The problem with recent Fight Nights, highlighted by some, is that the bouts involved have had no relevance to their respective division rankings. Last night was different though. Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners on the night.

Alexa Grasso

The women’s flyweight division is one that is constantly crying out for fresh contenders. Up steps the 29-year-old, Alexa Grasso. With the champ Valentina having already defeated the women occupying the top 4 rankings, Grasso arrives at rank 5 as someone Valentina is yet to share the cage with.

There were question marks before this bout on how both women’s cardio would hold up. The questions were buried, as in the main event rounds, both competitors looked as fresh as they did in the opening round.

Not only is Grasso fresh competition for Shevchenko, but she earned a title shot with a complete performance. Her willingness to stick behind a counter heavy game-plan, and execute it pristinely, has in my opinion outlined her as the next to challenge for the title.

The only stumbling block in making that Grasso’s next fight, is that Manon Fiorot is taking on rank 1 Katlyn Chookaigon at UFC 280. With a Fiorot win, it’d be pretty hard to deny her the title shot. If the aforementioned does in fact happen, a match-up between Grasso and Santos would suffice.

Alexa Grasso’s Next Fight: Valentina Shevchenko or Talia Santos 

Jonathan Martinez

Martinez put on a performance that may well have been a career best at UFC Vegas 62. With Cub Swanson trying to reignite his career by moving down to bantamweight, there were far more favourable tests they could’ve given him than the surging Martinez.

The first round didn’t go completely against the veteran, but the “Dragon” began doing some nice work on the feet towards the end, and just before the bell landed a beautiful spinning back fist, dropping Swanson with the latter being saved by the bell. On the stool in between round 1 and 2, the 38-year-old looked to be wincing in pain grabbing at his rib as though he knew he’d broken one.

In round 2, Martinez exemplified his youthfulness with some more extremely slick striking. The Factory X product showcased his teams culture, and blitzed Swanson with 3 brutal leg kicks in the span of 2 minutes, with Swanson unable to take anymore.

Although Martinez used his mic time to call out a certain Dominick Cruz, i’m not sure that’s a move the UFC will make next for him. The reason being that Cruz currently occupies rank 7. Having said that, I would love to see him face either Cruz or Munhoz in his next outing.

Jonathon Martinez’ Next Fight: Dominick Cruz or Pedro Munhoz

Dusko Todorovic

Going into this bout, I don’t think there was a fan around the world that thought this fight would need the scorecards. Prior to this fight, Todorovic’s last 2 hadn’t seen the second round, and the same rang true for Wright’s last 3.

The theme of round 1 was relentless pressure from Wright, pressure that almost resulted in another first round finish for “The Beverly Hills Ninja”. But he was unable to get Todorovic out of there, and this would come back to bite him.

In round 2, the relentless pressure was switched, and it was the 28-year-old Serbian that was doing the damage. After a long barrage of punches, Todorovic got Wright to the ground and transitioned to full mount where he reigned down some fatigued shots. Chris Tognoni had seen enough and stepped in, seeing Todorovic get back into the win column.

Someone who is also coming off the back of an impressive victory is Abus Magomedov. To me, that is a match-up that could be extremely fun.

Dusko Todorovic’s Next Fight: Abus Magomedov

Raphael Assuncao

Raphael Assuncao rolled back the years this past Saturday with a glorious performance over the pressure fighter, Victor Henry. Looking at Assuncao’s past 4 performances, you could say a win here was imperative for his future based purely on his age.

Let’s not get it twisted though, the losses the 40-year-old has suffered in recent years have all come to extremely elite opponents. Henry was coming into this bout off the back of an impressive victory over Raoni Barcelos, who himself looked great in his last outing.

Assuncao went back to the style that he found so much success in early on in his career, counter striking. Every time Henry tried to close the distance with a combination of punches, he found himself getting blasted with a heavy Assuncao overhand. It was a performance that showed he still has a lot to give.

Having said that, let’s not get carried away with who we match him up with next. The aforementioned, Raoni Barcelos, would be a great match-up in my opinion.

