The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was in Albany, NY for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 102: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov. After the solid night of fights saw 50 percent of them end inside the distance, let’s take a look at some potential matchups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening… Marc Diakiese vs. Lando Vannata Diakiese earned a hard fought unanimous-decision win over Frankie Perez on the preliminary card for UFC Fight Night 102 and now enjoys a two-fight winning streak inside the Octagon. For his next outing, I would like to see the undefeated Brit take on Vannata, who competed a day after him at UFC 206 and scored a first-round spinning heel-kick knockout of veteran John Makdessi. I think Diakiese versus Vannata would make for a phenomenal matchup at 155 pounds, pitting arguably two of the best up-and-comers in the division against each other. I think this potential lightweight contest would make for an excellent fit as the featured preliminary card bout at February’s UFC 208 in Brooklyn. Brian Camozzi vs. Matt Brown Camozzi suffered a second-round TKO against Randy Brown in his UFC debut and will be in dire need of victory his next time out, where I would like to see him take on the veteran Matt Brown, who suffered a third-round knockout against Donald Cerrone at UFC 206. This would be a “New School vs. Old School” matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division that pits two 170-pounders against each other who are coming off T/KO defeats one day apart. This potential welterweight scrap would be a solid addition to any fight card in August or September of 2017. Gerald Meerschaert vs. Ryan Janes Meerschaert was impressive in his promotional debut, scoring a first-round anaconda-choke submission over Joe Gigliotti and putting the rest of the UFC’s middleweight division on notice. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see the Roufusport product take on Janes, who was victorious in his own promotional debut earlier in the evening, defeating Keith Berish via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. I think this potential 185-pound pairing makes sense for both fighters, and I would not mind seeing it booked for a future fight card. I think it would be a solid fit to the preliminary card for February’s UFC Fight Night 105 in Janes’ backyard of Nova Scotia. Randy Brown vs. Emil Weber Meek Brown defeated the aforementioned Camozzi via second-round TKO to make it two wins in a row for himself inside the Octagon, and in his effort to make it three straight, I would like to see him take on Emil Weber Meek, who was victorious in his UFC debut the following evening at UFC 206 in earning a unanimous decision over Jordan Mein. I think this would be a fun scrap in the UFC’s welterweight division and would be a solid addition to any fight card.
