UFC Fight Night 84 produced an entertaining night of action. Now with the fun night of scraps in our rear-view, let’s take a look at some potential match-ups featuring some of the competitors from the evening… Michael Bisping vs Gegard Mousasi This was supposed to be the original main event for UFC Fight Night 84 in London this past weekend, but former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva entered the picture. After a shake-up, Silva was set to fight Bisping, while Mousasi was demoted to a co-main event bout against former UFC middleweight title challenger Thales Leites. Bisping was victorious in a unanimous decision win over Silva, and Mousasi earned a one-sided unanimous decision victory of his own against Leites. Both victorious, I think they should square off against each other their next time out. Bisping is hoping to challenge for the title next, but personally, I am not interested in Rockhold vs Bisping II at this point and would prefer to see Bisping vs Mousasi, and I would love to see it on the main card for UFC 200 in Las Vegas. Note: Since writing this article, it looks like Michael Bisping vs Nick Diaz is looking like a real possibility. Brad Pickett vs Rani Yahya Coming off his split decision win over Francisco Rivera at this past Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 84 in his backyard of London and for his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see him take on decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rani Yahya. The Brazilian last saw action at UFC Fight Night 71 last July, where he took a controversial split decision win over Masanori Kanehara. I think Pickett vs Yahya would make for a phenomenal match-up in the UFC’s bantamweight division and I would like to see it booked for a future fight card, prererably sometime this Summer; perhaps on the yet to be announced UFC 199 card in June. Arnold Allen vs Diego Rivas I think Allen vs Rivas would be a fun fight in the UFC’s featherweight division. It would be TriStar vs Kings MMA, with Allen training out of the famed Montreal gym under the tutelage of Firas Zahabi and Rivas training in Huntington Beach, CA under the tutelage of Master Rafael Cordeiro. Both 135-pounders are currently undefeated and coming off impressive wins, with Allen taking a unanimous decision over veteran Yaotzin Meza this past weekend and Rivas scoring a brutal knockout of Noad Lahat earlier this month. Somebody’s 0 must go in this potential bantamweight scrap; it makes sense for both fighters, and I think it’d be good fit for the yet-to-be-filled preliminary card for April’s UFC 197 in Las Vegas, which will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight and co-headlined by a flyweight title fight. Makwan Amirkhani vs Charles Rosa I believe Amirkhani vs Rosa is a potential scrap that would be a true barn burner in the UFC’s featherweight division and would stand a good chance of taking home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, regardless of the card it is booked on. The Finnish fighter made it three in a row for himself inside the Octagon this past weekend with a unanimous decision win over England’s Mike Wilkinson. Rosa bounced back into the win column a month ago with a unanimous decision win over short notice promotional newcomer Kyle Bochniak. I think this is a fight that makes a world of sense and would love to see the UFC book it fur a futue fight card, preferably as the opening bout for the main card of UFC Fight Night in Rotterdam this May. The event will be headlined by a five round heavyweight tilt between veterans and training partners Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski.
