The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada last Sunday (February 19, 2017) for the second time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 105: Lewis vs. Browne, where five of 11 bouts ended inside the distance. The scraps are now behind us, so let’s take a look at some potential matchups featuring a few of the losing competitors from the evening… Cezar Ferreira vs. Nate Marquardt Ferreira lost a controversial unanimous decision to Canada’s Elias Theodoreau, which snapped a three-fight winning streak for the Florida-based Brazilian. For his next outing inside the Octagon, I would like to see him take on Nate Marquardt, who is coming off a recent unanimous-decision loss to Sam Alvey. I think this potential middleweight showdown makes sense for both fighters, and I would like to see it booked for a future fight card, preferably the FOX Sports 1 preliminary card for April’s UFC 210 in Buffalo, NY. Carla Esparza vs. Cortney Casey Esparza lost a controversial split decision to Canada’s Randa Markos, and she now finds herself back in the loss column following a unanimous-decision win she had picked up over Juliana Lima. For her next Octagon outing, I would like to see the California native take on Casey, who is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Claudia Gadelha in her most recent bout. Prior to that defeat, Casey defeated the aforementioned Markos via first-round submission. I think Esparza versus Casey is a potential matchup that makes sense for the razor-thin UFC women’s strawweight division. It would be a good fit for the preliminary card to May’s UFC 211 in Dallas, TX. Jack Marshman vs. Jack Hermansson Marshman suffered a second-round TKO against Thiago Santos and will look to get back on the winning track his next time out. Hermansson suffered a third-round arm-triangle choke submission against the aforementioned Ferreira when he last saw action. I think this battle of Jacks would make for a fun fight in the UFC’s middleweight division, and I would not mind seeing it booked for a future fight card. I think it would be a perfect fit for the preliminary card to May’s UFC Fight Night 109 in Denmark. Stylistically, I think it makes for an excellent scrap and feel it would contend for the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, whether booked in Denmark or anywhere else.
