UFC Vegas 30 went down last night (Sat., June 26, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, Ciryl Gane remained unbeaten after defeating Alexander Volkov after five rounds of action (highlights). In further Heavyweight action, Tanner Boser knocked out Ovince Saint Preux in what turned out to be quite a controversial finish (recap here).
Winner: Ciryl Gane
Who He Should Face Next: Stipe Miocic
Look, we are all waiting on edge, hoping Jon Jones signs on to face Miocic in his 265-pound debut, but that doesn’t seem to be in the works anytime soon. We know he’s not going to get the title shot against Francis Ngannou, either, since it seems Derrick Lewis will eventually get the nod. So why not let Gane try to earn his shot with a win over Stipe? He’s ranked No. 3, Lewis is No. 2 and Miocic is still sitting at No. 1, so there really isn’t anyone else that makes sense for the Frenchman.
Winner: Tanner Boser
Who He Should Face Next: Ben Rothwell
Boser avoided his third straight loss by knocking out Saint Preux in round two. In doing so he lives to fight another day inside the Octagon, avoiding a possible release. A fight against Rothwell seems like a good next fight for “The Bulldozer.” Rothwell also has a win over “OSP” and is coming off a big win over Chris Barnett, choking him out in May 2021. Both big men are scratching and crawling and have been on the outside of the Top 15 looking in and while a win won’t get them in, it will be one step closer.
Winner: Timur Valiev
Who He Should Face Next: Ricky Simon
Valiev kept his win streak alive and improved it to eight straight by taking out a tough-as-nails Raoni Barcelos in a Bantamweight affair. Valiev is 2-0-1 so far inside the Octagon, so he still has a way to go before he gets into the Top 15. I’d like to see Valiev face off against Simon in his next fight. Simon is currently on a three fight win streak and is slowly working his way up the ranks. The winner of this potential barn-burner could crack the rankings.
Winner: Tim Means
Who He Should Face Next: Muslim Salikhov
Means picked up his third straight win last night after defeating Nicolas Dalby after 15 minutes of back-and-forth action. His three fight win streak is the longest of his UFC career since 2015, meaning “Dirty Bird” has had an up-and-down career inside the Octagon. A fight against Salikhov sounds very appetizing since Muslim is on a five fight win streak and has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon. He also holds the No. 15 spot so if Means can take him out it could be his ticket in.
Winner: Renato Moicano
Who He Should Face Next: Brad Riddell
Moicano managed to avoid his second two-fight losing streak in two years by submitting Jai Herbert in two rounds. Moicano was used to facing top names in the Featherweight division, at one point facing Jeremy Stephens, Brian Ortega, Calvin Kattar, Cub Swanson, Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung…in that order. At Lightweight, The Brazilian bomber hasn’t exactly been given the big names, defeating Damir Hadzoviv and then losing to Rafael Fiziev before taking out Herbert. While Riddell isn’t the biggest name at 155 pounds, he is on a nice run, winning seven in a row including all four fights inside the Octagon. Stopping Riddell’s momentum could be Moicano’s ticket to getting the big names he’s accustomed to.
For complete UFC Vegas 30 results and coverage click here.