Matchmaker Monday following UFC 256

UFC 256 marked the final pay per view of 2020 for MMA’s top promotion and what a way to end it.

In the main event, Deiveson Figueiredo reclaimed his title as him and Brandon Moreno fought to a majority draw in what was an epic back-and-forth fight which will be a contender for “Fight of the Year.”

Aside from the epic main event, Charles Oliveira picked up his eighth consecutive win as he dominated Tony Ferguson.

Let’s find out what’s next for the men involved in Saturday’s main and co-main events on this Matchmaker Monday.

Deiveson Figueiredo & Brandon Moreno
Result: majority draw at UFC 256
Next: rematch

What a fight. What a war. What a main event.

Both men were hurt and had to dig deep to push through the fight. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I saw I want to see it again. Not only do I want to see it again, but so does UFC president Dana White, who said he plans on having them rematch in 2021.

Of course both men are going to have to take sometime to heal up, but hopefully in the first half of 2020 we can see these two do it again.

Cody Garbrandt has talked about challenging for the belt and his star power can allow him to do that if he choses to do so, but I don’t think the UFC needs to do that. After seeing what Figueiredo and Monero just did then the UFC doesn’t need Garbrandt in there because a rematch will sell itself.

Charles Oliveira
Result: defeated Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision at UFC 256
Next: Justin Gaethje

Oliveira is now in title contention after steamrolling Ferguson. The key word is contention.

I understand that Oliveira wants a title shot and called for the winner of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier and given his winning streak he is definitely deserving. However so is plenty of other fighters at lightweight and right now there’s way to many moving parts to figure out.

The UFC has yet to acknowledge Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement. McGregor and Poirier are booked for January. So right there is the top of the food chain at the moment.

So why that gets figured out let’s matchup up Oliveira and Gaethje. That’s a fun fight. Of course Rafael dos Anjos and Dan Hooker maybe able to throw their names into that mix to fight Gaethje, but that’s a good thing for the UFC because they have a number of world class matchups at 155-pounds.

Tony Ferguson
Result: lost to Charles Oliveira by unanimous decision at UFC 256
Next: Paul Felder

It’s getting late for Ferguson. He’s fought in eight rounds this year and you might as well say he’s lost all of them. Given his recent outings and his age, retirement maybe creeping up on Ferguson.

Next up I think Paul Felder makes a lot of sense for Ferguson, but if he loses then he might want to take a look at his future in the sport.