Paul Felder saved the night at UFC Vegas 14 by stepping in on five days’ notice to fight Rafael Dos Anjos. Dos Anjos was able to score the victory on Saturday night, but Felder made sure everyone knew he wasn’t done just yet. He announced that he still has a lot of fight left in him and he will be back. Today we will be looking into what is next for the losers of UFC Vegas 14.
Paul Felder
This loss to RDA puts Felder on a two-fight skid. Felder is one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division and should be looking to get back into the win column soon. Felder could possibly look at Islam Makhachev for his next fight. Makhachev was supposed to fight RDA this past weekend but was forced to withdraw from the fight. When Makhachev is ready he should be fighting a top ten fighter and that fighter should be Felder, given RDA is likely to move on to other things.
Felder’s next fight: Islam Makhachev
Abdul Razak Alhassan
Abdul Razak Alhassan was knocked out cold this past Saturday by Khaos Williams. It was truly a shock knockout and Alhassan even had some bright spots in the fight before being knocked out. Alhassan is now 0-2 since returning after his two-year layoff. He should still be looked at as a promising prospect though. He is currently 10-3 with all ten of his wins by knockout. Alhassan has also missed weight in his last two fights which could play some role in the outcome of those fights. Some have called for him to move to middleweight, but standing at 5’10” he would probably be severely undersized at 185lbs.
If he does manage to get his weight cut under control, Max Griffin would be a perfect next fight for him. Griffin is known for his counter striking. He finished Ramiz Brahimaj just two weeks ago via doctor stoppage. A stoppage that came after Griffin picked away at him for three rounds. A striking match between Alhassan and Griffin would be great to see regardless of the outcome.
Alhassan’s next fight: Max Griffin
Ashley Yoder
Ashley Yoder was able to win a unanimous decision over Miranda Granger at UFC Vegas 14. She should be looking to make her move into the top 15 by fighting the loser of Virna Jandiroba versus Mackenzie Dern in her next fight. Both Jandiroba and Dern have amazing jiu-jitsu and are ranked toward the back half of the top 15. Yoder has a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu so it would be great to see her challenge Jandiroba or even have a rematch with Dern. Yoder originally lost to Dern via split decision at UFC 222 in 2018.
Yoder’s next fight: Loser of Dern-Jandiroba
Brendan Allen
Brendan Allen was knocked out in the second round at UFC Vegas 14 by Sean Strickland. This is Allen’s only loss of his UFC career, with prior wins over Kevin Holland, Tom Breese, and Kyle Daukaus. Allen was climbing his way into the top 15 before this loss. So it is likely that he tries to get a quick turn around to get that bad taste out of his mouth. Joaquin Buckley will be fighting this weekend against Jordan Wright. Buckley is 11-3 while Wright is 11-0. Either man makes for a great challenge to Allen. Buckley is coming off a knockout of the year candidate so he has hype surrounding him already. If Wright beats Buckley he will likely steal his hype. Either way, the winner of this fight makes for a great opportunity for Allen who is coming off a loss.
Allen’s next fight: Winner of Buckley-Wright
Kay Hansen
Kay Hansen lost a decision to Cory Mckenna this past weekend. Both women combine for the youngest female duo to fight in the UFC, both being 21 years old. Hansen has finished six of her seven career wins and has never been submitted. Loma Lookboonmee is a great striker who is coming off a decision win over Jinh Yu Frey. Frey is also Hansen’s last win. Lookboonmee would be a great stylistic matchup for Hansen. Lookboonmee is a great striker but has zero wins by submission. One of her two losses also come by submission. While Hansen did lose to Cory McKenna, who would also be an interesting match for the Thai fighter, there’s an argument to have Hansen get at least a sideways move, as she looked very good even in the loss at UFC Vegas 14.
Hansen’s next fight: Loma Lookboonmee
