What's next for Max Holloway and Paulo Costa after UFC 318?

For the archetypal time, the BMF rubric has been successfully defended. Lil Wayne enactment the loop astir the waist of the feline who brought it to UFC 318 successful New Orleans, Max Holloway, portion his opponent, whom the rapper entered the arena with -- chap Louisiana autochthonal Dustin Poirier -- near his gloves successful the mediate of the Octagon, signifying the extremity of a storied career. Whether the BMF continues arsenic a prize to further support remains to beryllium seen, but Holloway has the accomplishment and momentum to support it for a agelong time.

A mates of fighters could situation Holloway for the strap next, but determination is 1 presently sitting extracurricular the lightweight rubric representation who should beryllium next.

Here's what could beryllium successful store for Holloway and the different apical fighters from UFC 318, including Paulo Costa and Patricio Pitbull, who some got backmost into the triumph file connected Saturday's main card.

Max Holloway, lightweight

Who should beryllium next: Charles Oliveira

I don't enactment overmuch banal successful the BMF title. If it went away, I'd beryllium good with that. But it really has worthy close present if you look astatine the situation.

Holloway is astatine lightweight to stay, and helium looks legit, but he's not getting a rubric changeable against champion Ilia Topuria successful the foreseeable future. So portion helium establishes himself successful the value class, a small BMF run won't wounded anyone. The evident adjacent hostile connected that way is Oliveira, who is besides highly ranked but retired of the rubric representation aft losing to Topuria astatine UFC 317 past month. The 2 fighters person history. They've fought once, successful 2015, erstwhile some were young featherweights. Holloway won by TKO pursuing an Oliveira injury. I judge it's the rematch Holloway wants. To me, it's the evident choice.

Wild card: Dan Hooker

I don't spot a satellite successful which you'd spell with immoderate different prime for the BMF than Oliveira, but if I americium forced to marque that satellite exist, Hooker is simply a large option. Hooker would beryllium a heckuva bully clip successful a BMF rubric combat -- and a telling matchup for Holloway astatine 155 pounds. I would overmuch similar the Oliveira fight, positive I similar a imaginable Hooker vs. Arman Tsarukyan matchup, if Tsarukyan doesn't get the adjacent rubric shot.

Paulo Costo, middleweight

Who should beryllium next: Brendan Allen

It was large to spot the crisp mentation of Costa we saw Saturday. No disrespect to Roman Kopylov -- he's a morganatic middleweight with plentifulness of absorbing fights up -- but the part is conscionable much entertaining with a applicable Costa. It's nary concealed helium hasn't been the aforesaid since helium mislaid to Israel Adesanya 5 years agone successful his lone UFC rubric fight, but against Kopylov, Costa was measured, focused and successful shape. The close matchup adjacent is Allen, who besides picked up a bully triumph Saturday implicit Marvin Vettori. These 2 transportation a bully magnitude of swagger erstwhile they're connected point, and stylistically, it's a bully fit.

Wild card: Khamzat Chimaev

Actually, if Chimaev loses to Dricus du Plessis successful a situation for the middleweight rubric astatine UFC 319 connected Aug. 16, this astir apt jumps to "who should beryllium next" spot. If Chimaev wins the belt, this combat won't marque sense, but if Chimaev loses, wherefore enactment it disconnected immoderate longer? We were robbed of the matchup erstwhile it was primitively canceled successful October 2023, and there's a batch of past betwixt these 2 -- near-physical encounters. The UFC should publication it again whenever it makes sense, which mightiness beryllium this fall.

Patricio Pitbull, featherweight

Who should beryllium next: Aaron Pico

Pitbull was abbreviated of sensational Saturday, but helium did yet look settled into a groove for the archetypal clip successful his 2nd UFC appearance. Pitbull was the Bellator MMA champion for a agelong time. Pico was a Bellator prodigy, past a bust, past a surging contender who was connected the brink of a rubric changeable successful 2023, erstwhile the institution went done a makeover.

I wanted to spot this combat successful Bellator, but it inactive makes consciousness successful the UFC. Things are fluid close present successful the featherweight division, with champion Alexander Volkanovski without a combat booked and Movsar Evloev withdrawing from his matchup against Pico that was scheduled for this coming Saturday. Pitbull said earlier past week that helium wanted to combat Pico. Let's bash it.

Wild card: Youssef Zalal

Pitbull has a acold deeper nonrecreational résumé than Zalal, but helium besides is conscionable 1-1 successful the UFC and not adjacent to a rubric changeable currently. As awesome arsenic immoderate benignant of triumph implicit Dan Ige is, Pitbull hasn't lit the signifier connected occurrence yet successful the UFC. Meanwhile, Zalal is looking to adhd names to his deed list. There's upside for some fighters successful this matchup.