Matches to Make After UFC on ABC 3

One of the wildest Ultimate Fighting Championship events of the year ended with another shocking finish, but not in the way anyone wanted to see.

By the time Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega climbed the Octagon steps for the main event of UFC on ABC 3 on Saturday afternoon in Elmont, New York, the card had already served up a couple of fantastic scraps, one of which featured an instant frontrunner for “Round of the Year.” One of the most highly touted unbeaten prospects in MMA had taken his first “L,” we were treated—perhaps “subjected” is the better term—to the rare sight of a fighter appearing to quit from exhaustion in a top-level promotion, and in general, the headliner had a lot to live up to. That says nothing of the added pressure stemming from rumors that it was a featherweight title eliminator fight for at least one of the participants.

It did not deliver, unfortunately. A very interesting fight had only begun to pick up steam late in the first round when, during an exchange on the ground, Ortega’s right shoulder dislocated, leaving the two-time title challenger on the canvas in agony. The fight was over in barely four minutes, Rodriguez stood up to engage in a moment of understandably muted celebration, and just about everyone involved went home disappointed.

The question now is whether the UFC will consider the freak TKO win good enough to net Rodriguez a shot at featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, or make him win at least one more fight first. The dynamic Mexican will need some way forward, so in the wake of “UFC Long Island,” here are some matchups that ought to be made for “Pantera” and the rest of the main card winners.

Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega

In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s spoiled main event, Rodriguez said that while he obviously hoped to fight for the title, he would be more than happy to rematch Ortega. Unless Ortega’s shoulder requires surgery or lengthy rehab that would push things unreasonably far down the road, it’s still the fight to make. The sad irony is that for the time it lasted, the fight appeared to be on its way to validating that possible title shot. Rodriguez’s speed advantage on the feet was shocking, his takedown defense had been sturdy, and while the fight-ending injury was probably a fluke, it was Rodriguez who had been working for a submission against the far more lauded grappler when it happened. Rodriguez challenging for a title in one of the UFC’s best divisions when his only wins in the last three years are an injury TKO of Ortega and a decision over current Professional Fighters League talent Jeremy Stephens would be a travesty, especially with Josh Emmett waiting in the wings, having gone 5-0 over that same period.

Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba

“Amandinha” entered the cage against Michelle Waterson-Gomez as the biggest betting favorite on the card and fought like it, leveraging her significant advantages in size and strength to bully the game but often-outgunned Waterson-Gomez for a round and change. A guillotine choke midway through Round 2 ended it, with “The Karate Hottie” forced to tap Lemos’ back in a way that might have led to controversy or ugliness were both women not so sporting about it. The definitive win leaves Lemos in a kind of limbo, as one of the best and most physically gifted women in the division, yet just one fight removed from being tapped out by Jessica Andrade. (That Lemos was getting the better of the striking against Andrade before the former champ horsepowered her way into that standing choke only amplifies the issue.) At 35, Lemos is peaking at just the right time, as the quintet of current and former champs atop the strawweight division appears to finally be exhausting their matchup options with one another. Marina Rodriguez should be the first new face to breach their stronghold. Mackenzie Dern, if she should manage to get past Xiaonan Yan in October, will likely be second, but with another good win, Lemos could be right there. Jandiroba, who dominated Angela Hill in May, is in a similar position. Let Lemos and Jandiroba sort it out, in a fun style matchup.

Jingliang Li vs. Alex Morono-Matthew Semelsberger winner

Li notched arguably his best UFC win at “UFC Long Island,” snapping Muslim Salikhov’s five-fight win streak with a second-round TKO. Li avoided or blocked the majority of the exotic spinning kicks the “King of Kung Fu” threw his way, and when he hurt the Russian in the second frame, he put him away with relentless, but measured and accurate, follow-up strikes. Now eight years and 16 fights into his UFC run, “The Leech” is easily the longest-tenured Chinese fighter in the UFC and the most accomplished other than Weili Zhang, but he also appears to be a known quantity: a durable, aggressive action fighter who has come up short when faced with Top 10 opponents. As long as the first parts of that description hold true, however, he will keep earning chances to disprove the second part. Much of that same description could be applied to Morono, who faces Semelsberger at UFC 277 later this month, while Semelsberger is a relative newcomer with imposing size and dynamic athleticism. The winner of that matchup would be a suitable next opponent for Li, in a solid candidate for some postfight bonus money.

Matt Schnell vs. Manel Kape

Schnell lived up to his “Danger” nickname and then some, weathering an incredible second-round beating from Su Mudaerji and somehow surviving to choke the lanky Tibetan to sleep in one of the most incredible in-fight comebacks in UFC history. Beyond merely being the easiest “Fight of the Night” choice imaginable, it was heartwarming to finally see Schnell come out on the right side of one of these situations. The 32-year-old Texan/Louisianan is an obvious Top 10 flyweight talent but thanks to a run of bad luck—including some of his own making—is barely over .500 in the Octagon. He has been plagued by opponents’ weight issues, his own weight issues, bout cancellations, postponements and a brutally hard strength of schedule. Most of that description could also be applied to Kape, the former Rizin Fighting Federation titleholder who has overcome a shaky start to become a contender in the UFC. Schnell called out Matheus Nicolau after his win, and while that would be a fantastic fight, Nicolau is 3-0 in the UFC and should be several spots ahead in the 125-pound pecking order. “Danger vs. Starboy” is the fight to make, it sounds like the title of a banger Japanese cartoon, and while it would be hard-pressed to live up to the madness of Saturday’s Round 2, never say never with those two.

Shane Burgos vs. Julian Erosa

Burgos squeaked by Charles Jourdain on the UFC on ABC 3 main card in a fun scrap that, depending on your point of view, may have laid bare the evils of the 10-point must system or simply been another case of MMA judges being MMA judges. (I scored the fight for Burgos even though it felt as if Jourdain had won.) Judging and regulations aside, the fight itself highlighted the paradox of Burgos: the Tiger Schulmann product presents as a hotshot striker, yet gets chewed up badly by other good strikers, and often finds success with his size, strength and underrated ground game. “Hurricane” appears to be settling in as an exciting gatekeeper, fan favorite and frequent bonus recipient—at least for as long as his face-first style will allow. Erosa, who beat Stephen Peterson in February to continue his unlikely third UFC run, is in the same position. Both men are equal-opportunity distributors of highlights to their own reels as well as their opponents’. Book it and make an extra-big bowl of popcorn.

Lauren Murphy vs. Manon Fiorot

“Lucky” is a cute nickname, but aside from an iffy decision win over Andrea Lee a couple of years ago at UFC 247, Murphy’s flyweight run has been less about serendipity and more about physical strength, guts and a commitment to continue evolving as a fighter even as she has entered her late 30s. In her latest outing Saturday, Murphy spoiled former bantamweight champ Miesha Tate’s flyweight debut, stuffing Tate’s takedowns, muscling her in the clinch and busting up her face for three rounds. The performance left serious questions about Tate’s way forward at 135 or 125 pounds, but more importantly, showed that even now, two weeks from her 39th birthday and despite her crushing loss to Valentina Shevchenko last year, Murphy is serious about staying in title contention. She called out the winner of the Fiorot vs. Jessica Andrade matchup at “UFC Paris” on Sept. 3, apparently unaware that Andrade had recently withdrawn from the fight. Let Murphy step in, if she can manage the seven-week turnaround. She represents the kind of top-level name and challenge that could justify the Fiorot title shot that UFC likely covets. Conversely, if Murphy handles Fiorot with ease, that could force the promotion’s hand, lest she continue doing that to the rest of its flyweight up-and-comers.