Potential matchups after UFC Fight Night in London

Movsar Evloev gets his shot against Alexander Volkanovski

No. 1-ranked featherweight, Evloev, won the decision over No. 3-ranked Lerone Murphy. Many fans were shocked to see Evloev get the decision over Murphy, since Murphy was seemingly winning the first three rounds. Evloev was deducted a point in the fourth round for repeated groin strikes, which left fans even more confused with the decision from the judges. 

Regardless of the judging criticism, Evloev is undefeated as a mixed martial artist and should be the next to fight Volkanovski. Evloev will be the best grappler Volkanovski has faced since Islam Makhachev. In their first fight, Volkanovski lost a razor-thin decision to Makhachev. Volkanovski should be able to limit Evloev’s grappling and make the fight very competitive.

Lerone Murphy fights the winner of Aljamain Sterling and Youssef Zalal

Murphy claimed to have hurt his hip during the Evloev fight, so depending on the recovery time, this is the fight that makes the most sense. Sterling and Zalal are set to face off at a UFC Fight Night on April 25. The winner of No. 5 Sterling and no. 7 Zalal will be looking to get a title eliminator bout.

Murphy can be right back at the top for a title shot if he can finish Sterling or Zalal on the feet. As Murphy is already 34, it seems like his next fight will be his most important.

Luke Riley takes on Dan Ige

Riley is a prospect with a ton of hype. After a decisive victory over Michael Aswell, the matchmakers should give Riley a test. Ige is a hard-hitting striker with a good ground game and solid BJJ. Ige was dropped from the rankings recently after being finished by the current No. 12-ranked Melquizael Costa. 

Ige is known to be a gatekeeper in the featherweight division. Ige usually gets beaten by the contenders, but is able to weed out the pretenders in the division. If Riley can prove himself against Ige, he would position himself to get a ranked opponent after that.

Iwo Baraniewski takes on Aleksandar Rakic

Baraniewski has had two stunning finishes in his first two UFC fights after earning a contract on the last season of Dana White’s Contender Series. He is a hard-hitting light heavyweight that can turn the lights out with one punch. After knocking out Austen Lane, he should get a ranked opponent. 

The division could use a prospect to shake up the rankings. Baraniewski is shorter than most light heavyweights at 6 feet with a 73 in reach. Rakic doesn’t have a fight scheduled after being knocked out by Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321. Murzakanov is a shorter light heavyweight just like Baraniewski. 

Rakic could show he’s still worthy of his ranking if he can beat Baraniewski. The hype for Baraniewski will only grow if he’s able to defeat Rakic.