The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in Las Vegas, NV this past Saturday night (July 8, 2017) with UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker. It was an exciting night of scraps that saw five of 11 bouts end inside the distance. and with the action now in our rear view, let’s take a look at some potential matchups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening…
Alistair Overeem vs. Alexei Olinyk
Both of these heavyweights were successful in their bouts at UFC 213, with Overeem edging Fabricio Werdum via majority decision on the judges’ scorecards in a rubber match, and Oliynyk defeating Travis Browne by second-round rear-naked choke submission in impressive, come-from-behind fashion. Overeem was hoping to earn a second title shot with this victory, but UFC president Dana White confirmed that he will not be getting it. I think a potential matchup against fellow veteran Oliynyk makes sense and would be a good fit for the main card to November’s UFC 217 in New York City.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis
Werdum came up short on the judges’ scorecards against Overeem and will be looking to bounce back into the win column his next time out. I think an opponent that makes sense for his next outing inside the Octagon is Lewis, who said he was retiring following a fourth-round TKO loss to Mark Hunt but has since changed his tune. I think this potential heavyweight showdown would be the perfect main event for October’s UFC Fight Night in Brazil, where Werdum would figure to have the home advantage.
Rob Font vs. Matthew Lopez
Font defeated Douglas Silva de Andrade via second-round guillotine-choke submission to earn his second consecutive victory inside the Octagon. For his next bout, I would like to see him take on the man ranked right below him in Matthew Lopez, who is coming off a first-round TKO of Johnny Eduardo and also enjoys a two-fight winning streak. I think this potential bantamweight contest should be the featured bout on the televised prelims for October’s UFC 216 in Las Vegas.
