UFC Vegas 92 went down last night (Sat., May 18, 2024) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Lerone Murphy pick up one of the biggest wins of his career by defeating longtime veteran, Edson Barboza (recap here). In the co-main event, Khaos Williams secured another highlight reel knockout win after stopping Carlston Harris in the second round.
Biggest Winner: Lerone Murphy
Every fighter looks for that one win that will get him/her over the hump, whether it be into the rankings, the Top 10 or title consideration. For Murphy, a dominant unanimous decision win over Edson Barboza was the biggest of his career thus far, and the one that will put him in the Top 15. Furthermore, the undefeated (14-0-1. 6-0-1) fighters secured another $50,000 post-fight bonus award for his performance, so all things are looking up for “The Iceman.”
Runner Up: Adrian Yanez
Adrian Yanez was in desperate need of a win coming into his Bantamweight showdown against Vinicius Salvador after losing his previous two bouts via technical knockout (TKO). Another defeat would have put him on even thinner ice with the promotion, so a win was of the utmost importance. Not only did he get the victory, he did it in highly-impressive fashion, landing a bomb of a right hand in the middle of the first round that dropped his foe like a sack of potatoes. From there, Yanez piled on the ground-and-pound, leading to a first-round stoppage win. With the win, he buys himself some momentum moving forward and the possibility of getting back into the Top 15. The only negative is that he was denied a post-fight bonus award. which he deserved.
Biggest Loser (s): Warlley Alves and Piera Rodriguez
Coming into the event, Alves was our fighter selected as the one who needed a win the most after dropping his previous three bouts. But once the dust settled in his fight against Abus Magomedov, he found himself the loser of four straight and a prime candidate to receive his walking papers once UFC starts considering their next round of cuts.
We can’t go on without including Piera Rodriguez in this column. “La Fiera” was disqualified after she headbutted her opponent, Ariane Carnelossi, twice which seemed intentional when she was in top position. The blows left her foe unable to continue, leading to the referee to disqualify Rodriguez, which was unfortunate because she was looking great and in control up to that point. And as we have seen in the past, the promotion isn’t opposed to releasing fighters for bonehead moves.
For complete UFC Vegas 92 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.