UFC Vegas 68 was a long night for fight fans, at least those on the east coast. The main event was a big night for Serghei Spivac, but the card overall felt like a bit of an afterthought.
That said, Spivac and a handful of other fighters put on some solid performances. Here’s a look at what comes next for them.
Serghei Spivac
Spivac progressed to 7-3 in the UFC and got his third win in a row with his biggest one to date as he stopped Derrick Lewis in the first round. His resume is impressive but he has previously faltered when facing the upper echelon of heavyweights – but not this time. He has earned another top 10 fight, someone like the winner of Alexander Volkov versus Alexandr Romanov, seeing as the winner will likely be right next to him in the rankings. Spivac is only one or two wins from a title shot, so his career definitely bears watching at this point.
Spivac’s Next Fight: Winner of Alexander Volkov vs. Alexandr Romanov
Devin Clark
Devin Clark carried himself to an upset decision victory over Da Un Jung in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 68. By this time his 8-7 record has turned him into one of the veterans of the division. He deserves to fight another tenured fighter, who is coming off of a win, and is also at the edge of the top-15 rankings. One such fighter is Kennedy Nzechukwu, who is in good form at the moment, having won his last two fights by knockout. The two would have an entertaining fight and the winner would be poised to break into the rankings at 205-lbs.
Clark’s Next Fight: Kennedy Nzechukwu
Marcin Tybura
Tybura, the tenth ranked heavyweight in the UFC, won a comfortable decision over number fifteen, Blagoy Ivanov, on Saturday night in Las Vegas. ‘Tybur’ outstruck and outwrestled the old, tough war-horse through fifteen minutes and will now be matched with a top-15 opponent again. He has already fought a good deal of those men, but one new face in the division is Chris Daukaus. Chris was a main event fighter by the time he lost in the UFC for the first time, so despite his losing streak he still has some standing in the promotion. He has been knocked out a few times lately so a fighter like Tybura who presents a new challenge which he has hardly had to face, wrestling, would be a great opponent. Daukaus has hinted at moving down in weight, but nothing is official. A win would put Tybura back into the HW top-10.
Tybura’s Next Fight: Chris Daukaus
Doo Ho Choi
A controversial point deduction turned what would have been a unanimous win for ‘Korean Superboy’ into a majority draw on Saturday night. Still, it was good to see the fan favorite get back into the cage after four long years and put on a solid performance. Seeing as the UFC brass thought he should have won the fight, I’m sure he will be match-made as such. With that in mind, the best option for his return fight would be someone like Luis Saldana, who is 2-1-1 in the UFC. Saldaña is a good test to see if he can progress after so long away from the sport and get back to something like the fighter he was during the time of his legendary fight with Cub Swanson.
Choi’s Next Fight: Luis Saldaña
Kyle Nelson
If Dooho Choi had not received the aforementioned controversial point deduction then Kyle Nelson would have lost. Nelson was 1-4 coming into this fight and it’s probably safe to say this was his last with the promotion unless he can put together a string of wins outside the UFC. If he sticks around, a lower profile fight, maybe a DWCS newcomer, could be in order.
Nelson’s Next Fight: Outside of UFC/newcomer
Adam Fugitt
The main card to UFC Vegas 68 started with a massive upset as Adam Fugitt proved all the doubters wrong by beating DWCS standout Yusaku Kinoshita by first round TKO. Fugitt recovered from a UFC debut loss to undefeated phenom Michael Morales, which is nothing to be ashamed of. Another relative UFC newcomer who would be a good test for the budding Fugitt is Ange Loosa. Loosa had one of the best fights in DWCS history and although he lost, it was impressive enough to earn him a second look and a fight against Mounir Lazzez. He lost that, but then beat fellow DWCS alum AJ Fletcher, so he finds himself in a similar situation as Fugitt. Their matchup would be interesting and entertaining most likely.
Fugitt’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa
