Fight Fixin’ is a fantasy matchmaking article that comes out after every major event and features possible matchups for main card winners and/or losers from the previous event.
Tarec Saffiedine
In the main event of UFC Fight Night 34, Tarec Saffiedine battled five hard rounds against Hyun Gyu Lim, and despite nearly being finished in the final seconds of the fight, ended up winning a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards in his UFC debut. It’s a big win for Saffiedine, and it will earn him a fight against someone ranked in the top 10.
I’d like for that opponent to be fellow striker Matt Brown, who Saffiedine was originally set to fight before the UFC made a switcheroo. I believe that Saffiedine and Brown match up extremely well, and there’s no doubt in my mind this would be a “Fight of the Night,” and perhaps even a “Fight of the Year” candidate. Better yet, do it for five rounds as the main event of a Fight Night card. Book it, UFC.
Fight to make: Saffiedine vs. Matt Brown
Tatsuya Kawajiri
In the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 34, Tatsuya Kawajiri outclassed Sean Soriano with his wrestling before sinking in a rear-naked choke submission in the second round that was so tight Soriano went to sleep. It was a huge win for the 35-year-old veteran in his UFC debut, and he’ll get a big step up in his next outing.
I’d like for Kawajiri to next take on Dennis Siver, who is coming off of a win over Manny Gamburyan at UFC 168. I think that Kawajiri and Siver would put on a war for the fans at home, considering how well they match up, and the winner of the fight will re-affirm a place in the top 10 of the division.
Fight to make: Kawajiri vs. Dennis Siver
Kiichi Kunimoto
Kiichi Kunimoto probably didn’t expect to win the way he did, but at the end of the day he moved to 1-0 in the Octagon with a victory via DQ over Luiz Dutra, who hit him so hard with illegal strikes to the back of the head that Kunimoto wasn’t able to continue, and the ref was forced to disqualify his Brazilian opponent.
Some people will call for a Kunimoto vs. Dutra rematch, but I’m not interested. Instead, let’s have Kunimoto move on and fight another welterweight with a 1-0 UFC record. I’d like for that to be Yan Cabral, who defeated David Mitchell at UFC Fight Night 29. Like Dutra, Cabral was on TUF Brazil, only to pull out of that competition with an injury, and I think he makes an interesting matchup for Kunimoto, so I’d like to see this one go down.
Fight to make: Kunimoto vs. Yan Cabral
Kyung Ho Kang
Kyung Ho Kang looked sensational in the opening fight of the UFC Fight Night 34 main card, as he absolutely dominated Shunichi Shimizu for the better part of three rounds before sinking in an arm-triangle choke with just over a minute left in the fight.
It was a huge win for Kang, and in his next fight he deserves a step up in competition against a much better grappler than Shimizu. I’d like for that to be Roland Delorme, who is coming off of a close split decision loss to Alex Caceres at UFC 165. I know that Delorme is coming off a loss and Kang a win, but Delorme is still 3-1 with 1 NC in the UFC, and he didn’t drop very far down the ladder when he lost to Caceres. A fight against Kang would be ultra fun, and I absolutely hope the UFC can book a fight ASAP that I believe will be an amazing grappling match for the fans.
Fight to make: Kang vs. Roland Delorme
Max Holloway
In the featured preliminary card bout at UFC Fight Night 34, Max Holloway absolutely obliterated Will Chope with brutal body shots en route to a second-round stoppage and his fourth official win in the UFC. Holloway looked great in this fight, and he deserves to fight someone who is on a bit of a win streak.
Next, I’d like for Holloway to fight Akira Corassani, who is so far 3-0 in the Octagon. Yes, Corassani is coming off a controversial DQ win that wasn’t truly a victory, and yes his fight against Andy Ogle was a robbery decision in his favor, but the official record for him reads 3-0, and he makes for a fun stylistic matchup with Holloway.
Fight to make: Holloway vs. Akira Corassani
**********
UFC Fight Night 34: Saffiedine vs. Lim took place on January 04, 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 34 was.
