UFC Vegas 30 may not have had a load of big name fights, or tons of movement near the tops of the UFC rankings, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to unpack from an exciting night of fights. Today we take a look at what’s next for some who didn’t walk away with a ‘W’ on Saturday’s main card.
Alexander Volkov
Things didn’t go as planned for Volkov on Saturday night. The footwork, feints and quick hands of Cyril Gane pretty much stymied any offense he tried to impart. So what’s next for the former Bellator heavyweight champion? He’ll likely need to take a step back and fend off someone else storming up the rankings. A lot of the top of the division is already booked, so this seems like the only real option. Marcin Tybura is on a hell of a roll right now and could use a dance partner. Surprisingly, they never crossed paths in M-1 back in the day, but it seems to make all the sense in the world to do it now.
Alexander Volkov’s Next Fight: Marcin Tybura
Ovince Saint Preux
A loss to Tanner Boser this past weekend drops Ovince Saint Preux to just 1-3 in his last 4. It also drops him to an ugly 0-2 in heavyweight fights. Assuming that experiment is over, he’d have to fight a relative newcomer in his return to 205lbs. It may seem weird, but the one that makes the most sense is the man he was already booked with. Maxim Grishin is 1-2 in the UFC and I imagine they are looking to see if he is worth keeping around. It may be a loser-leaves-town match now that Saint Preux has another loss, but I say run it back.
Ovince Saint Preux’s Next Fight: Maxim Grishin
Raoni Barcelos
A long win streak comes to an end for Barcelos and in an unfortunate way. After nearly finishing Timur Valiev two or three times during the second round of their UFC Vegas 30 contest, Barcelos took his first UFC loss. The win would have likely put him in the rankings, but instead he finds himself looking to get back on the right track. Jonathan Martinez might be the right opponent for that. After a nice little streak of his own, Martinez was KO’d by Davey Grant. Their exciting striking styles could make it really fun to watch and get one back towards their ultimate goal.
Raoni Barcelos’ Next Fight: Jonathan Martinez
Nicolas Dalby
The loss at UFC Vegas 30 to Tim Means basically dropped Dalby to 2-2 since he returned to the UFC (technically one loss was overturned to a no-contest due to a positive drug test from Jesse Ronson). While he’s faced good competition, he’s yet to pull a really big win out of there. The same could be said for Lyman Good. 3-3 in his stint, Good has losses to Belal Muhammad and Demian Maia. Both could use to pick up a win over the other’s caliber. I also thing it could devolve into some pretty crazy violence on a prelim sometime in the near future.
Nicolas Dalby’s Next Fight: Lyman Good
