What’s Next For The Winners At UFC Calgary:

What’s Next For The Winners At UFC Calgary:

By Jon Prentice

UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs Poirier went down this past weekend from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, marking the UFC’s first visit since the disaster that was UFC 149 six years ago. The fans were treated to a stacked card that delivered on the night, offering up some violent fights and fantastic finishes. Check out my thoughts on who I think the main card winners should take on when they next step foot inside the octagon.

Dustin Poirier (24-5-0 1NC):

The main event saw Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez run it back following the controversial ending to their originally scheduled bout back at UFC 211 in May of 2017. That all out brawl ended by way of no contest when Eddie Alvarez landed two illegal knees to Poirier whilst he was grounded, with the doctor not deeming “The Diamond” fit to continue. After several back and forth’s on social media, the rematch was eventually scheduled and they went to war once again this past weekend.

In the rematch it was Dustin Poirier who came away with the victory, picking up the win via TKO at 4:05 of round 2. Despite only making it to the second stanza, it was another bloody war with both fighters landing heavy shots and stunning their opponent. Similarly to their first encounter, it was Poirier who got the better of a tactical first round, landing some heavy leg kicks and nice straight left hands. However, it was in the second round that the fight came to life and the violence ensued.

Alvarez came out very aggressively in round two, landing some nice hooks and being aggressive in his takedown pursuits. On two occasions Poirier attempted to wrap up a guillotine choke however Alvarez managed to escape. There former lightweight champion Alvarez attempted his own submission with a tight neck crank however this was fended off and Alvarez eventually wound up in full mount against the cage wall. It was here that Alvarez threw an illegal 12 to 6 elbow, glancing the shoulder of Poirier but catching the attention of referee Marc Goddard who started the fighters in the neutral standing position for the infraction.

Poirier then came out swinging as he landed a crisp straight followed by a knee and several jabs that rattled Alvarez and pushed him to the fence. Poirier then threw everything he had, including knees, kicks, straights, hooks and haymakers in an attempt to put brawler Alvarez away. Despite throwing some heavy haymakers in response, Alvarez was overwhelmed and eventually finished by a nice elbow/forearm that put him down and the referee had seen enough waiving off the fight.

So where does Poirier go from here?

Despite being just 29 years old he has been in the UFC for over 7 years and has amassed a record of 15-4 with 1NC which includes wins over former champions Alvarez and Anthony Pettis, in addition to beating the likes of Justin Gaethje, Jim Miller, Bobby Green, Max Holloway, Diego Brandao and Yancy Medeiros to name but a few. Post fight he called for a title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov however I think we all know that is going to McGregor next.

A fight with Tony Ferguson makes perfect sense to me, with the winner taking on the winner of Khabib vs Conor. Ferguson, the former interim champion, is recovering from a knee injury, and a bout between him and Poirier would be one that offered fight fans violence in abundance.

Jose Aldo (27-4-0):

The co-main event saw former champion and arguably greatest featherweight of all time Jose Aldo take on heavy hitting Jeremy Stephens in a battle of top 5 ranked competitors. In a one round brawl it was former champion Aldo who picked up his first win in three and his first finish since 2013 when he stopped Stephens late in round one.

Both fighters traded heavy shots throughout the first round with Stephens appearing to rock the former champion at one point, however Aldo re-gathered his senses and fired back. Late in the round Aldo landed a straight right hand to the head then followed it up with a huge left to the liver that sent Stephens crumpling to the canvas. Despite Stephens trying to battle through it, Aldo was relentless with his ground and pound and eventually the referee had to intervene.

Aldo is in a tough spot having lost back to back fights with the current champion Max Holloway. I would imagine that he is desperately hoping Ortega takes the title from Holloway, if and when they do battle, or Holloway makes the decision to move up to lightweight in the near future.

I would pit Aldo against the winner of Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano who are squaring off with one another this upcoming weekend at UFC 227. Aldo does hold a win over Swanson back at WEC 41 where he put him away after just 8 seconds with a flying knee and I’m sure Swanson would love the opportunity at redemption. Having never faced off against Moicano, this is another interesting, new match up at featherweight that makes sense as Aldo already holds wins over most of the top 10 in the division.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (15-2-0):

Similarly to Aldo, former strawwweight champion JJ got back in the win column having previously suffered back to back defeats to current title holder Rose Namajunas.

Taking on Tecia Torres, it was JJ who was declared the winner via unanimous decision as the fight went the distance. All three judges scored the contest 30-27 in her favour, and it was a much deserved and much-needed win for Poland’s Jedrzejczyk. Over the course of the contest she picked her opponent apart from the outside, connecting with the cleaner combinations, landing nice 1-2’s and leg kicks and stuffing Torres’ multiple takedown attempts.

As with Aldo, JJ is in a bit of a tough spot having previously faced off with, and lost, to champion Rose Namajunas, so another showdown with her in her next outing is unlikely. JJ has also cleared out almost every top competitor in the division so matching her up with a new opponent would mean looking further down the rankings which doesn’t really make sense.

Namajunas is out injured until the new year, so I would rematch JJ with the loser of Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz who square off at UFC 228 in September. It looks likely that the UFC will give the winner of that fight the next shot at Namajunas, so a win for JJ over the loser would strengthen her case for another crack at the title. She has already defeated both Andrade (UFC 211) and Kowalkiewicz (UFC 205) whilst holding the belt, however with options limited at the top of the division I imagine this is the direction the UFC go with.

Alex Hernandez (10-1-0):

In the opening bout of the main card it was Hernandez who picked up his second UFC win in as many outings as he defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring it 30-27, 29-28 x2 in the 25 year olds favour.

Hernandez managed to take OAM down on a number of occasions and outworked his Canadian counterpart on the feet on the way to his eighth successive victory. The display was not quite as brutal and impressive as his UFC debut where he knocked out Beneil Dariush in just 42 seconds and post fight Hernandez was not particularly happy with his showing. He did however prove that he can go the distance with a good prospect in the lightweight division and that his opening UFC showing was no fluke.

At just 25 years old, Hernandez is a really exciting up and coming talent in the division and it would appear he definitely has all the weapons in his arsenal to make a run at the top 5 in the future. I would like to see him face off with Dan Hooker in his next outing. Hooker himself is on a tear having won his last four in a row having moved up from featherweight. He most recently disposed of Gilbert Burns via TKO in the first round at UFC 226.