Matches to Make After UFC on ESPN 41

UFC on ESPN 41 featured an intriguing matchup, as the greatest bantamweight champion ever, Dominick Cruz, riding a nice two fight winning streak against very good opposition in Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz since his loss in a world title bid against Henry Cejudo in 2020, faced surging top 10 contender Marlon Vera, fresh off a fantastic triumph over Rob Font in April. Dynamic striker and highly skilled BJJ practitioner Vera was a solid favorite to win, likely by catching Cruz at some point over 25 minutes with his devastating blows, but one could never count out the endlessly skilled and intelligent 37 year-old former bantamweight king. That's precisely what occurred: Cruz won 4 minutes and 30 seconds of every round, but Vera would land the most telling, significant blow. That led to knockdowns in Rounds 1 and 3, and in Round 4, a scintillating head kick knockout that left Cruz bloody and limp.

The card was very thin elsewhere and I admittedly struggled to come up with interesting match-ups, as no one other than Vera or Cruz was a serious contender.

Marlon Vera vs. Winner of Cory Sandhagen vs. Yadong Song

In either scenario, this would be a glorious fireworks display between two strikers. Either Vera would face fellow knockout artist Sandhagen, or else he would get a rematch against Song, who was given a decision against Vera that most felt he deserved to lose, in a one-off featherweight matchup a few years ago. It would be a wonderful treat for the fans that could be a worthy co-main of a pay-per-view and also produce an elite contender to challenge for the bantamweight throne.

Dominick Cruz vs. Winner of Rani Yahya vs. Cody Garbrandt

Cruz's time in MMA is limited, and the knockout loss to Vera signaled the end of his time as a top contender, as there are higher-ranked contenders than Vera who would have likely inflicted a similar fate on him, such as Jose Aldo, Sandhagen and Petr Yan. However, he is still a very good fighter who can be part of exciting, significant fights. Why not have Cruz fight a fellow highly regarded veteran, then?

Either Cruz gets a rematch against Garbrandt, another former bantamweight champion who defeated him for the crown, or one of the greatest submission artists in UFC history, the venerable Yahya. Either one would be a fun, crowd-pleasing affair.

Nate Landwehr vs. Lando Vannata

Landwehr will never be a serious contender. He is already 34 and too wild, untechnical and easy to hit, as evinced by Round 1 knockout losses to Julian Erosa and Herbert Burns, neither a contender themselves. He is, however, endlessly exciting, with his ruthless, berserker style, refusing to take a step back, and with the certainty that vicious, painful blows will be exchanged.

Why not pair him with another thrilling, unorthodox striker who also won't become a serious contender in Vannata? That would be the easy favorite for “Fight of the Night” on most cards on which it would appear.

Azamat Murzakanov vs. Ryan Spann

At present, the UFC doesn't quite know what it has with either fighter. Spann is very talented, with nice stoppage wins over Ion Cutelaba in his last outing as well as Misha Cirkunov, Devin Clark and Antonio Rogerio Nogeuira in 2019. At the same time, he is mercurial and prone to lapses in effort and concentration, even arguably losing to Sam Alvey back in 2020. Murzakanov gets the most of his abilities and is currently undefeated in MMA, with his third round stoppage of Devin Clark at “UFC San Diego” being his finest win yet. However, he is undersized for 205 and already 33 years old.

Having them fight would help determine which one is a possible contender and would be a fascinating confrontation in both the striking and grappling. Spann would have enormous 7-inch height and 10.5-inch (!) reach advantages, so it would also indicate if Murzakanov can overcome such disadvantages against the more skilled fighters of the division.