Volkanovski said he wants to fight again this year for sure, and based on his last few years in the UFC tends to fight every 4-6 months, so something like Nov/Dec is likely.
So let’s look at the options at the top of the division in the order of the rankings on ufc.com(and avoid the stupid shit like Cejudo):
1. Max – obviously not the right choice, he lost 2 in a row to Alex and a 3rd fight doesn’t make sense right now, even though I thought Max won the decision.
2. Zabit – Undefeated in the UFC, hasn’t fought in 2020, and though he’s ranked 2nd, his only wins over ranked opponents are a decision over Stephens and a decision over Kattar in which he gassed and many think he would have lost if it was a 5 round fight. Rumor is he’s fighting Yair Aug 29, but most of the major websites aren’t reporting it?
3. Ortega – Hasn’t fought since getting dominated by Max in Dec 2018, and doesn’t have a win over anyone still active in the UFC’s 145 top 10 now that Edgar is moving to 135. Rumored to be fighting Zombie, but waiting on him to sign the contract.
4. Zombie – Since coming back to the UFC in 2017, he’s 3-1 with 3 KO’s and his only loss was that fluky elbow Yair landed with 4 seconds left in the 5th round. I think everyone watching the fight knows Zombie is the better fighter and would likely win the rematch. Seems to be making excuses about not being able to fight Ortega, but is saying he’s ready to fight Volk? Doesn’t make sense to me, as I think he runs Ortega over. 2-0 in last 13 months.
5. Yair – Only 2 fights in the last 3 years (not factoring in the 15 second NC in 1st stephens fight) and looked great against Stephens but was on his way to a loss against Zombie when he landed the fluke elbow at the end of the 5th. 9 months since his last fight.
6. Kattar – Most active of all going 3-1 in last 13 months, and only loss was to Zabit and many think he wins that fight if it was 5 rounds.
So the obvious questions, is Zombie vs Ortega and Yair vs Zabit happening? If so, when? It would make sense for it to be Zombie (if he beats Ortega), or the winner of Zabit vs Yair…but this all assumes the fights are happening in the next 6-8 weeks. Getting the champ another fight in Nov/Dec will be a priority, as the UFC likes to use title fights for PPV headliners and co-main events for bigger PPV’s.
Is there a chance they turn to Kattar, who is the only one of the contenders who has been active? He’s fought 4 times in the time frame that the other guys fought once (Zabit, Yair) or twice (Zombie) and twice during the pandemic, which the UFC will likely look upon favorably.
It really depends on Alex…if he wants to fight now, they won’t wait for Ortega/Zombie and Yair/Zabit to play out, and that leave Kattar. They could also book Zombie vs Alex now, and have Kattar vs Ortega on one of the Vegas shows, but it feels weird giving a title shot to Zombie when he’s saying he can’t possibly fight right now (when Ortega is the opponent). The other option (my preferred option) is to have Kattar vs Max in 8-10 weeks, which would give the UFC 3 huge fights between top contenders then decide who is next for Alex.
IDK dudes, who do you think makes sense?
