situation like the bantamweight division is at right now, where it’s obvious that Merab Dvalishvili is the fighter next in line. Instead, we have a couple of names that feel they have a case for a shot, although none are in the perfect position at the moment.
One of those fighters that has the biggest case at the moment is Brandon Royval. The 31-year-old pulled off an upset win in Saturday’s main event, prevailing against Brandon Moreno in a gritty split decision after five rounds. It was not an easy win for Royval, but it’s easily the biggest of his UFC career.
Royval fought Pantoja last year in a title fight, lost quite decidedly. He won just one round on one of the judge’s scorecards, so it was basically one-way traffic. A win against former champ Moreno raised his stock this weekend, but did it do enough to justify a title shot?
I’m going to say no. As it stands, it feels hard to book a fight between Pantoja and Royval. Considering how dominant Pantoja was last year and how close Royval’s fight was this weekend, it just doesn’t feel right.
I want Royval to face second-ranked flyweight Amir Albazi. This weekend was initially supposed to be Moreno against Albazi in what was most likely a title eliminator fight of sorts. Albazi has won all five of his UFC fights, with his last performance being an airtight split decision over Kai Kara-France. While he is undoubtedly one of the strongest contenders at 125 pounds, it doesn’t feel like he’s properly positioned for a chance against Pantoja yet — making him a different but similar story to Royval.
The frustrating part of the flyweight equation we have written up here is the possibility of it keeping Pantoja on the sidelines for a long period of time. Considering Royval just fought five rounds and Albazi is nursing an injury that pulled him from this UFC fight card, it’s hard to figure out when that fight would actually happen. If it would take too long to figure out a contender for Pantoja, then they should go ahead and give Albazi a shot. But in an ideal scenario where this pairing could be squeezed into the event calendar, it feels like the ideal UFC fight to make.
Brandon Moreno
That’s another loss for Brandon Moreno. The two-time UFC Flyweight Champion has suffered back-to-back losses following Saturday night. This weekend was Moreno’s first time since late 2020 that he fought in a non-title UFC fight. And, unfortunately for the 30-year-old, the next championship opportunity won’t be coming soon.
Following his loss this weekend, Moreno deserves a competitive name lower in the rankings. After suffering a pair of split decisions between this weekend and his 2023 Pantoja fight, I want to see where his skill level is at against a name that hasn’t broken into the title picture.
Sixth-ranked fighter Manel Kape is a name I’d be interested to see face Moreno. Kape has been on the rise at flyweight since 2021. He has picked up four wins over those years, including in UFC fights against David Dvorak and Felipe dos Santos. Unfortunately, many of his big matchups have fallen through: UFC Fights against Alex Perez, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Kai Kara-France all nearly happened last year. Any of those bookings would have brought Kape’s stock up significantly from where it is currently.
Kape is an interesting matchup on the feet for Moreno. This would be a neat way to test Kape in a five-round UFC fight for the first time or it could be Moreno’s first three-round bout in years. Either way, I think it’s a solid matchup for the former champ.
Brian Ortega
Similar to the flyweight title picture, featherweight is a bit of a mess. You have Max Holloway, who is a high-ranked contender but is tied up in an April bout against lightweight Justin Gaethje. There’s Alexander Volkanovski, who is petitioning for a rematch after losing to champ Ilia Topuria last week. There’s Movsar Evloev, an undefeated contender on the rise, plus a former champ by the name of Aljamain Sterling debuting in the division soon. Oh, and after Saturday night, there’s still Brian Ortega, too.
Ortega snapped a two-fight skid in the co-main event, exploiting Yair Rodriguez’s lack of ground skills to submit him in the third round with an arm triangle choke. He previously lost to Rodriguez in 2022, although that defeat came due to a shoulder injury. Before then, he dropped a decision to Volkanovski in 2021.
Ortega is ranked fourth at featherweight and is expected to move up to third after his win over Rodriguez. He’s certainly a strong contender and has never faced Topuria before.
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have Ortega face Topuria for his first matchup as champ. Instead, I would like Holloway to come back down to featherweight and meet “El Matador.” However, as discussed in last week’s column, there’s no guarantee that Holloway will leave UFC 300 fresh and raring to go in a five-round title fight soon. Remember: He’s in a UFC fight against Justin Gaethje. It’s going to be violent. So, if Holloway can’t return in time for a Topuria fight this year, I’m not against Ortega being the next challenger.
