5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 298

If early returns are indicative, Saturday was a banner night for the UFC.

The octagonal combat conglomerate produced a card of compelling fights from top to bottom in Southern California, headlined by a seismic shift in both the featherweight and pound-for-pound ranks with Ilia Topuria's upset victory in the pay-per-view main event.

Alexander Volkanovski had held his title since 2019, defended five times and ascended to consensus acclaim as the promotion's all-time best at 145 pounds. But after a hard right to the jaw, he was left in a heap and the Spain-based Georgian was deemed a new star.

What it all meant by Sunday was there are new fights to make.

The B/R combat team sprang into action after the lights went down at the Honda Center in Anaheim to discuss what matches need to be made in the aftermath of the UFC 298 show.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

OK, we've heard the chatter.

Alexander Volkanovski is 35 years old. He's lost three of his past four fights. And in two of those losses, he was brutally knocked out inside of nine minutes.

So we understand the suggestion (and we don't necessarily disagree) that the Aussie's best move would be to take some time away to make sure he's fit to continue.

But given that No. 1 contender Max Holloway is booked at UFC 300 and No. 2 man Yair Rodriguez hasn't returned since a third-round pummeling by Volkanovski at UFC 290 last summer, it's no stretch to say that the now-former champ remains the best option.

And let's not forget that Volkanovski had not lost a UFC fight at 145 pounds prior to Saturday and won the first round against Topuria on all three scorecards. He immediately insisted he should be on the bill opposite the new champ if the belt is next defended in Spain, and his track record with the promotion suggests he'll indeed get the shot if he wants it.

The fight was pretty meh. But the call-out was surely more.

Irish welterweight Ian Machado Garry kept his unbeaten career and UFC records intact with a narrow but fair split decision over veteran Geoff Neal, a victory that'll presumably allow him to swap places with the 33-year-old and climb to No. 8 in the divisional rankings.

It was a seventh straight win overall and second in a row over ranked contenders at 170 pounds for the 26-year-old, who's labeled himself "The Future" and models his outside persona after countryman and hero Conor McGregor.

So given that mentoring lineage, it's no surprise he'd go big seeking new quarry. Which, in this case, means fifth-ranked contender and three-time title challenger Colby Covington.

"I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna beat Colby Covington like we've never seen before," Garry said. "Colby's biggest claim to fame is that he's fought for three world titles and he's lost all three. He's not as good as people think he is.

"You get beat by a young, talented, up-and-coming prospect, one of the best we've ever seen, and you don't come back from that. I promise you, I will end that fight. I will finish that fight. And I will rid the UFC of Colby Covington, once and for all."

Merab Dvalishvili has been nothing if not patient.

Though he'd won nine straight fights and was firmly entrenched as a top contender at bantamweight, the popular Georgian was content to serve as a top lieutenant to good friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling as his pal ruled the 135-pound ranks.

But now that Sterling has been dethroned by Sean O'Malley in August and announced plans to rise to lightweight for a spot on the UFC 300 card, "The Machine" has revved into gear.

He was booked to face former champ Henry Cejudo on Saturday night, won the bout by a competitive but clear unanimous decision, and made no bones about the idea that he's no longer willing to wait to get the title shot that a winner of 10 straight fights warrants.

That means O'Malley. Or, if the new champ doesn't make it past his first defense scheduled for next month at UFC 299 in Miami, that means Marlon Vera.

"I'm not even breathing heavy. I don't feel like I've been in a fight," he said. "I want to dominate all rounds. I want a 10-round fight. Where's the champion? Bring him to me right now. I'm ready. My only goal is for the title now."

If you didn't know Anthony Hernandez before UFC 298, now you know.

The 30-year-old, California-based middleweight had already won four straight fights and finished three opponents before encountering fellow streaking prospect Roman Kopylov and protecting his No. 15 ranking at 185 pounds with a second-round choke-out finish.

He's a rising star in the weight class, has a compelling style in the cage and an interesting personality out of it, which all but guarantees an opportunity against a ranked opponent.

The guess here is that it'll mean Chris Curtis, who's ranked two spots up at No. 13, is coming off a split-decision defeat of Marc-André Barriault in January, and was actually on the docket to face Hernandez on a Fight Night show in September before pulling out with a rib injury.

It makes sense competitively. And it certainly fits the ambitious Hernandez narrative.

"I want to make my run for the title," he said. "He was stopping everybody. I'm done getting in my own way, and I'm ready to chase gold."

Why not wrap up with another fight that was supposed to happen anyway?

Brazilian heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima already cuts a menacing profile at 6'1" and 261 pounds, and it becomes even more imposing when the 15th-ranked contender lets loose with a series of devastating kicks to an opponent's calves.

That was precisely the strategy on Saturday night against late-notice sub Junior Tafa, whose left leg was compromised in short order and who ultimately could not continue after barely more than six minutes in their mid-card prelim match.

Tafa tagged in for the fight only after the initially scheduled foe pulled out with an undisclosed injury a day before. And that opponent? Tafa's older brother, Justin.

Justin Tafa is riding a three-fight win streak in which he's finished all three foes in less than two minutes, which melds nicely with de Lima's run of five victories in seven fights—including three by finish. And if it was good enough to book once, why not run it back for real?

"That's me evolving," de Lima said. "Ten years in this game, a 30-year-old fighter, but I'm always evolving. I was able to show my stand-up, my jiu-jitsu and my wrestling. That's it, I'm just trying to get better every time."