UFC on FOX 15 is now in our rear-view, and with the solid night of scraps and finishes now behind us, I’m going to take a look at a few potential match-ups featuring some of the competitors of the evening… Max Holloway vs Winner of Edgar/Faber Holloway made it six in a row (five finishes) with his third round submission win over Cub Swanson at last night’s UFC on FOX 15 and is one step closer to title contention. I think a match-up that makes sense for his next outing would be to take on the winner of next month’s Frankie Edgar vs Urijah Faber bout. Edgar is highly favored to win the contest, and should he walk away victorious, I think a fight between Edgar and Holloway and be a great one to book. It would be Holloway’s stiffest test since his fight against Conor McGregor, and with a win over Edgar, he will have truly earned a shot at the division’s gold, possibly in a rematch against McGregor. A win over Holloway, following a win over Faber would be four in a row for Edgar and would earn him a title shot, as well. If Faber manages to get past Edgar, I think Faber vs Holloway would also be an excellent match-up, and Faber would also make for a very stiff test for the Hawaiian. Tim Means vs Winner of Condit/Alves Means has now won four straight in his second stint with the UFC and has looked incredible at 170-pounds. I think he deserves a step or two up in competition, and that’s where I think it would be a good idea to throw him in against the winner of next month’s Carlos Condit vs Thiago Alves fight. I think either fight would prove to be entertaining and I would not miss either of them. Personally, I would favor a bout between Means and Condit, as I could see myself getting very, very excited for that one. Means and Alves would be very exciting as well. Either potential match-up would be a huge opportunity for Means and the biggest test of his professional mixed martial arts career. Lyoto Machida vs Loser or Weidman/Belfort Dana White won’t admit it yet, but Luke Rockhold is pretty much locked in to take on the winner of Chris Weidman vs Vitor Belfort. Weidman is heavily favored to win the title fight, and if that is the case, that would leave Machida to square up against Belfort for his next outing. That is a match-up I have personally wanted to see for a long-time, and it may finally come to fruition. If Belfort somehow manages to upset Weidman, then a rematch with Weidman is something Machida would be chomping at the bits to get, as a win over him would be the best way to return to the win column and right back into the title picture. Chris Camozzi vs Cezar Ferreira Camozzi just returned to the Octagon for his third stint with the promotion for a short notice rematch against Jacare Souza and suffered another first round submission at the hands of the Brazilian contender. The loss snapped Camozzi’s two-fight winning streak, which he had put together on a regional circile, but it makes him 0-5 in his last five Octagon appearances. I think a potential bout that makes sense for his next outing would be one pitting him against another Brazilian in The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil season one winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira. Ferreira is coming off a first round knockout loss against Sam Alvey and is looking to return to the win column. This potential scrap could go many ways; Ferreira could suffer another knockout, Camozzi could suffer another submission, it could be a crazy, three round war, etc. Regardless of the outcome, I think this is a match-up that will leave fight fans pleased. Ferreira is not the type of opponent who would take Camozzi down and hold him down, so I think Camozzi would love this match-up. I would like to see this fight on the preliminary card for August 1st’s UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Beneil Dariush vs Adriano Martins I think this would make for a very fun fight in the UFC’s lightweight division. Both men are currently riding career highs, with Darish having put together four in a row and two straight for Martins, including a big upset of Rustam Khabilov in his latest outing. Both of these 155-pounders are well-rounded, talented fighters, and they both possess excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so it would be entertaining to see their exchanges on the mat. I would give the advantage to Dariush, but I think it would still be a fun chess-match, should the potential scrap find it’s way to the canvas. I think this bout would be a solid fit for the main card of July’s UFC Fight Night 71 in San Diego.
