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

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 116 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Round 1 – The two met in the center and wasted no time engaging, with Alexander Hernandez opening with leg kicks while Rafa Garcia immediately implemented his trademark pressure. Hernandez looked to operate on the outside, circling and searching for angles, while Garcia stayed composed, landing counters as he advanced.

Garcia began to sit down on his punches, making his shots count with sharp, well-timed counters. Hernandez continued to move laterally, relying on leg kicks and footwork to create openings, but Garcia controlled the center of the octagon, calmly turning with him and cutting off space.

Around the two-minute mark, Garcia started to close the distance more effectively, tightening his footwork. Hernandez managed to escape along the cage, avoiding being trapped, but Garcia remained relentless.

Pressing forward, Garcia punched his way into range and secured a clean takedown. Hernandez quickly returned to his feet, only for Garcia to stay glued to him and bring him back down again.

Hernandez managed to stand once more, and the remainder of the round mirrored the earlier exchanges. Hernandez attempted a shot, but Garcia was ready, stuffing it and maintaining control to close out the round.

Round 2 – The second round opened much like the first, but Rafa Garcia began to diversify his offense, mixing his attacks from body to head and back again. Alexander Hernandez remained cautious, clearly wary of Garcia’s power, and continued to circle on the outside.

Garcia repeatedly punched his way into range, only for Hernandez to disengage and reset on the opposite side of the cage. Rather than overextend, Garcia stayed disciplined, holding the center and calmly turning to track his opponent’s movement.

It was all Garcia throughout the round, as he firmly took control and continued to inflict damage, putting himself in position to sweep the opening frames.

At one point, the two came together and stood forehead to forehead before the referee stepped in to separate them.

Round 3 – Down two rounds, Alexander Hernandez entered the third knowing he needed a finish. He opened with a sharp one-two and looked to claim more space, pressing forward with increased urgency.

Hernandez rushed in throwing combinations, but Rafa Garcia remained composed, resetting and firing back with counters. Any semblance of a measured game plan from Hernandez gave way to aggression as he hunted for a stoppage. He did manage to stuff a Garcia takedown attempt just before the four-minute mark, drawing a brief moment of momentum.

Garcia shot again, backing Hernandez to the fence in search of another takedown, but Hernandez quickly worked back to his feet. As they separated, Garcia landed heavy hooks on the break, continuing to make him pay.

The final minute turned into a firefight, with both men exchanging big shots, particularly Hernandez, who was desperately chasing a finish. Garcia stood his ground, landing clean, heavy punches of his own as they traded until the horn sounded.

Garcia asked for a top 15 matchup in his post-fight interview.

Official Result: Rafa Garcia def. Alexander Hernandez via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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“Excited as always. Obviously I like to go forward, go to war, I feel like I show that in every fight,” Garcia told reporters on Wednesday.

“Specially my last fight. I walk forward and I come to finish the fight.”

Garcia (18-4) Garcia (18-4) believes his cardio will be a key advantage in a matchup against another hard-hitting lightweight. He also credits his preparation at California’s Bloodline gym, surrounded by a deep roster of high-level fighters, as a major factor in positioning him for a victory on Saturday.

“More than anything else, my cardio, I believe will be a real weapon in this one. The idea is to walk forward and break him little by little,” he said.

“We have a lot of really good training partners (at Bloodline) such as Lerryan Douglas who just fought in Seattle. He helped me a lot, Richie Miranda as well the LFA champion, he helped me a lot this camp. Cub (Swanson) is very smart, I tell everyone, he’s the mastermind of every camp.”

Garcia made it clear he’s not approaching this fight with caution, but with the intent to impose his style from the opening bell. Confident in his pressure and finishing ability, the lightweight expects to dictate the pace and turn the bout into a battle.

“Expect a war. The Rafa that always comes forward to find the finish,” he said.

“I’m going to finish this fight.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Rafa Garcia above. He faces Alexander Hernandez at UFC Vegas 116 on Saturday night.

* Translated by Cageside Press

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“He’s a tough brute. Stout, sturdy fighter, he’s going to press forward,” Hernandez told reporters on Wednesday.

