4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 236

4 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 2360 of 4

Jack Hermansson reacts after his victory against Joe Pyfer.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

If Jack Hermansson is a gatekeeper, he’s a good one.

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 236, the Swedish-Norwegian middleweight contender was matched up with unranked knockout artist Joe Pyfer, who many were already touting as a future challenger.

The American looked the part through the first two rounds but ultimately found himself outclassed by his amply more experienced foe, who sealed the victory with a unanimous decision after five fun rounds of action.

In victory, Hermansson can rest assured that there are other big fights waiting for him down the road, and he has some interesting options in that regard.

The same goes for longtime featherweight contender Dan Ige, who defended his No. 13 spot in the division rankings with a first-round knockout of the dangerous Andre Fili in the card’s co-headlining bout, as well as Brazilian middleweights Gregory Rodrigues and Rodolfo Vieira, who both picked up stoppage victories at the event in Las Vegas.

Keep scrolling to see who we’d like to see Hermansson, Ige, Rodrigues and Vieira matched up with next.

Jack Hermansson vs. Nassourdine Imavov1 of 4

Jack Hermansson punches Joe Pyfer.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Last week, we suggested rising French middleweight Nassourdine Imavov should rematch Chris Curtis after his decision win over Roman Dolidze. Let’s scrap that plan. It would be much better to pair him with Hermansson.

Imavov and Hermansson are ranked near each other in the middleweight Top 15, at Nos. 8 and 11 respectively, and may be even closer when the rankings are updated this week. That alone makes them a suitable pair, but they’re also on similar schedules after five-round wins in the same month.

Furthermore, they’re both huge, strong middleweights who favour grappling above all else, which means they match up well on paper.

Hermansson certainly seems to see it that way.

“I just watched the rankings and I fought a lot of guys up there, and I obviously can’t fight an unranked opponent and go directly to the top, so I need to fight someone close to me in the rankings,” he said of Imavov at the UFC Fight Night 236 post-fight press conference. “I think he makes the most sense at the moment.”

It’s hard to argue with that. Let’s give the man what he wants.

Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy2 of 4

Dan Ige paces the Octagon after his knockout victory against Andre Fili.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Dan Ige picked up one of the flashiest wins of his career in Saturday’s co-main event, knocking out Andre Fili inside a round.

After the win, he’s definitely got options. However, he’s unlikely to move too far past his current No. 13 spot in the featherweight rankings, as Fili was unranked ahead of their fight and accepted the matchup on short notice.

Based on that, it seems to make most sense to match Ige up with Lerone Murphy who, after five straight wins in the Octagon, has earned himself the No. 14 spot in the rankings.

Being in each other’s orbits, it makes perfect sense that Ige and Murphy fight each other soon. The case for the matchup gets stronger when you consider these two were actually supposed to fight on Saturday, until the Englishman was forced out of the fight with an injury.

When Murphy is ready, this is the fight to make. Whether it happens in The Sphere, as Ige desires, remains to be seen.

Gregory Rodrigues vs. Pereira-Oleksiejczuk Winner3 of 4

Gregory Rodrigues punches Brad Tavares.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Brazilian middleweight Gregory Rodrigues picked up, arguably, the best win of his career on Saturday with a late stoppage over tough Hawaiian Brad Tavares, a former ranked contender.

After the fight, an opportunity against a top-15 middleweight probably isn’t far off for the South American, but it’s probably a bit premature to pit him against the division’s best just yet. After all, he’s still just two wins removed from a first-round knockout loss to Brunno Ferreira.

From here, we’d like to see Rodrigues matched up with the winner of the upcoming fight between his fellow Brazilian, Michel Pereira, and Poland’s Michal Oleksiejczuk.

They are set to meet at UFC 299 on March 9, and like Rodrigues, both are closing in on the top 15. Even better, both guys are known for their exciting contests, and would make a great dance partner for Rodrigues, who is seemingly incapable of a bad fight.

Rodolfo Vieira vs. Bo Nickal4 of 4

Rodolfo Vieira secures a submission against Armen Petrosyan.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bo Nickal might be the most hyped fighter in the UFC right now, and he will look to solidify that reputation at UFC 300 in April, when he takes on Cody Brundage.

Anything can happen in MMA, but let’s call that fight what it is: A freebie for Nickal.

Assuming he gets through the challenge, it’ll be time to give him a big step up in competition, and a guy like Rodolfo Vieira, who scored a first-round submission win over Armen Petrosyan at UFC Fight Night 236, seems like a great option.

Nickal is a wrestler through and through, and he will have most of his opponents constantly afraid of his takedowns. That is unlikely to be the case against the “Black Belt Hunter” Vieira, who is one of the best jiu-jitsu specialists in the UFC right now.

He will welcome every opportunity Nickal gives him to grapple, and he is fully capable of derailing the wrestler’s hype train with a submission on the mat.