Rin Nakai came out on the losing end to Miesha Tate at UFC Fight Night 52, but she gave a good effort.
Nakai was just not up to Tate's level. There is nothing wrong with that, as she is still a growing fighter. This loss will only help her identify areas for improvement, and the UFC could have another solid bantamweight to add to their ranks soon enough.
What's next? That's a fantastic question.
Here are three options the UFC could use for Nakai's next fight.
Julianna Pena
Pena is coming off of an injury, and the TUF winner needs an opponent.
After an impressive showing on TUF, she has earned a legitimate fight that would put her on the path to contention, and a fight with Nakai does just that.
This also serves as a good litmus test for where Pena is following her knee injury. If she looks good in the cage, and picks up a win, then the UFC can match her up with someone in the upper part of the rankings. A loss, or very poor showing, allows Sean Shelby to move her along more slowly with fighters in the back-half of the division.
For Nakai, the fight just makes sense following her showing at UFC Fight Night 52. She will be a healthy underdog to Tate's training partner, but it is someone else to test her skills against.
Loser of Cat Zingano-Amanda Nunes
Zingano and Nunes are going to go at it at UFC 178 with a potential title fight on the line. At least a title fight is on the line for Zingano. Nunes is hoping to take her thunder away and stake her claim.
The loser of the fight makes sense for Nakai.
The loser of Zingano-Nunes is not going to drop far in the rankings, and that lines up well with Nakai. There is no reason to force either fighter into fighting the bottom of the barrel, and with such a shallow division, there isn’t much else the matchmakers can do with Nakai or the loser of this upcoming bout.
It makes a lot of sense to pit them against one another. Just don't expect a competitive fight.
Had Nakai been stopped easily by Tate, I wouldn't advise the UFC to book this fight, but she did well enough against a former champion. Let's see what she has to offer in another fight against a credible opponent.
Jessica Rakoczy
The loser of the TUF finale to Pena, Rakoczy has not been back in the Octagon since that fateful day.
Rakoczy is a smaller bantamweight, and she lacks the grappling acumen that the top-level fighters have. This would be a smart matchup to test both Rakoczy and Nakai where they are weakest. It is also a smart matchup of two of the smaller—although in different ways—of the division.
This is the matchup I would like to see most of all. Neither are top-10 worthy, but the fight will get to highlight their improvements as fighters.
