Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje was everything that fans expected and more on Saturday night at UFC on Fox 29.
After unrelenting phonebooth striking from both men for 15 minutes, Dustin Poirier’s volume of head strikes proved too much for Gaethje to handle despite ‘The Highlight’ calling Poirier on while staggering around the cage.
With Poirier claiming the victory in the early ‘Fight of the Year’ contender, ‘The Diamond’ is now on a four-fight unbeaten run in the UFC and eager for a title shot against new champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Elsewhere at the Glendale, Arizona event, there were big wins for a number of fighters on the 14-fight deep card. On the FightPass portion of the event, Alejandro Perez continued his under-the-radar climb up the bantamweight division with a stoppage victory over Matthew Lopez; Lauren Mueller defeated Shana Dobson in a fun women’s flyweight bout while Adam Wieczorek scored only the second omoplata submission in UFC history against Arjan Bhullar.
The preliminary card saw all four fights result in big wins for their victors as Brad Tavares, Muslim Salikhov and Antonio Carlos Junior all recorded stoppage victories while John Moraga edged out Wilson Reis in an excellent back-and-forth technical battle.
With UFC on Fox 29 now in the books and another brilliant lightweight main event on the horizon, here are five fights that the UFC matchmakers should be pencilling in:
Dustin Poirier vs Eddie Alvarez
As brilliantly pointed out in a Reddit post, both Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez have been pretty much a mirror match of one another in the lightweight division.
With their UFC 211 bout against one another ending in controversy, a decisive end to their rivalry would make sense next.
As Tony Ferguson is injured and Conor McGregor is more concerned with defending Artem Lobov’s, a Poirier – Alvarez rematch would crown a number one contender to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Alex Oliviera vs Tarec Saffiedine
On two weeks notice, Alex Oliviera stopped Carlos Condit with a nasty guillotine choke.
The Brazilian is now 3-1 in his last four fights and deserves a step-up in competition once again.
With Tarec Saffiedine having been missing from action since dropping his third fight in a row in July of last year, Oliviera would provide a stern test with the opportunities for both men to win.
Israel Adesanya vs Jack Marshman
While it mightn’t have been as impressive as his UFC debut, Israel Adesanya still showcased his excellent striking ability en route to a split-decision over Marvin Vettori.
The UFC should continue to bring Adesanya along with a slow build through the rankings and be diligent enough to avoid any talented wrestlers too soon.
With Welshman Jack Marshman a four-fight UFC veteran, a return to middleweight should be expected after a failed recent weight cut to 170 lbs and Adesanya would be a fun return fight.
Michelle Waterson vs Grasso/Suarez Winner
Against a physically imposing Cortney Casey, Michelle Waterson’s pot-shotting striking style and active ground game ensured that the ‘Karate Hottie’ snapped a two-fight losing streak.
With Alexa Grasso and Tatiana Suarez set to square off next month, the winner should face Waterson as the women’s strawweight division looks for new title contenders.
Antonio Carlos Junior vs Derek Brunson
Antonio Carlos Junior submitted Tim Boetsch to extend his win streak to five in the middleweight division and the Brazilian fighter, nicknamed ‘Shoeface’, should receive a ranked opponent in his next outing.
While a lot of the current top 15 are currently scheduled for competition, Derek Brunson’s calendar is free to face the challenge of Antonio Carlos Junior.