Three Fights We’d Like To See in 2023

2022 Is coming to a close which means that we have come to a whole new set of dates of fightnights, Pay Per View and other exciting things in the MMA world such as hopeful new seasons of The Ultimate Fighter and another season of Dana White’s Contender Series. We’ve put a list together of top fights we want to see in the UFC and hopefully Dana White is paying attention because we have some good ones picked for the Upcoming year.

Michael Chandler vs Conor McGregor

Michael Chandler has a not so good record in the UFC, but everytime the former Bellator Champ steps foot in the UFC Octagon he puts on an electric performance we think a showdown with Mystic Mac would be a great fight for both of these guys as they both put on performances in the cage (not so stellar as of late for McGregor though.) It would make sense that these two would fight at some point they talk trash they stylistically are a mismatch with Chandler being a great wrestler and Mcgregor Being a stellar striker in his prime. This would sell ppv buys and I’d love to see it. If this matchup didn’t work out, we’d like to see McGregor take on Jorge Masvidal.

Dustin Poirier vs Colby Covington

Dustin Poirier is getting over a recent case of staph infection, but when the former interim champ is done with treatment for the nasty case on his foot we’d like to see him fight the loudmouth Colby Covington who is also a former interim Champion. I think this fight would bring a lot of eyeballs to the UFC Octagon with Poirier being the good guy everyone loves while Covington is the classic heel goofball that many people despise. We think that poirier would have the upper hand in this fight as he has proved once again that he is one of the most entertaining fighters on the UFC Roster

Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili

Valentina Shevchenko is one of my favorite fighters too watch in the UFC Octagon. She is a great striker who puts on amazing performances in the women’s Flyweight Division. Shevchenko has defended her belt seven times, with all but one of those performances being in dominant fashion. Shevchenko a solid Mixed Martial Artist and we’d love to see her fight two time Women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili. We love watching the 115 pound queen, Weili fight each time she steps into the octagon she brings the fight, who could forget her two performances against Joanna Jędrzejczyk, which were epic.

What’s Next For Dustin Poirier After UFC 281?

It was good to see Dustin Poirier return to the UFC Octagon where he was born to be. Poirier put himself at the front of the pack for Lightweight title contusion but we don’t think a title will be next for the Louisiana native but we do have some fights we’d like to see Poirier fight. The first fight we’d love to see Justin Gaethje take on Porier in the Octagon. One other opponent that would make for an interesting fight is high level Grappler Beneil Dariush. This is a long shot, but we’d love to see Poirier move up and fight Colby Covington, the pair hate each other and it’d make for high drama.

We’d love to see Porier fight Gaethje, and so does Gaethje who said in an interview before Chandler and Poiriers fight at UFC 281 “Ideally, Poirier beats Chandler, I’d like to fight Poirier. I mean, he beat me. That’s one win I’d like to get back. It was Fight of the Year, Fight of the Decade — Fight of a Couple Years, probably. That was a hell of a fight. That’s ideal” we certainly agree that this would be fireworks just like Porier’s fight with Chandler. It’d be a great fight to watch because Gaethje is a human highlight as his nickname implies because it’s true this would be a great fight.

One fight that makes sense for Louisiana’s Poirier is a matchup between him and Beneil Dariush. Dariush is coming off a win against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 in October he is riding an amazing eight fight win streak which I think Poirier could snap in the UFC cage. But it would definitely be super competitive as Dariush and an amazing grappler who much like poirier is a Brazilian Jiu jitsu Black Belt, but he is on another level in grappling in terms of Grappling for MMA as Dariush in that division is up their with guys like Charles Oliveira.

Another good fight would be a matchup between Colby Covington and Poirier. The smack talk would be epic. This would be a move up for Poirier, but I think the diamond could manage this matchup very well. Covington is a wrestler and is quite boring; he barely backs up his smack talk in the cage with his lackluster striking and boring wrestling style and was almost cut by the promotion till he turned heel. Poirier on the other hand is a top tier fighter who will bring the fight to Covington. Just remember Poirier’s only two losses in the last six years were to Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov are two of the best Lightweights of all time.

These are some fights that would make sense for Dustin Poirier after his win against Michael Chandler at UFC 281. We can’t wait to see what comes next for the Diamond.

What’s Next For Colby Covington

Love him or loathe him Colby Covington has proved that he is one of the best Welterweight fighters currently. He came out on top when he faced Jorge Masvidal Saturday at UFC 272 when the pair faced off in a lopsided contest. This leads one to ask what’s next for Colby Covington. He may not be the caliber of fighter that Usman is, but could an unprecedented third fight be called for? Could a matchup with Dustin Poirier be in the cards? Would a matchup with the winner of Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimiaev be a good fight for the wrestler? We have our thoughts!

