UFC’s trip to Mexico City is probably better left forgotten, all things considered. For the most part, the fights themselves were fine—when it came to judging, however, things got a little wild. And then there was that main event. Fourteen seconds of feeling out, followed by one second of feeling eye poke. Maybe in the past, when UFC cards often felt stacked top to bottom with thrilling fights, that wouldn’t have been a big problem. But, for this event, on this card, the Octagon ended up in a hail of trash from an audience that had showed up to watch Yair Rodriguez fight Jeremy Stephens.
So, how soon will the UFC book that rematch? And is Carla Esparza forever destined to destined for controversial decisions?
I’ll be answering those questions – and not a whole lot else – using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methods of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. If you’d like a chance to make your own fantasy fight picks following UFC 243, stay tuned for next week’s UFC Copenhagen: Fights to Make column for your chance to join me in creating some quality match-ups. In the meantime, let’s get to the fights…
YAIR RODRIGUEZ
The easy answer here, obviously, is to re-book the fight against Jeremy Stephens. However, if Stephens’ eye injury is bad enough – or if some other random factor intervenes – that may not necessarily happen. If that were to be the case, then bouts with Josh Emmett or Jose Aldo would both be doable. Between the two of those, the Emmett fight seems a lot more likely to provide a really competitive match. Or if Calvin Kattar were to beat Zabit Magomedsharipov, he and Yair would make for a fantastic fight (I have to assume Zabit is in range for a title fight if he wins). When all is said and done, few things make more sense than running Stephens vs. Rodriguez back immediately. But if that can’t happen, Josh Emmett vs. Yair Rodriguez is a perfectly suitable replacement.
JEREMY STEPHENS
An intensely unlucky end for a fight that, I’ll admit, I was a little surprised Stephens got in the first place. He’s riding a pair of tough losses to Jose Aldo and Zabit Magomedsharipov. His matchup against Rodriguez to headline this Fight Night card was well booked, but not something I particularly expected given his recent track record. Hopefully, the UFC still likes the idea of the fight enough to just turn around and re-book it ASAP. If Stephens’ eye ends up being okay, then both he and Yair should be perfectly healthy and in fight shape, and more or less ready to go for the nearest fight card in need of some quality boosting.
If his eye does keep him out long enough to see Yair re-booked without him, however, there’s at least one pretty decent fight out there for Stephens: Mirsad Bektic. Bektic has run into his own troubles lately, after charging his way into the rankings. Beating Stephens would be a great way to re-assert his quality. Otherwise, if Calvin Kattar loses to Zabit Magomedsharipov, a fight between he and Stephens would be must-watch. Jeremy Stephens vs. Yair Rodriguez 2 is great, but Stephens vs. Bektic would do in a pinch.
CARLA ESPARZA
A bit of controversy in the scores aside, Esparza got to work a lot of her game early in the fight, hitting takedowns and winning scrambles for position. It’s a grimy style, but one that’s gotten her a lot of wins over her career. Her division is largely booked around her at the moment, but fights with Nina Ansaroff and Marina Rodriguez wouldn’t be entirely out of order. If she wants to wait for an upcoming winner, then a rematch with the winner of Claudia Gadelha vs. Cynthia Calvillo would make a little sense.
But, that fight with Marina Rodriguez seems too on the nose to miss. Rodriguez is streaking up the division as a hot prospect and just picked off a very good gatekeeper in Tecia Torres. A bout against Esparza would be a perfect test to see if she can keep building a title contender’s resume. And for Esparza, a chance to build on a solid win streak could see her knocking on the door of an elimination bout again. Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez is a chance to build serious momentum for both women.
IRENE ALDANA
It’s far and away not the best competition of Irene Aldana’s career, but something seems to finally really be clicking for the Mexican fighter—and Vanessa Melo ended up on the end of a lopsided beating because of it. More than the size, speed, or clean form she’s always had, Aldana looked confident in her ability to find her range and continuously deliver her offense, without having to constantly re-set or revert to getting throwing strikes from too far out, in order to prevent pressure. This was a complete, composed performance, and one that should net her another solid, meaningful fight against a rising contender. With most of her division booked, there’s one upcoming bout that should serve the purpose perfectly: Aspen Ladd vs. Yana Kunitskaya. Whoever wins that fight will likely still need seasoning before facing the division’s very elite (as Ladd found out the hard way). Aldana would be the perfect opponent to see which of these three women is ready to try their hand at title contention sometime in the near future. Irene Aldana vs. the Ladd/Kunitskaya winner.
