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This weekend saw the UFC’s latest event go down in Texas. For many, it was a largely forgettable one.
While UFC on ESPN: Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen was lacking in truly explosive action, it still handed some fighters major wins, and should set up some big bouts in the future.
So with plenty of options for matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard, who should the biggest stars of last night’s event face off with next?
Here are five fights to make following UFC on ESPN: Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen.
#5. UFC featherweight bout: Nate Landwehr vs. Alex Caceres
Featherweight Nate Landwehr was one of just three fighters to actually score a finish at last night’s event. He dispatched Austin Lingo in the second round of their bout via rear-naked choke, taking his current run of victories to three.
‘The Train’ looked decent in the fight, but it is worth noting that Lingo took the fight on around 10 days’ notice, and hadn’t fought prior to it since August 2021.
Quite how much can be taken from Landwehr’s win, then, is debatable. Despite this, ‘The Train’ is an aggressive, fun fighter to watch, and at the age of 34, he’s probably at his peak right now.
Initially, he was booked against longtime UFC veteran Alex Caceres here. Really, there’s no reason – assuming ‘Bruce Leroy’ isn’t badly injured – not to make that clash again.
Caceres definitely has the skills to test Landwehr far more than Lingo was able to, and more to the point, it’d make for a very fun fight too given his unorthodox style.
If Landwehr is ever to make a run at the elite level at 145 pounds, he needs to do it now – so fighting a gatekeeper to the top like ‘Bruce Leeroy’ would be perfect for him.
#4. UFC flyweight bout: Maycee Barber vs. Jennifer Maia
Despite not putting on a flawless performance, Maycee Barber was undoubtedly one of last night’s bigger winners.
‘The Future’ edged out tough veteran Andrea Lee via split decision, taking her overall UFC record to 7-2 and putting her on a four-fight win streak.
Barber will likely find herself in the top 10 of the flyweight division come the start of next week. While she still isn’t the complete package just yet, it’s hard not to view her as a contender.
Who should be next for this hot prospect, then? One opponent who could definitely make sense is Jennifer Maia.
The former title challenger outpointed another hot prospect in the form of Casey O’Neill last weekend. Realistically, though, it’s hard to imagine her as anything but a high-end gatekeeper at this point.
Therefore, the Brazilian would be the perfect foe for another talented young fighter looking to make a name for herself, particularly as she isn’t a particularly dangerous finisher.
Essentially, Barber has holes in her game that a veteran like Maia could exploit, but she’s also a superior athlete to the majority of fighters in her division, making her a difficult challenge for anyone.
If this fight were to be made, then the winner would definitely be vaulted into title contention, making it a very worthwhile bout.
#3. UFC bantamweight bout: Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira
One of the bigger winners on last night’s card was former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm. However, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ is also one of the hardest fighters to book going forward.
Holm remains a star in the eyes of the fans – she received one of the loudest cheers last night – but she’s also fought basically everyone else in the 135-pound division’s top 10.
More importantly, nobody really wants to see her fight Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title again, as ‘The Lioness’ dispatched her with a vicious head kick back in 2019.
Perhaps, then, the most logical bout for her to take next would be a rematch with Ketlen Vieira, who controversially outpointed her in a five-rounder last May.
‘Fenomeno’ was hoping for a title shot after that win, but instead suffered a loss to Raquel Pennington, and is now basically out of contention because of that. Given the controversy around her win over ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’, it essentially makes sense to run this one back.
Would it make for an entertaining clash? Based on their previous fight, probably not, but it would be a piece of logical booking for both women.
#2. UFC bantamweight bout: Marlon Vera vs. Petr Yan
Had Marlon Vera come out on top in last night’s headline bout, he may well have cemented himself as the top contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
After all, he remains the only man to hold a win over Sean O’Malley, who would probably be receiving the next shot at Aljamain Sterling were it not for the returning Henry Cejudo.
Unfortunately, of course, ‘Chito’ suffered a somewhat surprising loss at the hands of Cory Sandhagen, who was able to avoid his vaunted power strikes and outwork him in basically all areas.
The loss shouldn’t derail the native of Ecuador too badly, as Sandhagen was widely recognized as a tricky foe for him going into the bout. How can Vera now get back into title contention, though?
One clear and obvious path would see him face off with former titleholder Petr Yan.
‘No Mercy’ suffered a pretty comprehensive loss to Merab Dvalishvili a couple of weeks ago, but despite having three defeats in a row on his ledger, he remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the division.
A win over Yan would almost certainly elevate Vera back up to be recognized as a title threat, while a win for ‘No Mercy’ would finally arrest his slump and resurrect his own career.
Add in the fact that the style of these two fighters would make this an awesome clash, and this would definitely be a fight worth making for the UFC’s matchmakers.
#1. UFC bantamweight bout: Cory Sandhagen vs. Merab Dvalishvili
The biggest winner last night was undoubtedly Cory Sandhagen, as he outpointed Marlon Vera to claim victory in the headline bout.
‘The Sandman’ came into the clash as an underdog, but outworked Vera in basically all areas, once again cementing himself as a genuine UFC bantamweight title contender.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Sandhagen did something that the promotion’s matchmakers adore in his post-fight promo – he made a clear-cut and pretty entertaining call-out of his next opponent.
The name on Sandhagen’s lips, unsurprisingly, was the No.1-ranked Merab Dvalishvili, who moved into the top spot with a dominant win over Petr Yan earlier this month.
‘The Machine’ would normally be looking for a title fight in his own right, but as he’s already stated that he won’t fight his friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling, who holds the title, booking him could be seen as tricky.
Thankfully, Sandhagen appeared to do the matchmakers’ job for them last night by outright challenging the Georgian.
Given ‘The Sandman’ has losses on his record to Sterling and Yan, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to stop Dvalishvili, but stranger things have happened. Overall, then, this fight would definitely make a lot of sense, and it could easily headline a Fight Night event later this year.
