UFC 186 has come and gone, having left us with what I believe has been the most entertaining UFC fight card thus far in 2015. After the event concluded, I was left thinking about some potential match-ups featuring some of the competitors from the evening in Montreal… Kyoji Horiguchi vs Ian McCall Horiguchu suffered his first UFC defeat in the main event of last night’s UFC 186 in Montreal, where he tapped to an armbar with just one second remaining in the fifth and final round of action. He took too big a step up in competition too quickly, and for his next outing, I think a match-up with McCall makes sense because “Uncle Creepy” represents a fair test for the Japanese flyweight. McCall would be the best opponent he has faced, next to the champion. It would be interesting to see how that loss affects him; whether it mentally broke him, or made him tougher and very dangerous for his next opponent, in this case McCall. “Uncle Creepy” is coming off a unanimous decision loss to John Lineker and there would be no better way for him to return to the win column than to take out the most recent challenger to the division’s throne. Patrick Cote vs Sergio Moraes I think this would be a great fight, one that surprises a lot of people. Cote returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over fellow veteran Joe Riggs in the headliner of last night’s UFC 186 prelims, and Moraes recently took a unanimous decision himself over promotional newcomer Mickael Lebout. Moraes has improved striking and Cote has improved grappling; I would like to see them mix it all up inside of the Octagon against each other. This potential bout could play out multiple ways but regardless of the outcome, I think it will be one very entertaining scrap. I think it would be a solid fit to headline the preliminary card for August’s UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, which will be headlined by a Women’s Bantamweight title bout between Brazilian challenger Bethe “Pitbull” Correia and reigning, defending Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. John Makdessi vs Paul Felder This is a fight I saw someone suggest on Twitter and I love it! I would love to see these flyweight strikers go to war against each other inside the Octagon. Makdessi returned from an extended injury layoff and took out short notice promotional newcomer Shane Campbell via TKO in the first round of action, after Campbell was getting the better of him in the early going of the stanza. Felder is 2-0 in the UFC, last defeating veteran Danny Castillo via spinning backfist knockout, joining Makdessi as one of few fighters to finish a fight in that fashion. I think this would be a very entertaining scrap for as long as it lasts and would be a definite candidate for the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, regardless of the card it is booked on. Speaking of which, I think this fight would be a great fit to either headline the preliminary card for UFC on FOX 16 in Chicago, or kick off the main card for August’s UFC Fight Night in Tennessee. Thomas Almeida vs Rob Font I love this fight and wish to see it booked for a future fight card, given Font is ready to return to action and Almeida walked away from last night’s first round TKO of veteran Yves Jabouin without sustaining any injuries. Font has been out a while following his knockout of veteran George Roop in his promotional debut; he has been nursing injuries and will hopefully be able to return to action soon. I think Almeida vs Font would be a match-up between a pair of talented strikers that is likely to produce fireworks for however long it lasts. It is certainly the type of fight that would be a sure-fire contender for ‘Fight of the Night’ regardless of the card it is booked on. I think this would be the ideal scrap to kick off the main card for the aforementioned August’s UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.