Covington has proved that he has an amazing gas tank and that he is one of the biggest personalities in the Sport, almost like he’s America’s answer to Conor McGregor. One fight that would definitely sell would be a match up between Covington and Kamaru Usman. The pairing have fought twice before with Usman winning both times, but the two don’t like each other and it would definitely sell PPV if they got together and fought for the belt sometime down the line.

Poirier and Covington do not like each other; the pair have traded verbal barbs with the former interim Lightweight Champion saying of Covington “I’ll never fight Colby (Covington) in an Octagon where there’s finances on the line. If I fight Colby, we’re both going to jail – I’m going to jail. You will never see me fight Colby Covington in the UFC.” But if the money is right this would be an interesting fight which I think Poirier comes out on top. This fight is really a no win situation for either of them.

Most likely I see Covington fighting the winner of Burns vs Chimiaev. The pair will be facing off against each other at UFC 273 in April and I think that the winner might face Covington sooner rather than later. Chimiaev is an undefeated Russian Wrestler who destroys everything in his path. The Russian who trains out of Sweden has recently become one of MMA’s biggest rising stars. He has recently become training partners with Englishman Darren Till. Covington has gone out of his way to trash talk Chimiaev referring to him as ‘c**shot.’

It’d be an interesting fight for sure as would a matchup with submission specialist Burns who has many achievements in the Grappling world and is currently ranked second in the welterweight division, Since Burns added Striking precision to his arsenal he has become lethal and could out strike and out grapple Covington.

Three Great UFC Fights Coming Up In March

With Winter slowly drawing to a close we have multiple fights coming up in the UFC in the final stretch of the cold months. The first fight is the ultimate Grudge match between two former friends coming to your screen live on PPV. The next two matchups are coming from across the pond at UFC London. We’ll see the return of Paddy The Baddy Pimblett when he faces Rodrigo Vargas. The final fight we’re excited for this month is between MMA veteran Alexander Volkov and 11-2 Tom Aspinall.

Jorge Masvidal vs Colby Covington UFC 272

Two former Best Friends, roommates and Training partners face off for bragging rights in this ultimate grudge match. Jorge Masvidal looks to top Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington in the UFC Octagon in the main event of UFC 272. Masvidal who is coming off back to back losses to current UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman. Covington coincidentally is also coming off a loss to Usman in his second meeting with the champ. Masvidal will definitely be looking for a Knockout finish in this matchup whereas Covington will be hoping to take it to the ground and out wrestle the former street fighter turned BMF. We can’t wait to see how this one turns out. The only thing that would make this fight better is if the BMF title was up for grabs.

Paddy Pimblett vs. Rodrigo Vargas UFC London 2022

Paddy ‘The Baddy’ lived up to the hype when he made his UFC debut last year with a quick first round Knockout of Luigi Vendramini. The first degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelt hopes to make it two in a row for the promotion when he faces off against Rodrigo Vargas in the UFC Octagon. Pimblett moves the meter unlike any new prospect we’ve seen in the promotion in quite some time and there’s something about him that oozes confidence and star power that the UFC definitely has figured out and put their promotional might behind. He will have his work cutout for him in Rodrigo Vargas who boasts an impressive 12-4 record, but hasn’t had very good luck in his bouts with the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall UFC London 2022

Alexander Volkov is coming off a win against number nine ranked Heavyweight Marcin Tybura. Volkov himself is ranked sixth in the division and hopes that a win here will get him one step closer to the belt held by Cameroonian striker Francis Ngannou at the moment. Aspinall walks into this bout with an impressive record of 11-2 and is riding a seven fight win streak with four of those wins coming in the UFC he is currently ranked eleventh in the Heavyweight division. Aspinall is a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but also has a background in wrestling and boxing. This should be an interesting matchup on a card full of interesting fighters

You can catch the fights on ESPN+ and on ESPN+ PPV

Fighter Profile: Jorge Masvidal

UFC fight night picks; Jorge Masvidal wants to teach Leon Edwards a lesson - Sports Illustrated — Masvidal before his title fight with Kamaru Usman Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

Jorge Masvidal is one of the most inspiring stories in MMA. He started fighting in the streets in Miami, with nights that he slept in his car not being able to afford to eat, and then ended up being one of the biggest stars in the biggest promotion in the sport. Because of Masvidal’s success he is now running his own MMA promotion. Quite the rags to riches story that makes America great.

