The Ultimate Fighting Championship was in Sydney, Australia this past Saturday night for the fifth time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura. It was a solid night of scraps, despite seeing only three of 13 bouts end inside the distance; and with the night of action now in our rear view, so let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring a few of the less fortunate competitors from the evening…
Marcin Tybura vs. Junior Albini
Mybura came up very short in a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum and he will be looking to get back in the win column his next time out. An opponent I think makes sense for his next outing is Albini, who himself is coming off a loss against a veteran and former title holder in Andrei Arlovski. Both heavyweights are coming off unanimous decision defeats in the stiffest tests of their careers and will be in need of getting their hand raised. I think they should have the opportunity to do so against each other. I think Tybura versus Albini is a heavyweight pairing that makes sense and I would like to see it booked for the preliminary card to January’s UFC 220 in Boston.
Alex Volkanovski vs. Gray Maynard
Volkanovski earned a one-sided unanimous decision victory over short notice promotional newcomer Shane Young and he now enjoys a three-fight winning streak inside the Octagon. He has been asking to fight bad boys and bullies, so what better matchup than one against Gray “The Bully” Maynard? Maynard has found new life at 145 pounds and is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision win over Teruto Ishihara. This potential featherweight bout makes a lot of sense and would be a step up in competition for both fighters and an interesting test as well. It is a matchup I would very much be interested in seeing, and I think it would be a solid addition to the main card for January’s UFC Fight Night in North Carolina, which would mark Volkanovski’s first Octagon trip stateside.
Nik Lentz vs. Rashid Magomedov
Lentz scored a second round guillotine choke submission of former American Top Team training partner Will Brooks and now finds himself back in the win column at 155 pounds. He used his post-fight victory speech inside the Octagon to call out other American Top Team fighters, and one I think that makes sense is Magomedov, who is coming off a split decision victory over Bobby Green. Lentz is 0-1 against Dagestani’s with a loss to Islam Makhachev, though Makhachev is more of a grappler, wheres Magomedov is a striker first. I think this potential lightweight scrap would be a good addition to the preliminary card for January’s UFC Fight Night in St. Louis.
