Matches To Make After UFC 264

UFC 264 went down last night (Sat., July 10, 2021) in Las Vegas, Nevada, inside T-Mobile Arena with a packed house of fans, who all saw Dustin Poirier get another win over Conor McGregor after “Notorious” suffered a brutal leg break in the first round (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Gilbert Burns scored an underwhelming win over Stephen Thompson (recap here).

Winner: Dustin Poirier
Who He Should Fight Next: Charles Oliveira title shot

After getting a second win over McGregor, Poirier has likely earned himself a shot at the Lightweight title currently in the hands of Charles Oliveira. It was said that “The Diamond” initially turned down the chance to fight for the interim strap — which “Do Bronx” won at UFC 263 by defeating Michael Chandler — but opted to take part in the trilogy fight against “Notorious.” It turned out to be a smart chess move because not only did he defeat McGregor and secure another big bag of cash, he ended up securing himself another shot at becoming 155-pound champion. That’s assuming Dana White doesn’t go back on his statement, of course.

Winner: Gilbert Burns
Who He Should Fight Next: Leon Edwards

The Welterweight title picture is still a bit unclear at the moment. The man who should be fighting Kamaru Usman next is Leon Edwards, winner of nine of his last 10 fights. But, UFC President, Dana White, insisted that Colby Covington would get another crack at “Nigerian Nightmare” even though “Chaos” got jaw-jacked by Usman in Dec. 2019. If UFC does indeed move forward with those plans, then the only logical step to make is book Burns against Edwards in a title eliminator fight. It really is a no-brainer, as unfair as it is to Edwards. Burns called out Jorge Masvidal, which is a nice fight, too.

Winner: Tai Tuivasa
Who He Should Fight Next: Carlos Felipe

After knocking out Greg Hardy, Tuivasa earned his third straight win, giving him the longest win streak of his UFC career since he started off with the same win streak in 2019 inside the Octagon. Up next, a fight against Felipe — who is also on a three-fight win streak — seems appropriate. Felipe has been putting in work since throwing up a dud in his UFC debut, defeating Yorgan de Castro, Justin Tafa and Jake Collier. Both men are close to breaking into the Top 15, and a win here will likely put them over the edge.

Winner: Irene Aldana
Who She Should Fight Next: Germaine de Randamie

Amanda Nunes is starting to run out of new blood to face at both Bantamweight and Featherweight, and if she defeats Julianna Pena at UFC 265, the talent pool dwindles that much more for “Lioness.” So if Aldana wants to be that new face Nunes stares across the Octagon at, she will have to defeat de Randamie in a title eliminator fight. “Iron Lady” is looking to get another championship fight against Nunes, this time at 135 pounds after coming up short against her in a Featherweight title fight in Dec. 2019. The winner of this potential striking fest should undoubtedly get the winner of Nunes vs. Pena.

Winner: Sean O’ Malley
Who He Should Fight Next: Rob Font

O’ Malley had to work for the win over a very game Kris Moutniho, eventually earning a late stoppage win after peppering the tough-as-nails UFC newcomer with shots all night. While the stoppage was questionable, “Suga” was obviously on his way to a win. Afterward, O’Malley called for a fight against Font, and since people are still criticizing UFC matchmakers for throwing O’Malley softballs throughout his UFC career this match up should silence critics (myself included). Font is currently on a hot streak, winning four in a row and is coming off a win over former Bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt. And if “Suga” is looking for a standup affair, Font — one of the best strikers in the division — is more than willing to give the rainbow-haired scrapper what he wants.

For complete UFC 264: “McGregor vs. Poirier 3” results and play-by-play, click HERE.