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The matchmaking is kinda odd these days and theres probably 3-4 opponents they can throw at Stipe to fight towards the end of the year -
1. Fight with Volkov - he's coming off a win vs Werdum who was ranked like #3 I think....not a dominant win but I assume he plans on sitting out hoping to secure a title shot vs the winner of the Stipe/DC fight. This fight prob won't sell as well compared to the other options but tbh it might be the guy I wanna see Stipe fight the most since he's a tall lanky guy.
2. Fight with Overeem/Blaydes winner - The overeem rematch is not very appealing to be honest, actually Overeem fighting for the title in general doesn't seem to appealing to me. Seems like he gets brutally stopped every 2-3 fights and that win streak he had going in to the Stipe fight in 2017 was the longest he could put together thus far. If Blaydes wins, it sets up a fresh matchup like the Volkov option does, although I'd bet on Stipe vs Overeem II selling better then Stipe vs Blaydes.
3. Fight with Ngannou/Lewis winner - Ngannou just got dominated back in January, so I'm not sure even if he wins they'll throw him back in there with Stipe unless they're REALLY forcing the issue on trying to make him the champion. The matchmaking since WME came in is so wacky it wouldn't surprise me if Ngannou gets a rematch instead of giving a guy like Blaydes or Volkov the title shot. Lewis, on the other hand, is a fresh matchup for Stipe and would be on a 2 fight win streak and beating Ngannou would be huge - a much better win then beating Werdum at this stage (Volkov) or Overeem (Blaydes) . That would be an interesting fight and I think the buildup would be cool with Stipe and Black Beast
4. Fight with Cain - Assuming DC loses and then drops back to LHW and retires, that leaves Cain an opportunity if WME thinks this is the right fight to make. In my opinion as well, if they want someone to beat Stipe so bad, Cain even at his old age and layoff probably has the best chance out of all the names mentioned. Cain barely fights anymore tho so I'm not sure even having Cain as the champ would be better then sticking with Stipe. Nobody knows what these guys are thinking anymore tho. I think Cain should take a fight vs a top 10 guy before getting a title shot, like maybe the loser of one of the matchups above.
What do you guys think? I'd probably have to say Lewis, Volkov, and Blaydes could all be deserving. Blaydes and Volkov both have some solid streaks going, but if Lewis beats Ngannou that win alone is probably enough for him to overtake these other 2. Worst case scenaio Overeem wins, which is possible, and Ngannou wins so we don't get any fresh fights outside of Volkov.
1. Fight with Volkov - he's coming off a win vs Werdum who was ranked like #3 I think....not a dominant win but I assume he plans on sitting out hoping to secure a title shot vs the winner of the Stipe/DC fight. This fight prob won't sell as well compared to the other options but tbh it might be the guy I wanna see Stipe fight the most since he's a tall lanky guy.
2. Fight with Overeem/Blaydes winner - The overeem rematch is not very appealing to be honest, actually Overeem fighting for the title in general doesn't seem to appealing to me. Seems like he gets brutally stopped every 2-3 fights and that win streak he had going in to the Stipe fight in 2017 was the longest he could put together thus far. If Blaydes wins, it sets up a fresh matchup like the Volkov option does, although I'd bet on Stipe vs Overeem II selling better then Stipe vs Blaydes.
3. Fight with Ngannou/Lewis winner - Ngannou just got dominated back in January, so I'm not sure even if he wins they'll throw him back in there with Stipe unless they're REALLY forcing the issue on trying to make him the champion. The matchmaking since WME came in is so wacky it wouldn't surprise me if Ngannou gets a rematch instead of giving a guy like Blaydes or Volkov the title shot. Lewis, on the other hand, is a fresh matchup for Stipe and would be on a 2 fight win streak and beating Ngannou would be huge - a much better win then beating Werdum at this stage (Volkov) or Overeem (Blaydes) . That would be an interesting fight and I think the buildup would be cool with Stipe and Black Beast
4. Fight with Cain - Assuming DC loses and then drops back to LHW and retires, that leaves Cain an opportunity if WME thinks this is the right fight to make. In my opinion as well, if they want someone to beat Stipe so bad, Cain even at his old age and layoff probably has the best chance out of all the names mentioned. Cain barely fights anymore tho so I'm not sure even having Cain as the champ would be better then sticking with Stipe. Nobody knows what these guys are thinking anymore tho. I think Cain should take a fight vs a top 10 guy before getting a title shot, like maybe the loser of one of the matchups above.
What do you guys think? I'd probably have to say Lewis, Volkov, and Blaydes could all be deserving. Blaydes and Volkov both have some solid streaks going, but if Lewis beats Ngannou that win alone is probably enough for him to overtake these other 2. Worst case scenaio Overeem wins, which is possible, and Ngannou wins so we don't get any fresh fights outside of Volkov.
