And there’s only one place to start: what to do at the top of the featherweight division.
Alexander Volkanovsky:
Many people believed that Diego Lopes would get a rematch against the champion Alexander Volkanovski, which was undeserved and too soon after the original match.
Ultimately it turned out they were right as the fight ended the same way as the first, with Volkanovski getting an even clearer unanimous decision the second time around.
After the official announcement that came out today, there is only one fight that makes sense: the winner of Lerone Murphy/ Mosvar Evloev vs. Alexander Volkanovski.
Both fighters are currently undefeated, and I believe whoever wins this fight and keeps his 0 will be the clear number one contender.
Arman Tsarukyan and Jean Silva have also been mentioned as potential opponents for Volkanovski in interviews with the champion.
Volkanovski said during the 325 media day about Silva earning the title shot: “Has he earned a title shot yet? I don’t think so.”
As for Tsarukyan, he hasn’t fought in the UFC at 145 and shouldn’t be in the title fight in a division he’s not even in.
Diego Lopes:
After losing two title shots to Volkanovski, Lopes finds himself in a difficult position as it is highly unlikely that he will get a title shot anytime soon.
So I think he has two options: fight his way up or move up to the 155 division.
Personally, I would try to convince him to move up to the 155 division as he is a popular fighter with much more exciting matchups rather than relying on Volkanovski to be dethroned and get a shot at another title at 145.
Let’s explore both possibilities.
If he were to move up, I believe the best fight they could have, to get introduced to the division, is against Michael Chandler.
This is because Chandler is also a fan favorite with a similar fighting style, who is currently unbooked and has just been told he will not get the Connor McGregor fight.
Having been a company man, I believe he will be rewarded with a big fight, and with Lopes’ popularity it seems like a no-brainer to introduce him to the division and get him up the lightweight rankings.
If he stays in the featherweight rankings, he will essentially become a gatekeeper at the top of the division, much like Holloway was during Volkanovski’s first reign as champion.
If Lopes chooses to stay in the division, I think he should fight Jair Rodriguez.
This fight would once again be a Fight Night headliner due to their ranking position (#2 vs. #3) and their previous altercations at the UFC 314 press conference, which gave this fight a lot of hype and made it easy to market.
Benoit Sint-Denis
Benoit St Denis is now on a four-fight winning streak and is deservedly one of the top 5 in the lightweight division.
With Oliveira and Holloway booked for the BMF and Topuria announcing he will return to defend against interim champion Justin Gaethje, there is only one fight that makes sense for BSD via Instagram: Arman Tsarukyan.
Despite being the clear number one contender and Gaethje holding the interim title, it will still be a while before Tsarukyan gets his long-awaited title shot and has stated that he wants to stay active, through Ariel Helwani, so this fight makes perfect sense for both of them.
Then Hooker
Dan Hooker is riding a two-fight skid and I don’t believe the fights will get any easier for him.
Despite the recent back and forth with Paddy Pimblett, I wouldn’t take the fight (more on Paddy later).
I believe they should give him an emerging competitor like Manuel Torres to build Torres and make further progress in capturing the Mexican market that Dana White has coveted for years.
Torres, like Hooker, has a fan-friendly style so it would be an entertaining fight on paper and makes sesne rankings sensible as after losing to BSD you can imagine Hooker will be ranked between 7th and 10th and Torres is 13th after a two fight win streak so he will likely fight up the rankings.
Mauricio Ruffy:
Ruffy got back in the win column with a second-round TKO against Rafael Fiziev and looked the best we’ve seen him in the octagon after training with Alexander Volkanovski at the Freestyle Fighting Gym.
However, there are still questions as to whether he has the defensive fight to handle the top end of the 155 lbs division.
I have the perfect opponent: Paddy Pimblett.
These two are arguably the most popular fighters in the lightweight division outside of the top 5, so with Pimblett needing a bounce back, why not put them together?
Pimblett will be a good stylistic test to see if Ruffy can handle a good grappler, or if Pimblett uses a more wrestling game plan compared to the Gaethje fight.
For Pimblett it will be a good test to see if his stand-up defending has improved, as Ruffy’s has an unorthodox style and sniper-like attacks.
Additionally, both fighters have fought in the past two events, so they should be ready at the same time.
Rafael Fiziev:
Now 1-4 in his last five, Fiziev will fight to maintain his ranking in his next fight.
I believe he should fight #15 Fares Ziam, who is on a six-fight win streak and deserves a fight against a battle-tested lightweight who has fought many of the top divisions such as Fiziev.
Fiziev needs to prove once again that he belongs in the top 15 of the division and I think this is the perfect fight for that and the perfect fight for Ziam to showcase his capabilities at the top of the lightweight division.
Tallison Teixera:
After that slugfest with Tuivasa, I think Teixera needs a few more fights before he gets a chance in the top 10 of the division.
I’d give him Shamil Gaziev, who was TKO’d by Waldo-Acosta in the first round in his last fight.
Both have KO power and like to switch levels and use this wrestling, so I think it would be an interesting fight style-wise.
Additionally, both have had issues with their cardio in the past, so it’s a good test to see if that has improved for either fighter.
Ocean Tides:
Tuivasa is now on a six-fight streak, the highest active losing streak, and should fight someone unranked next.
On the fight night between Josh Emmett and Kevin Vallejos in March, Vitor Petrino will take on Steven Aplund.
I believe the winner of that fight deserves the step up to face Tuivasa and get a chance to get ranked to try and get some new contenders in a rather shallow division.
Quillan Salkilld:
Salkilld defeated Jamie Mullarkey by neck crank in the first round and is currently on a four-fight win streak in the UFC, if you don’t count the Contender Series.
With all four wins ending in a finish and three of them in the first round, I believe Salkilld deserve a huge leap forward in the competition and the perfect match has just presented itself.
Brain Ortega just pulled out of his fight with Renato Moicano at UFC 326 and after taking little damage, I believe Salkilld has put his name in the hat to get that fight and jump up the rankings.
Jamie Mullarkey:
Mullarkey has lost three of his last four and has been handed over to the next up-and-coming lightweight during his UFC stint to test them.
I think the UFC should continue this trend and pit him against Tom Nolan, who is on a four-fight win streak.
This would be a good way to gauge Nolan’s level as Mullarkey has also fought Ruffy, Salkilld and Ziam, with many who pass the Mullarkey test ending up in and around the rankings.
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