The UFC returned to San Diego this past weekend for the first time in seven years as the old guard took on the new in the featured main event of the evening.
As well as the main event, the UFC San Diego co-main delivered everything you could’ve hoped for as a fight fan, resulting in an all out war. With that being said, let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners of the night.
Marlon Vera
“Chito” Vera once again put in a claim for the nickname ‘the legend killer.’ There were high stakes coming into his UFC San Diego fight between two top rated Bantamweights, and with the rest of the division tied up, it offered the chance for one of these men to separate themselves.
Dominick Cruz began the fight extremely well and implemented his extremely unique footwork and movement from the first bell. All three judges had Cruz winning the first two rounds, despite being dropped in them both. The volume striking from “The Dominator” became a staple in this fight. In round three “Chito” woke up and Cruz went to sleep. A picture perfect left high kick turned Cruz’ lights out and catapulted Vera even higher into superstardom.
With four extremely impressive wins in his last four outings, Vera is now knocking on the door for a title shot. The question now is whether Vera waits it out and see’s how the title fight between Sterling and Dillashaw plays out. The other option being to fight the winner of Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley, with the possibility of a rematch with O’Malley being something a lot of fans want to see.
Marlon Vera’s Next Fight: The winner of Yan vs O’Malley
Nate Landwehr
Wow. Nate “The Train” put on a show and won over hundreds of thousands of fans. Landwehr was taking on a young hungry lion in David Onama, a fighter that possesses serious knockout power. Going into the bout, I believed that if Onama couldn’t get it done early on then Landwehr would take over. And that’s exactly what happened. Onama connected with a huge shot early on, dropping Landwehr, however his follow up shot seemed to wake up the Clarksville native.
The three rounds that these two men put on were absolutely relentless, and Landwehr maximized his mic time by showing off his hilarious personality. Being five fights into his UFC career, Landwehr is finally maximizing his potential and showing what a warrior he is.
A man he was scheduled to fight previously is Lerone Murphy, and that’s a fight that still makes sense.
Nate Landwehr’s Next Fight: Lerone Murphy
Yazmin Jauregui
The battle of the J(I)asmins was the most under the radar fight of the weekend due to the two women being extremely young. Combining for an age of just 43, there was a reason these two women were so high up the card in what was both their debuts.
Lucindo was coming into what was her 18th professional fight at the age of just 20. Jauregui on the other-hand was making her UFC debut after conquering the Combate Global Strawweight division and only being 23-years-old herself. The two put on an absolute show, and it’s a fight I wouldn’t be surprised seeing five years down the line for UFC gold.
With her being a promotional newcomer, it’ll take a few more fights under the UFC lights for her to become a household name. For her next fight, let her take on the “Spider Girl.”
Yazmin Jauregui’s Next Fight: Maria Oliveira
Azamat Murzakanov
The Russian continued his flawless record going 12-0 with another impressive victory, this time against Devin Clark. The Contender Series alumni has finished his first two UFC bouts in the final round, showing that his skill and power carries through.
“The Professional” has been living up to his nickname, and he may have earned himself a higher ranked opponent for his next outing. Someone who is coming off the back of victory over Sam Alvey is Michal Oleksiejczuk. While a victory over the slumping Alvey isn’t going to boost one’s stock too much, it was still a solid performance. A match-up between Murzakanov and Oleksiejczuk could make sense next.
Azamat Murzakanov’s Next Fight: Michal Oleksiejczuk
Priscilla Cachoeira
Despite having to wait an extra week for this fight, Priscilla Cachoeira didn’t want to wait around for much longer, and dispatched of Ariane Lipski within the first round at UFC San Diego. After getting involved in a slugfest, Lipski could no longer take the barrage of punches coming her way and shelled up on the ground.
Cachoeira has put together two wins in a row, and will now be looking to make it three on the bounce in her next outing, something she hasn’t managed to do since 2017. Another women who has recently scored an impressive victory is Joselyne Edwards. That’s a match-up we may see next.
Priscilla Cachoeira’s Next Fight: Joselyne Edwards
Gerald Meerschaert
“GM3” scored an extremely impressive win in what marked his 50th professional bout, and 17th UFC appearance. Meerschaert’s last seven wins have all came by way of submission, making him extremely dangerous to go to the ground with. He rocked Silva with a beautiful left straight, and then subsequently synched the neck of Silva making him tap.
Despite coming off a loss to Buckley, a bout with Albert Duraev could be a good match-up for Gerald Meerschaert next.
Gerald Meerschaert’s Next Fight: Albert Duraev
