What’s Next For The Winners At UFC 226

What’s Next For The Winners At UFC 226:

By Jon Prentice

International Fight Week concluded last night with UFC 226 going down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The show largely delivered an array of entertainment and violence for the viewing audience, however, the highly anticipated co-main event between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis spectacularly failed to produce.

The audience was rewarded for their patience in the night’s showcase main event between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight strap, with DC knocking Miocic out cold to become a two-weight champion and in the process throwing his name in the hat for the GOAT argument.

Following the event, let’s take a look at what I think is next for the main card winners:

Daniel Cormier:

Daniel Cormier is now a two-weight world champion ladies and gentlemen!!! A fantastic first round knockout over Stipe Miocic etched Cormier’s name amongst the greatest that have ever competed in the sport of MMA, so where does the light heavyweight AND heavyweight champion go from here? A money fight against Brock Lesnar of course!

This one appears almost a done deal with Cormier calling out Lesnar following the win and Lesnar reciprocating by storming the octagon and shouting obscenities at Cormier, Ngannou, and Miocic in a WWE style rant that looked quite clearly choreographed. The clash makes absolutely no sense from a fight perspective, with Lesnar’s last legitimate win being in 2010, however, it makes total sense from a business point of view. UFC PPV numbers are down, their big draws in McGregor and Rousey are no longer available, so Lesnar fits the bill perfectly for WME IMG to recoup some of the money it spent purchasing the UFC. The fight is likely to go down later this year, either Madison Square Garden in New York in November or the New Years card in Las Vegas.

Next opponent – Brock Lesnar

Derrick Lewis:

The co-main event between heavyweight knockout artists Derrick Lewis and number one ranked Francis Ngannou delivered little to nothing, with the fight unfortunately, going down as one of the worst of all time in my opinion. Both competitors were wary of the other’s knock out power, therefore barely throwing a punch all fight.

Lewis was the more active of the two, which in turn earned him the unanimous decision victory, however, he was still by no means active. With the crowd booing throughout, neither fighter upped their output with Ngannou looking especially gun-shy following his first career loss to Miocic in his previous fight. The fans in attendance and crowd watching at home waited in anticipation of the violent flurry but sadly it never came.

With the now heavyweight champion DC looking almost certain to take on Lesnar later in the year, a fight between Lewis and Alexander Volkov appears to make perfect sense. Volkov was on standby for the UFC 226 main event, and following a six-fight win streak, he is right up there in the mix of heavyweight contenders. I personally think Curtis Blaydes is ahead of both in the pecking order so he should get the next shot after Lesnar, and following Lewis’ performance last night I can’t imagine the UFC top brass were very impressed and wanting to give him a title shot any time soon.

Next opponent – Alexander Volkov

Mike Perry:

Mike Perry picked up an impressive win over short-notice opponent Paul Felder in the 170lbs division. In a much more disciplined and controlled performance, “Platinum” battered and bruised his opponent with vicious elbows and a wonderful left hook that opened a nasty cut above Felder’s right eye. Felder was game and showed huge heart to continue the fight with a broken arm, however, Perry did enough to earn a split decision win as the fight went to the judge’s scorecards.

Perry is 5-3 in his UFC stint, and at only 26 years old he definitely has time on his side. He has changed camps, moving to Jackson Wink ahead of the Felder fight, which paid off and helped him get back in the win column following back to back defeats. Appearing to take his training a lot more seriously now, Perry is a dangerous opponent for anyone in the welterweight division.

A fight with Vicente Luque would be an entertaining encounter between two guys just outside the top 15 rankings. Both are impressive strikers and Luque has back to back wins to his name following defeat to Leon Edwards in March 2017. This one could be a real war and a potential fight of the night contender if it were to take place.

Next opponent – Vicente Luque

Anthony Pettis:

“Showtime” put on a fantastic performance to defeat Michael Chiesa via first-round submission in a performance reminiscent of the Pettis of old. Going back to his roots of striking and jiu jitsu to beat up Chiesa on the feet and lock on a triangle armbar late in the first round, Pettis looked rejuvenated in his best display for a number of years’.

Pettis has alternated wins and losses since April 2016 going 3-3 in the process, but after yesterday’s performance he could quite easily make a run at the division’s top five again in the near future. I would like to see him take on the winner of Justin Gaethje vs James Vick who squares off in the UFC Fight Night 135 headliner next month. Either match up would be entertaining stylistically, and from a ranking perspective, all are pushing for a spot in the division’s top 5.

Next opponent – Justin Gaethje or James Vick

Khalil Rountree Jr:

Rountree opened the card in spectacular fashion, disposing of kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki via first round KO. A stinging straight knocked Saki down and resultant ground and pound put him out resulting in the stoppage. Rountree was highly touted to lose the fight, however, he showed every confidence in his striking ability and shocking many with his most impressive performance to date. He still has flaws in his ground game but nobody can deny he has definite one-punch finishing ability in the 205lbs division.

I would like to see him take on Gian Villante in his next contest. Villante is coming off a decision loss to Sam Alvey but has proved many times that he is more than happy to stand and trade with any opponent. Villante is hovering around number 15 in the rankings where Roundtree will be aiming to reach in the near future, and if this one goes down it could be another stand-up war.

Next opponent – Gian Villante