Fights to Make After UFC Vegas 21
- benwilley18
- Mar 15, 2021
- 9 min read
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Now I know a lot of people are going to be calling for a rematch following the controversial ending to UFC Vegas 21’s Main Event. The bout between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad was declared a no contest after an accidental eye poke stopped the fight in the 2nd round. Leon literally hooked his finger on the inside of Belal’s eyelid causing a nasty cut. Thankfully it was only a cut and a shiner instead of permanent eye damage.
With many fights ending that way, a rematch is smart. There is unfinished business to be handled. But I don’t think it is warranted here. Belal was a short notice replacement and was not Leon’s original opponent. Leon was fighting down 10 spots in the rankings and was clearly winning the fight prior to the foul. After Leon’s original opponent Khamzat Chimaev was forced to pull out, many were clamoring for matchup with #1 contender Colby Covington. Covington is one of the most controversial fighters in the sport, but often gets overlooked as a world class contender. I believe Colby is clearly the 2nd best Welterweight in the world. He clearly gave Kamaru Usman his toughest fight and has demolished every other fighter in front of him. But for some reason, he is refusing to take fights. He thinks he is entitled to the next Welterweight Title Shot, but that ship has already sailed with Jorge Masvidal as its captain.
(USA Today Sports)
This is the fight that makes sense to determine the true #1 contender after Masvidal. I actually think both these guys are better than Jorge, but Kamaru wants the money fight. Leon hasn’t lost since his fight with Usman in 2015. Colby hasn’t lost since his own fight with Usman in 2019. The UFC needs to find a way to get this one done. Covington will have the opportunity for a full training camp and fans may be back in arenas by the time they scrap.
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
This certainly turned into a shitty situation for Belal Muhammad. He had the biggest opportunity of his life and it went haywire big time! He didn’t even lose the fight, but he certainly isn’t going to benefit from this situation. Best case scenario for Belal is the rematch with Edwards. His case should be that he deserves it and stepped in to save a UFC Main Event. But he was losing until the stoppage and the UFC will most likely opt for a higher ranked fighter for Leon. This leaves Belal to keep climbing the rankings. After his last win against Dhiego Lima, Belal called out “The Leech” Li Jingliang. Jinliang is coming off a very impressive KO over Santiago Ponzinibbio in January and is currently one spot ahead of Muhammad on the rankings.
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
The top 7 at Welterweight is the elite of the elite and they are all waiting to fight each other. Belal didn’t get to capitalize on his opportunity to break into that group. He has the potential, but he’s gotta keep securing big wins. He is now in the good graces of the UFC and he could only be 1 more win away from another big opportunity.
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Ryan Spann absolutely obliterated Misha Cirkunov on Saturday night. He marched forward unbothered by the elite grappling pedigree in front of him. He landed multiple huge shots early in the fight and got the finish just 1 minute and 11 seconds into the fight. As of writing this article, Spann sits at #13 in the Light Heavyweight division. After finishing #11 Cirkunov in the fashion he did, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spann crack the top 9 this week. He called out the winner of an upcoming fight between Anthony Smith and Jim Crute, and I think it makes sense.
(@UFC)
Jim Crute is one of the brightest young stars in the division. He earned a shot on Dana White’s Contender Series and has gone 4-1 in the octagon since. Crute’s only loss in the promotion was to Misha Cirkunov. A win over Smith would propel Crute into the top 10 and would nicely set up this matchup. A win for Smith continues his redemption-ish tour. Anthony is a former Light Heavyweight Title Challenger, but has fallen on hard times since his shot. Since losing to Jones, Smith is 2-2 and is now attempting to reestablish himself in the division. The top 5 at 205 is stacked with contenders who have already beaten Smith, even with a win over Crute, he may need another one against Spann to reinsert himself amongst the elite.
#11 Misha Cirkunov vs Winner of Ovince St. Preux vs Maxim Grishin
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Misha Cirkunov will likely be out of the rankings, or close to it, by this week. He suffered his 4th KO loss in his last 6 fights Saturday night. Although he is a veteran, he is only 34 years old, so retirement is not on the horizon just yet. Cirkunov beat rising start Jim Crute in the fight before Saturday and certainly has more left in the tank. A bout between Ovince St. Preux and Maxim Grishin is set for UFC Fight Night on June 26th. The winner of that bout could represent another veteran fighter to pair with Cirkunov in attempt to crack the rankings. Misha will either be out of the top 15 completely or in the bottom 2. It would be a way to determine which veteran still has another run in them. Grishin is more of a fresh face and is rising through the division fast. St. Preux represents a veteran who has been a mainstay in the rankings for the better part of the last 5 years. I was actually surprised OSP hasn’t fought Cirkuov yet. This fight makes sense for both men, or all 3 men, involved and would help advance their careers, as well as the division.
(Getty Images)
Dan Ige stole the show Saturday night with a 22 second KO of Gavin Tucker. Tucker was a short notice replacement for Ige’s original opponent Ryan Hall, but he’s a super tough dude. He was 4-1 in the UFC and on a 3 fight winning streak heading into the fight with Ige. Dan proved he is amongst the elite of the division and deserves a step up in the rankings. After a win like this, I don’t believe it is right to go back to his original opponent Ryan Hall. Hall is unranked and was a bounce back type of fight for Ige. Not saying Ige would’ve beaten Hall, frankly I’d probably take Hall in that matchup, but Dan shouldn’t go down in the rankings after Saturday. He called out #5 “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and I think the fight makes a good amount of sense.
