The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Nashville, TN last night (August 8, 2015) for the third time in promotional history for UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs Saint Preux. Now, following the night of action in Tennessee, let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring some of the competitors from the evening… Dustin Ortiz vs Ian McCall This flyweight match-up was set to take place at last night’s event in Nashvhille, however McCall was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by short-notice opponent Willie Gates. “Whoop Ass” was a game opponent coming off a first round TKO win over Darrell Montague just a month ago, though he was dominated by Ortiz throughout this contest, ultimately succumbing to a TKO stoppage in the third and final round of action. Now back in the win column, potential opponents for his next outing remain limited for Ortiz, and I think re-booking the McCall fight makes the most sense, despite it now being a “winner vs loser” match-up. I think this potential flyweight match-up would be a good addition to the main card of November’s TUF: Latin America 2 Finale in Mexico. The fight card will be headlined by a five round welterweight contest between the veteran Matt Brown and TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum. Chris Camozzi vs Thiago Santos I think Camozzi vs Santos would make for a fantastic match-up in the UFC’s middleweight division. Camozzi just returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Tom Watson in Nashville last night, while Santos is on a two-fight winning streak with both victories coming by way of knockout in the very first round of action. I think this potential scrap would be an excellent “striker vs striker” match-up between these 185-pounders who hope to work their way into the division’s rankings, one fight at a time. Stylistically, I think these two would produce a fun fight; a likely ‘Fight of the Night’ candidate. I would like to see this potential middleweight contest on the preliminary card for the aforementioned TUF: Latin America 2 Finale in Mexico this November. Beneil Dariush vs Tony Ferguson So Cal vs So Cal. Kings MMA vs 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. I think this would make for a phenomenal match-up in the UFC’s lightweight division. Ferguson is hoping for a higher ranked fighter, but with everybody booked or injured, Dariush could be the best available option. They are both well rounded fighters and I would be interested in seeing how they fare against each other inside the Octagon. Dariush now rides a six fight winning streak with his controversial split decision over Michael Johnson last night, and Ferguson enjoys a six fight winning streak since he was defeated by Michael Johnson via unanimous decision three years ago. Regardless of the card this potential bout is booked on, I think it would be a solid contender for the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. That said, I think this would be a good fight to kick off the Pay Per View main card for November’s UFC 193 in Australia. That fight card will be headlined by a five round welterweight title fight between former interim-champion and challenger Carlos Condit and defending Champion Robbie Lawler. Ray Borg vs Jussier Formiga I think this would be a very fun fight in the UFC’s flyweight division and I would love to see it on a future fight card. In order to build the winner as a future title contender, I think this potential 125-pound would make for a great fit as the co-main event for November’s UFC Fight Night 77 in Brazil, which will be headlined by a five round middleweight rematch between Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort. Borg and Formiga are elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and I would personally be thrilled if this potential bout became a reality. I think their exchanges on the mat would be entertaining and fight fans would be in for a legitimate chess-match between the two. Whether it gets booked now or not, I think this is a fight that has to happen sooner or later; and I say sooner, rather than later.
