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.
Holly Holm
In the main event of UFC 193, Holly Holm brutally knocked out Ronda Rousey to win the UFC women’s bantamweight title in a one-sided drubbing that many are describing as the biggest upset in UFC history. Rousey entered the fight as the undefeated champion, with Holm being seen as another easy win for Rousey, but Holm didn’t listen to the people. She ignored the media and ignored the odds, and absolutely smoked Rousey from the second the bell sounded until the final head kick that put Rousey’s lights out, as she collected one of the most memorable knockouts you’ll ever see.
The result of the fight is shocking, and the UFC is already talking about doing a rematch of this fight next year. And to me, that makes sense. Very few were picking Holm to win this fight, and although she decisively won, there are still some question marks surrounding Rousey, and a rematch makes sense from a business point of view. Look for it to be the main event of UFC 200 next summer.
Fight to make: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey 2
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
In the co-main event of UFC 193, Joanna Jedzejczyk defended the UFC women’s strawweight title for the second time, as she defeated Valerie Letourneau via unanimous decision. It wasn’t Jedrzejczyk’s best performance, but she did find a way to win, and so she will keep her belt and defend it in a few months.
The UFC has already confirmed Claudia Gadelha as the next challenger for Jedrzejczyk’s belt, and for good reason, as she arguably should have won a decision against the champion back at UFC on FOX 13 when the two were fighting for the #1 contender’s spot. It makes sense to do the rematch for five rounds, and hopefully answer all the questions everyone has about the first fight.
Fight to make: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha 2
Mark Hunt
In a heavyweight fight, Mark Hunt knocked out Antonio Silva in devastating fashion in the very first round. These two went at it in a memorable five-round war in Australia two years ago, but unlike the first fight which featured both men going back-and-forth for 25 minutes, this fight was a one-sided affair, with Hunt catching Silva’s weak chin and finishing him quickly.
For his next fight, let’s see Hunt fight another top-ranked fighter, in this case Frank Mir, who is coming off of a controversial decision loss to Andrei Arlovski. Despite the loss to Arlovski, Mir is still a top 10 heavyweight, and a fight with Hunt would be a nice stylistic matchup between a veteran striker and a veteran grappler, so I say do it. It could main event the UFC’s trip to Brisbane next March.
Fight to make: Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir
Robert Whittaker
In a middleweight matchup, Robert Whittaker improved to 3-0 as a 185-pounder, as he defeated Uriah Hall by decision in a closely-fought bout between two skilled strikers. Hall had his moments, but overall Whittaker controlled the striking in this fight, and was rightly awarded the decision after 15 minutes.
Beating Hall is a big win for Whittaker, who deserves to fight another top 10 fighter. I think Gegard Mousasi makes sense. Mousasi did just lose to Hall, but overall he’s been one of the most impressive middleweights in the UFC for a while now, and would make a terrific next test for Whittaker, who is quickly emerging as a legitimate contender.
Fight to make: Robert Whittaker vs. Gegard Mousasi
Jared Rosholt
In the opening pay-per-view bout, Jared Rosholt took Stefan Struve down and laid on top of him for 15 minutes, as he took home a clear-cut unanimous decision win. Rosholt did what he had to do, but he wasn’t overly impressive; Struve, on the other hand, looked terrible everywhere. Overall, though, this was a really boring fight and was a horrible PPV opener. However, I blame it more on the UFC than the fighters, as anyone who looked at the fight closely realized it would be a stylistic stinker.
Regardless, Rosholt wins, and he moves to an impressive 6-1 in the UFC, so he should get a pretty big fight his next time out. I’m thinking Ruslan Magomedov, who recently defeated Shawn Jordan, makes sense. Magomedov is 3-0 in the UFC, but like Rosholt his fights tend to go the distance and aren’t particularly exciting. Still, he’s an effective striker, while Rosholt is an effective wrestler. I say match these two up and finally figure out who has the potential to be a top 10 guy and who just isn’t ready for the upper echelon of the division. This would make sense as a main card fight on a Fight Night card.
Fight to make: Jared Rosholt vs. Ruslan Magomedov
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UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm (formerly UFC 193: Lawler vs. Condit) took place on November 14, 2015 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 193 was.