“I like the matchup, I like the stylistic challenge of it. I expect him to be strong and durable.”

“It’d be great. Push the streak and then I think be in contention, top 15, and then a main event. I think after this fight call for a main event slot,” he said.

“I think he’s a strong boxer-wrestler. I think I’m a sharper boxer-wrestler. I think I’ll beat his feet, find openings, and I think I’ll exploit them. He can blend pretty well in MMA and I expect to do the same.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Alexander Hernandez above. He faces Rafa Garcia at UFC Vegas 116 on Saturday night.

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Diego Lopes

After getting outclassed by Alexander Volkanovski in April, some fans thought Diego Lopes maybe wasn’t as good as his previous run may have indicated. Well, he just taught the rising Jean Silva a lesson about the value of experience. A grappling domination in the opening round capped off by a sick spinning elbow finish in the second.  This was a very important win for Lopes to hold his spot among the elites at featherweight, but it won’t give him a title opportunity.

It’s pretty evident at this point that the next title challenger will be Lerone Murphy, which means there are a lot of names to play with. There’s bad blood between Lopes and Yair Rodriguez, but I also like the idea of Yair fighting Arnold Allen. There’s Aljamain Sterling out there, but I like the idea of him facing Patricio Pitbull. Could Youssef Zalal earn himself a shot at the top5 with a standout performance against Josh Emmett? He could, but if the Calvin Kattar bout was any indication, it’s not the likely outcome.

That means Lopes is stuck in limbo until he either makes himself undeniable or Volkanovski loses the belt. Unfortunately for Movsar Evloev, he’s also stuck until he either scores a finish or ups his activity levels. Does anyone think it’s impossible that the UFC runs a rematch? The first fight was a lot of fun and it’s the most trouble we’ve seen Evloev face in his UFC career, despite Lopes taking the fight on 5 days’ notice. It wouldn’t shock me if they tasked Evloev with beating Lopes twice to earn his title shot.

Lopes’ next fight: Movsar Evloev

David Martinez

After a successful debut in March in Mexico, David Martinez was getting a massive opportunity as a late bump to the co-main event slot against a top10 name in Rob Font. For most 27-year-olds with just 13 professional fights under their belts, this would be too tall a task. But the young Mexican rose to the occasion. It wasn’t without adversity, but Martinez figured out Font’s timing and was pulling away by the end of the fight, even knocking him down in the dying seconds. Now that we have a new bantamweight contender on our hands, let’s see where he falls in the hierarchy of rising 135ers with names like Vinicius Oliveira and Montel Jackson. He passed this test, but I think another one of the same calibre is in order before we push Martinez up the food chain. The loser of the upcoming UFC Vancouver bout between Marlon Vera and Aiemann Zahabi makes a lot of sense.

Martinez’s next fight: Vera/Zahabi loser

Rafa Garcia

After starting his UFC career 0-2, Rafa Garcia has since gone 6-2 with his only two losses coming against Drakkar Klose and Grant Dawson. He was getting hit a lot, but his fighting spirit ultimately allowed him to outlast Jared Gordon and score the finish in the third round. Garcia had already proven he could defeat a certain level of fighters, but there is no doubt Gordon is the best win of his career. Another fighter whose UFC career didn’t start on a high note but has bounced back since is Kaue Fernandes. The Brazilian is coming off a nasty leg kick stoppage of Harry Hardwick just last week. Let’s pin those two together and see who comes out on top.

Garcia’s next fight: Kaue Fernandes

Kelvin Gastelum

The newly inducted fight wing Hall of Famer put on yet another entertaining fight with a very game Dustin Stoltzfus. His weight misses combined with his physical appearance make it easy to be deceived and forget how fast his hands are. He had to deal with Stoltzfus’ heavy strikes, but Gastelum’s speed is what ultimately gave him the edge. Despite this being yet another weight miss, it’s hard to picture the UFC cut Gastelum the same way they cut Bryan Battle. Assuming he stays in the promotion, at this point, he should just be used to provide fun action scraps. What better dance partner than Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues to deliver exactly that?

