Fights to Make Following UFC Vegas 23
- benwilley18
- Apr 13, 2021
- 8 min read
(Zuffa LLC.)
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Marvin Vettori has proven himself to be a real player in the Middleweight division. He is currently riding a 5 fight winning streak after mauling Kevin Holland for 5 rounds Saturday night. He showed an elite ability to grapple and land damage while doing so. He punished Holland in every facet of the fight and coasted to the best win of his career. Vettori moved into the Top 5 for the first time in his career and will now have a real chance at UFC gold. With the lineup at Middleweight being stocked full of killers, Vettori will probably need one more win. #4 Derek Brunson and #2 Paulo Costa are rumored to be fighting within the year and #1 Contender Robert Whittaker should be next in line for the belt. This leaves Vettori and Cannonier. Cannonier is a former Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight that has finally found his best weight class. Since moving all the down to 185, Jared has gone 3-1 with wins over Jack Hermansson and Anderson Silva. His last loss came against Former Champion Robert Whittaker in October, 2020. Cannonier suffered a broken arm in that fight, but should be back in enough time for a full camp against Vettori in the 3rd quarter of this year. The fight would help map out a clear number one contender for the belt. Vettori is in the best position of his career and a win over Cannonier would definitely get him his rematch with Adesanya.
(theathletic.com)
Kevin Holland's status as a contender at 185 has almost completely fallen off over the past 2 weeks. His loss to Derek Brunson 2 weeks ago hurt his stock, and this loss to Vettori has only deadened it even more. Holland has revealed the kryptonite to his game. His inability to stop the takedown has lead him to 2 dominating losses and a trip back to the drawing board. Holland has made it a point to begin to improve on his wrestling, even reaching out to Daniel Cormier for help. He will need a fight to showcase his improvement upon returning. Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan are set to fight at UFC 262 in May. The loser of that fight will likely need an opponent in the lower half of the rankings. Hermansson would represent an elite grappler for Holland. Jack is a solid wrestler, but he really shines in the submission game. It would be a good way to feel out Holland’s new takedown defense. A matchup with Shahbazyan would be a fan friendly striker vs striker matchup with the intention of getting one guy back on track. Holland has now lost 2 in a row and if Edmen were to lose, it would be his second L in a row as well. This fight would be two contenders the UFC invented in desperately trying to regain traction. Both of these fights make sense for Holland, but if he doesn’t improve his grappling skills, it may not matter what the matchup is.
(Zuffa LLC.)
Arnold Allen made a statement to the rest of the Featherweight division on Saturday. He proved himself to be one of the most dangerous fighters in the division with a clear cut decision victory over Sodiq Yusuff. Allen rocked Yusuff with a massive head kick and controlled the majority of the fight. He clearly won the first two rounds. Allen deserves a big name in this division. Sadly, 145 is moving about as fast as the late 2010s Heavyweight division. The Champion Alexander Volkanovski and #1 Contender Brian Ortega have to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, so their fight will not be until late this year. Other Top 5 fighters are either booked or they are Max Holloway, and sorry Arnold but you don’t deserve a fight with Max just yet. The perfect fight for Allen would be a matchup with Calvin Kattar. Kattar is coming off a loss to Max Holloway earlier this year. He looked outclassed by Max for 5 rounds, but that happens to a lot of people. Calvin has some of the best boxing in the division and is a handful for anyone. Well not Max, but mostly everyone. A matchup with Allen would boost the resume of both men. Kattar would be the biggest name of Arnold’s career, and Calvin would be fighting the hottest name in the division. Both men have name value for each other. A win over Kattar would catapult Allen into title contention, especially with how screwed up the division is.
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Sodiq Yusuff came back strong in the 3rd round against Arnold Allen, but it was too little too late. Yusuff suffered his first UFC loss, but showed heart and an ability to hang with the elite of the division. He remains in the Top 15 and should still be looked at as one of the brighter prospects in the division. A healthy next fight for him would be the winner of a June 12th bout between Movsar Evloev and Hakeem Dawodu. Evloev is currently the first man in the Top 15 and an undefeated prospect. He is 14-0 professionally and 4-0 in the UFC. He has shown incredible striking, but has lacked an ability to finish the fight, winning all 4 of his bouts by decision. Hakeem Dawodu has been on the outside looking in so far in his UFC run. Dawodu is on a 5 fight winning streak, but some still question his ability to hang with the big dogs. 3 of his 5 UFC wins have come by Split Decision and he is yet to fight a Top 15 fighter. If Hakeem can be the first man to beat Evloev, he would certainly have earned a fight with Yusuff. If Evloev wins, it will be another matchup of hot prospects for Yusuff. He has to show he is the real deal since breaking into the Top 15. The rankings are just like being Champion, its hard to get there, but it’s even harder to stay there.
Julian Marquez vs Ian Heinisch
(Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC.)
