Saturday night, UFC Fight Night 67 emanated live on Fox Sports 1 from the Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The main event saw former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit make a successful return to the octagon after a year long layoff due to a torn ACL with a second round finish of former title challenger Thiago Alves. Below, LWOS books the fights for the main card winners and losers of UFC Fight Night 67:
Carlos Condit: Condit looked fantastic in his return from injury. The top of the welterweight division is a bit backlogged right now, with champion Robbie Lawler taking on Rory MacDonald in July, Johny Hendricks waiting for the winner, Hector Lombard currently serving a suspension, and Tyron Woodley floating around. Woodley would make the most sense based on ranking and availability for Condit’s next opponent, but it was Woodley who Condit was fighting a year ago when he initially tore his ACL, so it feels too early for a rematch. Instead, Condit should serve as a litmus test for Neil Magny. Magny is on a seven fight win streak, and it’s time for him to finally take on some top 10 opposition. Condit definitely fits that bill, and since both men prefer to keep it on the feet, a fight between them should be tons of fun.
Thiago Alves: Alves showed tons of heart in his loss to Condit, and if it weren’t for the doctor stopping the fight between the second and third round, it looked like Alves was ready to keep fighting. Alves is a top welterweight with great striking, but injuries have slowed his progression in the division over the past few years. All those exact same things can be said for Tarec Saffiedine. Let’s see Alves take on the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion next.
Charles Oliveira: Oliveira looked great Saturday night, submitting Nik Lentz in the third round with a guillotine choke. Since the start of 2014, Oliveira and Max Holloway are a combined 10-0, with eight total finishes. These two young guns are looking to make their way into the top 5 of the featherweight division, and a fight against each other would help us determine which man will get there first.
Nik Lentz: As a lightweight, Lentz was panned for being a boring fighter. But since dropping to featherweight, while he hasn’t won as often, his fights have been much more exciting. Lentz is a top 15 featherweight, but he may never break into the top 5 at this point in his career. A win over Ricardo Lamas could help him get back on track though. Lamas is also a top 15 featherweight, and a former top 5’er at that. Book this fight between Lentz and Lamas, and let’s see which one of them can get back on track.
Alex Oliveira: Oliveira picked up an impressive win in his sophomore effort inside the octagon with a first round submission of veteran KJ Noons. Another man who has looked good recently is Jon Tuck. An Oliveira vs Tuck fight would be a fun scrap, with both men seemingly equally skilled on both the feet and the ground.
KJ Noons: Noons may not win every fight, but the majority of them are really fun. Noons is talking about sticking around at welterweight instead of continuing to cut to lightweight, so if that’s true, his next opponent should be Marcio Alexandre. Alexandre made it to the finals of TUF Brazil 3 and carried and undefeated record into the octagon, but since then, he’s gone 0-2 in the UFC. Book Noons vs Alexandre, would be a perfect fight for another Fight Night card in Brazil.
Francimar Barroso: Barroso may have won Saturday night, but it was not all that impressive or enjoyable to watch. The UFC doesn’t usually book someone coming off of a win against someone coming off of a loss, but I think they should in this case. Next, Barroso should fight Corey Anderson. Anderson, the TUF 18 winner, is coming off of his first career loss, and unlike Barroso, the UFC appears to have high hopes for his future. Anderson vs Barroso is the fight to make to either get Anderson back on track, or to show if he’s not as good of a prospect as everyone thinks.
Ryan Jimmo: Jimmo has lost two in a row now, and if the UFC doesn’t cut him for that and his outspoken attitude against the new Reebok deal, his next fight should be against Fabio Maldonado. Both men like to keep it on the feet, and with Maldonado’s action style, maybe he could coax a fun fight out of the Canadian.
Francisco Trinaldo: Trinaldo picked up his third straight decision win Saturday night. None of them have been all that pretty, especially this one against Norman Parke, which many people thought Trinaldo actually lost. For his next fight, he should square off with Rashid Magomedov. Magomedov is quickly rising up the lightweight ranks, starting off his UFC career a perfect 3-0. Trinaldo is a grinder, and he’ll be a solid test for the rapidly ascending Russian.
Norman Parke: After starting his UFC career unbeaten in five straight, Parke, the TUF Smashes champion, has now lost back-to-back split decisions to Trinaldo and Gleison Tibau. Trinadlo and Tibau are similar fighters – big, strong grinders – and it’s put a halt on Parke’s rise in the ranks. He needs to face an action fighter next, and Mitch Clarke fits the bill perfectly. Clarke is super underrated on the ground and constantly improving on the feet, plus he has tons of heart. Clarke vs Parke would be a fun one, no doubt.
Darren Till: Awesome short notice debut for Till, who brutally knocked out Wendell Oliveira with some crushing elbows on the ground. Till seems like he has a bit of a higher ceiling than Brendan O’Reilly, and they should meet up next. O’Reilly is coming off of a win over Vik Grujic, and while O’Reilly will likely never be a top 15 fighter, he is coming off of a win, and if Till can beat him, that looks good on Till’s record.
Wendell Oliveira: Oliveira is 0-2 in the UFC with two knockout losses. If the UFC doesn’t cut him, book him against Shinsho Anzai next. Anzai had an awesome one round fight in his UFC debut against Alberto Mina, and despite losing it, he showed a lot. Oliveira vs Anzai would be fun for sure. Book it.
