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Brett Okamoto
For the first time, the BMF title has been successfully defended. Lil Wayne put the belt around the waist of the guy who brought it to UFC 318 in New Orleans, Max Holloway, while his opponent, whom the rapper entered the arena with — fellow Louisiana native Dustin Poirier — left his gloves in the middle of the Octagon, signifying the end of a storied career. Whether the BMF continues as a prize to further defend remains to be seen, but Holloway has the skill and momentum to keep it for a long time.
A couple of fighters could challenge Holloway for the strap next, but there is one currently sitting outside the lightweight title picture who should be next.
Here’s what could be in store for Holloway and the other top fighters from UFC 318, including Paulo Costa and Patricio Pitbull, who both got back into the win column on Saturday’s main card.
Max Holloway, lightweight
Who should be next: Charles Oliveira
I don’t put much stock in the BMF title. If it went away, I’d be fine with that. But it actually has worth right now if you look at the situation.
Holloway is at lightweight to stay, and he looks legit, but he’s not getting a title shot against champion Ilia Topuria in the foreseeable future. So while he establishes himself in the weight class, a little BMF campaign won’t hurt anyone. The obvious next opponent on that route is Oliveira, who is also highly ranked but out of the title picture after losing to Topuria at UFC 317 last month. The two fighters have history. They’ve fought once, in 2015, when both were young featherweights. Holloway won by TKO following an Oliveira injury. I believe it’s the rematch Holloway wants. To me, it’s the obvious choice.
Wild card: Dan Hooker
I don’t see a world in which you’d go with any other choice for the BMF than Oliveira, but if I am forced to make that world exist, Hooker is a great option. Hooker would be a heckuva good time in a BMF title fight — and a telling matchup for Holloway at 155 pounds. I would much prefer the Oliveira fight, plus I like a potential Hooker vs. Arman Tsarukyan matchup, if Tsarukyan doesn’t get the next title shot.
Paulo Costo, middleweight
Who should be next: Brendan Allen
It was great to see the sharp version of Costa we saw Saturday. No disrespect to Roman Kopylov — he’s a legitimate middleweight with plenty of interesting fights ahead — but the division is just more entertaining with a relevant Costa. It’s no secret he hasn’t been the same since he lost to Israel Adesanya five years ago in his only UFC title fight, but against Kopylov, Costa was measured, focused and in shape. The right matchup next is Allen, who also picked up a nice win Saturday over Marvin Vettori. These two carry a good amount of swagger when they’re on point, and stylistically, it’s a good fit.
Wild card: Khamzat Chimaev
Actually, if Chimaev loses to Dricus du Plessis in a challenge for the middleweight title at UFC 319 on Aug. 16, this probably jumps to “who should be next” spot. If Chimaev wins the belt, this fight won’t make sense, but if Chimaev loses, why put it off any longer? We were robbed of the matchup when it was originally canceled in October 2023, and there’s a lot of history between these two — near-physical encounters. The UFC should book it again whenever it makes sense, which might be this fall.
Patricio Pitbull, featherweight
Who should be next: Aaron Pico
Pitbull was short of sensational Saturday, but he did finally seem settled into a groove for the first time in his second UFC appearance. Pitbull was the Bellator MMA champion for a long time. Pico was a Bellator prodigy, then a bust, then a surging contender who was on the brink of a title shot in 2023, when the company went through a makeover.
I wanted to see this fight in Bellator, but it still makes sense in the UFC. Things are fluid right now in the featherweight division, with champion Alexander Volkanovski without a fight booked and Movsar Evloev withdrawing from his matchup against Pico that was scheduled for this coming Saturday. Pitbull said earlier last week that he wanted to fight Pico. Let’s do it.
Wild card: Youssef Zalal
Pitbull has a far deeper professional résumé than Zalal, but he also is just 1-1 in the UFC and not close to a title shot currently. As impressive as any kind of win over Dan Ige is, Pitbull hasn’t lit the stage on fire yet in the UFC. Meanwhile, Zalal is looking to add names to his hit list. There’s upside for both fighters in this matchup.
