After a week off the UFC returned to action with a six-fight main card at UFC Vegas 91 on Saturday night.
For the first card back after UFC 300, UFC Vegas 91 boasted four finishes of the six fights on the main card. Alex Perez got the job done against Matheus Nicolau in a pivotal flyweight bout in the main event, earning his first win in years.
A couple of fighters are under some pressure after the results on Saturday so there could be some interesting matchups moving forward.
Matheus Nicolau
After previous opponent Manel Kape was forced out of the bout, Alex Perez stepped in on short notice against a top five fighter in Matheus Nicolau.
Perez was able to get the job done in round two, finishing Nicolau with a hook. Tough loss for Matheus as he has now lost two fights in a row. Nicolau has twice tried and twice failed to rematch Manel Kape after winning their first fight via split decision in March of 2021.
For the time being, Matheus should abandon that Kape rematch. Matheus should instead fight 15-2 Tagir Ulanbekov. Tagir is 4-1 in the UFC only having lost to top ranked veteran Tim Elliot in 2022 via unanimous decision.
Alex Perez was originally slated to fight Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15th before Perez was called to save the card when Kape fell out. Tagir has won two in a row, submitting Nate Maness and Cody Durden.
Ulanbekov was actually scheduled to fight Matheus for his second fight in the UFC back in 2021. But the fight would fall thru twice. Perfect fight to make.
Nicolau’s next fight: Tagir Ulanbekov
Ryan Spann
Just two fights into his UFC career, Bogdan Guskov finished Spann in the second round on Saturday night. Ryan Spann has now lost three fights in a row since stopping Dominick Reyes in the first round at the end of 2022.
Currently, there are a lot of moving parts on the outskirts of the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings. As well as a lot of fighters that are on impressive win streaks.
Spann lost to top 10 light heavyweight, Anthony Smith in a split decision just last August. Smith is fighting 11-0 Vitor Petrino, who is just breaking into the top 15, on UFC 301 at the end of the week. Giving Spann the loser of that fight doesn’t make much since at this current time.
Dustin Jacoby is slated to fight Dominick Reyes in June and even though giving Spann the loser is tempting its ultimately not the right move either. As Dominick’s most recent fight after some time away and several canceled fights was actually the fight against Spann.
The best fight to make for Ryan Spann would be a fight against Kennedy Nzechukwu. Spann is now 7-5 in the UFC and Kennedy is 6-5 with the promotion. Nzechukwu has lost two fights in a row being finished by Dustin Jacoby last year before losing a split decision to Ovince St. Preux earlier this year.
Spann’s next fight: Kennedy Nzechukwu
Ariane Lipski
Ariane entered the octagon on Saturday night on a three-fight win streak having defeated JJ Aldrich, Melissa Gatto and finishing Casey O’Neil. Lipski would lose a unanimous decision to Karine Silva who is undefeated at 4-0 in the UFC.
Lipski failed to secure the victory and now finds herself towards the bottom of the top 15 at flyweight.
Ariane should fight the loser of the upcoming Viviane Araujo vs Jasmine Jasudavicius bout on July 13th. Jasmine will be battling for Araujo’s top 10 ranking and the loser of the bout would be a good matchup for Ariane. Jasmine Jasdavicius is coming off of a third-round finish against Priscila Cachoeira who was Ariane’s most recent loss (before Saturday). And Araujo’s last win was in October of 2023 against Jennifer Maia.
Miranda Maverick would also be a solid backup if Ariane was ready to go earlier. Miranda last fought in February against Andrea Lee and before that defeated Priscila Cachoeira. Maverick also has the added bonus of currently being ranked in the Top 15.
Lipiski’s next fight: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Viviane Araujo loser or Miranda Maverick
Austen Lane
Austen Lane is winless in his UFC career so far with an 0-2, 1 NC, record with the promotion. After the loss Saturday, Lane’s now been finished twice by men with under 10 fights and has a no contest due to eye pokes against Justin Tafa, the same man to later stop him.
A two-time veteran of the Contender Series, Lane had his UFC dreams postponed by a now former UFC fighter, Gerg Hardy, back in 2018. Lane would win his second Contender Series bout in 2022 and has been struggling since then.
Caio Machado lost earlier on in the night against Don’Tale Mayes. Machado is also winless in the UFC at 0-2 and is also a Contender Series veteran. Timeline would also potentially matchup for that bout and that is the fight to make.
Lane’s next fight: Caio Machado
Jonathan Pearce
After Saturday night, Jonathan Pearce is now two tough losses removed from his remarkable five-fight win streak that lasted from 2020 to late 2022. A streak that featured finishes over Kai Kamaka III, Omar Morales and Makwan Amirkhani.
Bad luck struck Pearce, as he was injured and his scheduled fight against top ranked UFC featherweight, Bryce Mitchell, had to be cancelled.
Once he returned, Perce was ninja choked in the second round by Joanderson Brito in November of 2023. And now, Pearce lost a unanimous decision to David Onama. Pearce’s opponent missed weight before the bout and so it makes sense to throw Pearce a little bit of a bone here as he the bout could have very well have won fight of the night otherwise.
Pearce should fight the loser of the Sean Woodson and Alex Caceres bout that takes place May 11th. Pearce is now 5-3 in the UFC and was actually slated to fight Sean Woodson back in 2020 before Woodson withdrew. Woodson has not lost in five bouts, with a finish, three decisions, and a split draw to Luis Saldana in the time period. Caceres has won two of his last three only losing in his most recent bout, to Giga Chikadze via decision.
Pearce’s next fight: Sean Woodson vs Alex Caceres loser
Tim Means
40-year-old Tim Means has now lost four of his last five fights and has been finished three times. Means was brutally stopped by Uros Medic in the first round of their bout on Saturday.
Tim’s next fight in the UFC will be his 30th bout with the promotion, what better occasion to give him another equally tenured legend?
Matt Brown was last in action last May when he finished Court McGee in the first round. Brown, now 43 years old has won two of his last five fights including a split decision loss to Bryan Barberena in 2022.
It would be a rematch as the pair first met nearly nine years ago. Brown would get the victory on that night in 2015 as he submitted Means in the first round via guillotine.
It would be a fun fight to run back.
Means’ next fight: Matt Brown
