UFC Vegas 57 went down last night (Sat., June 24, 2022) from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a Lightweight bout that saw Mateusz Gamrot narrowly defeat Arman Tsarukyan via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov submitted Neil Magny in the second round (highlights), while Josh Parisian knocked out Alan Baudot in Heavyweight action.
Winner: Mateusz Gamrot
Who He Should Face Next: Dos Anjos vs Fiziev winner
After defeating Tsarukyan, Gamrot called for a fight against Justin Gaethje. While admirable — and what a hell of a fight it would be — it’s a callout that “Highlight” likely won’t entertain…and he shouldn’t. Gaethje is ranked No. 3 and has bigger fish to fry at the moment, and could be in a line for a rematch against Dustin Poirier. What could be next for Gamrot is a fight against the winner of the upcoming bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev, which is set to go down on July 9, 2022. Dos Anjos is currently ranked No. 7 at 155 pounds, while Fiziev stands at No. 10. Gamrot is right behind him at No. 11. A win over either one of thise two will shoot Gamrot up the rankings.
Winner: Shavkat Rakhmonov
Who He Should Face Next: Sean Brady
Rakhmonov continued his ascension up the Welterweight ranks by dominating Neil Magny en route to a submission victory. While a matchup against Khamzat Chimaev is on everyone’s wish list, it won’t be happening anytime soon. Rakhmonov eyes showdowns against Nick Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, but those won’t be happening, either, because Diaz is likely done fighting and Masvidal has his eyes set on higher-ranked opponents. Rakhmonov should crack the top 10 following his latest win and fight against Sean Brady (No. 9) might be next seeing as how they could be ranked next to one another this coming week. And I can already hear a lot of you complaining about this suggestion since both are on an upward trajectory and undefeated (Brady 15-0, Rakhmonov 16-0), but they are bound to fight one another at some point, and to wait for one of them to have the title seems futile. After all, this is the name of the game, to fight all of the top fighters on your way to the big dance. The winner of this potential slugfest could crack the Top 5 and inch closer to a title shot sooner, rather than later. A fight against Brady makes more sense that one against Stephen Thompson (loser of two straight) Masvidal or Vicente Luque.
Winner: Josh Parisian
Who He Should Face Next: Tanner Boser
Parisian got back into the winner’s circle by pulling off a come-from-behind technical knockout (TKO) win over Alan Baudot, allowing him to live to fight another day inside the Octagon. A showdown against another hard-hitting big man in Boser would be a good fit for both men. Boser is coming off knockout win over Saint Preux, and he was set to face Rodrigo Nascimento in April before he was forced out of the fight with an injury.
Winner: Thiago Moises
Who He Should Face Next: Joe Solecki
Moises snapped his three-fight losing streak after he submitted Christos Giagos via rear-naked choke in the very first round. After the fight, Moises called out Joe Solecki for a 155-pound scrap…and it actually makes sense. Solecki is coming off a majority decision win over Alex da Silva Coelho, improving his UFC record to 4-1. As for Moises, he is now back on track and taking out Solecki would be a great way to add on to his momentum.
Winner: Umar Nurmagomedov
Who He Should Face Next: Jack Shore vs Ricky Simon winner
After making easy work of Nate Maness, Nurmagomedov is eyeing a Top 15 ranked opponent. After all, the surging Bantamweight has now won three straight fights inside the Octagon to improve to 15-0. If Nurmagomedov wants to crack the Top 15, he is going to have to take someone’s spot because the 135-pound weight class is loaded. That said, a fight against the winner of the upcoming bout between Jack Shore and Ricky Simon seems logical. Shore is undefeated 16-0, 5-0 UFC and is holding on to the No. 15 spot. As for Simon, he is tied for the No. 11 spot. The two will collide on July 16, though the winner will likely want a higher-ranked foe. That said, we have to wait and see what happens when the new rankings come out this week, and whether or not Nurmagomedov cracks the list or if it’s too soon.
Winner: Chris Curtis
Who He Should Face Next: Joaquin Buckley
Curtis extended his win streak to eight and improved to 3-0 inside the Octagon after defeating Rodolfo Vieira via unanimous decision. Afterward, Joaquin Buckley called out Curtis on social media, a challenge Curtis called a “weird flex” during the post-fight presser seeing as how they trained together not too long ago. That said, a fight between the two of them would be great. Curtis is on a great roll but Buckley has the UFC experience edge over him having competed inside the Octagon seven times. He is currently on a three-fight win streak and is coming off a win over Albert Duraev last weekend at UFC Austin.
For complete UFC Vegas 57 results and highlights click here.