Monday Matchmaker: Major lightweight options after Gaethje’s UFC 313 return

For the first time this year, figuring out what comes next for the winner of a championship fight on a UFC pay-per-view event is pretty straightforward.

Following UFC 311, it was difficult to ascertain exactly who retaining champions Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili would next share the Octagon with, and the same could be said of middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis and strawweight queen Zhang Weili following their successful turns at UFC 312 in Sydney.

But after Magomed Ankalaev dethroned Alex Pereira to wrap up UFC 313 over the weekend, it’s easy to figure out who the newly minted champion will be facing next.

Even if Ankalaev had stopped Pereira in 48 seconds with an unexpected high kick or a clean left hand down the pipe, “Poatan” was always going to get an immediate rematch. That’s what being an active champion that successfully defends their title multiple times buys you.

But it also doesn’t hurt that (a) Pereira is beloved by fans and (b) Saturday’s main event was a close, competitive bout that left the now former champion feeling unsure of how Ankalaev earned the victory and many in the MMA bubble immediately misremembering how things did, in fact, play out inside the Octagon.

Was this the type of thrill ride we’re used to seeing from Pereira fights? No, it was not, but it also wasn’t Ankalaev holding Pereira along the fence and offering little offence either, as the Brazilian suggested following the contest.

Ankalaev was the more effective striker and landed the more impactful shots in three of the five rounds, including the fourth, where he did spend time pinning Pereira to the cage. He fought a smart, tactical fight where he pressured Pereira more than anyone had before, avoided his big power, and did more than enough to merit the victory.

And the great thing is that we’ll see if he can do it again at some point later this year, as we should.

This wasn’t a fluke. This wasn’t the judges getting it wrong.

Ankalaev has always been an outstanding fighter, and even the grief he takes for being “boring” is misappropriated, as his dozen UFC wins have been split evenly between decisions and finishes, and he just outworked someone that had been running through everyone he faced. Sure, it was a tactical fight, but Ankalaev went forward more than Pereira, threw and landed more than Pereira, and yet despite beating him, doesn’t seem to be getting his due for his efforts.

So we wait for the rematch, where Pereira will get his chance to make his adjustments, and Ankalaev will likely take a very similar approach, trusting once more in his ability to beat “Poatan” on the feet and beat him with pressure, technique, and the right amount of unwavering confidence in his skills.

ESK suggests: This feels like your UFC 316 headliner in Newark, N.J. Book it three months out so that either way, there is room for a third light-heavyweight championship fight later in the year.

GAME GAETHJE WILL ALWAYS HAVE OPTIONS

When you’re as perpetually entertaining as Justin Gaethje, whether in victory or defeat, there are always going to be avenues to big fights against big names, and opportunities for you to make the walk and make some money.

After earning a unanimous decision win over Rafael Fiziev in their impromptu rematch at UFC 313, the 36-year-old lightweight cemented his standing as a top-five fighter in the 155-pound weight class, and bought himself time to see how things shake out elsewhere in the division while he hits the links and waits for his next assignment.

He said after the contest he obviously (and understandably) would like another chance to fight for the title, and he honestly may not be too far off. Beating Fiziev doesn’t erase what happened at UFC 300, but Gaethje is 3-1 in his last four, hasn’t faced champ Islam Makhachev yet, and is also the ultimate litmus test for anyone hoping to beat him to a championship opportunity, which could become a means for him to earn his next shot at gold.

Everyone is waiting to see what happens with Makhachev, top contenders Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira, and former featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria, who vacated the belt in order to move to lightweight and pursue gold there. We’ve also got Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett waiting to fight at UFC 314, which is worth keeping an eye on too.

Sticking him in there with Tsarukyan would be a tremendous fight and a tough assignment for the man currently listed as the No. 1 contender following his 11th-hour withdrawal at UFC 311. Gaethje has the takedown defence to test Tsarukyan’s grappling, and the output to force the Armenian to be at his absolute best if he wants to maintain his place at the top of the list of contenders.

A matchup with Topuria would be a helluva way to welcome “El Matador” to the division, with the winner earning the next championship opportunity. We’ve seen Topuria put Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway out in back-to-back championship fights at featherweight, and if he did the same to Gaethje in is lightweight debut, the UFC would have a burgeoning superstar on its hands.

And a fight with “Paddy the Baddy” could be fun if he gets passed Chandler next month, though I would wager the Manchester man would fancy a grappling-heavy bout with Oliveira instead.

Worst-case scenario, you book him against Dan Hooker again once “The Hangman,” who was originally scheduled to face Gaethje this past weekend, is healed up and ready to rock. It was a terrific fight when it was first booked, and nothing has changed that.

ESK suggests: Book Gaethje vs. Tsarukyan on International Fight Week, so that the winner is available, if needed, for a championship fight in the final third of the year. Regardless of how things shake out ahead of them, it’s a massive fight with legitimate stakes, and a tremendous test for both guys.

NOW WHAT FOR BAHAMONDES, RUFFY?

Gaethje wasn’t the only lightweight to collect a key win on Saturday’s main card, as both Ignacio Bahamondes and Mauricio Ruffy picked up first-round finishes that elevated their profiles as well.

Bahamondes submitted Jalin Turner, shifting his hips swiftly and deftly after getting put on his back, securing the choke at the midway point of the round to extend his winning streak — and finishing streak — to three.

Two fights earlier, Ruffy connected with a gorgeous spinning wheel kick to the side of the head of King Green, dropping the veteran where he stood to move himself to 3-0 inside the Octagon.

The easy, boring thing would be to say, “Have them fight one another” because they’re on the same timeline, in comparable positions in the division — both entered unranked, both have a case for entering the rankings this week; Bahamondes a little more so — and you don’t have to try to figure out which ranked fighter you have to try to convince to fight either one of these guys.

But where’s the fun in that?

Bahamondes is likely to take Turner’s place at No. 13 in the rankings or fall somewhere close, so a matchup with someone in the same vicinity makes a lot of sense. As for Ruffy, he probably won’t push his way into the rankings (though you never know), but icing Green the way he did merits a date with someone sporting a number next to their name whenever he returns.

ESK suggests: This might feel backwards, but I would book Bahamondes against Grant Dawson, who has also won three straight and sits at No. 14 in the rankings as of this writing, and Ruffy opposite Beneil Dariush, who is at No. 9 and was scratched from UFC 311 when Renato Moicano was called up to face Makhachev in the main event.

Bahamondes and Dawson is a great stylistic clash between ascending talents where the winner takes another small step forward, and I think you give Ruffy the chance to show he’s got the same “capturing lightning in a bottle” potential as his Fighting Nerds teammates Carlos Prates and Jean Silva, who have also rose through the ranks quickly and have massive fights on tap in Miami next month.