Matches to Make After UFC 310

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Las Vegas with 14 fights and a title on the line. The UFC 310 main event saw Alexandre Pantoja successfully defend his flyweight gold against former Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight king Kai Asakura. The card had plenty of depth, as the final pay-per-view of the year will have plenty of repercussions going into 2025.

Here are five matches to make following UFC 310.

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval

Pantoja (29-5) proved he’s still the best flyweight in the world by making the Octagon debut for Asakura an unsuccessful one by securing a rear-naked choke that put the Japanese fighter out cold. There’s not quite a clear-cut number one contender, though, as Pantoja has defeated most of the division in his ascent. That means it’s rematch time, and Royval has bounced back from a 2023 defeat to “The Cannibal” by winning decisions over Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira. Pantoja will be favored to repeat but with a lack of better options, this will keep him busy and let the rest of the division sort itself out further in the meantime.

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Belal Muhammad

Rakhmonov was supposed to headline UFC 310 in a title fight before welterweight champion Belal Muhammad withdrew due to injury. After staying undefeated and becoming the first man to beat Ian Garry, Rakhmonov (19-0) is still the clear-cut number one contender. However, the Kazakhstani fighter looked much more human against Garry as he dropped two rounds. Up next is a title fight against Muhmmad, who is on an impressive 11-fight unbeaten streak.

Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov

After a heavily contested split decision win tonight over Volkov, Gane is in a strange position. Gane (13-2) was vocally unhappy with his performance, going as far to walk out the cage after the decision was read, and many thought that Volkov (38-11) won. Regardless, the French kickboxer wouldn’t be getting a title fight off this win since Jon Jones will likely unify the heavyweight championship with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. As a result, a rematch between Volkov and Gane makes a ton of sense. Play it back as a Fight Night main event, as the fight deserves to play out over five rounds, and the winner could potentially emerge as the number one contender in what is currently a weak heavyweight division.

Related » UFC 310 Round-by-Round Scoring

Bryce Mitchell vs. Brian Ortega

Mitchell got back into the win column with a violent knockout over Kron Gracie. Mitchell (17-2) was coming off a devastating KO defeat to Josh Emmett but has now won two of his last three. "Thug Nasty" is still a threat on the ground to anyone and the best might be yet to come for the 30-year-old. A step up has been earned and a fitting next opponent would be Ortega. The former title challenger is coming off a deflating loss to Diego Lopes and has come up short in three of his last four fights, so this would be a fitting rebound for “T-City.”

Doo Ho Choi vs. Andre Fili

Choi picked up his best UFC win to date by dominating Nate Landwehr. "The Korean Superboy" capped off a dominant performance by getting into crucifix position and raining down elbows to get the stoppage. That marks two straight wins for the featherweight, who I’d like to see fight Fili next. “Touchy” was actually supposed to fight Choi (16-4-1) back in 2017, so both men have unfinished business. Fili has won two of his last three inside the Octagon and it'd be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts.