Matches To Make After UFC 328

Winner: Sean Strickland

Who He Should Face Next: Nassourdine Imavov rematch

Now that Strickland has sent the Boogeyman back to the closet, the new Middleweight champion of the world has his sights set on a rematch against Imavov, who has more than earned his first-ever shot at the strap. Strickland already has a win over “The Sniper,” defeating him three years ago via unanimous decision. Imavov is currently on a five-fight win streak and hasn’t tasted defeat since coming up short against “Tarzan.” Strickland will take some time to heal his wounds first, and then he will attempt to secure his first-ever title defense.

Winner: Joshua Van

Who He Should Face Next: Alexandre Pantoja rematch

Van successfully defended his 125-pound title for the first time after taking out Taira — who proved to be tough as nails — and now he, too, has a rematch on the horizon. It was a given that Pantoja would get the next shot regardless of the winner due to the fact that he lost the strap to Van after a fluke injury ended their title fight in the very first round at UFC 323. Van will now have an opportunity to prove his worth once more with a more convincing win against Pantoja.

Winner: Alexander Volkov

Who He Should Face Next: Title shot (if he wants to wait)

Volkov stopped Waldo Cortez-Acosta’s three-fight win streak to move to 6-1 in his last seven fights. He is already ranked No. 2 at the moment so he is in good position for a title fight. As it stands, Alex Pereira and Cyril Gane are set to fight for the interim title at Freedom 250, with the winner then facing Tom Aspinall for a title unification bout. If Volkov waits for a title shot he could be on the sideline for a bit. That said, there is no reason for him to take another fight in the interim and potentially ruin his championship dreams. Then again, should Josh Hokit prove victorious against Derrick Lewis — also at Freedom 250 — I wouldn’t be too surprised if UFC matchmakers booked Volkov against him.

Winner: Sean Brady

Who He Should Face Next: Wait and see…

Brady got back into the win column and moved his record to 4-1 in his last five fights after defeating Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision. Brady is currently ranked No. 6 at 170 pounds so a fight against Prates is the only one that makes sense. Belal Muhammad — No. 5 — is set to tango with Gabriel Bonfim, while Jack Della Maddalena — No. 4 — is coming off two losses. Michael Morales — No. 3 — already has a win over Brady, and could be in line for a title eliminator fight against Carlos Prates, who is ranked No. 2. That only leaves Ian Garry in the Top 5, and that fight won’t happen since he is favored to be the one to face division king, Islam Makhachev. That said, all Brady can do is wait to see how the division plays out in the next few months to see what makes sense for him because fighting someone outside of the Top 5 simply doesn’t make sense since he is about to break in himself.

Winner: King Green

Who He Should Face Next: Rafa Garcia

Green improved his win streak to three in a row with an impressive stoppage win over Jeremy Stephens (see it here). I wouldn’t mind seeing him battle against Garcia, who is also on a three-fight win streak. Garcia is coming off a unanimous derision win against Alexander Hernandez last month, so the turn-around time could sync up for them.

For complete UFC 328 results and play-by-play, click here.