A few fighters racked up huge wins at UFC Vegas 6, so who’s next for the night’s biggest winners?
In the main event of UFC Vegas 6, Derrick Lewis finished Aleksei Oleinik in the second round via TKO. Chris Weidman got back in the win column with a decision win over Omari Akhmedov. Today we will be looking at what’s next for the winners of UFC Vegas 6.
Derrick Lewis
Lewis looked extremely impressive on the feet in his victory over Oleinik on Saturday. He also impressed fans with his ground game. Lewis got caught in a choke several times in the first round but was able to defend and make it to the second round. Before the fight, Lewis mentioned that he would like to fight either Curtis Blaydes or Alistair Overeem following the Oleinik fight. Blaydes was quick to jump on social media and call out Lewis late Saturday night. Although Lewis has shown improvements in his grappling, a more fan-friendly fight would be Lewis vs. Overeem.
Derrick Lewis’ next fight: Alistair Overeem
Chris Weidman
Chris Weidman looked like a brand new fighter in the first round of his fight with Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6. In the second, he started to slow down, though, and Akhmedov was able to win the round. Weidman wisely took Akhmedov down early in the third and was able to grapple his way to a decision victory. Although Akhmedov was on a winning streak, it seems that Weidman’s victory on Saturday won’t do much for his spot in the rankings. We could seem him break into the top 15, but he will likely not crack the top ten. There are plenty of options for him in his next fight. After his fight, he was already being called out by 14th-ranked Marvin Vettori. Fights with Brad Tavares and Ian Heinisch also seem very appealing.
Stylistically the best option for Weidman would be Ian Heinisch. Vettori seems like a younger and hungrier version of Weidman, and out of Heinisch and Tavares, Weidman should look to fight the guy with less grappling experience. Which in this case would be Heinisch.
Chris Weidman’s next fight: Ian Heinisch
Darren Stewart
A very emotional Darren Stewart won via submission in the first round against Maki Pitolo on Saturday. Stewart dedicated the fight to his late teammate Jahreau Shepherd, who was fatally stabbed about a month before his fight. Stewart looked phenomenal in his win and even said he is contemplating staying in Vegas to fight again before the UFC heads back to Fight Island. If he does want a quick turnaround, it would be great to see him fight up-and-coming star, Khamzat Chimaev. Dana White said that he was looking to get Chimaev a fight within the next few weeks. Which works perfectly for Stewart’s timeline if he wants to stay in Vegas.
Stewart’s next fight: Khamzat Chimaev
Yana Kunitskaya
Yana Kunitskaya won a unanimous decision over Julija Stoliarenko at UFC Vegas 6. Coming into the fight, Kunitskaya was ranked eighth in the women’s bantamweight division. A win over a woman making her UFC return shouldn’t push her too far in the rankings, but she should definitely get a step up in competition in her next fight. With that being said, it could be worth it to see her fight the winner of Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana, which could possibly happen in October. A fight with the winner could be considered a number-one contender fight or an interim title fight if Amanda Nunes still isn’t ready to fight.
Yana Kunitskaya’s next fight: Winner of Holm-Aldana
Beneil Dariush
Beneil Dariush’s performance Saturday night was a little bit overlooked because of the fact that he missed weight by two pounds. He knocked out Scott Holtzman, pushing his winning streak up to five. With four out of those five fights being finishes. Dariush undoubtedly deserves a top 15 opponent in his next fight. Maybe a rematch with Drew Dober, or possibly a fight with up and comer Islam Makhachev. Makhachev is 7-1 in the UFC and is currently on a six-fight winning streak. A fight between Makhachev and Dariush would be the perfect test to decide which fighter is more ready for the top of the division.
Beneil Dariush’s next fight: Islam Makhachev
Who would you like these fighters to fight next? Let us know in the comments down below.
