UFC matchmakers Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby do a wonderful job putting together captivating cards from top to bottom with consistency. So now, we’ll try to predict their next moves using the biggest winners of UFC 222.

Ketlen Vieira vs. Winner of Amanda Nunes/Raquel Pennington

The women’s bantamweight division is very thin on contenders and coming into UFC 222, the winner of the main card opener between Ketlen Vieira and Cat Zingano seemed primed for a shot at gold. Vieira utilized her wrestling to get by the tenacious Zingano, who made a comeback effort in the third round. With the split decision victory (should have been unanimous), Vieira stays undefeated at 10-0 with three wins in the UFC.

Champion Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington will throw down in the main event of UFC 224 and Vieira should be next in line. However, if Nunes defends successfully, we could see her leave the division temporarily to participate in a superfight with featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. If that happens and Vieira is unwilling to wait, the other top contenders she could face at 135 are Marion Reneau, and Julianna Pena (who was out of action while pregnant, but recently returned to the gym).

Andrei Arlovski vs. Loser of Fabricio Werdum/Alexander Volkov

Andrei Arlovski has reached two wins in a row by repeatedly taking down the Skyscraper Stefan Struve. Buyer beware though, a five-fight losing streak preceded his current run. Therefore, he should get the man who will fall out of the title picture in two weeks when Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov battle at UFC London.

A bout with Werdum would be a rematch of a fight that happened in the Octagon 11 years ago, and would be a good test to see where both stand in 2018. As bad as this sounds, Alexander Volkov would be using Arlovski to bounce back if they crossed paths. Either man would make sense, just please don’t feed him to Tai Tuivasa next.

Sean O’Malley vs. Tom Duquesnoy

While O’Malley may have been the beneficiary of poor decision making by his opponent Andre Soukhamthath, he put together a strong performance on the feet and kept the hype train rolling. That train lost a wheel late in the third round though as O’Malley suffered a rough-looking leg injury, so he’ll be out for quite a bit.

Tom Duquesnoy, a top prospect from the United Kingdom, will be fighting Terrion Ware (who’s fought Cody Stamann, Sean O’Malley, and now Tom Duquesnoy in the Octagon, rough) at UFC London in two weeks. Win or lose, the Sean O’Malley fight makes sense. If he loses, the UFC can play the angle of O’Malley being brought up slowly, and if he wins it will be a battle between two top prospects on the brink of making the next step. The only drawback is that Tommy Dukes would have to wait for O’Malley to heal up.

Brian Ortega vs. Max Holloway

Brian Ortega’s run is simply unbelievable. The undefeated featherweight has finished all seven of his UFC opponents and shocked the MMA world when he knocked out the unstoppable Frankie Edgar. It took 29 fights for someone to beat “The Answer” without needing the judges to tally scores, and this jiu-jitsu expert did it with strikes in under five minutes.

Ortega is the only man champion Max Holloway can fight next. While it is sad to see Edgar’s run come up short due to multiple injuries, a fight between Max Holloway and the ever-improving Brian Ortega gets the blood pumping.

Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes or Bust

As a champion of a division with a total of zero other fighters, predicting Cyborg’s next fight is fairly simple. If Amanda Nunes beats Raquel Pennington, make the fight that was being negotiated before UFC 222 needed a main event. Of course, this would spoil plans for the aforementioned Ketlen Vieira but Cyborg needs to fight somebody. If something does go wrong though, Megan Anderson is a solid backup plan.

Update, 4:50 PM ET — Juliana Pena is in fact back in the gym. Our apologies for the original error stating she was still on the sidelines.

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It was a fight that on paper looked like it could be Fight of the Night, and it lived up to the hype. Sean O’Malley and Andre Soukhamthath battled it out for three rounds Saturday in Las Vegas on the PPV portion of UFC 222. For the first two frames, O’Malley seemed to have Soukhamthath’s number, save a few flashes here and there. Then, in the third, O’Malley injured a leg off a head kick that Soukhamthath blocked. That allowed Soukhamthath to take the man behind the “Sugar Show” down nearly at will. The problem was, O’Malley still had some fight left in him, despite being in obvious pain. Plus, O’Malley was up on the scorecards.

O’Malley picked up the win, though he was unable to stand when the scores were read. Nate Diaz had a thing or two to say about that:

How u win if u can't walk out the cage ? Smh

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 4, 2018

That having been said, the bout earned Soukhamthath and O’Malley an extra $50,000 each.

