The UFC had an interesting stop at the Apex this past week, with an action-packed main card providing ample finishes, and a shock, quick finish in the main event of UFC Vegas 80.
Bobby Green always had a good chance of beating upstart Grant Dawson, but few would have predicted it to come by a 33-second knockout. Dawson now needs to regroup, so let’s take a gander at what comes next for the lightweight, and others who struggled on Saturday.
Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson’s first UFC loss, against the unranked Bobby Green will necessitate that he fight down in the rankings in his next fight. There are several up-and-comers in the UFC lightweight division that he could test with his grappling-heavy skillset and try to get back on track against. Two such fighters are Esteban Ribovics and Elves Brener.
Brener and Ribovics will square off at UFC Sao Paulo in November. These two South American fighters have both been impressive in the UFC so far and the winner could earn a ranked opportunity against someone like Dawson, who presents a stylistic challenge that neither of them have yet faced.
Dawson’s Next Fight: Winner of Brener/Ribovics
Abdul Razak Alhassan
‘Judo Thunder’ lost to Joe Pyfer in UFC Vegas 80’s co-main event and has now traded losses and wins for five consecutive fights. Still, Alhassan remains an exciting fighter with serious knockout power in the middleweight division and can be comfortably placed against a lot of other explosive 185ers to create a banger. Someone like Punahele Soriano is also coming off of a loss and is also an exciting middleweight striker. Either man could win that fight and on paper it would seem to be an action-packed brawl that would likely not see the scorecards.
Alhassan’s Next Fight: Punahele Soriano
Alex Morono
Morono lost just his second fight in his last seven at UFC Vegas 80 when he ran into the best version of Joaquin Buckley that has been seen to date. Next up will be someone like Phil Rowe, who also saw a good run of form come to an end when he lost to Neil Magny earlier this year. Rowe and Morono both have striking chops, good jiu-jitsu, and somewhat of a weakness to strong wrestling, making them well-matched if they were to fight.
Morono’s Next Fight: Phil Rowe
Ricky Glenn
The cliff comes fast at lightweight and Ricky Glenn may be halfway down it after losing two straight by first-round knockout just two years after battling UFC Vegas 80 headliner Grant Dawson to a draw. At thirty-four Glenn needs to be tested to see what exactly he has left in the tank. He would be well-matched against more inexperienced UFC competition who have fewer miles on them, such as Yanal Ashmouz and his 1-1 UFC record. Ashmouz has the striking power to see if Glenn is still able to hang in the UFC.
Glenn’s Next Fight: Yanal Ashmouz
Alexander Hernandez
Hernandez’s gas tank issues seemed to be solved as he paced himself better against Bill Algeo in their featherweight scrap, but it was not enough as Algeo’s kicks and movement carried him to a clean decision victory. Still, Hernandez is 6-6 in the UFC and is always exciting so he is in little danger of losing his job. But if he ever wants to make a run he will have to start now. Assuming he stays at featherweight and looks for his first win there, Hernandez would be well-matched against Fernando Padilla, a fellow flawed but exciting striker coming off of a loss to veteran Kyle Nelson at Noche UFC.
Hernandez’s Next Fight: Fernando Padilla
