The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went to Hidalgo, TX for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs Johnson. It was an entertaining night of bouts that saw seven of 12 matches end inside the distance. Following the night of scraps in Hidalgo, let’s take a look at a few potential matchups featuring some of the competitors from the evening… Dustin Poirier vs. Gilbert Melendez Dustin Poirier had a nice run at 155 pounds, but his impressive four-fight winning streak was snapped by Blackzilian product Michael Johnson in the main event of the evening in Hidalgo. For his return bout, I would like to see him take on former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Coming off a loss, I think that is a fight ‘The Diamond’ could really get up and excited for. Melendez is riding a three-fight skid, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Edson Barboza, and he would likely have his back against the wall heading into this potential lightweight affiar. I would like to see this matchup booked for a 2017 fight card, around February or March. Uriah Hall vs. Chris Camozzi Hall suffered a first round TKO against Derek Brunson in the co-main event of the evening in Hidalgo and has now dropped back-to-back fights inside the Octagon. For his next bout, I would like to see him take on Denver’s Camozzi in a striker vs striker matchup. I think Hall vs Camozzi would be a very fun matchup in the UFC’s middleweight division, and I would love to see it booked for a future fight card. Camozzi is coming off third-round rear naked choke submission loss to Thales Leites and will be looking to bounce back into the win column. A matchup against a fellow striker is one I believe he would happily welcome. I think this potential 185-pound contest would be an excellent fit to the FOX Sports 1 preliminary card for the TUF 24 Finale in Las Vegas this December, especially considering the fact that they are both TUF veterans, with Hall being a TUF 18 finalist and Camozzi a TUF 11 competitor. Gabriel Benitez vs. Artem Lobov Benitez returned to the win column with a second-round guillotine choke submission of TUF: Live veteran Sam Sicilia and for his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see him take on SBG Ireland’s Lobov, who recently returned to the win column himself at UFC 202 with a unanimous decision over promotional newcomer Chris Avila. I think Benitez vs Lobov would be a fun striker versus striker matchup in the UFC’s featherweight division, carrying ‘Fight of the Night’ potential, and it is a bout that makes a ton of sense. I would like to see it booked for the Fight Pass prelims to UFC 205 in New York City in November, assuming Conor McGregor will be competing on the card. Islam Makhachev vs. John Makdessi Makhachev defeated Chris Wade via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to return to the win column following the first defeat of his professional mixed martial arts career. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see him take on TriStar Gym product John Makdessi, who is coming off a split decision win over Mehdi Baghdad. I think this would be a great striker vs grappler matchup in the UFC’s 155-pound division, with Makhachev being the grappler and Makdessi the striker. I think this potential fight would be a solid fit for the preliminary card to December’s UFC 206 in Toronto, which would give the Lebanese-Canadian Makdessi a home advantage.
