Off the back of a wholly dominant second round guillotine win against Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 57 on Saturday, undefeated welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov called out a slew of opponents, including former two-time title challenger, Stephen Thompson – leading to a response from the Simpsonville striking veteran. Maintaining his undefeated run, Rakhmonov improved to […]
Off the back of a wholly dominant second round guillotine win against Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 57 on Saturday, undefeated welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov called out a slew of opponents, including former two-time title challenger, Stephen Thompson – leading to a response from the Simpsonville striking veteran.
Maintaining his undefeated run, Rakhmonov improved to 16-0 as a professional, also clinching his sixteenth straight finish to maintain his 100 per cent finish rate.
Owning eight knockout wins to go with eight other submission finishes, Rakhmonov added Magny to prior UFC victories opposite Alex Oliveira, Michel Prazeres, and Carlston Harris.
Calling for matchups against the likes of the aforenoted, Thompson, and former welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal – Rakhmonov is more than likely set to capture Magny’s #10 rank upon the release of the newly updated official rankings.
“The names I want to face are Stephen Thompson, Nick Diaz, and (Jorge) Masvidal,” Shavkat Rakhmonov said. “Let’s go.”
Stephen Thompson prefers a striking matchup in his next Octagon appearance
Remaining coy on a potential future pairing against Rakhmonov, Thompson stressed that he was interested in facing an opponent who did not pose the threat of a wrestling-heavy approach after recent losses to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad – offering to fight the pair of Masvidal or Diaz next, in fact.
“It’s like gosh, stop taking me down people,” Stephen Thompson said on his official YouTube channel. “I just gotta stop getting taken down, guys. Hey, man – whatever, dude. Let’s go. We’ll see, man. Everybody’s calling me out, not just me – but Masvidal and Nick.”
Before his pair of defeats against both Muhammad and Burns, Thompson, who twiced challenged for undisputed welterweight gold against former champion, Tyron Woodley – managed to defeat Geoff Neal in a UFC Vegas 17 main event back in December 2020.
On Saturday night, the MMA leader returned for another set of exciting fights, with a number of talented athletes taking to the Octagon for UFC Vegas 57. After two blockbuster events on the road in Singapore and Austin, Texas, the sport’s premier promotion headed back to the lowkey APEX environment for one final stop off…
On Saturday night, the MMA leader returned for another set of exciting fights, with a number of talented athletes taking to the Octagon for UFC Vegas 57.
After two blockbuster events on the road in Singapore and Austin, Texas, the sport’s premier promotion headed back to the lowkey APEX environment for one final stop off before International Fight Week, UFC gold, and pay-per-view fever returns to Las Vegas this coming weekend.
The card represented one that didn’t necessarily entice the casual fans but built a lot of intrigue and anticipation among the hardcores. While the co-main event saw the incredibly promising Shavkat Rakhmonov face his toughest test to date in the form of perennial contender Neil Magny, the main event saw two similarly touted lightweights collide, with both Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot looking to make the most of the headline spotlight.
With the likes of Thiago Moisés, Umar Nurmagomedov, Chris Curtis, Carlos Ulberg, Raulian Paiva, and Vanessa Demopoulos also in action, the card looked set to be another under-the-radar one likely to produce some bangers.
But did it deliver in that way? Let’s find out with the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 57.
For a while, color commentators showing a clear lack of understanding for the scoring criteria has been an ever-present on UFC cards.
The likes of Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, and Dominick Cruz have spouted some questionable takes, much of which centered around the idea that takedowns and control without effective offense could somehow sway a round in one fighter’s favor.
Well, fear not, we may have endured our last dose of facepalm-worthy commentary scores.
It didn’t take long for the benefit of said seminar to pay dividends, with both Bisping and Paul Felder correctly mentioning the importance of damage and effective offense over control during the first fight of the night between Jinh Yu Frey and Vanessa Demopoulos.
Anik said on his podcast that the commentators were taking a judging course in Vegas on June 24th (yesterday).
It does, however, beg the question: why did it take so long?