Gastelum’s next fight: Gregory Rodrigues

Alexander Hernandez

“The Great Ape” had been juggling wins and losses for a full half decade ever since he infamously lost to Donald Cerrone in 2019. He always had some great attributes, but he never seemed to be able to put it all together. Now 32 years of age, Hernandez may have finally turned a corner. He’s now on a four-fight win streak, three of which came this calendar year, including two in a four-week span. The activity levels combined with the results he’s getting can only be encouraging.

Hernandez called out Michael Chandler, which at this point isn’t unrealistic, but I’m still doubtful the UFC will award him that fight. However, I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of giving Hernandez a ranked opponent. I think a fight between Hernandez and Mauricio Ruffy is a great crossroads fight. One of them is on the best run of his UFC career, while the other’s stock has taken a serious hit after a bad loss. It’s an interesting matchup because there are legitimate question marks for both parties involved.

Hernandez’s next fight: Mauricio Ruffy

Santiago Luna

One minute into his UFC career, it looked like the 21-year-old Santiago Luna was in way over his head. He was getting hurt and wobbled all over the place before finally putting Quang Le down and laying him out in the very same round. While we learned that Luna can overcome adversity, we also did learn that we should be taking our time with him. No reason to throw him to the wolves, yet. I think someone like Ricky Turcios is the appropriate level of competition for Luna, at this point.

Luna’s next fight: Ricky Turcios

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García (17-4) comes into Noche UFC off a victory over Vinc Pichel in March. The Bloodline Combat Sports product looks to improve on his 5-4 UFC record and earn a ranking.

Gordon (21-7) finished Thiago Moises in May before taking this fight in San Antonio. The lightweight has fought some of the biggest names at lightweight, including Paddy Pimblett, and continues to deliver in his performances in the cage.

Round 1 – Gordon gets close and Garcia lands a stinging combo on him. Each time they came together it was a clash of combinations with both men trying to establish their will on the other.

Both men tried to set up a big right hand with jabs trying to pull their opponent into range. Garcia began to mix the calf kicks into his game and Gordon did his best to mitigate the damage. Garcia was able to land a tough straight right that wobbled Gordon for a split second, but he had his wits about him pretty quick.

Gordon threw a kick, it got caught, and Garcia landed a clean straight right hand on him. Garcia shot in and scored a takedown. Gordon rolled through forcing Garcia to his feet, and then clinched on the fence.

Round 2 – Gordon landed a big left hand, they got into the clinch, Garcia snatched a guillotine, got to mount, but Gordon defended well and got out.

Garcia spent some time with Gordon on the fence looking for the takedown, but then they hopped off the cage. They got to the middle and started to throw to the excitement of the crowd.

Phone booth fighting as they both accepted the challenge for about a minute. Landing on each other Gordon did hurt Garcia for a second, but recovery came quick. Gordon got the better of the round landing heavy shots on Garcia and hurting him repeatedly, but he wasn’t able to get him out of there in the second. Garcia ended the round with a blast double takedown.

Round 3 – These two decided to start off phone booth fighting as they both landed heavy shots on the other. A big elbow for Garcia, he made a point to throw as many as he could through the fight, scored big time. It seems that it may have hurt Gordon as Garcia started landing clean hooks on Gordon that would have put a normal man out.

Just under 3 minutes and Garcia landed a massive shot that hurt Gordon. Garcia went for the choke, Gordon went to his back, and Garcia gave him a very unhealthy serving of elbows to score the finish at Noche UFC.

Official Result: Rafa Garcia def. Jared Gordon via R3 TKO, 2:27

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The preliminary card lightweight match-up had Garcia also looking to return to the win column following a loss against Grant Dawson last October. This was Garcia’s first time fighting in front of his Mexican home crowd.

Garcia came out with forward pressure right away. He landed a right hand and a left hook to the body in the opening minute. Garcia caught a kick and tried to turn it into a takedown, but Pichel stuffed the attempt. An overhand right from Garcia got home. Pichel was feinting and moving lot, but seemed hesitant to throw anything. Garcia caught another kick and used it to get to a back body lock. After clinching for a while, he eventually got the fight to the ground as Pichel threw an ill-advised spinning elbow. A clear 10-9 for the Mexican.

