UFC 299 is in the books, and although it lived up to the expectations for the large majority, it has left fans wondering what could be next for some of the fighters on the card.
The blockbuster night of fights saw some new contenders arise but it also left some older contenders with career question marks moving forward.
Let’s take a look at some potential match-ups following the results of Saturday night, without getting too ahead of ourselves.
Sean O’Malley’s possible next opponent
Making the first defense of his title reign, Sean O’Malley exhibited a flawless performance against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
Although coming into the fight there was skepticism around how it was made, Dana White labeled it as ‘the biggest bantamweight fight of all time’ because of how well it performed in terms of the numbers. ‘Suga’ Sean has arguably become the UFC’s biggest star, not named Conor McGregor.
After his perfect performance, the 29-year-old called for a ‘champ vs champ’ fight against Ilia Topuria. Despite that, Dana White said at the UFC 299 post-fight press conference: “I don’t know about moving divisions, you know how I feel about that. Even Topuria was talking about not fighting anyone in the (featherweight) division after winning the title, that’s crazy talk.”
So it’s fair to say that won’t be happening anytime soon, and for good reason. The 135lb division is stacked to the brim with elite-level fighters, but there is one who is undoubtedly next in line.
Sean O’Malley’s next title defense will, and should, come against Merab ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili.
Marlon Vera’s possible next opponent
A rough night in the office will see Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera fall down the pecking order, as he will have to string together some notable wins to get back to a five-round title fight.
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Coming into the fight, the narrative amongst most fans, and some fighters at the top end of the bantamweight division, was that Vera was ‘gifted’ the title shot, because of his history with O’Malley.
After a nonplus performance, there are still a few options that could make sense for the Ecuadorian moving forward. One of which picked up a win earlier in the night, at UFC 299.
Petr Yan returned to the win column on Saturday and a fight between Vera and Yan could make a lot of sense for both fighters as they look to stay amongst the elites of the division.
Dustin Poirier’s possible next opponent
The ever-dogged Dustin Poirier bounced back from a concerning round one, with a huge knockout win over Benoit Saint-Denis in round two.
‘The Diamond’ has been clear about the fact that he wants one more title run, despite being 35 years old, and after his comeback win maybe he can consider that possibility.
Islam Makhachev is hoping to defend his lightweight title in June, and with the other fighters at the top of the 155lb division already scheduled for fights around then, Poirier could just slide right in. Although I don’t think Poirier is deserved of a title shot off the back of one win, sometimes it is all about the timing.
Benoit Saint-Denis’ possible next opponent
Benoit Saint-Denis was one win away from a lightweight title shot, but just couldn’t get over the hump.
I believe the step-up from Matt Frevola to Dustin Poirier was too big a step-up too soon but with the Frenchman being only 28 years old, he will undoubtedly get back to a similar spot.
A fight that made sense for Saint-Denis before UFC 299 was Mateusz Gamrot. That fight still makes a lot of sense now, with Gamrot picking up another win this past Saturday. That’s the fight that I’d like to see next for both lightweights.
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Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s possible next opponent
Michael ‘Venom’ Page made relatively easy work of Kevin Holland in his UFC maiden voyage and following the fight, there is only one opponent people want to see next for the 36-year-old.
As soon as the UFC announced that they were signing the sensational striker, fans called for a fight between ‘Venom’ Page and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Although that fight has the potential to be extremely anti-climatic, the potential of it being a striking spectacle outweighs that and it should happen next.
Kevin Holland’s possible next opponent
‘Big Mouth’ has now suffered back-to-back losses for the third time in his UFC tenure. His underwhelming performance against Page doesn’t set him back massively, though.
Holland is one of the most popular fighters in his division, because of his personality. His ‘anytime anywhere’ mentality will likely see him offered another big fight, somewhere down the line.
Kevin Holland vs Geoff Neal could be an extremely fun fight at 170lbs.
Jack Della Maddalena
The Australian 27-year-old picked up the biggest win of his career thus far, knocking out Gilbert Burns in the third round of their fight.
Jack Della Maddalena was down on the scorecards heading into round three, likely knowing he needed a finish in the final five minutes. For the large majority of the round, it didn’t look as though he was going to find it, and he was seemingly headed for his first loss in eight years.
Despite that he managed to get the fight back to the feet and landed a perfect knee on the chin of Gilbert Burns, ground-and-pounding him for the finish.
He called for a number-one contender fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov, which makes a lot of sense considering Leon Edwards likely fights Belal Muhammad next.
Gilbert Burns
‘Durinho’ Burns saw what was likely his final title eliminator fight, slip between his fingers.
In such an unforgiving sport, the 37-year-old should take some time to consider his next steps, before rushing back into competition.
Unfortunately for Burns, he is likely going to be matched with a younger prospect who is looking to add a veteran’s name to their resume. Sean Brady fits that description, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that fight next.
Petr Yan
I can imagine Petr Yan breathed a huge sigh of relief when his name was read out as the unanimous decision winner on Saturday night.
As mentioned before for Marlon Vera, that’s the fight that should be made next for both.
Song Yadong
The 26-year-old was likely just two wins away from a 135lb title shot, but he has been knocked back a few steps following his loss to Yan.
Umar Nurmagomedov picked up a win recently, but he didn’t impress the masses. Although it goes against how the UFC usually makes fights, these two prospects should meet in a five-round Fight Night main event.