Joaquin Buckley taunts Colby Covington Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

4 Fights We Need to See After UFC on ESPN 63

Tom Taylor

Joaquin Buckley can no longer be denied.

Once a hot-and-cold middleweight, he is now 6-0 as a welterweight, with wins over a number of established contenders. His latest win came on Saturday night, when he capped off the UFC's return to Tampa with a vicious stoppage of three-time title challenger Colby Covington.

Buckley has options for his next fight. The same is true for flyweight contender Manel Kape, who was another of the big winners of the night. The former RIZIN star was back in action against Bruno Silva, who he pummelled to a referee stoppage in Round 3.

Lightweight veteran Michael Johnson also impressed in Tampa, scoring a one-punch KO against Ottman Azaitar in a performance that harkened back to the best days of his 42-fight career. He may not be a serious contender in his division like Buckley and Kape are, but he proved he's still got it after well over a decade in the UFC.

Keep scrolling for the fights we'd like to see next for Buckley, Kape and Johnson, as well as the ideal next move for the spiralling Covington.

Joaquin Buckley vs. Sean Brady

Joaquin Buckley reacts after a TKO victory against Colby Covington Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

As we've covered, Joaquin Buckley has options for his next fight. He seems to know this.

In his post-fight interview with commentator Michael Bisping, Buckley expressed interest in fights with former champs Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman and the reigning champ Belal Muhammad. At this point, those are viable options, but our guess is Buckley doesn't fight any of them.

Here's why.

Edwards is set to headline the UFC's return to London in March, and he should obviously be matched up with Ian Machado Garry, as much as the Irishman seems to disapprove of the idea.

Usman, meanwhile, is rumored to be fighting Jack Della Maddalena next. That's a great fight, and Della Maddalena is ranked above Buckley, so he probably deserves the opportunity to fight the former champ a little more.

Muhammad, finally, needs to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov, who, after a win over Garry at UFC 310 earlier this month, is 19-0 and clearly next in line.

Thankfully, there's another solid option for Buckley: Sean Brady.

Brady is a very impressive 17-1 overall, with his lone loss coming against Muhammad—a defeat that has aged well. He's fresh off a win over Gilbert Burns, and much like Buckley, could be looking at a title shot if there weren't so many other contenders in position for the opportunity.

It may not generate as much buzz as a fight with Usman or Edwards, but it's the best fight for Buckley right now, and it makes a ton of sense for Brady, too.

Colby Covington vs. Stephen Thompson

Colby Covington prepares to face Joaquin Buckley Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Colby Covington's nickname is "Chaos." That word could also describe the current state of his career.

After his lopsided stoppage loss to Buckley in Tampa—the product of a bad cut on his eyelid—he's now 2-4 in his last six fights, with his wins coming against shopworn versions of Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. He's got an excuse for every one of his losses in that stretch, but those excuses are just as bogus as his trash-talking persona. At this point, there's no question that the best days of his career are behind him—so much so that it wouldn't be surprising to see him ditch the Octagon altogether for a shot in the WWE ring.

If Covington decides to stick around, however, it's clearly time to start matching him up with other fading veterans rather than treat him like a serious contender. Former title challenger Gilbert Burns, who has now lost three straight fights, is a solid option, but the best choice is clearly Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

Like Covington, Wonderboy has come up short in multiple title fights, having twice failed to take the belt from Woodley, and he also happens to be riding a stoppage loss to Buckley at the moment. The two veterans are in nearly identical stages of their careers.

The buildup to the fight could also be interesting. Wonderboy and Covington's personalities are as starkly different as their fighting styles, as a bona fide nice guy and a grating trash-talker respectively.

It would be a clash of karate and wrestling, a battle between good and evil, and perhaps most importantly, a guarantee of irrelevance for the loser.

Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara-France

Manel Kape reacts after a knockout victory against Bruno Silva Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Like Joaquin Buckley, Manel Kape expressed interest in a title shot after his win in Tampa. Also like Buckley, he is probably not quite there yet.

Kape's third-round stoppage win over Bruno Silva was impressive, but his July decision loss to Mohammad Mokaev is still clearly visible in the rear-view mirror. He's definitely getting close to a crack at flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja—who he's already lost to—but he is still behind the likes of Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval in line.

With a rematch with Pantoja temporarily off the table, the best choice for Kape is clearly New Zealand's Kai Kara-France.

Kara-France, who is fresh off a stunning knockout of former title challenger Steve Erceg, is also right on the cusp of title contention, but like Kape, probably needs another win or two to make it happen.

The two strikers match up beautifully on paper—they're arguably the hardest hitters in the division right now—and they also happen to have some bad blood. Now's the time to settle it.

Michael Johnson vs. Jim Miller

Michael Johnson knocks out Ottman Azaitar Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

At 38 years old, and after 30 fights in the UFC, Michael Johnson is now on a two-fight win-streak. The fact that he's still picking up wins in the Octagon at all is impressive. The fact that he's still putting together win streaks in the talent-packed lightweight division is all the more commendable.

While Johnson was never a title challenger, he's had an epic career. He's beaten the likes of Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza—when they were just entering their primes—and can take pride in the fact that a number of his losses have come against living legends like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, and Nate Diaz.

It would be a miracle if he put himself back in title contention at this point, but after all the entertainment he's provided, and all the revenue he's helped the UFC generate, he deserves to close out his career with fun fights against respectable names.

He's got some interesting options for his next opponent—King Green is a cool possibility—but the best choice is clearly Jim Miller.

Miller, who is riding a submission win over Damon Jackson, is one of the few fighters with more UFC experience than Johnson. In fact, he holds the records for the most fights in the promotion, 45, and most wins in the Octagon, at 27.

He's also clearly nearing the end of his career, but has said he hopes to make to make it to 50 UFC fights and 30 Octagon wins. Like Johnson, he's earned the right to close out his career with some fun fights. It really makes all the sense in the world to pit him and Johnson against each other, and it's frankly shocking that, after a combined 75 walks to the Octagon, they have not entered it together already.

   

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