UFC Vegas 78 is in the books, Vicente Luque is in the win column, and a number of fighters from this past weekend’s Fight Night card need to go back to the drawing board. What comes next from the losing side of the ESPN show? Read on!
Rafael Dos Anjos
Former lightweight champion RDA has fluctuated between welterweight and lightweight in recent years ever since his hopes of regaining the belt seemed to falter. He has traded wins and losses, going 2-2 in his last four, while looking aged past his prime as well as clearly having some gas left in the tank. With his last two fights being at welterweight, it seems that Dos Anjos prefers to fight at 170-lbs and cut less weight, even if it leaves him at a size disadvantage.
There are a number of veterans at 170 who are not in immediate contention that would make fun fights for RDA. One such name is Alex Morono, who is 5-1 in his last six fights. Morono is not a punishing knockout artist, so this is a way to protect an aging veteran’s health somewhat while still putting Dos Anjos in an interesting fight against a savvy, experienced technician.
Dos Anjos’ Next Fight: Alex Morono
Hakeem Dawodu
Many viewers felt Dawodu was unlucky that the decision did not go his way after fifteen minutes of battling Cub Swanson in the UFC Vegas 78 co-main event. Regardless, the fight goes on his record as a loss, his second in a row and third in four fights. Dawodu still has potential at 145-lbs clearly, but now it’s time to fight another unranked opponent, one with a bit lower status than himself.
Melsik Baghdasaryan is one such fighter. At only 8-2 as a professional, the Armenian is relatively inexperienced but has a solid kickboxing background, much like Dawodu himself. A fight between them would appear to be an electric stand-up affair that could easily earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors on any card. Dawodu needs to right the ship, but at 6-4 still has a respectable record in the UFC, as does Baghdasaryan, who is 3-1 with the promotion.
Dawodu’s Next Fight: Melsik Baghdasaryan
Chris Daukaus
Once one of the most promising prospects at heavyweight, Chris Daukaus now finds himself on the wrong side of four straight knockouts. He moved down to light-heavyweight for his fight with Khalil Rountree, hoping to find more success, but changing weight classes did not improve his results. Daukaus is now 4-4 in the UFC and has to make a decision on which weight class to fight at. He did not appear oversized for light-heavyweight, so it could be the appropriate division for him.
Either way, he will have to fight an unranked opponent next, something he has not done in any of his last five fights. Fighters like Nicolae Negumereanu, Marcin Prachnio, and Maxim Grishin would all make sense for Daukaus next. Of those, Grishin has the worst record in recent outings at 2-3 in his last five, so he is probably the most appropriate option. As a fellow striker, Grishin would make for a fun fight against the boxing-heavy Daukaus.
Daukaus’ Next Fight: Maxim Grishin
Polyana Viana
After the knockout of a lifetime, Polyana Viana could not keep the momentum going against Iasmin Lucindo as she was choked out in the second round at UFC Vegas 78. Viana is now 4-5 in the UFC, but is also 3-2 in her last five, so there is promise there. Her next fight will be down in the rankings somewhat, against another fighter coming off a loss, like Jessica Penne. Penne has lost two in a row to bring her UFC record to 3-5, putting her in a similar spot to Viana and making them perfectly matched opponents.
Viana’s Next Fight: Jessica Penne
Tafon Nchukwi
Cameroon’s Tafon Nchukwi has now lost three fights in a row in the UFC and is 2-4 overall with the promotion. He may get another change, but not many fighters with that promotion record stick around. Nchukwi is a talented fighter, but it may be time for him to go outside the UFC and round out his game more before attempting to return to the top mixed martial arts promotion in the world.
Nchuwki’s Next Fight: Outside of UFC
Jamie Pickett
Jamie Pickett is now 2-6 in the UFC after his latest loss, his fourth in a row, and its honestly surprising he had not been cut before now. The fact that he accepted a fight against Bo Nickal may have something to do with that. However the UFC is not generally in the business of keeping fighters with three times as many losses as wins, so Pickett will have to fight outside the UFC and get a few wins if he wants to make a return to the promotion.
Pickett’s Next Fight: Outside of UFC
