With Glover Teixeira set to defend his light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 next month, Saturday’s UFC Vegas 54 card afforded the main event players to insert themselves into the title picture with a statement win.
Jan Blachowicz, as a former champ, was probably just a win or two away from another shot at gold. Aleksandar Rakic represented fresh blood in the division, and his only setback had come in a controversial split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir.
The UFC Vegas 54 card had a light heavyweight co-main event as well, with Ryan Spann looking to get back in the win column against Moldova’s Ion Cutelaba. Cutelaba was undefeated in his past two fights coming into the night, with a draw against Dustin Jacoby followed by a unanimous decision win opposite Devin Clark.
Spann, for his part, was looking to return to the win column after being defeated by Anthony Smith last year. That fight had been a considerable step up in competition for the former LFA champ.
Women’s flyweight action was also in the spotlight at UFC Vegas 54, with Katlyn Chookagian standing in the way of Amanda Ribas’ ascension, while Andrea “KGB” Lee looked for a third straight win opposite Viviane Araujo.
Following the event, tune in for the UFC Vegas 54 post-fight press conference. The live stream is available above.
