UFC Vegas 84 went down last night (Sat., Jan. 13, 2024) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a Light Heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Johny Walker, which resulted in a devastating second-round knockout win for Ankalaev (see it again here). In the co-main event, Jim Miller submitted Gabriel Benitez in the third round (recap here), and then proceeded to call out Brock Lesnar.
Biggest Winner: Magomed Ankalaev
After back-to-back fights that didn’t produce wins (or losses), Ankalaev got back in the win column in a big way by absolutely destroying Johnny Walker via second-round knockout. Thanks to his dominant finish, Ankalaev put himself right back into the championship picture, and hopes to have a better showing after fighting to a split-draw against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282. More importantly, Anakalev is still unbeaten in five years, so he he a great case for a shot at the strap, which is currently owned by former Middleweight king, Alex Pereira. It’s a fight that could very well go down at UFC 300 this April.
Runner Up: Jim Miller
Miller has looked like a fresh fighter over his last five fights, despite the fact that he has been fighting inside the Octagon for over 15 years now, Indeed, Miller has racked up a highly-impressive 5-1 record since 2021 and is currently on a two-fight win streak thanks to his submission win (neck crank) over Benitez, He has continued his running joke of wanting to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 300, which is good for a laugh. On a serious note, though, I would love to see him fight at UFC 300 this April since he competed at both UFC 100 (defeated Mac Danzig) and UFC 200 (defeated Takanori Gomi).
Biggest Loser: Johnny Walker
Anoher big fight and opportunity produces another big loss for the towering Brazilian. While Walker has picked up some big wins in his UFC career, it seems that when the chips are down and he has the chance to make a huge statement against a high-ranked foe, he comes up short. He did that against Jamahal Hill, Thiago Santos and Corey Anderson, and now against No. 3 ranked Ankalaev. There is no telling if this loss will expedite his move up to Heavyweight, as he previously expressed his interest in moving up to where the big boys play. It just seems that a 205-pound title shot is something he can’t get close enough to secure.
For complete UFC Vegas 84: “Walker vs. Ankalaev” results and play-by-play, click HERE!