Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 34
UFC Vegas 34 provided an excellent middleweight main event between Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum.
Cannonier won the fight by unanimous decision and shocked the MMA world by mentioning that he’s broke and needs to keep fighting to have money.
The need for money puts Cannonier into an interesting position now going forward, while Gastelum continues to fall in the middleweight rankings. Now it’s time to try and figure out their next moves on this edition of Matchmaker Monday
Jared Cannonier
Result: defeated Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 34
Next: Jack Hermansson
Cannonier needs money. A title fight, which he has now earned, would allow him to get paid more. A few problems there though. For starters, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker still haven’t been booked to fight. Another problem is if Whittaker wins, there will absolutely be a rematch which leaves Cannonier waiting.
If Cannioner wants to wait out then we know his next move is a title fight, but if he choices not to and wants to keep fighting to make money then it gets tricky.
Right now the top of the division has fights booked so for now pencil him in with Hermansson, who isn’t booked and ranked No. 6 in the middleweight rankings. However, note that the next few weeks can change this matchup. If guys are willing to be active and try and earn a title fight and Cannonier wants to keep fighting there are a lot of great matchups to be had out there. It’s just a matter of seeing how the fights play out in the coming weeks.
Kelvin Gastelum
Result: lost to Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 34
Next: Uriah Hall
Another loss for the guy who gave Adesanya his hardest fight at 185 pounds. This one marks his 5 defeat over his past six fights.
A road back to the top is getting harder for Gastelum, who deserves a lot of credit as he’s fighting the best of the best at middleweight. However, for all the credit he deserves, he still hasn’t won.
Up next, rather than giving him another top ranked guy, Gastelum should fight someone ranked below him who is coming off a loss. Cue in Hall. Both fighters need a win to start climbing back and steep slops to the top which will make for a great fight.
