UFC 198 came and went, delivering a night of exciting action. Now with the entertaining night of scraps in our rear-view, let’s take a look at a few potential match-ups featuring some of the winning fighters from the evening… Stipe Miocic vs Alistair Overeem This potential heavyweight title fight is all but guaranteed. Overeem set himself up for a title shot a week ago with a second round knockout of Andrei Arlovski, and at this past weekend’s UFC 198 in Brazil, Stipe Miocic upset hometown favorite Fabricio Werdum to dethrone him and become the new King of the division. Overeem wants this fight to take place at UFC 205 in New York City, but I would personally like to see it added to July’s UFC 200 fight card. Both heavyweights are coming off quick finishes and are in shape for a quick turnaround, so I would love to see that happen, as I think it is just what that card needs to go from being a great card to truly being a memorable event. Shogun Rua vs Ryan Bader This seems like a fight that should have happened already, and I think it is now a good time to finally put it together. It would be a rare “winner vs loser” match-up in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, with Rua coming off a split decision win over TUF 18 winner Corey Anderson and Bader coming off a first round knockout loss to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, but I think it is one that makes sense, especially considering how razor-thin the division is. I would like to see it booked for one of the unnounced fight cards for August or September. Thiago Santos vs Robert Whittaker I am salivating just thinking about this potential middleweight showdown. I believe this would be a very entertaining barn-burner in the UFC’s 185-pound division and I would truly love to see these strikers go to war inside the Octagon, in a fight that would likely produce a knockout finish. Regardless of how long it lasts, I think this would be a very entertaining war, and as long as it lasts a few minutes, I think it would be a solid candidate to take home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, regardless of the fight card it is booked on. I think this would be a great fight to book, and from my fingers to Joe Silva’s ears, I hope it gets put together for a future fight card. I think it would be a great fit for the main card to July’s UFC 201 in Atlanta, which is currently rumored to have a welterweight title fight between Champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Tyron Woodley serving as the main event. John Lineker vs John Dodson The battle of the Lil’ John’s. I think this is a no brainer and believe this match-up makes a world of sense right now, with both former flyweights making some serious noise in the bantamweight division and looking to climb up the ranks. I see this as being a very entertaining stylistic match-up and a real barn-burner in the UFC’s 135-pound division. This is the kind of scrap that every fight fan would get up for and would make sure not to blink, so I hope Sean Shelby books it on a future fight card sooner rather than later. I think it would b a solid fit to kick off the main card for the aforementioned UFC 201 in Atlanta.
