5 fights to make after UFC 295: Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira

Last night saw the UFC visit New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time in 2023, and the event turned out to be a classic.

We saw knockouts galore at UFC 295, as well as two new champions crowned in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Following this event, what’s next for the biggest stars from last night’s show? As per usual, the matchmakers have a number of options.

Here are five fights to make after UFC 295: Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira.

#5. UFC featherweight bout: Diego Lopes vs. Lerone Murphy

Diego Lopes has outstanding finishing abilities [Image Credit: @ufc on X]

One of the more outstanding performances at UFC 295 came from featherweight prospect Diego Lopes.

After bouncing back from a tight loss on late notice to Movsar Evloev in his octagon debut, Lopes submitted Gavin Tucker in the summer, and needed less than two minutes to dispatch Pat Sabatini with punches last night.

With finishing ability in all areas and an impressive record of 23-6, it’s clear that the Brazilian has plenty of potential, and so it’s worth pushing him into a fight with a ranked foe.

Therefore, a good opponent for him could be No.14 ranked Lerone Murphy. The UK-based striker has still never been defeated in MMA, holding a record of 13-0-1, and he’s currently riding a five-fight win streak in the octagon.

Quite how his defense would hold up against a fighter as dangerous as Lopes would be fascinating to see, and it’s clear that both men would definitely come to finish.

Overall, this would be an excellent, and hopefully exciting, bout to make in the near future.

#4. UFC lightweight bout: Benoit St. Denis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

Benoit St. Denis is on a serious roll at 155lbs [Image Credit: @ufc on X]

Few fighters in the UFC right now are on as much of a roll as lightweight Benoit St. Denis. The Frenchman came into New York on a four-fight win streak with four finishes, and last night he needed just 1:31 to torch Matt Frevola with a vicious head kick.

Given Frevola was ranked as the No.14 welterweight in the promotion prior to last night, it’s highly likely that St. Denis will steal his spot when the rankings are updated next week.

Therefore, ‘The God of War’ definitely needs a big fight with another ranked foe next time out, and one logical opponent for him could be Rafael Dos Anjos.

The former lightweight champion last fought at 170lbs in a loss to Vicente Luque, but remains ranked at No.10 at 155lbs. That seems to point towards him returning there in the future.

Assuming that is the case, then a fight with St. Denis could tell us plenty about where both men stand right now. We’d hopefully find out if the Frenchman is a genuine contender, and we’d also find out whether ‘RDA’ has much left in the tank at the age of 39.

Essentially, this could be a great fight to make, and could even headline one of the UFC’s many Fight Nights in the Las Vegas APEX.

#3. UFC strawweight bout: Jessica Andrade vs. Carla Esparza

Jessica Andrade got her career back on track last night [Image Credit: @ufc on X]

Very few observers expected former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade to pick up a win last night. After all, ‘Bate Estaca’ had lost her last three fights, all via finish, and appeared to be at the tail end of her UFC career.

Despite this, she pulled out a throwback performance by outdueling Mackenzie Dern in what turned out to be a dramatic brawl. After eating a big combination from the jiu-jitsu ace, Andrade cracked her with a counter right and then resisted the urge to go berserker, instead picking her shots to put her foe away in the second round.

Whether the result would’ve been the same had Dern attempted more takedowns is debatable, but regardless, Andrade’s career now seems back on track.

Still ranked at No.5 in the division, the Brazilian remains relevant, with the only issue being that she’s already faced most of the other fighters around her.

One fighter she’s never faced, though, is former champ and fellow veteran Carla Esparza.

‘The Cookie Monster’ has not fought since losing her title to Weili Zhang a year ago, and so there are a number of questions around her relevancy. This fight would answer them, while also propelling one veteran towards a surprising resurgence.

#2. UFC interim heavyweight title: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane

A clash with Jon Jones seems unlikely for Tom Aspinall [Image Credit: @ufc on X]

In arguably the most impressive performance last night, Tom Aspinall became the new interim heavyweight champion on short notice by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich.

Somehow, the UK-based fighter absorbed a big shot from the vaunted power puncher and then used his speed to turn the tables, knocking the Russian out with a quick combination shortly after the one minute mark.

Naturally, the fight that everyone wants for Aspinall next is a unification bout with Jon Jones, who was forced from his planned defense against Stipe Miocic with an injury.

However, ‘Bones’ has made it clear that he wants to face Miocic and then retire, and so he may look to avoid a clash with Aspinall.

Therefore, the next best opponent for the British fighter might be Ciryl Gane. A former interim champion in his own right, ‘Bon Gamin’ is coming off an impressive win over Sergei Spivac and is ranked at No.2 in the division.

More to the point, if Aspinall is going to lead this division in the post-Jones era, then the Frenchman is just the kind of opponent he’ll need to get past – so why not simply book the fight and allow Jones and Miocic to fade into the memory?

#1. UFC light-heavyweight title: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

Alex Pereira could have a clash with Jamahal Hill lined up in the future [Image Credit: @ufc on X]

In a truly remarkable turn of events, Alex Pereira became the UFC’s latest two-division champion in New York by stopping former titleholder Jiri Prochazka to claim the light-heavyweight title.

‘Poatan’ ate the Czech fighter up with low calf kicks, and while he took a couple of heavy shots, his vaunted left hook once again came up trumps and led to a second round finish.

The money fight for Pereira is clearly a fifth bout with former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, but the problem with that is that ‘The Last Stylebender’ is currently on a self-imposed hiatus after his loss to Sean Strickland. More importantly, he simply hasn’t earned a title shot at 205lbs.

Therefore, the best foe for ‘Poatan’ would be Jamahal Hill. ‘Sweet Dreams’ won the title in his own right at the start of 2023 before suffering an injury that forced him to vacate.

The angle of the champion who never lost his title returning to attempt to regain it is always an easy one to sell, but when you add in the fact that Hill beat Pereira’s mentor Glover Teixeira for the crown, it’s an even more compelling story.

Therefore, hopefully the promotion can book this battle of skilled strikers in the near future and watch the fireworks ensue.