Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 20
UFC Vegas 20 saw Ciryl Gane remain undefeated in his first ever main event.
While his fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik was lackluster for the majority of the 25 minutes, Gane will now be a ranked in the top five of the official UFC heavyweight rankings. Meanwhile, Rozenstruik will likely drop out of the top and have to work his way back toward the top.
Now let’s find out what’s the next move for these heavyweights on this Matchmaker Monday.
Ciryl Gane
Result: defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 20
Next: Curtis Blaydes
The heavyweight division has a new heavyweight contender and his name is Ciryl Gane.
There are still so questions he’ll have to answer after his fight with Rozenstruik and he’ll get the chance to do so against Blaydes.
This matchup makes sense as Blaydes is one of the best heavyweights in the world, he’s ranked in the top five and he’s coming off a loss. Whoever wins the fight would be in prime position to get into title contention.
Of course the heavyweight division has some moving parts as champion Stipe Miocic defends his belt against Francis Ngannou and the winner gets Jon Jones. Meanwhile, Derrick Lewis, Blaydes, Alexander Volkov and Gane all have some business to take care to jockey as the true No. 1 contender.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Result: lost to Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 20
Next: Alistair Overeem
Rozenstruik never was able to land the big punch to put Gane away. In fact, he didn’t really do much throughout the fight. Now he’s on the outside looking in on the top five of the heavyweight division.
Up next he’s going to fight someone else outside of the top five and that’s Overeem.
The two have a past as Overeem was seconds away from a win before Rozenstruik landed a bomb that knocked out Overeem and split his top lip in half. The rematch would definitely sell given the result of their first fight.
Rozenstruik losing was good for Overeem as Overeem will now get a chance to avenge a loss and get a shot against a top five opponent with a win. If Rozenstruik would have won, Overeem would be fighting some ranked between No. 8 and No. 11.
