UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday featured a 12-fight card that evenly split the bouts between the prelims and the main card. In the main event, Hyun Sung Park stepped up on short notice to take on Tatsuro Taira. In the co-main event, lightweight standouts Chris Duncan and Mateusz Rebecki put on a fight for the ages, somehow outdoing Esteban Ribovics and Elves Brener who had put on an amazing scrap just one fight prior.
A couple of fighters didn’t lose much stock even though they took a loss on Saturday. And what this card lacked in star power, it more than made up for with exiting bouts, entertaining finishes and a last second main event switch up.
Hyun Sung Park
Tatsuro Taira outclassed and submitted Hyun Sung Park in the second round of the main event at UFC Vegas 108. Taira entered the bout ranked at #6 within the flyweight division while Hyun Sung Park was unranked. Tatsuro was originally scheduled to take on #4 ranked, Amir Albazi before Amir was forced to withdraw from the bout.
Park now is 10-1 as a pro and 3-1 in the UFC since earning contract in Road to UFC in 2022. Hyun Sung was yanked from his fight with the #10 ranked, Steve Erceg, on August 9th for this bout. Erceg is now fighting Ode Osbourne instead.
Instead of another ranked matchup for Hyun Sung Park, what if he fought the winner of Lone’er Kavanagh vs Charles Johnson? That fight goes down on August 23rd so the timing wouldn’t be too bad. Kavanagh is 2-0 within the UFC while Johnson is 6-5 but was previously ranked and has the last victory over hot-prospect, Joshua Van. This bout would definitely be for a ranking as Park faced a completely different matchup than he was expecting at UFC Vegas 108 and should be somewhat fast tracked to a ranking. Fight night main card type of matchup for a top 10 ranking within the flyweight division.
Hyun Sung’s next fight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs Charles Johnson Winner
Mateusz Rebecki
Chris Duncan bested Mateusz Rebecki over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision in a bloody all-out war. Rebecki a 2022 Contender Series product is now 4-2 within the UFC but has lost two of his last three. Granted, Mateusz has won fight of the night honors in his last two appearances.
Mateusz Rebecki simply needs entertaining dance partners to deliver the magic. Easiest matchup to make here would be to pair Rebecki up against Elves Brener who fought just before him on the card. Guaranteed fireworks and violence would come out of these two lightweights if they were paired up. And it’d be an easy one to book for the main card of a fight night. Serious implications for the winner becoming among the long list of fan favorites within the lightweight division.
Mateusz’s next fight: Elves Brener
Elves Brener
Esteban Ribovics defeated Elves Brener in a unanimous decision battle on Saturday. Elves has now lost three fights in a row since starting off hot with three victories including two stoppages and as many performance bonuses.
Two clear different plays here for Brener, either fight Daniel Zellhuber or Mateusz Rebecki. Elves was supposed to meet Zellhuber back in March, but withdrew from the bout. Daniel wasn’t able to get back in the cage until July 19 when he lost a unanimous decision to veteran Michael Johnson. Zellhuber is now 3-3 in the UFC and is on a two-fight skid. Mateusz Rebecki is another obvious option though Rebecki hasn’t lost three fights in a row, he is 1-2 in his last three and the sole win was a split decision. Leaning towards Zellhuber as they share a common opponent and outcome (Esteban Ribovics, decision loss). To be fair Rebecki was scheduled to take on Joel Alvarez who Brenner faced in 2024, but the fight was cancelled after Alvarez withdrew.
Elves’s next fight: Daniel Zellhuber, Mateusz Rebecki
Nora Cornolle
Karol Rosa got the unanimous decision victory against Nora Cornolle on UFC Vegas 108’s main card on Saturday. The lopsided loss now brings Nora’s UFC record to 3-2.Worth noting that of Nora’s three wins with the promotion she has missed weight ahead of two of them.
Conrolle’s next fight should be against Darya Zheleznyakova. Nora and Draya share a common opponent and outcome as they both fought and defeated Melissa Mullins. Zheleznyakova is 2-1 in the UFC with her only loss coming to Allin Perez last September. Even though Darya is coming off a win in her most recent fight over Melissa Mullins on June 21st this fight still makes sense. Would be a good fight between two fighters still trying to get a foothold within the division.
Nora’s next fight: Darya Zheleznyakova
Elizeu Zaleski
Elizeu Zaleski was finished by Neil Magny in the second round of the fight on UFC Vegas 108. Zaleski, a 10-year veteran of the UFC, has now lost three of his last four fights.
Zaleski turns 39 later this year, so why not give him another aging veteran? 40-year-old Nicolas Dalby would be a fantastic matchup for Zaleski. Dalby was last in action against Randy Brown back in April. He was finished by a right hook in the second round of a fantastic fight. Elizeu also fought Randy Brown although it was in June 2024 and lost a unanimous decision bout. Dalby has lost two of his last four but is on a two-fight skid just like Zaleski. This has fun main card fight night action written all over it. Two, decade-long competitors within the UFC duking it out to see who stays out of the hot seat of retirement talks.
Elizeu’s next fight: Nicolas Dalby
Danny Silva
Danny Silva lost a unanimous decision to Kevin Vallejos to open the main card of UFC Vegas 108 on Saturday. Silva, a product of the 2023 season of the Contender Series is now 2-1 within the UFC. (To make matters worse, Danny missed weight in his UFC debut and both wins have been split decisions.)
Danny should fight Timmy Cuamba in his next fight. This might be a bit of a random pick considering that Cuamba is just 1-2 within the UFC but his two losses are a split decision to Bolaji Oki and a unanimous decision to Lucas Almedia. Silva beat Lucas Almedia back in March via split decision. Technically Timmy is coming off a victory as he stopped Roberto Romero his last time out back in April. However, this fight still makes a lot of sense as far as the momentum of both fighters currently.
Danny’s next fight: Timmy Cuamba
