UFC Nashville was capped off by a very unexpected upset, so what’s next for the big winners?
Now that Nashville has felt the wrath of the UFC underdog, fans are already asking, “what’s next?” Being filled with plenty of rising stars, and a couple veterans, we’re going to attempt to answer just that. UFC Nashville aftermath coming your way!
Maycee Barber Wins in Flyweight Debut
Maycee Barber is on a mission to become the youngest champion in UFC history. She’s told media multiple times. Barber decided to take a career trajectory towards flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko instead of strawweight champ Rose Namajunas. After getting battered for a round by JJ Aldrich, Barber and her team made the proper adjustments and put Aldrich down in the second.
Aldrich looked fantastic in round one. Her team did their homework and found a hole in Barber’s game plan and did a good job exploiting it. She was on the wrong side of a monster of a shot that put her down.
Next for Maycee Barber: Paige VanZant, Ariane Lipski
Next for JJ Aldrich: Molly McCann, Rachael Ostovich
Luis Peña Shows Promise in Featherweight Debut
Luis Peña, AKA Violent Bob Ross, is already a fan-favorite in his short career. After his tough loss to Mike Trizano at lightweight, Peña decided to make the move down to featherweight. While he missed weight, Peña showed what problems his 6’3” wiry frame can cause.
While Steven Peterson did manage to take Peña down a few times, he was never in any kind of trouble. Peterson took shots and showed what a tough, iron-chinned competitor he is. Both fighters’ stock rose after this fight.
Next for Luis Peña: Kyle Bochniak, Mike Grundy
Next for Steven Peterson: Bryce Mitchell, Austin Arnett
Jussier Formiga and Deiveson Figueiredo Put on a Flyweight Show
Jussier Formiga has made a statement for UFC flyweight champ, Henry Cejudo. He is a legit contender. He deserves a shot. While Cejudo is off chasing a second belt, abandoning a division he set out to save, the division goes on. Formiga dominated Figueiredo all night and took home an easy decision. Formiga deserves a shot. Give it to him, champ.
Next for Jussier Formiga: Henry Cejudo Title Shot, Joseph Benividez
Next for Deiveson Figueiredo: Ray Borg/Kyler Phillips Winner, Dustin Ortiz
Curtis Blaydes is Really Good at Wrestling. Like, REALLY Good.
The biggest one-sided ass-whooping came from the big boys. Curtis Blaydes was calm, cool and collected ahead of his fight with Justin Willis, despite Willis’ continuous taunts. Blaydes systematically destroyed Willis, breaking his spirit and proving there are levels to this game. Blaydes also showed great mental fortitude with the rebound to the loss of Francis Ngannou his last outing.
Not much can be said of Willis. He didn’t have much output in the fight. Willis still has plenty to offer for the UFC, though. With wins over Chase Sherman and Mark Hunt, he still shows promise to put on shows for us fans in the future.
Next for Curtis Blaydes: Junior dos Santos, Stipe Miocic
Next for Justin Willis: Cain Velasquez, Ben Rothwell
Anthony Pettis Solves the Unsolvable Puzzle and Knocks Out Wonderboy
Holy. Crap. Most fans counted out former champ Anthony Pettis. In his welterweight debut in the UFC, he picked a tough task, Stephen Thompson, the karate prodigy. Wonderboy has over 80 career fights (through all martial arts) and has never been knocked out. That’s how improbable Anthony Pettis crazy superman KO of Thompson was.
Earlier in the first round, Thompson looked fantastic, chipping away at Pettis. Bloodying his nose, Pettis had a hard time finding his range. With five seconds to go in the second round, BOOM, down goes Wonderboy. It truly was a jaw-dropping moment and is the reason we don’t just talk about the fights, we actually have them.
Thompson had talked about the effects of weight cuts in the hospital post fight. That is leading people to believe he might make the move up to 185 given he has a win over current champ Robert Whittaker.
Next for Anthony Pettis: Rafael Dos Anjos/Kevin Lee Winner, Justin Gaethje/Edson Barboza Winner
Next for Stephen Thompson: Robbie Lawler, Jorge Masvidal
