Rob Font won a unanimous decision over Cody Garbrandt this past weekend at UFC Vegas 27. In the co-main event, Carla Esparza defeated Yan Xiaonan via TKO in the second round. Today we will be looking into what is next for the losers of UFC Vegas 27.
Cody Garbarndt
Cody Garbrandt is now 1-4 in his last five fights with his loss on Saturday night. He has tested a drop in weight class for some time now and now might just be the perfect time to do it. The flyweight division does not have a lot of contenders at the top of the weight class at the moment, meaning Garbrandt will likely get a number one contender fight in his first fight in the division. Brandon Moreno is going to be fighting champion, Deiveson Figueiredo in the near future. That leaves Askar Askarov in the perfect position to welcome Garbrandt to the flyweight division.
Garbrandt’s next fight: Askar Askarov
Yan Xiaonan
Xiaonan suffered her first loss in the octagon at UFC Vegas 27. Prior to this loss, she had beaten women like Angela Hill, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Claudia Gadelha. Carla Esparza is now likely in line to get the next title shot in the strawweight division. So it would be great for Xiaonan to fight Zhang Weili in the meantime. Weili is coming off a loss to the champion Rose Namajunas and will likely need to win another fight before getting a rematch.
Xiaonan’s next fight: Zhang Weili
Justin Tafa & Felicia Spencer
Justin Tafa lost a decision to Jared Vanderaa this past weekend. In an extremely bloody fight that ended up winning Fight of the Night honors. This loss makes Tafa 1-3 in the UFC and his overall professional record is only 4-3. He will likely be getting cut from the UFC before his next fight, unless that bonus win saves him.
Felicia Spencer was also on the wrong end of a decision this past weekend as she lost to Norma Dumont. She is in a similar situation as Tafa as she is 2-3 in the UFC, with an overall record of 8-3. Given how thin (read: non-existent) the featherweight division is, she could very well be on the chopping block as well. If not, maybe keep the fight with Danyelle Wolf intact — but that will likely go to Dumont now.
Bill Algeo & Edmen Shahbazyan
Bill Algeo and Edmen Shahbazyan both lost decisions at UFC Vegas 27. Algeo lost to Ricardo Ramos and Shahbazyan lost to Jack Hermansson. Algeo will likely fight someone like Kai Kamaka III in his next fight. Kamka, like Algeo, is 1-2 in the UFC. Both men are fairly young and new to the UFC.
Algeo’s next fight: Kai Kamaka III
Edmen Shahbazyan is 0-2 in his last two fights but has an overall UFC record of 4-2. He was undefeated before losing his last two fights and should definitely get another shot to prove he belongs in the UFC. In his next fight, he should fight Karl Roberson. Roberson is 4-4 in the UFC with all four of his losses being by submission. He also has experience fighting professional kickboxing. Therefore, he would be a great match-up for Shahbazyan’s style.
Shahbazyan’s next fight: Karl Roberson