For the night’s Performance of the Night awards, Brian Ortega and Alex Hernandez won big. Ortega, of course, came as no surprise. His finish of Frankie Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champion, was both historic and shocking. Alex Hernandez, meanwhile, surprised many with his finish of Beneil Dariush.

Following the bout, UFC President Dana White confirmed that the total gate was $1.4 million, with 12,041 in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Brian Ortega was the man of the evening at UFC 222 on Saturday. His big finish of Frankie Edgar stole the show. Now, he’s expecting to face UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway sometime later this year. Opponent Edgar had originally been scheduled to face Holloway, until an injury forced the champ off Saturday’s card in Las Vegas. Now, Edgar’s misfortune is Ortega’s gain.

The top featherweight discussed the possibility of a title fight following the event, at the UFC 222 post-fight press conference.

“I’ve been told,” he said in regards to a fight with champion Holloway. Still, he said, “I really want to talk to the main bosses to find out if that’s true or not before I get too excited. I don’t want to get excited and then have it get shut down and be heartbroken.”

It is, of course, the fight to make, but the in the UFC, anything can happen with title shots. “In my opinion, I feel like that should be the next fight” Ortega finished.

@Ufc 226

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) March 4, 2018

When told that Max Holloway had tweeted out a suggestion of a fight at UFC 226, Ortega asked for the date. That card, of course, is part of International Fight Week in July. “Yeah. Sure,” was Ortega’s final answer.

The big winner from UFC 222 also told those present that the fight with Edgar was originally to be a five round main event. “Can it be done?” he then asked himself of the short notice fight. “Can I have the Brian Ortega cardio that I always have in three weeks?”

“The ultimate decision was,” he continued, “lets do the five rounds. We chose five rounds, and a week later, they said ‘you got bumped to co-main event, Cyborg saved the card'”

Still, “I was ready” for the possibility of a longer fight.

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UFC 222 had been a mixed bag early in the night. A DQ finish in the Dollaway vs. Lombard fight. A snoozer between Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve. Then Andre Soukhamthath and Sean O’Malley turned up the heat. And following that pair, Brian Ortega and Frankie Edgar went into overdrive.

Yet few saw what would follow. Setting things up with a big elbow, Brian Ortega scored a crushing uppercut that dropped Frankie Edgar to the canvas. Follow up strikes were merely a formality. Edgar was out, knocked out for the first time in his long and storied career.

The reaction from fans and fellow professionals was immediate. Most were completely besides themselves, and you couldn’t really blame them. Everyone knew Ortega was a danger, especially after he finished off Cub Swanson late last year. Yet he was a submission specialist, not a knockout artist. It’s doubtful many picked Ortega to get the win on the feet.

Now, he has a date with Max Holloway, and the 145lb division was once again thrown on its head. Check out what the pros had to say about Ortega’s performance below! Even Conor McGregor had something to say…

https://twitter.com/blondefighter/status/970165366021345280

Can I be the mayor of t-city?! Jesus congrats Brian Ortega. #ufc222

— Chase Sherman (@ChaseShermanUFC) March 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/jagatt/status/970164294418649088

Wow!! Wow!! Wow!! @BrianTcity you did it homie! Amazing stuff! Frankie always impressive man!

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) March 4, 2018

@BrianTcity by knockout!!!! Holy moly my brother!!!! @ufc #UFC222

— Max Griffin (@MaxPainGriffin) March 4, 2018

Dam was not expecting that

— Max Keiser (@themaxkeiserr) March 4, 2018

Holy shit! @BrianTcity just showed how for real he is. Well done!

— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) March 4, 2018

Wow. T-city 👏👀

— Kay Hansen (@KayHansenMMA) March 4, 2018

Wow!!! What a fight! Both guys are class acts. #ufc222

— Ricardo Lamas (@RicardoLamasMMA) March 4, 2018

Wow…. i don’t think anyone picked Ortega by tko! Earned that title shot #UFC222

— Shane Burgos (@HurricaneShaneB) March 4, 2018

Ortega’s composure might be more impressive than his finishing ability. Nobody finishes Edgar. Wow!

— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) March 4, 2018

Patience from Ortega after he hurt Frankie to get the clean shot for the ko. Sad for Frankie, happy for Ortega. #ufc222

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) March 4, 2018

He really is. https://t.co/G1pIhD0nmx

— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) March 4, 2018

Wooooooow! @BrianTcity first man to finish Frankie. Who ever does the UFC rankings stop the bullshit with Aldo #1 please. Thanks. #UFC222

— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) March 4, 2018

I'm calling it now….. Ortega is the one to beat Holloway!!!! Fucking aye!!!! #ufc222 pic.twitter.com/NUue8Wd78l

— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) March 4, 2018

WOW!!!!!! Made the most of the opportunity!! T-City with the KO! #UFC222

— Jimmy Smith (@jimmysmithmma) March 4, 2018

Good shit @BrianTcity

— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) March 4, 2018

OMG!!! @BrianTcity with the TKO! Congratulations. Huge win! #newblood

— Jimmie Rivera (@JimmieRivera135) March 4, 2018

Holy shit!!! He uppercut killed Frankie!!! First guy to ever finish Frankie. #ufc222 pic.twitter.com/f7rxHGKp0d

— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) March 4, 2018

Frankie's career deserved for that to be against me tonight.
Respect Frankie.
Love and respect always!
A true fighters fighter ❤

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 4, 2018

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For the better part of a decade, one woman has been feared above all others in mixed martial arts: Cyborg. Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino dominated in Strikeforce. She dominated in Invicta FC. And once the UFC brought her on board, first at 140lb catchweight fights before they finally opened the featherweight division, she dominated there. That domination looked to continue Saturday night in Las Vegas at UFC 222.

Cyborg had stepped up to save the card in the wake of an injury to Max Holloway. And so it was the women’s featherweight title on the line, not the men’s. Challenging the dominance and destruction of Cris Cyborg was former Invicta FC bantamweight champ Yana Kunitskaya. ‘Foxy’ had competed as a large 135lb’er, and was expected to continue on at that weight class in the UFC. However, the chance to fight Cyborg combined with a CSAC recommendation that she move up in weight paved the way for her to serve as Cyborg’s opponent at UFC 222.

Could she pull off the most unlikely of upsets? In her favor was the fact that she trained with Holly Holm, the last woman to fight Cyborg, and the fighter to push the champion the furthest.

Right of the bell, Cyborg hurt the challenger with a punch. Kunitskaya managed to maintain her wits and went for a single leg takedown, dragging the champ down. While Cyborg looked to power up, ‘Foxy’ took the back, and things were looking interesting. Cyborg was able to fight her off, however, reversing. Kunitskaya then pressed Cyborg into the cage, throwing knees. Cyborg answered back with a knee of her own. Kunitskaya then worked for another single leg takedown, but Cyborg fought her off and unleashed more heavy strikes. Cyborg’s hands were way too heavy, and Kunitskaya went back to a desperation takedown. It didn’t happen, and she was backed up against the fence, with Cyborg unloading. Kunitskaya went down, covering up, eating blow after blow, trapped. Unable to defend intelligently, the ref had seen enough, and Cyborg had another win, her second title defense.

Afterward, Cyborg called for a fight with Amanda Nunes, a bout she’d previously been linked to before stepping up to save UFC 222.

Cris Cyborg def. Yana Kunitskaya by TKO, Round 1, 3:25

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The co-main event of UFC 222 in Las Vegas on Saturday saw the octagon return of Frankie Edgar, after having two prior scheduled fights with Max Holloway cancelled due to each fighter being forced to pull out due to injury. Despite a title fight opportunity once again falling through, Edgar opted to remain on the card. That decision turned out to be his undoing. Edgar, who entered the night on a two fight win streak with wins over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 205 and Yair Rodriguez UFC 211, would hit a wall against ‘T-City’ — a.k.a. Brian Ortega.

The undefeated Brian Ortega faced his toughest challenge yet in Frankie Edgar at UFC 222. Ortega had finished every opponent he had faced faced in the UFC. His most recent win came over Cub Swanson by Guillotine choke at UFC Fresno, and was very much a contender for submission of the year. The finish streak didn’t finish at UFC 222 either.

Getting right into the action on Saturday, Edgar used combos to keep Ortega at bay. Ortega continued to stalk Edgar around the cage, finally landing a stinging elbow on Edgar that was followed by a crushing upper cut. That sent Edgar to the canvas, two punches followed, but it was already over as the ref called the end to the fight. Wow. With the finish, Brian Ortega became the first man to stop former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar — and punched his ticket to a title shot!

Brian Ortega def. Frankie Edgar by KO, Round 1, 4:44

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At UFC 222 on Saturday in Las Vegas, NV, the Sugar Show was in town. Depending on your point of view, this was either cause for jubilation, or possibly the worst thing to happen to the sport of MMA of late. Andre Soukhamthath believed the latter, as he hoped to put a stop to a fighter he called a “punk” and “bad for the sport” when we spoke to him ahead of the fight. Sean O’Malley, meanwhile, was hoping to maintain his undefeated record.

