The heavyweight headliner of UFC Fight Night 208 was a fantastic matchup between top contender Curtis Blaydes and rising star Tom Aspinall, and figured to teach us a lot about one or both men. Either Blaydes would continue to demonstrate that he is nobody’s gatekeeper, but one of the three best heavyweights in the world, or Aspinall would show that he is ready to fulfill the championship potential many see in him. Instead, an apparent fluke injury to Aspinall’s right knee ended things just 15 seconds into the first round. The brevity of the fight and the apparent severity of the injury make the main event of “UFC London” a complete disaster—for Aspinall, obviously, but also for Blaydes, who was extremely gracious afterward but must have been agonizing over the lost opportunity.
Blaydes is in a tough position: holding two knockout losses to heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, but nearly unbeatable by anyone else. Nonetheless, he needs an assignment of some sort after Saturday’s hollow-feeling victory. In the wake of “UFC London,” here are some matchups that ought to be made for Blaydes and the other main-card winners:
Curtis Blaydes vs. Ciryl Gane
Yes, I know that Gane is fighting Tai Tuivasa in the main event of UFC Fight Night 209 five weeks from now in Paris. Regardless of the outcome of that fight, assuming Gane is healthy afterwards—knock on wood—Blaydes vs. Gane should be next. The “UFC Paris” headliner is a probable title eliminator for Tuivasa, but not for Gane. The Frenchman has a bit of the same problem as Blaydes; while he has only one loss to Ngannou, his was more recent, and one-sided enough that beating Tuivasa will probably not be enough to earn him a rematch. Matching up Blaydes and Gane keeps them from knocking off any more up-and-comers, while affording one of them the chance to keep his position at the doorstep of title contention. In particular, if Gane can fend off Blaydes’ takedowns in a way he could not against Ngannou, it would go a long way towards showing he has shored up that weakness.
Jack Hermansson vs. Caio Borralho
“Joker” made the best of a tough situation in Saturday’s co-main event after Darren Till withdrew, using his superior range and footwork to win a one-sided unanimous decision over Chris Curtis. It may not have been aesthetically pleasing—Curtis’ near-tantrum late in the fight reflected the feelings of more than a few viewers—but it got Hermansson back in the “W” column while barely breaking a sweat. However, the fact remains that Hermansson has now alternated wins and over his last eight fights, which isn’t good enough to move up the ranks even in the depleted middleweight division. If Derek Brunson intends to keep fighting, that would be an interesting matchup, but better yet would be to let Hermansson rebuild against one of the division’s up-and-comers who has earned a shot. Borralho, who soundly outwrestled Armen Petrosyan at “UFC Vegas 58” two weeks ago, fits the bill perfectly. If he can make his ground game work against Hermansson, he is the real deal.
Paddy Pimblett vs. Drew Dober-Rafael Alves winner
On a frankly lackluster night of fights, Pimblett’s performance was one of the few bright spots, and with a slight nod to his buddy McCann, easily the star of the show. “Paddy the Baddy” took full advantage of friendly matchmaking, as Jordan Leavitt was unlikely to hurt him on the feet as his first two UFC opponents had, but to be fair, it’s also extremely impressive how badly Pimblett embarrassed a fellow grappling specialist on the ground. The mop-topped Liverpudlian may be the UFC’s most marketable active fighter, but just as importantly, he has earned a step up in competition: perhaps not to a Top 10 matchup, but a solid fringe contender. Dober and Alves, who meet next weekend at UFC 277 in Dallas, Texas, fit the description, and would provide two very different stylistic looks for a fighter in Pimblett who is gifted, but far from polished.
Nikita Krylov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Nine years on from his hilariously bad Octagon debut, Krylov has become much better than we had any right to expect, but he is still one of the most inconsistent Top 15 fighters in the promotion. While Good Krylov looked sharp for the 67 seconds it took at “UFC London,” the truth is that even Bad Krylov probably would have been too much for the shell of Alexander Gustafsson. Inconsistency aside, since returning to the UFC in 2018, the Ukrainian “Miner” has lost only to top fighters. The same could be said of Oezdemir, who made Paul Craig look slow and one-dimensional in Saturday’s main card opener. Krylov called out his Swiss counterpart, and the matchup makes sense. Neither man seems likely to string together enough wins to make a run at the title, but one of them can get one step closer.
Molly McCann vs. Antonina Shevchenko
“Meatball Molly” did it again. Just months after notching one of the best knockouts of 2022, icing Luana Carolina with a gorgeous spinning back elbow, McCann thrashed Hannah Goldy in the very same arena, and even threw in another spinning elbow. Once again, the partisan arena absolutely exploded with delight, Pimblett held up his end of the deal, and the sheer fun of it helped save an otherwise miserable card. McCann is simply a different fighter in England: not in the sense that she magically becomes a Top 5 flyweight, but a bigger, better version of the scrappy slugger she is by nature. Her back-to-back bonus-winning KOs have been accomplished against marginal UFC talents in Carolina and Goldy. At the very least, she needs a step up to a fighter with a .500 record in the Octagon. The older Shevchenko sister, who took a split decision over Cortney Casey at “UFC Vegas 58,” has settled in as a solid UFC-level flyweight. Book those two, and for goodness’ sake, do it in the UK.