Fights To Make After UFC Shanghai

The dust has settled in UFC Shanghai, and it was another successful trip to China that has continued a hot streak of great UFC cards recently.

In the main event of the night, Song Yadong pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year and of all time, astonishingly flatlining Umar Nurmagomedov and setting the Shanghai crowd on fire.

In the co-main event, Denise Gomes put former title challenger Yan Xiaonan out badly with a brutal sequence that could’ve been the best finish of the night had it not been for a few others who were also elite.

Elsewhere on the card, Kai Asakura inched closer to the rankings with another devastating finish, and Julia Polastri gave us one of the best knockouts of the year with a devastating head kick against Jingnan Xiong.

Fights To Make After UFC Shanghai 

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

Song Yadong vs. Merab Dvalishvili 

Song Yadong’s next fight could be for the title, or it could be a title eliminator, and that’s what makes it interesting. Since he did just lose to Sean O’Malley who has put together two wins in a row, it muddies the waters a bit.

So it’s as simple as this: If Merab wins against Yan at UFC 333, give Song Yadong the title shot to keep a fresh title picture, and you can run a Yan vs. O’Malley rematch. 

But if Yan wins at UFC 333, you can weigh the options of either O’Malley or Song getting the next shot. In the end, it would still probably be O’Malley, so that’s why the next fight for Song should be against Merab regardless. 

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. David Martinez

Seeing Umar unconscious on the canvas was one of the most surreal moments in UFC history, and now it’s opened a door that can never be closed. We knew Hmar was beatable, but to see him knocked out in the fashion that he was proved to everyone that he is just as human as any of us.

David Martinez is the step down in the rankings that Umar could use, and it’s honestly one of the only fights that would make sense as Umar has fought pretty much everyone else in the rankings. It’s a very winnable fight to help him bounce back, but it’s also a fight that could show us even more that we may need to know about Umar and if he’s cut out for this era of bantamweights.

Denise Gomes vs. Virna Jandiroba

Gomes getting a finish as spectacular as the one she got in Shanghai is the kind of thing that could honestly see her thrust into an immediate title eliminator of sorts, at least for her. And that’s exactly what should be next. Give her Virna Jandiroba and if she wins, just give her a title shot because the division needs to move along quickly and see new faces in the title picture. 

Kai Asakura vs. Chito Vera

Kai Asakura has looked great since moving to Bantamweight, which is where he should’ve been from the minute he entered the UFC. Now, a ranking should be in his future as he is clearly ready for the challenge and fighting with the confidence he has been known for his entire career.

Chito Vera is the kind of opponent to throw at him to see if he is actually capable of hanging, and we’re willing to bet he could get the job done in that fight.

Sumudaerji vs. Steve Erceg

Sumudaerji has put together a great run recently, winning what we will call four straight fights and finally breaking into the rankings with his win over Alex Perez in Shanghai. Next up, he deserves a chance to fight a similarly ranked opponent who has some name value and presents him with a tough enough test in Steve Erceg.