Tatsuro Taira picked up a key win over a former title challenger in Alex Perez, though it came due to injury off a rarely-seen body triangle takedown. Miles Johns found success in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 93- here’s what could be next for those two, and some of the night’s other big winners.
Tatsuro Taira
By beating former title challenger Alex Perez, Taira propels himself into the top echelon at 126-lbs at only twenty-four years old. With a six fight winning streak, he is perhaps just one more win away from a title shot.
Several other fighters are in that position. Muhammad Mokaev is already booked against Manel Kape. Amir Albazi is the other top ranked contender on a winning streak. Taira should be ready by the time Albazi is back from his injury, so this matchup between grapplers with well-round skillsets makes sense for a title eliminator.
Taira’s Next Fight: Amir Albazi
Miles Johns
Beating Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Vegas 93 improved Johns’ record to 6-2 (1NC) in the UFC. Now having won three of his last four, he is in position for what I like to call a “rankings eliminator,” a fight that is like a title eliminator, but for a chance to get into the rankings, not a title shot.
Aiemann Zahabi is in a similar position to Miles, having not lost in his last four bouts. Both are well-rounded fighters who may go somewhat under the radar in a deep division like bantamweight. The winner would be deserving of a fight against a ranked opponent, and would be already, in fact, if not for the aforementioned depth of the division.
Johns’ Next Fight: Aiemann Zahabi
Lucas Almeida
Lucas Almeida put on one of his career-best showings in his first ever decision victory, which came over prospect Timothy Cuamba at UFC Vegas 93. He now moves to 2-2 in the UFC and has any number of matchups available to him in a wide open featherweight division. Jamall Emmers is one good option, a fighter who lost his last fight but has almost twice as many UFC fights as Almeida. The primary appeal of Emmers, is that he is a fellow striker would would bring a fun fight out of Almeida.
Almeida’s Next Fight: Jamall Emmers
Brady Heistand
After losing on the finale of his season of The Ultimate Fighter, Brady Heistand has had a much more successful career than the season’s champion, Ricky Turcios, by winning all three of his fights since. The bantamweight fight is, again, the deepest in the UFC, so options abound.
One interesting one is a fighter similar to Brady, a wrestler/grappler with a scrappy striking style: Sergey Morozov. Morozov is on a two-fight winning streak but has not fought since 2022. If he is ready to return to the octagon, he would be a perfect opponent for Heistand.
Heistand’s Next Fight: Sergey Morozov
Asu Almabayev
The Kazakh flyweight continued his rapid ascent by winning his sixteenth straight fight, and his third in the UFC. He is on a path to the rankings soon no matter what, and the timing makes sense now. Both fourteenth and fifteenth-ranked flyweights Cody Durden and David Dvorak are coming off of losses, so they should be giving a chance to a fighter outside of the rankings next.
Durden at #15 is a strong wrestler in his own right, and would be the toughest challenge for Almabayev in years. If Asu can pass that test, he will truly be a prospect in contention.
Almabayev’s Next Fight: Cody Durden
Adam Fugitt
His split decision win over Josh Quinlan on Saturday moved Adam Fugitt to .500 in the UFC at 2-2, which puts him at a turning point in his career. With a win or loss his trajectory will swing wildly.
Charles Radtke lost for the first time in the UFC only one week before Fugitt, moving to 2-1 in the UFC welterweight division. The two have similar skillsets and will be on similar trajectories for their next appearance, so the matchup makes sense, as much as any.
Fugitt’s Next Fight: Charles Radtke
