Matches to Make After UFC 318

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to New Orleans with a finish-filled event featuring 14 fights in total. The UFC 318 main event featured a "BMF" title fight between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway, which served as a retirement fight for "The Diamond." The pay-per-view also featured fights with fan-favorites, such as Paulo Costa, Kevin Holland and Dan Ige.

Here are matches to make for the top five winners of UFC 318.

Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira

Holloway finally got a win against Poirier, who had defeated him in 2012 and 2019. Having retired one of his key rivals, Holloway retains the "BMF" championship and is now a proper contender at lightweight. The bad news is that Ilia Topuria moved up from featherweight to lightweight and made easy work against "Blessed" last year. Since he’s not quite there for an actual title shot, why not face off against former lightweight champion Oliveira in another "BMF" title fight? After all, "Do Bronxs" is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and has fought a who’s who at 155. I can’t see any objections to this fight.

Paulo Costa vs. Brendan Allen

Costa got back into the win column after losses to Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker by outstriking Roman Kopylov over three rounds. Now with a 15-4 record, "The Eraser" looks to take on another contender at 185. Allen would be an intriguing new matchup, especially since he just came off a decision win over Marvin Vettori. "All In" had been close to a title shot before coming up short against Nassourdine Imavov and Anthony Hernandez, but now the 29-year-old can show his improvements against Costa. At 34, it’s do or die for "The Eraser," so let’s see who emerges on top as an actual contender in the busy division.

Related » UFC 318 Round-by-Round Scoring

Daniel Rodriguez vs. Mike Malott

In a fight of the year contender, Rodriguez outslugged Kevin Holland en route to a unanimous decision win. Now 20-5 as a pro, Rodriguez has shown that he's still got plenty of dog in him despite being 38. His late career resurgence has seen him put together three straight wins, including ones over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Alex Morono. The similarly streaking Malott would make sense for a next opponent. The Canadian is 4-1 inside the UFC and has impressed in recent wins over Charles Radtke and Trevin Giles. Malott (12-2-1) deserves a step up in competition and "D-Rod" fits that bill perfectly.

Patricio Freire vs. Steve Garcia

After a lackluster Octagon debut, featherweight legend Freire picked up his first win inside the UFC by winning a clear-cut decision over Dan Ige. At 38, it’s clear that the best days of Freire (37-8) are likely behind him, but he’s still a dangerous fighter that can compete at a high level. "Pitbull" hasn’t earned a fight against a top contender, especially with how flat he looked against Yair Rodriguez, but a fight against Garcia would be a lot of fun. Garcia (18-5) is on a roll, having won six straight fights, including wins over Calvin Kattar and Kyle Nelson. "Mean Machine" would get a chance to get a notable name on his record, while Freire could show he's still a contender with a strong showing. It's an intriguing fight for both men, so let's set it up.

Michael Johnson vs. Mauricio Ruffy

UFC lightweight division mainstay Johnson picked up a decision win over Daniel Zellhuber with some smart body work. "The Menace" has now put together three straight wins inside the Octagon, which is his longest win streak since 2015. At 39, Johnson (24-19) remains an exciting fighter and a solid test for younger opponents. I'd like to see Brazil's Ruffy take on the veteran next. The 29-year-old is 4-0 inside the UFC and is coming off a highlight reel knockout of Bobby Green. Let's see if "One Shot" can keep adding recognizable names to his resume.