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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last night (Sat., Dec. 2 2017) for UFC 218 which went down inside Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan which saw Max Holloway defend his Featherweight title after knocking out Jose Aldo in round three of their headlining bout (read about it here). In the co-main event, Francis Ngannou absolutely obliterated Alistair Overeem with a vicious first-round knockout (relive it here).
Winner: Max Holloway
Who He Should Fight Next: Frankie Edgar
It’s only right after “The Answer” was forced out of UFC 218 with a facial fracture. With Aldo now in the rear-view mirror (for both Max and Frankie) Edgar can look to become the fifth fighter under the UFC banner to win tow different division strap should he get through Max. “Blessed” has already proven he has Aldo’s number (much like Jose has Frankie’s) so the Hawaiian-born fighter can look forward to fresh challenges as he marches forward, starting with the former lightweight champion.
Winner: Francis Ngannou
Who He Should Fight Next: Stipe Miocic
After collecting his tenth straight win by walking all over Alistair Overeem, knocking him out cold with a nasty uppercut in the very first round, “The Predator” has more than earned his shot at the strap. Cain Velasquez doesn’t have a return date in sight, so that helps Ngannou’s case, too. Fabricio Werdum has also been calling for a shot at the strap, but his two wins over Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura can’t compared to Ngannou’s recent wreckage. Plus, “Vai Cavalo” already had his clock cleaned by Miocic, so it’s time for some new blood to get a crack at the gold. I mean, there's just no question.
Winner: Henry Cejudo
Who He Should Fight Next: Tough call
The Flyweight division is a mess at the moment. And it’s not for a lack of talent, but, for the mere fact that Demetrious Johnson has pretty much wiped it out, Cejudo included. Joseph Benavidez is the No. 1 ranked fighter in the division, and he defeated Henry in his last outing. But, Joseph has already dropped two title fights against Demetrious, so a third one is a tough sell, which is why the promotion is pleading for “Mighty Mouse” to take a fight against bantamweight king, T.J. Dillashaw. We could always match up Cejudo with Johnson again, but that won’t sit too well with Benavidez. Other than ray Borg, Henry has defeated every other fighter in the top 6 ranked below him, Sergio Pettis was just the latest notch on his belt. And round and round we go. Cejudo’s best bet is just to sit tight and wait to see what Johnson’ next move is.
Winner: Eddie Alvarez
Who He Should Fight Next: Dustin Poirier
Eddie Alvarez admitted he’s not in a position to ask for a shot at the strap prior to UFC 218, and since Tony Ferguson is still holding on to the pipe dream of one day unifying the titles against Conor McGregor, not even in interim title fight is in Eddie’s future. That said, I’d like to see Alvarez take on Dustin Poirier. The duo fought to a no contest at UFC 211 and many expected them tonrun it back right away. But after going their seperate ways, as Alvarez picked up an impressive knockout win over Justin Gaethje in an instant classic and Poirier doing the same against Anthony Pettis, it's time to book the rematch.
Winner: Tecia Torres
Who She Should Fight Next: Jessica Andrade
Joanna Jedrzejczyk will likely get an immediate rematch against Rose Namajunas after “Thug Rose” knocked her out at UFC 217, so a title fight isn’t in “Tiny Tornado’s” future just yet. But, she can get there if she can take out Jessica Andrade. The Brazilian bomber got back on the winning track after demolishing Claudia Gadelha, allowing her to hold on to her No. 2 ranking. After taking out Waterson rather convincingly rather, Tecia should climb all the way to No. 3, setting herself up for a title eliminator fight against Andrade.
To get full play-by-play updates and results for UFC 218: “Holloway vs Aldo 2” click here.