Matches to Make After UFC 316

How do you solve a problem like Merab?

Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili took a step towards all-time great status at bantamweight when he throttled Sean O'Malley in their rematch in Newark, New Jersey. The former beltholder had moments of success, but once Dvalishvili got his hands on him, it was a different fight entirely. Notching his second successful defense with a statement submission of “Suga,” it becomes the question of who can beat this man. While Dvalishvili typically needs all 25 minutes to get the job done, if he starts putting foes away like this, he could work his way towards stardom.

Earlier on in the billing, a new champion in Kayla Harrison wrested the bantamweight crown off of Julianna Pena with a fearsome kimura. Additionally, Joe Pyfer beat up but could not put away the uber-durable Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight tilt; Mario Bautista turned away the debuting Patrick “Patchy” Mix in a fun bantamweight duel; and welterweight Kevin Holland gave Vicente Luque a taste of his own medicine by landing Luque’s preferred submission on him.

In the aftermath of UFC 316 “Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2,” here are five matches that ought to be made:

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen:

Following Occam’s razor, the simplest—and this case, most obvious—match to be made is the one most likely to happen. Dvalishvili put O’Malley at the back of the line in bantamweight, and going down the rankings, the next highest competitor that has not come up short to Dvalishvili is Sandhagen. The organization flashed to Sandhagen’s face in the crowd during the official winner’s announcement, and then to further tip their hat, commentator Joe Rogan came out and said Sandhagen would be his “next likely challenge.” Unlike the ending of the co-main, “The Sandman” did not take to the center of the Octagon to stare down his next adversary. It will come together, but not likely as a pay-per-view main event. The UFC’s all-time takedown recordholder has not quite cleaned out his division, but a couple more victories and rematches will be all he has out there.

Related » UFC 316 Round-by-Round Scoring

Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes:

Welcome to the Harrison era…for now. With three victories in the promotion thus far over Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Julianna Pena, the Professional Fighters League veteran kicked in the door and took home the title. Now just the second Olympic gold medalist to also pick up a UFC belt—Henry Cejudo the first—she has a chance in just four fights to put herself on a pantheon of all-time greatness. The two former teammates put it together without a lick of involvement by the UFC, with Harrison calling in Nunes to the center of the cage to put it together. Immediately, it becomes one of the biggest fights in women’s mixed martial arts history, but is it enough to headline? Why not place it in the co-main event of the UFC New York City show in November that may or may not be headlined by Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall?

Joe Pyfer vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov:

Until he ran out of gas, Pyfer looked every bit of the phenom that UFC chief Dana White crowed about when signing him out of Dana White's Contender Series. Dropping the iron-chinned Kelvin Gastelum several times, Pyfer was in the driver’s seat but had to outlast a rally from the veteran. Had he starched Gastelum, “Bodybagz” would have almost certainly have earned someone maybe even on the low end of the Top 10. Instead, Pyfer, who has some name recognition with a fan-friendly style draped by an American flag, can slowly reach into the rankings and get Russia’s Magomedov. “Abus” showed he can hang with the big boys when he outpointed Michel Pereira in their headliner, and the UFC could even accidentally-on-purpose promote the USA vs. Russia angle on a fight card in Abu Dhabi.

Mario Bautista vs. Rob Font:

This is where most expected the name Mix would come up, and whether his one win against a Top-15 foe earned him a title shot like Michael Chandler starching Dan Hooker did. Instead, don’t look now, but the underheralded Bautista has won eight in a row in the talent-stuffed bantamweight division. Given the logjam ahead of him, he might have to approach champ Dvalishvili territory to get a crack at gold. This presents a logical progression for him in the form of Massachusetts-based striker Font. Font has shown as of late with wins over Jean Matsumoto and Kyler Phillips that he is still very worthy of being one of the best 10 combatants at 135 pounds. It would provide an intriguing stylistic clash given that Font primarily boxes while Bautista will kick until his leg falls off or the banana tree goes down.

Kevin Holland vs. Colby Covington:

Grooving in his corner during his announcement, it appeared that Holland knew something we didn’t. When he took on Luque, the Texan utilized pinpoint striking and every inch of his six-inch advantage in his arms to tee off on the Brazilian. A slick version of a club-and-sub for “Trailblazer” materialized, with a cheeky Holland even pulling off a brabo choke on the UFC’s all-time leader of that specific submission. Holland made the matchmakers’ job easy by having a name, and sticking to it: Covington. Given Covington’s struggles as of late while Holland—who historically is far more successful at 170 pounds—may be on the rise in the division, it would be not only an appropriate meeting point but a sure-fire grudge match given the two’s proclivity for trash talk. Lately, the promotion has been keen on granting the “have a name” request in a post-fight interview, so this is a layup. Have it headline a card in the south or slot it on the main card of a pay-per-view and let the sparks fly.