Despite only being used since 2020, the UFC Apex has now hosted 14% of UFC events, ever. This marked Imavov’s fourth fight in the Apex and Dolidze’s fifth.

Let’s take a look what could be next for the winners on the night.

Nassourdine Imavov

The “Russian Sniper” returned to the win column with a majority decision win over the dangerous, Roman Dolidze.

His prior bout with Chris Curtis came to an unfortunate end, as the referee stopped the contest after an accidental clash of heads. The 27-year-old was then scheduled to fight Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 294, but he withdrew from the bout.

The MMA Factory product currently sits rank 11th in the 185lb division, but will likely take the Georgian’s rank 8 spot after the win.

The top of the middleweight division has been somewhat stagnating for what seems to be a while now. Fortunately, the majority of the fighters making up the top 8 are booked into fights. Jared Cannonier, who is currently ranked fourth, doesn’t have a dance partner.

It could make sense for Imavov’s next fight to be against “The Killer Gorilla,” as Cannonier will likely need another win before he fights for middleweight gold again.

Imavov’s Next Fight: Jared Cannonier

Renato Moicano

After a largely comprehensive performance from “Money” Moicano, one of the most bizarre, yet entertaining Octagon interviews ensued.

As advertised, Moicano vs Dober got messy throughout their 15 minute brawl at UFC Vegas 85. As soon as this fight was announced, it was being marked on the majority of people’s calendars, due to the fan favourite style of both lightweights.

The Brazilian had an extended time away from the Octagon as his most recent fight was back in November of 2022, where he impressively beat Brad Riddell in the first round of their UFC 281 bout.

He was then scheduled to fight Arman Tsarukyan in April last year, but he withdrew because of injury. The infectious 34-year-old finally returned this weekend, and ground out a tough win over the dogged, Dober.

A few days after his hard fought victory, Moicano has made it clear on social media that he wants Beneil Dariush next. That fight could make sense, depending on what Dariush’s next move is, following his loss to Arman Tsarukyan back in December.

Moicano’s Next Fight: Beneil Dariush

Randy Brown

“Rudeboy” Randy Brown successfully rode the momentum of his last fight, coming in and knocking out Muslim Salikhov in the first round at UFC Vegas 85.

This win over Salikhov marked just his third win by TKO during his eight year UFC tenure. Despite that, the 33-year-old has put on a run of impressive performances throughout his 17 fight UFC career, and may now be ready for a fight inside the top 15.

Michael Chiesa is currently occupying rank 14, and that is a fight that could make a whole lot of sense. Failing that, even the rank 15, Rinat Fakhretdinov could be a valid dance partner for the “Rudeboy”.

Brown’s Next Fight: Michael Chiesa

Natalia Silva

The insanely impressive Natalia Silva extended her win streak to 11 this weekend, with her highest rank win thus far, coming against Viviane Araujo.

The Pingo d’Agua native has undoubtedly highlighted herself as a future title contender, and there won’t be many UFC flyweights putting their names in the hat to fight the striking specialist.

Despite having to fight the majority of the fight on her back foot, she was at no stage in danger of losing her win streak.

The name Maycee Barber has been thrown out there by some fans, however, she is currently scheduled to fight Katlyn Chookagian in March. Unfortunately for Silva, everyone ahead of her in the rankings is already booked.

Depending on how quickly the 27-year-old wants to return, she may find herself having to fight down the rankings to stay as active as possible. The only fighter beneath her that could make sense, is Tracy Cortez.

Natalia Silva’s Next Fight: Tracy Cortez

Aliaskhab Khizriev and Makhmud Muradov

Due to the unfortunate circumstance of this fight being declared a no contest, just 11 seconds into the first round, this fight should be re-booked.

Aliaskhab Khizriev and Makhmud Muradov: Rebook this fight for a later date

Charles Radtke

Opening up the UFC Vegas 85 main card with an emphatic win was the controversial Charles Radtke. Due to his on-mic antics in Australia at UFC 293, the fans were locked into this fight for their own reasons.

Radtke found a home for a blistering left hook late into round one, knocking Urbina out. What followed was a light-hearted yet strange Octagon interview with Cormier. That wasn’t the strangest part of “Chuck Buffalo’s” night though.

In his post fight press conference with the media, Radtke stated that he wanted payment for the post-fight media appearance he is contractually obliged to do, which resulted in an awkward silence and subsequently, no questions asked by the media.

The 33-year-old is clearly happy to lean into the heel persona he has created for himself, however, he may want to slow down with it. During his Octagon interview, he asked where Leon Edwards was at and proceeded to timidly call him out. Although it was likely a joke, it didn’t result in any laughs from the fans.

If a Brit is what he’s looking for, then why not Sam Patterson? Coming off the back of a first round submission of Yohan Lainesse and in his more natural weight class, Patterson could be a fun next fight for Radtke.