Pichel started to look a little more elusive at the start of round 2. But as his activity levels started to increase, he ate a clean right hand from Garcia. An eye poke from Pichel 1:41 into the round forced a stop to the action. The replay showed Pichel’s left thumb clearly poking Garcia’s right eye. Once they got back to it, Pichel kept finding his groove on the feet, forcing Garcia to wrestle. Pichel stuffed the takedown and kept landing clean jabs on Garcia. Garcia moved forward, but ate a big counter right from Pichel over the top. As round 2 ended, the veteran Pichel seemingly had found his range and tied it up 19-19.

With the fight tied entering the final round, both fighters came out looking to land big strikes. Pichel’s right hand connected and momentarily forced Garcia backwards. The Mexican’s pressure was relentless and he started to target the body. The body shots appeared to affect the 42-year-old as his activity started to slowly decrease. This decrease in volume allowed Garcia to land a nice combination.

Halfway through round three, Garcia was the one doing the better work. Pichel, perhaps feeling the urgency, started to stand his ground and even attempted a takedown of his own. For the first time in this fight, Pichel was the one who had Garcia with his back to the fence. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to take advantage of that opportunity. With the Mexican crowd behind him, Garcia lifted Pichel high up in the air and slammed him on the ground to secure the fight in the final minute.

When the decision was read, two judges surprisingly gave Garcia round two. With this win, the Mexican Garcia now moves to 5-4 in the UFC. As for Vinc Pichel, dropping a third consecutive fight at 42 years of age isn’t great, but time will tell whether the UFC will keep him around.

Official Result: Rafa Garcia def. Pichel by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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“It’s exciting. I’ve been raising my hand for a while. I wanted to fight (on) a Mexican card like Noche or just something like this,” Garcia told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“So exciting. I’m just ready to go out there and put on a show.”

Garcia (16-4) missed out on every Mexico card so far, including Noche UFC which took place in Las Vegas as a celebration of Mexican Independence, but he’s finally fighting on home soil for the UFC.

“We’ve seen those last events. I mean Noche was incredible. I was like man I wish I would have been a part of that. Feel like it was kind of history because Dana (White) said he was only going to do that once in a lifetime, The Sphere,” he said.

“I was like man that would have been so cool to be part of that.”

He’ll face Pichel who is as tough as they come as 155 pounds, but also coming into the fight on a two-fight losing streak.

“He’s a super tough opponent. I prepared myself to the best of my abilities. My team and I we brought people in to mimic him,” he said.

“He’s a veteran. He’s been in the sport for a while. He gets a lot of experience and got nothing but respect for him.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Rafa Garcia above. He takes on Vinc Pichel at UFC Mexico on Saturday night.

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Tatsuro Taira

Tatsuro Taira turned in a great performance but was ultimately edged out in a split decision against Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 98. Taira’s loss on Saturday was his first loss in MMA as an amateur or pro (Heading into the bout he was 16-0 as a pro, 9-0 as an amateur).

Tatsuro entered the bout ranked at #5 in the UFC’s flyweight division while Royval was ranked at #1.

Tatsuro’s next fight is a little tricky with how many moving parts there are going on at 125lbs. currently. The fight that would make the most sense would be against Steve Erceg. Steve is coming off of two devastating losses. A failed title shot against Alexandre Pantoja and in his most recent fight, a first-round stoppage to Kai Kara France. He’s only 3-2 with the UFC while Taira is 6-1. Erceg is currently ranked at #8 and because both are still very much seen as prospects it’s the ideal fight to make at this point.

Tatsuro’s next fight: Steve Erceg

Brad Tavares

Brad Tavares lost a split decision in his 25th UFC fight to Jun Yong Park in the co main event of UFC Vegas 98. Tavares definitely had his moments during the fight but ultimately was not able to secure the victory. Tavares has now lost two in a row and has just won one fight out his last five.

