Marlon Vera and Rob Font won Fight of the Night honors for their main event bout at UFC Vegas 53. Vera dropped Font multiple times and was able to get a decision win, in a bantamweight classic. Today we will be looking into what is next for the losers of UFC Vegas 53.
Rob Font
This loss puts Rob Font on a two-fight losing streak, and he is in need of a win in his next fight. Song Yadong is a great counter-striker ranked number nine in the bantamweight division. Yadong is currently on a three-fight winning streak and a win over him would help Font keep his his position in the bantamweight division. Lot’s of recovery time for Font first though.
Font’s next fight: Song Yadong
Jake Collier
Jake Collier lost a controversial split decision this past weekend against Andrei Arlovski. One of the judges gave Collier all three rounds and the other two judges said he lost two rounds to one. Collier is 2-3 since making his move to heavyweight back in 2020. He has scored a submission win over Chase Sherman and a decision win over Gian Villante in that time. Collier has a good chin and underrated striking. In his next fight, Collier should fight Chris Barnett.
Barnett is 1-2 in the UFC and is an exciting striker in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Barnett is a shorter heavyweight just like Collier and has shown over his 30-fight professional career that he has knockout power and good takedown defense.
Collier’s next fight: Chris Barnett
Andre Fili
Joanderson Brito knocked Andri Fili out in the first round at UFC Vegas 53. Fili is now 1-3-1 since 2020 with his only win being a split decision win over Charles Jourdain in June of 2020. He is a veteran of the UFC making his debut at UFC 166 in 2013 but he is in desperate need of a win to stay with the company. Fili is a great striker but just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time by Brito this past weekend. In his next fight, he should be fighting a good striker that will help him put on a Fight of the Night type of performance.
That man might just be Tristan Connelly. Connelly’s fight with Darren Elkins was an easy close second in the Fight of the Night running at UFC Vegas 53. He is tough as nails and has a brawler fighting style and would match up perfectly with Andre Fili.
Fili’s next fight: Tristan Connelly
Tristan Connelly
Well, this one’s obvious. See above!
Jared Gordon
Jared Gordon got submitted in the third round of his bout with Grant Dawson this past weekend. Gordon looked good up until the time of the submission landing some good shots on Dawson early in the fight. Gordon is now 6-3 in the UFC but he is 3-1 in the past two years. He is a brown belt in jiujitsu and has a very good chin.
In his next fight, Gordon should fight someone like Vinc Pichel. Pichel is a black belt in jiujitsu and has knocked out his opponent in eight of his 14 wins. He is 7-3 in the UFC and he is 3-1 in the past three years. A striking bout between Pichel and Gordon would easily be a possible fight of the night.
Gordon’s next fight: Vinc Pichel
Gerald Meerschaert
GM3 lost a decision to Krzysztof Jotko to open up the UFC Vegas 53 main card. Meerschaert had a three-fight win streak snapped in the loss, his first since running into Khamzat Chimaev in September 2020.
Meerschaert 49-fight veteran, so his next fight will be a big one. It might be interesting to see him run it back with Ian Heinisch, but that probably won’t happen. Instead, what about Welsh middleweight Jack Marshman? He’s looking for a win, and depending on when Meerschaert wants to go again, this could land on the UFC London card in July.
