Alexander Volkanovski walked out of Etihad Arena in Dubai on Saturday night with his second straight title defense and a second-round TKO of Movsar Evloev. Then he told everyone he’s coming back for at least one more fight. That last part should drive every decision the UFC makes about him.
MMA Mania’s post-event matchmaking column laid out the two obvious paths: a featherweight defense against No. 4 Aljamain Sterling, or a move to 155. I’m with the writer on this one, and I’d push it harder. If a fighter openly says he’s working on a short clock, you don’t spend that clock on a fight nobody’s going to remember.
Volkanovski: Go Up or Go Home
Sterling is the cleanest name left at 145 that Volkanovski hasn’t already handled. Fine. But Sterling has his own business first, a scheduled bout with Kevin Vallejos next month, and even if he wins it, Volk vs. Sterling is a fight the champion is favored to win and fans are only mildly excited to watch. MMA Mania’s column admitted it doesn’t do much for them either.
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The lightweight idea is the one with heat. Justin Gaethje holds the belt, and the column argued Arman Tsarukyan should get the next crack at it before Volkanovski cuts the line. That’s fair to Tsarukyan, who has earned his spot, and it’s actually good for Volk too. Let Gaethje and Tsarukyan settle it, then send the featherweight champion up to chase a second belt against whoever’s left standing. A champ-champ run is the fight a guy calling his shots near the end of his career should be chasing. Waiting a few months for it beats burning his last booking on a defense.
Yan vs. O’Malley Is Already Written
Petr Yan kept his 135-pound title with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main, closing out their trilogy with his second win over the Georgian. That rivalry is done. Good. Three fights was plenty.
What’s next gets complicated. Song Yadong was in the building and picked up a shout-out from Daniel Cormier on the broadcast, which reads like the promotion lining up its next contender. MMA Mania noted that left Sean O’Malley looking like the guy being nudged aside, and that Yan himself isn’t thrilled about facing “Suga” again.
Here’s my problem with skipping O’Malley: he beat Song earlier this year. You can’t pass over the guy who already won the head-to-head. And the history between Yan and O’Malley is unfinished in the best possible way. O’Malley took a razor-thin split decision over Yan at UFC 280, and plenty of people walked away from that one arguing about the scorecards. Yan holding the belt now, with O’Malley as the one trying to take it, puts a title and a grudge on the same fight. Book it.
Kavanagh and Taira Is a Perfect Flyweight Pairing
Lone’er Kavanagh needed this one. His knockout of Ramazan Temirov got him back in the win column and evened him at 2-2 over his last four. He’s sitting at No. 6, close enough to the top five to make a jump with the right opponent.
That opponent is Tatsuro Taira, ranked No. 4, whose last outing was a title-fight loss to champion Joshua Van. Both guys are coming off very different results and both need a statement before getting back near Van. It’s a fresh matchup at 125, too, which the flyweight division could use. Fighters who just lost a title shot usually want someone ranked and dangerous to rebuild against, and Kavanagh fresh off a knockout fits that exactly.
Pico Should Get the Allen Fight He Was Promised
Aaron Pico was supposed to fight Arnold Allen at UFC 333. Allen got hurt, Losene Keita took the fight on short notice, and Pico stopped him by TKO for his second straight win in the UFC. Credit to Keita for taking the call, and credit to Pico for not getting sloppy against a late replacement.
Pico used his post-fight moment to ask for a rematch with Lerone Murphy, who knocked him out at UFC 319. I understand the pride in that. I also think it’s too soon, and so did MMA Mania’s column. Allen is ranked No. 6, Pico is No. 14, and the fight was already built once. Rebook it the second Allen is healthy. A win there does more for Pico’s ranking than a revenge attempt he isn’t ready for.
Volkov Gets the Worst Seat at the Table
Alexander Volkov lobbied for a heavyweight title shot before the event and then beat Rizvan Kuniev. Unlucky timing, though. Ciryl Gane meets Josh Hokit at UFC 334, Sergei Pavlovich and Alex Pereira fight at UFC 335, and those winners look like the next title pairing. Tom Aspinall, who vacated the belt because of his eye injury, is still waiting to be cleared and could ask for an immediate shot when he’s back.
MMA Mania’s pitch was Volkov vs. Aspinall as a title eliminator. I love it. It puts Aspinall’s return in front of a ranked veteran, keeps Volkov active instead of sitting and hoping, and gives the winner a claim nobody can argue with. Sterling vs. Vallejos lands next month, and that result decides whether Volkanovski’s featherweight option still exists at all.
