Last night, the UFC touched down in Brooklyn, New York with UFC 208. Though this card was far from the UFC’s most exciting event, it did cause some substantial shifts in the careers of some of MMA’s biggest names.
Now that UFC 208 is in the rear-view mirror, here are three fights we’d like to see the UFC make for some of the card’s biggest winners and losers.
Click next to see them!
1. Holly Holm vs. Cat Zingano
In UFC 208’s co-main event, Holly Holm came up short against Germaine De Randamie, failing to claim the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight crown in the process.
With this controversial loss, Holm stumbled onto a three-fight skid. Given this unfortunate run of losses, it’s difficult to say where she goes from here. Our pick to that end, however, would be a fight with Cat Zingano who, like Holm is now on an unfortunate losing-streak after beginning her career with a nice, undefeated run.
Whether this fight were to occur at featherweight, or in the bantamweight division where Holm and Zingano have realized the body of their success, we’re guessing it would be a good one.
2. Anderson Silva vs. Uriah Hall
In the co-main event of UFC 208, Anderson Silva rebounded from a four-year win-drought with a controversial decision defeat of Derek Brunson.
With this win, he once again stands out as a contender in the crowded middleweight division. That said, he is now 41 years old, and bouts with the middleweight division’s top fighters – men like Yoel Romero, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Luke Rockhold – seem inherently risky for him.
Instead of pitting the aging Silva against one of these animals, we recommend the UFC match him up with fellow action-fighter Uriah Hall, who recently came up short to Brunson. Sure, this fight doesn’t make a ton of sense as far as rankings are concerned, but it would probably look like a fight out of Tekken or Street Fighter, so we say book it!
3. Glover Teixeira vs. Alexander Gustafsson
In the second bout of the UFC 208 main card, Brazilian light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira took an undeniable step down in competition against unproven prospect Jared Cannonier. Though Cannonier put up a decent fight, this one was all Teixeira, who succeeded on takedowns in all three rounds, and racked up nearly 14:30 of control time.
With this dominant decision victory, the Brazilian reminded the world of his status as one of the best light heavyweights alive. Despite this win, however, he still remains a short distance from the winner of Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson’s looming light heavyweight title fight.
In the meantime, we hope he’s paired with Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson, who he was briefly matched with in 2015. The winner of this fight would then be in an excellent position to lobby for another shot at the light heavyweight title.
What fights do you want next for the winners and losers of UFC 208? Sound off, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/12/2017.