UFC Fight Night 71 was live from San Diego, CA, producing a night of solid scraps, with most of them reaching the judges’ scorecards. Following the night of action, let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening in Sunny Southern California… Holly Holm vs Germaine de Randamie Holm dominated Marion Reneau for three rounds of action at this past Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night 71 in San Diego, taking home a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. She is now 2-0 inside the Octagon and looking to extend that streak to three on her hunt for UFC gold. I think a good opponent for her next outing would be fellow striker Germaine de Randamie, who defeated Larissa Pacheco via second round T/KO in her latest outing at UFC 185 four months ago. Holm vs de Randamie is a women’s bantamweight match-up I personally would not dare miss, as they are two of the best strikers in the division. For any fight fan, this match-up would undoubtedly be Must See TV, and I would love to see it booked for a future fight card. I think this potential women’s bantamweight bout would be a solid fit for the main card of October’s UFC 192 in Houston. Alan Jouban vs John Howard It was an intense night for “Brama” in San Diego, where he took a unanimous decision win over Matt Dwyer following three rounds of action, despite being deducted a point for an illegal knee to the head of his opponent in the first round of action. If not for the illegal knee, he would have likely finished Dwyer, as he had him badly hurt in the moment. The win makes it two in a row for Jouban and makes him 3-1 in the UFC, including a controversial split decision loss to Warlley Alves. Howard recently bounced back into the win column at UFC 189 by taking a unanimous decision over Cathal Pendred, and would be happy to make a quick return to action against Jouban. An immediate fight booking is just what Jouban requested following his UFC Fight Night 71 win over Dwyer, hoping to be placed on September’s UFC 191 fight card in September. I think a fight between Jouban and Howard would make a good fit for the preliminary card of that evening’s card. Kevin Lee vs Dustin Poirier Two lightweights we have recently been making a lot of noise in the division are Lee and Poirier. I think a pairing of them would make for an excellent, ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus worthy match-up, regardless of the card it is placed on. Both of these 155-pounders are creeping into the division’s rankings and I think this is the perfect time to pair them up against one another. This would be the type of fight where the loser would not take too big of a step back, but the winner will certainly take a big step up and forward. Lee just submitted James Moontasri via rear naked choke in the first round of action at UFC Fight Night 71, and he is now on an impressive four fight winning streak inside the Octagon. Since moving back up to 155-pounds, Poirier is 2-0 with a pair of first round finishes of Carlos Diego Ferreira and Yancy Medeiros, respectively. This is another fight I think would make a solid addition to October’s UFC 192 in Houston. Jessica Andrade vs Cat Zingano I think this would make for a fun fight in the women’s bantamweight division, and is one I think makes sense, despite it technically being a “winner vs loser” match-up. Andrade bounced back into the win column with a unanimous decision over Sara Moras and Zingano most recently suffered the first defeat of her professional mixed martial arts career in a title fight against Ronda Rousey which could be the one fight she is most remembered for when all is said and done. A win over Zingano would be the biggest of Andrade’s career, and a win over the Brazilian would be a good way for Zingano to get back on track and on the road towards another shot at Rousey and her gold. I think this fight would be a good fit on the main card for November’s UFC Fight Night 77 in Brazil, possibly as the co-main event of the evening.
