The final UFC Fight Night event of 2023, UFC Vegas 83 had originally been slated for Shanghai, China before shifting stateside. The main event saw Chris Gutierrez get his first headlining spot, only to be turned back by Song Yadong. What comes next for bantamweight Gutierrez and other main card fighters who came up short? We tackle that question now.
Chris Gutierrez
In his first main event spot, Chris Gutierrez looked a few gears behind Song Yadong in a fight where he won no rounds on the judges scorecards. To be fair, this was a massive step up in competition for a man with talent but no wins over currently-ranked bantamweight opponents. Gutierrez came in ranked fifteenth in the division and may no longer be ranked when the rankings are updated.
A win against a rising prospect on a winning streak like Montel Jackson should get Gutierrez back to where he wants to be. He will need to get through the long-limbed Jackson first in what promises to be a skillful striking squaredown, but the winner of that fight should be in line to face ranked opponents in their following bout.
Gutierrez’s Next Fight: Montel Jackson
Anthony Smith
After getting knocked out in the third round by Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC Vegas 83, Anthony Smith’s hopes at getting back to a UFC title fight in the near future were quashed. At thirty-five years old, he has a hard road ahead of him to get back to the top after going 1-3 in his last four, but Smith has long since shown himself willing to take on anyone to get where he wants to be. Accordingly, he should be willing to face the undefeated Dagestani prospect who Rountree was supposed to fight previously.
Azamat Murzakanov has shut down or finished three straight light-heavyweights in the UFC since joining, including top-fifteen ranked Dustin Jacoby. Even before the UFC he was fighting names like Andre Muniz and Guto Innocente, which perhaps gives him even more of a reason to be in the conversation for top 205-lbers and deserving of a gatekeeper-style challenge like Anthony Smith.
Smith’s Next Fight: Azamat Murzakanov
Jamie Mullarkey
The Australian Jamie Mullarkey has straddled the .500 line his whole UFC career, which is where he currently sits with five wins and five losses with the promotion. That is perfectly respectable, especially in a shark tank like lightweight, but it sets a bar as to the type of opponent which makes sense after a knockout loss to a talented fighter like Nasrat Haqparast.
Mullarkey is the archetype of fighter which is built to test prospects: durable, indominable, with energy for days and an ability to grind on foes. So it makes sense for him to test a potential star like Ignacio Bahamondes on the heels of a prospect loss. Bahamondes’ flashy kickboxing style and highlight reel knockouts give him potential if he can put it all together, but Mullarkey can test him in a way similar to, but perhaps with not as much athleticism as, what L’udovit Klein did to Ignacio in his last fight.
Mullarkey’s Next Fight: Ignacio Bahamondes
Sumudaerji
After a three fight winning streak got him into the top-fifteen at flyweight, Sumudaerji has now suffered a second straight submission loss to fall to 3-3 in the UFC. ‘The Tibetan Eagle’ moved to Team Alpha Male to round out his game but perhaps needs more time since it seemed relatively easy for Tim Elliott to take him down and choke him out. Sumudaerji was ranked eleventh coming into this fight but his current record and the wins on his resume do not inspire one to keep him in the top-fifteen.
Either way, he should fight a rising, unranked prospect next. It might be too mean to make him fight Tatsuro Taira, another grappler and perhaps the best prospect in the division, but the timelines do add up with their having fought on the same night. Alternatively, he could just fight the man he was supposed to fight before, Allan Nascimento. Or even Josh Van. Nascimento makes the most sense, as the UFC were obviously willing to book that fight before as were both fighters. Allan is a grappler as well but this is MMA and Sumudaerji will have to prove he can grapple if he wants to fight in the top end of the sport.
Sumudaerji’s Next Fight: Allan Nascimento
Jun Yong Park
Jun Yong ‘Iron Turtle’ Park lost a controversial decision to Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Andre Muniz at UFC Vegas 83. Although two judges each gave him the first and third rounds, the quirks of scoring are such that Muniz still won the split decision despite a wide deficit in strikes landed, with Muniz mainly using control as his weapon. Park was on a hot, four fight win streak before this where each fight was entertaining and he earned three finishes. As a result, this controversial loss should not set him back too much.
One rising talent at middleweight that Park could test himself against is Nursulton Ruziboev, the Uzbek fighter who entered the UFC and knocked out an undefeated prospect on short notice. With forty-five fights already on his record, there is no need to slow-play Ruziboev. He can be thrown right into battle with a tested warrior like Park and they will put on a show, with one man leaving on the verge of a potential top-fifteen spot.
Park’s Next Fight: Nursulton Ruziboev
