Matchmaking Predictions for UFC on FOX 22’s Losing Fighters

paige-vanzantThe Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in Sacramento, CA this past Saturday night with UFC on FOX 22: VanZant vs Waterson. It was an entertaining night of action, despite of the fact that only four of 13 scheduled bouts ended inside the distance. Now that the scraps are in our rear-view, so let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring a few of the unsuccesful competitors from the evening… Paige VanZant vs Joanne Calderwood VanZant suffered a first round submission loss to Michelle Waterson in the main event of the evening for UFX on FOX 22 this past weekend and is now 0-2 in main event bouts. Back to the drawing board, I think a good next match-up for her would be one against Scottland’s Joanne Calderwood, who is coming off a first round guillotine choke submission loss to Jessica Andrade. I think VanZant versus Calderwood would be a solid match-up at 115-pounds and I think it would make for an excellent addition to the UFC’s London card coming in March of 2017. Mike Perry vs Bryan Barberena Perry is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Alan Jouban and Barberena is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Colby Covington, and both losses came on the same night this past Saturday night. I think a pairing of these welterweights makes sense as a next move for both of them. I think Perry versus Barberena makes for an entertaining potential match-up and one that would likely contend for the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, regardless of the card it was placed on. I think it would be a solid fit for the UFC’s next trip to Detroit, which is already scheduled for 2017. Luis Henrique da Silva vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima This would be a pairing of two Brazilian’s who suffered submission defeats in their most recent Octagon outings, with da Silva being submitted by Scottish promotional newcomer Paul Craig and de Lima being submitted by Gadzimurad Antigulov. I think this match-up makes sense for both 205-pounders and I would like to see it booked for March’s UFC Fight Night in Brazil, which will be headlined by a middleweight tilt between Kelvin Gastelum and Vitor Belfort. Irene Aldana vs Cat Zingano Aldana came up short in her promotional debut this past weekend, dropping a unanimous decision to Leslie Smith following three entertaining rounds of action that earned them the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. Zingano last saw action at UFC 200 back in July, where she came up short in a unanimous decision against Julianna Pena. I think Aldana versus Zingano would make for a very fun fight in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division and I would love to see it booked for a future fight card. I think it would really make for a solid addition to any card.

Written by Gabe Killian

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