UFC Vegas 116 was the fourth Apex event of 2026 and was headlined by a clash between former champion Aljamain Sterling and surging contender Youssef Zalal. It was the veteran who won a dominant unanimous victory. The co-main was a potential number one contender fight in which Joselyne Edwards got his hand raised. Other standouts were Raoni Barcelos and Ryan Spann who won as underdogs.
With UFC Vegas 116 now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.
Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling gave Youssef Zalal a “welcome to the big leagues” moment as he muscled the overmatched Moroccan around for most of the 25 minutes in the UFC Vegas 116 main event. While Sterling is now on a win streak, it’s nearly impossible to see him earn a title shot off of this performance. Not only does he have a loss to current number one contender Movsar Evloev, but the UFC has not shown a real interest in being in the Aljamain Sterling business in a long time. For that reason, I believe he’ll draw another tough matchup against another younger, up-and-coming featherweight contender like Aaron Pico.
Sterling’s next fight: Aaron Pico
Joselyne Edwards
After coming into the promotion at just 25 years old and starting her UFC career 1-2, the now 30-year-old Joselyne Edwards now finds herself on a 5-fight win streak, having just beaten s streaking Norma Dumont. Edwards’ game really appears to be coming together nicely. She came into this fight riding a four-fight finishing streak. Who knows how the title picture will look at bantamweight with the Kayle Harrison and Amanda Nunes matchup not even rescheduled yet, but Edwards has now earned herself a title shot.
Edwards’ next fight: Title shot
Rafa Garcia
The Mexican has had won consecutive bouts twice in the UFC, but with Saturday’s win, he now has his first three-fight win streak. The lightweight division is a shark tank even for the unranked, which is why Garcia isn’t out of the woods yet. There are multiple names the UFC could throw at him, but I landed on Mason Jones, who is also on a three-fight heater since joining the UFC again.
Garcia’s next fight: Mason Jones
Davey Grant
Even at 40 years of age, Davey Grant proves to still be a real tough out for anyone. This time around he defeated Adrian Luna Martinetti, who was one half of last year’s Fight of the Year contender with Mark Vologdin. Any unranked bantamweight could be thrown at Grant and it would make sense, but an option that I am particularly fond of is Serhiy Sidey. Grant would serve as a good test for the 29-year-old Canadian, but I also have no doubt that Sidey would make sure to pull his weight to contribute to the action quotient in that clash.
Grant’s next fight: Serhiy Sidey
Raoni Barcelos
Not too long ago, Barcelos was on a 1-4 stretch and looking old. He’s now on a five-fight win streak and the undying Brazilian will somehow enter the rankings at 38 years old.
It might sound like a strange matchmaking idea, but I really like the idea of a Payton Talbott rematch. If you look at it from the UFC’s perspective, they will want to invest in the young Talbott, who seems to have real star potential. There’s a promotional angle to be able to market Talbott as someone who has defeated everybody he’s faced. Talbott may no longer be undefeated, but the Barcelos loss is still one he can get back. And despite the bad nature of that loss, at the rate he seems to improve, I believe Talbott would be favoured in a rematch.
Barcelos’ next fight: Payton Talbott
Ryan Spann
With this win, Ryan Spann finds himself on his first win streak in almost four years. He’s been around for so long that it can be easy to forget he’s only 34 years old, which is quite young at heavyweight. The heavyweight division being in its current state means this KO win is probably enough to give Spann a ranked opponent. I think a fight with Marcin Tybura, Mick Parkin or the winner of next week’s Shamil Gaziev vs Brando Pericic bout all make sense. I went with the Englishman.
Spann’s next fight: Mick Parkin
