I’m going to restrict myself to fighters who are currently in the pertinent division.
HW - Cain if he could ever return to full health. Failing that, probably Blaydes.
LHW - Gustafsson is the only one to have seriously troubled Cormier without an asterisk. I can’t think of anyone with a better chance.
MW - Romero probably has the best chance, but he needs to go to the back of the line for now. I think Gastelum is a very intriguing matchup for Whittaker. He has good hands, and a good chance at keeping the fight standing.
WW - I think, much like Romero, Woodley can be beaten by someone with the ability to keep the pressure on him when he tries to take a break. Also like Romero, pressuring him is highly dangerous. While I don’t like Covington, I think he might have the best combination of attributes to accomplish this.
LW - I don’t see anyone I’d favor over Nurmagomedov. Ferguson has a combination of cardio, durability, striking, and grappling that I think could cause the most problems for him.
FW - I don’t believe there’s a striking-based fighter in the division who can threaten Holloway. I’d like Ortega’s chances better if he had wrestling to go with his grappling. My pick is Mendes.
BW - To me, Garbrandt is the obvious choice, given how close he came the last time they fought.
FlW - Cejudo lost badly the last time he got a title shot, but I still think he has the best skill set to trouble Johnson.
WFW - There isn’t really a division, so naturally there’s nobody there to beat Justino.
WBW - I don’t want to see her get yet another title shot, but I think Holm has the best style to beat Nunes.
WFlW - Schevchenko. I think Montano is somewhat overlooked here, but I believe Schevchenko is on a different level.
WSW - I think Andrade is a terrible matchup for Namajunas.
HW - Cain if he could ever return to full health. Failing that, probably Blaydes.
LHW - Gustafsson is the only one to have seriously troubled Cormier without an asterisk. I can’t think of anyone with a better chance.
MW - Romero probably has the best chance, but he needs to go to the back of the line for now. I think Gastelum is a very intriguing matchup for Whittaker. He has good hands, and a good chance at keeping the fight standing.
WW - I think, much like Romero, Woodley can be beaten by someone with the ability to keep the pressure on him when he tries to take a break. Also like Romero, pressuring him is highly dangerous. While I don’t like Covington, I think he might have the best combination of attributes to accomplish this.
LW - I don’t see anyone I’d favor over Nurmagomedov. Ferguson has a combination of cardio, durability, striking, and grappling that I think could cause the most problems for him.
FW - I don’t believe there’s a striking-based fighter in the division who can threaten Holloway. I’d like Ortega’s chances better if he had wrestling to go with his grappling. My pick is Mendes.
BW - To me, Garbrandt is the obvious choice, given how close he came the last time they fought.
FlW - Cejudo lost badly the last time he got a title shot, but I still think he has the best skill set to trouble Johnson.
WFW - There isn’t really a division, so naturally there’s nobody there to beat Justino.
WBW - I don’t want to see her get yet another title shot, but I think Holm has the best style to beat Nunes.
WFlW - Schevchenko. I think Montano is somewhat overlooked here, but I believe Schevchenko is on a different level.
WSW - I think Andrade is a terrible matchup for Namajunas.
