While UFC on ESPN 3 was the weakest card that the promotion has put on their flagship ESPN programming thus far, the Minneapolis event produced excellent bout after excellent bout.
Headlined by a short and devastating heavyweight title eliminator, Francis Ngannou continued his scary run at the top of the division as ‘The Predator’ put away another former heavyweight champion in rapid time.
Taking just 71-seconds for a TKO win over Junior dos Santos, Ngannou has now put away three top contenders in the first round consecutively and looks to have put behind his back-to-back losses in 2018.
Meanwhile in the co-main event, Joseph Benavidez provided another reminder of his excellent skills as the veteran scored a TKO win of his own against fellow flyweight title contender Jussier Formiga.
UFC on ESPN 3 also saw some big wins for the likes of Eryk Anders and promotional debutants Amanda Ribas and Dalcha Lungiambula on the preliminary card while the main card saw some notable names keep their names from getting lost in the shuffle.
With UFC 239 now a week away, here are a quick five fights that the UFC should make with the big winners of this past weekends event:
Francis Ngannou vs. Cormier/Miocic Winner
Taking less than two and a half minutes to defeat Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos in consecutive fights, Francis Ngannou is simply undeniable as the next heavyweight title contender.
Who he would face for a second shot at the UFC heavyweight title is a little more unclear, however.
While there is the upcoming title fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic, Cormier’s fighting future beyond that UFC 241 main event looks short if not non-existent.
No matter the result though, Ngannou should be fighting for UFC gold in his next outing.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Henry Cejudo II
With the flyweight division in its current depleted state, there is only one way to turn for Joseph Benavidez.
Adding another second win over a top contender to his resume, Benavidez is now dubbing himself ‘Joey Two Times’ as he searches for a second win over 125 lbs champion Henry Cejudo.
With the ‘double champ’ nursing an injury, however, the wait for Cejudo will likely have to go on until 2020.
Vinc Pichel vs. Frank Camacho
Defeating the rising prospect Roosevelt Roberts in a great back-and-forth fight, Vinc Pichel has put together a modest yet impressive run in the UFC.
While Pichel has only fallen short against top 20 contenders like Gregor Gillespie and Rustam Khabilov, Pichel has carved out a strong gatekeeping role in a talented lightweight division.
Following Frank Camacho’s more patient approach in his last outing against Nick Hein in June, a fight against Pichel would test how far the exciting Camacho can go with his new fighting style.
Drew Dober vs. Gilbert Burns
Drew Dober took the fight to a solid brawler in Marco Polo Reyes and emerged victorious in just over a minute.
Dober has a really solid skill set that is good fun to watch as a fan but the 30-year old has struggled to put together a run of consistency in the UFC.
A fighter in a similar position like Gilbert Burns would make a lot of sense for Dober’s next fight and could see the winner catapult themselves into a fight with someone in the top 15 at lightweight.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Earning his ninth stoppage victory in as many pro fights against Paul Craig this past Saturday, Alonzo Menifield is a name to look out for in the light heavyweight division.
While the promotion could feed him to an ageing fighter in a bid to boost his name, a more cautious approach would be my recommendation.
With Magomed Ankalaev on a two-fight winning streak (that should be three but for a literal last second submission loss to Paul Craig), the Russian would provide some testing opposition for Menifield.