Even before losing its Derrick Lewis vs. Sergey Spivak main event at the last minute, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215 card in Las Vegas looked pretty weak. When that fight fell through, and a clash between unranked light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba was pushed into the headlining spot, it looked even weaker.
Still, the card managed to provide a handful of entertaining moments, most notably in the last-minute headliner, which saw Nzechukwu defeat Cutelaba with a volley of second-round knees and punches.
Welterweight strikers Muslim Salikhov and Jack Della Maddalena also won big on the main card, picking up knockout wins over Andre Fialho and Danny Roberts respectively.
Heavyweight prospect Waldo Cortes-Acosta also picked up a decent win in the main event, defeating Chase Sherman by unanimous decision to move to 2-0 in the UFC.
It was not a card anyone’s going to be talking about years down the line, but it was still an important night for a handful of fun divisions.
Keep scrolling for the fights we want to see next for the card’s big winners.
After his knockout win over Ion Cutelaba in the short-notice UFC Fight Night 215 main event, Kennedy Nzechukwu is now on a two-fight streak, having also submitted Karl Roberson this summer.
That streak should earn the Nigerian-born Texan a nice step up in competition. Our pick for his next opponent is No. 13 light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree who, after wins over Dustin Jacoby, Roberson and Modestas Bukauskas, is ready for another good test as he looks to climb on toward title contention.
It makes sense for both guys given their similar win streaks, and because they are two of the better strikers in the division, it would probably be a great scrap for as long as it lasts.
Throw it on a pay-per-view main card and let these light heavyweights do the rest.
Russian “King of Kung Fu” Muslim Salikhov got back to winning ways on the UFC Fight Night 215 main card, rebounding from a stoppage loss to Li Jingliang by shutting the lights out on Andre Fialho with a flashy combination in Round 3.
Now that he’s back in the win column, we’d like to see the 38-year-old striker matched up with Ireland’s Ian Garry.
The 25-year-old Garry is one of the brightest young prospects in the UFC welterweight division, and he often draws comparisons to his countryman Conor McGregor. After beating Jordan Williams, Darrian Weeks and Gabe Green in his first three UFC bouts, he’s ready for a step up in competition, and a veteran like Salikhov would be just that.
It looks like a great matchup on paper, and it would tell us a lot about where both men are at in their respective careers.
Much like the aforementioned Ian Garry, Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena is among the brightest young prospects in the perilous UFC welterweight division.
He reaffirmed that on the UFC Fight Night 215 main card, when he thumped British veteran Danny Roberts to a first-round stoppage—moving to 3-0 in the UFC in the process.
After his win in Vegas, he’s clearly ready for a big step up in competition. There is no sense bringing this guy along slowly. He’s too good.
Our pick for his next opponent is No. 14 welterweight contender Michel Pereira.
After a rocky start to his UFC career, Brazil’s Pereira is now on a five-fight win streak. And as an excellent striker himself, would be more than happy to oblige the rising Aussie in a fun fire fight.
It’s definitely a big step up in competition, but we think Della Maddalena is ready.
After a decision win over Chase Sherman in the UFC Fight Night 215 co-headliner, the Dominican Republic’s Waldo Cortes-Acosta is now 2-0 in the promotion. Granted, his two wins have come against arguably the two worst heavyweights on the roster in Sherman and Jarred Vanderaa, but hey, heavyweight prospects are rare, so we should be celebrating.
Besides, the 31-year-old can only mix it up with low level competition for so long. Eventually, he’s going to have to start tangling with better opposition.
We say the time is now.
From here, we’d like to see Cortes-Acosta matched up with Brazil’s Marcos Rogério de Lima.
The Brazilian heavyweight has been a bit inconsistent in the UFC, but he’s riding an impressive submission win over ageless veteran Andrei Arlovski and should therefore be matched up with somebody else on the upswing—like Cortes-Acosta.
It’s a fight that could seemingly end any number of ways, and the winner would be well-positioned for a scrap with a ranked opponent.
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