This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 80, Bobby “King” Green pulled off a big upset when he knocked out Grant Dawson within the first 33 seconds of their main event bout.
Coming into the fight, Dawson made it clear that he believed a win over Green would be more valuable than a couple of wins over top 15 opponents. Unfortunately for him though, Green was up for the challenge of being the underdog and stole the headlines.
Let’s take a look at what could be next for the standout winners.
Bobby Green
The aforementioned Green never fails to entertain. After the UFC took a weeks hiatus, there were a lot of eyes on this event, and that’s when you can rely on Bobby Green to show out.
The 37-year-old was coming in off his win over the regressing Tony Ferguson, and it was seemingly a steep step-up in opponent, especially when you factor in Dawson’s skillset. “KGD” couldn’t make the wrestling advantage pay though as he quite simply didn’t have time to after Green shut his lights off after 33 seconds.
Ultimately, Green as well as everyone else knows that he won’t be causing a shake up anywhere near the top five, and the veteran seems to be content with the fact that he won’t compete for a title before his career is all said and done.
That doesn’t stop him from having several more fun fights though. After the impressive win on Saturday night, Green called the name of Dan Hooker. Of course, in typical Hooker fashion, he relished the thought of it.
Let’s boogie @BobbyKGreen 🥳
Moicano can suck it pic.twitter.com/2WLgRwvsVa
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) October 8, 2023
That fight makes complete sense for them both and should be the one that is made next.
Green’s Next Fight: Dan Hooker
Joe Pyfer
“Bodybagz” continues to impress on the big stage. Coming into this fight with Alhassan, there were a lot of people who believed this step-up came too soon and that it would be detrimental.
The 27-year-old successfully picked up his third career submission though and exhibited that he is rapidly ascending up the middleweight tree. Having said that, depending on where the UFC see his potential, he may not fight a ranked opponent for a few more fights.
Someone who sits just outside of the rankings and is on a similar time scale to Pyfer, is Brad Tavares. I feel this would be a justified step up for Pyfer, but would be a relatively even match-up.
Pyfer’s Next Fight: Brad Tavares
Joaquin Buckley
Buckley registered back-to-back wins this past Saturday with an impressive performance over the dangerous and unorthodox, Alex Morono.
Since moving down to welterweight, Buckley has looked increasingly impressive and is seemingly fighting at a far more comfortable and natural weight to him. As well as that, “New Mansa” has shown that his power has most certainly carried down with him to 170, as a few times in this fight, he rocked Morono.
The 29-year-old now needs to build on his momentum instead of going straight into a fight with another top contender. Before his fight on Saturday, Buckley mentioned how he’d like a rematch with Kevin Holland at some point as they previously fought at middleweight back in 2020. That however, should come later down the line if Buckley carries on impressing.
A fight between Joaquin Buckley and Randy Brown could sure make me excited.
Buckley’s Next Fight: Randy Brown
Drew Dober
Saturday saw the emergence of a new mythical fighter, ‘Daddy Dober.’
The 34-year-old bounced back from just his second career KO, with yet another first round finish of his own, making it seven first round finishes during his long UFC tenure.
For a few weeks now, Renato Moicano has been calling the names of Dan Hooker and Bobby Green, but now with them two looking like they want to fight each other, Moicano is without a dance partner.
Can you imagine a scrap between Moicano and Dober? I don’t want to just imagine it, I want it.
Dober’s Next Fight: Renato Moicano
Bill Algeo
“Senor Perfecto” picked up his most impressive performance thus far, with a win over Alexander Hernandez.
Algeo is now 4-1 in his last five fights, and with his extremely fun style, there are a multitude of fights that could be very fun. The one I like the thought of most though, is the battle of the Bill’s. Bill Algeo vs Bill(y) Quarantillo.
Quarantillo is a popular name amongst fans, and winning in his last outing against Damon Jackson, he has recaptured a bit of the momentum lost in the Barboza loss. The fight would be utter fireworks. Plus, Billy Q already responded and said he’s game.
Algeo’s Next Fight: Billy Quarantillo
