What To Do After Fight Night Evloev vs Murphy

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen

Sportz Nation - 3/23/2026

Movsar Evloev

vs Alexander Volkanovski

Matt Hylen -

Regardless of what people think of Movsar Evloev, there is simply no other fight that makes sense other than a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Evloev's resume is elite, despite the lack of finishes. He showed on Saturday that he can be a balanced fighter when he wants to, making him the undisputed next fighter in line for a title shot. Both Evloev and Volk want it, so I envision this getting announced for a fight card near the end of the summer.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lerone Murphy

vs Jean Silva

Zak Drapeau -

Murphy went the distance, and a lot of people had him winning what's now being called a robbery by Movsar Evloev. Murphy showed that not only is he still an elite Featherweight, but that he belongs in the Top-5 and around the title picture.

Whether Jean Silva is getting the next shot, according to him, I believe that if Evloev gets next, then these two should fight it out too. Along with Lopes and Steve Garcia, the winners of both of those fights fight for a title eliminator. Plus, the prospect of a striking match between Silva and Murphy is awesome!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Luke Riley

vs Chepe Mariscal

Matt Hylen -

Luke Riley kept the momentum going in his first co-main event of his career. Though it was not the flashy performance fans were hoping to see, Riley showed enough improvement in his game to warrant his climb up the ranks. Chepe Mariscal could offer Riley his biggest test yet. Mariscal is just outside the rankings after his loss to Pat Sabatini, but still possesses the talent to be a threat to prospects in the division. If Riley can get the job done against a fighter like Mariscal, he will solidify himself as the next big English prospect in the UFC.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Michael Page

vs WINNER of Randy Brown/Kevin Holland

Zak Drapeau -

Page may have beaten his test in Sam Patterson, but he certainly doesn't deserve a fight up the rankings after one of the worst fights in UFC history. He should be ranked #13 after this one, and with Randy Brown and Kevin Holland in 2 weeks, this should line up well.

Both Brown and Holland are good kickboxers that the UFC would love to see with a ranking instead of MVP. Page will need to bounce back after that fight, and that's if the UFC doesn't release him before we even get there.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sam Patterson

vs Jacobe Smith

Matt Hylen -

Yikes... what a brutal showing from Sam Patterson. Patterson basically threw nothing the entire fight, with some clinch battles in between. The UFC will likely give Patterson a step down, so why not give him a prospect in Jacobe Smith? Smith is coming off a huge submission win just a few weeks ago and could give Patterson the fight he needs to get back on track. They are both balanced fighters who can beat you on the feet or the ground, which is intriguing for the fans as well.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Iwo Baraniewski

vs Ion Cutelaba

Matt Hylen -

Finally, a legitimate prospect in the heavier divisions! Iwo Baraniewski is a monster; the KO power he possesses as a self-proclaimed grappler should scare the Light Heavyweight division. With two brilliant finishes in a row, I think Baraniewski deserves a ranked eliminator. With Ion Cutelaba having fought recently as well, the schedules match up with momentum both on their side. Whoever wins this fight will solidify a ranked opponent next.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Christian Leroy Duncan

vs Jared Cannonier

Zak Drapeau -

CLD will be ranked come Wednesday and deserving of a higher fight up the rankings after four straight wins. I like the prospect of Cannonier here, who himself is deserving of a fight to stay in the rankings after fighting nothing but killers over the last two years.

Duncan and Cannonier would be fireworks and should end in someone getting completely slept. It would also be for a Top-10 ranking and could even serve as Cannonier's retirement fight.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Mason Jones

vs Nasrat Haqparast

Matt Hylen -

Mason Jones might be one of the most entertaining fighters in the entire UFC. He may not be the most well-known fighter, but it seems that every fight Jones is in is an absolute barnburner. Jones did call for a ranked opponent next, but I feel he may need one more fight to prove himself. Nasrat Haqparast is coming off a brutal KO loss but is a stylistic opposite of Jones. If Jones can keep things on the feet and make the fight dirty, he should win once again and become undeniable for a ranked fight next. Would I be shocked if he does end up getting a ranked fight? No. He has put everything out there and has given the sport and the fans such entertaining fights. Yet, if I am trying to be realistic, he needs one more before a ranked opponent.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nathaniel Wood

vs Brian Ortega

Zak Drapeau -

Wood deserves the #15 spot over Josh Emmett now after beating Losene Keita, the OKTAGON Featherweight champion who was "supposed to take Wood apart" and instead all but guaranteed Wood a ranked fight next.

This could be anyone 10-15, but after we made David Onama a match against Jose Delgado last week (you can check out all matchmaking after Vallejos v Emmett here), I like the Brian Ortega match. This all depends on if Ortega wants to stay at Featherweight or move to Lightweight, but either way, he should get a guy like Wood next and could legitimately main event a Fight Night.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Mario Pinto

vs Derrick Lewis

Zak Drapeau -

This was the hardest guy for us to plan ahead for, mostly due to the chaos that is the Heavyweight rankings, but also because Pinto had so much promise, and even though he won, he severely underdelivered against Franco.

Either way, he will get a ranked fight next, and seeing the similarities between his and Derrick Lewis' fight style and, more importantly, the potential to make a star by beating a name like Lewis, this fight should happen. Another name to look for would be Shamil Gaziev, but I think this is the more appealing fight to give the 28-year-old Pinto.

Other Fights to Make:

Roman Dolidze vs Nikita Krylov (LHW)

Danny Silva vs Morgan Charriere

Axel Sola vs Michael Johnson

Kurtis Campbell vs Jack Jenkins

Mantas Kondratavicius vs Cesar Almeida

Brando Pericic vs Mick Parkin

Abdul El Selwady vs Daniel Zellhuber

Shanelle Dyer vs Ming Shi

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Check out fansonlysportz.com/news for more sports media content posted daily.

Make sure to stay tuned as we continue coverage of the UFC every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

-Z.D. (@DrapeauZak)

-Matt Hylen (@matthylen_)