Raphael Assuncao’s Next Fight: Raoni Barcelos

Alonzo Menifield

“Atomic” Alonzo Menifield was coming in off the back of a perfect win over the controversial Askar Mozharov. He replicated that victory this time out, with another flawless performance, this time over Misha Cirkunov at UFC Vegas 62.

He only needed 1:28 to get the job done, finishing the fight with a frightening uppercut that completely flatlined Cirkunov. With Menifield’s last 2 performances being so impressive, maybe it is time for a step up in competition for the 34-year-old.

Someone who is coming off a loss, but is always involved in entertaining fights, is Ion Cutelaba. A fight between those two men would guarantee fireworks.

Alonzo Menifield’s Next Fight: Ion Cutelaba

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 62 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Feel great. Little bit disappointed with myself and my performance, but a win’s a win. I’ll take it,” Martinez told Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight scrum.

At the end of the second round Martinez had Davis hurt and may have finished the fight then had he not run out of time.

“I think I needed about 3 to 5 more seconds and Herb would have called that. I had him hurt so many times and for me not to finish him is just kind of disappointing. But it’s something I’ve got to work on. I’m going to keep improving my game and I’ll be back,” Martinez said.

Davis proved to be a very tough out, but Martinez said he expected that from his opponent.

“I figured he’d be tough like that. Like I mentioned he’s a down south boy. Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas all them boys are tough man. We come to scrap every time,” he said.

With no finish the fight went to the judges and one judge in particular made Martinez pretty nervous.

“When they said the final judge Tony Weeks….and of course as we know that’s a boxing judge, so I was like ‘Am I really about to get f*cked by a boxing judge” pause. Thank God it went my way, shoutout Tony Weeks, but he definitely seen the fight the proper way and with the knockdowns I had and how many times I had him hurt,” Martinez said.

“I don’t know who the other two judges were, but shout out Tony Weeks.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Mana Martinez above.

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Taira now sits at 12-0 as a professional, and the Vergara win, via arm-bar, gave him his first submission inside the octagon. Not to mention his first finish. At just 22-years-old, the sky is the limit for what many consider to be Japan’s best UFC title hopeful in years.

Following the fight, Taira told media outlets including Cageside Press that the win took some of the pressure off him.

“I’m relieved, because I’m one of the ones, I’m really challenging [for] the title belt. So I just can’t lose,” he stated. “So I’m relieved from some pressure.”

Later, he would add that despite those title aspirations, “I’m not in no rush for getting the title belt,” instead suggesting that “at least I want to have three fights” before fighting for gold.

Securing the finish had Taira upbeat. “One thing that’s good and I’m really glad [about] is I could really show that aggressive attitude all the time.”

With the UFC rumored to be returning to South Korea in 2023, there’s a chance Taira could join that card, with Japan not all that far away compared to the U.S.

“Yes, I want to go to Korea,” said Taira. “I want to have multiple fights, because I’m 22, and [since] I came to the states, I really feel that I’m improving a lot.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Tatsuro Taira above.

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Following the fight, Malkoun told media outlets including Cageside Press that he was happy with the win — but still hadn’t matched his performances in the gym.

“I think I did well. I’ve got to watch it back, to be honest. I still don’t think I’ve competed as well as I have in the training room,” Malkoun said. “So I’ve got to start to perform in the cage the way I do training, and I think everything will start happening from there. I’ve just got to get the experience and get comfortable.”

“I’m happy I got the win. Pretty dominant performance. But I think I’ve got to start performing like I do in the gym.”

Maximov injured his leg during the fight, and Malkoun was called out by the UFC commentary team for not attacking the limb more.

“I kind of picked up that it was hurt a little bit, but I didn’t want to change what I did, just because, I don’t know. He could be doing that for me to attack his leg to counter me with big bombs,” Malkoun explained. “I think that’s the only thing he really had, a big right hand, a big hook. So if I started looking at his legs too much, maybe he would have caught me and put me away.”

