Matches to Make After UFC on ESPN 2

Justin Gaethje pulled the plug on another frontline Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight.

The former World Series of Fighting champion on Saturday shut off Edson Barboza with a sweeping right hook in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 2 main event before a raucous crowd of 11,123 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Barboza froze and hit the deck 2:30 into Round 1, as he suffered the quickest defeat of his stellar 27-fight career.

Gaethje played no games and immediately went about abusing the Brazilian’s legs with kicks. Barboza answered in kind, only to see his bloodthirsty counterpart march forward without regard for his own health and apply merciless pressure. Gaethje rang the onetime Ring of Combat titleholder’s bell on more than one occasion, created some separation by pushing him into the fence and cut loose with a fight-ending blow Barboza never saw coming.

In the aftermath of UFC on ESPN 2 “Barboza vs. Gaethje,” here are five matches that ought to be made:

Justin Gaethje vs. Al Iaquinta-Donald Cerrone winner: Gaethje has become appointment viewing, an increasingly rare commodity in today’s MMA. The 30-year-old Trevor Wittman protégé’s live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword commitment to violence curries favor with fans, fellow fighters and the UFC itself, as Gaethje has now delivered 17 of his 20 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. Where he goes from here remains anyone’s guess -- the options seem virtually limitless -- but he figures to be part of the UFC’s plans at 155 pounds for the foreseeable future. Iaquinta and Cerrone are scheduled to collide in the UFC Fight Night 150 main event in May.

Jack Hermansson vs. Elias Theodorou-Derek Brunson winner: Hermansson posted the most significant win of his career in the co-headliner, where he disposed of former two-division WSOF champion David Branch with a first-round guillotine choke. Branch conceded defeat 49 seconds into Round 1, as he was submitted for just the second time -- Rousimar Palhares did the honors in 2011 -- in 28 professional appearances. Hermansson, 30, has quietly rattled off three consecutive victories, all of them finishes, since his technical knockout loss to Thiago Santos some 17 months ago. Theodorou will face Brunson in the UFC Fight Night 150 co-main event on May 4 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Josh Emmett vs. Cub Swanson-Shane Burgos winner: Chins crack whenever Emmett lands flush, a reality to which Michael Johnson can now attest. Likely down two rounds to none, the Team Alpha Male rep knocked out Johnson with a crushing right hook in the third round of their featherweight showcase. Emmett closed the deal 4:14 into Round 3, as he bounced back from a brutal knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens in February 2018, re-established his footing in the 145-pound weight class, improved his UFC record to 5-2 and added to his already impressive highlight reel. Swanson has been booked opposite Burgos on May 4 in Ottawa, Ontario, where they will help anchor UFC Fight Night 150 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Michelle Waterson vs. Weili Zhang: Waterson keeps proving detractors wrong, thumbing her nose at those who believe the former Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight titleholder is too small to compete with the best of the best at 115 pounds. In her latest conquest, “The Karate Hottie” outstruck, outgrappled and outmaneuvered Karolina Kowalkiewicz to a unanimous decision. All three cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Waterson. One of the rising stars in the strawweight division, Zhang last competed at UFC 235 on March 2, when she extended her winning streak to 19 fights with a unanimous decision over Tecia Torres at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Now 19-1, the 29-year-old has finished 16 opponents during her current tear.

Sodiq Yusuff vs. Dan Ige: Yusuff has already established himself as a person of interest in the featherweight division, and he did nothing to lower his stock by taking a unanimous decision from Sheymon Moraes to kick off the main card. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27, all for the once-beaten Lloyd Irvin disciple. Yusuff, 25, has pieced together a four-fight winning streak and appears to be trending upward in the 145-pound weight class. Operating out of Xtreme Couture, Ige last appeared at UFC Fight Night 147, where he needed just 77 seconds to submit Danny Henry with a rear-naked choke on March 16.