Five fights the UFC should book to kick off their Paramount deal with ‘incredible’ event

1. Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa 2

The man with the most knockouts in UFC history, while he’s often been used to headline Fight Night events, seems like an obvious addition to this card.

Putting Derrick Lewis in a fun matchup where you know what you’re going to get isn’t easy given the current landscape of the division.

While booking a rematch between him and Tai Tuivasa isn’t a matchup that highlights the strength of the promotion’s heavyweight roster, it likely guarantees you a highlight to get the main card underway.

If there was any other ranked heavyweight who you could bet on having a fire fight with Lewis, they’d probably take the place of Tuivasa given his five-fight losing streak.

There’s certainly a lot of other fights that would make more sense for both men, but in the interest of having some variety and the high chance of a big knockout, this is one of the only options at heavyweight.

2. Michael ‘Venom’ Page vs Joaquin Buckley

Michael ‘Venom’ Page only went to middleweight so that he could stay active because he was frustrated at welterweight.

After picking up some good wins at 185, he can easily slot back in amongst the welterweight top 15, where Joaquin Buckley is also in need of a new challenge.

Ideally, the likes of Carlos Prates if he wasn’t fighting next month would have been ideal for this spot, but Page and Buckley are still fun dance partners for one another.

Not to mention that in the lead up to the card, you’re going to regularly see some of the greatest MMA knockouts of all time courtesy of their highlight reels.

3. Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez

Given their styles, there’s a strong argument to be made that this one should be contested over five rounds, and maybe that should be the case here even with it not being a title fight.

Sean Strickland has already named Anthony Hernandez as the opponent he wants to face when returning, though both fighters do have hurdles that might prevent them from fighting in January.

Strickland’s suspension and Hernandez’s injury could be an issue, but this is the matchup to make.

Given how some of the recent middleweight fights at the top of the division have played out, this could even produce the first challenger for Khamzat Chimaev’s title.

4. Jiri Prochazka vs Carlos Ulberg

It would seem somewhat harsh to strip him of the belt so soon after he won it back but it’s pretty clear that Alex Pereira doesn’t plan on defending the light heavyweight title.

Whether this bout is for a vacant or interim belt, this Joe Rogan approved fight is the one to make if both men can make the turnaround.

There was a consideration as to whether it would be better to save it for the UFC’s annual event in Australia, which may end up being in February, but that’s why Alexander Volkanovski isn’t in one of the fights on this list.

When looking at potential title fights that could be in the co-main event of this card, this one stood out the most and there aren’t many things that are going to get fans more excited about the year ahead than having Jiri Prochazka fight for a title again in January.

5. Ilia Topuria vs Paddy Pimblett

If there’s any fighter in UFC history that is deserving of having the promotion give him what he wants, it’s Justin Gaethje.

The problem in this scenario is that by giving ‘The Highlight’ the next title shot, you could end up missing out on one of the biggest title fights in recent years.

Ilia Topuria becoming champion while Paddy Pimblett has risen through the ranks has already created an opportunity that is almost too good to be true for the UFC.

While reports have suggested that it will be Gaethje challenging Topuria, if the UFC wants to put on the biggest main event they can to set the tone for the Paramount era, it’s ‘The Baddy’ they need to call.