UFC 316: Post-Fight Matchmaking

Merab Dvalishvili

Merab handed O'Malley his first submission loss in Saturday night's main event. He now holds wins over the top three ranked fighters in his division, and Cory Sandhagen is next in line. The No. 4 ranked bantamweight was on the verge of a title shot before losing to former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov. Since then, Cory has returned to the win column and reinserted himself into title contention.

Sean O’Malley

O'Malley finds himself in a strange position after Saturday night’s loss. He’s still the No. 1 contender, but with two losses to the current champ, he'll need something big and impressive to earn another shot. A matchup with Umar Nurmagomedov—who is also coming off a loss to the bantamweight champion—would be exciting. If not, the winner of Yan vs. McGhee would make for a great matchup: either a rematch fans have been wanting or a fight against a fresh contender.

Kayla Harrison

Harrison controlled the fight from start to finish and submitted Peña with just five seconds left in the second round. There’s only one matchup to make for Harrison, and that’s her longtime training partner turned rival, Amanda Nunes. Nunes is widely considered the women’s GOAT, and this fight has years of history behind it. Nunes was already in talks to face the winner—this could be the biggest women’s fight in MMA history.

Julianna Peña

Two-time champ Peña lost to Kayla on Saturday night. Ketlen Vieira had called out the loser of this fight, and that matchup now makes the most sense. While Nunes returns, Peña vs. Vieira keeps both women active and in the title mix.

Joe Pyfer

Joe Pyfer took Kelvin Gastelum to a decision in this bout. I’d like to see Joe get another shot at the rankings against the loser of Costa vs. Kopylov—a good introduction to the top 15.

Kelvin Gastelum

Gastelum lost Saturday night and finds himself in a tricky spot. Sedrique Dumas would be a solid next opponent—an exciting fight for both men.

Mario Bautista

Mario had a dominant performance Saturday night against a tough opponent in Patchy Mix. Rebooking the Marlon Vera fight is a smart move. Mario is on a solid run, and this would still be a step up the rankings.

Patchy Mix

Patchy Mix had an unfortunate UFC debut against high-level competition. Ideally the next step would be giving him someone on the lower end of the top 15. Possibly the loser of Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira.

Kevin Holland

Holland submitted Luque in the second round with an impressive showing. He called out Colby Covington in his post-fight interview, and I think that’s a great matchup—one that could jump him up the rankings.

Vicente Luque

Luque was submitted by Holland in their bout. A fight with the loser of Nelson vs. Magny would be an exciting and interesting next step.