5 Other Fortunes Changed at UFC on Fox 23

Dave Meltzer’s "Fortunes Changed for 5" articles are some of my favourite MMA-related content out there. Speculating on future opponents and ranking/title implications of a performance is a great way to wrap your head around what is going on in the world of MMA.

I decided to take a crack at what might be next for 5 other fighters who weren’t mentioned in Meltzer’s original article this week.

Francis Ngannou

With 5 UFC victories in 14 months, Ngannou is making a case for himself to be in title contention soon.

The most highly touted prospect (in a division which often lacks such fighters) picked up his biggest win to date, knocking out Andrei Arlovski in 1:32 of the 1st round on Saturday.

With the win the UFC could conceivably give Ngannou a top-5 opponent in his next bout, but that part of the division is in a giant state of confusion at the moment.

Ngannou has mentioned Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem as opponents he would possibly like to face next. Cain just had surgery and has only fought twice in the last three years, but if he’s healthy enough to fight in the next 3 to 4 months that could be the next bout to make. Though this would also depend on if the UFC wants to try to schedule the Werdum vs. Velasquez rematch again.

JDS is targeting a championship bout with Stipe, and Overeem has Mark Hunt at UFC 209 next. Stefan Struve just had surgery for a torn labrum, so he’s probably out of the mix as well. Ben Rothwell is another possible opponent if a bigger name isn’t available to fight Ngannou in the spring.

One idea would be to match him up against the winner of Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem from UFC 209. Another possibility would involve him taking on the winner of Travis Browne vs. Derrick Lewis from UFC Halifax, though that bout seems less likely.

Andrei Arlovski

Arlovski has now lost four consecutive bouts. For most fighters that would spell the end, but this is a situation he’s been in and come back from before.

Arlovski was considered done when he lost four straight fights from 2009 to early 2011. His losses were to Fedor, Brett Rogers, BigFoot Silva, and then to Sergei Kharitonov. People thought he was done then, but he bounced back.

From September 2013 to September 2015, Arlovski won 6 straight, including 4 in the UFC. His UFC wins during that period were over Brendan Schaub, an avenged loss to BigFoot Silva, Travis Browne, and Frank Mir. That streak got people talking about Arlovski again.

Now after 4 straight defeats to Stipe, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, and Ngannou he’s dug a hole for himself again.

Arlovski turns 38 soon, but something tells me he’s not thinking retirement.

A possible next fight for Arlovski could be against Alexander "Drago" Volkov in a Belarus vs. Russia match-up. Volkov last fought in November, defeating Timothy Johnson.

Jason Knight

24-year old Jason Knight picked up his 3rd straight victory Saturday night. He submitted Alex "Bruce Leroy" Caceres at 4:21 of the 2nd round.

Knight called out the Korean Superboy Doo Ho Choi afterwards, whose last bout was an incredible Fight of the Year candidate against Cub Swanson from UFC 206. While Choi lost the bout, he gained a lot of popularity and exposure with his performance.

Knight reaffirmed his wish to fight the #11 ranked Choi earlier this week, and is hopeful the promotion will book the bout. It could make for an entertaining opening fight for the main card of UFC on Fox 24.

Alex "Bruce Leroy" Caceres

Having lost 5 of his last 7, Bruce Leroy is falling further down the rankings. Caceres dropped 3 straight in the bantamweight division before returning to featherweight last year. He then beat Masio Fullen and Cole Miller before dropping his most recent bouts to Yair Rodriguez and now Jason Knight.

A colorful and entertaining fighter, the UFC will try and put Caceres in front of a big audience whenever possible, be it on Fox or in a featured prelim fight.

One idea would be to put him up against Rony Jason, another popular featherweight who has trouble winning fights. Jason’s next fight is against undefeated Jeremy Kennedy in March. Regardless of how he does against Kennedy, putting Jason up against Caceres next could be interesting.

Sam Alvey

A very active fighter, Alvey has fought 10 times since his UFC debut in August of 2014. He’s gone 7W-3L in that period, including 4 straight victories.

He picked up his biggest win to-date on Saturday, defeating Nate Marquardt.

Granted, the 37-year old Marquardt has lost 7 of his last 10, he’s still a big name and a big victory for Alvey.

He then proceeded to callout Jack Marshman, leading many to say "huh?". Alvey would later explain that he received several messages on Twitter from fans who wanted him to fight Marshman, who won his UFC debut in November.
Alvey would later reconsider this.

He has since said he’d like to fight #11 ranked Krzysztof Jotko who is 7W-1L in the UFC, including his most recent victory over Thales Leites in November. The fight against a ranked opponent makes far more sense for Alvey, who is also looking to set the UFC record for most fights within a 12-month period (6) should he fight again before June.

Let me know what you think I have wrong or right.