UFC 300 is in the books, and it’ll go down as one of the greatest combat sports events of all time, with the fights playing out incredibly from bottom to top.
Max Holloway stole the headlines after scoring one of the most outrageous finishes in UFC history, folding Justin Gaethje with just two seconds remaining of the final round.
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira continued his meteoric rise with a terrifying first-round knockout over the returning Jamahal Hill.
Two-time Olympic Gold medalist and the most credentialed athlete to ever step foot in the UFC Octagon, Kayla Harrison, scored an utterly dominant second-round submission over former bantamweight champion Holly Holm.
While there are too many fighters to play matchmaker for in one piece, Harrison should undoubtedly be given a title shot next.
In the featured prelim bout, Jiri Prochazka returned to the win column with a second-round finish over the returning Aleksandar Rakic and called for a rematch with Alex Pereira next. Despite that, I think a number-one contender fight against Magomed Ankalaev makes more sense.
Let’s take a look at what could be next for the main card winners.
Bo Nickal needs a bigger step up for his next fight
Bo Nickal wasn’t impressed with his own performance at UFC 300.
After the questionable decision to put the 28-year-old on the main card, Nickal probably thought he had to make a bang. Despite securing the second-round submission, the credentialed wrestler was booed by the fans in attendance as he tried to turn heel.
Although Cody Brundage was a step up from Val Woodburn, he still wasn’t anywhere near enough of a step up for Bo Nickal.
Nickal made it clear that he wouldn’t fight Chris Weidman as he has a lot of respect for him, but that would’ve been a fight that could’ve made sense.
With Weidman out of the question, maybe Brad Tavares would be an adequate next step.
Arman Tsarukyan turns down a title shot
Following the biggest win of his career thus far, Arman Tsarukyan turned down a lightweight title shot, immediately following his win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300.
The Armenian put on an extremely well-rounded performance against the dangerous Brazilian and had to face some adversity on his way to the win. After being flipped off by a fan during his walkout, Tsarukyan appeared to have lunged at the fan, but quickly disengaged and made his way to the cage.
In the first round, the 27-year-old had to show his championship mentality as he was caught in a brief guillotine by the most efficient submission artist in UFC history. Again in the final round, ‘Do Bronx’ seemingly had a D’Arce choke locked in, but ‘Ahalkalakets’ survived till the final bell.
The UFC reportedly went to Tsarukyan straight after his fight and offered him the lightweight title fight for UFC 302, but Tsarukyan turned it down.
Tsarukyan will likely wait for the winner of Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier, and will possibly fight the winner towards the end of the year.
Max Holloway sets up for a huge fight at featherweight
After scoring one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history, Max Holloway called for a featherweight title fight against Ilia Topuria.
A fight between Topuria and ‘Blessed’ is one of the biggest fights the promotion can make at this time, and after Holloway’s incredible performance, he is undeniable.
Ideally, Islam Makhachev’s timeline wouldn’t have been so specific, as Holloway could’ve likely secured himself a lightweight title shot with his win over Justin Gaethje. Having said that, stylistically the matchup with Topuria is more exciting and intriguing.
Although Holloway was already a star, he took full advantage of his moment at UFC 300 and became an even bigger pull.
Weili Zhang running out of options at 115lbs
Although Zhang Weili secured her fourth win in a row, it was an extremely sloppy performance by the 34-year-old.
In the first round, Weili seemingly put Yan Xiaonan to sleep in the final seconds as she had a rear-naked choke locked in. After the buzzer signified the end of the round, Xiaonan went limp and had to be woken back up in her corner.
Moving forward, there is only one more interesting matchup for Weili at strawweight, and this is with Tatiana Suarez.
Although Suarez had to withdraw from her fight against Amanda Lemos in February, I’d be happy for Weili to wait till the undefeated Suarez is ready to return and defend her title against her next.
Alex Pereira eyeing a move to heavyweight and fight with Tom Aspinall
Alex Pereira continued his rise into superstardom with a first-round knockout over Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 main event.
‘Poatan’ is quickly becoming one of the promotion’s biggest draws because of his utterly entertaining fight style and erasing power.
The 36-year-old wants to make a quick turnaround to compete at UFC 301 on May 4th, however, he has admitted that is highly unlikely. Unfortunately for Pereira, there is a lack of options at 205lbs.
Despite Jiri Prochazka picking up an impressive bounce-back win this past Saturday, he likely needs another win before he is afforded another title shot. Magomed Ankalaev’s recent unfortunate run of a draw and a no-contest also takes away the excitement for that possible matchup.
Pereira is aware of the lack of options at light heavyweight and called for his next fight to be at heavyweight.
There were previous rumors that Pereira wanted to fight Tom Aspinall at UFC 300, but of course that didn’t come to fruition. But why not next? The interim heavyweight champion wants to defend his title instead of waiting to see what happens with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, so the timing could be perfect.
With there being no clear contender at light heavyweight, now would be the perfect time to allow Pereira to move up to heavyweight, while the 205lb division sorts itself out.