As is the case with the previous two UFC cards, a middling night of fights burst into life as the main event provided yet another shocking KO finish.
With Stephen Thompson looking calm and in control against the weight class jumping Anthony Pettis, it was the underdog who sent the cage side fans into pandemonium as a superman hook inflicted the first KO loss of Thompson’s MMA career.
Despite being in what could only be described as no-mans land in the lightweight division, Pettis’ jump to welterweight has put ‘Showtime’ back into the hunt for UFC gold as a whole new array of options are open to the former 155 lbs champion.
Elsewhere at UFC Fight Night 148, Curtis Blaydes bounced back in the heavyweight division with a truly dominant win over Justin Willis, Jussier Formiga furthered his cause for a flyweight title fight while Maycee ‘The Future’ Barber rallied back from some early adversity to defeat fellow prospect JJ Aldrich.
With another Fight Night in the books and just a week away from one of the most anticipated fights of the year – Justin Gaethje vs. Edson Barboza – here are five fights that the UFC matchmakers should be making with Saturday nights big winners:
Anthony Pettis vs. Jorge Masvidal
If for some reason you didn’t rate or love Anthony Pettis, you surely have to now.
With a murderers row of fighters already on his UFC resume, Pettis scored arguably the biggest win of his career based on the circumstances surrounding the fight.
With Thompson yet to lose a fight via stoppage and being markedly the bigger man in the Octagon, Pettis’ superman hook will undoubtedly be a KO of the year contender by the end of 2019.
As for where he goes now, it’s a tough one to call. Pettis did ask for Rafael dos Anjos or the winner of the upcoming Gaethje – Barboza bout in his post-fight interview while Conor McGregor offered his now customary call out following a UFC main event on social media.
While an RDA rematch may be the path the UFC goes down, it wasn’t a close fight the first time and the Brazilian is simply a stylistic nightmare for ‘Showtime’.
Instead, with Jorge Masvidal scoring a huge win recently and ‘Gamebred’ looking uninterested in a fight with Leon Edwards, why not match these two fighters who are riding a massive high?
Curtis Blaydes vs. Cain Velasquez
Dominant is the only word that can be used to described Curtis Blaydes’ win over Justin Willis as Blaydes outclassed Willis from the get-go.
With ‘Razor’ Blaydes calling out the trio of Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos or Derrick Lewis in his next outing, I think the UFC should go a different route.
With Miocic unlikely to entertain anything but a title fight, JDS vs. Ngannou a logical next step for both men and Lewis on the shelf with knee surgery, the UFC can offer Blaydes another big name.
After Cain Velasquez’s short return against Ngannou, the former champion has remained open to another bout and a fight with Blaydes would pit two similar fighters against one another.
Jussier Formiga vs. Joseph Benavidez II
Through smart game planning and technique on the mat, Jussier Formiga proved too much for Deiveson Figueiredo and handed his Brazilian compatriot his first professional loss.
Formiga has long been overdue a crack at the flyweight title but for all intents and purposes, the UFC seems adamant on closing down the division.
With flyweight champ Henry Cejudo set for a bantamweight title fight, Formiga vs. Joseph Benavidez is one of the only flyweight fights that is left to make.
Maycee Barber vs. Gillian Robertson
Adjusting after a tricky first-round against the technically savvy JJ Aldrich, Maycee Barber’s finishing instincts kicked in in the second round to stop her opponent on the feet.
Extending her record to 7-0, Barber is still on course for her own target of becoming the youngest UFC champion in history – a record held by Jon Jones at 23 years, 243 days.
Barber at 20 years old still has plenty of time to grow as a fighter however and the UFC doesn’t need to rush ‘The Future’. With Gillian Robertson sitting at 3-1 in her UFC tenure, a match-up between the two would provide another testing fight for Barber.
Randa Markos vs. Cynthia Calvillo
Scoring a slick armbar submission against Angela Hill, Randa Markos earned her fifth win under the UFC banner and her first inside the distance.
Cynthia Calvillo meanwhile also claimed her fifth UFC win back in February and a match-up between the two would make a lot of sense.
With Markos and Calvillo showing glimpses of great potential in their careers but just lacking that consistency, a fight between the two strawweight’s would test both talented grapplers.