“I saw he was hurt, but I didn’t want to stray from my game plan. Looking back, maybe I should have attacked it a little more, but that’s how it goes. For the next fight, it’s a learning experience.”

Next up, Malkoun is hoping to get on the docket for the UFC’s return to Australia. “It’s probably going to be the Perth fight in February. Just got to get home, have a couple of weeks, enjoying training, have a bit of fun, and get back on the horse then.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Jacob Malkoun above.

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Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight, Todorovic (12-3) admitted that he was exhausted — and that Wright had surprised him on the ground.

“Very tired,” Todorovic said with a laugh, before adding “just kidding.”

“On the ground, he showed me a better level than I thought he was going to be,” added Todorovic. “It was just my mistake that I attacked that guillotine. From the beginning, our plan was to box him, because I felt I would have the upper hand there. But definitely he showed good level on the ground, being on the top of course, but yeah, he surprised me there.”

The fast-paced scrap earned Fight of the Night honors, something Todorovic was hoping for immediately following the bout.

“It was definitely a tough one. I wish him [Wright] all the best. He’s a really tough guy, Jordan. I’m really glad I got that W, man.”

In terms of a return to action, Todorovic said “I think my nose is busted up, so probably some time to fix that.” That having been said, “when the UFC calls, we answer,” he added.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Dusko Todorovic above.

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Martinez (17-4) felled Cub Swanson with a leg kick on Saturday, spoiling “Killer” Cub’s bantamweight debut in the co-main event of the evening.

“All this week I wasn’t really thinking about who I was fighting,” Martinez admitted backstage following the fight, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press.

“After I got the win, I was like ‘damn, I just beat Cub Swanson.”

Martinez admitted that he felt a little disrespected by Swanson heading into the fight. “It kind of felt disrespectful when he has an interview and he doesn’t say nothing,” Martinez said, referring to Swanson having a teammate speak for him during the UFC Vegas 62 media day. “So I had that all week. I was like ‘he’s looking at me like I’m nobody.'”

Of course, Martinez himself is not the most vocal fighter; perhaps he could have taken the same approach as Swanson all along. Stay silent, and let someone else do the talking. “I didn’t know that. Now I know,” he said with a laugh.

After the fight, Martinez called out another veteran, Dominick Cruz. “He’s up there too,” Martinez noted. “We’ve got all these guys up there. You’ve got Dominick Cruz, you’ve got Cody [Garbrandt]. If Cody wants it, I’ll fight him. He’s waiting for other guys; if he’s waiting for other guys, he’s pretty much going to be waiting for four or five years. So you know, I’m ready, he’s ready.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Jonathan Martinez above.

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“I knew I won this fight. I did a lot of damage,” Grasso (15-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “My punches were totally a lot harder, and even when she was on the fence, she was doing nothing. I was hitting her instead. I was on the cage, but I was hitting her, I was throwing knees, elbows. On the floor was just a little time. With all respect, she didn’t do too much.”

Grasso added that’s she’s “super proud” of her performance against Araujo. “She’s a Brazilian black belt. She’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced.”

The victory was the fourth straight for Grasso, who has found considerable success since moving to the women’s flyweight division. She’s now firmly among the names chasing champ Valentina Shevchenko, but there’s another upcoming fight that could dictate the next title challenger: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot.

Admitting that “it’s a very important fight too,” Grasso said she actually hopes to take on one more main event challenge before fighting for gold.

“Definitely I faced a big challenge first, 25 minutes fight. I hope to do it again.” With that in mind, Grasso wants “another main event, with one of the girls. I don’t know, maybe number two. The ones that are on top. I would like to test myself again, one more time, for 25 minutes before that, but if I have to go for the belt, I will do it.”

Getting back to Saturday’s performance, Grasso credits past experience for being able to hang with Viviane Araujo in the grappling department.

“I’ve had two fights with two amazing wrestlers, so at the end of the day I’m thankful for those,” she stated. “Every fight that is harder for you helps you to improve better. I think this is the moment in my life where I finally match the wrestling, the jiu-jitsu. I feel a lot more comfortable in any situation.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Alexa Grasso above.

