What’s next for the stars of UFC 299?

The UFC was in Miami, Florida for a stacked UFC 299 card with the men’s bantamweight title was up for grabs.

In the main event, Sean O’Malley was looking to defend his bantamweight title for the first time against Marlon Vera in a rematch of their 2020 fight. The co-main event saw Dustin Poirier take on rising contender Benoit Saint-Denis.

Ultimately, it was O’Malley who put on a clinic as he won all five rounds to cruise to a lopsided decision win. In the co-main event, Poirier silenced the doubters with a second-round knockout of Saint-Denis. Now, following UFC 299, here is what I think should be next for the four fighters.

Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley dominated Marlon Vera for five rounds to defend his bantamweight title for the first time at UFC 299. It was a masterful performance from O’Malley as he threw everything at Vera, but ‘Chito’ was super durable and went the five rounds.

With O’Malley getting his first title defense, his next fight should be against Merab Dvalishvili. Although ‘Suga’ called out featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, that fight can happen in the future as Dvalishvili deserves his title shot and it would be a tough test for O’Malley.

Marlon Vera

Marlon Vera got the title shot despite being ranked fifth and being on a one-fight winning streak due to his past with Sean O’Malley. Vera struggled in the fight against O’Malley as ‘Suga’ was too elusive for him as he lost all five rounds.

Following the loss, Vera is back to the drawing board, and a logical next matchup is to fight Petr Yan who beat Yadong Song on the card. Yan returned to the win column in a big way and the two have never fought. It makes sense for the two to fight in a Fight Night main event with the winner likely being a win away from a title shot.

Dustin Poirier

(via Zuffa LLC)

Dustin Poirier returned to the win column in a big way as he scored a second-round knockout over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299.

Poirier entered the fight as a betting underdog, and ‘The Diamond’ struggled in the first round. In the second, he landed a big uppercut and then a right hook which KO’d Saint-Denis.

Following the win, Poirier has a real shot at fighting Islam Makhachev in June. Makhachev and his manager have expressed interest in it as Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan are all fighting at UFC 300 in April, so it’s unlikely any of them would be able to turn around two months later.

Benoit Saint-Denis

Benoit Saint-Denis got a chance to fight a top-five lightweight and came up short at UFC 299. However, he did have success in the fight and showed he could belong at the top of the division.

Following the loss, Saint-Denis should return in the fall, if the UFC goes back to Paris against the winner of Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller makes sense. It is a slight step-down in competition, but still a tough test for the Frenchman to prove he belongs in the top 10.