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It seems like every MMA fan has their idea of what constitutes as the right way to book fights in the UFC, and while Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby remain the promotion’s primary matchmakers, sometimes it’s pretty clear that Dana White – or the owners of the UFC, Endeavor – have more than just a hand in deciding who fights who.
We’ve already seen a major ‘superfight’ in 2019 – Henry Cejudo defended his UFC Flyweight title against UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw – and while no other champion vs. champion fights have been booked yet, fights like Velasquez vs. Ngannou and Lawler vs. Askren already have fans’ mouths watering.
Quite how the UFC sees 2019 mapping out is anyone’s guess, but here are 5 dream matches that we could potentially see later in the year.
#1 Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson
Could 2019 really see this long-awaited clash? It’s honestly tricky to tell but right now I’d lean towards it being more likely than not. The NSAC investigation into the behaviour of current UFC Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the aftermath of UFC 229 has now concluded, meaning he can return to action as soon as July, and Tony Ferguson is still waiting in the wings.
One issue could be the timing of the fight; devout Muslim Nurmagomedov plans to take a self-imposed hiatus to honour Ramadan, which takes place between May 5th and June 4th, and that would mean his return would likely happen sometime in the autumn. That means that Ferguson may well be required to fight again in the interim, possibly against a dangerous opponent like Dustin Poirier.
Even if that’s the case, though, nothing Ferguson has done suggests he’s going to lose to anyone not named Khabib right now – he’s run through 11 straight opponents, after all – and so that means we could finally get the fight, which has been scrapped on 4 previous occasions, at some point later on in 2019. And naturally, it’d be awesome, with Ferguson’s wild offensive array facing off against Khabib’s seemingly unstoppable takedown and ground control.
#2 TJ Dillashaw vs. Marlon Moraes
After his devastating loss to Henry Cejudo at 125lbs, all the talk right now - from the UFC’s point of view at least – seems to be about UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw rematching his most recent foe at 135lbs with his title on the line. But would that really be fair, and is it really the fight that most fans want?
I don’t think it is. That’s because Dillashaw has a red-hot contender already at 135lbs, and his name is Marlon Moraes. The former WSOF champion debuted with the UFC back in 2017 and suffered a disappointing loss to Raphael Assuncao, but since then he’s reeled off 4 impressive wins in a row.
Top contenders John Dodson, Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera and Assuncao in a rematch have all fallen at the hands of Moraes, and in violent fashion to boot. Right now nobody else – including Henry Cejudo – really has a claim to a Bantamweight title match more than ‘Magic’, and if the UFC has any sense of fairness, they’d make this fight as soon as possible. The striking exchanges alone would be incredible to watch.
#3 Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm
The stock of UFC Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight champion Amanda Nunes has never been higher than it is currently, thanks to her incredible knockout win over the seemingly unbeatable Cris Cyborg in December. Prior to the victory, Nunes had never truly been accepted as a star by the UFC fans, but that all feels different post-Cyborg.
The only issue? Both of the divisions that Nunes rules over are relatively thin on proven contenders, particularly 145lbs. That means Nunes is likely to fight next at 135lbs, and really there’s only one challenger that makes sense – Holly Holm.
Not only is Holm a big star in her own right after becoming the first woman to beat Ronda Rousey back in 2015, but she’s also an excellent technical striker, meaning a fight between her and Nunes would be hugely interesting from a stylistic point of view. Holm had been pegged to face prospect Aspen Ladd at UFC 235 but that fight has since been scrapped – meaning the UFC is hopefully going to make this one instead.
#4 Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
Sometimes certain fights just make sense, and right now a clash between Conor McGregor and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone stands out as one of those. Sure, the UFC could probably make more money by just booking McGregor into a title rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but given the one-sided nature of their first fight, it’d be a pretty big risk.
A fight with Cerrone, on the other hand, would be more like McGregor’s 2016 fight with Nate Diaz. The personalities of both men would be enough to draw the fans in and the pre-fight trash talk would be simply immense. And that’s not even considering how good the fight would actually be – neither man really puts on dull outings in the Octagon and there’d be genuine questions over how McGregor would deal with Cerrone’s dangerous offense from all quarters.
‘Cowboy’ looked back to his best in his January win over Alexander Hernandez, but realistically he’s still probably nearing the end of his storied career, and if anyone deserves a so-called ‘money fight’ it’s the guy who’s always been willing to fight anyone at any time. Everyone wants this fight – including the fighters, apparently – so hopefully the UFC goes ahead and makes it.
#5 Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya
Okay, so this one is obviously contingent on both men winning at this weekend’s UFC 234 pay-per-view, but if Robert Whittaker overcomes Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya takes out the legendary Anderson Silva, then there’s literally no reason why a match between the two Aussie-based fighters shouldn’t be the next UFC Middleweight title fight.
Whittaker has looked phenomenal ever since moving to 185lbs in 2014 – he hasn’t lost there yet and has defeated tremendous fighters like Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Souza and Derek Brunson, but he hasn’t fought a striker quite like Adesanya, who appears to be the closest thing the UFC currently has to a prime Anderson Silva (hence their fight this weekend).
Could ‘The Reaper’ fall victim to the slick counter-striking of ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the same way that he fell to Stephen Thompson’s karate-based attack back in 2014? Or has Whittaker simply grown as a fighter too much for anyone to beat right now? If these two win on Saturday the UFC should book this fight ASAP – and look to fill Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium with it too.