Masvidal was born on November 12, 1984 in Miami where he still resides to this day. Masvidal was born to Cuban and peruvian parents. His father escaped Communist Cuba via a homemade raft. Thus Masvidal takes a very anti-communist and anti-socalism stance to this day. His father would end up doing time for drug trafficking and manslaughter. Masvidal had a rough childhood often involving him getting into fights and this led to him getting a name for himself in street fights in Miami including beating one of Kimbo Slice’s protégés. Masvidal also wrestled in High School but was not able to compete due to issues with his grades this led Masvidal to end up training martial arts first karate then MMA.

Masvidal made his MMA debut in 2003 against Brandon Bledsoe back when the sport was only 10 years old. Masvidal would win by Knockout. He’d win his next four fights before taking his first loss in the sport. He’d fight for various promotions compiling a record of 16-3 before he fought in Bellator, a new promotion which he was on the first card for that promotion where he fought Nick Agallar and won via TKO(punches.) He’d fight twice more for Bellator compiling a 2-1 record at the promotion. From their Masvidal would fight in various promotions before landing at Strikeforce, his final stop before the UFC.

Masvidal made his debut against Tim Means in April of 2013, at UFC on Fox 7. He’d win via Unanimous decision. He’d then face Michael Chiesa and would win via Submission (brabo choke.) He’d then face Rustam Khabilov and would lose the fight via Unanimous decision. He’d make it to the top and then hit major roadblocks with a couple multiple loss skids but he’d pull it together before getting to one of the most interesting fights of his career against Nate Diaz for the ‘BMF’ title. Masvidal would win via TKO (doctor stoppage) due to Diaz’s immense amount of bleeding. The newly minted BMF would then face Kamaru Usman in back to back title fights losing to the second best Welterweight Champion of all time. Diaz was supposed to face Leon Edwards at UFC 269 but Unfortunately was unable to fight due to injury.

It is not known who Masvidal will face next, but there are rumors of him facing his former best friend, roommate, and training partner Colby Covington. I think fans would love to see this matchup.

Fighter Profile: Khamzat Chimaev

Jon Anik: Khamzat Chimaev is biggest 'burning question' heading into UFC's 2022 campaign - MMA Fighting — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Over the last two years Khamzat Chimaev has created quite the name for himself. The Russian born freestyle wrestler has smashed all of his competition while in the MMA cage. Chiamaev has an interesting problem, since he has smashed all of his competition no one will take on Chiamaev. He is that good. He’s been compared to Khabib Nurmogamedov and if he can string together a string a few more wins in the UFC Octagon together he may find himself in the cage with current Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman.

Chimaev was born on May 1, 1994 in Beno-Yurt, Chechnya, Russia. Chimaev started wrestling at the age of five and still challenges people to wrestling matches till this day. Chimaev won a bronze medal at the Russian National Championships at the junior level. Chimaev left Russia at the age of 18 and immigrated to Sweden where his family was. Chimaev was often considered one of the best wrestlers in the country and he had an undefeated record in wrestling matches with a perfect 12-0 record. He also competed in Judo and Sambo where he holds a 3-0 record.

At age 23 Chimaev decided to pursue MMA and made his amauture debut in September of 2017.He’d make his professional debut eight months later after compiling an impressive perfect 3-0 amature record. He made his pro debut on May 26, 2018. His opponent was Gard Olve Sagen. Chimaev would win via TKO (punches) in round two. In his next fight he’d face Ole Magnor he’d secure the victory via Technical Submission (rear-naked choke.) He’d then face Marko Kisič and would win via TKO (punches.) Chimaev would continue his dominant ways and win his next three.

His impressive 6-0 record caught the eye of the UFC who signed him to a deal. Chimaev made his UFC debut on July 16th, 2020 against John Phillips and would secure the victory via Submission (D’Arce choke.) He’d go on to face Rhys McKee on ten days rest and would beat him via TKO (punches.) In September of 2020 Chimaev would go on to face Gerald Meerschaert, he’d win by Knockout. Thirteen months later he’d face Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in October of 2021 where he’d win via Technical Submission (rear-naked choke.) This victory would move Chimaev to a perfect 10-0.

It is not known who Chimaev will face next. He is currently ranked 11th in the welterweight division. He is at an interesting point in his career where he is getting dodged and noone wants to face him, we’ll see who is next for him, because he is one of the promotion’s biggest upcoming stars.

What’s Next For Dustin Poirier?

Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor quarrel over $500K donation

Dustin Poirier had a monster year headlining the three of the Biggest UFC cards in a post pandemic world. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to win the Lightweight title, but he does have many fights that could be in the cards. A possible fight with Welterweight Colby Covington could be in the cards. A possible fourth fight with Conor McGregor could happen if Poirier wanted to take some time off and wait for the Irish former two division champion. Another possible matchup could be between Poirier and Nate Diaz.

Poirier and Covington have exchanged verbal barbs over the internet recently with Poirier hoping that Covington didn’t have a nice Christmas, and Covington saying that when the pair sparred at their old gym American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL Poirier would leave crying. Needless to say this bickering adds to the hype of what would be an awesome fight. Covington is coming off a loss to Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268. Much like Poirier, his last loss was in a title fight. It would definitely make sense to pair the two together especially with Poirier saying that he doesn’t want to make the weight cut to 155 any longer.

Poirier being one of the promotion’s biggest stars makes one think he will go after money fights. And one of the big money fights that he could go for, would be a matchup with Diaz. It’d be a grappler vs. grappler matchup but one would think fans would look past that and want to see these two guys throwing shots at each other and see who reigns supreme as both of them are adequate strikers too. Both Poirier and Diaz have beef with McGregor so this potentially sets the stage for either one of them to fight McGregor again. I think Poirier would destroy a rusty Diaz who didn’t look good in his last outing, and made fans think he was only there for a payday.

Another unlikely option would be a fourth fight with McGregor. I know the end of the last fight in their trilogy made people go into shock and even though Poirier won, it didn’t seem like this ended things between the pair. I think fans would like to see this fight at some point down the road if not immediately. For Poirier this only makes sense in the financial department. He’s already proved that 2021 Poirier can top McGregor, something that 2014 Poirier could not do. I think fans would love to see this and I think it would make the UFC money so why couldn’t a fourth fight happen.

We shall see how this plays out, it’ll be interesting to see how this works out.

Update 01/04/22: Poirier came out publicly saying that he will face Nate Diaz in a short notice fight within the next six weeks. Considering both of their star power one would expect the UFC to put this fight on a numbered PPV card. We shall see!

What’s Next For Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Jorge Masvidal poses for a portrait backstage during the UFC 244 event at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) — The UFC BMF himself, Jorge Masvidal.

Jorge Masvidal was set to make his return to the UFC Octagon at UFC 269 but due to an undisclosed injury he suffered in his training camp. He was supposed to face Leon Edwards who’s been on an impressive win streak. But will that fight get rescheduled is still to be decided. Could a new opponent be better for Masvidal? Would a fight with someone like Colby Covington sell more fights for the UFC? We’re going to look into some of the options for the American Top Team standout.

One option for Masvidal would be rescheduling the fight against Leon Edwards for a later date. Could Masvidal play spoiler to Leon Edward’s win streak. MMA fans would love to see Masvidal win as he hasn’t won a fight since he faced Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November of 2019 for the symbolic BMF title. Masvidal faced Kamaru Usman in his last two fights for the UFC Welterweight Championship, and was unable to come away with a win.

One other option could be a rematch with Nate Diaz. Diaz fought for the first time since his loss to Masvidal when he faced Edwards in June. Unfortunately for Diaz it was a loss to Edwards. Masvidal and Diaz both sorely need a win so it might make sense for the two 170 pounders to do a rematch in March or April. Diaz is also on the last fight of his UFC deal and if he’s not completing his Trilogy with Conor McGregor a fight with Masvidal would be a matchup fans would love to see.

The other option which MMA fans would rather see is a grudge match with Colby Covington. In the week leading up to UFC 268 Covington was throwing shade at Masvidal calling him a ‘journeyman.’ Some in the MMA world have said that Masvidal pulled out intentionally to fight Covington at a later date although it seems unlikely, it would make things more interesting if that truth came out at a later date.

The UFC matchmakers have a lot of great fights they could make. Masvidal is a fan favorite so no matter what card they put him on it will sell. It’d be great to see any of these fights happen. Masvidal would have his hands full with any of these killers. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.

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What’s Next For Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington ?

Colby Covington says he 'verbally agreed' to face Tyron Woodley at UFC 233 | Sherdog Forums | UFC, MMA & Boxing Discussion — Covington pictured in his signature MAGA hat. *Image via Evy Rodrigues of Combate*

Colby Covington made an amazing performance against Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268. Although Covington came up short of a win he did manage to take Usman down breaking Usman’s streak of never being taken down. If an Olympic wrestler and a Jiu Jitsu Black belt like Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan respectively think you scored a takedown then you probably scored a takedown. Covington put in a good effort, and definitely did his best for the UFC selling the PPV with his trash talk and ridiculous suit, but when it was all said and done many asked what was next for the former interim Champion.

