The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 Finale was live from Las Vegas this past Friday night with 11 scheduled bouts and produced a night of exciting fights, culminating in the crowning of the promotion’s inaugural women’s strawweight champion. With the tournament wrapped-up and the TUF 20 Finale fights in our rear view, let’s take a look at a few potential match-ups for some of the competitors of the evening… WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT EDITION Angela Hill vs Joanne Calderwood Hill and Calderwood were each successful in their UFC debuts at this past Friday night’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 finale. Picking up dominant unanimous decision victories, they both look forward to their next Octagon outings, where they will look to extend their undefeated winning streaks while going 2-0 with the promotion. Calderwood is the much more experienced fighter, so I assume she would be heavily favored at the sports books heading into this potential match-up, as she normally is in her fights. Hill looked impressive in her win over Emily Kagan and Calderwood is an opponent who would certainly be a step up in competition for her, and a serious threat in the striking game. That said, I would not count Hill out, as I think she could be competitive against Calderwood on the feet. I think this potential scrap would be a very entertaining stand-up battle and a real gift for fight fans, so I hope UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby throws it together on a future fight card. Emily Kagan vs Lisa Ellis Although the UFC’s strawweight division is in its infancy and is razor-thin, I don’t believe there is enough room for both of these ladies on the roster. I can’t say either of them are UFC-caliber, but this fight would give the winner the opportunity to stick around to continue improving and proving she belongs. Kagan dropped a unanimous decision against Angela Hill at this past Friday night’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 Finale, and Ellis was submitted via armbar in the second round of action by Felice Herrig. Angela Magana vs Alex Chambers Magana dropped a unanimous decision to Tecia Torres at this past Friday night and Chambers was submitted by veteran Aisling Daly by armbar with only seconds remaining in the very first round of action. This would be another fight in which I don’t believe there is enough room for both of these women on the UFC’s 115 pound roster. A win here would allow the winner to stick around and get better, while sending the loser packing. Rose Namajunas vs Kailin Curran Namajunas earned three submission wins inside the TUF house en route to the tournament’s finals where she took on former Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza and ultimately suffered a third round rear naked choke submission defeat. Curran recently suffered a third round defeat in her own debut with the promotion, being TKO’d by Paige VanZant in a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus-winning battle that saw her have her moments. While coming out on losing ends in their bouts, both of these ladies are excellent strawweights and will have a future in this newborn division. I think this would be a very fun fight and I can’t wait to see the grappling exchanges between these two. This potential match-up would certainly be an opportunity for Curran to notch her second straight ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. Felice Herrig vs Aisling Daly I think this would be an excellent match-up to make in this women’s 115 pound division. Both fighters are coming off armbar submission victories in their debuts inside the Octagon and I believe pitting them against each other for their outing not only makes a ton of sense, but would be a recipe for a great fight, regardless of how long it lasts. I could see it would a fun fight with quick exchanges that ends in the first round, or a battle that goes the distance for a judges’ decision. This would be a great potential match-up and I think out of all my matchmaking predictions in this article, this scrap is the one to most likely be put together. Neither of these ladies are at the top of the heap, but they are both talented and have name value. I think this fight is the right move to make and I would not be at all surprised to see this scrap on a future fight card, perhaps a quick turnaround on next month’s UFC Fight Night 59, which will be headlined by a five round featherweight bout between Daly’s friend and team-mate Conor McGregor and the veteran Denis Siver.
