5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 292

UFC 292 went down on Saturday night, and fans are already debating the fights that need to be made next.

The event emanated from the TD Garden in Boston. It was the promotion's first visit to the city since 2019 and was suitably stacked to commemorate the occasion.

The headlining bout occurred in the packed bantamweight division, with long-reigning champion Aljamain Sterling attempting to defend his title against rising star Sean O'Malley. Despite being a sizeable underdog, O'Malley ultimately won the title with a beautiful TKO win in the second round.

A title was also up for grabs in the co-main event, as strawweight champion Zhang Weili attempted to defend her belt against dangerous finisher Amanda Lemos. Zhang defended her belt in a lopsided fashion, battering her challenger on the canvas and the feet en route to a clear-cut unanimous-decision defeat.

Earlier on the card, rising welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry picked up, arguably, the biggest win of his career to date, staying undefeated with a dominant decision defeat of Neil Magny, the winningest fighter in the division's history.

Garry's latest win was preceded by two bantamweight fights. First, fan-favorite contender Marlon "Chito" Vera defeated Pedro Munhoz by decision in the main card opening, then Mario Bautista picked up a decision win over Da'Mon Blackshear in a clash of rising talents.

Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see after the UFC's long-awaited return to Boston.

Just minutes after he knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the UFC bantamweight title, Sean O'Malley was already laying out plans for his next fight.

If it was up to him, his first defense as champion would come against Ecuadorian knockout artist Marlon "Chito" Vera.

It's easy to understand why O'Malley wants that fight. Vera handed him his lone loss in 2020. The defeat itself was the subject of some controversy, as O'Malley suffered a leg injury early in the first round.

Vera also happens to be one of the top contenders in the division, having also won at UFC 292, defeating Pedro Munhoz by decision in the main card opener.

An O'Malley vs. Vera rematch would definitely be big business, and if the UFC makes it, you won't hear any complaining from us. However, if we're going by the rankings, the next title shot should go to Merab Dvalishvili.

The Georgian is the No. 1-ranked contender at bantamweight, and he has won nine-straight fights in the Octagon compared to Vera's one-fight streak. He should get the opportunity based on that alone. However, he is also a close friend and training partner of Sterling, which means a fight between him and O'Malley comes with a built-in revenge narrative.

It would be great to see O'Malley and Vera run it back ASAP, but Dvalishvili needs his title shot first.

Ahead of UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling stated several times that he would most likely be done with the bantamweight division after the card, whether he was victorious or not.

After losing his title to O'Malley, he is reconsidering his plans to move up to featherweight, noting that he'd be at risk of suffering more knockout losses against the bigger men in the division.

That's fair, but we'd still like to see it happen.

Several times during the UFC 292 broadcast, commentator Joe Rogan referred to Sterling as the best weight cutter in MMA, claiming the 135-pound champion balloons to north of 170 pounds between fights. It is unfathomable why Rogan thought this was a fact worth repeating. Weight cutting is very dangerous, both short and long term, and fighters who cut significant amounts of weight are effectively cheating. Why glorify that?

Having said that, Rogan is right that Sterling cuts a lot of weight and the former champ has got to be getting tired of slimming down to 135. There's also a good chance he'll perform even better when he's not cutting so much weight, so hopefully he pushes ahead with the featherweight plan.

If he does, his status as the former bantamweight champ—and a long-reigning one—just about guarantees him a fight with a top-10 foe. Our pick is No. 3-ranked contender Brian Ortega.

The two-time former title challenger is one of the few grapplers in the UFC with the skills to rival Sterling's. As luck would have it, he's also unbooked. Thank me later, matchmakers.

Strawweight champion Zhang Weili delivered one of the most dominant performances of the entire UFC 292 card, defending her belt with a lopsided decision win over a dangerous challenger in Amanda Lemos.

The 34-year-old outlanded the Brazilian 288 to 21 in the fight, which set the record for the largest strike differential in the history of the UFC women's divisions.

While the Chinese champ definitely deserves a break after the work she put in in Boston, she will soon have to shift her focus to one of two worthy challengers: her countrywoman Yan Xiaonan, ranked No. 3, or the undefeated Tatiana Suarez, who is ranked No. 4.

Both women are riding finishes of former champion Jessica Andrade—Yan beat her first, with a blistering knockout, before Suarez submitted her several months later—and both have an argument for a title shot.

Yan is ranked higher and is also buoyed by a decision win over Mackenzie Dern. An All-China title fight could also be huge business for the UFC.

Suarez, meanwhile, is undefeated, with wins over the likes of Alexa Grasso and Carla Esparza, a current and former UFC champ, respectively. As a world-class wrestler, she is also probably the more credible challenge to the champ.

There is no wrong choice here, and it would be great to see both women get a crack at the belt in the near future, but we'd like to see Suarez get the next shot for the reasons listed above.

She simply seems to deserve it a little more.

Ian Machado Garry wasn't able to finish Neil Magny at UFC 292, but the Irishman handed the welterweight veteran one of the worst beatings of his career over five rounds.

The win brought Garry to 13-0 overall, and 6-0 in the UFC. It also cemented him as one of the brightest young stars on the promotion's roster and just about guaranteed him a big name next time out.

If he gets his way, that big name will be former welterweight title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, who at this point could safely be called one of the best fighters in the division's history, even if a title has thus far eluded him.

That's a great fight. Really, the only point against it is that Wonderboy has recently been linked to a bout with former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, and that seems to make more sense for both guys than matching either of them up with an upstart like Garry.

So, let's do Wonderboy vs. Usman, and match Garry up with his fellow unbeaten contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Rakhmonov, ranked No. 6, was recently slated to welcome former interim middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum back to welterweight, but that plan fell through when Gastelum suffered a cut in training.

He's been waiting for a new opponent since that development, and Garry seems like just the guy for the job.

Throw it on a pay-per-view main card, and trust that the winner will be one of the most popular choices for the next title shot.

Marlon "Chito" Vera might get the first crack at Sean O'Malley based simply on the fact that he's the only person to have beaten the new champion to date.

However, as we've already mentioned, the next title shot really should go to Merab Dvalishvili, which means the Ecuadorian will need to look elsewhere for his next opponent after his win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292.

Our pick is former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, who previously held the belt at bantamweight and flyweight, and recently ended a three-year retirement to challenge Sterling for the bantamweight title. He put up a great fight but ultimately lost a decision.

Several months later, the 36-year-old was matched up with Vera for UFC 292. It was only when Cejudo suffered an injury that the South American set his sights on Munhoz.

After Vera's win over Munhoz, a fight with Cejudo still makes sense.

The former champ's loss to Sterling was competitive enough to prove he's still one of the best fighters in the world, and he remains a very big name in the sport. He seems like the best option available for Vera, and the winner of their fight would be well-positioned for a crack at the O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili winner.