Radtke’s Next Fight: Sam Patterson

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Roman Dolidze

Georgian-born Roman Dolidze disappointed in his first UFC main event. Most of his success at UFC Vegas 85 was found with damageless cage clinching, he almost got finished, and he gassed out quickly. Perhaps the close decision in the Marvin Vettori fight was a case of a favorable stylistic matchup and Dolidze does not really belong at this level right now. It is up to him to prove that he does. He will drop from number eight to at least number eleven in the rankings and should now be matched up against a rising, unranked prospect due to his two-fight losing streak.

Ikram Aliskerov is one of hottest unranked middleweights in the UFC at present, and certainly the best of the unbooked ones, since fighters like Roman Kopylov and Joe Pyfer are already booked against ranked fighters. Aliskerov presents the challenge of a strong Dagestani wrestling base as well as powerful and effective striking. Dolidze will be challenged and if he does not prove he belongs in the top-15 at middleweight with a win then he will fall from the rankings.

Dolidze’s Next Fight: Ikram Aliskerov

Drew Dober

Lightweight knockout record holder Drew Dober fell to 1-2 in his last three fights on Saturday when Renato Moicano was able to out-grapple him in a competitive but clear decision. As the fifteenth-ranked lightweight in the UFC, there is a good chance he will have fallen from the rankings entirely when they are updated on Tuesday morning. Either way, Dober will be fighting an unranked prospect in his next outing.

Options abound at lightweight, with several options available who are just outside of the top fifteen: Paddy Pimblett, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Mateusz Rebecki . There are even rematches which make sense: Nasrat Haqparast, Terrance McKinney, or even Matt Frevola even though they fought not long ago, because of the sheer violence factor. Fans know what they are after when they see a Drew Dober fight. Haqparast, McKinney, Frevola, Rebecki, and CDF are all options which can provide that violent, kill-or-be-killed style fight at times. So too could the winner of Ludovit Klein vs Joel Alvarez, or Joaquim Silva vs Drakkar Klose.

Lightweight is really just stacked, so good options are endless for a talented and exciting fighter like Drew Dober, but I think that Dober vs McKinney 2 would make for the best viewing. McKinney almost finished him in the first fight and has improved since then, while Dober was since KOed for the first time ever. The fight makes more sense now than it did the first time, arguably, and would make for an excellent opener to UFC 300 if the promotion wants to go that route and if Dober is ready.

Dober’s Next Fight: Terrance McKinney 2

Muslim Salikhov

Sanda kickboxing practitioner Muslim Salikhov put together a five-fight winning streak in the UFC from 2018 to 2021, but has since lost three of his last four and it appears that his age of thirty-nine is a significant factor. Salikhov must seriously consider retirement in the wake of UFC Vegas 85, especially since two of those losses were knockouts, but if we assume he is going to keep fighting then it is appropriate to match him up against an average UFC welterweight or a fellow aging veteran, no longer should he be fighting fringe-ranked contenders.

Alex Morono is a fighter who has always been more technician than athlete and who has long been a solid UFC welterweight. With a 12-6 record in the UFC, he is a similar caliber of veteran to Salikhov, though he has never been ranked. Alex is a striker with a penchant for decisions, so a fight against ‘The King of Kung Fu’ would be both well-matched stylistically, be of a level Salikhov can likely still compete at as proven by beating Andre Fialho, and be a chance for Salikhov’s chin to rest a bit after a brutal knockout loss.

Salikhov’s Next Fight: Alex Morono

Viviane Araujo

Although Natalia Sila is one of the hottest prospects in the sport and there is no shame in losing to her, Araujo is now 2-4 in her last six following UFC Vegas 85. She beat ranked contenders in her wins and did not get completely shut out of a fight until she fought Silva, but the number eight spot is too high for her, and she, too, will be lower upon release of the Tuesday rankings update.

Someone like that has to fight down, of course, and who better then to face than the newest member of the UFC women’s flyweight divisional rankings’ newest member, Jasmine Jasudavicius. Jasudavicius also once lost to Natalia Silva, but she is 4-2 in her six UFC fights and is ranked fifteenth after her recent win. She is certainly a less experienced and highly ranked opponent than Araujo’s last several, so this will both give Araujo an opportunity to prove she belongs in the rankings and give Jasudavicius an opportunity to solidify her spot as a contender.

Araujo’s Next Fight: Jasmine Jasudavicius

Gilbert Urbina

With a 1-2 record in the UFC after losing in the semifinals of his season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Gilbert Urbina is one loss away from being sent back to the regional scene. At present he is the perfect sort of fighter to be someone’s welcoming party to the UFC. The last welterweight winner of the 2023 DWCS season, Mauricio Ruffy, can boost his career at the expense of Urbina if they fight, but it would give Urbina a chance to claw his way back to 2-2, a respectable record. As always being 1-2 in the UFC is the ultimate crossroads when nearing the end of a fighter’s first, and potentially last, contract with the promotion.

