The Ultimate Fighter 29 finales have come and gone, and the winners have been crowned. Bryan Battle and Ricky Turcios are this season’s Ultimate Fighter winners, Battle at middleweight and Turcios at bantamweight. Also victorious on the card was the season’s top middleweight pick, Andre Petroski. Now, a number of interesting fights can be presented as possibilities, including some from the minds of the BrawlTalk founders. 

Cain Velasquez vs Dominick Reyes- Retirement really doesn’t suit everybody in mixed martial arts, and although former UFC champ Cain Velasquez hasn’t fought in over two years, he has taken up professional wrestling. After a brief run in WWE was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, he will return to the ring in December for AAA. However, after his time in WWE did not pan out, maybe he could consider a return to the Octagon, perhaps in a new weight class against Dominick Reyes. In a 2018 interview with MMAFighting, he said that he could move to the light heavyweight division if he had to, and a huge fight with a multi-time title challenger who arguably beat Jon Jones could motivate the former heavyweight king to make the switch to 205 pounds. It would present an opportunity for a proper swan song after he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou in 2019.  

Ricky Turcios vs Eddie Wineland- For the Ultimate Fighter, a big one is in order. Wineland is the former WEC bantamweight champion and former UFC title challenger, and brings name value to the table. For Turcios, a win over him would be a nice feather in the cap to start off his UFC career. While these competitors are effectively on opposite career trajectories, this fight is a good one and, if Turcios takes advantage, could be a launching pad to further bantamweight relevancy.

Bryan Battle vs Andre Petroski 2- Now that both of these competitors are entrenched as members of the UFC roster, the promotion should not delay in making this rematch. Battle upset Petroski to further his chances at becoming the Ultimate Fighter, a feat he accomplished, and Petroski scored a UFC victory on the same card. The fighters are once again on a collision course. This is the fight to make for both combatants now that they’re each under the UFC banner officially. 

Sam Alvey vs Roman Kopylov- After being on the wrong end of a third debatable judges’ decision in his last four fights, popular veteran Sam Alvey was left with a sour taste in his mouth from his clash with Wellington Turman. He signed on for the bout after Kopylov, whom he was slated to face on July 31, couldn’t make the date owing to visa issues. Due to being in a short-notice fight where he was repeatedly fouled, Alvey’s UFC career should not end with this result. The Kopylov fight should be rebooked as soon as possible.

Brady Hiestand vs Randy Costa- This fireworks fight should follow Hiestand’s gritty effort against Turcios in the TUF 29 bantamweight finale. Hiestand should be in the UFC. Moreover, he should have a fight with a competitor like Costa, a dangerous prospect with ‘bonus machine’ written all over him. This fight would go down similarly to Hiestand vs Turcios, and perhaps a Hiestand win could set up a rematch of the TUF finale.