Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action last night (Sat., Oct. 31, 2020) by staging UFC Vegas 12 inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the headlining act, Uriah Hall picked up a huge win by knocking out former Middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the fourth round (video highlights). In the co-main event, Bryce Mitchell picked up a big win over Andre Fili, while Greg Hardy got another win by knocking out Maurice Greene (see it).
Winner: Uriah Hall
Who He Should Fight Next: Yoel Romero
After picking up a nice win over Silva, I’d like to see UFC matchmakers book the Romero fight one more time. The two were set to collide a few months ago at UFC Vegas 12 before “Soldier of God” had to pull out for undisclosed reasons. Hopefully Romero has whatever issues behind him and he’s focused on getting back into action because a fight between he and “Prime Time” would be a fun scrap. Sure, Yoel is coming in with three straight losses while Hall has won three straight, but “Soldier of God” is ranked No. 5 while Hall is at No. 10. And you know Hall would love to take his spot with a win over him.
Winner: Bryce Mitchell
Who He Should Fight Next: Ryan Hall
Mitchell picked up his fifth straight win inside the Octagon after taking out Fili, so now it’s time for his level of competition to get a bit tougher. The No. 15 ranked Featherweight could be looking forward to a scrap against Hall next. The jiu-jitsu ace has won eight straight fights, but he’s only competed for UFC a total of four times despite being under contract for five years. It would be a great chess match since Mitchell has great wrestling — he took Fili down seven times — while Hall’s jiu-jitsu is top notch.
Winner: Greg Hardy
Who He Should Fight Next: Blagoy Ivanov
Hardy picked up his fourth win inside the Octagon — second in a row — after knocking out Greene in the second round. What I would like to see next for the former NFL defensive end is a showdown against Ivanov since it would be a huge step up in competition. Ivanov has lost two straight at the hands of Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai, but he would still be a good test for “Prince of War.” The former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) Heavyweight champion has a ton of experience and decent wins under his belt, so if Hardy can take him out, it would be a huge notch on his belt and could lead to bigger fights while expediting his ascension in the division.
Winner: Kevin Holland
Who He Should Face Next: Ian Heinisch
Don’t look now but the Middleweight division has a rising contender on its hands as Holland picked up his fifth straight win after knocking out UFC newcomer Charlie Ontiveros rather violently. “Trailblazer” has now won seven of eight and is making great strides to finally crack the Top 15. And while he was mouthing off to division champion Israel Adesanya after his win, he is pretty far away from getting that fight, obviously. Up next for Holland could be a fight against the No. 15 ranked Middleweight in the world, Ian Heinisch. Of course, Ian is setup to face Brendan Allen next Saturday at UFC Vegas 13, so if he can win that fight, this is the fight to make.
Winner: Thiago Moises
Who He Should Fight Next: Drakkar Klose
Moises picked up his second straight win (a big one at that) after ending Bobby Green’s great run of three wins in just four months. Since coming into the Octagon, Moises has been hot and cold, going just 3-2. As for what I would like next for Moises, a fight against Klose seems to make sense. Drakkar is coming off a tough loss at the hands of Beneil Dariush, but prior to that he had won three in a row, including a win over Green. Both Moises and Klose have about the same experience inside the Octagon, and it’s a fairly even matchup all the way around.
For complete UFC Vegas 12 results and coverage click here.