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So, we don’t know when and who is Tyron Woodley going to fight next for his fourth title defence. Ideally it should be Rafael Dos Anjos the number two ranked fighter in the division. However, the division promises some exciting non-title bouts. These non-title bouts are most exciting with new guys fighting the old and established names of the division.
It is this constant wave of new talent which the veterans of the sport have to keep testing themselves with. The young fighters in the UFC are a lot more professional than say the fighters who fought five years back, especially when it comes to cardio, strength and conditioning.
But the new guns need a big name on their resume for them to eventually justify their shot at the title. It is these interesting match-ups between the new and the old talent which makes the 170-pound division arguably the most talent rich division in the UFC. Lets take a look at some of the top match-ups including the top 10 guys.
#4 Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thomson vs Darren Till
Stephen Thomson, the No.1 contender, has already fought Woodley twice, so he is not getting another shot at the title anytime soon. Although he beat Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision in his last fight, he should have at least one more win to stay in the race for the belt in 2018.
At the same time anyone who beats Wonderboy would find himself in a position to call out the champion. And the one fighter who has been itching to fight Thomson for some time now is Darren 'the Gorilla' Till.
The 24-year-old fighter from Liverpool is undefeated so far in his career with 16 wins from 17 fights, 12 of those wins came via stoppage. The British fans too have been rooting for this fight after Till's TKO victory over the then No.6 ranked welterweight Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. After Dan Hardy, Till is the most prominent British athlete to compete for the Welterweight title.
#3 Colby Covington vs Santiago Ponzinibbio
Colby Covington has been calling out Woodley for a long time now and is currently ranked No.3 in the division. But his most famous victory is over Demian Maia, who at that time was coming off a loss to the champion. A win over Ponzinibbio would make Colby look up to date with the current talent standings of the division.
Ponzinibbio is on a six-fight winning streak and has impressive wins over Mike Perry and Gunnar Nelson. Both these guys in the division ideally need one more win over another top 10 fighter to be firmly placed as the next contender for the belt, so why not just fight each other and shut any questions regarding their right for a title shot.
Covington is a major star in making, who has been making quite the name for himself with his pro wrestling appearances. The promising Welterweight has claimed he will be ready for the WWE in a year but before that happens, he has his eyes firmly set on Woodley's strap.
#2 Robbie Lawler vs Neil Magny
Both Neil Magny and Robbie Lawler have lost to Rafael Dos Anjos who is next in line to fight for the title. Neil Magny is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former No.1 contender Carlos Condit and is currently ranked eighth in the division. Although he has lost two of his last fights he has wins over some other big names such as Kelvin Gastelum and Hector Lombard.
#1 Demian Maia vs Kamaru Usman
The No.5 ranked Demian Maia has lost both of his last two fights. The submission artist from Brazil is obviously under a lot of pressure now to justify his position in the top 10. At the same time, the No.10 ranked Nigerian American fighter Kamaru Usman is yet to fight someone from the top 10 of the division.
Both these guys kind of need each other right now. It’s not just a good match up stylistically, but also the only match possible for these two guys. I seriously doubt anyone else in the top 10 would want to fight them either. Kamaru Usman is on a seven-fight win streak and with one win over a top 10 guy would cement his position as a top five fighter in this division.