I’m no expert on the inner workings of MMA commentary, but it seems obvious that those calling the action for the audience should have a working understanding of how what they’re describing is being scored. It seems the failure to do so has contributed to some consensus views on ‘robberies’ on recent cards.
Hopefully moving forward, the work of the commentary team will go some way to fixing the lack of understanding among many in the fanbase.
Bisping and Felder have passed the test, over to you Cruz and Cormier…
Positive – Smooth Transitions
While the strawweight bout between Demopoulos and Frey provided a steady opener, the second fight of the night saw bantamweight prospect Mario Bautista turn things up a notch.
Bautista, who entered UFC Vegas 57 with a 3-2 promotional slate, faced a tough test in the form of veteran Brian Kelleher. Having fallen short in previous outings against Cory Sandhagen and Trevin Jones, the 28-year-old was hoping to make it third time lucky in terms of adding a notable name to his résumé.
And courtesy of a slick submission, he ensured it was just that.
Midway through the opening round, Bautista took the fight to the ground with a sharp trip. From there, the Nevada native beautifully transitioned to mount, before locking in a tight rear-naked choke as Kelleher gave up his back.
A high-quality submission to open the finishing proceedings for the night was certainly a positive.
While the attention may be on reigning UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, as well as ranked lightweight Brad Riddell, next weekend at UFC 276, another of the trio’s City Kickboxing teammates got the ball rolling for the Oceanic team at UFC Vegas 57 ahead of International Fight Week.
Following an emphatic performance on DWCS in 2020, which saw him carve a path to the Octagon with a first-round KO against Bruno Oliveira, Ulberg suffered his first professional defeat in a memorable Fight of the Night war with Kennedy Nzechukwu. While he ultimately fell to a KO punch, the nature of the fight suggested that either man could have been slept at any point.
That couldn’t have been further from the case in his rebound performance. In a technically sound and methodical display at UFC 271 in February, “Black Jag” cruised to victory over the now-released Fabio Cherant.
On Saturday, Ulberg made it back-to-back with perhaps the most impressive display of his career to date. While the early goings saw a calm and composed Ulberg find his range and jab away at Tafon Nchukwi, the New Zealander didn’t need all of the 15 minutes this time. In fact, he didn’t even need two.
Having done his research on his Cameroonian opponent’s tendency to parry with his right hand, Ulberg went right around it with a brutal left hook. When that wobbled Nchukwi, “Black Jag” put his finishing instincts on full display.
It’s hard to believe that prior to UFC Vegas 57, some were criticizing the lopsided odds and suggesting that Umar Nurmagomedov’s matchup with Nate Maness was a lot more competitive than they made out.
While on paper, that wasn’t an outlandish claim, it ultimately couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Performing exactly as you’d expect a -1100 favorite to, Nurmagomedov put a beating on Maness for the duration of three rounds. After a tentative start on the feet, the American’s decision to close range proved to be fatal.
After Maness was taken down and controlled for the final minutes of the opener, Nurmagomedov turned up the heat in the second and third, landing some notable ground-and-pound, while receiving little resistance in return.
Even the first half of the final frame, which took place in Maness’ wheelhouse, saw the Dagestani get the better of the exchanges, even landing a brutal push kick at one point.
Perhaps the only negative for Nurmagomedov was that he couldn’t find a finish, securing a unanimous decision verdict instead. But against a previously 14-1 opponent who entered the fight on a four-fight win streak and having built a perfect 3-0 UFC record, that’s no downer on what was a dominant performance.
The bantamweight division is already stacked throughout, but it looks set to become even stronger as the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov rises towards contention.
Negative – Heavyweights Doing Heavyweight Things
So this fight happened.
While UFC Vegas 57 won’t be a contender in any event of the year discussions, it was an overall solid card with some memorable scraps. But perhaps the one really forgettable fight came in the slot prior to the main and co-main events.
I’m not sure what it’ll take for the UFC to learn not to place these kind of heavyweight fights on the main card. This one saw Josh Parisian square off with Alan Baudot, and while the pair threw heavy leather at the start, from there, it descended into a classic tale of sloppy and fatigued big men battling to do anything effective.
