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UFC 303 took place last night (Sat., June 29, 2024) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a light heavyweight title fight in which Alex Pereira Loss Jiri Prochazka — a second time — by technical knockout (TKO) in the second round to defend his title (see here again). In the co-main event Diego Lopez defeated Daniel Ige by unanimous decision after “50K” accepted the fight with four hours’ notice.

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Winner: Alex Pereira

Who he should face next: Magomed Ankalaev

As much as we all want Pereira to move up to heavyweight and become a champion in three weight classes, this process could prove to be a lengthy one. This is because Jon Jones Comparisons Stipe Miocic is not yet certain, and interim champion, Tom Aspinallis waiting for his turn. For now, the right thing for “Poatan” is to sit back, enjoy some much-needed time off to allow his toe to heal, and then head to Las Vegas to face Ankalaev in the headliner role at the end of the year.

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Winner: Diego Lopes

Who he should face next: Brian Ortega

I know everyone is mad at “T-City” for not making the scale and then pulling out of the fight due to illness, but if the UFC doctors examined him and ruled him out, we can’t blame Ortega for getting unexpectedly ill. I still want to see Lopes and Ortega face off, and in UFC Night in September seems to be the right step. Finally Dana White tries to pack the “love letter to Mexican fighters” with as many Latino fighters as possible, so book it again.

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Winner: Macy Chiasson

Who she should face next: Holly Holm

Chiasson secured her second consecutive victory after forcing a doctor’s stoppage against Mayra Bueno Silva due to a bad cut on her forehead (see here again). It is not clear whether this will move her up the rankings much, but she is knocking on the door of the top 5 (she is currently ranked 7th). Let’s give her former division champion, Holly Holm, who has no plans to retire any time soon. Holm has just suffered a defeat against Kayla Harrisonand desperately needs a win. For Chiasson, a win over the former champion definitely means a place in the top 5.

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Winner: Roman Dolidze

Who he should face next: Paulo Costa

As impressive as Dolidze’s last-minute move up to light heavyweight was by defeating No. 10 ranked Anthony Smith, I don’t think he’ll stay there. If he does, he’ll fight Dominick Reyes And Carlos Ulberg sounds good. But the fight for Paul Costa in his proper division, middleweight. Dolidze lost two fights in a row in the 185-pound class before his big win, but now that he’s back on the winning list, albeit in a different division, I’d like to see UFC give him a decent name, and Costa fits that bill. Costa has lost two fights in a row and has lost four of five. At the time of writing, he is two spots ahead of Dolidze at No. 8.

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Winner: Ian Garry

Who he should face next: Jack Della Maddalena

Garry called for the fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov after he had defeated Michael Pageand it’s a fight that’s possible right now, but that’s not the one I’d book. A lot of people (myself included) felt Page had done enough to steal the fight, but it didn’t work out that way and Garry improves to 15-0, 8-0 UFC, so for my money I’d rather have him face Maddalena, who is 17-2, 7-0 UFC. Maddalena currently sits at No. 5, so let’s let these two rising stars come together to see who gets closer to a title shot.

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