UFC on ESPN 25: Five Fights To Make
ReadMMA predicted excitement and Saturday night’s event duly delivered.
With half of the bouts finishing inside the scheduled distance as well as a fight of the year contender between Marlon Vera and Davey Grant, UFC on ESPN 25 was an enjoyable watch from start to finish.
Headlined by Chan Sung Jung’s return to winning ways, ‘The Korean Zombie’ would control the majority of his 25-minute contest with Dan Ige on the mat.
With the long time fan favourite back amongst the top contenders at 145 lbs, Jung could well be one more victory away from his second crack at UFC gold.
Elsewhere, Vera would make it 1-1 against Grant after a back-and-forth battle both on the feet and on the mat; Bruno Silva and Seung Woo Choi would display their punching power while veteran Matt Brown would kick off the main card with a one-punch KO over Dhiego Lima.
With yet another event set for this upcoming weekend, here are a quick five fights to make in the aftermath of UFC on ESPN 25:
Chan Sung Jung vs. Max Holloway
With Max Holloway injured and his bout with Yair Rodriguez postponed, the UFC has the chance to reassess and move things around at the top end of the featherweight division.
Following Giga Chikadze’s call-out of Rodriguez, the UFC can slide the Georgian fighter into the July main event slot and create two must-watch clashes.
While Holloway is sidelined until later in the year, Holloway and Chan Sung Jung’s calendar’s should align for a five-round clash towards the back end of 2021.
Serghei Spivac vs. Alexander Romanov
Defeating Aleksei Oleinik on the judges’ scorecards, Serghei Spivac will likely climb into the top 15 in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Due to the nature of Spivac’s performance, however, I’d be wary of facing him off against another fighter higher in the rankings than him.
Instead, a fight with Alexander Romanov would test his mettle and see whether he truly deserves to face off with the top 10 at heavyweight.
Marlon Vera vs. Assuncao / Phillips Winner
Vera rarely disappoints inside of the octagon and his performance on Saturday night was another post-fight bonus winner for the Ecuadorian.
While Vera would call out former champion Dominick Cruz, a fight with the winner of the upcoming Raphael Assuncao – Kyler Phillips would line up well for ‘Chito’.
Bruno Silva vs. Roman Dolidze
Scoring a first-round KO win on his UFC debut, Bruno Silva displayed the hard-hitting power he possesses by stopping fellow countryman Wellington Turman from inside his guard.
With wins over the likes of Alexander Shlemenko outside of the UFC, Silva clearly has a decent pedigree and another solid test would see whether he’s ready for some of the bigger names at 185 lbs.
Following Roman Dolidze’s recent win over Laureano Staropoli, a Silva – Dolidze bout would provide another stern test for the Brazilian.
Matt Brown vs. Nick Diaz
Matt Brown’s ‘Immortal’ nickname rung true yet again as the wily veteran produced another violent display for his 21st stoppage victory.
With the 40-year-old calling out Nick Diaz post-fight, there aren’t many more deserving fighters to square off with Diaz upon his return to competition.
Brown should get the chance to be in the spotlight one final time and a fight with Nick Diaz would do just that.
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