Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 216

The UFC's final event of 2022 had a slew of meaningful fights, for a change. In the headliner, there was a battle of genuine middleweight contenders between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland. Cannonier was returning after a failed bid for the middleweight crown against Israel Adesanya in July, which snapped an impressive 5-1 middleweight run, the only other loss being a close decision to Robert Whittaker. However, with Cannonier a few months shy of his 39th birthday, there were concerns about whether he was over the hill.

Meanwhile, Strickland is in his absolute prime at 31, and was also coming back after a decisive loss to a future middleweight champion, that being current UFC king Alex Pereira, who starched Strickland with his legendary left hook halfway into the opening stanza. Before then, Strickland was on an impressive five-fight winning streak, four of those triumphs after a brutal motorcycle crash that destroyed one of his knees and threatened to end his career. Cannonier and Strickland engaged in a close back-and-forth striking battle, which most viewers likely had 48-47 in either direction. Bizarrely, the judges all scored it 49-46, one for Strickland, and two for Cannonier, giving him the split decision victory.

The co-main also featured a genuine important contenders' match, this time at lightweight. Damir Ismagulov is in his prime at 31 and a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, though all have come by decision, and the last one against Guram Kutateladze was a split verdict most observers scored in favor of his opponent. Tsarukyan is still only 26 and improving, but 5-2 in the promotion, having lost to current champion Islam Makhachev in a competitive decision upon his debut in 2019 and dropping another decision in his last outing to Mateusz Gamrot. However, Tsarukyan got back on the winning track against Ismagulov, sweeping all three rounds on all three scorecards.

Elsewhere, former Rizin Fighting Federation champion and No. 12 ranked Manel Kape dominated ninth-ranked David Dvorak to win his third straight fight in the UFC after a disappointing 0-2 start in the promotion, though the losses were to elite contenders Alexandre Pantoja and Matheus Nicolau, the latter one an absolute robbery, as all 22 media members, myself included, had it 29-28 Kape. In another important flyweight match, Amir Albazi lost the first round to skilled UFC newcomer Alessandro Costa but then poured it on in Rounds 2 and 3, scoring an outstanding uppercut knockout halfway through the third stanza, and improving to 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes. Additionally, Said Nurmagomedov tapped Saidyokub Kakhramonov via a rare ninja choke in Round 2 to go 3-0 in the promotion in 2022.

Here are some intriguing bouts that come to mind for 2023:

Jared Cannonier vs. Alex Pereira

The UFC will likely go down the boring route of having Adesanya and Pereira rematch for the title. The far more intriguing, creative match would be Cannonier vs. Pereira. Cannonier would be one of the very few contenders that Pereira could beat, as Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Derek Brunson, Roman Dolidze and Dricus Du Plessis would all easily beat Pereira with their grappling, among others. Thus, it would be a competitive title match the UFC could book, and it would certainly be a fun one, as both men have tremendously powerful punches, especially from close range. There would be an interesting wildcard in seeing if Cannonier would use his wrestling in this situation, and whether Pereira could defend against it, considering that pure strikers like Adesanya and Bruno Silva had success with their grappling against him. It would be a very fun, unique title fight, which is exactly why the UFC won't book it.

Arman Tsarukyan vs. Justin Gaethje

At first, it may seem crazy to have Tsarukyan, the #9 UFC lightweight contender prior to his victory, face the #3 contender and former interim champion Gaethje. And while that may indeed be the case from the standpoint of star power, it's certainly not true based on fighting ability. Gaethje recently turned 34, and while there is no shame in his losses to Khabib and Charles Oliveira, most of his wins haven't aged well. Aside from a decision over Michael Chandler, his last three wins before that were Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone, and Edson Barboza, three men who are thoroughly, completely washed-up. How would the aging Gaethje fare against the constantly improving, 26-year-old Tsarukyan? Would Tsarukyan be able to expose Gaethje's grappling holes in the same manner Khabib and Oliveira have? It would be a true example of grappler versus striker, but a damn exciting and intriguing one. I believe it could be a possible fight of the year candidate, like so many of Gaethje's other battles.

Amir Albazi vs. Alexandre Pantoja

Albazi is the current No. 8 contender and will only rise after his latest stoppage win. Pantoja is all the way up at No. 2 but has to wait for Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno to face each other for a fourth time and also can't fight the contender directly below him, Kai Kara-France, who is scheduled to face Alex Perez, the same man Pantoja choked out in 91 seconds in his last outing. Albazi-Pantoja could serve as a No. 1 contender match, and pit two flyweights with excellent striking and grappling plus endless energy against one another. It would be a fight of the night candidate on any card it appears on. It doesn't badly hurt Albazi should he lose either, as he is still 29.

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Pedro Munhoz

Nurmagomedov is yet another impressive fighter from his family, with a fine 6-1 record in the UFC, including four in a row, three via finish. He is currently ranked No. 15 at 135 pounds but one can expect that to go up after his latest triumph. At 30 years old, he is in his prime and it's time he fought a real contender. Why not the somewhat floundering, former elite bantamweight Pedro Munhoz? Stylistically, it's a fascinating match-up. Munhoz has holes in his defensive striking, but has tremendous offensive striking as well as excellent BJJ. It will be interesting to see whether Nurmagomedov's own grappling can surpass him, or whether he will strike more in this encounter. Also, the fight will either prove that Nurmagomedov is an elite bantamweight contender himself, or else show that the 36-year-old Brazilian isn't quite washed up, giving his career a shot in the arm.

Manel Kape vs. Brandon Royval

Kape just turned 29 and is now in his prime, ready to make a serious run at the flyweight title. He will be solidly in the Top 10, having just thrashed ninth-ranked Dvorak. Facing No. 4 Royval, who is also in his prime at 30, makes perfect sense. It's a fascinating striker vs. grappler match, with plenty of huge punches and submission attempts to delight the crowd. The winner should also put themselves firmly into the title picture.