Top talents at bantamweight clashed at UFC Las Vegas looking for a shot at gold, Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili topped a stacked card. It inevitably produced some outstanding performances. Here we look at what is next for the top performers from Saturday night.
Bruno Silva
Brazillian flyweight Bruno Silva has fought a few ranked flyweights but has not quite managed to get the victory, after a rocky start to his UFC tenure he had recently found form with back-to-back wins. Across from him was the greatly experienced Tyson Nam, himself coming into the fight off a brilliant first-round KO win. Flyweight fights always bring a fast pace and this followed the trend in a competitive first round. Moments into the second round and a lightning-fast front kick to the chin of Nam dropped him and Silva pounced on him. Overwhelming pressure from Silva created an opening to lock in a rear naked choke. Sumudaerji is always in entertaining fights and Bruno Silva can bring out the best in both.
Davey Grant
Facing elite veteran Raphael Assuncao, Davey Grant was looking for a performance that would push him towards the top 15 at bantamweight. Assuncao pushed the pace in the fight and used a grappling approach to neutralise the power of Grant. Going into the final round Grant knew he needed a finish for the victory and when he had a point deduction for a fence grab it was truly all or nothing for the man from Durham. With under a minute, remaining Assuncao seemed comfortable taunting the Brit, a violent spinning back fist corrected that attitude as it dropped him to the canvas. Raining down shots desperate for the finish Grant was lifted aloft by Assuncao and a remarkable reverse triangle was locked in from Grant in what will almost certainly be a submission of the year.
The depth of talent at bantamweight was on show throughout the card. For Grant, Assuncao’s original opponent Kyler Phillips is a logical next step. However, if he jumps onto the card next weekend in London no one will complain.
Vitor Petrino
Opening the main card the undefeated debutant was in a fantastic position to breakout into the spotlight. He took on Anton Turkalj who was making his second appearance in the UFC. Bad blood boiled before the fight and the bout caught fire immediately with both men trading heavy shots. It didn’t stop in the first and continued throughout both having their moments in the fight. Earning the fight of the night bonus both men can be proud of their battle however it was Petrino who walked away victorious via unanimous decision. With a record of just 8-0 next for Petrino could be against a more experienced light heavyweight. Marcin Prachnio is coming off a win earlier this year in a fight to forget against William Knight, a Vitor Petrino fight would for sure bring more fireworks.
Mario Bautista
Coming into the octagon on a three-fight win streak Mario Bautista was in great form ahead of his fight with veteran Guido Cannetti. Bautista was the biggest favourite on the card and made short and sweet work of the vet. He led with a grappling-heavy plan, the finish began with a superb suplex into a rear naked choke. A short night at the office for the Nevada-born bantamweight, earlier in the night Victor Henry picked up a close split decision win, he would be a great test for Bautista before he looks to break into the rankings.
Jonathan Martinez
Jonathan Martinez had the toughest test of his career facing surging ranked bantamweight Said Nurmagomedov. The legendary name holds much weight in the sport and Said with a record of 17-2 was continuing its legacy, however, Martinez put in a monstrous performance to halt the win streak and potentially break into the top 15 himself. Martinez provided a very stern test for Nurmagomedov both men competed in all areas of the fight whether it was striking or grappling in a fight where many believed a statement would be made by the Russian. In a highly competitive affair, the judges scored it unanimously 29-28 for Martinez not everyone saw it that way, fellow bantamweight Javid Basharat instantaneously called out Martinez on Twitter asking for the fight. As Basharat is searching to break into the rankings the potential fight with Martinez makes great sense.
Nikita Krylov
Ever-present light heavyweight Nikita Krylov faced Ryan Spann who has risen through the rankings in recent times. The bout originally scheduled for 2 weeks prior took place at catchweight due to previous issues causing the fight to be cancelled. Both coming into the fight with back-to-back wins and numerous first-round finishes between them it was bound to explode in the very first exchanges and it did so. Back and forth momentum swayed before Spann made a mistake and Krylov capitalised swiftly. He locked in a tight triangle choke in the very first round earning his 30th career win. Krylov was very gracious in his victory and did not call a name. He could look to avenge his defeats to either Magomed Ankalaev or Jan Blachowicz but Alexsandar Rakic will be looking for a top contender to comeback against and Krylov is a perfect match.
Alexander Volkov
Alexander ‘Drago’ Volkov has been a staple at heavyweight since signing with the UFC in 2016. His opponent the Moldovan Alexandr Romanov burst into the UFC in 2020 and had been climbing the rankings ever since. In his last fight against Marcin Tybura he fell short so looked to bounce back against the vastly experienced Volkov. The Russsian was also coming off a victory against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Volkov has seen all shapes sizes and styles at heavyweight, he was immediately defending a takedown from Romanov which he succeeded with. The tide turned quickly and in a matter of moments, Volkov had Romanov covering up from a barrage of punches. A first-round finish for Volkov in a very impressive fashion. Next up for Volkov could be another rising Moldovan in Serghei Spivac, he is on a three-fight finish streak and submitted Derrick Lewis earlier this year in a breakout performance.
Merab Dvalishvili
Headlining his first event in his eleventh UFC bout Merab Dvalishvili looked to defeat former champion, Petr Yan. Since losing his belt via disqualification to current champion Aljamain Sterling, Yan has not regained his form which took him to the gold in 2020. Back-to-back close split decision losses for Yan had left a sour taste in the mouth of the champion and he looked to make a statement against a teammate of the champion. Dvalishvili came into the main event after defeating and retiring the legend Jose Aldo, this was an opportunity to put his name in the hat for title contention and he did just that.
Known for his extraordinary pace Merab Dvalishvili started naturally at 100 mph which Yan could not compete with. Mixing in takedown attempts with constant striking Merab was putting on an astounding display and Yan could not keep up at all. Even into the championship rounds, he continued the onslaught and when the final buzzer went a new record for takedown attempts had been set with 49 across the 25 minutes. After such a magnificent display most would call for a title shot, however, there are complications for Merab as his teammate is the current champion. He refuses to face him and will ideally wait for him to move up a division. Now with Sterling booked to fight Henry Cejudo in May and Sean O’Malley lined up for the winner Merab could be waiting on the sidelines for some time if Sterling wins both of those.
On March 25th Merab Dvalishvili could find his next opponent as top bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen collide in San Antonio.
what would you like to see next for the big winners at UFC Las Vegas?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
