UFC Vegas 42 went down last night (Sat., Nov 13, 2021) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Featherweight firefight that saw Max Holloway defeat Yair Rodriguez via unanimous decision in what turned out to be an instant classic (see it again here). In the co-main event, Marcos Rogerio de Lima put the Heavyweight division on notice by absolutely obliterating Ben Rothwell in little more than one minute thanks to the heavy bombs he unloaded on the long-time veteran.
Biggest Winner: Max Holloway
It was far from a walk in the park, but Holloway delivered yet another memorable performance, pulling out a win against a very determined Yair Rodriguez, who gave the former champion all he could handle for 25 minutes. After five rounds of back-and-forth action, Holloway walked out of the Apex with his second straight win, putting him at the top of the list for a third title fight against division champion, Alex Volkanovski. With back-to-back “Fight of the Night” performances, “Blessed” showed he is still one of the very best Featherweights on the planet and still improving after each fight. Whether or not a third fight against “The Great” happens next is still unclear, but he has plenty of options, including a possible rematch against Conor McGregor.
Runner Up: Marcos Rogerio de Lima
He may not be ranked in the Top 15 just yet, but de Lima put the Heavyweight hitters on notice by scoring a vicious knockout of Ben Rothwell in just 32 seconds. Not only was the power in which de Lima delivered the punishment that wowed everyone, but his speed was eye-popping, as well. “Pezao” will undoubtedly use the momentum of this big win to keep pushing forward on his quest to earning a spot on the official rankings, which brings with it bigger and better fights and eventually, bigger paychecks.
Biggest Loser: Cynthia Calvillo
First thing’s first: This is not a knock on Calvillo or her corner for stopping the fight, let’s make that clear. If she and her team felt she couldn’t continue after taking plenty of damage in the first 10 minutes, then that’s a wise and tough decision they made to live to fight another day. Calvillo gets this spot for the simple fact that coming into the bout she was the fighter we felt needed a win the most (see it here) because she was riding a two-fight losing streak coming into the event. After starting her UFC career with an impressive 6-1-1 run, three straight losses is baffling because Calvillo was considered a legit threat to the division title. Where it’s gone wrong only she knows, but she will have to go back to the drawing board to see how she can get back on track and return to her winning ways.
For complete UFC Vegas 42 results and coverage click here.