Having failed to make the most of a knockdown and draining his gas tank, Baudot had nothing left in the second, even to the point where he couldn’t defend against ground strikes from a Parisian who was also practically out of all energy.
In the end, Mark Smith called a stop to the contest as Parisian rained down what looked to be some tired and powerless strikes. Heavyweight MMA can often be exciting and sees some entertaining names scrap inside the Octagon, including Tai Tuivasa, as well as highly technical and skillful fighters like Ciryl Gane.
Unfortunately, none of the above applied here. Winner by fatigue, Parisian.
There is officially a new elite contender in town at 170 pounds.
While most of the prospect hype at welterweight has been directed towards the charge of Khamzat Chimaev, the Chechen-born Swede has not been alone in his rapid surge up the ladder. His fellow prospect from across the Atlantic, Shavkat Rakhmonov, has stuck close behind.
While “Borz” recorded three wins before dispatching first ranked opponent Li Jingliang, Rakhmonov’s fourth outing not only netted him a ranked name, but top-10 contender Neil Magny.
In the UFC Vegas 57 co-main event, “Nomad” passed his stiffest test to date with flying colors, ensuring he maintained his 100% finishing rate in professional MMA by submitting “The Haitian Sensation” via guillotine with seconds left of the second round.
At 16-0 with 16 finishes, and given that he’s training alongside the likes of Gilbert Burns and Michael Chandler at Sanford MMA, there doesn’t seem to be a ceiling in sight for the Kazakhstani, who will likely find himself inside the divisional top 10 come this week’s update.
Whether it’s Stephen Thompson, Sean Brady, or another elite welterweight, the former M-1 Global champion will no doubt have the chance to move to within touching distance of a title shot next time out, and perhaps a much-anticipated collision with Chimaev.
Positive – Making The Most Of The Spotlight
Isn’t it amazing what happens when talented and hungry up-and-comers are rewarded for their hard work with a main event spot?
The UFC often favors former champions like Holly Holm and Miesha Tate or big-hitting heavyweights like Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik for fight night headliners. But when rising contenders like Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan deliver five-round battles like they did on Saturday, why aren’t we doing this more?
In terms of a stylistic matchup, this clash was near-perfect. From fast and furious scrambles to heavy exchanges on the feet, the Russian-Armenian and the Pole went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes, with both men looking to establish themselves as the leading prospect at 155 pounds.
Ultimately, it was clear at the final horn that both men had enhanced their reputations and signaled themselves as future title contenders.
One of the most technical fights you will ever see @Gamer_MMA vs @ArmanUFC is tonight's FOTN
And the result, a unanimous decision verdict in favor of Gamrot, was by no means a robbery, but I did disagree with it. Largely owing to his brutal body work, the first two rounds went Tsarukyan’s way for me, with the second being the closer of the two.
In the third, Tsarukyan continued with his kicking game and landed a notable right hand early. Midway through, Gamrot established grappling control for the first time in the fight. Aside from a few knees to the thigh, the Polish 31-year-old didn’t mange to offload any effective offense before Tsarukyan broke free. From there, the 25-year-old landed another memorable strike in the form of a spinning back kick to the chest.
Having finished the round with another clean roundhouse kick to Gamrot’s midsection, the third appeared pretty simple to score in my mind. Tsarukyan’s shots were significantly more impactful and the Pole’s control time didn’t lead to anything effective.
In the fourth, Gamrot opened proceedings with a flush right hand, but quickly fell to a spinning backfist. While there’s a chance it was somewhat down to balance having thrown a kick, the impact and reaction made it clear it was one of the most impactful shots of the night.
Tsarukyan continued to fare better on the feet, landing another brutal body kick. The Pole did pursue a rear-naked choke on the ground, but the impact of Tsarukyan’s shots led me to believe he was four rounds up heading into the fifth, albeit with two close frames.
The fifth was Gamrot’s best round, but I was fairly confident that Tsarukyan would get the nod, which wasn’t the case. I can see a Gamrot win, with rounds two, four, and five having the potential to go either way. However, given that all three judges gave the second to Tsarukyan, I was surprised that the same score wasn’t replicated in the third for a Tsarukyan win.
Negative – No Prelim Love?
Whoever gets the bonuses, good for them. It’s always great to see a fighter walk away with an extra $50,000. However, one choice seemed a bizarre one at UFC Vegas 57.
Parisian mounted an impressive comeback to defeat Baudot, but it was impressive down to his ability to recover from a knockdown, less so due to the opposition. The Frenchman had nothing left in the second round and had taken the term ‘gassed’ to a new level.
To see the likes of Carlos Ulberg, Mario Bautista, and Cody Durden, all of whom delivered notable first-round finishes, miss out on a bonus was a shame, especially when one went to Parisian for essentially winning a battle of fatigue.
UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov has a pair of big names in mind to go along with Stephen Thompson for his next fight. Rakhmonov earned arguably the most impressive win of his career over Neil Magny in the UFC Vegas 57 co-headliner. He has quickly risen into the welterweight title picture on a similar run…
UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov has a pair of big names in mind to go along with Stephen Thompson for his next fight.
Rakhmonov earned arguably the most impressive win of his career over Neil Magny in the UFC Vegas 57 co-headliner. He has quickly risen into the welterweight title picture on a similar run as Khamzat Chimaev, but he hasn’t received nearly the amount of attention like him.
Following his victory over Magny, Rakhmonov has big plans for his expected return to the Octagon later this year.
“As always, I’m not gonna rush,” Rakhmonov said. “I’m gonna take my time, rest, and then assess everything with my team. But the names I want to face (are) Stephen Thompson, Nick Diaz, [Jorge] Masvidal, let’s go.”
Thompson, a former UFC welterweight title challenger, does not have a fight booked. He has lost back-to-back fights and a matchup with Rakhmonov could prove difficult for the 39-year-old.
Nick Diaz is planning a potential return to the Octagon later this year, despite UFC president Dana White’s voice concerns about him fighting again. He returned at UFC 266 last year against Robbie Lawler.
A fight with Masvidal could also make a lot of sense for Rakhmonov. Masvidal has lost three straight but remains one of the biggest stars in the UFC. Depending on how his current legal issues play out, Masvidal could be ready by the end of the year.
Rakhmonov is looking to etch his name into the 170lb title conversation and a win over a top name like Thompson, Diaz, or Masvidal could propel him to a shot at the belt.
Who do you think Shavkat Rakhmonov should fight next after his win over Neil Magny?
Shavkat Rakhmonov plans to extend his winning streak against either Nick Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, or Stephen Thompson after an impressive win on UFC on ESPN 38. Rakhmonov entered his fight against Neil Magny as the betting favorite and didn’t disappoint. After a dominant first-round performance, where he largely out grappled Magny and landed solid ground […]
Shavkat Rakhmonov plans to extend his winning streak against either Nick Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, or Stephen Thompson after an impressive win on UFC on ESPN 38.
Rakhmonov entered his fight against Neil Magny as the betting favorite and didn’t disappoint. After a dominant first-round performance, where he largely out grappled Magny and landed solid ground and pound, he secured a guillotine finish in the second round with just two seconds left.
Afterward, Rakhmonov told Michael Bisping that he wished to fight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson next, and later, in the post-fight press conference, he added a few more names to his wish list.
“The names I want to face are Stephen Thompson, Nick Diaz, Masvidal. Let’s go.”
Shavkat Rakhmonov Puts On A Clinic Against Neil Magny
Shavkat Rakhmonov is one of the best up-and-coming fighters in the UFC and, so far, hasn’t shown any holes in his game. He has a perfect 16-0 record with 16 finishes. With his finish against Magny, he extended his UFC win streak to four, and all four wins came within the first two rounds. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Rakhmonov is that his 16 finishes are comprised of 8 knockouts and 8 submissions, making him one of the most well-rounded fighters in the game right now. Currently, Rakhmonov sits at number 15 on the UFC Welterweight Ranking, but he’s sure to take Magny’s spot in the top 10.