Julian Marquez continued to win Saturday night. He has been one of the brighter prospects from Dana White's Contender Series and looks to be a future Top 10 middleweight. The only thing missing from putting Marquez in the Top 15 is a shiny name on his resume. He has done enough to earn this name, and I think Ian Heinisch has a nice ring to it. Heinisch was previously ranked in the Top 15 before dropping 3 of his last 4. He was #15 heading into his most recent loss to Kelvin Gastelum. This fight makes a ton of sense for both men. Like I stated before, Marquez needs and deserves a Top 15 quality opponent. He is 3-1 in the UFC and would be 4-0 if we could get this judging thing figured out. Heinisch is a quality fighter, but his inability to string together wins in the Top 15 may have shown the audience his ceiling. This matchup will either break Julian into the rankings or restructure the run of Ian Heinisch.
Sam Alvey vs Bellator’s Best
I’m not sure what the UFC does with Sam Alvey. His move up to 205 was horrible for his career and his move back down to 185 Saturday night didn’t go much better. Alvey does not look like a competitive piece of the UFC Middleweight division anymore. I’m sure the UFC could find a young lion to throw his way, or a fellow veteran to match him up with, but I believe he could have actually success elsewhere. I love ya Sam, but Bellator or PFL might be the way to go. Unless they ask you to fight Romero.
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Mackenzie Dern made the biggest leap of anyone in the rankings after her first round submission win over Nina Nunes. Dern took Nunes’ #5 spot and will now be booked in the biggest fight of her career. She has turned around a rocky UFC start in spectacular fashion. Dern and Head Coach Jason Parillo have worked diligently on Dern’s striking to go along with her world class jiu jitsu. She has lost weight and made weight for 5 straight fights, something she used to struggle with at the beginning of her run and a major pet peeve of Uncle Dana’s. Dern’s best option inside the Top 5 would be the loser of the upcoming bout between Carla Esparza and Yan Xiaonan. Esparza is a former Strawweight Champion who is beginning a second wind in her career. She has now won 4 straight and is ranked as high as she has been since her title run. Yan is maybe the best prospect in the division. She has shown spectacular striking and rare power for the division. The winner of that fight will likely be in line for a shot at the belt or a fight with #2 Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The loser should fall right into Dern’s lap. A matchup with Esparza would test Dern’s takedown defense and Carla’s submission defense. A fight with Yan would put Dern’s new striking game to the test. Mackenzie made one of the biggest statements on the card Saturday and a number 1 contender fight should be in her near future.
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
Nina Nunes failed to get the W in her return fight. It was the first time we saw Nunes since she took time off to start a family with her partner, the GOAT Amanda Nunes. She looked good on the feet against Dern, but was visibly overwhelmed on the ground and gave up an armbar late in the first round. Being submitted by Dern is nothing to be ashamed of and Nunes won’t fall far in the pecking order. A fight that makes sense for her, and I’m surprised has never happened, is a scrap with fellow vet Michelle Waterson. Both these women have been fighting for the UFC since the Strawweight division was introduced and have remained staples in the division. Their paths have never crossed, likely because of Nina’s time off corresponding with Waterson’s best run at the rankings. They are now both sitting in the bottom of the Top 10 and looking to make another run. Waterson has lost 2 of her last 3, but one was a Split Decision and the other was to Joanna, who may be the greatest Strawweight ever. She since bounced back with a Split Decision win over Angela Hill. This fight would give some juice to either woman’s ranking and could jumpstart another run at the top of the division. Neither of these women are that far away from another big fight, it is finally time for them to face each other.
Daniel Rodriguez vs Niko Price
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC.)
This fight is the definition of a banger. Daniel Rodriguez showed he is a force to be reckoned with at 170 with a dominating win over Former Top 10 Contender Mike Perry. D-Rod picked Perry apart and coasted to a 30-27 Unanimous Decision. It was the biggest win of D-Rod’s career and his best and most patient performance to date. Niko Price makes sense as his next opponent just because that fight would be bananas. Price is known to fight 100% balls to the wall at all times. He has some of the most unorthodox KO’s in UFC history, including KO’ing Randy Brown with a hammer fist from the bottom and KO’ing James Vick with an upkick. Price has never been in a boring fight and neither has Rodriguez. Niko has fought Top 15 guys before, but never secured a victory. He is now coming off a Majority Draw to Donald Cerrone. A win over Price would grant D-Rod a Top 15 name and a win for Price would get him back in there with the elite of the division. His draw against Cowboy stopped his momentum, but a fan friendly bout with D-Rod will boost the name of both men, win or lose.
Mike Perry vs Himself
(theathletic.com)
I love Mike Perry, but I don’t want to see him fight for a while. He looked like a shell of himself against D-Rod. He was dominated in every round and couldn’t get anything going for the entire 15 minutes. He was able to land a takedown on Daniel early, but that was it after D-Rod got back up. Perry has clearly been battling demons non-UFC related recently. I would like to see him get his head on a little straighter before someone has the chance to knock it off again.
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