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Matches to make after UFC Vegas 115
The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicked off a busy April with itslatest Fight Night event from the Meta Apex. Headlining UFC Vegas 115 was a lightweight scrap between veteran contenderRenatoMoney Moicano and rising prospect ChrisDuncan. The 13-fight card also featured fights in the lightheavyweight, bantamweight and womens strawweight divisions thatwill have repercussions later in the year.Here are the matches to make for winners of the UFC Vegas 115 maincard.RenatoMoney Moicano vs. PaddyPimblettMoney Moicano showed that he has plenty left in the tank bysubmitting Duncan (15-3) in the main event with a face crank. Carneiro (21-7-1) is now 5-2 in his last sevenfights and theres no shame in a short notice defeat to IslamMakhachev. The Brazilian is 36 but is still a tough out foranyone, so a fight against Pimblett next would make sense. Both menare fan-favorite contenders but arent championship level, so itdbe a thrilling Fight Night main event or a welcomed addition to anypay-per-view main card. Pimblett (23-4) is coming off a defeat toJustinGaethje but has surprised fans with recent wins over Bobby Greenand MichaelChandler. Let's see if "The Baddy" can add another respectedveteran's name to his record or if Carneiro can pull off theupset.VirnaJandiroba vs. GillianRobertsonJandiroba made it look easy against TabathaRicci, who she took a unanimous decision win over. After thewin, the former title challenger called out titleholder MackenzieDern for a rematch, but that doesnt seem likely at the momentor a fight many want to see a second time right away. A lot of thetop strawweight fighters are currently booked or have recentlyfought Jandiroba (23-4), but Robertson would be a competitive freshface at 115 pounds. Robertson (17-8) has been on the best run ofher career, as shes currently riding a five-fight win streak andholds victories over AmandaLemos, MarinaRodriguez and LuanaPinheiro. This would be a welcomed UFC Fight Night headlinerand the winner would be in a great spot moving forward.Abdul-RakhmanYakhyaev vs. JimmyCruteYakhyaev stayed undefeated with a rear-naked choke submission win over BrendsonRibeiro. Yakhyaev is 9-0 as a pro and is an exciting prospectat just 25. "The Hunter" is now 2-0 inside the promotion and I wantto see him face off against a veteran next. A fight versus Crutewould be particularly interesting as the Australian's creativegrappling would make it an interesting fight from a strategystandpoint. Crute (14-4-2) is riding wins over Ivan Erslanand MarcinPrachnio, which broke a five-fight winless streak. It'll showif we need to pump the brakes on Yakhyaev or if he's ready fortougher tests going forward.Related UFC Vegas 115 Round-by-Round ScoringEthyn Ewingvs. CodyGarbrandtEwing showed off his well-rounded game by punishing an overweightRafaelEstevam and picking up a knockout with a well-placed punch to the liver. Now 10-2 as a pro, "TheProfessor Finesser" is an interesting prospect to watch atbantamweight. The 28-year-old has shown a lot of poise, so I wantto see him take on a high-level gatekeeper next. Former championGarbrandt fits the bill and has shown how hittable he is in recentyears. However, No Love is still dangerous with wins overTrevinJones, BrianKelleher and Long Xiao.Lets see if Ewing can get past Garbrandt (15-7) and prove thathes ready to battle contenders at 135 as hed be a welcomed freshface, if so.TommyMcMillen vs. LukeRileyMcMillen made an impressive UFC debut as he overwhelmed ManoloZecchini with knees and punches. Now 10-0 as a pro, McMillen will look totake on a tougher opponent in his next fight. Id like to see the28-year-old striker take on Riley next. The English fighter iscoming off impressive victories over MichaelAswell and Bogdan Gradand impressed in Cage Warriors for several years. With Rileyholding a13-0 record of his own, itd have a strong storyline oftwo young prospects to watch clashing with the winner deserving allthe attention that they would get.
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