It seems like the next career move for Rakhmonov is to get some more notoriety as the three fighters he called out have large fan bases. However, Stephen Thompson is on a two fight losing streak and has yet to fight this calendar year. While Nick Diaz hasn’t fought since his loss to Robbie Lawler where he did not look his best to put it kindly. While Masvidal is in a middle of a lawsuit after allegedly assaulting Colby Covington and has recently expressed interest in fighting Conor McGregor.
So, it doesn’t seem like Shavkat Rakhmonov has a clear contender for his next fight despite his post-fight callout.
UFC welterweight veteran Neil Magny has spoken out on social media for the first time since his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov. Magny faced the upstart Rakhmonov in the UFC Vegas 57 co-headliner. Rakhmonov ended up getting the better of the experienced Magny and earned a second-round submission with seconds left in the round. Despite experiencing…
UFC welterweight veteran Neil Magny has spoken out on social media for the first time since his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Magny faced the upstart Rakhmonov in the UFC Vegas 57 co-headliner. Rakhmonov ended up getting the better of the experienced Magny and earned a second-round submission with seconds left in the round.
Despite experiencing the jaws of defeat, Magny doesn’t sound like he’s planning on going anywhere when it comes to contending in the UFC’s welterweight division.
In a recent Instagram post, Magny seemed to take a positive approach to his second-round defeat to Rakhmonov.
“I love this sport!” Magny said. “The highs, the lows, and everything in between.”
Before the loss to Rakhmonov, Magny earned back-to-back wins over Max Griffin and Geoff Neal. He earned a shot in the UFC following three impressive wins on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 16 back in 2012.
Rakhmonov proved to be a significant challenge for Magny on the feet and ground. He proved that he’s a force to be reckoned with and could potentially be a few wins away from a welterweight title shot.
Magny will look to pick up the pieces after this recent loss and return with a vengeance later this year.
While the main event between Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot stole the show to close out UFC Vegas 57, one of the night’s most impressive performances came courtesy of the co-main event. Shavkat Rahkmonov has quickly made a name for himself as one of the most promising fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division since joining…
While the main event between Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot stole the show to close out UFC Vegas 57, one of the night’s most impressive performances came courtesy of the co-main event.
Shavkat Rahkmonov has quickly made a name for himself as one of the most promising fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division since joining the promotion in 2020. He made short work of his first 3 UFC opponents, but many felt that his matchup with veteran Neil Magny in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 57 would be his first real test.
“The Haitian Sensation” was able to survive on his back and briefly looked for a leg lock at one point, but overall, the 34-year-old was largely dominated by Rakhmonov. The end came in the second round when “Nomad” locked up a late guillotine choke and forced a tap from Magny just seconds before the bell.
Rakhmonov was asked at the post-fight press conference if he had been aware of how much time was left and changed his approach to the choke, but the 27-year-old claims the tap was all on Magny.
(Zuffa LLC)
“Yeah, I had a good grip, I was confident in it, but since it was (only a little) time left, I was expecting Neil to defend it,” Rakhmonov said. “But maybe after two rounds of beating, he didn’t want to continue. But usually, with this grip, I need seven or eight seconds to put someone to sleep.”
“Nomad” picked up a Performance of the Night bonus for his work and improved his pro record to 17-0. Magny very nearly took the 27-year-old to the third round for the first time in the UFC, but so far no one in his career has managed to go the distance with him.
Rakhmonov was the UFC’s #15-ranked welterweight heading into this bout and called out former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in his post-fight interview.
What do you make of Rakhmonov’s thoughts on Magny tapping just before the end of the round in their fight?
Shavkat Rakhmonov plans to extend his winning streak against either Nick Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, or Stephen Thompson after an impressive win on UFC on ESPN 38. Rakhmonov entered his fight against Neil Magny as the betting favorite and didn’t disappoint. After a dominant first-round performance, where he largely out grappled Magny and landed solid ground […]