UFC Matchmaking After Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen

Sportz Nation - 5/5/2026

Photo by Ed Mulholland/ Zuffa LLC

Carlos Prates vs

WINNER of Makhachev vs Garry

Matt Hylen -

I mean, is Carlos Prates unbelievable or what?!

Prates put on a perfect performance against a formidable opponent, making JDM look like an amateur in the octagon. Based on his résumé, finishing streak, and overall elite skill on the feet, Prates deserves nothing less than a title shot at this point.

With that said, he will likely have to wait a bit, considering Ian Machado Garry will most likely fight for the title next. When that fight happens, you better believe Prates will be facing the winner.

Jack Della Maddalena vs

WINNER of Brady v Buckley

Zak Drapeau -

JDM is now coming off 2 losses in a row, and even though they were against two of the Top-3 in the division, he looked bad in both of them. So next for the former champion has to be a fight down in the rankings.

Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley face off this weekend at UFC 328, with the winner likely taking the 5th or 6th spot in the division, with JDM right above them at 4. With both fights happening a week apart and within at most 3 spots on the Welterweight ladder, this fight will be necessary to plan out the division's Top-5 and likely move to a championship eliminator for the winner.

Quilan Salkilld vs

Dan Hooker

Matt Hylen -

Though Beneil Dariush is not the tough opponent he used to be, he did give Quilan Salkilld his first major adverse moment of his career. Yet, Salkilld fought through it like the elite prospect he is and got the finish in dominant fashion.

Salkilld deserves a big fight next, making a guy like Dan Hooker extremely interesting. This would either be a striking barnburner or Salkilld getting a chance to demonstrate his grappling. This feels like the fight jump up for the Australian, which would put him potentially into top-5 considerations with a win.

Beneil Dariush vs

Time Off

Zak Drapeau -

After losing to Quilan Salkilld in 3 and a half minutes last week, Dariush, who turns 37 on May 6th, stated that he will be stepping away for an undetermined amount of time. After his fight, Dariush took to Instagram to release a statement, "I'm good, friends. I have no injuries and I appreciate everyone checking on me. I'll be taking some time off..."

At only 37, Dariush still has a few good years left in him, but after being knocked out 4 times in his last 5 fights, it's speculative if he ever will return to the Octagon. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in a fight around mid-to-late 2027 as a retirement fight, fitting for a man who's spent over 12 years in the lightweight's top 15.

Steve Erceg vs

Brandon Moreno 2

Matt Hylen -

Steve Erceg is back!! After a very solid win over Tim Elliott, Erceg seems to be on the right track once again. His striking was crisp and powerful, with his grappling defense on point all fight long.

With Erceg likely still a fight away from getting a top contender next, I would give him a chance to get his revenge over Brandon Moreno. Moreno is on a bad losing skid since losing his title and needs a fight to save his relevancy among the top fighters. I think, considering Erceg's form and Moreno's dominant performance in their last fight, a rematch could be exactly what the UFC needs to trim down on Flyweight contenders.

Brando Pericic vs

Marcin Tybura

Zak Drapeau -

Pericic capped off his third fight in the UFC with another knockout over Shamil Gaziev, a knockout streak that has spanned his last five fights in just over a year and a half. Pericic is only 29 years old and seems to be steaming through the UFC's heavyweight division, but I don't think his next fight is immediately Top-5.

While there is room for speculating the loser of Pavlovich/Teixeira or even Curtis Blaydes after his last loss, I think Tybura is next for Pericic based on what I believe is his timeline. Pericic is not very patient, and I think he'll take the first fight the UFC offers him as soon as June or July, and with that timetable, only Marcin Tybura would make sense to me.

Tai Tuivasa vs

Shamil Gaziev

Matt Hylen -

Yikes, where do I even begin? This is seven straight losses for Tai Tuivasa. Seven!!

If he does not retire, which he honestly should, I think he needs a major step down. With Shamil Gaziev on a bad skid of his own, might as well put these two together and see who comes out on top. There would be no real stakes for this fight, but it could give the winner enough confidence to give it another go at a ranking. With that said, I really hope Tuivasa retires before he completely ruins any legacy he has left.

Cam Rowston vs

Abus Magomedov

Zak Drapeau -

When matchmaking for this card and in particular this division, we had to look at both Cam Rowston and Jacob Malkoun who also won this weekend. They are both in that #15-25 range and should get opponents who with a win would put them among ranked discussions.

For Rowston, the big and lengthy Middleweight, I love a matchup with Abus Magomedov. Magomedov has been on the cusp of being ranked for a bout a year and a half now but lost in his last fight with Joe Pyfer. Looking to get back on track, both of these men should welcome this fight as their stepping stone to getting a number by their name.

Jacob Malkoun vs

Marvin Vettori

Matt Hylen -

It was not the most entertaining fight I have seen, but Jacob Malkoun did exactly what he needed to do to get the win. He fought his style of fight, controlled all three rounds, and put himself in very interesting conversations going forward.

I would love to see what Malkoun can do against a seasoned veteran like Marvin Vettori. Vettori is past his prime but has faced a handful of very good fighters, so that experience could make it interesting against an up-and-comer in Malkoun. A win for Malkoun over a guy like Vettori could warrant a ranked opponent next or, at the very least, a ranked eliminator fight.

Jonathan Micallef vs

Randy Brown

Zak Drapeau -

Micallef has everything you'd want in an up-and-comer if you're Dana White, and after a big win over Gorimbo, a ranked eliminator is next. At only 27 years old, Micallef is now 3-0 in the UFC with both tough kickboxing abilities and pretty good jiu-jitsu.

His next fight should be with an experienced workhorse like Randy Brown, who himself just lost a ranked eliminator to Kevin Holland. Even as stacked as the Featherweight division is between #15 and #30, Micallef is showing that he has the skills to fight the best, so why not give him a chance to prove it?

Other Fights to Make

Tim Elliot vs Ramazan Temirov

Marwan Rahiki vs Bogdan Grad

Louie Sutherland vs Mick Parkin

Robert Bryczek vs Cezary Oleksiejczuk

Junior Tafa vs LOSER of Mingyang/Menifield

Kevin Christian vs Luke Fernandez

Gerald Meerschaert vs Wes Schultz

Colby Thicknesse vs Cody Gibson

Themba Gorimbo vs Charles Radtke