Matches to Make After UFC 276

One man dazzled while the other cruised, but it looks as though Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira managed to set themselves on a collision course at UFC 276.

There were plenty of storylines going into the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s massive offering on Independence Day weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but none bigger than the potential for a clash between reigning middleweight champ Adesanya and Pereira, a relative MMA neophyte who owns two wins over “The Last Stylebender” in the kickboxing ring. The UFC clearly understood the appeal of the possible matchup, as evidenced by booking them on the same card, ensuring that they would participate in press conferences together and be generally forced to rub elbows for the better part of a week.

In order for the Adesanya-Pereira fight to happen, however, both men needed to handle the tasks in front of them. Adesanya would have to defend his belt successfully against Jared Cannonier, a dangerous knockout artist who nonetheless appeared to be tailor-made for the champ, while “Poatan” faced Sean Strickland, a very good striker in his own right who had the advantages of far more MMA experience and underrated offensive wrestling. Both passed their tests with ease: Adesanya’s patient and methodical handling of Cannonier may have lacked the fireworks of his 2020 demolition of Paulo Costa, but was no less dominant in its own right, while Pereira needed barely half a round to give Strickland a fabled “there are levels to this” moment. Pereira’s title shot appears to be a done deal, but that leaves plenty of other fighters in need of a next step. In the wake of UFC 276, here are some matchups that ought to be made for Adesanya, Pereira and the rest of the main card winners.

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira

Yes, it is the essence of cotton-candy matchmaking; and yes, it would be completely laughable to match up a 6-1 converted kickboxer with one of the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artists on the planet if not for the dramatic hook of their shared history. However, if there were ever a time to pull this kind of stunt with a UFC champion, it is now. Adesanya has cleaned out his division as thoroughly as any champ in recent memory with the possible exception of Valentina Shevchenko. (No, women's featherweight does not count as a division.) Lack of upcoming title challengers for Adesanya was already a looming problem last March when he made his unsuccessful attempt to win the light heavyweight title from Jan Blachowicz, and upon his return to 185 pounds, he had to deal with rematches in his next two title defenses. The UFC middleweight division finally has some dynamic new blood rising up the ranks—look no further than Andre Muniz, who was victorious on Saturday’s undercard, Gregory Rodrigues and…ahem…Strickland—but none of them appear ready for title contention just yet.

Enter Pereira, at the perfect time to vault into a weird, yet weirdly compelling title matchup. Count me among those who expected Strickland to test Pereira’s takedown defense and grappling, probably on the way to a one-sided win and a title shot for himself. It remains anybody’s guess what would have happened if he had done so, as Pereira took advantage of Strickland’s decision to test his mettle on the feet. In the end, it was a brutal left hook—Pereira’s money punch in kickboxing and the one he used to faceplant Adesanya in their second fight—that precipitated the beginning of the end. With the “Performance of the Night”- winning finish, Pereira has the Top 10 scalp the UFC evidently believes he needed in order to justify a title shot. Rather than mess around any further and risk spoiling the revenge match slash potential Cinderella story, the UFC should strike while the iron is hot.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Josh Emmett

“Alexander the Great” lived up to his handle, brutalizing former champ Max Holloway for five rounds in a co-main event clash that felt more lopsided than the unanimous 50-45 scorecards could convey. Going into their fight, Volkanovski was already up 2-0 in the series, but claimed he was happy to complete the trilogy and saw it as a “legacy fight.” Mission accomplished, as the champ erased any lingering doubts left over from their ultra-close second meeting and made a statement that will forever resound through discussions of the greatest featherweights of all time. There is a chance that the 31-year-old Australian chooses to test the waters at lightweight; after his win Saturday, he called out Charles Oliveira or anyone else who ends up fighting for the 155-pound title vacated by Oliveira thanks to his weight miss at UFC 274 in May. UFC President Dana White seems open to the idea of Volkanovski pursuing two-division glory, and if that is what happens next, so be it.

However, Volkanovski has not cleared his division of contenders to quite the extent that Adesanya has, and of the featherweights bubbling around the title picture, Emmett has the best case to be next. The Team Alpha Male stalwart won a split decision over Calvin Kattar in the headliner of “UFC Austin” two weeks ago, running his win streak to five straight, the last three over ranked opponents. At 37, an age at which most lighter-weight fighters are in decline, Emmett has finally turned the corner from a talented but frequently injured enigma to a viable title challenger. If he has to wait further while the champ ventures to 155, it would be understandable, but still a shame.

Bryan Barberena vs. Ian Garry

Barberena has spent seven years in the UFC as a fun fighter who consistently delivers exciting performances when matched with an opponent who will oblige his brawler tendencies, but hits his ceiling whenever he runs into a Top 10 welterweight. He has also become something of a grim reaper for aging former champs and contenders; considering his brutal lamping of Jake Ellenberger a couple of years ago and his exciting decision win over Matt Brown in March, perhaps Robbie Lawler should have been able to see the writing on the wall heading into their fight on Saturday’s main card. Lawler and Barberena threw down willingly for as long as things lasted, earning obvious “Fight of the Night” honors, but the 40-year-old ex-champ simply couldn’t keep up the pace, and went down under a hail of punches late in the second round.

Barberena is now on a three-fight win streak, and might perhaps enjoy a break from helping pummel former greats into retirement. (Thank goodness Donald Cerrone showed himself the door; otherwise it would be very easy to imagine the UFC sending him Barberena’s way.) On the opposite end of the spectrum lies Garry, the 24-year-old Irish phenom who advanced his spotless record to 10-0 in a competitive decision win over Gabriel Green on the UFC 276 undercard. “The Future” has size, speed, skill and swagger to spare. What he needs is more experience, in the form of reasonable tests. Barberena is it.

Sean O'Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz

What might have been a true coming-out party for the UFC’s hottest prospect—at least in terms of incipient star power—ended instead in disappointment for everyone involved when O’Malley inadvertently poked Munhoz in the eye, leading the cageside physician to stop the fight at 3:09 of Round 2, a no-contest. The next move from here would be more difficult if O’Malley had been blowing Munhoz out at the time of the foul; would the UFC have treated it as if O’Malley had won, and booked him against a top contender next? Instead, the matchup was getting interesting when it ended, and remains interesting. For nearly two rounds, “The Suga Show” got the better of most of the striking exchanges but had also been kept frustrated and off-rhythm by the Brazilian’s persistent low kicks, never entering the mythical flow state that has preceded the top moments on his highlight reel. Whatever questions we hoped the O’Malley-Munhoz fight would answer are still to be answered, so might as well run it back.