The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Sao Paulo, Brazil for UFC Fight Night 100 and produced a night of exciting action. Now that we have the scraps in our rear-view mirror, let’s take a look at some potential matchups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening… Thomas Almeida vs. Johnny Eduardo Almeida defeated the previously undefeated Albert Morales via second-round TKO to return to the win column following the first official loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, which came earlier this year at the hands of current UFC bantamweight title challenger Cody Garbrandt. Earlier in the night on the same card, Eduardo defeated TUF 5 finalist and veteran Manny Gamburyan, scoring a second-round TKO after Gamburyan injured his knee while running into Eduardo’s jab. Gamburyan covered up, accepted the TKO defeat and then retired from the sport following the contest. The victory puts Eduardo back in the win column following a second-round guillotine-choke submission loss to Aljamain Sterling about a year ago. I think this potential striker versus striker matchup between the two Brazilians would be a good addition to the main card for February 2017’s UFC 208 in Anaheim, CA. Thales Leites vs. Magnus Cedenblad Leites came up short in a unanimous decision loss to Krzysztof Jotko on the evening’s main card. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see the long-time veteran take on Sweden’s Cedenblad, who saw his impressive four-fight winning streak snapped by promotional newcomer Jack Marshman earlier in the day on the other side of the world in Northern Ireland at UFC Fight Night 99. I think Leites against Cedenblad makes for an intriguing matchup, and I would like to see it booked for the UFC’s trip to London in March of 2017. It would be a solid fit on either the main card or as the featured bout for the FOX Sports 1 preliminary card. Kamaru Usman vs. Gunnar Nelson Usman dominated and defeated Warrley Alves via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to improve to four wins in a row inside the Octagon and eight straight total, discluding unsanctioned matchups he won on TUF 21 en route to winning the tournament. He asked for Demian Maia, who was Octagon-side, following his victory over Alves. However, Maia has not even entertained that matchup, so it appears that it won’t turn into reality. While he may not get the test he wanted against that elite grappler, I would like to see him tested against the next best grappler in the division, who I believe is Gunnar Nelson. Nelson was supposed to be competing earlier in the day in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the main event for UFC Fight Night 99, but he had to withdraw due to injury. When he is good to go, I would like to see a matchup between him and Usman booked. I think it would be a great fit for the main card at UFC 210 in Las Vegas next March. Cezar Ferreira vs. Winner of Camozzi/Kelly “Mutante” made it three wins in a row for himself inside the Octagon with a second-round arm-triangle submission victory over Jack Hermansson. For his next Octagon outing, I would be interested in seeing Ferreira take on the winner of this weekend’s Chris Camozzi versus Daniel Kelly matchup. I think either matchup would be an excellent addition to the preliminary card to UFC 208 fight card in Anaheim, CA in February of 2017.
