UFC 265: Matchmaking for Main Card Winners

From top to bottom, UFC 265 provided entertainment throughout the main card as Jose Aldo earned an enthralling victory against the always dangerous Pedro Munhoz in the co-main event. Also, Vicente Luque displayed why he could soon be earning himself a title shot with his first-round submission of Michael Chiesa in the antepenultimate fight.

Matches To Make

Ciryl Gane

“Bon Gamin” coasted his way to victory, taking little damage through the main event as he stayed patient and picked apart Lewis who failed to test the undefeated Frenchman. In the third round, Gane found his rhythm and totaled 49 significant strikes before defeating “The Black Beast”.

Gane made French MMA history as he became the first Frenchman to win a UFC title with his TKO victory over Lewis at UFC 265. In what was the 10^th fight of his professional career, Gane picked apart the 36-year-old on his way to victory as he showcased why he was ready for the chance to dethrone the heavyweight king Francis Ngannou.

It looks almost certain that next for the interim heavyweight champion is the chance to dethrone his former training partner and undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou. What an incredible outcome for French MMA with two heavyweights who fight out of Paris, colliding in what would be set to be one of the most unpredictable heavyweight title fights in existence.

Jose Aldo

In the co-main event of UFC 265,  Aldo showcased why he should not be overlooked in the bantamweight title picture as he delivered a perfect victory to see himself begin a two-fight win streak. Munhoz is certainly no pushover and most certainly a top contender in the division, and to go and win every round against him shows exactly how competitive Aldo can still be.

The former UFC featherweight champion will now be looking at the top five of the bantamweight division, eyeing up his next matchup. Former champ vs. former champ is an intriguing possibility should Aldo’s next opponent be T.J. Dillashaw, who will possibly be waiting until early 2022 for the title shot he believes he has deserved. More realistically, Aldo could face Rob Font, who will probably need to beat another top contender to prove he is worthy of a title shot in the UFC’s most competitive division. Other than that, Cory Sandhagen will be looking for an opponent to rebound from his close split-decision loss to Dillashaw to get himself back in title contention.

Vincente Luque

In what was a crazy few moments at UFC 265, Michael Chiesa went from chasing a submission victory over Vicente Luque, to submitting himself as he tapped to a D’Arce choke by the crafty Brazilian. ‘The Maverick’ chased a rare-naked choke followed by a neck crank once he got his takedown in the 1st round. However, it was ‘The Silent Assassin’ who remained patient and snuck his way into gaining the submission victory and put himself on a four-fight win streak.

Following this, Luque will likely be one win off a title shot, that is if, he can beat Leon Edwards who has a strong case to be worthy of the next title shot himself. With Leon Edwards having fought only once in the past two years, he will likely need and want to keep active, and fighting Luque in a title eliminator would make a lot of sense for what is next for the UFC welterweight division if Edwards does not face Luque’s teammate Gilbert Burns first that is.

Tecia Torres

Following all the talk, Tecia Torres walked the walk and made Angela Hill eat her words as she put on a striking display to admire at UFC 265. Now on a three-fight winning streak, “The Tiny Tornado” will be eyeing up a potential title shot with another victory over a top contender in her next outing.

Torres called for a top-five opponent next in the post-fight press conference, and she rightfully deserves it after her striking display against Hill at UFC 265. Expect her to face Yan Xiaonan who sits at #4 in the strawweight rankings and is coming off a recent TKO loss to Carla Esparza back in May.

Song Yadong

Both fighters are accustomed to battling in close three-round wars, and at UFC 265 this was no different as Song Yadong fought his way to a split-decision win over Casey Kenney. “The Kung Fu Monkey” earned himself a well-deserved victory after out striking the American over three rounds.

Following his victory at UFC 265, Yadong will likely now be one victory off entering the rankings of the most competitive division in MMA. Setting him up with a fight against one of those fighters also on the cusp of the rankings should be the next step. This could see him set to face Ricky Simon who was rumored to face Timur Valiev, however that fight did not materialize and we could now see him face the Chinese youngster in his place.

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