STEVEN PETERSON
UFC competition has not been kind to Steven Peterson for the most part. A dogged, tough win over Matt Bessette has been sandwiched by equally hard fought, but decisive losses to Brandon Davis, Luis Pena, and Alex Caceres. Still, his unrelenting offense and insane durability have meant that, whichever way his fights happen to be going, he’s always in them until the end. Martin Bravo seemed set to handily out-box Peterson early, but exhausted himself with his own absurd pacing, and ended up on the wrong side of a wicked highlight. One that will keep Peterson in the UFC, and in bantamweight action-scraps for the foreseeable future.
To that end, a fight with New Zealand’s Shane Young seems like a great fight. Young bounced back from an impossible debut against Alex Volkanovski to put on solid performances against Austin Arnett and Rolando Dy. Peterson’s pace and toughness should provide a good step forward to see if Young and keep climbing, and another chance for Peterson to over-perform against a solid opponent. Steven Peterson vs. Shane Young is a fun featherweight scrap.
KYLE NELSON
Much like Peterson, further up the card, Mexico City provided an opportunity for Kyle Nelson to finally shine in the UFC. Himself a victim of a monstrously difficult debut opponent, he looked on his way to getting a win last time out – over Matt Sayles – before hitting a cardio wall in the third round. Destroying Polo Reyes doesn’t exactly solidify that his problems with fast starts and slow finishes are behind him, but it will get him another chance to make those adjustments in the Octagon. And for that purpose, I think a fight against Gavin Tucker makes a ton of sense. Tucker has had his own infamous problems with gassing out, but looked great leaning on a wrestling-heavy attack against Seung Woo Choi—after a two year absence. Can he out-wrestle Nelson, can either of them lean on the early finish again? Or will one of them have to prove they can keep the fight going after a hard first round? Kyle Nelson vs. Gavin Tucker, in the battle of fast-starting Canadians.
SERGIO PETTIS
A very polished win for Pettis to reintroduce him to the flyweight division after a short, rough trip to bantamweight. He’s got a terrifically clean range striking game, that really requires opponents to be able to cut him off or take him down to compete. A bout with Kai Kara-France would make sense enough from a ranking’s perspective, but I’m not sure it would look much different than Pettis’ fight with Nam—given Kai’s power boxing style. A much more fascinatingly competitive option should come out of Matt Schnell’s upcoming bout against Alexandre Pantoja. Schnell is a reasonable and lanky range striker himself, and given Pettis’ lack of power, his durability shouldn’t come into play. And Pantoja is just a high volume striking and grappling wild man, with great speed and an ability to finish at all times. Should make for a fantastic action-bout either way; Sergio Pettis vs. the Schnell/Pantoja winner.
PAUL CRAIG
Win, lose, or draw, Paul Craig is always going to be a lot of fun to watch. He’s got a pathological aggression to him that few opponents can match, even if that kind of mentality comes with its own dangers. That means he’s always primed for action fights. Recent signing Da Un Jung could give him that, fresh off his wild brawl with Khadis Ibragimov. But, I think Craig’s tenure should net him something a little more high profile than a relative newcomer. Unfortunately Gian Villante and Sam Alvey are both coming off losses. So, maybe take on an upcoming winner? Devin Clarke vs. Ryan Spann or Ed Herman vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov both seem promising. Of those, I think Paul Craig vs. the winner of Herman/Antigulov is the best guarantee for unstructured violence.
BETHE CORREIA
A big win for Correia, who had slowly been walking her way down the rankings—and hadn’t picked up a win since 2016. Beating Eubanks, though, will likely keep her in position as a gatekeeper to top 10 competition. With the division mostly booked around her, that could mean she has to take on someone like Sarah Moras – looking for her chance to make drive up the division – or will have to wait for some other fight results. The winner of Macy Chiasson vs. Lina Lansberg would be the best possibility of the current bookings. Or waiting for Sarah McMann to return from injury. Of all those, I think the Moras bout makes the most sense. Moras has been working hard to improve technically and has a fun aggressive style. Plus she’s not at a severe athletic advantage over Correia, which should make for a more competitive bout. Bethe Correia vs. Sarah Moras is a good chance for Moras to climb back into the rankings.
OTHER BOUTS: Alexa Grasso vs. Tecia Torres, Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France, Askar Askarov vs. Mark De La Rosa, Vanessa Melo vs. Lara Procopio, Martin Barvo vs. Suman Mokhtarian, Jose Alberto Quinonez vs. Ricardo Ramos, Carlos Huachin vs. Ryan MacDonald, Polo Reyes vs. Mike Davis, Angela Hill vs. Livia Renata Souza 2, Ariane Carnelossi vs. Syuri Kondo, Tyson Nam vs. Raulian Paiva, Vinicius Moreira vs. Nick Negumereanu, Sijara Eubanks vs. Nicco Montano, Claudio Puelles vs. Peter Barrett, Marcos Mariano vs. Jason Gonzalez
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