UFC Vegas 98 produced a number of edge-of-your-seat worthy fights. In the main event, Brandon Royval edged out the undefeated Tatsuro Taira, to once again put himself in the title conversation at 125lbs. In the co-main event, Jun Yong Park outworked and outlanded the most tenured UFC middleweight ever, in Brad Tavares, during an all-out striking war. The winners of the fights on this card are all in excellent positions moving forward with many potentially looking to add number next to their name next year.
Brandon Royval
Brandon Royval turned in an excellent performance against Tatsuro Taira to snag a split decision victory. Royval entered the fight as the #1 ranked flyweight while his opponent came in ranked at #5.
Royval is in a tough spot thanks to all the upcoming fights in the 125lbs. weight class including the upcoming title fight between champ, Alexandre Pantoja, and UFC newcomer and RIZIN Fighting Federation bantamweight champion, Kai Asakura. With that in mind, although Royval was calling for a title shot in his post-fight speech, he might not get what he wants. At least not right away. While a title shot could definitely happen, a rematch against Kai Kara France seems a bit more likely. Kai is coming off a first-round destruction of the last man to challenge Pantoja for his belt, Steve Erceg, at UFC 305. Kara France effortlessly sliced through Erceg, while Erceg took the champ to the score cards in the fight prior.
Royval submitted Kai Kara France in 2020, but enough time has passed to justify running this fight back.
Brandon’s next fight: Kai Kara France
Jun Yong Park
Jun Yong Park turned in a hard-fought split decision victory against the veteran, Brad Tavares, in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 98. Park is now 8-3 in the UFC and has won five of his last six fights. His most recent loss was split decision to Andre Muniz in December of last year.
With that being said, it’s time for Park to start working his way up and to draw another name. The perfect matchup would be against a guy like Joe Pyfer. Joe is 4-1 in the UFC since being signed as a result of his second appearance on the Contender Series in 2022. Joe’s only loss is to a ranked step up in competition, in Jack Hermansson, back in February. With Pyfer’s 85 second KO of Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 303, this could easily be a fight of the night contender and a solid stand-up battle with both fighter’s respective styles. The winner would likely have a ranking next to their name.
Jun Yong’s next fight: Joe Pyfer
Chidi Njokuani
Chidi Njokuani turned in one of his best performances as he cruised to a clear unanimous decision victory over his overweight opponent, Jared Gooden. Chidi is now 4-3 with the UFC since earning a UFC contract via the Contender Series in 2021.
Njokuani is now riding a two-fight winning streak off the heels of losing three in a row from 2022-2023. With that being said, Chidi should take on a veteran, in a fighter like Court McGee. Court has 23 fights in the UFC and was last in action at UFC 307 with his first-round finish over Tim Means. That win halted a three-fight losing skid for McGee as well, so maybe timing makes sense for these two guys to scrap next.
Chidi’s next fight: Court McGee
Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson turned in a near perfect performance on Saturday night with his second round TKO over Rafa Garcia. Dawson has now won two fights in a row since his only UFC loss to Bobby Green in October of 2023.
Dawson should be just a fight from being ranked in the lightweight division. He has done more than enough with a 10-1-1 with the UFC. Grant should fight Joel Alvarez in his next fight. Alvarez in 6-2 with the UFC and has won three of his last four fights. His only loss in that time period was to Arman Tsarukyan in February of 2022. Alvarez was last in action back in August when he finished Elves Brener in the final round of their bout. He’s a dangerous fighter that has only heard the final bell just one time as a pro. And a tough matchup for a grappling heavy guy like Dawson.
Grant’s next fight: Joel Alvarez
Daniel Rodriguez
Daniel Rodriguez came back from behind to win a split decision against Alex Morono on the first fight of UFC Vegas 98’s main card. The win ended a three-fight losing skid for D-Rod which saw him slide out of the welterweight rankings. This is his first win in over two years.
In his next fight, Rodriguez should take on Niko Price. Niko was on the undercard of UFC Vegas 98 and lost a unanimous decision to Themba Gorimbo. In the fight before that he won a unanimous decision over Alex Morono in June. Niko has only won two of his last five fights, similar to Daniel. Another reason to the timing works to book this bout.
Daniel’s next fight: Niko Price
