Opinion | Fights To Make After UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba

UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. CutelabaFights to make after UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba – formerly UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac. Welcome to a brand-new segment we are going to be running here at LowKickMMA. Each week I will be taking a look at the fights from the previous week and share my two cents on what should […]

UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba

Fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba – formerly UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac.

Welcome to a brand-new segment we are going to be running here at LowKickMMA. Each week I will be taking a look at the fights from the previous week and share my two cents on what should come next from each winner on the card.

Be sure to share your thoughts down below and let me know whether you agree or disagree with the choices I have gone for. Also, feel free to offer any alternative matchups which you think would be better suited for any of the fighters mentioned below.

Now, without further ado, let us take a look at UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba.

After their originally scheduled matchup was canceled during the prelims portion of the card due to a medical issue on the side of Derrick Lewis, it only makes sense for ‘The Black Beast’ and Sergey Spivak to have the opportunity to face each other once again. Given Lewis receiving the all-clear medically just a few hours after their matchup had been canceled, this fight could very well occur in the back end of 2022 or early 2023 headlining a UFC Fight Night card again.

UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba – Main Card

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Making excellent work of the opportunity at hand when his fight against Ion Cutelaba was bumped up to the main event of this UFC Fight Night card, Kennedy finds himself on a two-fight winning streak and will now be looking to climb the light-heavyweight standings.

Sitting in the 15th spot is a former kickboxing veteran, Dustin Jacoby. Both men have strong striking acumen and would match up well. Jacoby himself will be looking to bounce back after suffering his first defeat in the promotion since he re-signed following a controversial decision loss to Khalil Roundtree Jr.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Waldo Cortes-Acosta moved to 2-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall after he was able to beat Chase Sherman over fifteen minutes. Given his first two fights with the promotion have seen him emerge victorious via decision, it only feels right that Acosta should face the decision machine of recent times and take on former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski.

Muslim Salikhov

Muslim Salkihov delivered an extremely impressive performance when he was able to secure a stoppage victory over Fialho this past weekend. Now, it seems the perfect time for the Russian to begin his ascent up the welterweight rankings. A big step up in competition granted, however, Vicente Luque and Salikhov would provide a fan-friendly affair should the two be matched up against each other.

Jack Della Maddalena

It seems with have something special on our hands with Jack Della Maddalena. His clinical combinations and striking have seen him earn two stoppage victories since joining the promotion and he clearly is showing great potential. Given UFC 284 in Perth is just around the corner, let us see him find a spot on that card and in my opinion in a matchup against Daniel Rodriguez. 2023 could well be a big year for the Aussie and it would not be surprising to see him headline a UFC Fight Night card before the year is out.

UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba – Prelims

Charles Johnson

In the featured prelim of UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs Cutelaba, Charles Johnson managed to secure a decision victory in a fight not many believed he had won. Despite this Johnson showed clear signs of ability and toughness as he had to battle through a leg injury during the bout. Tyson Nam always brings the heat and after his impressive knockout of Ode Osbourne back in August, I’d like to see this pair matched up.

Jennifer Maia

Jennifer Maia proved that she is still a serious contender in the flyweight division with a victory over Maryna Moroz this past weekend. I would like to see her try and work her way back up the rankings and she could do exactly that in a matchup with Viviane Araujo.

Miles Johns

Miles Johns edged out a close and somewhat controversial decision victory this past weekend against Vince Morales to place himself back in the winning column. In what would be a chaotic affair, I think Johns would match up well with Jonathan Martinez whose last outing saw him defeat UFC veteran Cub Swanson.

Ricky Turcios

Ricky Turcios dealt with some brutal shots from Kevin Natividad en route to his decision victory at UFC Vegas 65. Next in line for Turcios could potentially be the ever-game Brit, Davey Grant. Grant’s last outing saw him defeat Louis Smolka via ground and pound in the third round.

Vanessa Demopoulos

Vanessa Demopoulos laid down a dominant display with her unanimous decision victory over Maria Oliveira this past weekend. Her third victory in a row since dropping her debut in the promotion, it now seems time for Demopoulos to attempt to scale the strawweight rankings. And what better place for her to start than by taking on recently ranked number fifteen, Polyana Viana.

Brady Hiestand

Brady Hiestand was able to neutralize the striking abilities of Fernie Garcia en route to his decisive victory and his first victory inside the promotion after dropping his debut matchup to a man he shared this very card with Ricky Turcios. In a similar-styled matchup next for Brady Hiestand should be Mongolia’s Danaa Batgeral who will be looking to bounce back following two consecutive defeats.

Watch his post-fight interview here:

Natalia Silva

Natalia Silva got UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba off to a flying start with her finish over undefeated prospect Tereza Bleda. Next for Silva could be American flyweight, JJ Aldrich, who will be looking to bounce back from her submission defeat to Erin Blanchfield.

