Who’s Next?🔮
Merab’s future is unpredictable because he’s defeated many of the top bantamweight contenders…
Merab Dvalishvili successfully retained his bantamweight title, and Kayla Harrison dominated to become the new women’s title holder at 135lbs, as UFC 316 from the Prudential Center this past weekend delivered in more ways than one to shock UFC rumors.
However, with several entertaining clashes in the bag and multiple ranking shifts as a result, it’s time to look forward and see where our favorite fighters should match up in the future.
I am the Matchmaker, and this is every fight we need to see after UFC 316!
Started from the bottom now we’re here 👏🏆
The Champions Merab Dvalishvili and Kayla Harrison recreate some photos together, nine years apart 🔙
📸: @MerabDvalishvil / @KaylaH #UFC316 pic.twitter.com/XgnQybtXbz
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) June 8, 2025
More of the Matchmaker!
- The Matchmaker: Every Fight to Make After UFC 315
- The Matchmaker: Fights That Must Happen After UFC 314
- The Matchmaker: Every Fight Dana White Should Make After UFC Kansas City
- The Matchmaker: Fights That Need to be Made After UFC 313
Merab Dvalishvili vs…
The Machine continues living up to his moniker as he puts on another relentless display of mixed martial arts expertise. However, he didn’t just grind out a relentless decision over ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley in their rematch; he handed the former champ his first-ever submission loss!
Merab is now arguably the greatest bantamweight in pro-MMA history, and from here on out, his successes will be nothing more than another notch on his legacy that’s seen him defeat all of our favorite 135ers in back-to-back fights.
Making HISTORY 🏆
At #UFC316, @MerabDvalishvil extended his win streak to 13 and is tied for 4th longest in UFC history! pic.twitter.com/JZrz7UiS64
— UFC (@ufc) June 8, 2025
When you’ve overcome Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, Umar Nurmagomedov, and O’Malley twice consecutively, it’s hard to say who’s deserving next because this savage has already cleared out the division despite having just two title defenses.
With only a handful of deserving and rightful challenges available to him stemming from UFC news, it’s pretty safe to say that a No.4-ranked Cory Sandhagen is up next.
The Sandman, who recently defeated Deiveson Figueiredo, is the only top-ranked contender whom Merab hasn’t faced, as well as Song Yadong. Still, the latter has already lost to Sandhagen previously, and we’ll let that math do the work.
Should Merab run through Sandhagen, which is highly probable, it will be a struggle to find worthy opponents for him. For that, I say we book Mario Bautista on the same pay-per-view as Merab’s next defense versus a top contender, with the winner receiving the next shot!
Merab Dvalishvili now holds the joint-fourth-longest win streak in UFC history, tied alongside Max Holloway, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrius Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, and Jon Jones with 14 straight wins #UFC316 👑 pic.twitter.com/5OSmCdUDqX
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) June 9, 2025
Sean O’Malley vs…
The Suga Show just turned salty. Consecutive losses to the champion have reset the career of a huge superstar, and now, O’Malley and his team, as well as the UFC matchmakers, have some thinking to do about his UFC fights moving forward.
Yes, Suga has now lost back-to-back fights. However, with both losses coming against the division’s champion, he’s still a top-ranked contender, and there is a wealth of opponents that could position him in a great bounce-back spot.
Real question is does Sean O’Malley go back to jerking off, smoking weed and dyeing his hair? pic.twitter.com/RzporVQE4X
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) June 9, 2025
That said, having lost twice to the champ, unless Merab loses the gold, O’Malley’s road back to championship gold is far away! That’s a problem for a prize fighter, who the UFC will want to main event more often than not, so perhaps a shift in weight class to dance with the featherweights might be the best option…
At bantamweight, we book O’Malley vs. Henry Cejudo. We have an ongoing beef, so the storyline is there, and this bad blood will make for perfect TV. If Suga contemplates the 145-pound weight class, put him against Max Holloway (Post Poirier fight) and send the MMA community into a frenzy!
What’s next for Sean O’Malley? pic.twitter.com/jw8eTA9y2w
— MMA On Point (@OnPointMMA) June 8, 2025
Kayla Harrison vs…
Kayla Harrison made quick work of Juliana Pena. Still, much like the men’s heavyweight division, the 135 lb women’s landscape is incredibly thin on talent and worthy contenders, thus giving the former Olympian an almost non-existent list of potential opponents.
Fortunately for us, her next opponent is all but confirmed on the UFC schedule. The GOAT, Amanda Nunes, stepped into the octagon after Kayla submitted Pena at UFC 316, and there we have it… One of the biggest fights in women’s MMA is already being marketed: Harrison vs. Nunes for all the chips!
Nunes exited the sport because she’d cleaned out two divisions, but with some fresh blood in the mix, we have two very accomplished women fighting not just for gold but also the GOAT crown.
Face-to-face! 🔥👀 New champ 🇺🇸 Kayla Harrison meets WMMA GOAT 🇧🇷 Amanda Nunes after winning the UFC bantamweight title at #UFC316.
Nunes retired two years ago and enters the UFC Hall of Fame on June 26 — but it looks like she’s got one more in her.#WMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/oPJ0ifcUvQ
— Women’s MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) June 8, 2025
Joe Pyfer vs…
I’m still not sold on Joe Pyfer just because he defeated a version of Kelvin Gastelum at the end of his career. However, it might be time to test his 5-1 UFC record in the top ranking again.
The UFC attempted to rush Pyfer to the top of the middleweight division last year, and it backfired as Jack Hermansson schooled him. However, he has now won back-to-back fights and is slowly building his way into the top-15 ranks.
Abus Magomedov has recently finished with Michel Pereira and is currently ranked No. 15. I like this matchup for Pyfer, not just because it gives him a paced move into the top rankings, but because both men can strike, both can grapple, and both present KO-power that might very well hand us a highlight reel finish.
La victoria es para Joe Pyfer por decisión unánime 👏🏻👏🏻 #UFC316 pic.twitter.com/D5r22GlFK8
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) June 8, 2025
Mario Bautista vs…
As previously mentioned, Merab’s future is unpredictable because he’s defeated many of the top bantamweight contenders. However, two names spring to mind when contemplating potential opponents… Mario Bautista and Song Yadong.
While Patchy Mix has been the talk of the town since his underwhelming and poor debut performance at UFC 316, we’re neglecting the man that dominated him… Bautista!
Now, I know Bautista is just inside the top-10 rankings, but for accepting an opponent on Mix’s level and dominating him, I believe he should receive an opportunity to move up the rankings versus Yadong.
What if this whole time Mario Bautista was the one to beat Merab 😭 pic.twitter.com/yT1khyuI4p
— Elonov 🇦🇺 (@ElonovMMA) June 9, 2025
Should the UFC book this fight on the same card as Merab vs. Sandhagen, and the performance is worthy, the next No.1 contender might be created!
