Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 160

Jared Cannonier has entered a new competitive stratosphere.

“The Killa Gorilla” announced his arrival as a serious player in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division, as he sliced through Jack Hermansson with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 160 headliner on Saturday at Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cannonier drew the curtain 27 seconds into Round 2, improving to 3-0 since he moved to 185 pounds.

In the weeks preceding the event, Hermansson was the talk of the division. The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder had pieced together a four-fight winning streak against increasingly stiff opposition: Thales Leites, Gerald Meerschaert, David Branch and Ronaldo Souza. None of it mattered to Cannonier. The surging 35-year-old denied a takedown from Hermansson at the start of the second round, clipped him with an uppercut and overwhelmed him with follow-up punches to force the stoppage.

In the aftermath of UFC Fight Night “Hermansson vs. Cannonier,” here are five matches that ought to be made:

Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum-Darren Till winner: Cannonier refused to wilt in the face of enormous pressure, survived being taken down and turned the tide with a series of devastating low leg kicks in the first round. His mobility compromised, Hermansson grew increasingly desperate and left himself exposed and vulnerable at the start of Round 2. His chiseled counterpart was willing and able to capitalize, doing so with a volley of punches inside the first minute. Since he relocated to 185 pounds a little less than a year ago, Cannonier has rattled off consecutive finishes against Hermansson, Anderson Silva and David Branch. Gastelum will lock horns with Till at UFC 244 on Nov. 2.

Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Chiesa: A former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Burns made the most of his opportunity as a short-notice replacement for the injured Thiago Alves and took a unanimous decision from the enigmatic Gunnar Nelson in a three-round welterweight showcase. The Hard Knocks 365 representative kept Nelson at bay with leg kicks, snuck in a takedown in the second round and outstruck the Icelandic grappler in a majority of their exchanges. Chiesa, who has gone 2-0 since he made the transition to 170 pounds, last fought at UFC 239, where he was awarded a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez on July 6.

Ion Cutelaba vs. Magomed Ankalaev-Dalcha Lungiambula winner: Cutelaba recorded his third win in four outings, as he wiped out Khalil Rountree with elbows in the first round of their light heavyweight feature. Rountree succumbed to blows 2:35 into Round 1. An emerging threat in the volatile 205-pound weight class, the 25-year-old Cutelaba has begun to put together results that match his considerable talent. Still, it remains unclear if the UFC has a young contender on its hands or a middle-of-the-road action hero. Ankalaev and Lungiambula have been booked opposite one another at UFC Fight Night 163 on Nov. 9 in Moscow.

Ovince St. Preux vs. Misha Cirkunov: Those who expected St. Preux to fade away into obscurity after back-to-back losses to Dominick Reyes and Nikita Krylov were in for a surprise when the Strikeforce veteran sprang his patented shoulder choke upon Michal Oleksiejczuk in the second round of their featured light heavyweight affair. OSP executed the submission 2:14 into Round 2, handing Oleksiejczuk his first defeat in nearly five years. It marked the fourth time St. Preux had finished a shoulder choke -- a maneuver made famous by Jason Von Flue -- in UFC competition. Cirkunov rebounded from a 38-second knockout loss to Johnny Walker by submitting Jim Crute with a Peruvian necktie at UFC Fight Night 158 on Sept. 14.

Lina Lansberg vs. Irene Aldana: Lansberg finally has some momentum with which to work. The 37-year-old Swede rebounded from a difficult first round, surprised Macy Chiasson with her pursuit of ground exchanges and overcame statistical deficits in the total strike and significant strike departments, as she laid claim to a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Fortis MMA rep. Scores were 29-27, 29-28 and 29-28, all for Lansberg, who sports back-to-back wins for the first time since she joined the UFC roster in 2016. Aldana last competed at UFC Fight Night 159 on Sept. 21, when she outpointed Vanessa Melo to a unanimous verdict.