That concludes the first segment of our fights to make column, be sure to check us out in the days following UFC Orlando, aka UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland.

Let us know in the comments below what you think of our speculative matchups for the winners of UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba, and be sure to share your own thoughts on who you would like to see each fighter face next.

Vanessa Demopoulos: ‘I Wrote The Bible For Strippers’

The background of UFC strawweight prospect Vanessa Demopoulos is colorful, to say the least. With just four fights in her UFC career so far, Demopoulos has made quite the impression on fans for her fun style and personality, as well as her interesting …

The background of UFC strawweight prospect Vanessa Demopoulos is colorful, to say the least. With just four fights in her UFC career so far, Demopoulos has made quite the impression on fans for her fun style and personality, as well as her interesting backstory. After dropping a loss to JJ Aldrich in her short notice…

Continue Reading Vanessa Demopoulos: ‘I Wrote The Bible For Strippers’ at MMA News.

New Jersey Gaming Enforcement Bans James Krause Bets

New Jersey’s state gambling authority has apparently banned sportsbooks from taking action on any fights that involve former UFC fighter and current Glory MMA coach James Krause. Krause was set to corner Miles Johns at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 65 but w…

New Jersey’s state gambling authority has apparently banned sportsbooks from taking action on any fights that involve former UFC fighter and current Glory MMA coach James Krause. Krause was set to corner Miles Johns at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 65 but was told the night before the fight that he wouldn’t be allowed to attend…

Continue Reading New Jersey Gaming Enforcement Bans James Krause Bets at MMA News.

MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (11/13–11/19)

Welcome to this week’s edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase. Last week’s loaded MMA schedule had so many …

Welcome to this week’s edition of MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes of the week! Every week there’s highlight-reel finishes all across the MMA world, and we’ve found some of the absolute best ones to showcase. Last week’s loaded MMA schedule had so many incredible finishes that nothing from Bellator or a pair of ONE Championship…

Continue Reading MMA News’ Top 10 Finishes Of The Week (11/13–11/19) at MMA News.

Derrick Lewis medically cleared following UFC Vegas 65 main event cancellation

derrick lewisDerrick Lewis medically cleared just hours following main event cancellation Just minutes before the UFC Vegas 65 main card started yesterday, November 19, 2022, we were all informed that our main event between heavyweight contenders Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac had been cancelled via undisclosed medical issues on Lewis’ behalf. Color commentator Brendan Fitzgerald announced […]

derrick lewis

Derrick Lewis medically cleared just hours following main event cancellation

Just minutes before the UFC Vegas 65 main card started yesterday, November 19, 2022, we were all informed that our main event between heavyweight contenders Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac had been cancelled via undisclosed medical issues on Lewis’ behalf.

Color commentator Brendan Fitzgerald announced on the broadcast that Lewis was suffering from a ‘non-Covid, non-weight cutting issue’, and that he would not be competing in the events headliner.

Instead, light-heavyweight talents Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba took their place, moving from the co-main event to the three round main event of the evening where Nzechukwu was victorious via TKO in round two.

Derrick Lewis was reportedly hospitalized, and though he hasn’t spoken out on his fight cancellation, he was cleared and released shortly thereafter. It was later understood that Lewis was battling stomach issues in the hours leading up, thus the reason the bout was scrapped and he was hospitalized.

We’re unsure whether or not the UFC aims to keep this match up together, but we can only hope, as a lot of us fans were really looking forward to it. It was to be a good test to see where Spivac was at in his career, and it was also going to be a good test to see if Lewis is still atop the UFC’s heavyweight division.

No. 7 ranked Derrick Lewis came into the bout on a two-fight losing skid, having been defeated by no. 4 ranked Tai Tuivasa and no. 5 ranked Sergei Pavlovich, who are ironically facing one another at UFC on ESPN 42 on December 3, 2022.

No. 12 ranked Serghei Spivac on the other hand was headed into UFC Vegas 65 on a two-fight win streak, having defeated Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai over his latest two appearances.

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James Krause Pulled From UFC Vegas 65 Corner Due To Betting Investigation

Glory MMA head coach and former UFC fighter James Krause wasn’t allowed to corner at UFC Vegas 65 amidst a betting probe. Krause was supposed to corner UFC bantamweight Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 65 before getting notified by the UFC to stay away t…

Glory MMA head coach and former UFC fighter James Krause wasn’t allowed to corner at UFC Vegas 65 amidst a betting probe. Krause was supposed to corner UFC bantamweight Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 65 before getting notified by the UFC to stay away the night before, according to ESPN. Johns went on to defeat…

Continue Reading James Krause Pulled From UFC Vegas 65 Corner Due To Betting Investigation at MMA News.