UFC 282 ended with some major drama on Saturday night. In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blahowicz ended their contest in a split draw. The co-main event also ended in some drama as many people thought Jared Gordon won a decision. The fans were in shock when the decision was read as Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision. Today we will be looking into what is next for the losers of UFC 282.
Main Event
The main event this past weekend was supposed to be for the vacant light heavyweight title. Since the fight ended in a draw, nobody won the title and it is still up for grabs. At the post fight interview, Dana White said that he booked a fight between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill in January for the vacant title.
Jared Gordon
After his loss this past weekend, Gordon is 6-5 in the UFC and is in desperate need of a win. Dana White was vocal after Gordon’s fight saying “Gordon had a bad game plan going into the third round.” That was referring to Gordon taking Pimblett down in the third round to try and win a decision.
Gordon is always in exciting fights and has a very likeable backstory that the UFC would probably look to keep on the roster. And he has a lot of support from fans after this “loss.” On the flip side, it’s never fun when the boss throws you under the bus, as White did.
Vinc Pichel would be a perfect opponent for Gordon in his next fight. Gordon needs a win in his next fight and Pichel has struggled in the past with strong wrestlers. Jared Gordon is known to be tough and have good striking but also has great grappling to fall back on if he needs it. Pichel is 7-3 in the UFC which means a win over Pichel would immediately demand the respect that Gordon deserves.
Gordon’s next fight: Vinc Pichel
Darren Till
Darren Till was submitted by Dricus du Plessis in the third round at UFC 282. Till has been working a lot on his grappling but still in this fight he was taken down and that was eventually what led to his downfall in this fight.
Till started his UFC career 5-0-1 which earned him a welterweight title shot. Since his title shot he is 1-5 only beating Kelvin Gastelum by split decision. It is very likely that Till will now take some time off — he said as much following this latest setback. It’s not unthinkable that the UFC decides to not offer him another fight and we see Till fighting in Bellator or the PFL instead for his next fight.
There’s also the question of whether middleweight is right for the ex-welterweight title challenger. There’s questions about his ACL. It’s not even fair to predict a fight for Till right now, because we have no idea when he’ll be back.
Till’s next fight: extended time off
Bryce Mitchell
Bryce Mitchell was defeated for the first time in his career this past weekend with a arm triangle loss to Ilia Topuria. Topuria was able to land some big shots on the feet, hurt Mitchell and ultimately finish him on the ground. In his next fight, Mitchell should be looking to fight someone with a decent name so that he can stay popular and keep his brand moving in the right direction.
The first name that comes to mind is Steve Garcia. Garcia is coming off a big TKO win over Chase Hooper in October. Steve Garcia is a power striker that has a similar fighting style to Topuria. This would give Mitchell the chance to prove he can beat another guy with good striking, as he did with Edson Barboza but failed to do Saturday.
Mitchell’s next fight: Steve Garcia
