Stephen Thompson
Following “Wonderboy’s” unanimous decision victory over Rory MacDonald in the UFC Ottawa main event, it’s time for him to get a title shot. He also holds a first-round knockout over former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks to cement his claim for a shot at the belt. Thompson should get the winner of welterweight champ Robbie Lawler and challenger Tyron Woodley, who will fight for the title on July 30 at UFC 201.
Rory MacDonald
If the now-free agent doesn’t sign at another promotion, there are still good fights for him at the UFC. The winner of Johny Hendricks and Kelvin Gastelum, who are set to fight at UFC 200, would make a lot of sense. If Hendricks wins, a fight with MacDonald would gauge where they’re at in the ever-evolving welterweight landscape. If Gastelum wins, fighting MacDonald would be a really good litmus test to see where he’s at in the division. A rematch with Carlos Condit, who handed MacDonald his first professional loss, is also an option. Both are former title challengers who were narrowly defeated by Lawler, and would make for an excellent scrap.
Donald Cerrone
“Cowboy” became the first man to KO/TKO Patrick Cote (aside from Anderson Silva, who won the fight via Cote’s injury), which is a big deal. Critics were concerned that Cerrone would struggle against Cote, a bigger welterweight than him who used to be a middleweight staple; especially when you consider Cerrone fought so many years at lightweight. Still, Cerrone improved to 2-0 at welterweight with a dominating performance. He nearly scored a rear-naked choke in the first round and knocked Cote down a few times. Rick Story, the No. 10-ranked welterweight would be an excellent test for Cerrone in the 170 division. If Cowboy beat him, he’d certainly become a ranked top-10 welterweight.
Patrick Cote
For the veteran Cote, Tim Means would be a fun next fight for him. “The Dirty Bird” Means is a step down from the “Cowboy.” Both fighters would be provided against a respected opponent to be able to take the next step in the crowded welterweight division. Not to mention, it’d be a really fun fight for the fans.
Steve Bosse
The winner of UFC’s “Fight of the Night” bonus for UFC Ottawa and a potential fight of the year candidate for his showdown with Sean O’Connell, Bosse is now riding a two-fight winning streak. At 12-2, “The Boss” should be brought up at an even pace through a light heavyweight division that’s pretty top-heavy. Tom Lawlor would be an arguably slight step up from O’Connell without it being too much too soon. Still, at 34 years of age, Bosse isn’t getting any younger. Beating a guy with decent name value like Lawlor would provide Bosse an opportunity to fight a top-15 opponent like Gian Villante or Patrick Cummins.
Sean O’Connell
Despite coming up on the short end of the unanimous decision loss to Bosse, O’Connell definitely deserves to remain in the UFC. It’d be insane to cut a guy after a “Fight of the Night” bonus performance. So in his next fight, he should fight someone with a similar track record, like Francimar Barroso. It’d be a good opportunity for the always-exciting “Real OC” to find a way back into the win column and avoid a pink slip, while still having the fight make sense from a rankings perspective.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Aubin-Mercier showed that he still struggles against strikers despite his third round submission victory over Thibault Gouti. He likely lost the first round at the end after getting tagged late in the frame. He rallied and put on a grappling clinic the rest of the way, but Gouti isn’t exactly high-end competition. And, despite a 4-2 mark in the UFC as a highly-touted prospect, he’s still the No. 66th-ranked lightweight on the Tapology algorithm. It’s time for a step-up to see if he can win against a more talented opponent, like Erik Koch. If he can beat Koch, a well-rounded fighter, it would prove he’s ready for the upper-middle end of the stacked lightweight division.
Thibault Gouti
There’s a very good chance Gouti is cut following the loss. At 0-2 in the UFC, getting finished both times, it does not bode well for his chances to avoid a pink slip. Still, assuming that he gets at least one more chance to stave it off, Joe Proctor would be a good fight. He’s possibly on the chopping block with a loss as well.
Joanne Calderwood
Calderwood looked like her old self with a dominating performance against former strawweight title challenger, Valerie Letourneau. She won via vicious TKO in the third round after nearly knocking Letourneau out in the first. Since the flyweight bout might have been a one-off thing for the UFC, Calderwood will likely head back to the strawweight division. She should fight Jessica Andrade next. Calderwood is a top-10 strawweight, and Andrade is ranked at No. 7, so it makes sense from a rankings perspective. Plus, all the stand-up violence will be entertaining to fans. Make it happen, Dana White.
Valerie Letourneau
This is a tough one. There’s no way of telling for sure what weight class Letourneau fights at next between strawweight and bantamweight if flyweight is off the table. She’s a big strawweight; too big, actually, as she has to drain herself just to make weight. She might be a bit undersized at bantamweight, hence her move to strawweight, but she’s also found better success at straw. If she fights at strawweight next, Paige VanZant would be a good opponent for her as PVZ is done with her Dancing With the Stars stint. Both are coming off a loss and it would make sense from a rankings standpoint. If she goes back up to bantamweight, Liz Carmouche could be a good return fight to see where she stacks up at 135.