It was a battle that had the potential to be Fight of the Night on paper.

There was plenty of movement early on in Soukhamthath vs. O’Malley from both men, and while it was ‘The Asian Sensation’ landing a kick first, Sean O’Malley scored a leg kick of his own that seemed to at least temporarily injure Soukhamthath’s limb. He’d score with a left hand shortly after, letting O’Malley know he was in for a war. O’Malley unleashed a spinning back kick high, then kicked Soukhamthath’s legs out from under him. The low kicks for Sean O’Malley were definitely working early. Another high kick by O’Malley, to the side, followed. Soukhamthath was clipped with a kick while looking for a leg; he’d land on O’Malley next. In O’Malley’s bag of tricks, however, were frequent stance switches. That kept Soukhamthath guessing. O’Malley then scored a knockdown with a right hand, and while a rocked Andre Soukhamthath made it back up, he was definitely dazed to end the round.

In round two, Soukhamthath came out swinging, putting the pressure on early. He seemed to have recovered, but after that first flurry, found himself moving backward once more. O’Malley was able to get through Soukhamthath’s guard and land a punch, but Andre scored a takedown. However, O’Malley immediately threw up a triangle. That allowed him to score elbows from the bottom; he later went for an arm-bar, but that backfired. With Soukhamthath landing in side control, the momentum shifted in his favor. Just when it seemed Soukhamthath would finish the round in control, Sean O’Malley managed to sneak in a guillotine choke. Soukhamthath scrambled to fight his way out of it, but wound up on his back, eating a kick to the body, then got caught in a rear-naked choke. The bell, however, would come to the rescue.

Round three saw Andre Soukhamthath open with a grappling-heavy approach. However, unable to finish the takedown, it was back to the middle, with O’Malley sneaking punches through his defenses. Then, O’Malley launched a head kick. It was partially blocked, but he appeared to have injured the foot, either off the kick or on the way down. It was a callback to the first round when Soukhamthath’s own leg was injured. He attacked O’Malley’s leg with a few more strikes before taking him down. Soukhamthath threatened with a guillotine, but O’Malley made it back up. He could barely stand on his injured leg, but Soukhamthath took him down again. O’Malley then made it back up once more, and even landed a spinning back elbow before Soukhamthath dragged him back down. When the bell sounded, the biggest puzzle was why Soukhamthath didn’t quit the takedown approach and attack the leg, as the TKO was a strong possibility. O’Malley was clearly in pain afterward, and remained on his back when the scores were read. That said, he picked up the unanimous decision win.

Sean O’Malley def. Andre Soukhamthath by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)

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UFC 222 on Saturday saw the meeting of two heavyweights both looking to set the tone in their first fights of 2018. Stefan Struve entered the night looking to right the ship after ending 2017 with a TKO defeat late in the 3rd round at the hands of Alexander Volkov.

Not too long ago, Andrei Arlovski saw himself riding a five fight skid that saw him suffer TKO losses to the likes of Alistair Overeen, Francis Ngannou and current Champion Stipe Miocic. The veteran fighter was able to get back on track at UFC Norfolk late last year when he secured the unanimous decision victory over Marcin Tybura. That bought himself some breathing room, and a date with Struve.

When the action got underway Saturday, it started off slowly with both fighters feeling each other out. Arlovski initiated with a stiff leg kick, followed by another. Struve answered back with a punch of his own. ‘The Pitbull’ continued to chop at the legs of Struve, who returned the favor with a kick of his own. Arlovski followed with an over hand right that lead into the clinch, eventually bringing Struve down to the mat. Arlovski, recognizing the strength of Struve’s ground game, didn’t stay in his guard for long. The former champ stood back up, and continued to chop at the Dutchmen’s legs. Struve landed a stiff right in response and scored a takedown on Arlovski, only to be reversed. The round came to a close with both men on their feet, however Struve’s leg was clearly showing the damage from repeated lashings from the kicks of Arlovski.

The following two rounds played out much the same. Arlovski worked the leg kicks and Struve struggled to utilize his reach. Rather than fighting like a seven foot tall man, he unbelievably moved in when throwing leg kicks. Struve’s failure to play to his strengths allowed Arlovski to get the upper hand. You could practically feel Arlovski getting stronger as the fight went on, with Struve not able to find an answer. The second saw probably the best chance for Struve, after sweeping Arlovski and working a leg lock that Arlovski was able to escape. After that, the ‘Skyscraper’ never really came close again.

