UFC Fight Night 81 came and went, crowning a new Bantamweight Champion and producing a night of excitement that saw eight of it’s 13 bouts end inside the inside. Following the night of entertaining action, let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring a few of the competitors from the evening… Paul Felder vs Drew Dober I think this would be a tremendously entertaining match-up to put together in the UFC’s lightweight division, with Felder coming off a rear naked choke submission win over Daron Cruickshank this past Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 81 and Dober taking a unanimous decision over Scott Holtzman two weekends prior at UFC 195 in Las Vegas. Felder and Dober are both fun to watch and leave it all inside the Octagon every time they step foot inside of it. Regardless of the outcome, this is a fight I am certain will not suck. Worst case scenario, there would be an early finish, otherwise I expect we would be in a potential 15-minute war. Sean Shelby, Dana White, UFC; please do sign me up for this scrap. I think it would be a perfect fit on the FOX Sports 1 prelims for April’s UFC 197, which was scheduled for Madison Square Garden in New York City but is now rumored for the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Travis Browne vs Roy Nelson/Jared Rosholt Winner Browne scored a third round TKO agains Matt Mitrione this past weekend and I’d like to see him take on the winner of UFC 196’s Nelson vs Rosholt, which is set to take place on February 6th in Las Vegas. The reason for that is because I think Browne vs Nelson and Browne vs Rosholt both make for interesting match-ups. Francisco Trinaldo vs Evan Dunham Trinaldo vs Dunham would make for an excellent match-up in the UFC’s lightweight division. Both 155-pounders are riding hot, with Trinaldo riding an impressive fight fight winning streak with decision wins over Leandro Silva, Akhbar Arreola, Norman Parke and Ross Pearson, and a TKO of TUF Nations winner Chad Laprise. Dunham enjoys a three fight winning streak himself, with unanimous decision victories over Rodrigo Damm, Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon, respectively. I think Trinaldo vs Dunham is a match-up that makes a lot of sense and is one I would like to see booked for a future fight card. I think it would be a solid fit for the main card of May’s UFC Fight Night in Brazil, which will be headlined by a five round middleweight contest between Vitor Belfort and Jacare Souza. Ilir Latifi vs Gian Villante “The Sledgehammer” scored a first round knockout of Sean O’Connell this past Sunday night at UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston and now enjoys a two fight winning streak inside the Octagon. For his next outing, I would like to see him take on Villante, who himself has a win over O’Connell. Not only do I think these light heavyweights will likely produce a fun fight if pitted against each other inside the Octagon, but I think it’s a fight that makes a lot of sense, especially in such a razor-thin division. I think this potential 205-pound scrap would be a good fit for the preliinary card to the aforementioned UFC 198 card this April.
