On the main card of UFC 318, we saw a big time welterweight matchup with a ranking on the line. Kevin Holland (28-14, 1 NC) was fighting for the fourth time this year as he looked to defend his ranking against “D-Rod” Daniel Rodriguez (20-5).
Holland was a massive betting favorite coming off his last two wins at welterweight. That said, Rodriguez was coming off two straight wins himself and he made it clear in the first round that this fight was much closer than the odds makers had it. Rodriguez was just able to land cleaner in the first round and I had him up after one.
In the second round, Rodriguez dropped and hurt Holland multiple times. It appeared that the fight was close to getting stopped, but Holland was able to survive. Holland stormed back in the third nearly stopping D-Rod after dropping him a couple of times.
Rodriguez reversed things at the end of the round and then he nearly finished Holland again. It was an absolute war that should’ve been the fight of the night. That said, D-Rod had to settle for winning the unanimous decision at UFC 318.
What’s next after UFC 318?
This was such a huge win for Rodriguez who looked like he was really fading after a three-fight losing streak. It didn’t seem like he was going to be able to recover and make another run, however, he really turned things around and now he’s won three fights in a row. With that, he’s going to be a ranked UFC welterweight when the rankings come out tomorrow.
With that in mind, what should be next for him? There are some compelling matchups that you could look at for Rodriguez. If we want to go with someone close to him in the rankings, I think you could look at Gabriel Bonfim. Bonfim is coming off that controversial decision win over Wonderboy. That could be a good next fight for both men as they look to knock on the door of the top ten.
If you want a really exciting matchup, I like the idea of Rodriguez fighting Joaquin Buckley. Buckley just lost in the headliner of UFC Atlanta against Kamaru Usman. Had Holland won on Saturday, I thought their rematch would be really compelling. Now that I think about it, I don’t hate the idea at all of Rodriguez fighting Joaquin Buckley next.
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