4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 251

Jared Cannonier isn't done yet.

The former middleweight title challenger, ranked No. 7 in the weight class, returned to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Fight Night 251 in Las Vegas, taking on Gregory Rodrigues.

Cannonier, 41, was riding back-to-back losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho heading into the card, which made his fight with the unranked Rodrigues a make-or-break moment. Despite suffering some early knockdowns, he ultimately rose to the occasion, stopping his foe with strikes early in round four.

With that, he will remain in the rankings for another day—though it's not clear who he will be matched up with next.

Saturday's co-main event saw rising Moroccan featherweight Youssef Zalal return to the Octagon for the toughest test of his career to date: a clash with No. 10-ranked featherweight contender Calvin Kattar. Zalal passed his test with flying colors, styling on Kattar for two of three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory, which will set him up for another big fight at 145 pounds.

Keep reading for the fights we'd like to see next for Cannonier and Zalal, as well as two other big winners from Saturday's event in Vegas.

Had Cannonier lost to Rodrigues on Saturday, it likely would have spelled the end of his time as a relevant middleweight contender for good. Having won, however, the 41-year-old ensured he will remain in the division's top 10 for the time being.

Unfortunately for Cannonier, the road ahead is not very clear. He has already fought most of the men ranked above him, and lost to four of them. That means that, unless the UFC is willing to give him a rematch with a previous foil, he will likely have to fight somebody ranked below him again.

Thankfully, there's one pretty solid option: Paulo Costa.

Costa, ranked No. 11, is also a former title challenger, but has been very inactive and inconsistent in recent years, and is currently riding back-to-back decision losses to Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland. He'll hopefully be ready to get back in there soon, and when he is, Cannonier looks like a great option.

They've shockingly never fought before—despite being briefly matched up in 2021 to no avail—and are both very exciting to watch at their best.

Zalal was unranked heading into his Saturday scrap with No. 10-ranked featherweight contender Calvin Kattar, but he proved he belongs in the top 15 with an impressive decision victory.

As a new arrival in the featherweight rankings, Zalal has tons of exciting matchup options. One of the best is a fight with England's Arnold Allen.

Allen, ranked No. 7 in the weight class, is 1-2 in his last 3, with a win over Giga Chikadze in his most recent appearance. He'd be another big step up for Zalal, but doesn't have a ton of better options at the moment.

It would make a great addition to any upcoming fight card in Europe or the Middle East, and the winner would be an important part of the featherweight title conversation.

At one time, Edman Shahbazyan was seen as a future middleweight title challenger. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that the knockout artist was grossly unequipped in the grappling department, as he suffered three straight losses to Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Nassourdine Imavov.

Shahbazyan has been hot and cold since that skid, alternating wins and losses. His latest fight occurred this past Saturday in Vegas, where he rebounded from a submission defeat against Gerald Meerschaert with a quick knockout win over Dylan Budka. The win over Budka isn't going to put Shahbazyan back in the rankings, but it was a reminder of what he's capable of when he's at his best.

After the victory, we'd like to see him take on Brazil's Cesar Almeida.

Almeida, a former kickboxer who famously went 1-2 in a trilogy with Alex Pereira, is already 36, so is unlikely to make a run at the middleweight title, but is riding back-to-back wins over Ihor Potieria and Abdul Razak Alhassan. He's ready for another tough fight, and a clash with a fellow knockout artist like Shahbazyan seems like just the ticket.

Andre Petroski picked up his third consecutive win on Saturday, defeating decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt Rodolfo Vieira by unanimous decision. After the victory, he called for a fight with red-hot middleweight prospect Bo Nickal—and it was not the first time he's done so.

Nickal, who recently debuted in the middleweight rankings at No. 15, quickly made it quite clear that he's not interested in the matchup, but may be getting a bit ahead of himself. While the wrestling standout remains undefeated, he has looked pretty underwhelming when he's matched up with anybody decent, and really isn't in any position to call his own shots yet.

A fight with Petroski definitely makes sense for him, whether he likes it or not. It would give him a chance to prove he really belongs in the rankings after earning his spot with a dreadful decision win over Paul Craig, and it would give the streaking Petroski an opportunity he's been begging for since Nickal arrived in the UFC.

If Nickal wins impressively, then perhaps it will be time to match him up with somebody a little higher up the list.