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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event is in the books, and while it wasn’t the deepest card in terms of name value, it was largely entertaining.
The big question now, of course, is what comes next for some of the top fighters from UFC Fight Night: Andre Muniz vs. Brendan Allen. Some of the fighters who came out on top have already called out their next foes, while others have clear and obvious bouts ahead of them.
With that in mind, here are five fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Andre Muniz vs. Brendan Allen.
#5. UFC light heavyweight bout: Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
Perhaps the most obvious bout to book coming out of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night event is the headliner that never was.
Initially, this weekend’s card was supposed to feature a main event of Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann. But when ‘The Miner’ fell ill with a stomach virus, the bout was scrapped, leaving both men in limbo of sorts.
Thankfully, though, it looks like Krylov’s illness will clear up quickly, and that means that he can be booked again very quickly.
The most logical route would simply be to keep this fight as is, and it looks like the matchmakers have done just that.
Reports have already been released that Krylov vs. Spann has been re-booked for the Fight Night event on March 11, which will be headlined by Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.
At the end of the day, the fight made perfect sense from a rankings perspective and sounded like it could guarantee fireworks. Therefore, the best path is simply to keep the fighters together and book it again, and it appears that the promotion fully agrees.
#4. UFC welterweight bout: Mike Malott vs. Alex Morono
One of the bigger winners at last night’s event was Canadian welterweight Mike Malott. After taking nearly a year off following his win over Mickey Gall in early 2022, he returned and easily submitted Yohan Lainesse to kick off the main card.
Malott is an interesting prospect in that he seems to have all of the skills to reach the top, and he’s also a consummate finisher too, with none of his nine wins going the distance.
Unfortunately, he’s also 31 years old already, meaning that unless his schedule picks up the pace soon, he could be out of his athletic prime before he’s got the chance to climb into contention.
Essentially, ‘Proper’ isn’t quite ready for a run at the elite, but equally, the UFC can’t waste time with him either. With that in mind, a good fight for him could be Alex Morono. Like Malott, ‘The Great White’ is an exciting fighter who rarely goes the distance. He’s somewhat underrated too, holding wins over the likes of Donald Cerrone and Max Griffin.
However, Morono tends to lose to the better opponents he faces, even if he pushes them to the limit – as he did with Santiago Ponzinibbio in December.
If Malott could overcome him, then he’d definitely be worth pushing towards the elite level. If not, it’d make for an exciting fight to watch anyway. Therefore, it’d stand as a piece of smart matchmaking to put them together.
#3. UFC lightweight bout: Trevor Peek vs. Jordan Leavitt
Last night’s event saw two lightweight prospects pick up wins in the octagon in somewhat similar fashion. Jordan Leavitt picked up the second TKO win of his career with a crisp stoppage of Victor Martinez, while Trevor Peek finished Erick Gonzalez in wild fashion.
Both men were hugely impressive, albeit for different reasons. Leavitt was never known for his striking prior to last night, but he dispatched Martinez in expert fashion.
Peek, meanwhile, threw everything he had at Gonzalez, and while his technique was lacking, his power and aggression definitely weren’t.
Based on the fact that they share a division and the timeline would make sense, the UFC could definitely look to book them against one another in the near future.
The fight would probably be exciting, and it’d be a chance for both men to show improvements. For Peek, it’d be a chance to prove that his wrestling is better than his clash with Gonzalez suggested. For Leavitt, it’d be an opportunity to either test his striking again – or to simply look to pick up back-to-back wins.
Sure, there might be plenty of other fights available for both men, but given the nature of their wins last night, this might be a logical step.
#2. UFC middleweight bout: Brendan Allen vs. Sean Strickland
Middleweight Brendan Allen picked up the biggest win of his UFC career last night in a late-notice headliner. He managed to not only defeat high-level grappler Andre Muniz, but found a way to submit the Brazilian in the third round, shocking most observers.
‘All In’ also gave the promotion’s matchmakers a dilemma of sorts in his post-fight promo, as he called out multiple fighters for his next bout.
There are undoubtedly a number of options for the matchmakers when it comes to Allen, so which way should they turn?
Given that his win over Muniz should elevate him into the top 15 at middleweight, perhaps the most logical step would be a rematch with Sean Strickland.
Strickland was one of the fighters called out by Allen last night, and it’s clear that ‘All In’ would be hopeful of avenging his 2020 TKO loss at the hands of ‘Tarzan’.
Given that Strickland is ranked at No.7 right now, it might be seen as a step down for him to fight Allen. Then again, he isn’t in title contention right now and ought to defend his ranking.
More to the point, Allen has clearly improved since his loss to ‘Tarzan’ and is now on a four-fight win streak. Given that both men have now headlined Fight Night events, the promotion could easily main event a smaller card with this clash later in 2023.
#1. UFC strawweight bout: Tatiana Suarez vs. Rose Namajunas
Following her big win over Montana De La Rosa last night in her first trip to the octagon since 2019, it would’ve been easy for fans to assume that Tatiana Suarez would look to move into title contention at 125 pounds.
After all, the flyweight division has been seen as a thin one for years now, and more to the point, the TUF 21 winner has the kind of fighting style that could threaten champ Valentina Shevchenko.
Instead, though, Suarez seemed to confirm after last night’s event that her future lies at 115 pounds, as it did prior to the litany of injuries that landed her on the shelf.
If that’s the case, then the UFC ought to look to move her directly into contention there, too. Not only is Suarez one of the best female grapplers in the promotion, but she is also battle tested, and holds a win over former strawweight champ Carla Esparza.
With that considered, why not match her with another former titleholder in Rose Namajunas, with the winner of the bout heading directly for a title bout with current champ Weili Zhang?
Sure, there’d be an argument that it would be rushing Suarez, but to be fair, she didn’t appear to have lost anything last night following her time away.
More to the point, it’d be a genuinely fascinating style clash, and whether ‘Thug Rose’ and her explosive striking or Suarez and her powerful wrestling would win the day would be up for debate.
Overall, this fight could easily co-headline a pay-per-view or headline a Fight Night card, and would pique the interest of all UFC fans.
