UFC London has came and gone and now we are left with the always fun prospect of matchmaking. The standings and rankings have all changed following the results from this weekend and new matchups have presented themselves as possible. These are the best matchups to make after UFC London: Aspinall vs Tybura.
5 Fights to Make after UFC Fight Night 244
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich
After an incredibly impressive performance against Marcin Tybura, Tom Aspinall silenced his critics last Saturday night and any doubts over whether he had fully recovered from his horrific injury were totally dispelled. Looking better than ever before, Aspinall cruised to a 1st round TKO finish. Stating in his post fight interview that he would like to fight the winner of Ciryl Gane and Sergey Spivak next, it would appear that the young Englishman’s next move has already been made clear.
However, there is another fight that would certainly grant him a title shot should he emerge victorious. This is against Russian knockout king Sergei Pavlovich. Pavlovich has become a force in the heavyweight division the last few years, filling the role of being the man with the touch of death—an honor that was once held by the likes of Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou. With every single one of his fights ending in a first round KO, he has climbed his way to the top of the rankings. This would be the most anticipated fight seen in the heavyweight division in years and a title shot would surely be guaranteed for the winner.
Nathaniel Wood vs Bryce Mitchell
Honour to fight a legend of the sport, he made me work for that one ! 😅 pic.twitter.com/89ZJPzDHUz
— Nathaniel Wood (@TheProspectMMA) July 23, 2023
Nathaniel Wood has looked like a major threat ever since moving up to the 145 lb. division from bantamweight. His performance on Saturday against Andre Fili showed that he is a serious player at featherweight and is not there to simply make up numbers. After facing adversity several times in the fight, Wood would pick up a deserved decision victory, taking home the first and third rounds of the contest.
Now riding a three fight winning streak and possessing a win over the highly respected Fili, it is time that Woods was given an opponent with a number beside their name. Bryce Mitchell is the perfect man for the job. Coming off a loss to Ilia Topuria, Mitchell is the #12 ranked fighter in the division. Mitchell must defend his spot in the rankings after losing to Topuria and has shown already that he was willing to fight against an unranked opponent after previously accepted a bout with Jonathan Pearce. A win over a name like Woods would certainly add a major scalp to Mitchell’s CV and would almost certainly guarantee him a fight up the rankings if he was successful in beating one of the most talked about 145ers at the moment.
Paul Craig vs Marvin Vettori
Yet another finish for @PaulCraig 🚨
[ #UFCLondon | Live on @ESPNPlus 📺 ] pic.twitter.com/d5VivXqBtK
— UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2023
Paul Craig entered the middleweight division with an emphatic BANG on Saturday night, picking up a 2nd round TKO finish over the always game Andre Muniz. Craig has stated that he will switch between both Middleweight and Light Heavyweight heading to wherever the opportunities lie. However, after such a good performance in his middleweight debut, he may want to continue his run at 185 lbs.
While likely only cracking the top-15 after his win over Muniz, Craig’s status as an established top-10 light heavyweight with wins over former champ Jamahal Hill as well as Magomed Ankalaev will ensure that he is able to push up the rankings rather than fight down. While this may be a stretch, a crack at #5 ranked Marvin Vettori may be a possibility.
Vettori is coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier and has been beaten by 3 of the 5 men ahead of him in the rankings. With much of the upper tier of the division occupied in and around the title picture, he finds himself in a no man’s land of sorts with only the bottom half of the top-15 available to fight. Craig should be by far the most appealing of these options due to his standing in the previous division. That’s not to mention his extremely impressive performance on Saturday. A win over Craig cements Vettori’s standing in the rankings and for Craig a win over Vettori immediately places him inside the top of the rankings.
Lerone Murphy vs Alex Caceres
Lerone Murphy extended his unbeaten record to 13-0-1 on Saturday with an impressive win over Josh Culibao. While still early in his career when joining the UFC, Murphy has had enough time and enough fights now to warrant a step up in competition and finally show whether he can fulfil the expectations that many have of him. It is time he fights a ranked fighter.
Alex Caceres is a perfect name to test Murphy and see whether he has what it takes to make it at the very top of one of the toughest divisions in all of MMA. Caceres is an absolute veteran of the organization and has been fighting inside the Octagon for over 12 years now. Appearing in 28 fights, Caceres is 7-1 in his last eight.
Mick Parkin vs Parker Porter
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Heavyweight is a division, that until very recently, was looking like it was devoid of up and comers and new talent. Now with the arrival of the likes of Tom Aspinall, Sergei Pavlovich, and Jailton Almeida, it has transformed into one of the UFC’s most exciting divisions.
It looks like a new prospect could be added to this list. Mick Parkin made his main roster debut after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series and looked extremely promising as he eased his way to a unanimous decision win over Jamal Pogues.
Heavyweight has always been a division where a solid 3 or 4 fight win streak can find someone in and about the rankings very quickly. After the win over Pogues, Parkin should be aiming to go up against someone who has a little more name value and has shown that they are a competent and established combatant.
Parker Porter is the man for the job. A fan favorite, Porter joined the organization in 2020 and has gone 4-3 in his time with the UFC. Porter has shown that he is more than capable of picking up victories at heavyweight and while not ranked, is a notable name that will certainly boost the value and profile of Mick Parkin. Currently coming off of a win over Braxton Smith, a win over Parkin would leave Porter at 5-2 in his last 7 and would maybe finally allow him to challenge for a spot in the rankings.
