The UFC was back in front of a full capacity crowd in Glendale, Arizona for UFC 263. The card saw two titles on the line as Israel Adesanya fought Marvin Vettori, Deiveson Figueiredo rematched Brandon Moreno and Nate Diaz returned against Leon Edwards in a five-round non-title fight.
The event ended up being a good one as Adesanya dominated the Italian in their rematch winning every round to defend his belt. Moreno, meanwhile, became the new flyweight champ as he submitted Figueiredo in a great performance. Finally, it was Edwards winning a clear-cut decision over Diaz but the final minute is what most will remember.
Now, after UFC 263, here’s what I think will be next for the six fighters involved in the three main fights.
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya looked to prove he still is a dominant fighter after he suffered his first career loss last time out to Jan Blachowicz. Against Vettori, he proved that as he had good takedown defense and scrambles. He also pieced up the Italian to defend his belt.
After the win, Adesanya called out Robert Whittaker for a rematch in Auckland. The fight makes all the sense in the world and should take place in October as Whittaker has earned the rematch.
Marvin Vettori
Vettori came up short in his first bid at UFC gold and he’s now 0-2 against the champ which puts him in a unique spot.
Although Vettori is back to the drawing board he still is young and improving and can work his way to another title shot. However, he will need to win multiple fights in a row and the logical next bout is against Paulo Costa who he called out. If the Brazilian can come to terms with the UFC over his pay dispute this is a solid Fight Night main event with the winner taking one step closer to a title shot.
Brandon Moreno
Brandon Moreno is now the flyweight champ and has options for his next fight.
The Mexican could have a trilogy fight with Deiveson Figueiredo due to how exciting their first two scraps were. However, the logical next option is to rematch Askar Askarov in his first title defense. They first met in Moreno’s return fight to the UFC in Mexico where they fought to a split draw. Now, the timing is right for them to fight at the end of 2021 in Moreno’s first title defense.
Deiveson Figueiredo
Deiveson Figueiredo is in a unique spot after losing his title.
The Brazilian could take a fight against a top contender at flyweight like the winner of Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval. Or, he could move up to bantamweight as he does have a tough weight cut and if that is the case, a logical scrap is just rebooking the Cody Garbrandt fight. They were supposed to meet for the flyweight belt last November but they can now fight at bantamweight in Figueiredo’s bantamweight debut.
Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards dominated Nate Diaz but the last minute where he got rocked and nearly finished by the Stockton native is what everyone will remember.
Although the Brit deserves a title shot, Dana White has been adamant Colby Covington is next. With that, he could hold out but fighting the winner of Stephen Thompson vs. Gilbert Burns on the same card as Usman-Covington 2 makes sense.
Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz proved he still is a massive star and there is a fight that makes a ton of sense. The Stockton native should face the loser of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3. If McGregor loses, the trilogy fight makes all the sense in the world and is a massive fight. If Poirier loses, he and Diaz have some history and a rivalry is already there for the fight to be a massive one.
What do you think should be next for the stars of UFC 263?