The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was live from Oklahoma City, OK for the third time in promotional history last Sunday (July 25, 2017) with UFC Fight Night 112: Chiesa vs. Lee. It was a solid night of scraps that saw five of 13 bouts end inside the distance, and with action now in our rear view, let’s take a look at some potential matchups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening…
Dominick Reyes vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Reyes impressed in his promotional debut by dismantling and knocking out Joachim Christensen in just less than half a minute into the opening round of action. It was a picture-perfect debut for the undefeated light heavyweight, who could potentially bring some new life into the razor-thin division. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see him take on TUF 2 finalist Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who is coming off a second-round submission loss to Ovince St. Preux just a couple of months ago. I think the Brazilian is a good test for Reyes his next time out, and this is a potential matchup I would be interested in seeing booked for a future fight card. I think it would be a solid addition to the preliminary card for September’s UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Clay Guida vs. Jon Tuck
Guida impressed in his return to action in the UFC’s lightweight division following a short stint at featherweight. Coming off a third-round TKO loss to Brian Ortega, Guida returned to the win column in impressive fashion this past weekend by surviving a rough opening round against Erik Koch, only to come back and dominate the next two rounds for a unanimous-decision victory. It was a classic Clay Guida performance and an impressive victory for “The Carpenter” back at 155 pounds. For his next outing, I would be interested in seeing him take on Guam’s Jon Tuck, who is coming off a first-round rear-naked choke submission win over Takanori Gomi. I think this potential lightweight contest would be a solid addition to the preliminary card for October’s UFC 216 in Las Vegas.
Tony Martin vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Martin defeated Johnny Case via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three back-and-forth rounds of entertaining action. The victory puts him on a three fight-winning streak inside the Octagon, and he hopes to make it four straight against ranked opposition his next time out. Enter: Francisco Trinaldo. “Masaranduba” is coming off a second-round rear-naked choke submission loss to Kevin Lee, which snapped an impressive seven-fight winning streak for the TUF: Brazil veteran. I think this rare “winner versus loser” matchup at 155 pounds makes sense for both fighters, and I would like to see it booked for a future fight card, preferably on the main card for October’s UFC Fight Night in Brazil.
