6 Fights We Need to See After UFC 280

UFC 280 went down in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, and it was over in time for dinner for viewers in North America. Anybody who kept their day clear to watch it was well rewarded. It was an excellent card full of wild finishes, back-and-forth scraps and big upsets.

Headlining honors for the card went to lightweights Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, who were fighting for the division's vacant lightweight title. Makhachev, the top protege of former lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov, won the belt with a second-round submission, derailing Oliveira's 11-fight win-streak and extending his own to the same number.

In the co-main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling picked up a decisive, second-round TKO win over TJ Dillashaw, a two-time former champ. It was an impressive win, but it was somewhat diminished by the fact that Dillashaw clearly had a shoulder injury heading into the fight.

The middle bout of the main card saw two more top bantamweights go at it, as former champion Petr Yan took on popular contender Sean O'Malley. After three bloody rounds, O'Malley defeated Yan by split decision for a notable upset—but the verdict is the subject of significant controversy.

Earlier on the card, longtime lightweight contender Beneil Dariush defended his spot near the top of the division with a hard-fought unanimous-decision win over slight favorite Mateusz Gamrot. Manon Fiorot also scored a big unanimous-decision win on the main card, defeating No. 1 flyweight contender Katlyn Chookagian.

On the undercard, welterweight contender Belal Muhammad defied the oddsmakers with a TKO win over the formerly unbeaten Sean Brady. And those are just the highlights.

It was an awesome card from beginning to end, and it paved the way for some huge matchups in some of the UFC's best divisions. Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled from UFC 280.

We already know what will be next for Islam Makhachev after UFC 280: a title defense against reigning featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski was in Abu Dhabi to serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 280 main event. Had Makhachev or Charles Oliveira failed to make it into the cage, Volkanovski would have stepped in to save the day.

Volkanovski's services were not required at UFC 280, but he and Makhachev cut a nice promo together in the Octagon after the main event. Dana White later confirmed that they will likely meet in a champion-versus-champion showdown in Perth, Australia, next year.

"It looks like Volkanovski is next," he told reporters at the post-fight press conference.

You won't hear any complaining from us. That would be an epic fight with a huge implications, and it should be winnable for both men.

Charles Oliveira's epic 11-fight win streak finally came to an end at UFC 280. Islam Makhachev submitted him to thwart his bid to reclaim the lightweight title he was stripped of for missing weight back in May.

That'll be a hard pill for the Brazilian to swallow, but after everything he's achieved, he's probably only a win or two away from a shot to reclaim the title. He'll have a chance against whomever is holding the belt—even in a rematch with Makhachev.

Our pick for his next fight is a clash with No. 6 lightweight contender Beneil Dariush, who cemented his place in the division with an upset decision win over No. 9 contender Mateusz Gamrot on the UFC 280 main card.

With the victory, Dariush is now on an eight-fight win streak. He'd undoubtedly be next for Makhachev if not for Alexander Volkanovski jumping the queue. That's a tough twist of fate for the 33-year-old, but a fight with a former champion like Oliveira would be a great consolation prize.

That would be an amazing fight on paper, as both men are excellent grapplers with stopping power on the feet. The winner would be hard to deny for a title shot.

Bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling picked up an easy title defense in the UFC 280 co-main event, dominating TJ Dillashaw en route to a second-round TKO. Dillashaw was clearly dealing with a shoulder injury in the fight, but he is still a two-time former champion and is a valuable addition to Sterling's resume.

From here, all signs point to Sterling defending his title against Sean O'Malley.

O'Malley, long one of the bantamweight division's most popular fighters, burst into title contention on the UFC 280 main card by picking up a split-decision win over former champ Petr Yan after a thrilling three-round war.

The win was controversial, but O'Malley is a big enough star that the UFC won't be able to resist giving him the next crack at Sterling—even if the likes of Marlon "Chito" Vera and Cory Sandhagen are probably more deserving of that opportunity.

It's obviously going to happen, so we might as well enjoy it.

TJ Dillashaw had the chance to become a three-time bantamweight champ in the UFC 280 co-main event, but he ultimately wilted under a storm of second-round punches from Aljamain Sterling.

Dillashaw has fought only a handful of times in the last few years, in large part because of a suspension due to a failed drug test. One of the silver linings of his inactivity is that he has fought few of the division's top fighters.

That means he has plenty of interesting options as he looks to claw his way back to the title again.

From here, it would be fair to match Dillashaw up with a top contender like Merab Dvalishvili or Marlon "Chito" Vera, both of whom seem ready for title shots, or even Petr Yan. Dillashaw beat No. 4 bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen last July, so let's not act like he's totally washed up just yet.

Still, it seems like a better idea to match Dillashaw up with a fellow former champ in Dominick Cruz, who suffered a knockout loss to Vera back in August. Cruz defeated Dillashaw in a razor-close title fight back in 2016, and they've had a score to settle ever since.

The fight would also give us a good sense of Dillashaw's current level without exposing him to the kind of punishment he'd risk taking against Dvalishvili, Vera or Yan, who are clearly in their primes. And with Jose Aldo now retired, it's also the best choice available for Cruz.

Katlyn Chookagian has long served as the final test a fighter must pass before challenging dominating flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko for her title. In the opening bout of the UFC 280 main card, France's Manon Fiorot passed that test with a unanimous-decision win.

After the win over Chookagian, who entered the cage with the division's No. 1 ranking, Fiorot is now 5-0 in the UFC, with wins over two former title challengers. That's definitely the recipe for a title shot.

However, she stated at the post-fight press conference that she would like to fight fellow contender Alexa Grasso before she challenges the champion. That actually makes sense.

Grasso recently picked up a fourth straight win with a decision against Viviane Araujo. She mentioned after the fact that she would like to take another fight before her title shot, so she probably wouldn't need much convincing.

Booking these two rising contenders against each other would also allow a clear No. 1 contender to emerge. Meanwhile, Shevchenko could run it back with Taila Santos, who deserves a rematch after a split-decision loss to the champ earlier this year.

Put Shevchenko vs. Santos II and Fiorot vs. Grasso on the same card and have the winners fight later. Easy as that.

Belal Muhammad once again silenced his critics at UFC 280 by picking up an impressive TKO win over the formerly unbeaten Sean Brady. It was the Chicagoan's eighth win in a row, and it cemented his No. 5 spot in the welterweight rankings.

Were the welterweight division a little less crowded, Muhammad might be next for a title shot. But with new champ Leon Edwards set to run it back with former champion Kamaru Usman in London in March and a growing queue of contenders forming behind them, he will probably need at least one more win before he gets that opportunity.

A fight with Colby Covington or Khamzat Chimaev, ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively, would be a good choice, but those two now seem to be on track to fight each other on Edwards and Usman's pay-per-view. With them off the table, the best choice is clearly former title challenger and No. 4 contender Gilbert Burns, who is assuredly eager to get back on track after a thrilling decision loss to Chimaev earlier this year.

The UFC might as well throw this one on the London card as well and go all-in on the welterweights.