UFC 330 delivered a blockbuster night in Philadelphia — but the fight business never stands still.
As the champions reflect on their defences and the fighters regroup from defeat, questions still remain.
Here is a breakdown of the next logical moves for the roster, offering our picks for who Islam Makhachev, Mackenzie Dern and the rest of the card’s key fighters should share the cage with next.
In the headliner of UFC 330, Islam Makhachev notched his first UFC welterweight title defence when he defeated Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision. With the win, Makhachev broke the UFC’s all-time win streak record by recording his 17th straight victory.
But it doesn’t get any easier for Makhachev from here. For his next fight, he will likely take on Brazilian knockout artist Carlos Prates, who has won three straight fights via highlight-reel knockout and who is 7-1 overall in the UFC with seven knockouts. Although Michael Morales is also a good choice, the fans want to see Makhachev fight Prates, so expect the UFC to book it.
Machado Garry lost to Makhachev in the main event of UFC 330 in what was a failed bid to become the new UFC welterweight champion. To make matters worse, UFC president Dana White was highly critical of Machado Garry after the fight, suggesting that he was being too friendly with Makhachev and did not show enough killer instinct in the fight.
Either way, Machado Garry is one of the best welterweights in the world, and he will continue to get big matchups going forward. For his next fight, look for the UFC to match up Machado Garry against another top-five welterweight, with former champ Jack Della Maddalena a strong option.
In the co-main event of UFC 330, Mackenzie Dern defeated Canadian Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision to retain the UFC women’s strawweight title in her first title defence.
For her second title defence, look for Dern to fight former champion Weili Zhang in what will likely be a much tougher test for Dern after she mostly cruised by Robertson at UFC 330.
Speaking of Robertson, the loss to Dern is certainly a setback. But, at age 31, she still has time left to get back into the win column and make another run back for 115-pound gold.
For her next fight, a good matchup for Robertson would be against fellow grappler Virna Jandiroba, who also lost in a title fight at women’s strawweight to Dern last fall.
Veteran lightweight striker Jalin Turner needed just 39 seconds to go out there and finish Kaue Fernandes with a blistering first-round knockout that put him back on the map at 155 pounds.
When he’s on, Turner is one of the most exciting and dangerous strikers at lightweight. The same can be said of Rafael Fiziev, who should be Turner’s next opponent inside the Octagon.
One of the big stock-droppers at UFC 330 was middleweight prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik, who lost as a massive favourite against Pennsylvania native Dustin Stoltzfus via second-round tap-out.
This was a bad loss for Abdul-Malik, who has now suffered two straight stoppage losses. Still, at age 28, he has the potential to bounce back. For his next fight, let him take on Zach Reese.
Lightweight Esteban Ribovics ended the career of UFC veteran Edson Barboza when he stopped the Brazilian in the second round with strikes, sending Barboza into retirement.
Ribovics is a fun fighter to watch when he stands and trades, so the UFC should match him up with another striker in his next fight. Drew Dober is available, and that fight would be amazing.
Veteran UFC flyweight fighter Charles Johnson pulled a rabbit out of his hat against UFC newcomer Eduardo Chapolin, as he came back from being down two rounds to finish Chapolin in the third round with the rarely seen Scottish Twister in what was an incredible finish.
For his next fight, the UFC should rebook Johnson against Jose Ochoa in the original matchup that was supposed to happen at UFC 330 before Ochoa withdrew due to an injury.
Surging UFC middleweight prospect Donte Johnson picked up a brutal first-round KO win over Eric McConico to improve to 3-0 in the UFC since making his promotional debut last winter.
Because he’s just 27, the UFC won’t rush Johnson into the rankings. For his next fight, I’d like to see him fight Gilbert Urbina in what would be an exciting fight between two strikers.
We can’t talk about UFC 330 without bringing up Philadelphia native Jeremiah Wells, who brought the hometown crowd to its feet with his third-round submission win over Myktybek Orolbai in a fight that he was on his way to losing before pulling off the Hail Mary win.
For his next fight, Wells said that he wants a top-15-ranked opponent, and the one who is available and who makes sense for him is No. 15-ranked Daniel Rodriguez. Both Wells and Rodriguez are 39 years old, and this would be a great fight between two older fighters.