Fights To Make After UFC 330

The dust has settled on UFC 330, and though it wasn’t the greatest fight card of all time on paper or name-wise, the event delivered stellar moments and great fights all around to continue what has actually been one of the best years in UFC history as far as consistent in-cage product goes.

In the main event of the night, Islam Makhachev broke a long-standing UFC record for most consecutive wins by defeating Ian Machado Garry in an ultra-competitive fight that pushed the champ to his limit.

In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern cruised to a pretty lopsided decision win over Gillian Robertson, proving that it was the champ who is the better mixed martial artist.

Elsewhere on the card, Jalin Turner and Esteban Ribovics both got huge wins by knockout to inch closer to the lightweight rankings, Charles Johnson survived a crazy war on short notice to pull off just the second-ever Scottish Twister in UFC history, and Jeremiah Wells cashed as a massive underdog against Myktybek Orolbai in one of the biggest upsets of the year. 

Fights To Make After UFC 330

These are the next fights to make for each of the biggest stars of UFC 330.

Islam Makhachev vs. Winner of Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales

Islam Makhachev may have put an end to any and all GOAT debates with his win at UFC 330, and with no signs of him stopping, a fight with either Carlos Prates or Michael Morales seems inevitable for him next.

Which of the two that will be is up in the air, as a possible title eliminator makes a ton of sense since both men are so deserving of a shot. If they do fight, the winner gets Islam. But the UFC could opt to give Morales the shot for his good favor to them when he weighed in successfully as the backup fighter for UFC 330’s main event.

Ian Machado Garry vs. Loser of Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales

Ian Machado Garry proved to be just as game as we all knew he would be against Islam Makhachev, but it just wasn’t his night and that is more than okay. Now, Garry can move forward knowing he’s nowhere near out of the title picture and perhaps closer than ever to being champ, as he is very clearly the second best welterweight in the world.

If the plan is a title eliminator between Prates and Morales, the loser of that fight should be matched with Garry down the line, and the winner of that fight would seemingly be right back in a title fight, as this division is ruthlessly competitive at the top.

Mackenzie Dern vs. Zhang Weili

This should’ve been the fight at 330, but now that Dern has successfully defended her title, it’s time to actually get this one booked as it is seemingly the only fight at 115 that makes sense for either woman, and it would undeniably be an intriguing and unpredictable fight.

Jalin Turner vs. Manuel Torres

Jalin Turner is clearly capable of being a big problem at 155, it’s just about whether he wants to be a problem. His finishing ability is top-tier anywhere the fight goes and his skillset is also equal to some of the best lightweight fighters we see in the UFC rankings, so now it seems like a perfect time to see if Turner is ready to be ranked again.

Manuel Torres is coming off a loss and ranked #15 in the lightweight division, so it seems logical that he would defend his ranking against someone like Turner. Plus, this fight would almost be a guaranteed war that ends by way of finish. What more could you ask for? 

Esteban Ribovics vs. Rafael Fiziev

Ribovics called for another crack at the lightweight top 15, and it’s completely reasonable for the UFC to throw him the bone one more time even though he lost his last fight against a top 15 opponent and is only on a one-fight win streak.

Ribovics is a company man and has perhaps the best claim to the title of the UFC’s most entertaining fighter, so why not throw him in there with Rafael Fiziev who will play the game that Ribovics is hoping for? It would be insanely entertaining and it makes sense, so let’s get this one done ASAP.