UFC Fight Night Maia vs LaFlare took place at and what a great night of fights.
The main event saw ground specialist Demian Maia enforce his will his opponent and Ryan LaFlare was unable to do anything about it. The Brazilian was able to take LaFlare down a total of 5 times over the course of 5 rounds and passed his guard an incredible 14 times. After the 25 minute affair Maia was awarded 48-46 scores from all three judges, even after a fifth-round point deduction referee John McCarthy administered for stalling.
In the Co Main Event we saw Erick Silva stop Josh Koscheck, in what could be his last UFC performance with a guillotine choke 4:21 into the first round. Silva was able to land on the feet and eventually secure the choke, giving him the biggest win of his UFC career. Silva is now back on the winning track after his encounter with surging Matt Brown in May, delivering consecutive first-round finishes. Ellenberger stopped Koscheck with a modified north-south choke at UFC 184 in February.
So with that, it’s that time again where we at MMASucka.com play “matchmaker” and derive match-ups that could materialize for the main card winners. Sitting on the matchmaker’s armchair is no easy task by any standards so if your solutions differ from ours, state them in the comments section below.
Let’s get started!
Demian Maia
Who he should fight next: Jake Ellenberger or Hector Lombard
Even though the main event was just a wash out which saw Maia dominate Leflare for 22 minutes before gassing out for the last three, he still proved to everyone that he is still a legit threat in the Welterweight Division. For his next fight I would like to see him take on Jake Ellenberger or welcome back after his suspension Hector Lombard. The Lombard match up makes sense from a rankings perspective and is a very dangerous fight stylistically for Maia. With a win either fighter would be able to create a solid case for a top 3 opponent or even a title shot. If that fight cannot materialize I would like to see how Maia matches up against a recently victorious Jake Ellenberger. Again this is another dangerous match up for Maia however with a win it would be hard to deny him a top 3 opponent.
Erick Silva
Who he should fight next: Rick Story
The “Horror Story” has looked incredible since training at the MMA Lab in Arizona winning his last two fights. Erick Silva has shown us flashes of brilliance over his UFC tenure but has fallen short every time he has taken a step up in competition, Putting these two against each other will show us which one of them is the more consistent one and which one is ready to fight a top 10 opponent next.
Amanda Nunes
Who she should fight next: Holly Holm
Nunes bounced back from her UFC 178 loss to title challenger Cat Zingano with a devastating stoppage win against Shayna Baszler. The American Top Team fighter had Baszler hurt with a body kick, walked her towards the fence and then landed a fight ending leg kick. “The Queen of Spades” dropped to the ground clutching her knee in obvious pain and leaving referee Mario Yamasaki no choice but to end the fight. 10th ranked Holly Holm looked less than stellar in her last performance against Raquel Pennington, taking a Split Decision in her UFC debut. With Bethe Correia fighting Ronda Rousey for the title this gives Holm and Nunes a big fight in what would probably be a title eliminator.
Godofredo Castro
Who he should fight Next: Chas Skelly
The 27-year-old Brazilian submitted Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili with a flying triangle choke at 3:14 into the first round. His future in the UFC appeared to be uncertain after he suffered back to back TKO losses to Felipe Arantes and Sam Sicillia. However Castro has righted his ship with three straight first-round wins, show both his striking and Submission skills. 14-1 Chas Skelly has looked impressive in all four of his UFC fights only dropping a Majority Decision in his UFC debut against Mirsad Bektic, a fight that he took on short notice. Both fighters match up well because of their aggressiveness and have similar rankings.
