UFC Zagreb’s outcome left mixed emotions in the MMA community. From wardrobe malfunctions to several decision victories, I was not a huge fan of this card. Although I enjoyed the Derrick Lewis KO, Junior Dos Santos’ dominate performance, and Francis Ngannou’s work, I wasn’t totally shocked about this cards repercussions. With that said, take a look at my inner Joe Silva’s match-making skills.
Strawweight: #8 Maryna Moroz (7-1) vs #7 Paige VanZant (6-2)
Moroz previously suffered her first career loss to #6 Valerie Letourneau. She came back to fight at UFC Zagreb and got a decision win over Christina Stanciu. VanZant is coming off a loss to #3 Rose Namajunas. These two ladies are very young and talented. This fight would be very good because both woman have different styles. I see this bout being made last this year if it is made.
Heavyweight: FrancisNgannou (7-1) vs Timothy Johnson (10-2)
Both fighters secured a victory this past Sunday in Croatia. In two fights with the UFC, Ngannou has two finishes after finishing Curtis Blaydes. Johnson’s fight was far from a great fight. In fact, Tim threw just nine more significant strikes than Francis in five more minutes. I believe that Ngannou will dominate Johnson in a three-round bout.
Heavyweight: #13 Derrick Lewis (15-4) vs #10 Roy Nelson (22-12)
If you question the booking of this fight please get your head checked. There is no other fight that would make the fans go crazy, other than this one. Lewis is coming off three straight wins including his most recent KO of veteran Gabriel Gonzaga. Nelson is coming off a win over Jared Rosholt. Get ready to see some flying fists, big bellies, and hopefully nothing below Derrick Lewis’ fight shorts again.
Heavyweight: #4 Junior Dos Santos (18-4) vs Winner of #3 Alistar Overeem (40-14) vs #5 Andrei Arlovski (25-11)
Dos Santos looked better than amazing on Sunday. Absolutely dominated the red hot #6 Ben Rothwell. Coming off a loss to Overeem previous to this bout, JDS needed to grab a victory in good fashion. That he did. The winner of the Overeem vs Alovski bout will be Dos Santos’ next opponent because the UFC will not book JDS vs Cain Velasquez 4, and Cain already has a fight. I believe we will see Overeem vs JDS 2 later this year.
Photo: Getty Images
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