What time is it!? It’s like 11:00 am, as I write this, but that’s not the point. The point is, that it’s also fantasy matchmaking time. The best of times in any fight week. Sure we got to watch actual fights last night, and those were pretty fun - if marred a bit by typical FS1 pacing - but the real glory to be had isn’t in the cage. The real glory is in the arena of fight booking, where only the select few reign supreme.
I’m going to be looking at all the fights from UFC Portland and doing my level best to figure out the most awesome next steps for each of them. My word isn’t law, of course, but I can safely assume that the UFC brass will take it into heavy consideration as they move forward and fill upcoming events. Because of that, I’ll do what I can to mirror the UFC’s fight booking strategy: usually winners vs. winners, losers vs. losers, and similarly experienced fighters against one another. If I have to go off script, I will, but only when it’s really necessary.
JOHN LINEKER: This comes down to what the UFC is doing next with Dominick Cruz. If Cruz is fighting Garbrandt, then Lineker vs. Dillashaw would be one hell of an awesome fight right now. If, however, Cruz is fighting Dillashaw, then Lineker has lots of options. Bryan Caraway, Cody Garbrandt, and Jimmie Rivera are all coming off big wins and all ranked at the top of the division and all unbooked. Garbrandt would be the most easily hyped fight, but I think I’d actually go with Caraway. Caraway seems to want to take on guys ranked above him (which Lineker is) in order to get to the belt. And as a reasonably big wrestle/grappler he could present a more unique style challenge to Lineker at 135 than the string of strikers he’s been facing. Lineker vs. Dillashaw is the fight I’d want to see first, but Caraway is a fine alternative.
JOHN DODSON: Tough performance from Dodson and tough loss in a close fight, but he absolutely should be getting another crack at the top of the division. I would enjoy seeing Dodson take on Raphael Assuncao, but I’m not sure Assuncao would take that fight. I could say Michael McDonald, but I’d actually rather see McDonald face Thomas Almeida. The other option is Urijah Faber, but that just seems cruel to Faber. So the best option I’m left with is to try and get that Raphael Assuncao fight booked. If it can’t happen, then I’d be fine seeing him fight Eddie Wineland in a winner/loser matchup.
ALEX OLIVEIRA: Assuming that Oliveira is back to welterweight for his next time out, then how about a battle between him and Tim Means? It’d be a great test of Oliveira’s preference for clinch offense and put him in against someone really capable of making him pay for deficiencies in his range striking. If Oliveira can get past a guy like Means, then he’s definitely on track to be a top 15 welterweight. If he can’t then it’s back to taking more action fights. If the Means fight doesn’t work, then I’d also advocate for Oliveira vs. Alan Jouban. That would be a nice scrap.
WILL BROOKS: Obviously, the first stop for Brooks is going to be healing up from a broken rib. And by the time he gets done with that, he could be looking at a very different set of options. Looking at other near top 15 lightweights dealing with injury woes, Brooks could potentially take on Erik Koch or Bobby Green when either of them recover, or Abel Trujillo. I can’t imagine Joe Lauzon wanting to wait around for Brooks to heal up. If he wanted a softer step back, then a fight with Paul Felder could be fun. I think at the end of the day, though, the Erik Koch fight feels like my favorite option. Both guys have a lot to prove right now, and it seems like a really fun style matchup.
BRANDON MORENO: What the hell do you do with Brandon Moreno? The best answer is probably: Don’t book him like a top 10 fighter. IF the UFC just can’t help themselves, then he should fight the Nicolau/Sasaki winner for the definitive slot of potentially over-ranked flyweight. If they actually want to play it smart and get him some cage time and a chance to show his ability, then I’d suggest a bout with Ryan Benoit. Benoit isn’t an easy out by any measure, but he’s a very one-dimensional threat with almost no wrestling or grappling game. It would make for a solid style matchup. A fight with Geane Herrera wouldn’t be the worst idea either, even if Herrera hasn’t had the best luck in the UFC so far.
LOUIS SMOLKA: Smolka really fell hard on his face here, and there’s only one good option for it. He has to fight John Moraga. Both he and Moraga put up terrible performances against seemingly over-matched competition, and put their ranking in the top 15 of their division in serious doubt. Time for one of them to get a win, and what better way than at the expense of the other. Louis Smolka vs. John Moraga. Make it happen.
ANDRE FILI: Chas Skelly battle? That seems like a natural fit for a couple of weird dudes with exciting, go anywhere styles. Fili is the better striker of the two, but Skelly has a great knack for surprising and a mean grappling game. That fight could be a ton of fun. I’d also be up for seeing Fili take a shot at Rony Jason, but it’s been a while since Jason had a win that stayed on his record. The best other option would be to take on Brian Ortega when Ortega returns, but I think Fili vs. Skelly is the right fight right now.
NATE MARQUARDT: The nice thing about middleweight is that it’s so entirely booked up that there really are only a handful of options to choose from. Despite all his ups and downs, Marquardt has shown that he’s still a borderline top middleweight and not a fighter to be taken lightly. If he feels he deserves a shot at a ranked guy, he could wait to fight the winner of Rafael Natal vs. Tim Boetsch, or the winner of Leites vs. Jotko, either of which is likely to be ranked after that fight. If he just wants to fight again, then the best option for him is Magnus Cedenblad. I’d probably wait for the winner of Leites/Jotko as a first option, but Cedenblad would be a tough fight.
OTHER BOUTS: Ottow vs. Ayari, Henrique da Silva vs. Bosse, Christensen vs. O’Connell, Dias vs. Guida, Abdurakhimov vs. Duffee, Zaleski vs. Sobotta, Nakamura vs. Robertson, McCrory vs. T. Santos, Cutelaba vs. Stewart/Barroso winner, Wilson vs. Jolly, Blaydes vs. Hamilton, East vs. Smolyakov, Vieira vs. Phillips, Faszholz vs. Pacheco