Saturday's UFC Vegas 54 was a pretty solid card as far as Fight Night's go. The prelims were a bit slow at times, but all in all, I think it was a really solid event. The action really picked up as we got into the meat of the main card and we finished with four really interesting fights in a row. Yesterday we talked about the main event and what some of the ramifications of that fight may be. In my opinion, Jan Blachowicz earned the chance to regain his title after current champion Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka figure out who is going to carry the belt into that next defense. There was a lot more in terms of notable fights and fighters who deserve a bit of shine and we can talk about what they may be looking at in their next fight and play a bit of match maker. Like has become customary in these posts, we'll start at the beginning of the card and work our way through it, so if you're looking for what I say about a particular fighter, they're in the bout order, but I don't necessarily cover every single fight.
The first guy that I have to talk about is Andre Petroski. I might have underestimated his finishing ability slightly in hindsight, but his cardio issues need to be ironed out before he can make a true push. With that said, that was a pretty great way to start the night. He managed to out scramble Nick Maximov, which is a pretty impressive feat in general. He locked in the choke and it was really tight from the jump. He ended up putting Maximov to sleep, so his squeeze is clearly no joke. He called out Gerald Meerschaert post fight and I think that is a good idea. I think the UFC should reward fighters who make realistic callouts like that. So many of the prelim fights come together pretty randomly, so why not put one together based on a call out. It would be pretty fun. I'm all for it.
Tatsuro Taira really impressed me. I had a lot of questions about his game coming into the fight and his grappling was a lot better than I expected. I don't particularly have a ton to say about his performance other than that, but his wrestling was better than I estimated it to be. For his next fight, I wouldn't expect anything all that interesting. The easy match making might be to match him up with Allan Nascimento just because they got wins on the same card. Other options could potentially include someone like Francisco Figueiredo or Jake Hadley as well. Even though the flyweight division is pretty thin in total number of fighters, I wouldn't expect that his next opponent is all that notable.
Virna Jandiroba came through with a nice win to get her back on track. Her grappling looked really strong and a little more dominant than it has in the past. She was also able to at least hang with Angela Hill on the feet as well, which was a bit surprising. I think a good next fight for her would be Amanda Lemos. Lemos is coming off of a loss in her first really big step up in competition and is looking for a bit of a reset and I think Virna presents an appropriate level opponent. As for Angela Hill, she really didn't look great. I expected her to defend takedowns better and take advantage on the feet more and she really struggled. I think we need to see Hill against another striker next just to get a better read on where she's at in her career. She's starting to get up there in age, so I think a test is reasonable. Luana Pinheiro seems like a solid option. If Elise Reed can get past Sam Hughes this weekend then maybe that would make sense as well. No matter who it is, I think it needs to be someone who will stand with Hill just so we can see what she has left in the tank. Her cardio still looked good and she had the will to fight to the end though, which is good, but I want to see where her striking skills fully stand.
I was so happy to see Michael Johnson get a win. He honestly deserved it and I hope he can carry that momentum with him. I also hope he stays active and we get to see him fight a little more often. His boxing is still top notch and his hand speed and power were still largely there. He is still very dangerous, but I don't expect a flashy name in his next fight. Maybe he can get Paddy Pimblett? I don't think Paddy likes that fight though and it is not a good matchup for him at all. Besides that, I think someone like a Devonte Smith, Chris Gruetzemacher, and Jamie Mullarkey are all good options that give Johnson a fun matchup while being on his level. On the higher end of things, maybe someone like a Jai Herbert or even Jalin Turner could be some fun. I think Turner is probably the ceiling of opponent he should get, but it isn't impossible. I kind of want to see Turner get a ranked fight soon though. I think Gruetzemacher sounds fun though, maybe that's my choice.
