The Newark, New Jersey, public celebrated Julianna Peña’s victory over Kayla Harrison in the penultimate fight of UFC 316, after Harrison’s submission with a Kimura lock. All eyes were on Amanda Nunes, who was in the front row with her family.
“Come here, Amanda!” Harrison shouted, addressing Nunes during the post-fight interview. “This is the next fight.”
Kayla Harrison
Harrison is correct. If everything goes according to plan, Nunes will come out of retirement to be the first challenger for Harrison’s title, in what is expected to be a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
A similar scenario was experienced in the main event of the night, when Merab Dvalishvili frustrated and finished Sean O’Malley with a guillotine in the third round of their rematch for the bantamweight title.
Cory Sandhagen, the only current bantamweight contender that Dvalishvili hasn’t beaten, smiled from the audience, while the champion pointed to him as his next target. Sandhagen has been in the UFC since 2018, and it seems that his moment to contend for the title has arrived.
Analysis of Championship Scenarios and Next Steps for UFC 316 Fighters
Merab Dvalishvili, Men’s Bantamweight
Ideal next opponent: Cory Sandhagen
Although the UFC doesn’t always define the fights on the same night as the fight, it’s positive when it does, especially when it comes to such a clear option as this one. Sandhagen has had a long road to his first official title fight, and it’s partly his fault. Although he has failed at important moments, his trajectory and talent suggest that he should already be here. Now that he is, he has a formidable champion to face. Sandhagen is aware of what awaits him and knows that he needs a knockout against Dvalishvili, which is easier said than done. Sandhagen is one of the greatest knockout threats in the division, but he would need to capitalize on any opportunity that Dvalishvili gives him.
Possible surprise: Petr Yan
If Yan defeats Marcus McGhee on July 26 in Abu Dhabi, he will be in a position to claim the belt he lost in 2022. His main problem is that he lost a fight against Dvalishvili in 2023. However, that doesn’t mean Yan can’t get a second chance at the championship. He would have to have an outstanding performance against McGhee and hope that the fight with Sandhagen doesn’t materialize to get a title shot.
Sean O’Malley, Men’s Bantamweight
Image of Sean O’Malley
Ideal next opponent: José Aldo
This is a complicated situation. After two consecutive losses, there is no clear path for O’Malley. Aldo, recently retired, is an unexpected answer. While I respect Aldo’s decision to retire, many disagreed with how the UFC matched him during his return. The possibility of a match with O’Malley could excite him. The UFC would benefit from creating a fight that generates interest, and there is a shortage of those. Aldo’s return to the octagon would generate a lot of attention.
Possible surprise: Henry Cejudo
O’Malley has always wanted to fight Cejudo. They are from the same area of Arizona. O’Malley considers Cejudo’s way of promoting to be a bit… bland. O’Malley, who is 1.80 meters tall, loves to fight shorter opponents and likes to remind Cejudo, who is 1.62 meters tall, how short he is. Cejudo has said he might be retired, but it feels like he doesn’t want to end his career with an eye poke that ended his fight in February against Song Yadong. If Cejudo decides to fight again, both might want this fight.
Kayla Harrison, Women’s Bantamweight
Ideal next opponent: Amanda Nunes
The simplest matchup of all time. We’ve been waiting for this since Harrison entered MMA. We always knew it would take time, and there were times when it seemed like it would never happen. Harrison signed with the PFL as a lightweight and said he would never drop weight to bantamweight. Nunes lost to Peña when Harrison was looking to test free agency and join the UFC. Then, Nunes retired. However, the fight always seemed very alive, and it doesn’t seem like it will happen too late. It will be the biggest fight in women’s MMA in a long time. By the time it happens, after all the promotion, maybe it will be the biggest of all.
Kevin Holland, Welterweight
Image of Kevin Holland
Ideal next opponent: Carlos Prates
When Holland is focused (and competes at 77 kg), he is a title contender. He was one point away from defeating the current champion, Jack Della Maddalena, in 2023. Holland has always said that he doesn’t care about the belt and is willing to alternate between welterweight and middleweight, but it seems that’s about to change. When he said he wanted to stay at 77 kg, it was music to my ears. He’s good in this weight class. When he fights at 84 kg, I get the feeling that sometimes he doesn’t even believe he should win. Prates seems to be a real fighter, despite the loss against Ian Machado Garry in his last fight. Holland against Prates would be fantastic.
Possible surprise: Stephen Thompson
They fought in 2022, and it was an instant classic. Thompson won, which means Holland has an incentive to get revenge. Nobody wants to see Thompson in a fight where he’s constantly defending takedowns, and although Holland could try a submission here and there, he’s not going to spend an entire fight trying to take “Wonderboy” down. This fight would be good for their careers, not to mention the fans.
Mario Bautista, Men’s Bantamweight
Ideal next opponent: Marlon Vera
If Bautista feels a bit slighted by the fans and the media after his victory over Patchy Mix, he has good reason. It was inevitable that most of the pre-fight attention would focus on his opponent at UFC 316, considering that Mix was making an expected move from Bellator MMA to the UFC. But even so, Bautista was on a seven-fight winning streak and was coming off a victory over former UFC champion José Aldo. After how well he looked on Saturday, I don’t expect him to be underestimated again in the next fight. He was supposed to face “Chito” Vera at UFC 316, but Vera withdrew due to an injury. Vera is a popular fighter; Bautista could benefit from adding Vera’s name to his resume, and I think Bautista would be the favorite to win.
Possible surprise: Song Yadong
Yadong is coming off a controversial victory over Henry Cejudo, in which Cejudo was badly affected by an accidental eye poke. However, Yadong is real. And, at this point, it’s difficult to say that Bautista isn’t either. The UFC could choose to keep this fight, because it’s good and seems inevitable at some point. But if they decided to make it now, it would be very entertaining.
Azamat Murzakanov, Light Heavyweight
Image of Azamat Murzakanov
Ideal next opponent: Aleksandar Rakic
As for matchmaking, Murzakanov has been the victim of bad luck and bad timing. He is 5-0 in the UFC, but he hasn’t faced higher-ranked competition. On several occasions, he was scheduled to fight Volkan Oezdemir, Khalil Rountree Jr., Nikita Krylov, and Johnny Walker, and all those fights were canceled. It’s time for him to get a big jump in competition. He needs it, and this division needs it. Rakic has lost three consecutive fights, but all the losses have been against the best in the division. He’s at a point where he needs to defend his position, and that should be against Murzakanov.
Possible surprise: Jan Blachowicz
I love Blachowicz, and also the rest of the MMA world. His rise to UFC champion was unexpected at his age. That said, the 42-year-old fighter is a bit stagnant at the moment. He is officially ranked number 5 in light heavyweight by the UFC, but hasn’t won a fight since 2022. His last victory was against Rakic, who, as we just mentioned, has lost three consecutive fights. If Blachowicz wants to keep his ranking, this is the kind of fight he needs to accept.
