UFC Fight Night 32 has concluded, leaving me wondering about what the future holds for some of the winners of the evening. Here are some fights I would like to see made by UFC matchmakers: Erick Silva failed the “Stun Gun” test, now I think we need to see if it’s a test Brandon Thatch can pass. Brandon Thatch vs Dong Hyun Kim is a match-up I would like to see in the welterweight division. After stopping Justin Edwards in his promotional debut, he moved a step up in competition and did the same to his opponent, Paulo Thiago. Now, I think he gets another step up, and that’s where “Stun Gun” enters the picture. The Korean may prefer a top 10 opponent, but I think this fight makes plenty of sense. After beating Silva, if he is able to stop the Brandon Thatch hype, he will immediately enter the title picture, and will be one, maybe two wins away from earning a title shot. If Thatch is able to get past Kim, he himself will be another win away from entering the title picture. Staying in the welterweight division, another match-up I would like to see made is Ryan LaFlare vs Adlan Amagov. Both fighters are coming off back-to-back dominant wins inside the Octagon, and it makes sense to pit them against each other. The winner will move up the ladder, earning himself an opponent in the top 15. Moving down to the lightweight division, I think two Brazilians who got their hands raised at UFC Fight Night 32 should be squared off against each other, in the form of Thiago Tavares vs Adriano Martins. After easily getting past Cruickshank, this fight will be a step up in competition for Martins. Moving further down to the featherweight division, Sam Sicilia was victorious against Godofredo Pepey, winning by TKO in the very first round of action. After that performance, a match-up I would like to see made is Sam Sicilia vs Andre Fili. Fili just had a successful promotional debut, and after this impressive performance by Sicilia, I think it makes sense to throw these two inside a cage together. Keeping things at 145, I would like to see a featherweight scrap in the form of Jeremy Stephens vs Dennis Bermudez. Stephens is now 2-0 in the division, with two very dominant performances against Estevan Payan and Ronny Jason. Bermudez himself is coming off a dominant victory against Steven Siler on last week’s Fight for the Troops 3 card. A win for either fighter here would put him in the running for a title shot. I think there is a fairly good chance that this match-up is made. In the middleweight division, an interesting match-up would be Cezar Ferreira vs Yoel Romero. “Mutante” just scored a split decision victory over Daniel Sarafian, and Romero stopped Rony Markes a few days prior. I figure the victories last week solidified both fighters in the middle of the division, and with another win, they will likely receive a top 15-20 opponent. I would personally prefer to see Ferreira go at it with Francis Carmont, but Carmont is on a big win streak and will likely be getting a top 10 opponent in his next outing. It did not seem like a very realistic match-up to make, but the fight against Romero could be a real possibility, and definitely one I wouldn’t miss.
