With the matches announced, what is the situation in the WW division now?

[joy2day]

OK, so since this uber-talented WW group that encompasses the UFC’s only stacked weight class has emerged, there has been very little movement in sorting out the contender list.

I don’t see Leon or Colby having a chance, and Usman, Prates, Buckley, and Belal are talented but probably aren’t the best. Garry and Islam are better and could give anyone here a tough fight, but I see them getting edged out in close fights with the top WWs. JDM, Morales, Shavkat, and Brady are IMO the most likely to end up with the crown.

UFC Welterweight rankings

Champ- JDM (fighting Islam)

No Rank- Islam (fighting JDM)

1 Belal Muhammad (no fight scheduled)

2 Sean Brady (no fight scheduled)

3 Shavkat Rakhmonov (no fight scheduled)

4 Leon Edwards (fighting Prates)

5 Kamaru Usman (no fight scheduled)

6 Ian Machado Garry (no fight scheduled)

7 Michael Morales (no fight scheduled)

8 Joaquin Buckley (no fight scheduled)

9 Carlos Prates (fighting Edwards)

10 Colby Covington (GTFO)

Are they waiting until the JDM/Islam result to see which way they will go with contender matches and title shots? Maybe Islam will vacate and fight Illia if he wins, then pull a Khabib and retire?

I haven't heard anything about who gets the next title shot or who will face off among contenders.

Who are the rumored or speculated matchups to sort this whole thing out? There are only two fights scheduled, and only one of them is the elite (Islam/JDM). Some great fights possible in sorting this thing out.

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

The bottleneck is being dislodged, hopefully

 

[TheNewGame]

Islam vs JDM
Shavkat vs Brady - #1 contender
Belal vs Usman - grudge match
Garry vs Morales
Edwards vs Prates

 

[joy2day]

Islam vs JDM
Shavkat vs Brady - #1 contender
Belal vs Usman - grudge match
Garry vs Morales
Edwards vs Prates

I like these matchups.

 

[CC27]

depends on SHavkat if he's fighting this year or not.

Then is Garry really not willing to fight Brady, do they move on? Then you have Usman saying no interest in Belal so that kind of takes the two no brainer fights out of it with Brady/Garry and Usman/Belal.

So I'll say

Usman/Brady
Belal/Garry
Buckley/Morales
JDM/Islam
Prates/Leon


Shavkat returns next year but doesnt get a title shot, he'll have to fight someone else first. If these matches happened Usman/Brady would be in the drivers seat for the next title shot.

 

[FEDORFAN44]

Jdm vs Islam
Shavkat vs usman
Buckley vs Neal
Morales vs belal
 Garry vs brady

 

[KO Shotz]

Shavkat being out til next year is the monkey wrench.

We for sure got JDM vs Islam & Prates vs Leon.

The other matchups that would make the most sense imo would be Brady vs Ian Garry, Belal vs Usman, & Buck vs Morales.

Covington vs Kevin Holland too

 

[ChrisBenoit]

Islam vs JDM
Shavkat vs Brady - #1 contender
Belal vs Usman - grudge match
Garry vs Morales
Edwards vs Prates

This but I think it may be Garry vs. Buckley

 

[joy2day]

Shavkat being out til next year is the monkey wrench.

We for sure got JDM vs Islam & Prates vs Leon.

The other matchups that would make the most sense imo would be Brady vs Ian Garry, Belal vs Usman, & Buck vs Morales.

Covington vs Kevin Holland too

Brady vs Ian would be interesting. Brady is looking like he has become an unstoppable grappler and Ian has great TD defense.

 

[KO Shotz]

Brady vs Ian would be interesting. Brady is looking like he has become an unstoppable grappler and Ian has great TD defense.

I would even go as far as saying that a number 1 contender comes out of that matchup as well. Especially with Shavkat out.

 

[TITS]

Maybe Islam will vacate and fight Illia if he wins, then pull a Khabib and retire?

Yes, Islam will vacate a title he just won in a division that he just moved up to, and go back down to a division he left after vacating the title to reclaim that title again. Then retire.