Matches To Make After UFC Brasilia

Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) staged UFC Fight Night 170 last night (Sat., March 14, 2020) inside Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil, which was empty due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic. In the headlining act, Charles Oliveira earned his seventh straight win after submitting Kevin Lee (highlights). In the co-headlining feature of the evening, Gilbert Burns knocked out Demian Maia with a clean left strike to earn his fifth straight win (see it again here).

Winner: Charles Oliveira

Who He Should Face Next: Let’s wait and see...

The Top 5 lightweights all have fights booked or are waiting for other big match ups to take place to make their next move. Donald Cerrone, Al Iaquinta and Paul Felder are coming of losses, Edson Barboza is dropping to featherweight, and Diego Ferreira is too low-ranked to get a fight against “Do Bronx.” All that being said, Oliveira needs to sit back and relax to see how the division plays out over the couple of months, which could be longer since it seems UFC is about to be forced to take a break just like every other sports organization on the planet. I’d love to see Charles get a Top 5 opponent, though, like the winner of Dan Hooker vs Dustin Poirier.

Winner: Gilbert Burns

Who He Should Face Next: Michael Chiesa

I struggled with this one, as I just can’t justify pairing Burns up with any fighter in the Top 4, this despite the fact that he just beat the No. 5 guy. Chiesa is also on a surge, winning his last three over Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez and Rafael dos Anjos. Neil Magny also has his eyes on “Maverick,” but for my money, I’m feeling a Burns match up, instead. A win for either man gets them closer to higher-ranked competition.

Winner: Renato Moicano

Who He Should Face Next: Anthony Pettis

Moicano made good in his lightweight debut, submitting Damir Hadzovic in the very first round. After snapping his two-fight losing streak, Renato can breath a bit easier and go into his next battle a bit more confident and relaxed. Still, Top 10 competition isn’t in Moicano’s future straight away. That’s why I think a fight against Anthony Pettis is a great fight for Renato. Pettis has been on a bit of a slump as of late, losing back-to-back fights to Nate Diaz and Carlos Diego Ferreira. “Showtime” doesn’t currently have a fight lined up at the moment, and his recent woes don’t put him in the position to be demanding particular opponents. Pettis still has a good name in the game, and a win over him could pay huge dividends for Moicano.

Winner: Nikita Krylov

Who He Should Face Next: Volkan Oezdemir

Krylov got back in the win column after outscoring Johnny Walker in Brazil, while Oezdemir seems to have gotten his groove back, winning two straight after a horrid three-fight losing streak. These two men are a couple of the very few combatants in the Top 10 that haven’t crossed paths yet, so now is as good a time as any. There’s not much to overthink going into this one, this fight just makes sense.

Winner: Francisco Trinaldo

Who He Should Face Next: Mairbek Taisumov

Trinaldo has now won two straight after defeating John Makdessi in Brasila. Trinaldo has been one of those longtime UFC veterans that just can’t seem to get to the promised land. Francisco was close at one point, winning seven in row before coming up short against Kevin Lee back in 2017. Since then, the Brazilian bomber hasn’t been able to get a nice groove going. But now that he’s won back-to-back fights for the first time in a long time, perhaps he can build on it in his next fight, which should be against Taisumov. After having his six-fight win in his last outing to Carlos Diego Ferreira, I’m sure Taisumov is eager to get back into the swing of things and a win over Trinaldo could help him get his confidence back.

For more UFC Brasilia results and coverage click here.

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