There are endless possibilities for the welterweight division in the aftermath of UFC 278. Leon Edwards shocked the world with a come-from-behind, head-kick knockout of Kamaru Usman in the closing minute of their world title fight. A new champion means an abundance of new matchups.
Edwards and Usman are now 1-1 against each other with the first meeting coming way back in 2015. That necessitates a trilogy, especially considering the highlight-reel nature of the finish on Saturday night. Looking beyond the rubber match, there are a number of fresh matchups buoyed by bad blood, including the wolf named Khamzat Chimaev lurking in the shadows.
The undercard on Saturday also saw Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold wallop each other for 15 minutes, earning Fight of the Night honors. Rockhold retired in the aftermath of the fight, but Costa has plenty of fuel left in the tank. And Merab Dvalishvili scored the biggest win of his career over Jose Aldo, but the nature of his win may not reward him with much in the eyes of UFC matchmakers.
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CBS has compiled a number of possible matchups in the aftermath of UFC 278.
Welterweight division
UFC welterweight championship -- Leon Edwards (c) vs. Kamaru Usman 3: UFC president Dana White wants the trilogy, Usman wants vengeance and Edwards is expecting another meeting. There are a number of factors supporting the need for a rubber match. Usman was 54 seconds away from winning on the judges' scorecards. That creates enough doubt in the outcome of a trilogy fight to sell pay-per-views. The U.K. has been a hot market for the UFC in 2022 and a show at Wembley Stadium would be huge for the company and England's new champion. Edwards is a new commodity and fights against other contenders would likely draw fewer eyeballs than the Usman rematch. Khamzat Chimaev is primed for a title shot with a win over Nate Diaz at UFC 279, but if Usman can recapture the belt, Usman vs. Chimaev likely sells more than Edwards vs. Chimaev.
Honorable mentions -- Khamzat Chimaev, Colby Covington or Jorge Masvidal: The benefit of having a new champion means there is an abundance of fresh title fights. Chimaev is the frontrunner should he beat Diaz. Covington is a believable threat following two close losses to Usman. Masvidal and Edwards have bad blood dating to a backstage altercation in 2019 where Masvidal laid hands on the Englishman.
Middleweight division
Paulo Costa vs. Jared Cannonier: Costa vs. Cannonier sounds like a powder keg. Two heavy-handed finishers hitting each other is a welcome addition to any PPV main card. Costa bludgeoned Rockhold for the better part of three rounds, but Rockhold had significant comeback moments despite his three-year absence from the Octagon. That raises questions about how far Costa can take a new run. Cannonier is coming off a decision loss to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya where he failed to pull the trigger. The winner of Costa vs. Cannonier will remain relevant among the middleweight elite.
Bantamweight division
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Rob Font: A win over former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo should guarantee Dvalishvili a top-five spot at bantamweight. Unfortunately, his grapple-heavy approach did little to curry favor with UFC brass. A reasonable next fight could be a small step backwards in the division against No. 7 Font. The downside to this pairing is that Font is already on a two-fight skid and might benefit from a breather with someone ranked lower than him.
Honorable mentions -- Song Yadong/Cory Sandhagen or Ricky Simon: Yadong vs. Sandhagen takes place on Sept. 17. Based on their current rankings, Dvalishvili could be paired up with a winning Yadong (No. 10) or a losing Sandhagen (No. 4). Another interesting booking could be a rematch between Dvalishvili and Simon. Simon handed Dvalishvili his last loss -- the only loss via finish in the Georgian's career -- in 2018. Since then, Dvalishvili has emerged as a fighter to watch while Simon built a five-fight winning streak after setbacks in 2019.
Jose Aldo vs. Dominick Cruz: This booking may be unfair to Cruz who just suffered a terrible knockout loss to Marlon Vera. Aldo's offense was muted by Dvalishvili's suffocating grappling, but he staved off the takedowns and won the first round on two judges' scorecards. The rest of the bantamweight elite is booked up and a clear opponent for Aldo may emerge in the coming months. While we wait for the field to clear, Aldo vs. Cruz is a dream fight even if Cruz is a little long in the tooth.
