UFC Fight Night 38 provided us with an entertaining Sunday evening, as there were many exciting fights and finishes, not to mention a ridiculous nine out of 11 underdogs winning. Now, with the fights behind us, let’s look ahead at some potential match-ups. Here’s what I’ve got in mind for some of the winners of the evening… Rony Jason vs Felipe Arantes – Jason was victorious this past Sunday at UFC Fight Night 38, scoring a knockout over Steven Siler in the very first round of action. It was an early stoppage, as Siler was properly defending himself and throwing upkicks, but nonetheless, the Brazilian put himself back in the win column, and a match-up against fellow Brazilian Felipe Arantes makes sense to me for his next outing. Arantes recently outpointed Maximo Blanco en route to a unanimous decision victory, and an opportunity to beat a TUF: Brazil winner is one he would not pass up on. I think this would be a fun featherweight scrap that I see taking place mostly on the feet. I could see it headlining the FOX Sports 1 preliminary portion of a Pay Per View event, or even as part of a UFC Fight Night main card. Godofredo Pepey vs Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira – Pepey saved his job with a very impressive flying-knee knockout over Noad Lahat at UFC Fight Night 38 this past Sunday. Everybody was counting him out, but the Brazilian delivered with the single best performance of his Octagon career. Back in the W column, he now looks to make it two in a row, and that is where “Do Bronx” comes into the picture. Oliveira also saved himself from the axe, submitting the Brit Andy Ogle at UFC Fight Night 36 in London a few weeks ago. I think this would be an excellent Brazilian vs Brazilian match-up, and while I would give the edge to Oliveira in every aspect of the game, Pepey proved Sunday night that he is not one to be counted out. While I think Oliveira would be a 3-to-1 favorite, I would not be surprised to see Pepey knock him out. What I would be looking forward to in this potential match-up are the grappling exchanges between these two talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. This would be a terrific fight in Brazil, so I could see it taking up a main card slot, especially considering both featherweights are very popular amongst Brazilian fans. Fabio Maldonado vs Hans Stringer – This is a match-up that pairs two light heavyweights who were each victorious in their bouts this past Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 38. After losing the first round, Maldonado came back in the second and third, outstriking Gian Villante en route to a unanimous decision victory. Now riding a three fight winning streak, which followed a three fight losing streak, Maldonado will be looking to make it four in a row, and giving him another young gun prospect in Stringer makes sense to me. The Dutchman took a controversial split decision over Francimar Barroso, and a fight with Maldonado seems like a proper next step for him. The Brazilian would be playing the role of a gatekeeper in this bout, and if Stringer is successful in defeating him, then he would earn a fight against someone in the top 15-20. If Maldonado is able to defeat Stringer and make it four wins in a row, he will likely be rewarded with a big fight on a big card. The promotion loves him, and the fans certainly love him, so that’s how I see it playing out. Maldonado vs Stringer is a fight I could see being featurued in a future Fight Night in Brazil, and as far as betting odds go, I figure they would be at a near coin-clip. Michel Prazeres vs Ernest Chavez – This would be a grappler vs grappler match-up pitting two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists against each other. With his only career loss coming in the welterweight division, 18-1 Prazeres is now 2-0 in the UFC’s lightweight division, after notching a unanimous decision over Mairbek Taisumov this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 38. Prazeres outgrappled the Chechnyan for three rounds of action, and ended up cashing as a 3-to-1 underdog. Another 3-to-1 underdog that came through recently was Chavez, as he took a split decision against Yosdenis Cedeno at UFC 170 only a month ago. Undefeated as a professional fighter at 7-0 with one win inside the Octagon, I think a pairing with a fellow grappler in Prazeres will fair well for his next outing. Rather than seeing these two take on yet another striker, I would prefer to see what happens when they’re faced with another talented grappler. There is a chance that their grappling will cancel each other out, and we will be in for stand up battle that could either be very exciting or very uneventful, but if the fight does hit the mat, I think we will be in some for fun grappling exchanges between these lightweights. Jussier Formiga vs John Moraga – Okay, I’ll admit it; my favorite part about this potential match-up is the fact that saying “Moraga vs Formiga” is awesome and rolls right off the tongue. That aside, I do think it would make a fantastic flyweight match-up. With both fighters coming off wins, they will each be looking to make it two in a row, and in a very thin division, I think this is a fight that makes plenty of sense. Formiga just saved his job this past Sunday at UFC Fight Night 38 with a first round rear naked choke submission victory over Scott Jorgensen, while Moraga took a controversial split decision over Dustin Ortiz at UFC Fight Night 35 a couple of months ago. This is a fight I can see the UFC putting together, and will not be surprised to see on a future fight card. C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway vs Francis “Limitless” Carmont – This middleweight pairing is a rare winner vs loser match-up that makes sense. With Dollaway coming off a win and Carmont coming off a loss, Carmont is still ahead of him in the rankings. “The Doberman” himself was just coming off a loss and taking on a fighter on a winning streak when he faced Cezar Ferreira at UFC Fight Night 36 on Sunday night in the co-main event. “Mutante” pressured Dollaway early and had him against the cage, but “The Doberman” defended the strikes well, and countered with a three punch combination that sent the Brazilian to the canvas, where the American followed with a barrage of ruthless punchess that shut Ferreira down and forced the referee to step in and call off the action. Some consider Dollaway to now be riding an unofficial four fight winning streak, because they think he was robbed in the TIm Boetsch fight, which he lost via split decision. “The Doberman” did look quite impressive in his upset over Ferreira, and now looks to take a step up in the middleweight division, and with most ranked middleweights already booked for fights, I think a scrap with Carmont makes sense, and could possibly end up being a rare Francis Carmont fight that isn’t a snoozefest. That was not the case, however, in his last outing against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC Fight Night 36 last month, losing a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. While he lost the fight, his performance was still impressive, as most fans and media expected him to be finished, but not only did he hold his own, he ended up winning a round on two of three scorecards. I think this is a middleweight match-up that works, and I will not be at all surprised to see it on a future fight card. As far as betting odds are concerned, I would expect Carmont to be a 2-to-1 favorite in this spot, but could certainly see him getting upset, as I think “The Doberman” could possibly give much more trouble than Tom Lawlor did during Carmont vs Lawlor, which resulted in a controversial split decision win for Carmont.
