Matchmaker Monday following UFC on ESPN 11
Curtis Blaydes and Dana White may disagree on the value of the performance, but nonetheless Blaydes picked up his fourth win in a row by earning a unanimous decision win over Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN 11. In the win, Blaydes set a UFC record for takedowns in a heavyweight fight.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos put on an absolute show and both men deserve a lot of credit for putting on such a great show for all the fans.
With all of that being said, it’s time to find out what’s next for these men on this Matchmaker Monday following UFC on ESPN 11.
Curtis Blaydes
Result: defeated Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 11
Next: Winner of Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Olenik
First off I’m stuck in the middle between the whole Curtis Blaydes and Dana White disagreement. I thought Blaydes should be happy with his performance, however I agree with the boss that Blaydes should stay active, because he’s not getting a title fight next, as Francis Ngannou should get the winner of the upcoming Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
So given that, I feel that the winner of the upcoming Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Olenik bout makes sense. First off, Lewis is a former title challenger and he’s never faced Blaydes before. Also that match is a clash of styles, which is always fun. Second off, Olenik and Blaydes previously fought before in which Blaydes barely snuck out of the fight with a win so a rematch would make sense.
If Blaydes can get through that fight with a win, he definitely is next in line for a title shot as long as Jon Jones doesn’t insert his name into the heavyweight division as he would jump over everyone.
Alexander Volkov
Result: lost to Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 11
Next: loser of Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Personally, I was upset with Volkov’s performance as clearly his weakness as been exposed and first and foremost his next move should be to address his wrestling. I always though Volkov was a sleeper in the division, because he stands at six feet seven inches tall with a long frame and if it wasn’t for that last second loss to Derrick Lewis, he would have been unbeaten in the UFC and would have fought for the title against Daniel Cormier in Nov. 2018.
Anyways, I’m going with a match up between two guys coming off of a loss, as a future matchup between Volkov and the loser of Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight makes sense. Not only will it be two guys coming off of losses, but the fighters will also be close to each other in the rankings.
Again though, Volkov’s first order of business should be address the wrestling holes.
Josh Emmett
Result: defeated Shane Burgos by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 11
Next: winner of Calvin Katter vs. Dan Ige
Give Emmett some credit. The guy has an impressive record and he’s now it’s time to get him a big matchup. Unfortunately, it seems the top of the division is a bit tied up as Max Holloway is getting a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski, there’s rumblings of a Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez fight coming up and Brian Ortega and The Korean Zombie are dying to get their hands on one another.
So up next for Emmet, I like the winner of winner of Calvin Katter vs. Dan Ige, who will be fighting in a few weeks. Both Emmet and whoever wins that fight would both be riding serious momentum and whoever would win that fight could insert their names in a possible future title elimination bout.
Shane Burgos
Result: lost to Josh Emmett by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 11
Next: Jeremy Stephens
I don’t Burgos lost any stock by losing the fight against Emmett and I don’t see him really dropping to far back because of it.
So if that is the case, I think a fight with Jeremy Stephens would be fun. Both guys are close in the rankings, both are coming off losses and most importantly it would be such a fun fight. Both guys come to fight every time out there and it would be a fight that would have “Fight of the Night” written all over it.
