Fights to make after UFC 316 and looking ahead to UFC Vancouver

For the first time this year, we come away from a UFC pay-per-view in a position where we can confidently forecast what will come next for the two competitors that departed Prudential Center with championship gold around their waists.

Following each of the previous five numbered events this year, there was some level of uncertainty when determining who would be the next to challenge the victorious fighters. Either the champion was pondering moving up in weight, there was no clear No. 1 contender in the division, or we had to wait and see how things shook out elsewhere to get a better understanding of the landscape in one or more divisions.

If one champion’s next steps were certain, the other’s was not, which kept things interesting. Ironically, the certainty coming out of UFC 316 does nothing to diminish the excitement around the future matchups. If anything, it raises the anticipation and puts a couple more fascinating bouts on the calendar with a big, red circle around them.

Let’s dive in.

DVALISHVILI DOMINATES, EYES SANDHAGEN

After wresting the bantamweight title away from Sean O’Malley with a decision win last September at UFC 306, Merab Dvalishvili elevated his performance in Saturday night’s main event, submitting the former champion midway through the third round to earn his second successful title defence of the year.

“The Machine” did “Machine” things over the first two rounds, pressing forward, pushing the pace, and getting the better of all the action, wrestling O’Malley to the canvas in both rounds while showing more development with his hands. It was more of the same to start the third, only this time, once he got O’Malley down, he attacked a choke, wrapping up O’Malley’s neck and securing the finish to advance his winning streak to 13 straight.

It was a standout effort in a massive moment, one that eliminated any questions about his superiority after O’Malley entered their first bout with a significant injury. The big question heading into this one was “How will the challenger’s improved health and lifestyle changes impact the outcome?”

Answer: not at all.

Dvalishvili was as dominant, if not more so, and is now fully entrenched at the top dog in the 135-pound ranks.

Following the win, the 34-year-old champion said he was eager to share the Octagon with Cory Sandhagen, the presumptive top contender who was stationed in the audience and mouthed “I’m next” in one of the moments when he was shown on camera. The top-five fixture is coming off an outstanding performance against Deiveson Figueiredo at the start of May, and is the kind of dynamic, well-rounded talent that could, in theory, present some interesting challenges to Dvalishvili later this year.

THE NEW QUEEN, THE OLD QUEEN, AND THE BIGGEST FIGHT POSSIBLE

Kayla Harrison claimed the women’s bantamweight title with a dominant second-round submission win over Julianna Pena in the co-main event, clamping onto a kimura in the waning seconds of the round to secure the tap.

It was one-way traffic from the outset, with the best blows Pena landed being the illegal upkicks that cost her a point in the first round. Harrison marched forward, closed the distance, and put Pena on the canvas with relative ease, and once she got to top position in the second, the two-time Olympic gold medalist went hunting for the finish, finding it late.

At the end of her post-fight interview, Harrison called Amanda Nunes into the Octagon, and “The Lioness” obliged, congratulating the new champion before telling Joe Rogan that she’s definitely ending her retirement, setting up a mammoth fight with Harrison.

The two have been on a collision course for some time, dating back to tensions rising when they both trained art American Top Team and Nunes took umbrage to Harrison talking about wanting to fight her. Nunes left the gym, setting up her own camp, retiring after her title defence against Irene Aldana in Vancouver at UFC 289, and Harrison eventually migrated to the Octagon, reaching the top of the division in three fights.

And now they’re going to fight.

This is the biggest fights possible on the women’s side of the roster, and one of the most intriguing matchups the promotion could put together right now. They have divergent strengths, big profiles, and a genuine rivalry, which means we should get an entertaining build to the eventual clash and, fingers crossed, a tremendous matchup between the two at some point later this year.

LET'S BOOK VANCOUVER, SHALL WE?

During Saturday’s broadcast, the UFC announced it would be returning to Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Oct. 18 for a Fight Night event.

With the majority of the Canadian contingent having competed fairly recently and a couple of UFC 316’s combatants profiling as potential dance partners for members of the “Maple Leaf Militia” (trademark: Mike Malott; the cheque’s in the mail), this feels like as good a time as any to construct a way-too-early fight card for the promotion’s return to the West Coast.

Main Event: Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudvicius

Blanchfield headlined in Edmonton last November, and after her bout with Maycee Barber was scrapped literally seconds before they were set to compete, the New Jersey native still needs a chance to make her case as the top contender in the flyweight division.

Jasudivicius, who is ranked two spots behind Blanchfield and riding a five-fight winning streak, is coming off a first-round submission win over Jessica Andrade at UFC 315, lobbied for the fight as soon as things went sideways between Blanchfield and Barber, and merits a main event assignment at this point.

Add in that the winner is, at worst, one more win away from a championship fight, and it feels too easy not to make.

Co-main: Geoff Neal vs. Mike Malott

This might be a stretch, but we’re fantasy booking, so why not shoot for the moon? Malott is coming off an outstanding knockout win over Charles Radtke and Neal is a top-15 fixture who will have been on the shelf for just under a year by the time this event rolls around. He was forced out of a bout with Carlos Prates at UFC 314, and his last win came via an injury stoppage, so his options might be a little limited.

This would be a high-profile pairing featuring another Canadian combatant, and the kind of bout that would be an outstanding table-setter for the theoretical main event above.

Gillian Robertson vs. Mackenzie Dern

Let’s get crazy. Robertson is coming off a terrific win over Marina Rodriguez and has won four straight, while Dern is a couple spots ahead of her in the strawweight ranks. Both could benefit from beating the other, there have been no indications of what’s happening at the top of the division as of right now, and October fits in terms of timelines for each women.

This could be an amazing grappling match and would carry massive ramifications in the 115-pound weight class going forward.

Mario Bautista vs. Aiemann Zahabi

Bautista probably merits a bigger opportunity after dominating Patchy Mix in the former Bellator champion’s promotional debut, and the same holds true for Zahabi, who rallied to beat Jose Aldo in Montreal. That said, this is a great matchup in a busy bantamweight division where there are few pairings that make sense beyond this for each man. Also, if these were the final four bouts in Vancouver for a Fight Night event, people would go bonkers, and rightfully so.

Additional Potential Matchups (in no particular order)

Kyle Prepolec vs. Jordan Vucenic
Kyle Nelson vs. Jack Jenkins
Gavin Tucker vs. Francis Marshall
Brad Katona vs. Nathan Fletcher
Serhiy Sidey vs. Brady Hiestand

Canadians Charles Jourdain and Jamey-Lyn Horth are both set to compete this weekend in Atlanta, so the outcome of their bouts would dictate potential Vancouver matchups, while Marc-Andre Barriault is booked to face Shara Magomedov in Abu Dhabi later this year, which means “Power Bar” is unlikely to be on the Vancouver card.