The Ultimate Fighting Championship was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for the second time in promotional history with UFC on FOX 26: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos. It was a solid night of fights that saw six of 11 scraps 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…
Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Lawler lost by unanimous decision to Rafael dos Anjos this past Saturday night, while Ponzinibbio earned a unanimous decision over Mike Perry. Despite it being a winner versus loser matchup, I think Lawler versus Ponzinibbio is a matchup that makes great sense as the next move for both 170 pound fighters. It would be a definite ‘Fight of the Night’ contender, regardless of the card it is booked on. They would both need some time off, so I think an early June booking would work well for this pairing.
Mike Perry vs. Alex Oliveira
Oh man, what a matchup this would be! Phenomenal, I’d bet! Both welterweights are coming off recent losses, with Perry coming up short in a unanimous decision to the aforementioned Santiago Ponzinibbio and Oliveira suffering a third round TKO to Yancy Medeiros. Both fighters won the first round of their bouts before ultimately losing. I think they are amongst the most entertaining fighters at 170 pounds and I would very much be interested in seeing them pitted against each other inside the Octagon, especially at this particular point in their careers. I think this matchup would be a perfect fit for the main card to March’s UFC 222 in Las Vegas.
Julian Marquez vs. Vitor Miranda
The is the matchup that was originally scheduled to take place for Marquez’s promotional debut, until Miranda was forced to pull out due to injury and replaced by England’s Darren Stewart. Marquez defeated Stewart via second round front choke submission following an entertaining, back and forth brawl and earned both fighters $50,000 for ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I think it would make sense to rebook this matchup. Marquez wants to find in England, and although neither fighters are English, I say go ahead, put this fight in England next March as a little preliminary card treat for the British fans.
