Who’s Next? 🔮
We must consider scheduling and timing when booking…
Alexander Volkanovski became a two-time featherweight champion, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett delivered a career-best performance by beating the sh*t out of Michael Chandler like nobody has done before, and God was on the side of Jean Silva, Ironically, as he choked the holy spirit out of Bryce Mitchell.
To say that the UFC 314 from Miami delivered this past weekend would be an understatement. From the early prelims to the main event, we were in awe of the performances and brutal finishes, but what’s next for the winners and losers of this momentous night of UFC fights?
Dana White, pay attention. Hunter Campbell, give me a call because I’m The Matchmaker.
Below, you’ll find every fight that must happen following the events of UFC 314!
What a night in the 305 🌴#UFC314 brought out the best last night! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/iuM5fqm4Q8
— UFC (@ufc) April 13, 2025
Alexander Volkanovski vs…
Volk is so back!
The doubters proclaiming that he’s washed because of consecutive knockout defeats to two of the best fighters on the planet looked stupid; my UFC betting picks cashed with ease, and most importantly, the king of featherweight has reclaimed his position on the throne by defeating one of the most dangerous competitors in the division!
We must give credit where credit is due. Diego Lopes threw everything but the kitchen sink on Saturday in an attempt to pick up the gold. But for anyone wondering about Volkanovski’s chin post Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev knockouts… It would seem to be just fine! There were moments where most men would’ve crumbled.
Still, Volk ate Lopes’ shots like it was an edition of ‘Cooking With Volk,’ and did what he does best… piece a part the opposition meticulously, precisely, and with almost double the significant strike output to Lopes across all five rounds.
The belt has returned 😤🏆 @AlexVolkanovski | #UFC314 pic.twitter.com/JMNJ8qTL1r
— UFC (@ufc) April 13, 2025
So, the big question is… Who will Alexander the Great’s first defense as a second-time world champion be against? In this instance, we cannot matchmake based on the rankings because Max Holloway is No.2, and well, Volk has already defeated him on three occasions. We do, however, have a very clear and worthy contender…
In step, Movsar Evloev.
The Russian savage is coming off top-ranked wins over Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes, and Dan Ige. He’s riding a 9-0 win streak as a UFC competitor, and he’s unbeaten (18-0) since his pro-MMA debut in 2014.
Arguably, Evloev should’ve been fighting for the vacant title at UFC 314 over Lopes, but that’s in the past, and now, there’s simply no other option for the UFC suits. Volkanovski versus Evloev has to happen.
Alexander Volkanovski’s head coach believes Movsar Evloev should be next, but doesn’t expect him to have much success against the champion 🏆
(via @SubmissionRadio) pic.twitter.com/AIlBYagK00
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) April 14, 2025
Diego Lopes vs…
Saturday wasn’t Diego Lopes’ night, but this man lost zero respect in the MMA community. He will continue to be a fan favorite, and at the age of 30 with just seven UFC bouts on his record, he’s achieved more than 90% of fighters that enter the world’s No.1 mixed martial arts promotion on the planet in the short time he’s been competing for them.
Lopes couldn’t handle the Volkanovski test, but boy, did he continue the trend of being a violent, heavy-hitting featherweight slugger. Not forgetting, he’s still ranked in the top five at 145 lbs, so another opportunity at gold could be just one or two impressive performances away!
The neighbourhood that Diego Lopes grew up in all came together to watch his fight ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wEgaCOpIN5
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) April 13, 2025
What sort of opponent gets Lopes back into the picture? Well, we must consider scheduling and timing when booking the Brazilian savage. He has a heap of worthy opponents, including Yair Rodriguez, who also won at UFC 314, Max Holloway, and even Arnold Allen.
That said, I think we deserve a clash of the new-gen, and who better to fight for a rise in the rankings than Lerone Murphy, who currently sits at #8 in the featherweight division?
