UFC Vegas 92 saw Lerone Murphy announce his arrival as a contender at 145lbs care of a dominant decision win over longtime vet Edson Barboza. Along with Murphy, fighters like Khaos Williams and Angela Hill found success on the main card. Here’s a glance at what could be next for the night’s big winners.
Lerone Murphy
Manchester’s Lerone Murphy earned by far the biggest win of his MMA career when he battered legendary striker Edson Barboza for the better part of five rounds in the UFC Vegas 92 main event. He will now very likely enter the top fifteen at featherweight as an undefeated, 14-0-1 fighter. Like Ilia Topuria before him, being undefeated will open a host of doors for Murphy.
Ahead of him lie many talented fighters. Notably, Bryce Mitchell and Calvin Kattar are coming off of losses, making them good candidates for fighting down in the ranks. It depends if the UFC wants to book a fun fight, or test Murphy’s skill level, as his anti-wrestling ability is still largely unknown at this time. We all want to see wars, but for someone to be a true contender they have to be able to win against all styles, so Mitchell’s grapple-heavy attack is what Lerone should face next.
Murphy’s Next Fight: Bryce Mitchell
Khaos Williams
One of the hardest hitting 170-lbers in the UFC got his fourth knockout in the promotion on Saturday, putting away Carlston Harris in the first round. It is not quite yet time for Khaos to enter the rankings, but with a two-fight winning streak he is maybe one win away now.
He should be fighting someone else on the verge of being ranked, and what better opponent than Michael Morales? Morales is the hottest unranked talent at welterweight with his shiny 16-0 record. The Ecuadorian is young, hungry, and well-rounded, but Khaos would be his toughest opponent yet.
Williams’ Next Fight: Michael Morales
Themba Gorimbo
Although the fight was not the most exciting, Themba Gorimbo showed his continued growth by outwrestling submission specialist Ramiz Brahimaj the other day. Brahimaj could not take down the Ugandan, and got taken down himself even. Now that he has the wrestling chops, Themba just has to put it all together, combining his striking and grappling together to greater effect.
Now on a three-fight win streak against lower end talent, it is time for a step up. Jeremiah Wells is another impressive athlete like Gorimbo, and although he has talent and some good wins, he is now on a two-fight winning streak. To prove he can hang with the sharks at welterweight, he must first reassert himself against someone like Themba, who wants to swim in the deep end himself.
Gorimbo’s Next Fight: Jeremiah Wells
Adrian Yanez
Popular bantamweight striker Adrian Yanez rebounded from his first two UFC losses with a quick night at the office, knocking out Vinicius Salvador in the opening frame. Now the Houston native can focus on fighting fellow potential contenders, with an eye on getting back into the rankings and maybe even getting revenge there on the two men who TKO’d him.
To get there, he will have to go through one of the many talented fringe-ranked bantamweights in the UFC. Guys like Raoni Barcelos, Javid Basharat, and Victor Henry would be top-15 in most other divisions, but at bantamweight they struggle to get to that tier. Raoni makes the most sense right now. The Brazilian has long been used as a gatekeeper, fighting guys like Kyler Phillips and Umar Nurmagomedov, due to his age, and he also has devastating leg kicks, the took which engineered Adrian’s last loss. If he is to be a true contender, Yanez will have to look good against Barcelos, including showing that he has learned to check leg kicks properly.
Yanez’s Next Fight: Raoni Barcelos
Angela Hill
As one of the longest-tenured women in UFC history – Hill has the second most fights (25) of any female and the most fights at strawweight (24) – it is highly impressive for Angela Hill to still be repelling rising prospects at age 39. Even more impressive is that she earned her first career submission win in this last fight at UFC Vegas 92, against a grappler in Luana Pinheiro no less. Now on a two-fight winning streak, it is time for Angela to fight a higher ranked foe.
Luana Pinheiro was ranked ninth at strawweight before the fight, and Hill will surely take over that spot now. Sitting one spot above her will be Amanda Ribas, someone who, like Hill, is known for taking on all comers. Ribas fights back and forth between flyweight and strawweight, but is 0-2 in her last two fights at FLW and won her last one in Hill’s division she may prefer to stay at 105 next. That win? It came against Luana Pinheiro. This fight makes too much sense.
Hill’s Next Fight: Amanda Ribas.
