The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went to Cleveland, OH for the first time in promotional history with UFC 203: Miocic vs Overeem. The solid night of action saw 60 percent of bouts end inside the distance, culminating with the hometown favorite Stipe Miocic keeping his belt in Cleveland with a victory. Following the night of scraps in Ohio, let’s take a look at a few potential matchups featuring some of the competitors from the evening… Fabricio Werdum vs. Ben Rothwell Werdum took a unanimous decision over Travis Browne in their rematch in the co-main event of UFC 203 this past weekend in Cleveland, and the victory puts him back in the win column following his UFC heavyweight title loss to current champ Miocic. Browne was a short-notice injury replacement for Werdum’s original opponent Ben Rothwell, and now considering that Werdum will likely not get a title shot due to his lackluster win, I think the Rothwell bout should finally take place for the Brazilian’s next time out. I think the fight would be a good fit for the end of year card in Las Vegas, UFC 206. Jessica Andrade vs. Tecia Torres Andrade continued to impress since dropping down to the women’s strawweight division by submitting Joanne Calderwood with a guillotine choke in the opening bout of their Pay-Per-View main card bout at UFC 203 this past Saturday night in Cleveland. She now has two finishes in two fights at 115 pounds, and I believe she is one more win away from earning a shot at the title. In the razor-thin women’s strawweight division, I think a matchup that makes sense as the next move for Andrade would be one against Torres, which would be a rare “winner vs. loser” matchup at 115 pounds, as Torres is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC on FOX 19 five months ago. Though it should be noted that Torres (No. 5) is ranked higher than Andrade (No. 6) in the UFC’s women’s strawweight rankings. A win over Andrade would put her right in the mix of things, and for the Brazilian, a win would get her the opportunity to face the victor of the rumored “Joanna Champion” vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz title fight. I think this potential bout would be a good fit for the preliminary card November’s UFC 205 in New York City, which is rumored to be co-headlined by the aforementioned JJ vs KK 115-pound title bout. Nik Lentz vs. Kevin Lee Lentz earned a third-round TKO over promotional newcomer Michael McBride on the FOX Sports 1 preliminary card for UFC 203. He now enjoys a two-fight winning streak inside the Octagon in his return to 155 pounds, and for his next outing I would like to see him take on Xtreme Couture’s Kevin Lee, who is coming off a first-round TKO of Jake Matthews and enjoys a two-fight winning streak of his own. I think this potential lightweight showdown would be a perfect fit for the main card to December’s TUF 24 Finale in Las Vegas. Drew Dober vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier Dober scored a first-round knockout of promotional newcomer Jason Gonzalez and now enjoys a two-fight winning streak. It was arguably the most impressive performance and victory of his professional mixed martial arts career. For his next UFC bout, I would like to see him take on Montreal’s Aubin-Mercier, who is coming off a third-round rear naked choke win over Thibault Gouti a couple months back. I think Dober vs Aubin-Mercier would make for a solid matchup in the UFC’s 155-pound division, and I wouldn’t mind at all seeing it booked on a future fight card. I think this potential lightweight contest would be a nice addition to either the main or televised preliminary card for November’s UFC Fight Night 101 in Melbourne, which will be headlined by a middleweight rematch between former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
