UFC Vegas 32 went down last night (Sat., July 24, 2021) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a Bantamweight bout that saw T.J. Dillashaw escape the arena with a split-decision win over Cory Sandhagen (see the highlights here). In the co-headlining act, judges once again came under fire after awarding Raulian Paiva a majority decision over Kyler Phillips.
Winner: T.J. Dillashaw
Who He Should Fight Next: Rob Font…but he’ll likely get a title shot
After scoring a big (and controversial) win over Sandhagen, Dillashaw put himself in the position to fight for the title, which will be on the line in October when division king Alajamain Sterling defends the strap against Petr Yan. That gives Dillashaw plenty of time to heal up from the multitude of injuries he suffered during and prior to his comeback fight. If it were up to me, I’d put Font and Dillashaw in the cage together to see what’s what. While “Viper” was on the sidelines for cheating, Font was putting in work, winning three straight fights including big back-to-back victories over Marlon Moraes and Cody Garbrandt. He worked his way up to the No. 3 spot, but it still likely won’t be enough to earn a shot at the title which will likely be given to Dillashaw next.
Winner: Raulian Paiva
Who He Should Fight Next: Adrian Yanez
The Bantamweights were out in full force last night and they all put on a show. Paiva won a close decision over Kyler Phillips giving him his third straight win after a rocky 0-2 start to his UFC career. Yanez, meanwhile, opened up the main card with a stellar knockout win over Randy Costa after a back-and-forth battle. Both men are promising contenders on the rise and are itching to crack the Top 15. It will b tough given how stacked the weight class is, so why not put them up against one another to see who makes the leap in? I know a lot of people aren’t too keen on matching up two rising prospects, but if not now, when?
Winner: Darren Elkins
Who He Should Fight Next: Charles Rosa
The underdog did it once again, pulling off a come-from-behind win over a very game Darrick Manner. After a horrid run that saw him drop four straight fights, “Damage” has now won two straight, both stoppages. His latest win came after he was nearly stopped in round one, taking damage along the way. Staying true to form, Elkins dug deep and reversed the course of the fight in round two, putting Manner in a tough crucifix position, reining down punishment until the referee on duty finally put an end to the bout. The win gave him his first back-to-back victories as well as first post-fight bonus in three years. Up next for him should be a fight against Rosa, who is coming off a win over Justin Jaynes last month. Both men have had up-and-down careers, with Rosa unable to earn back-to-back wins inside the Octagon in seven years with the company.
Winner: Maycee Barber
Who She Should Fight Next: Jessica Eye
Why not? Barber called her shot and asked for the fight shortly after breaking her two fight skid against Miranda Maverick. Eye is coming off a razor-thin loss to Jennifer Maia, extending her losing streak to three. So while you may wonder why pit a winning fighter against a losing one, let’s not act like “The Future” has been lighting it up inside the Octagon. Her win against Maverick was her first in a while, snapping her two fight skid. Most don’t believe Barber did enough to win last ight — myself included — but getting a dominant win over Eye could silence her ever-existing critics who feel she gets too much unwarranted praise as a legit contender.
For complete UFC Vegas 32 results and coverage click HERE.