Last Saturday, the UFC held a Fight Night at the Apex for 100th time and it was an enjoyable card. It had quite a few finishes and even the fights that went the distance were entertaining.
In the main event, Carlos Prates continued to take the sport by storm, recording his fourth knockout victory of the year. Meanwhile in the co-main, UFC newcomer Reinier de Ridder submitted Gerald Meerschaert in what was a fun debut.
Carlos Prates
After already recording three KOs by August, Carlos Prates kept his activity levels going and got his biggest one yet on Saturday. For years, Neil Magny has represented a perfect litmus test for welterweight prospects. Always hovering around the number 15 spot, he has gatekept the rankings for what seems like forever. In recent years, fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Michael Morales passed this test with flying colours, while then-streaking Max Griffin, Daniel Rodriguez, Phil Rowe and Mike Malott couldn’t.
This was the type of matchup that fans needed to see Prates go through to really gauge what the division had in him. At 31 years of age, there was no need to take things too slowly with him, so a main event with a rankings spot on the line made sense, even in his rookie year. And the Nightmare made quick work of Magny. He defended all seven takedown attempts, even turning one into his own takedown. He dropped Magny with a short right hook, before then putting him unconscious with a glancing left straight with ten seconds left in the very first round.
After his impressive showing, Prates called for a fight with Jack Della Maddalena in Australia in February. While that is the kind of matchup that would have fans foaming at the mouth, he knew this might be unrealistic as JDM is ranked in the top5. So he had a nice backup plan in Geoff Neal, who for all intents and purposes, holds a Neil Magny-type role for the top10. This callout proves that Prates is making an effort to understand how matchmaking works and to stay up to date with his division’s power structure. It is a fun matchup, and realistic callouts should be rewarded as often as possible. For those reasons, I’m inclined to give Prates what he asked for and give him Geoff Neal next.
Prates’ next fight: Geoff Neal
Reinier de Ridder
The former two-division champion in ONE Championship had an entertaining debut, going up against grizzled vet Gerald Meerschaert. He scored a knockdown in round 1 and got the submission in round 3 after GM3 looked exhausted.
With his pedigree as a former double champ in another major organization, some thought RDR would be getting a ranked opponent right away. At 34 years old, it’s not like The Dutch Knight has all the time in the world to rise up the ranks. However, he didn’t exactly run through Meerschaert in a way that screamed a top10 opponent has to be next.
There is a middle ground, here, where RDR can get a high profile, yet unranked matchup in his next fight. This upcoming Saturday, there is a fight between uber prospect Bo Nickal and veteran Paul Craig. Nickal is a massive favourite, but it is unclear as to whether he would be getting a ranked opponent next even after a statement win at UFC 309. Unlike de Ridder, the UFC actually has plenty of time to take things slowly with Nickal. RDR is both the logical next step to test Nickal’s grappling and a nice opportunity for Nickal to showcase any form of striking improvement since that isn’t really de Ridder’s forte.
And hey, if Paul Craig actually wins that fight, then we still get a super fun matchup.
de Ridder’s next fight: Nickal/Craig winner
Gaston Bolaños
The former Bellator fighter moved to 2-1 in the UFC after earning a hard-fought decision over debuting Cortavious Romious. His grappling was tested, as he was slammed a couple times, but he managed to fend off every submission attempt.
Bolaños doesn’t look like someone who will ever challenge for a title, especially not in a division filled with sharks like bantamweight. However, he does fit in a very important category of fighters that deliver exciting fights every time they go out there. Win or lose, and as long as they match him up correctly, the UFC can count on Bolaños to put on fun fights.
Another fighter who fits perfectly into this category is one who made his divisional debut just last week: Charles Jourdain. With both coming off wins and having fought just a week apart, the fight makes sense and the timelines should align.
Bolaños’ next fight: Charles Jourdain
Gillian Robertson
Despite already having 18 UFC fights and holding the record for most submissions at flyweight, Robertson is still only 29 years old. She is now on a three-fight win streak and is 4-1 since dropping down to strawweight.
After she will move up a bit in the rankings, a fight that makes sense for her would be Marina Rodriguez. After being so close to a title shot, the 37-year-old is now 1-4 in her last 5 and has dropped all the way to number 9. However, there is no doubt that she is still a good test for anybody. Her current two-fight skid is deceiving as both are split decisions that very much could have gone her way.
Rodriguez is the perfect test for Robertson at this juncture of their careers.
Robertson’s next fight: Marina Rodriguez
Mansur Abdul-Malik
The undefeated 27-year-old made short work of Dusko Todorovic, knocking him out in the first round to keep his 100% finish rate. Abdul-Malik clearly packs a heavy punch. Everything he landed on Todorovic echoed in the Apex. He still looks green in some facets of his game, but seems to be getting better quickly as he already looked improved from his Contender Series outing.
There is no rush here for a prospect this young and someone like TUF finalist Robert Valentin would make sense. Valentin can test Abdul-Malik’s overall game while also being a very winnable fight for Mansur. Also, there is no way that fight would be boring.
Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Robert Valentin
