UFC 277 may have been the best PPV of 2022. I think the card was largely pretty fun to watch and interesting from start to finish. That really hasn't been the case with too many of the PPV's so far this year, but this one really delivered. All of the fights seemed to have some sort of compelling storyline or something to watch for. As has become sort of customary, I want to go through and give a condensed version of the fallout posts that I do for the bigger fights. We'll go through the winners and talk about their performance and suggest a potential next opponent for them.
Orion Cosce got the first win of the night and he picked up a hard fought victory. He battled through some adversity in the second round, but ultimately wrestled his way to a win. I thought Cosce would have a bit of an easier time with the grappling, but Blood Diamond was able to defend some of his shots fairly well, at least compared to what we saw in his debut. Given how tough of a fight it was for him when it seemed to be set up for him to have an easier time, I don't expect his next opponent to be anything all that interesting. I'm thinking someone like Preston Parsons or Yohan Lainesse.
Nicolae Negumereanu is the gift that keeps on giving. It's never usually pretty with him, but he's found a way to consistently win fights that conventional wisdom says he shouldn't. He's able to take a ton of damage and then control the fight in the clinch to grind out some tough decision wins most of the time. This time however he showed a little more aggression and really started to turn up the volume after it was clear that Potieria was tiring. He landed some really good power shots on the inside and was eventually able to get the finish in what was no doubt his best performance in the UFC. Honestly, I think Negumereanu could fit for Shogun Rua's last opponent if the UFC does in fact give him one final fight. Otherwise, I think someone like a Carlos Ulberg or Maxim Grishin is sort of the tier of opponent Neg should be looking at next.
Joselyne Edwards picked up her second win in a row and is now on a small winning streak. She's gone to this very kick heavy approach and I'm not sure how much I like it for her in the long term, but it has provided results in the short term. In this specific matchup, she was able to use it to keep her distance and force Kim to fight from a range where she couldn't get her volume off. I think someone like Julija Stoliarenko or the winner of this weekends Mayra Bueno Silva vs Stephanie Egger fight would make some sense for her.
Michael Morales continues to impress in his brief time in the UFC. He clearly has all of the talent necessary to go a long way in this sport. He looked very comfortable on his back when taken down and didn't rush the get up process. On the feet, he has extremely fast and explosive, which saw him eventually get another knockout. I think this is a case where the eye test tells you he's ready for some real competition, but it may be better to not give him too much too fast. If they're looking to keep pushing him, I think he would be ready for someone like Max Griffin, Alex Morono, or Bryan Barberena. They could opt to give him someone with a more comparable amount of experience like Jack Dell Maddalena or Andre Fialho and I think those would make sense as well.
Drakkar Klose picked up another win since returning from injury and I don't think he's too far away from getting a ranked opponent at this point. He's put himself into that tier of fighter at lightweight that is probably a win or two away from the rankings. I think he should be looking at fights with guys like Mark Madsen, Grant Dawson, Drew Dober, Brad Riddell, and Guram Kutateladze. The Dober fight makes sense just because the timelines are aligned. The Dober fight would be fun, so I think that goes at the top of the list for me right now.
Hamdy Abdelwahab shocked everyone and picked up a really nice win in his UFC debut. Heavyweight could use some new blood, so it was nice to see him compete well even though he had so little MMA experience. He showed more willingness to use his wrestling background, which was nice to see. He took shots fairly well too, which is always a question when someone makes the transition from wrestling to MMA. I think someone in the Justin Tafa, Chase Sherman, and Jared Vanderaa tier makes sense for him next time out.
Drew Dober notched another win with a body shot TKO. After a tougher stretch, he now has put together a winning streak and is back to doing what he does best. He can take shots and throw them back with power. I just mentioned Dober as a potential opponent for Drakkar Klose and I think that makes a lot of sense for the both of them. All of the names I listed for Klose make sense for Dober as well, but I think one that I didn't that I would like to see is Dober vs Bobby Green. That just sounds like it would be a fun fight to see happen.
Another welterweight fight saw Alex Morono pick up yet another win and continue this hot streak that he's been on. He's not the prettiest fighter to watch do it, but he is effective all the same. At some point, he's going to have to start getting some legitimate push instead of just fighting the younger guys beneath him. I suggested Michael Morales before and I still think that's possible, but I wouldn't mind seeing Morono get to fight someone above him. I think a Bryan Barberena, Tim Means, or Daniel Rodriguez type would make sense if they choose to go in that direction.
Magomed Ankalaev picked up a TKO victory after Anthony Smith suffered an injury to his leg. He was on his way to winning the fight regardless, but the injury provided the opportunity for a finish and Ankalaev took it. Ankalaev isn't the most amazing fighter to watch, but he is an extremely tough puzzle to solve with his all around skill set and defensive style. I don't think it is ridiculous to suggest that Ankalaev should be next for a title shot, but it doesn't really seem like that is in the cards. Jiri Prochazka has said that he wants the rematch with Glover Teixeira and I do think that is ultimately the direction that the UFC goes in. That leaves Ankalaev to fight Jan Blachowicz for the number one contender spot in my mind.
Alexandre Pantoja ran over Alex Perez in impressive fashion. Pantoja came out with very little respect for Perez and started off throwing wild hooks before grabbing onto a takedown attempt and creating a scramble. Off the scramble, he took Perez's back and basically tried to rip his head off. The choke wasn't even in, but he was just cranking on his neck while squeezing down on the jaw and forced Perez to tap out. I really don't know what is next for Pantoja because he's going to have to wait for the unification bout between Moreno and Figueiredo, but it doesn't seem like there is really anything else for him. He's the clear number one contender and it looks like he may just sit out until he can get his title shot.
The final one to go over is Sergei Pavlovich in his somewhat controversial win over Derrick Lewis. I said it before, but I'm ok with the stoppage in that fight. While those shots weren't connecting flush, Lewis was obviously hurt and was just covering up will Pavlovich threw like 25 unanswered head shots and then Lewis takes a header into the canvas. You can't go face first into the octagon floor and not expect the fight to be stopped regardless of if you were successfully blocking those shots or not. Pavlovich is a massive guy, even for heavyweight and provides some much needed fresh blood in the upper tier of the division. I think a matchup with Alexander Volkov would make some sense. I don't think it makes much sense for him to get a top 5 opponent right now and Volkov is the highest ranked guy available.
That's it from me on this card and we'll turn our attention to this weekend starting tomorrow. Who was your biggest winner of the week? Which fight was your favorite? Who do you want to see some of these fighters fight next? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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