Given Murphy’s impressive win over Josh Emmett last weekend and Lopes competing a week later, their schedules should match up around August or September. A win for either fighter would certainly create a buzz alongside a potential opponent for another contender, e.g., Yair Rodriguez (or the winner of whoever he fights next), in what could become a title eliminator bout.
I initially pondered on including Jean Silva, but I believe ‘Lord’ could easily become Volkanovski or Evloev’s first title defense of 2026, should he claim a sixth straight highlight reel finish over anyone in the division!
Three things about Diego Lopes:
1) We can put the fraud allegations to rest, yes?
2) His cardio concerns were way overblown, yes?
3) His next fight, you will be tuning in to watch, yes? pic.twitter.com/kJmFRRxIhK
— Liam Picks Fights (@LiamPicksFights) April 13, 2025
Paddy Pimblett vs…
Do you believe now?
People just love to hate on Paddy The Baddy because he had an off night against Jared Gordon nearly three years ago. However, while the haters hang onto said criticism from his UFC schedule, Paddy continues racking up the wins. He’s now 7-0 in the UFC with five stoppages inside the distance, including an absolute beating over Michael Chandler this weekend that left poor Mike looking like he’d been in a car wreck.
PADDY THE BADDY IS A MAD MAN 🍿🍿🍿 #UFC314 pic.twitter.com/K5ORIChMEp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 13, 2025
Those 12-6 elbows won’t stop replaying in my head, and I’m almost certain that Chandler will have more head problems than I do. More importantly, Paddy just picked up the best win of his career by dismantling Chandler completely, making Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier’s efforts against the same opponent seem less than!
The sky is the limit for Pimblett, who, with the superstar status behind his name, could easily waltz straight into a championship bout with Makhachev! People aren’t going to like this take, but “Dana White privilege” stems from impressive top-ranked performances combined with star power, and with that, it doesn’t matter what No. is next to your name, so long as you’re in the top-10, a championship bout could very well be awarded.
That said, I don’t see Pimblett vs. Makhachev happening just yet. We have one more light challenge for Paddy before his title opportunity arises, which comes in the shape of Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier. Most other lightweight fighters are either scheduled or hinted at in UFC rumors to have bouts elsewhere, so we want to see The Baddy take on another legend!
The perfect scenario is Makhachev vs Topuria for the lightweight gold, with Pimblett vs. Poirier as the No.1 contender fight… I know, you know, it makes sense!
Paddy Pimblett had Michael Chandler in hell pic.twitter.com/BCQcov3h6T
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) April 13, 2025
Jean Silva vs…
“Woof, woof, woof,” the Brazilian knockout artist proved once again that he has that dawg in him! After making Bryce Mitchell run around the octagon, and stuffing a countless number of his takedowns, Jean Silva added another problem to the featherweight top-rankings… he can submit your ass too! Mitchell’s spammed takedown resulted in a submission finish, and that Ninja Choke from Silva was a thing of beauty.
Delivered all the hype & more 🫡@JeanSilvaMMA96 earned the biggest win of his career yesterday at #UFC314 🤩 pic.twitter.com/nWlrqNnZZM
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2025
So, now you have a man who can send you to the shadow realm with his fists or choke you unconscious if you want to test his grappling. We know a lot of featherweights will be reluctant to accept a fight with Silva after his 5-0 record with five straight wins inside the distance, but I see a No.7-ranked Arnold Allen who’s in need of a resurgence and isn’t known for turning down fights.
Should Silva provide another Fight of the Night-worthy highlight reel over Allen in UFC news, he could step straight into a title fight with the winner of Volk vs. Evloev. The same can be said of Allen if he managed to defeat this rising star following injuries and a layoff.
It’s a Fight Night main event type of clash, and one that is an unquestionable and deserving jump in the rankings for Silva, who’s dominated everyone put in front of him thus far!
Jean Silva choked Bryce Mitchell at #UFC314 then barked in his face 😳 pic.twitter.com/sQiXhjlOUE
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 13, 2025
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