Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action last night (Sat., Jan 15, 2022) with UFC Vegas 46, which went down inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the headlining act, Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze went to war for five rounds, entertaining fight fans around the globe. When it was all said and done, Kattar had done enough to win a unanimous decision (highlights). In further action, Jake Collier picked up a highly-impressive win by submitting Chase Sherman in the very first round (see it here).
Winner: Calvin Kattar
Who He Should Face Next: Brian Ortega or Yair Rodriguez
Look, this one is tough because I want nothing more than to see Ortega (No. 3) and Rodriguez (No. 4) throw down against one another next. If that doesn’t happen, whichever man gets a fight booked first, the other should face Kattar. If Rodriguez and Ortega do scrap, then I want to see Kattar take on the winner. There are no other fights, in my opinion, that makes sense for either of those three men at the moment at 145 pounds. A win for either man gets them closer to a title shot.
Winner: Jake Collier
Who He Should Face Next: Don’Tale Mayes
Collier picked up a huge win by streamrolling right over Chase Sherman in the very first round, submitting him via rear-naked choke. Up next for the big man, a fight against Mayes sounds about right. Mayes is currently riding a two-fight win streak and is coming off a win over Josh Parisian, knocking him out in round three at UFC Vegas 45 in Dec. 2021. Both men are scratching and crawling to put enough wins together to crack the Top 15, and this fight works well for both men given the fact they competed not too far apart.
Winner: Brandon Royval
Who He Should Face Next: Alex Perez vs Matt Schnell winner
Royval snapped his two-fight skid by scoring a big win over Rogerio Bontorin, which will go a long way in helping him hang on to his No. 5 ranking. In his short time with UFC, Royval has faced nothing but top competition including Brandon Moreno, Kai Kamaka III and Alexandre Pantoja, and it won’t get any easier for him moving forward. Perez (No. 4) and Schnell (No. 9) are scheduled to face off at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, and I think Royval should be paired up against the winner to see if he can’t climb up a spot or two.
Winner: Katlyn Chookagian
Who She Should Face Next: Jessica Andrade rematch
Chookagian put Jennifer Maia in her rear-view mirror once and for all after defeating her a second time via unanimous decision. Since losing to current champion Valentina Shevchenko, Chookagian has gone 4-1, putting her in prime position to get another shot at the title. Ranked No. 2 in the division, Chookagian’s lone loss during her nice run came against Jessica Andrade in Oct. 2020. Andrade went on to loss to Schevchenko shortly thereafter, but bounced back nicely with a dominant win over Cynthia Calvillo. While it may seem too soon for a rematch between them, there’s really no one left at the top. They may as well fight one another to see who gets one more shot at Shevchenko’s strap.
Winner: Viacheslav Borshchev
Who He Should Face Next: T.J. Brown
Borshchev’s UFC debut couldn’t have gone any better. Not only did he demolish Dakota Bush via strikes in the very first round, he took home an extra $50,000 in post-fight bonus cash. Things are only going to get tougher for him moving forward, but there is no point in rushing him. That said, why not give him Brown next? Brown was also victorious at UFC Vegas 46 against Charles Rosa, giving him his second straight win. Brown is just four fights into his UFC career with a record of 2-2 so it’s not like he has a huge experience advantage over Borshchev.
Winner: Bill Algeo
Who He Should Face Next: Felipe Colares
Algeo continued his win-loss pattern by defeating UFC newcomer Joanderson Brito, bringing his record to an even 2-2 inside the Octagon. Colares, interestingly enough, has also alternated wins and loss during his time with the promotion to earn a sub-par record of 2-3. Colares is coming off a tough, close split-decision defeat at the hands of Chris Gutierrez so he is need of a big win. Algeo, meanwhile, needs some momentum to break his habits of losing after a win because he hasn’t won back-to-back fights since 2019.
For complete UFC Vegas 46 results and coverage click here.