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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event is in the books, and while it wasn’t all that hyped going in, it was a decent watch overall.
UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon saw a number of fighters pick up big wins, so who should they face off with next?
The event didn’t feature too many big name stars, but the promotion’s matchmakers should definitely be able to produce some cool bouts in the future with them.
Here are five fights to make following UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon.
#5. UFC featherweight bout: Fernando Padilla vs. Julian Erosa
The most controversial bout on last night’s card saw featherweight newcomer Fernando Padilla score a first-round TKO over veteran Julian Erosa.
Padilla looked excellent, dropping Erosa with some powerful punches in the early going, but ‘Juicy J’ was able to get back to his feet. However, when Padilla knocked him down again, despite Erosa bouncing up for a second time, referee Chris Tognoni stepped in.
The stoppage was immediately met with scorn online from a number of UFC fighters, with the general consensus being that Tognoni had stepped in far too early.
With that considered, the promotion could do much worse than to simply run the fight back. It was shaping up to be an entertaining clash before the stoppage, and realistically, we don’t know enough about Padilla after this brief piece of action to make a judgment on him.
Given Erosa’s status as a well-respected veteran, he should be given the opportunity to right the wrong he suffered last night in an immediate rematch.
#4. UFC welterweight bout: Trey Waters vs. Jeremiah Wells
One of last night’s big winners was welterweight newcomer Trey Waters. Despite taking his fight with Josh Quinlan on just a week's notice, ’The Truth' picked the hot prospect apart en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision.
Standing at 6’5” and holding an impressive record of 8-1, it’s arguable that Waters should now be considered a strong prospect in his own right. After all, his only loss came to the unbeaten Gabriel Bonfim on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
It’s too early to throw Waters in with a ranked opponent at 170 pounds, but one intriguing foe for him could be Jeremiah Wells.
Wells took his own UFC record to 4-0 last weekend with a win over Matthew Semelsberger, but it didn’t come easy, and it’d be interesting to see how he’d handle the long range of Waters.
Essentially, the winner of this kind of fight could definitely find himself knocking on the door of a top 15 spot, making it a worthwhile fight to book later in 2023.
#3. UFC heavyweight bout: Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Marcin Tybura
While he didn’t score the big-time knockout he’d have been craving, Marcos Rogerio de Lima still came up big last night, easing past Waldo Cortes-Acosta over three rounds thanks largely to his heavy leg kicks.
‘Pezao’ now sits at an impressive 6-3 since his move to the heavyweight division in 2018. While he doesn’t quite look like a title contender, at the age of 37, it’s probably worth putting him in with a top 15 fighter to see how he gets on.
Fights with Derrick Lewis or Alexander Volkov would probably be fun because of the probability of them creating a big knockout, but a more realistic foe could be Marcin Tybura.
A fight with the Polish native could be a good test for de Lima’s ground game, which has let him down in the past.
More to the point, Tybura’s last win came over Blagoy Ivanov, who is responsible for de Lima’s last defeat, meaning the bout could make sense from that perspective too.
This would be a risky fight for ‘Pezao’, but it’d be one well worth pursuing too.
#2. UFC middleweight bout: Caio Borralho vs. Andre Muniz
One fighter who won big last night was definitely Caio Borralho. The Brazilian middleweight prospect picked up his first finish in the octagon by submitting Michal Oleksiejczuk, and now stands at an impressive 14-1 overall.
Based on his win last night, it’s clear that ‘The Natural’ is ready for a shot at a ranked fighter at 185 pounds. However, his options are a little limited right now.
Every fighter from No. 10 to No. 15 is currently booked, with two exceptions: Kelvin Gastelum, who is moving down to 170 pounds, and Andre Muniz.
Essentially, then, Muniz is the only opponent who could work for Borralho right now. ‘Sergipano’, like Borralho, is a grappler by trade. Prior to his upset loss to Brendan Allen earlier this year, he was largely considered the dark horse of the middleweight division.
If ‘The Natural’ could find a way past him, then, he would not only steal his spot in the rankings, but he could also take that mantle for himself, too.
With that in mind, this would be a great fight to make, particularly from the perspective of grappling fans.
#1. UFC bantamweight bout: Song Yadong vs. Pedro Munhoz
Coming into his headline bout with Ricky Simon last night, Song Yadong had his back against the wall to an extent. Given he’d lost his previous bout against Cory Sandhagen quite badly, ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ needed to beat Simon to remain in any kind of contention for the UFC bantamweight title.
Thankfully for the Chinese fighter, he not only won, but he did it in style, picking Simon apart before dispatching him in the fifth round via TKO.
So who should be next for Song? There are a ton of options for him at bantamweight, but unfortunately, most of the fighters ranked above him seem to be tied up right now.
One man who could make sense as an opponent could be Pedro Munhoz.
‘The Young Punisher’ turned back the challenge of a hot prospect in Chris Gutierrez earlier this month, stunning him with an early knockown before picking him apart over three rounds.
Munhoz is ranked one spot below Song right now at #9, but he’s still a valued name in the bantamweight division, and a win over him would mean more than a victory over one of the division’s other prospects.
Add in the fact that this would be an excellent striking match for the fans to watch, and it’s a no-brainer for the promotion to book it in the near future.
