Matchmaker Monday following UFC Vegas 43
UFC Vegas 43 ended with the Miesha Tate comeback run being put on hold.
In the main event, the former UFC bantamweight champion suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ketlen Vieira, who has now earned a huge fight after beating Tate.
As for Tate, the loss shouldn’t set her back too far, especially given the star power behind her name.
Let’s break down the next moves for the ladies who fought in the UFC Vegas 43 main event in this edition of Matchmaker Monday.
Ketlen Vieira
Next: Holly Holm
Vieira was a fight away from a title back in 2019 and then suffered an upset knockout loss to Irene Aldana.
After bouncing back with a win, she then lost to former title challenger Yana Kunitskaya.
Now after defeating a former champ, Vieira now once again has a shot at to get herself a title fight.
When looking at the official UFC bantamweight rankings, one fight jumps out in Holm vs. Vieira in a title elimination fight. Both women are big, physical and have great stand up. This division needs a No.1 contender that fans can get behind and want to see challenge Amanda Nunes. The winner of Holm and Vieira should do just that.
Miesha Tate
Next: winner of Raquel Pennington and Julia Avila
Tate had moments over the weekend, but Vieira just seemed to land with ease on the face of Tate.
Nonetheless, Tate won’t have too far of a set back as up next she should be the winner Pennington and Avila.
Pennington does a hold a win over Tate in what was Tate’s last fight before retiring. If Pennington wins against Avila, a rematch with Tate would definitely have a whole new meaning given Tate’s mindset since coming out of retirement.
Tate does have one big thing in her favor going forward and that is star power. While the winner of Pennington and Avila makes sense, Tate can still be a wildcard option against a top tier opponent given her name. Don’t be surprised in the UFC is looking for a main event down the road and they turn to Tate.
