The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in Rotterdam, Netherlands for the second time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 115: Volkov vs. Struve. It was an entertaining night of action that saw eight of 12 of bouts end inside the distance, and with the scraps now in our rear view, let’s take a look at a few potential matchups featuring some of the competitors from the evening…
Leon Edwards vs. Alex Oliveira
Edwards earned a hard fought unanimous decision victory over Bryan Barberena and now enjoys a four-fight winning streak inside the Octagon. He was hurt and nearly finished by Barberena in the second stanza, but he showed great heart by surviving to see the third round, where he took over the fight again until the final bell. For his next UFC outing, I would like to see England’s “Rocky” take on the Brazilian Cowboy in Alex Oliveira. “Cowboy” is coming off an impressive, come-from-behind second round knockout of Ryan LaFlare and is unbeaten in his last five bouts. I think Edwards versus Oliveira would make for a fantastic potential matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division and it is one scrap I would very much be interested in tuning in for, regardless of the card it is booked on. I think January or February 2018 is when this fight should be targeted.
Darren Till vs. Omari Akhmedov
Till picked up a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Bojan Velickovic and remains unbeaten as a professional mixed martial artist. For his next Octagon outing, I would like to see the Brit take on Dagestan’s Akhmedov, who rides a two-fight winning streak and is coming off an upset split decision win over Abdul Razak Alhassan, handing the surging prospect the first official loss of his professional mixed martial arts career. I would be interested to see if he could do the same to Till, who believes he will remain unbeaten en route to wearing UFC gold around his waist. I think Akhmedov is a proper step up in competition for Till, and I think the pair would produce an entertaining bout. I would like to see this potential welterweight showdown booked for the main card of October’s UFC Fight Night in Brazil, where Till will have a home advantage, as he has trained in Brazil and has his daughter living there.
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Artem Lobov/Andre Fili Winner
Magomedsharipov impressed in his UFC debut, defeating fellow promotional newcomer Mike Santiago via second round rear naked choke submission. He delivered a very entertaining performance en route to picking up the victory, and along with taking home an extra $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for his efforts, he also gained countless fans. Following the victory, Magomedsharipov called out Artem Lobov, though Lobov is scheduled to fight Fili in Poland next month. I think it would make sense to pair Magomedsharipov with the winner of that bout, which will likely be Fili, rather than the man Magomedsharipov called out. Given both fighters are healthy, I would like to see either Magomedsharipov versus Lobov or Magomedsharipov versus Fili booked on a future fight card as soon as possible, as I think both fights would be very entertaining; especially the Fili bout. That one could be a potential ‘Fight of the Night’ winner.