(Jeff Botarri/Zuffa LLC.)
“Zombie” lost a Unanimous Decision to Brian Ortega in his last bout. He is 3-3 in his last 6 fights and likely transitioning into the later half of his career. A fight with Ige makes sense for both of their timelines. Ige is the young guy trying to claw his way into the top 5. “Zombie” is the older veteran sitting and holding onto that #5 spot. I’d imagine Ige will go up in the rankings and this fight would likely look more like #7 or #8 vs #5 instead of #9.
Gavin Tucker vs Ilia Topuria
(Zuffa LLC. via Getty Images)
Gavin Tucker was stopped in his tracks early against Dan Ige. Tucker came into the fight on short notice and got clipped very early. He will now have to reset and grind out a couple of wins before getting another shot at the top 15. A great matchup for Tucker would be Ilia Topuria. Topuria is one of the brightest prospects in the UFC Featherweight division. He is 10-0 in MMA and 2-0 in the UFC. Ilia is coming off a massive KO of Damon Jackson in December. This fight would be an absolute banger and a big one for the career of both men.
(Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC.)
If Tucker can shut down the hype of Topuria, he could build his own hype along with the name he built stepping into the Ige fight. A win for Topuria would put him the conversation for a shot in the top 15.
Davey Grant vs Trevin Jones
(USA Today Sports)
Davey Grant surprised the hell out of me when he KO’d Jonathan Martinez Saturday night. Grant had been inconsistent in his last 3 appearances and looked like he was on his way to another loss. Martinez controlled the striking and clearly took the 1st round. Grant come out swinging in the 2nd and did damage. You could tell his strikes were slowing down and backing up Martinez very quickly. Once he landed his left hook, the same left that knocked out Martin Day in his last fight, it was all she wrote. Now Grant has won 3 in the row with finishes in his last 2 fights. An interesting matchup for him would be Trevin “5 Star” Jones.
(@UFC)
Jones broke into the UFC with a massive KO win over Timur Valiev. Trevin was a short notice replacement and a +450 underdog for the Valiev fight, but it didn’t matter. He followed that up with another KO, this time against Mario Bautista just last week. Grant and Jones are now on the same timeline and in similar situations. They are both fighters who were counted out, but now have a bevy of UFC KO’s to their name. The winner of this fight could parlay themselves into a big fight at 135.
Jonathan Martinez vs Randy Costa
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Jonathan Martinez was 4-1 in his last 5 and looked like a promising contender at 135 going into his matchup with Davey Grant. He was controlling the fight and looked fluid on the feet throughout the first round. He got caught with a massive Davey Grant left hand in the 2nd that ended his night. I still think Martinez has a solid future in the division, and matching with up with another prospect makes sense. Randy Costa is 2-1 since entering the UFC with 2 stoppages in a row. He’s KO’d Boston Salmon and Journey Newson in his last 2. A matchup either helps get Martinez back on track or legitimizes Costa as a real threat at Bantamweight. It is also a fun fight between an elusive striker and a bomb thrower.
Matheus Nicolau vs Tagir Ulanbekov
(Zuffa LLC. via Getty Images)
Matheus Nicolau probably lost to Manel Kape on Saturday. He escaped with a Split Decision victory, but was almost unanimous casted as the loser by the general public. Not to go on too much of a tangent, but MMA judging needs to get fixed. Verdict MMA, an app that allows fans to score the fight in real time, had over 80% of their audience score the fight for Kape. If that number doesn’t jump out at you, ALL 22 credentialed media members in attendance scored the fight for Kape as well. Anyways, back to the main point, Kape was an injury replacement for Tagir Ulanbekov. I think the best course of action is to go forward with the original matchup, even after a win for Nicolau. Ulanbekov is close to the top 15 rankings and a win would likely award a number next to someone’s name. It’s not Nicolau’s fault for the decision, but its hard to reward him very much after that outcome.
Manel Kape vs #9 Rogerio Bontorin
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
It feels weird giving Kape a ranked fighter after a loss, but he deserves it. He won the fight on basically everyone’s scorecards and had Nicolau badly hurt in the 3rd round. He was confident he had deserved the win after the fight, and I like him not backing down. Bontorin is coming off a first round KO loss to #7 Kai Kara-France last weekend at UFC 259. He will likely slide down in the rankings to the mid-teens. Kape is still regarded highly in the promotion, even after this loss. I think a fight between Kape and Bontorin for Rogerio’s spot in the rankings makes sense. I do think Manel is a top 15 Flyweight in the world and Bontorin needs to prove himself after 2 straight losses.
Eryk Anders vs Darren Stewart 2
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Eryk Anders obviously didn’t watch the Bantamweight Championship Fight Saturday Night. Petr Yan is somewhere pissed that he got DQ’d and Anders got a no contest. Eryk Anders hit Darren Stewart with an accidental illegal knee to put an end to their bout Saturday night. The fight was deemed a no contest by referee Herb Dean because the knee was considered accidental and the fight had only gone a little bit more than a round. If it had been deemed intentional or if it had been deeper into the fight, Stewart could’ve won by DQ. The right thing to do here is run it back with both men. They were both in similar situations before this fight and nothing got resolved. They are not big names with other people waiting to fight them, so the UFC should correct this and square these two off again soon.
` (ufc.com)
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