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Fight Forecast: Matches to make after UFC Stockholm

Tom Szczerbowski / USA TODAY Sports

After UFC Fight Night 109, theScore's Alexander K. Lee picks which matchups should be made for the event's biggest winners.

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Cormier-Jones 2 winner

With Anthony "Rumble" Johnson no longer in the picture, the path is clear for Gustafsson to get a third shot at light heavyweight immortality.

"The Mauler" put on a masterful performance in the main event of UFC Fight Night 109 in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Glover Teixeira to earn a fifth-round TKO.

Recap: Gustafsson finishes Teixeira in 5th after dominant performance

The 30-year-old viking entered the night as the No. 1 contender in the UFC's official rankings and he did nothing to change that perception. Gustafsson has challenged both Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones for the title already, and on each occasion he failed to win over the judges despite going toe-to-toe for five rounds and giving the champs the toughest tests of their lives.

He deserves another chance, even if it's the last one he gets.

One name who could throw a wrench into this equation is Gustafsson's friend Jimi Manuwa, who punched his way into the thick of the contenders' circle with a first-round obliteration of Corey Anderson in March. But Manuwa hasn't shown that he's definitively more worthy than Gustafsson, and besides, the matchmakers could have a more suitable option for him ...

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jimi Manuwa

Oezdemir might have executed the most surprising knockout of the night, needing just 28 seconds to put Misha Cirkunov to sleep in the co-main event.

With back-to-back wins over Cirkunov and one-time interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux, Oezdemir has skyrocketed from UFC newcomer to contender seemingly overnight. It might not be fair to Manuwa to match him up with such a dangerous and still unknown property, but if "Poster Boy" wants to prove that he's worthy of being champion, he should be willing to take on all comers.

This matchup will either validate Manuwa as a threat to capture gold, or be the next chapter in Oezdemir's unpredictable rise to the top.

Peter Sobotta vs. Omari Akhmedov

Sometimes these matchups just make themselves.

Following his violent TKO win over Ben Saunders, Sobotta mentioned wanting to fight either Demian Maia or Gunnar Nelson. Those top-10 contenders both have other obligations on the table and are slightly out of Sobotta's league at this point in his career, so it makes more sense to match him up with another welterweight closer to the edge of the top-30.

Akhmedov was also victorious in Stockholm, stifling heavily hyped knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan to win his fifth UFC fight in eight chances, and he's right around the same level as Sobotta in terms of record and experience.

After this one, the winner will be ready to jump up in competition.

Pedro Munhoz vs. Eduardo-Lopez winner

Outside of the four light heavyweights headlining UFC Fight Night 109, Munhoz was the only fighter on the card ranked in the top 15 of his division. He backed up that acclaim with a workmanlike win over Damian Stasiak.

Munhoz has quietly won three straight bouts and he's close to competing for a top-10 spot. But he could still use some seasoning.

The winner of next Saturday's bantamweight battle between Johnny Eduardo and Matthew Lopez at UFC 212 in Brazil would be an ideal test for the developing Munhoz, and either would make for an entertaining opponent to boot.

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