UFC Vegas 54 went down last night (Sat., May 14, 2022) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Light Heavyweight bout between Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic that ended in rather anti-climactic and unfortunate fashion. Rakic suffered a knee injury in the third round, giving Blachowicz the technical knockout win (watch replay here). In the co-main event, Ryan Spann scored an impressive first round submission win over Ion Cutelaba (see it again here).
Biggest Winner: Ryan Spann
While Blachowicz got the win in the main event, I’m not going to give him the nod this week as a result of an unfortunate knee injury suffered by Rakic, who was having a lot of success in the first two rounds. Nevertheless, Blachowicz gets the “W” and could end up in another title fight soon. As for Spann, he got back on track the old fashioned way, submitting Ion Cutelaba in the first round with a guillotine choke, getting him back in the win column following his loss to Anthony Smith. The impressive finish also netted “Superman” a cool $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Spann improved to 6-2 so far inside the Octagon and could be eyeing a Top 10 ranking soon following his impressive finish over “The Hulk.”
Runner (s) Up: Davey Grant and Katlyn Chookagian
While Grant may not have been a recipient of a post-fight bonus — which would have been his fifth straight — following his knockout win over Louis Smolka, both he and his foe put it all on the line in one of the more entertaining fights of the night. In the end, Grant was able to sneak in the impressive knockout in the final round to snap his two-fight skid. Despite the British brawler losing his two previous fights before last night, he is still an impressive 4-2 in his last six fights and has proven to be one of the more entertaining fighters in the stacked Bantamweight division.
Chookagian, meanwhile, gutted out a split decision win over a very tough Amanda Ribas to earn her fourth straight win in the Flyweight division. As a result of their back-and-forth scrap, the two ladies were awarded with the $50,000 post-fight bonus award for “Fight of the Night.” For Chookagian — who is ranked No. 1 — her latest conquest could have very well have earned her another title fight, or at the very least a title eliminator fight with the potential chance to rematch Valentina Shevchenko down the line.
Biggest Loser: Angela Hill
Coming into her fight against Virna Jandiroba, Hill was looking to snap her two-fight skid. Unfortunately for “Overkill,” it was another rough night at the office, dropping her third straight fight. Overall, Hill is 1-5 over her last six fights, all via decision, three of them split. You can never say Hill isn’t game, but she just can’t get over those obstacles to get back into the win column. Where she goes from her is anyone’s guess, but UFC officials will have a tough decision to make in the coming weeks regarding “Overkill’s” status with the promotion.
For complete UFC Vegas 54 results and coverage click here.