Matches to Make After UFC Abu Dhabi

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to the United Arab Emirates with a 12-fight card. The UFC Abu Dhabi main event featured former middleweight king Robert Whittaker take on the always-entertaining Reinier de Ridder. The event, which aired live on ABC and ESPN+, also featured meaningful fights in the bantamweight, flyweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Here are matches to make for the top five winners of UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder vs. Sean Strickland

De Ridder (21-2) picked up the biggest win of his career by taking a split decision over Whittaker. Now 4-0 inside the UFC, “The Dutch Knight” also holds wins over Bo Nickal, Kevin Holland and Gerald Meerschaert. Champion Dricus Du Plessis is busy with a fight against Khamzat Chimaev next month and the winner of Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho is likely next up. However, de Ridder could be just a win away if he faces Strickland next. A win over the popular former champion still holds a lot of value despite “Tarzan” being outstruck in his two defeats to Du Plessis. “RDR” is 34, so this would likely be the quickest and most justifiable path to a title fight, while Strickland (29-7) would need the victory if he hopes to ever be in title contention again.

Petr Yan vs. Mario Bautista

Former bantamweight titleholder Yan continued his argument for another title shot with a one-sided decision win over Marcus McGhee. The 32-year-old Russian is now 19-5 as a pro, and his three-fight win streak also includes victories over Yadong Song and Deiveson Figueiredo. A rematch against Merab Dvalishvili isn’t likely yet, especially with how dominant “The Machine” was in his victory over Yan, but a fight against Bautista would be fitting. Bautista (16-2) has really announced himself with back-to-back wins over Patrick Mix and Jose Aldo. On an impressive eight-fight win streak, Yan is the type of test that the 32-year-old American deserves.

Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik

Magomedov rebounded from his first career loss by outstriking Marc-Andre Barriault over three rounds. With the victory, “Shara Bullet” is now 16-1 as a pro. Magomedov didn’t overly impress in the bout, which saw his nose get smashed by his opponent, so the hype train for the 31-year-old isn’t quite all the way back on the rails. A fight against Abdul-Malik next would make sense, as the American is 8-0-1 and is coming off a strong performance over Cody Brundage, which was later overturned, as well as clear-cut wins over Dusko Todorovic and Nick Klein. Let’s see which up-and-comer at 185 is actually worth paying attention to.

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Asu Almabayev vs. Andre Lima

Almabayev got back into the win column after suffering his first defeat inside the Octagon by outworking Jose Ochoa over 15 minutes. The Kazakhstani flyweight is now 5-1 inside the promotion, although the loss to Manel Kape showed his current ceiling. A good next fight would be Lima, as the undefeated 26-year-old has impressed with recent wins over Daniel Barez and Felipe dos Santos. “Mascote” is one to watch at 11-0 and a win over Almabayev (22-3) would really put him on the map. While "Zulfikar" called out Joshua Van after his win, he needs at least another win to work towards that fight at the moment.

Bogdan Guskov vs. Jamahal Hill

Guskov picked up the biggest win of his career by starching Nikita Krylov with a straight right hand and then securing the TKO victory with several punches. Now 18-3 as a pro, the 32-year-old has put together four straight wins inside the Octagon. A proper step up for the Uzbekistan native, who will likely be inside the UFC’s top 10, would be former champion Hill. “Sweet Dreams” is in desperate need of a bounce back fight after suffering one-sided losses to Alex Pereira, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree. This would allow either a new contender to emerge or allow Hill (12-4) to get back into contention with a victory.