But let’s just stick with the hypothetical that Holloway will be ready. In that case, I want Ortega in a UFC fight with Evloev. The UFC 297 win for Evloev against Arnold Allen was big on paper, but it wasn’t that impressive of a performance. I want Evloev to get another notable opponent before he’s seriously in the title discussion at featherweight. I think Ortega would be that matchup. The high profile UFC fight would give Ortega another win after two consecutive losses, or it would earn Evloev another massive victory.
I want to end this section by reiterating that featherweight is a big, messy division at the top currently. Topuria’s next UFC fight depends heavily on logistics. There are four different names all making their claim for the belt right now. Some could get it because others aren’t available. Another might get it because they are simply the most deserving. But it’s quite challenging to say outright what the next few months will look like.
Yair Rodriguez
Saturday’s co-main event has to sting for Yair Rodriguez. He was doing some things right earlier in the fight and even earned a 10-8 round on one scorecard. But, once Ortega focused on grappling, it was over. He’s now farther away from a title shot than he has been in a while.
His loss on Saturday, coupled with his 2023 stoppage defeat to Alexander Volkanovski, puts him on a two-fight skid. After such a defeat, who should Rodriguez meet in the cage next? Well, there’s someone in the rankings who is also coming off a pair of losses to highly regarded fighters: Arnold Allen.
Allen lost to Movsar Evloev this year, and before then he dropped a decision to Max Holloway. While he’s lower in the division, he’s a name similar to Rodriguez, who is also losing to UFC fighters among the top. I like the idea of these two facing off, with the winner getting their groove back a little and beginning their next climb toward the top.
Daniel Zellhuber
An impressive victory for Daniel Zellhuber on Saturday evening means he has now won three consecutive UFC fights at lightweight. Not bad for a 24-year-old, right? Saturday’s performance over Francisco Prado was a thorough outing for Zellhuber, using his striking to earn rounds against a tough opponent. Now it’s time to discuss what’s next.
Prado wasn’t a very big name for Zellhuber to beat, in my opinion. Previous victories over Christos Giagos and Lando Vannata I valued more since they were victories against UFC fighters who aren’t incredibly successful but have lots of experience. I want to give Zellhuber another opponent in that style for his next UFC fight.
I feel like Jared Gordon could be a good next challenge for Zellhuber. Gordon is coming off a first-round finish win from UFC 295 against Mark Madsen. This came after a rocky few years, winning just one of his three appearances since 2022.
Gordon is a solid challenge just above the level of Zellhuber and comes with the experience that an opponent like Prado doesn’t carry. That’s a solid pairing if you ask me.
Yazmin Jauregui
Yazmin Jauregui got back into the win column with a solid striking showcase on the main card. She went three rounds against Sam Hughes, cruising to a unanimous decision win with all rounds going in her favor. That victory put her back to her winning ways after suffering a 20-second loss to Denise Gomes last year.
Jauregui’s solid striking skills make me tempted to match her against someone else specifically in the division, and it feels like the stars are aligning perfectly right now. I want Jauregui to face Loma Lookboonmee next.
Lookboonmee is best known for her stand-up striking skills. She’s currently on a three-fight winning streak, including a win from just earlier this month against Bruna Brasil. With a record of six wins and two losses in the UFC, it seems like she’s around the same skill level as Jauregui at the moment.
Plus, there’s another factor that makes me want to book this one: Lookboonmee recently complained about facing too many UFC fighters who are way taller than her. Well, Jauregui is five-foot-three, making her just one inch taller than Lookboonmee. It all just makes too much sense, right? Book it!
Manuel Torres
The main card started hot, as Manuel Torres moved his winning streak to three in a row against Chris Duncan. In just under two minutes, Mexico’s Torres got on the back of Duncan and tapped him with a rear naked choke. It was Duncan’s first UFC loss and Torres’ third win since joining the roster in 2021.
Torres said afterward that he wants a big challenge. He has his sights on the top 20, even the top 10 at lightweight. Since he wants a big UFC fight next, let’s find that for him. Let’s put him against another fighter on a winning streak, and one with more experience. He hasn’t received that combo in the UFC yet: Nikolas Motta was in his third UFC fight when they met last year, and veteran Frank Camacho was already on a two-fight skid when he collided against Torres two years back.
When looking at the lightweight roster, Nasrat Haqparast caught my eye as the next challenger for Torres. He’s an experienced UFC talent, having fought 12 times since his 2017 debut. He’s currently on a three-fight streak of wins, including a first-round finish over Jamie Mullarkey last year. He’s a step up for Torres and potentially a massive win, but not someone who feels too above his skill level. Let’s see that matchup.