UFC on FOX 17 came and went, producing a night of entertaining fights that included seven consecutive underdogs getting their hands raised. Now, following the solid night of action, let’s take a look at some potential match-ups feauturing some of the competitors from the evening… Donald Cerrone vs Michael Chiesa Chiesa took the microphone after his rear naked choke submission over Jim Miller a week ago and stated that he wants top-ranked opposition. He would certainly get that with this potential fight against Cerrone, who suffered a first round TKO defeat at the hands of UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos this past Saturday night. I think TUF 15 winner Chiesa will be a solid opponent for Cerrone to attempt a rebound against. I think “Cowboy” vs “Maverick” would make for a fantastic match-up in the UFC’s 155-pound division, and though on opposite ends of the division’s Top 15 rankings, I think the fight makes sense and I would personally love to see it booked for a future fight card. I bet both of these lightweights want to get back in the Octagon as soon as possible, so I would like to see this potential 155-pound scrap booked for February’s UFC 196 Super Bowl card in Las Vegas. Nate Marquardt vs Tamdan McCrory Marquardt and McCrory were each successful in their bouts on the preliminary card of last night’s UFC on FOX 17 card, both finishing their opponents. Marquardt was likely to be released from the promotion with a loss in his fight against CB Dollaway and lost the first round, but scored a knockout at the start of the second to save his career and possibly send Dollaway packing. McCrory made his return to the Octagon for his second stint with the UFC and scored an impressive third round submission over Josh Samman. I think this is a fight that could have taken place in the UFC years ago and think it would make sense to be booked now. Both middleweights possess similar skill-sets and I would like to see them employed and engaged inside the Octagon on a future fight card. If both fighters are ready for quick turnarounds, I think this scrap would be a solid addition to the aforementioned UFC 196 Super Bowl fight card. Josh Samman vs Jake Collier Samman came up short an an entertaining, back and forth war against the aforementioned Tamdan McCrory and eventually succumbed to a submission finish in the third round of action. Instead of riding the round out in McCrory’s guard to earn the 29-28 decision, he opted to improve his position and look for a finish, which turned out to be a mistake, as he got caught in McCrory’s triangle while attempting to advance. Following the loss, I think an opponent that makes sense for Samman’s next outing would be Collier, who is coming off a second round TKO loss at the hands of Dongi Yang. I think this potential middleweight contest would be a solid fit for the Fight Pass preliminary portion of the UFC 200 card in July. Kamaru Usman vs Warlley Alves Usman was victorious this past Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over Leon Edwards and is now 2-0 inside the Octagon. For his next outing and a step up in competition, I would like to see him take on Warlley Alves, a fight in which he would likely find himself playing the role of underdog. The Brazilian earned a first round guillotine choke submission over Colby Covington at UFC 194 a couple of weeks ago and I think this TUF winner vs TUF winner pairing makes sense as the next move for both weltereights. Alves is undefeated at 10-0 and 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes and Kamaru sports a 7-1 record. The winner of this potential bout would likely be elevated to the Top 15 of the promotion’s 170-pound division. I think this would be a solid fight to add to the FOX Sports 1 televised prelims of the aforementioned UFC 200 card in Las Vegas.
