The main event and co-main event of the night both ended in split decisions at UFC Vegas 55 this past weekend. In the main event, Ketlen Vieira did just enough to grab a decision win over Holly Holm. In comparison, Michel Pereira had a back-and-forth victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio in the co-main event. Today we will be looking into what is next for the winners of UFC Vegas 55.
Ketlen Vieira
Vieira’s win over Holm puts her on a two-fight win streak and makes her overall UFC record 7-2. Prior to her loss, Holly Holm was the second-ranked women’s bantamweight in the UFC. The champion, Julianna Pena will be fighting Amanda Nunes later this year at UFC 277. Vieira should look to get on that undercard so she can be a possible replacement in case Pena or Nunes can’t make it to the fight. Irene Aldana is currently ranked third in the UFC’s bantamweight division and she has a knockout win over Vieira in 2019. Vieira should look to book a fight against Aldana on the undercard of Pena versus Nunes in her next bout.
To be fair, she told Cageside Press on Saturday after the Holm win that she’d sit and wait — but the safe play isn’t the one to make here.
Vieira’s next fight: Irene Aldana
Michel Pereira
Michel Pereira is now on a five-fight win streak following his split decision win over Santiago Ponzinibbio on Saturday. That win should mean that Pereira will be ranked inside the top 15 of the UFC’s welterweight division. Li Jingliang is currently 1-2 in his last three fights with his only win being a TKO over Ponzinibbio. Jingliang is currently ranked 13th in the division and has a great style to match up against Pereira.
Pereira’s next fight: Li Jingliang
Chidi Njokuani
Chidi Njokuani knocked out Dusko Todorovic with a nasty elbow in the first round of their middleweight bout at UFC Vegas 55. Njokuani is now 2-0 in the UFC with both of his wins being knockouts in the first round. TUF 29 winner Bryan Battle is another up-and-coming middleweight who is 2-0 in the UFC. Battle has good striking skills but is mainly a grappler by nature. Five of his nine wins are via submission and his only professional loss was a submission loss in his second professional fight. Njokuani showed he has decent defensive grappling against Todorovic but he has a chance to better prove that against a way better grappler in Battle.
Njokuani’s next fight: Bryan Battle
Tabatha Ricci
At UFC Vegas 55, Tabatha Rucci won a unanimous decision over UFC mainstay Polyana Viana. Ricci is now 2-1 in the UFC and 7-1 overall. She is on a two-fight win streak with decision wins over Maria Oliveira and Viana. Her only professional loss was a TKO loss to Manon Fiorot in her UFC debut last year. That came up a weight class, on short notice.
Sam Hughes is 2-3 in the UFC following her win this past weekend Over Elise Reed. Hughes put on her best performance yet, and Ricci called her out after her own win. Both of these women are very young and will be looking to try and make a big name for themselves in the UFC for years to come.
Ricci’s next fight: Sam Hughes
Park Jun-Yong
Park Jun-Yong opened up the main card with a split decision win over Eryk Anders. Jun-Yong is now 4-2 in the UFC with his only losses being against Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues. All four of his UFC wins are by decision and include guys like Anders, Tafon Nchukwi, and Marc-Andre Barriault.
Joseph Holmes also won his fight at UFC Vegas 55 with a submission win over Alen Amedovski. Holmes is 1-1 in the UFC after losing his UFC debut to Jamie Pickett in January. Holmes has six of his eight professional wins by submission and both of his professional losses are by decision. A fight between Holmes and Jun-Yong would be a classic grappler versus striker match-up and would help either fighter move closer to the middleweight rankings.
Jun-Yong’s next fight: Joseph Holmes
