UFC Fight Night 70 featured a five-fight main card that ended with Yoel Romero (10-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) knocking out Lyoto Machida (22-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) in the third round in devastating fashion.
In the co-main event, Lorenz Larkin (16-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) continued to show us that his drop to welterweight was the correct move by stopping Santiago Ponzinibbio (20-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the second round.
Antonio Carlos Junior (5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Thiago “Marreta” Santos (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Hacran Dias (23-3-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) also racked up wins on the televised FOX Sports 1 main card.
After every UFC card, fans wonder who the winners will be squaring off against next. Let’s take a look into the future and play UFC matchmaker for the winners of the main card at UFC Fight Night 70.
Hacran Dias
Should fight: Tatsuya Kawajiri
Why they should fight: Hacran Dias has had 5 fights in the UFC and most of them have been against well known, established fighters like Nik Lentz, Ricardo Lamas and Darren Elkins. Dias took a step down in competition to fight prospect Levan Makashvili and won by split-decision.
This is the first time in his UFC career that Dias has strung up back to back wins. With five fights in the UFC Dias is known for being a great grappler that is okay with standing up with his opponents.
After taking a step down in competition and grabbing a victory, “Barnabe” needs to step back up in competition if he wants to climb the featherweight ladder. Someone who comes to mind is Tatsuya Kawajiri (34-8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Kawajiri is ranked #12 in the division and Dias is ranked #14.
The 37 year old Japanese fighter is 2-1 since joining the UFC in 2014. He may be nearing the end of his career but he is the perfect opponent for someone like Dias to test his ability as an evolving fighter. Kawajiri is very experienced and with a decisive win over him, Dias could be making moves to start fighting people in the top 10.
Thiago Santos
Should fight: Winner of Caio Magalhaes vs. Josh Samman at TUF 21 Finale
Why they should fight: Thiago Santos’ career started off pretty rocky when he went 1-2 losing to both Cezar Ferreira and Uriah Hall. Now that he has racked up two wins in a row for the first time in his career, he may be on to something.
“Marreta” might not win all of his fights but when he does, he finishes it in two minutes or less. His head kick finish of Steve Bosse was the fastest of his career, it only took 29 seconds to find the perfect moment for a perfect high kick.
Santos’ knockout will be on UFC highlights for years to come. Santos has gone from a “no one” to a fighter to watch because of the way he finishes his fights.
Santos needs to rack up a couple of impressive wins before he can start fighting top 15 ranked fighters. Until that happens, Santos needs to keep evolving as a fighter. A fight between either Samman (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) or Magalhaes (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) can help him reach those top 15 ranked fighters.
If Santos were to fight Samman it would be a more favorable fight because Santos is also a striker. Magalhaes would pose a much bigger threat to Santos because of his grappling background, and as we’ve seen Santos struggles in the grappling department.
Antonio Carlos Junior
Should fight: Winner of Tom Watson vs. Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 73
Why they should fight: Many people, including myself have said that the “TUF” reality series does not generate many potential UFC stars anymore. Well, Carlos Junior is the one to prove me wrong.
At only 25 years of age, Carlos Junior has lots of time to evolve and transform himself as a mixed martial artist. He bounced between being a heavyweight on the show, to losing his light heavyweight debut to looking very impressive in his middleweight debut.
If Carlos Junior decided to stay at middleweight, I think he could be a serious threat to the division the in the years to come. In his debut he dominated fellow “TUF” winner Eddie Gordon for three rounds to secure the late submission victory.
A match between the winner of Tom Watson (17-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) and Chris Camozzi (21-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) is perfect for a young guy like Carlos Junior to gain some octagon experience. There is no reason to rush this young talent into deep water.
Also, both Camozzi and Watson have struggled against strong grapplers in the past, if Carlos Junior can use his strong grappling skills and dominate a veteran like Camozzi or Watson, it could really open up the eyes of the people watching.
Lorenz Larkin
Should fight: Winner of Stephen Thompson vs. Jake Ellenberger at TUF 21 Finale
Why they should fight: During his middleweight stint Lorenz Larkin went 1-4 in the UFC and was on the brink of being cut. Now that he has moved to the welterweight division, he has looked tremendous and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he starts climbing the ladder.
Larkin’s finish over Ponzinibbio was an amazing performance which moved him to 2-0 in the welterweight division. The most noticeable thing about his performance was his speed. Larkin was attacking at a great pace in which few can keep up with. If he keeps fighting like this, don’t be surprised if Lorenz Larkin is ranked within the next year or two.
The welterweight division is an insanely deep division and it would take lots to be recognized if you’re not fighting notable names. This is why Lorenz should fight the winner of Thompson/Ellenberger.
If Larkin fought Thompson (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and won that would have meant that he stopped Thompson’s 5 fight win streak. Beating an up and comer like Thompson would launch him to an opportunity to fight a top 15 ranked opponent. Even though Jake Ellenberger (30-9 MMA, 9-5 UFC) isn’t what he used to be, he’s still Jake Ellenberger, someone who can finish you if he can just pull the trigger. A fight between one of these two has potential to be fight of the night and help set him up to face better competition in the 170 pound division.
Yoel Romero
Should fight: Jacare Souza
Why they should fight: Now that Luke Rockhold is set to face middleweight champion Chris Weidman sometime this year, the only person left for Souza (22-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Romero to face is each other. This fight has been postponed twice due to issues between both sides. Now that both SEEM to be healthy, the UFC must book them. Again. And hopefully this fight does not get postponed. Again.
Romero and Souza were originally scheduled to square off at UFC 184 in February. Due to an illness, Jacare had to pull out of the bout and it was pushed to UFC on FOX 15 in April. Days before that event, Romero had to pull out of the fight due to a knee injury.
This match between Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza created a huge buzz and everybody was talking about how good it was going to be both times it was scheduled. There is no other reasonable opponents for both fighters if they aren’t fighting for the belt. Hopefully, third time’s the charm.
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