(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 235’s losing fighters?)
After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.
With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 235’s key winning fighters.
That includes UFC champs Jon Jones (24-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) and Kamaru Usman (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who each earned lopsided unanimous decision victories over their respective opponents on the pay-per-view main card, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In addition to the title-fight winners, the event produced notable triumphs from Ben Askren (19-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Weili Zhang (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), Pedro Munhoz (18-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), Zabit Magomedsharipov (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Johnny Walker (17-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC).
Johnny Walker
Should fight: Loser of Volkan Oezdemir vs. Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN+ 5
Why they should fight: The quick rise of Walker in the UFC light heavyweight division took another huge step forward when he obliterated Misha Cirkunov just 36 seconds into what was his second UFC appearance in a 28-day stretch.
After sparking Justin Ledet in 15 seconds in early February, Walker fought Cirkunov on short notice and got the job done in lightning quick fashion once more courtesy of a flying knee and punches. He briefly injured himself during his celebration, but reports indicate no serious damage was done.
Walker is now a contender in the 205-pound weight class and in line for a noteworthy matchup. Whoever wins the UFC on ESPN+ 5 pairing between Oezdemir (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Reyes (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on March 16 in London would be a standout candidate for Walker and, on paper, his most formidable test to date.
Zabit Magomedsharipov
Should fight: Renato Moicano
Why they should fight: Magomedsharipov was tasked with a difficult assignment in Jeremy Stephens for his fifth UFC appearance but got the job done without all that much resistance to push his winning streak to 13 fights.
The featherweight super prospect is touted as having championship potential, and he shows more and moe of that with each performance. Beating Stephens by unanimous decision puts him in position to be a true contender, and only marquee fights are ahead for him.
Moicano (13-2-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has the size, length, striking and grappling abilities to potentially cause some real issues for Magomedsharipov. If he got the win, though, it would be hard to argue Magomedsharipov is not title-ready.
Pedro Munhoz
Should fight: Aljamain Sterling
Why they should fight: Brazilian bantamweight Munhoz netted the biggest win of his career when he scored a crushing first-round knockout of former UFC champ Cody Garbrandt in the “Fight of the Night.”
Munhoz went toe-to-toe with Garbrandt in a wild fight before ending the fight with a series of heavy shots to break through as a serious contender in the 135-pound weight class. A victory of that nature would ordinarily be enough to elevate someone into a title shot, but unfortunately the top of Munhoz’s weight class is a bit of a mess.
With champ T.J. Dillashaw likely to rematch Henry Cejudo for his title, and Marlon Moraes in line after that, Munhoz will almost certainly require another fight before the belt. Fortunately for him, there’s a perfectly logical pairing with Sterling (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who is coming off a strong decision victory over Jimmie Rivera at UFC on ESPN 1 in February.
Weili Zhang
Should fight: Claudia Gadelha
Why they should fight: Zhang’s remarkable winning streak continued when she beat perennial contender Tecia Torres in her most significant performance to date to extend her unbeaten run to 19 fights.
Zhang outpointed Torres over three rounds for a unanimous decision victory, and is now likely to be the first Chinese fighter in history to be ranked in the top 10 of a UFC weight class. The 29-year-old has the potential to be a title contender – and possibly even champion – in the strawweight division and with the support of a massive nation behind her, she could help break new ground for the promotion.
There aren’t many more steps between Zhang and the top of the 115-pound weight class. She should continue to make a natural progression toward the top, and a matchup with former title challenger Gadelha (16-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) would be a fitting next step for Zhang.
Ben Askren
Should fight: Robbie Lawler
Why they should fight: The long-awaited debut of former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Askren ended in controversy when he awarded a submission victory over Robbie Lawler, who claims to have never gone unconscious.
Referee Herb Dean made a judgement call based on Lawler’s (28-13 MMA, 13-7 UFC) arm seemingly going limb, and that put another win on Askren’s undefeated record. Prior to finish, Lawler had Askren in serious danger and on the cusp of being stopped by strikes in what was certainly a fascinating affair.
Lawler and UFC President Dana White both said they’d like to book an immediate rematch of the fight. Askren said he wasn’t interested, and has turned his attention to the winner of the UFC on ESPN+ 5 headliner between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal on March 16. So now it will come down to what he wants vs. what the UFC wants.
There’s no truly wrong choice, but now that there’s a storyline, a definitive ending to the Lawler situation would be preferable.
Kamaru Usman
Should fight: Colby Covington
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Usman should fight Covington (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in his first title defense after defeating Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision.
Jon Jones
Should fight: Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Jones should fight Santos (21-6 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in his second title defense after defeating Anthony Smith by unanimous decision.
For complete coverage of UFC 235, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