A good next opponent for Taveres would be Albert Duraev. Albert is a 2021 Contender Series product that has since gone 2-2 with the UFC. Duraev’s last fight was in July of last year when he was finished by Jun Yong Park via second round rear naked choke. Albert was slated to fight in February against Robert Bryczek but had to withdraw because of visa issues. With a common last opponent and the guys Duraev has already faced (Joaquin Buckley, Roman Kopylov), drawing Tavares could make sense.

Brad’s next fight: Albert Duraev

Jared Gooden

Jared Gooden was outclassed everywhere in his three-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Chidi Njokuani. Jared’s time in the clinch against the cage would spell his doom during the fight as he was unable to match the output of his opponent. Gooden is now 1-2 since being resigned to the UFC in March of last year.

To make matters worse for Gooden, he missed weight ahead of his bout with Njokuani. This is the second time Gooden has missed weight in his three fight, second stint, with the UFC. (It’s his third time missing weight with the UFC in total.)

Gooden’s next fight in the UFC should be against Kevin Jousset. Kevin just lost to Bryan Battle last month when he was TKO’d in the second round. (In front of a home crowd too.) He’s now 2-1 with the UFC. Gooden and Jousset were actually scheduled to fight on May 11th, but Gooden withdrew due to a medical issue.

Jared’s next fight: Kevin Jousset

Rafa Garcia

Rafa Garcia was able to get little going in his second round TKO defeat to Grant Dawson on Saturday night. The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak over Maheshate Hayisaer and Clay Guida. Although Garcia was coming back from a long layoff after a devastating knee injury, the loss is a sizable set back.

Rafa Garcia should fight Elves Brener in his next fight. Elves is 3-2 in the UFC and is on a two-fight losing streak having lost to Myktybek Orolbai and most recently, Joel Alvarez, back in August. His two performance bonuses while with the UFC indicate that he is a dangerous striker and it would be a good matchup for Garcia coming off of the grappling heavy, Grant Dawson.

Rafa’s next fight: Elves Brener

Alex Morono

Alex Morono gave up a clear first round lead and ultimately lost a split decision to Daniel Rodriguez to begin the UFC Vegas 98 main card. Undoubtedly, a tough-to-stomach loss for Morono, as the veteran has now lost his last two fights and three of his last four.

Morono has fought so many guys in the weight class, a good fresh fight to give him would be the winner of Mike Mallot vs. Trevin Giles. That fight is going down on November 2nd. Giles lost his most recent fight, and Mallot has lost his last two. Either fight would make sense as Morono was extremely close to winning his bout on Saturday.

Alex’s next fight: Mike Mallott vs. Trevin Giles winner

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Dawson was hoping to make it two in a row following a bounce-back win over Joe Solecki, while Garcia had back-to-back wins to start the night. Most recently, he earned a decision over veteran and fan fave Clay Guida. That, however, came over a year ago in April of 2023, adding the long layoff as a possible wrench in the works.

The fight began with a short feeling out period as both men tried to find range. Dawson flashed a few kicks and some hooks at his opponent before shooting in on a single about a minute into the round. Garcia was able to pop up momentarily, but Dawson dragged him back down seconds later. Once in the full guard of his opponent, Dawson rained down hammer fists and landed short strikes to the body. Midway thru the round and Grant started to land some powerful strikes to the head of his opponent in order sneak past his guard. With a minute left in the round, Dawson continued up his attack as Garcia was unable to return undoubtedly losing a lopsided round.

To begin the second round, Grant again went back to his kicks, mixing in teeps, spinning kicks and some knee attempts. As the two fighters exchanged punches, Dawson missed with a wild overhand but was able to use it to land another single leg takedown. Now back in his opponent’s full guard, Dawson again went to work landing ground ‘n pound. This time, Dawson started dropping elbows, with one cutting Rafa badly above his eye. As his opponent leaked blood and desperately tried to cover up by rolling to his stomach, Dawson continued his assault. The ref stepped in shortly after as Garcia was unable to get to his base and was taking a massive amount of sustained damage.

Dawson turned in a fiery post-fight interview after the fight which fired up the APEX crowd. Grant shouted out his team, his wife and boldly predicted that he will be a future UFC champion.

Official Result: Grant Dawson def. Rafa Garcia by TKO, Round 2, 1:42

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