Of course, the rating itself is great, but their results can have devastating consequences for the leading Polish fighter, who is ranked 6th in the 70 kg rating – Mateusz Gamrot (MMA 23-2-0, 1 NC, UFC 6-2).
Mateusz Gamrot last fought for the UFC in September of last year, defeating Rafael Fiziev early on. It was the Pole's second fight in a row, guaranteeing him an automatic promotion to the lightweight division at a high, sixth place. It was not without reason that they said that maybe Gamrot started talking loudly during the championship match. The gamer has not yet received such a chance. On March 9, at a gala event in Miami, the Pole will face UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos, who will return to lightweight (MMA 32-15, UFC 21-13).
However, it seems that the Pole's situation will become even more difficult in the coming months. Tonight, Polish time, Dana White decided to announce two fights in the lightweight category, which will take place on gala numbers 299 and 300, respectively. It is about the fight of Gamer's club friend – Dustin Poirier, who will cross the gloves with the unpredictable. The Frenchman, Benoit Saint-Denis, and the direct eliminator of the lightweight championship belt, in which Charles Oliveira will face Gamro's former rival – Armand Tsaroukian.
A handful of statistics. Poirier is ranked third in the lightweight division and will fight for the world's biggest organization for the thirtieth time. He won 21 fights, lost 7 and did not fight once. The last three fights were: a loss to Charles Oliveira for the lightweight belt, a win to Michael Chandler and a loss to Justin Gaethje. Of course, the record of the American in recent months, or rather years, does not look good, but Poirier is still a player who counts in the race for the championship cup. The UFC veteran will also face an uncompromising and absolutely fantastic fighter from France on March 9. Benoit Saint-Denis, as we speak, has been fighting in the UFC for just over two years. He made his debut in October 2021, losing a fight to Eliseu Zaleski, but it should be noted that the fight took place in the middleweight category. After winning five straight fights in the lightweight category, he is ranked 13th in the 70kg category and will undoubtedly face an opportunity in two months. during life. It is worth noting that Saint-Denis has finished all the fights he won in the beginning of the UFC.
The UFC's 300th anniversary gala will be held on April 13. The second fight in the lightweight category will take place in Las Vegas, which will surely electrify the fans. Number 1 ranked (of course, without the champion – Islam Makhachov), Charles Oliveira, will cross gloves with Arman Tsarukian in the official eliminator of the fight for the UFC championship belt. Oliveira is a former champion of the organization who needs absolutely no introduction to MMA fans. The Brazilian won thirteen out of the fourteen bouts held recently and lost only to the champion – Islam Makhachov. He fought 32 times for the UFC in the Bronx. He won 22 fights, lost 9 and one – from 2011 – was considered a failure. His April opponent, Arman Tsurukian, is a former opponent of Mateusz Gamrot. The Pole won this fight by decision of the judges in June 2022. After this fight, the Armenian had three fights, defeating Damir Ismagulov, Joaquim Silva and Benil Dariush in his tenth anniversary fight for the UFC. Especially the last victory against the fighter, who defeated Gamrot in a direct fight in October 2022 – allowed the Armenian fighter to fight in an elimination fight.
The champion of the UFC organization in the category up to 70 kilograms – Islam Makhachov – fought 15 fights for the UFC, of which he won fourteen. He won the belt in October 2022, defeating the aforementioned Charles Oliveira, and then successfully defended it twice. Lightweight champion Alexander Volkanovsky decided to attack at lightweight, but was dominated by Makhachov in the first fight. Suddenly, in the second defense, Makhachev faced…again Volkanovski, who replaced the injured Charles Oliveira. The champion did not leave the decision to the judges, who defeated the Australian in the first round. However, there are many indications that Oliveira and Makhachov's paths will cross again. Of course, we don't know when. Tsurukian, although he will not be the favorite of Sherkin against the Brazilian, but he can cause a surprise.
I used the phrase “bad news for Mateusz Gamrot” in the title. As I mentioned, the fights announced above excite MMA fans around the world, but they also make Poland think twice. After all, Gamrot was a belt contender at UFC 294 last October, and now he's been relegated to a place off the podium in the contenders' rankings? Unfortunately, everything points to this… Makhachov is the champion and he will fight with the winner of the Oliveira-Tsurukian fight first. Also waiting in line is No. 2 lightweight Justin Gatje, who was once slated to fight every top lightweight. Poirier, who beats Saint-Denis, will also take a resounding decision and try to win the trophy again. After defeating Poirier, the Frenchman even demands a championship fight (although this – in my opinion – does not put him above Gamro). All indications are that there are at least three fighters who will be closer to fighting for the belt in the near future than Pole. However, there is no such thing as bad. Mateusz Gamrot has repeatedly proven that he is a patient player. So I'm sure to quote the classic, “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but he'll definitely be the UFC champion.”