The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made it’s inaugral trip to the Netherlands with UFC Fight Night 87: Overeem vs Arlovski and produced a night of great action. Following the memorable night of scraps, let’s take a look at a few potential match-ups featuring some of the winning fighters from the evening… Alistair Overeem vs Winner of Werdum/Miocic This is not so much of a prediction, as it is all but guaranteed that Alistair Overeem will be next in line to challenge for the UFC Heavyweight title. This Saturday night in Brazil, Fabricio Werdum will defend the heavyweight crown against Ohio-based Croatian Stipe Miocic. Following his second round TKO of former champ Andrei Arlovski this past weekend, Overeem plans to challenge the winner of that Werdum vs Miocic at UFC 195 in New York City this November. Nikita Krylov vs Ilir Latifi I love this potential light heavyweight showdown. I think it is a scrap that makes a ton of sense and I would really like to see it booked for a future fight card. I think it would be a great fit for the main card to September’s UFC Fight Night in Germany, with both 205-pound fighters having solid European fan-base. Krylov scored a second round submission of Francimar Barroso this past Sunday, making it four in a row for himself inside the Octagon, with all four victories coming by way of finish. Latifi himself enjoys a three fight winning streak, with two of those wins coming via first round knockout. I think this is a light heavyweight scrap any fight can could get up for, and I don’t think anybody would expect it to go the full three round distance. Gunnar Nelson vs Dong Hyun Kim Nelson bounced back into the win column this past weekend with a second round rear naked choke submission of welterweight prospect Albert “Einstein” Tumenov, derailing the Russian’s hype train with the over-the-chin choke. Kim currently rides a two fight winning streak inside the Octagon and a match-up against fellow grappler Nelson is one I think makes sense for the Korean fighter, and vice-versa. Not only do I think Nelson vs Kim is a welterweight scrap that makes sense, but I think it could prove to be quite an entertaining affair. It is a fight I personally would not miss and would like to see it booked for a future fight card, preferably the aforementioned UFC Fight Night in Germany this September. Rustam Khabilov vs Reza Madadi Khabilov vs Madadi woud be a match-up between a pair of lightweights who were each successful in their own bouts this past Sunday in Rotterdam, with Khabilov taking a unanimous decision win over Chris Wade and Madadi scoring a third round knockout of Brazil’s Yan Cabral. Khabilov has a recent win over Norman Parke, who has a recent win over Meza Madadi, so I would expect Khabilov to be a betting favorite heading into this 155-pound contest, though MMA math does not always work, and I would expect “Mad Dog” to be a live dog. This is yet another bout I think would be a solid fit for the aforementioned UFC Fight Night in Germany this September, potentially serving as the preliminary card headliner.