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The promotion’s return after a one-week layoff felt like a buffer ahead of UFC 280 next weekend (no, not Bruce Buffer, the other kind). From its main event on down, UFC Vegas 62 had a blue collar feel to it; fighters who worked hard, but lacked star power.

Jonathan Martinez, however, might just break out into that star category in the long run. The bantamweight has come an awful long way since his promotional debut opposite Andre Sukhamthath at UFC Moncton four years ago. On Saturday, he was paired up with Cub Swanson, who was making his 135lb debut.

As long in the tooth as Swanson is getting, Martinez still managed to make a UFC Hall of Famer look pedestrian. His leg kicks were downright nasty, and the last one put the nail in the coffin as “Killer” Cub went down in pain.

Martinez, still just 28, has now won four straight fights. Thanks to that leg kick TKO, he also won one of two Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 62. The other went to Japanese flyweight Tatsuro Taira, who improved his record to a perfect 12-0 care of an arm-bar submission of C.J. Vergara.

Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 62, meanwhile, was awarded to the bloody battle between Dusko Todorovic and Jordan Wright. Todorovic put the fight away just over three minutes into the second round, finishing Wright with a barrage of hammer fists and elbows.

All four bonus-winning fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts at UFC Vegas 62, which saw the promotion back home at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Rodriguez (5-1) had a point to prove after losing his promotional debut earlier this year. And that point is simple: “I’m not just a last-minute fighter. I’m here to show you who I am,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex on Saturday.

Point made. Rodriguez connected with a heavy punch, a crushing knee, and a few follow-up strikes that had Jackson in the shadow realm for several minutes.

The 100% KO rate remains for Pete Rodriguez 👊

[ #UFCVegas62 is LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/oQrBPsuWbH

— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022

Rodriguez was a last-minute fighter when he debuted against Jack Della Maddalena back in January, of course. Knocked out in the opening round himself, Rodriguez took a number of lessons away from the experience.

“You live and you learn. There was a lot of things that I did for that fight that I did different for this fight.”

Stance and distance was one aspect of his fight game that Rodriguez changed up. “My distance was a big thing that I had to learn. I didn’t know too much about the distancing, and I found out. At the beginning of this round, he hit me with a clean three as soon as I came in. As soon as he hit me with that three, I ranged my distance, I stepped back, and okay, my coaches kind of calmed me down.”

His coaches advised him not to get too anxious. “As soon as I hit him with the body shot, I took my time from there, and like I said, everything that [my coach] said, it was like he had a microphone in my ear. Everything that he said, I was doing. There’s a lot of things that you don’t see in the cage, and the coaches are there to say those and do those things, and it works.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Pete Rodriguez above.

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Venezuela’s Rodriguez, who fights out of Panama, improved to 9-0 with a decision win over Sam Hughes, who herself had been on a two-fight win streak. “La Fiera” gave plenty of credit to Black House MMA, where she has been training for several years, as well as to coaches and teammates around the globe following her most recent win.

“They are building me, they are making me stronger and better. Just better and better every day,” Rodriguez told media outlets including Cageside Press. “I’m very grateful towards the team, to my teammates, to my coaches — the coaches in Spain, the coaches in Panama, they are all together bringing me these good vibes and these good energies to make my career better every day.”

Compared to her first UFC fight, the Contender Series winner was “Much more comfortable” this time around, she stated. “I was very stressed in the first one, now I was a little more comfortable. And I think little by little, I’m going to make this octagon my house.”

What’s next for Piera? She’s hoping not to have to fight any friends, as she plots her next step.

“I don’t have any name on the list, I just hope I don’t have to fight any of my friends really soon, because I have some friends in the division. I don’t know, I just will go back tomorrow, whenever my team says I’m ready [I’ll make my return]. Because we need to study, to see what went I did good, what I did wrong, and then make a decision on the proper time to go back to the show.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 62 post-fight press conference appearance by Piera Rodriguez above.

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