The final round saw the pace slow, but Arlovski was still chopping away on Struve’s legs as he pushed the pace and secured another takedown. That was the final nail in the coffin for Struve in the fight.

Andrei Arlovski def. Stefan Struve by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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Long a top contender in the women’s bantamweight division, ‘Alpha’ Cat Zingano made her hotly awaited return to action Saturday night. She had not fought since UFC 200 in July 2016. At UFC 222 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, she faced the surging, undefeated Ketlen Vieira. With an ongoing drought of contenders at 135lbs of late, it felt as if the winner of Zingano vs. Vieira could be on the fast track to a title shot.

As the fight commenced, Cat found herself clipped early, though appeared no worse for the wear. She was leaning into her punches and looking to set things up for the clinch. Leg kicks were a go-to for Zingano early, but Vieira showed crisper striking and was walking her down. Zingano on the other hand had her hands low, and chin high, never a good combination. Cat was able to power her way into a brief takedown, but Ketlen Vieira was quickly back up. A clinch shortly after gave Vieira an opening for a trip off a knee, which allowed her to work for mount. Zingano was able to keep her leg in play, preventing Vieira from obtaining full mount, but she still finished the round on her back.

Round two saw Zingano try to close the distance, and step right into a throw by Ketlen Viera. That powerful throw put Vieira right in mount. Zingano risked giving up her back to get out of harm’s way, but still had Vieira riding her.  The story of the round was just that: control time for Vieira.

Zingano came out swinging to start the third, but after checking a low kick, Cat appeared to hurt her leg. That allowed Vieira to score another takedown, stacking her up against the cage. Zingano bucked her off and worked to land upkicks from the bottom as Vieira regained her composure. She then re-engaged, working within Zingano’s guard. That wasn’t winning the crowd over, but Zingano was trapped. Right until she wasn’t. Powering up Zingano landed a number of heavy shots on Vieira, who opted to tie her up by the fence to buy some time. After a few knees were exchanged the ref broke them up with under a minute remaining. Cat Zingano would then go into berserker mode, trying to find a finish in the dying seconds of the fight. It was too little, too late however, and Vieira would earn the split decision.

Ketlen Vieira def. Cat Zingano by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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The long awaited UFC debut of BJJ ace Mackenzie Dern took place Sunday night, part of the televised preliminary card of UFC 222. Welcoming her to the octagon was Ashley Yoder, 0-2 in her UFC career to date. That said, Yoder remained a tough test for the debuting Dern, who was supremely skilled on the ground, but still a work in progress on the feet.

Dern had shown a willingness to exchange on the feet in her previous fight, and she did that same in her coming out party at UFC 222. Dern swung wild early, but it was Yoder proving something, avoiding the takedown attempts of Mackenzie Dern. Yoder then went to the body with a heavy kick, and you had the feeling that Dern might be a little too wild for her own good. Sloppy punches, rushing in, chin high — Dern was certainly tempting fate. She looked far more comfortable pressing Yoder into the fence, changing levels, and briefly taking her down. That allowed Dern to try to take her opponent’s back, but again, Yoder proved she could deal with Dern’s grappling, fighting her off.

Yoder then launched an inside leg kick that wobbled Mackenzie Dern, and left unchecked, those leg strikes could prove effective.

In the second round, Dern continued to press forward throwing heavy hands. While sloppy, she threw with enough power to force Yoder to retreat. With the fight still standing, however, and half the bout to go, the question was whether Dern could continue to hang. Yoder held her own in grappling exchanges against the fence, and the ref eventually broke the pair up, restarting the action in the middle. Then, the inevitable: Mackenzie Dern found herself tagged. Moments later, Yoder landed again with her left hand, then again. Dern maintained her composure, battling back enough to open up a cut by Yoder’s right eye. Dern would shoot for a takedown towards the end of the round — but much to her chagrin was stuffed once more.

Round three saw Ashley Yoder and Mackenzie Dern clinching along the cage, with the pair trading knees. Dern worked hard for the takedown, but it simply wasn’t happening. And just when it seemed like this could be Yoder’s big moment, Dern was finally able to get her to the canvas. There, she was able to bloody her further, get hooks in, and work on securing a choke. Yoder would survive the round, but the sequence likely put Dern up on the scorecards. Which it did one two, giving her a split decision.

Mackenzie Dern def. Ashley Yoder by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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