Fights to Make Following UFC Vegas 22
- benwilley18
- Mar 22, 2021
- 6 min read
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
(Zuffa LLC. via Getty Images)
The only person Derek Brunson failed to shut up Saturday night was Kevin Holland. Brunson once against showed he is more than a gatekeeper in the UFC Middleweight Division. Brunson dominated Holland with his superior wrestling abilities and coasted to an obvious Unanimous Decision victory. Besides a small flurry by Holland in the 2nd round, Brunson was never in danger and showed the skill difference between him and Kevin. He is now on a 4 fight winning streak and begging for someone above him in the rankings. I would argue that Derek vs #3 Jared Cannonier makes more sense, but Brunson called out #2 Contender Paulo Costa. Costa is coming off a KO loss to Israel Adesanya last year. It was the first loss of Costa’s career and the first time he didn’t steamroll through his opponent. Costa was recently signed to fight #1 Contender Robert Whittaker, but had to pull out because of a nasty flu. Not Covid, just a normal flu. That fight will not be rebooked and has already been replaced by Whittaker vs Kelvin Gastelum. Paulo needs to rebound and Brunson deserves a big fight. When a person calls out someone specific, it makes sense, and they earned it, I like to reward their moxie. This fight would be another grappler vs striker matchup and the chance Brunson has been waiting for to get his name back into Title Contention.
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Kevin Holland had a disappointing night on Saturday. He was a joy to watch on the way into the arena and into the octagon, but lacked any sort of urgency while fighting. He was easily taken down and was held to only strikes from the bottom. He was held on his back for the majority of the fight without being able to get up. The highlight of the fight for Holland was a lone takedown in the 5th round. It was the first time Brunson had been taken down in his career. Now Holland’s hype has died down a bit and he has to go back to the drawing board. A name in the Top 15 is still on the table for Holland after losing to #7. He came into the fight #10 and will likely remain around that range in the rankings. A good fight for “The Trailblazer” would be Ultimate Fighter veteran Brad Tavares. Tavares has basically been the Derek Brunson of the #10-15 range of the rankings. He has always floated around 10th and has stopped several underwhelming prospects in their tracks over the years. He currently sits at #14 and is coming off a win against Antonio Carlos Junior in January. The winner of this fight would likely retain their #15 ranking and be on to a name in the Top 10 once again.
Max Griffin vs Khaos Williams
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Max Griffin surprised the world, and especially me, when he had the best performance of his career against Kenan Song. Griffin came out much more aggressive than normal and had Song out of there in 2 minutes. It was his first stoppage win since November, 2016. A performance like that in the Co-Main Event will put some hype to your name. An incredible next fight for Griffin could be against Khaos Williams. If you know both these men, I shouldn’t have to explain. Williams is 2-1 in the octagon to start his UFC run. He quickly earned a name in the division by finishing his first two opponents in under 30 seconds each. Williams looked like a rising KO artist and had one of the best mean mugs in the sport. He has since suffered his first UFC loss to Michel Pereira and is looking to bounce back. Both these men throw bombs and like to keep things on the feet. I guarantee this fight would not go 3 rounds and could be a sleeper for Fight of the Night on any weekend.
Kenan Song vs Mathew Semelsberger
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
I was pretty high on Kenan Song going into his bout with Griffin. He had shown very slick striking, head movement, and speed in his previous appearances. He also has more power than his frame suggests and was coming off a stoppage win over Callan Potter. Song was bullrushed by Griffin and never got the chance to get into a grove. He will now have to work his way back into the spotlight in the loaded Welterweight Division. A fight that makes sense would be against Mathew Semelsberger. Semelsberger has been a prelim fighter during his UFC run. He is 2-0 and coming off the best performance of his career; a 16 second KO of Jason Witt just 2 weeks ago. Song will probably need more time off than Mathew, as Semelsberger just KO’d someone and Kenan just got KO’d, but they are on similar timelines and the fight makes sense talent wise. It would be an opportunity for both men to showcase their striking and could quickly turn into a fan friendly brawl. Book it!