Covington has fought some of the Welterweights biggest names but it seems like there are some obvious choices for covington to fight. One of those names is Gilbert Burns. It’d be a great fight with Covington’s wrestling versus Burn’s submission prowess. Burns has had some great fights over the last two years of the Pandemic fighting with names like Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley. Burn’s only loss in the last three years was to Kamaru Usman which is oddly similar to Covington. It’d be great to see these two welterweights fight.

Another possible fight would be Vicente Luque. Luque is on a four fight win streak including wins over Randy Brown, Tyron Woodley, and Michael Chiesa. Luque is another fighter that’d be interesting to see fight Covington because Luque is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Luque is currently ranked fourth in the Welterweight division and with a win over Covington it would bring him steps closer to a title fight.

More likely and what most fans would love to see would be a fight between Jorge Masvidal and Covington. Masvidal is coming off back to back losses to Usman and was supposed to face Leon Edwards at UFC 269 on December 11th. Masvidal had to pull out of the fight because of an undisclosed injury. In the week leading up to UFC 268 Covington was throwing shade at Masvidal calling him a ‘journeyman.’ Some in the MMA world have said that Masvidal pulled out intentionally to fight Covington at a later date although it seems unlikely it would make things interesting if that truth came out at a later date. I think the MMA world would love to see this fight happen.

Covington has an amazing gas tank with the ability to go the distance with any of the amazing fighters within the UFC Welterweight division. We hope to see the MAGA hat wearing Covington return to the UFC Octagon again.

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FIGHTER PROFILE: Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman says crossover mega-fight with Canelo "only makes sense" and would be combat sports' 'biggest event ever' | DAZN News UK — Usman embraces victory. Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

Kamaru Usman will face Colby Covington at UFC 268 in a rematch of their 2019 fight which was Usman’s first title defense. Usman will again be defending the 170 pound title at UFC 268 the world will be watching as these two great wrestlers face off in the UFC Octagon at Madison Square Garden. But what makes the welterweight champion and #1 pound for pound ranked fighter is his story and how he got to the UFC.

Usman was born May 11, 1987 in Auchi, Nigeria to his parents who were both of Nigerian descent. His father was in the Nigerian army and his mother was a teacher. Usman’s father would eventually become a Pharmacist and would move his family to the US when Usman was eight years old. This would get Usman an American education.

During his sophomore year Usman would begin wrestling at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas. It would be a start of something special for young Usman who ended up with a 53–3 record and would place third at the Texas State Wrestling Championships. Usman who is the same age as Jon Jones would wrestle besides the future Light Heavyweight champion at the Senior National Tournament.

Usman would go on to wrestle in college at William Penn University. Usman would later transfer to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Usman would place top 3 in wrestling in the country in all his years at UNK. Usman would become a NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds in 2010 in Omaha. After College Usman decided to pursue Olympic Wrestling but decided not to take part after injuries derailed his dreams.

This led Usman to pursue MMA. In 2011 Usman made his first step into the MMA world when he served as the wrestling coach for Team Miller during The Ultimate Fighter season fourteen. Usman made his professional MMA debut in November of 2012 fighting for the RFA promotion he won by TKO (punches.) Usman would lose his next fight, and would fight for more times in smaller promotions and would then make his way to the UFC. He’d end up in the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter. Usman would win the show and it would be his first win in the promotion.

After The Ultimate Fighter, Usman went on a serious run, dominating the Welterweight Division. Beating fighters like Leon Edwards, Demian Maia, and Rafael dos Anjos. This would earn Usman a title shot, where he would face defending Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley. Usman would win by Unanimous decision. Since then Usman has defended the Welterweight Championship 4 times once against Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns and twice against Jorge Masvidal. Usman will be facing Colby Covington in a rematch at Madison Square Garden as the main event of UFC 268.

What makes Usman’s story all the more amazing is that when Usman was doing all of these amazing things in the cage, he had turmoil at home. His father was in Jail for most of his run due to a health care fraud and money laundering scheme. Usman’s father is now out of jail and has seen his son fight. Usman recently bought his parents a nice home for them to retire in.

We shall see if Usman retains his title after UFC 268 it is sure to be a great fight, and it should be interesting because Usman and Covington don’t really like each other which adds so much drama to the fight. We shall see!

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