Despite not being immune to the usual Apex duds, UFC Vegas 117 gave us some cool moments. Doo Ho Choi folded Daniel Santos with a nasty body shot and Alice Ardelean gave us an insanely rare capsule lock submission. The event was capped off with an important featherweight meeting between Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa in which the Englishman came out victorious. With UFC Vegas 117 now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.
Arnold Allen
Arnold Allen is a very skillful fighter that has been on the cusp of a title shot on more than one occasion, but untimely losses to names like Max Holloway, Movsar Evloev and Jean Silva has prevented him from getting that shot. A near sweep on all three judges’ scorecard against a red hot Melquizael Costa is the type of win that Allen needed to get back on track and keep his spot in the division’s top 10. I think a fight against fellow Englishman Lerone Murphy is a perfect headliner for a Fight Night card in the UFC. The timing can’t work better than that; run it.
Allen’s next fight: Lerone Murphy
Doo Ho Choi
Despite a 17-month hiatus, “The Korean Superboy” came kept his winning ways going against Daniel Santos to get his first three-fight win streak since coming into the UFC. He survived the expected onslaught from “Willycat” in the first round and then proceeded to melt the Brazilian in the following frame, finishing him off with a nasty body shot that folded him in half. The now 35-year-old has earned a shot at a ranked opponent, and I think a matchup with veteran Patricio Pitbull would be a lot of fun for the fans.
Choi’s next fight: Patricio Pitbull
Juan Diaz
Malcolm Wellmaker is not an easy assignment for someone making his debut, but Diaz passed the test with flying colours. After committing a foul at the end of Round 1, Diaz kept pressuring Wellmaker, finally submitting via rear-naked choke him in the second round. You could realistically throw any name at Diaz, but I’d be curious to see how he would deal with a grappler like SuYoung You, who was on a nice win streak before suffering his first UFC loss to Elijah Smith in March.
Diaz’s next fight: SuYoung You
Modestas Bukauskas
As pedestrian a split decision as it may have been, getting back in the win column was the priority for Modestas Bukauskas, who had seen his four-fight win streak snapped by Nikita Krylov back in January. A fight with Ivan Erslan, who was also victorious on this card would make sense, considering where both fighters are currently positioned in the division.
Bukauskas’ next fight: Ivan Erslan
Bernardo Sopaj
After suffering a brutal highlight-reel loss at the hands of Vinicius Oliveira in his promotional debut, “The Lion King” has now won back-to-back fights. He dominated Timmy Cuamba on his way to a second-round finish. In the current tier he’s in, there is a ton of names that the UFC could throw at Sopaj, but I landed on Hecher Sosa who was successful in his debut earlier this year.
Sopaj’s next fight: Hecher Sosa
Khaos Williams
Khaos Williams was in bad need of a win, coming off consecutive losses that made him look particularly bad. This first-round KO was just what the doctor ordered. The best way to matchmake for Khaos is to simply put him up against someone who will be willing to stand and bang with him. Carlos Leal seemed like a good candidate, but I ultimately went with Oban Elliott, who will throw down with anyone.
Williams’ next fight: Oban Elliott