Viviane Araujo came away with a great win that she needed after losing in a huge opportunity against Katlyn Chookagian in her previous fight. She looked really good in a lot of ways. She looked powerful like she usually does, but I think her wrestling looked more refined and her cardio held up in a much better way against an opponent that most (myself included) thought would have a noticeable cardio advantage. Athletically, Vivi has really advantages that I think she could really take advantage of if her cardio and MMA skills allow her to make that jump. As for her next opponent, Jennifer Maia is sitting right there, so that fight almost makes itself. Joanne Wood is another option, but for some reason that doesn't seem particularly likely to me. The same goes for a potential Alexa Grasso matchup. They would both be perfectly fine fights to make, but I think the Maia fight is the direction to go.
I'm really not even sure what to say about Katlyn Chookagian anymore. She fights to her style with very little diverging path about as well as anyone in the sport. She isn't the most amazing fighter you'll ever see, but she uses her advantages in a way that is really tough for anyone to get through. She uses her movement and length to win decisions with volume striking. At some point, if she keeps winning, she has to get another title shot, even if no one is really dying to see the rematch with her and Shevchenko. I don't think that next title shot will be it, but I don't think we're that far off. I think the UFC is hoping to get Miesha Tate into that next title shot if she can pick up the win against Lauren Murphy. I think the UFC is going to go with Chookagian vs Manon Fiorot and I think that is the right decision. I think that would be the most excited I will have been to see a Chookagian fight in a long time. That or the Grasso fight are the options for her and I think Fiorot is clearly the more exciting option.
Amanda Ribas actually looked pretty good up a weight class. I still hope that she'll be going back down though. She's really small for 125 and I liked her trajectory at 115. She was able to take Chookagian down multiple times and probably should have gotten the nod. Her striking has continued to improve and I imagine we'll see that growth continue. I think she could be in line for a pretty nice fight considering the fact that she probably should be in the top 5 of the flyweight division had the scorecards gone the way they should have. Tecia Torres, Jessica Andrade, and Yan Xiaonan are all options in my eyes for her. I think Torres is the most likely since they wouldn't want to rush her too quickly, but that would be a really nice win should she get it. I'm also assuming she's going back to strawweight. Ribas looked really good and the arrow is back up on her after a few less inspiring fights.
I can't fully explain Davey Grant, but I do love watching him. He's almost guaranteed to be in a fun fight. He's a pretty tough guy who is going to stand there and swing. He hasn't used his wrestling too much over the last handful of fights that saw him go on a bit of a run before losses to Adrian Yanez and Chito Vera. His chin has also been holding up much better. I think you should just match him up with a striker and put him on the prelims of a PPV and let the crowd go wild. I think Chris Gutierrez would end up being a fun option. Brian Kelleher, Raoni Barcelos, and Victor Henry could be also be interesting fights to put on. I don't think Davey Grant is going to push for the belt, but he's a really valuable asset if they use him the right way.
The final one that I want to go over is Ryan Spann. I'm still largely not sure what to make of him, but he got a really nice win over Ion Cutelaba. He looked as powerful as ever and then he was able to get up off his back very nicely a few times. Obviously, it would be easier to not be taken down, but he looked like his cardio may have been improved, at least slightly. He locked in a really nice choke and his squeeze must have been crazy because Cutelaba tapped very quickly. I wouldn't expect him to immediately get another push though. I think Johnny Walker and Dustin Jacoby would make the most sense for his next opponent. Jacoby wouldn't be a great matchup for him, but I don't know that there is a great matchup for Spann right now. I think the Johnny Walker fight would be fine. It would almost guarantee something weird to happen because Walker can't have a normal fight and Spann is going to have his fights end in a finish one way or another. I think that would be a fun fight for two fighters who are kind of in an odd spot in their careers.
What did you guys think of the card? Who was your biggest winner? Who do you want to see some of these men and women fight next? Leave any and all thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading and have a good one. Also, if you're looking for anything about Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic, they got their own full post yesterday, so check that out if you want to read about the main event.
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