Winner: Petr Yan
Who He Should Face Next: Merab Dvalishvili trilogy fight
If anyone deserves an immediate rematch it would be Merab, since he has been a dominant and active champion throughout his previous title reign. Indeed, “The Machine” defended his title three times in 2024 and was on a 14-fight win streak prior to his loss to Yan. They are even at one a piece, so it only makes sense to let them settle their series in 2026. Plus, no one else stands out at the moment at 135 pounds, so this fight is a no-brainer.
Winner: Joshua Van
Who He Should Face Next: Tatsuro Taira
Ideally, Van would be defending his title against Pantoja next given the way their fight ended, but there is no telling how long the Brazilian bruiser will be out for. That said, the next man up would be Taira, who secured an impressive second-round technical knockout (TKO) win over former champion, Brandon Moreno, last night in “Sin City.” Taira is currently ranked No. 5 in the division and everyone else ranked in front of him is coming off a defeat.
Winner: Payton Talbott
Who He Should Face Next: Mario Bautista
Talbott should be looking at a Top 15 — even not Top 10 — spot come next week after defeating former UFC champ-champ, Henry Cejudo, via unanimous decision. The victory moved him to 5-1 in his young UFC career, which began in late 2023. A fight against Bautista makes sense seeing as how he is currently ranked No. 9, which is one spot ahead of Cejudo. Bautista is coming off a tough defeat at the hands of Umar Nurmagomedov, though he was on an eight-fight win streak prior to the loss.
Majority Draw: Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
After Blachowicz and Guskov fought to a majority draw, it only makes sense to have them run it back. It was a pretty close bout so the scores were justified, but you can’t help but to understand their respective frustration once the tally was read. If neither man is injured, then let’s go ahead and re-book this fight for sometime in the first quarter of 2026.