Montserrat Canejo vs Brianna Van Buren
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Montserrat Canejo pulled some wack shit at the end of her fight with Cheyanne Buys, but she did dominate her. It looked that Montserrat taunted and maybe even spit in the face of Buys after soundly beating her for 3 rounds. It was a very odd fight. Canejo basically just headlocked Buys for 15 minutes, but Cheyanne literally couldn’t get out. Buys was a big name on the card and Canejo took the fight on short notice, so I do believe she deserves a step up in competition after the win. Brianna “The Bull” Van Buren makes sense as a possible matchup. Brianna was a rising star in the Strawweight division in 2019. She won 4 straight fights in Invicta and captured their Bantamweight Championship. She was quickly brought to the UFC after winning the Invicta belt and challenged right away. She came through in her debut, beating Livinha Souza by Decision. Van Buren was quickly given a crack at the Top 10, but stumbled for the first time in the UFC against long time veteran, #9 Tecia Torres. We haven’t seen Van Buren since the Torres fight from June, 2020. This fight would determine the more ready contender and would be important for each woman’s career and the advancement of the division.
Cheyanne Buys vs Jinh Yu Frey
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
It was not a good night for the Buys family. After her husband J.P. was KO’d on the prelims, Cheyanne was controlled and beaten by the underdog Canejo. Buys was seen as a bright new prospect for the division after securing a contract on the Contender Series. Now she will be forced to organically build her hype back up through wins. A solid fight for her at this stage would be to take on Jinh Yu Frey. Frey has been inconsistent since getting the call-up from Invicta in 2020. She is a multiple time Invicta Atomweight Champion, but willingly moved up to Strawweight to compete in the UFC. UFC does not currently have an Atomweight division. Since moving up, Frey has struggled with the larger ladies, dropping 2 of her 3 UFC appearances. However, she is coming off her first UFC win just 2 weeks ago at UFC Vegas 21. She would be a perfect veteran to test the real potential of Buys. The winner of this fight will remain relevant at 115, the loser might be having Invicta calling their cell.
Adrian Yanez vs Chris Gutierrez
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Adrian Yanez is a certified killer. Since joining the UFC after Dana White’s Contender Series, Yanez has quickly compiled 2 vicious UFC KOs. His latest being a nasty right hand to put away Gustavo Lopez early in the 3rd round. He was dominating and piecing up Lopez for the first two rounds of the fight. I am stealing this fight idea from ESPN’s Brett Okamotto because I’m really feeling it. Chris Gutierrez is a bit more of a veteran, but he has also looked very sharp as of late. Gutierrez has won 4 of his last 5, with the one outlier being a Unanimous Draw against Cody Durden. Yes this fight would eliminate one hot prospect, but it would help launch the other. There is only room for so many people in the rankings and these two probably need to fight for it. This bout would be high level striking at its finest between two of the more underrated strikers of the division. Yanez has built enough hype that a win for him could push him onto the fast track towards the Top 15. A win for Chris certifies him as a real player in the Top 20 at Bantamweight, which is maybe the most stacked division in the sport.
Tai Tuivasa vs Greg Hardy
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Theres not a lot of things in this world I enjoy more than talking shit about Greg Hardy. I mean, the guy got kicked out of the NFL for domestic violence, so pardon me if I enjoy when he loses. Despite my hatred for Hardy and the fact he’s in the UFC, he hasn't been terrible since arriving. He is 4-3-1 with one loss being a disqualification in a fight he was clearly winning. Hardy has shown himself to be a fringe Top 15 Heavyweight and Tuivasa is attempting to get back into the Rankings. Tai was previously ranked and made it up to 10th before losing to JDS. This fight would likely get the other back into the Top 15 of the bulkiest weight class in MMA. It would also be a solid scrap and Tai’s trash talk towards Hardy has the potential to be gold.
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