UFC Vegas 47 saw the promotion back at the Apex in Las Vegas, with the middleweight division in the spotlight. It was a mixed bag of sorts: the main event featuring Sean Strickland and Jack Hermansson was anything but action-packed, the co-main a 15-minute grind between Nick Maximov and Punahele Soriano.
What comes next for the losing side of the main card? We’ll take a stab at that.
Jack Hermansson
Jack “The Joker” clearly did not want to see the world burn this past Saturday night. The UFC Vegas 47 main event was nothing to write home about, and Sean Strickland took some of the blame upon himself, but Hermansson just could not seem to get the job done. When he was able to initiate a takedown, which was rarely, he was easily rebuked. The end result was a low-action kickboxing match featuring a guy best known for his grappling.
Hermansson has been here before. That, quite frankly, is part of the problem. Hermansson vs. Strickland felt like a sequel to Hermansson vs. Vettori, which was actually a better fight — but when it comes to sequels, the law of diminishing returns applies.
At 33, Hermansson has a few years left to prove he belongs at the top of the 185lb weight class, but he’s been trading wins and losses since 2019. Well removed now from the four-fight win streak that had many thinking he was title challenger material. Next up for the Swedish fighter, how about Darren Till? The pair were supposed to fight back in December of 2020, but Till pulled out due to injury. He’s coming off a couple of losses but still carries a high profile, meaning this fight would at least rehabilitate one contender.
Hermansson’s next fight: Darren Till
Punahele Soriano
If you scored Nick Maximov vs. Punahele Soriano for Soriano, you wouldn’t be entirely off base. The first two rounds were close, in the third, Soriano’s knee gave out. Maximov took credit for that, as well he should. MMA is such a brutal sport sometimes.
The split decision, coupled with the injury, shouldn’t hurt Soriano’s stock too much, but it will require some time off most likely. When he’s ready, if the timing works, book him opposite Dusko Todorovic. Both fighters are 2-2 in the UFC. Todorovic is coming off a win over another Hawaiian, Maki Pitolo. Let’s see if Soriano can get some revenge for that.
Soriano’s next fight: Dusko Todorovic
Carlston Harris
Some observers will decry booking prospects against one another early in their runs, but there’s a certain amount of sense to the practice. For Carlston Harris, his loss Saturday to a stud in Shavkat Rakhmonov won’t hurt his stock too much, and it allows the promotion to determine which man to fast track, and which to give a slower build.
Harris should get the slow build, but the Guyanese welterweight is still 2-1 in the UFC and had been on a five-fight win streak prior to the Rakhmonov fight, dating back to his time outside the company. Next up, give him Ramiz Brahimaj. The former LFA athlete has been fighting tough opposition, but he’s also been losing on the steps up, posting a 1-2 record through three UFC fights.
Harris’ next fight: Ramiz Brahimaj
Sam Alvey
“Smile’n” Sam Alvey is known for his trademark grin, and being an incredibly gracious athlete with both media and fans. Alvey also admittedly knows what posting an 0-7-1 record in the UFC means. That the promotion kept him around through some questionable split decisions says a lot about how well-liked and loyal the man is, but as he said himself after his loss to Brendan Allen, it’s time to take a little hiatus. Take some time off, figure out where things have gone wrong.
Alvey may not be done fighting— he’s said he will fight again. For now, though, it’s simply not fair to try to book him into anything.
Alvey’s next fight: some time off
Tresean Gore
Tresean Gore showed some tight defense, and considerable power, in the unofficial TUF 29 finale at UFC Vegas 47. But against actual TUF 29 winner Bryan Battle, that wasn’t enough. Even when things got heated, Gore wasn’t hot enough to really maintain a consistent attack — though after the fight, Battle was showing plenty of damage from the times Gore did connect.
Up next? A fellow 0-1 middleweight. “Ugly Man Joe” a.k.a. Joseph Holmes dropped his first UFC fight as well. He’s 7-2 overall. Gore is 3-1, but add in his amateur and exhibition fights, and it’s about the commensurate amount of experience (though Holmes had an amateur run himself).
Gore’s next fight: Joseph Holmes
Steven Peterson
It is just incredibly heartbreaking to see Steven “Ocho” Peterson put on the sort of performance he did on Saturday against Julian Erosa, only to lose in just about every way possible. In what was a dark horse candidate for Fight of the Year, and which did win Fight of the Night, Peterson missed weight. He also lost the fight on the scorecards. No win bonus. No Fight of the Night bonus — since he missed weight, Erosa gets what would have been Peterson’s $50,000 bonus check. And he gives up a percentage of his show money to Erosa.
That hurts. No one knows that more than “Ocho” right now, who is as tough and game as they come. Problem is, he’s missed weight for two straight fights. That may be the signal to move up a weight class and test the waters at 155.
For now, lightweight remains a “what if?” scenario. Of course, all of this fantasy matchmaking stuff is a “what if?” Still, if he’s sticking with 145, perhaps a fight with Andre Ewell, who returned to featherweight in December but came up short against Charles Jourdain.
Peterson’s next fight: Andre Ewell
