The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in Sacramento, CA this past Saturday night with UFC on FOX 22: VanZant vs Waterson. It was an entertaining night of action, despite of the fact that only four of 13 scheduled bouts ended inside the distance. Now that the scraps are in our rear-view, so let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring a few of the victorious competitors from the evening… Michelle Waterson vs Rose Namajunas I think this would be a phenomenal match-up in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division between the two fighters who own a main event victory over Paige VanZant inside the Octagon. Following Waterson’s first round submission of VanZant, Namajunas was quick to call out Waterson for a fight. “Thug Rose” is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Tecia Torres, who also called out Waterson following her win. I think “The Karate Hottie” versus “Thug Rose” would be a great scrap and I would like seeing the promotion book it for a future fight card. Alan Jouban vs Gunnar Nelson Jouban impressed this past weekend with a unanimous decision victory over Mike Perry and now enjoys a three fight winning streak inside the Octagon. His only real loss in the UFC has come at the hands of Albert Tumenov, who was submitted by Gunnar Nelson. Some MMA math there, but putting that aside, I think Jouban versus Nelson would be an excellent match-up to make in the UFC’s welterweight division and I would enjoy seeing it booked for a future fight card. I think it would be an excellent addition to the main card for February’s UFC 208 in Brooklyn. Leslie Smith vs Ashlee Evans-Smith Smith bounced back into the win column this past weekend with a unanimous decision victory over promotional newcomer Irene Aldana, and for her next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see her take on Ashlee Evans-Smith, who currently rides a two-fight winning streak inside the Octagon. I think this would be a solid match-up to make in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division and believe it would be a solid addition to the preliminary card for any upcoming fight card. Eddie Wineland vs Rani Yahya II This potential bantamweight contest would be a rematch of a bout that took place in the Zuffa-owned WEC promotion, where Yahya defeated Wineland via rear naked choke submission at just over a minute into the very first round of action. Now seven and a half years later, they are both different fighters, and at this point in their careers, I think this would be a good match-up to make in the UFC’s bantamweight division. I am a fan of both 135-pounders and this is a rematch I would personally sign up to see.