Urbina’s Next Fight: Mauricio Ruffy

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There were still some impressive showings on the night, including Molly McCann debuting as a strawweight, pulling off a nasty arm-bar submission in her rematch with Diana Belbita. Given McCann had herself been submitted in her last two fights, the finish was absolutely a statement by the Liverpool, England native.

With the win, McCann snapped her two-fight skid, which had seen her tap to Julija Stoliarenko and Erin Blanchfield. She also picked up one of two Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 85.

The other went to Randy Brown, who starched Muslim Salikhov on the main card. Their fight had been a long time coming, with a Brown illness postponing the fight that had initially been booked for UFC 296 this past December.

Randy Brown and Molly McCann earning performance bonuses closed the door for Themba Gorimbo, who was in the running thanks to a big preliminary card finish of Pete Rodriguez.

Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 85 went to flyweights Charles “Inner G” Johnson and Azat Maksum. All four bonus-winning fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts.

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After an unlucky clash of heads derailed the French-Dagestani Nassourdine Imavov’s stellar performance against Chris Curtis, causing a no-contest, he looked to rebound with his second UFC main event. Georgia’s Dolidze faced the challenge of his first UFC main event coming directly off a close loss to top contender Marvin Vettori.

The fighters traded kicks to start the bout as they felt each other out. Imavov pressed Dolidze back with his superior jab and so Roman clinched up. Nassourdine tried to turn and back out but Dolidze held onto him for over a minute, but was unable to do damage. The striking was in favor of Imavov mostly; Dolidze’s awkward lunges, head bobs, and overhands sometimes found success but never clean or damaging. With one minute left Imavov landed a right hand that send Roman falling backwards towards the fence, and then to his back on the mat.

Imavov landed a lot of unanswered shots but Herb Dean never seemed interested in stopping the fight, bizarrely. Dolidze eventually found enough consciousness to go for a leg lock, but he got his back taken and ate many more punches before the bell saved him.

Roman Dolidze’s faced looked battered to start the second round but he was still focused and fighting hard. Imavov hit him a few times before the Georgian clinched him and held him against the fence. Nassourdine could not get free for a long time, but neither could Roman get the takedown or do any more damage than foot stomps. Nevertheless, he held Imavov in the clinch for the vast majority of the round, though Nassourdine got free a few times.

The third round started slowly but Imavov regained the advantage. He landed one good right hand two minutes into the round, prompting Roman to grab him yet again as he began to seem like he was fading. Hanging onto Imavov helped him survive another scare when he ate a knee and a right hand later in the round. Herb Dean separated that clinch for inactivity right before the round ended.

The fourth round brought drama as Nassourdine Imavov kicked Roman Dolidze in the head when he was down. Imavov then began to scream at his past opponent Chris Curtis, a member of Dolidze’s corner, prompting Herb Dean to threaten to disqualify him. Dolidze’s face looked horribly swollen and Herb took a point from Imavov, but the fight continued after two minutes on pause. Roman swung wildly in anger when the fight resumed and actually stung Imavov.

Imavov was the one to clinch up and Dolidze used that to get the fight into his realm for the first time, using a leg entanglement to drag him to the mat, then sweep and get on top of Imavov. Nassourdine butt-scooted so he could wall-walk up, right back into the clinch. Dolidze swung wildly again when they separated, but the sharper, straigher shots of Imavov were all that really landed before the round ended.

Dolidze was desperate to grapple in the final round, finally just dropping to his back to grab an arm and a knee on two occassions. Imavov defended it and slammed Roman with an elbow. Dolidze may have been almost out, but Imavov just clinched up and essentially allowed himself to be reversed and controlled. When Herb Dean separated them for inactivity, the fatigue was more evident than ever. Both men were not completely out of gas, but were far sloppier than they were in the first round, especially Imavov since Roman was a sloppy striker the entire time.

In the last minute Dolidze shot for several telegraphed takedowns, the last of which got him hit hard in the head a few times as he tried to stand up from being put in a front headlock.

The decision seemed relatively clear. Imavov seemingly had banked a 10-8 round in the first to make up for losing the fourth 10-8 after the point deduction, and he won at least two more rounds, if not all three others. When Bruce Buffer read out the scorecards there was one surprise: that one judge scored it a draw.

Imavov explained the Chris Curtis incident which almost got him disqualified by saying that Curtis talks too much and that Chris ran from their fight, continuing the bad blood between them since their fight. However Imavov gave props to Dolidze for continuing after being hurt by a foul in this fight.

Official Result: Nassourdine Imavov def. Roman Dolidze by Unanimous Decision (49-44, 47-47, 48-46)

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Moicano was entering the octagon following an extended layoff that saw him miss all of 2023.

The explosive lightweights started out hot, forgoing any sort of feeling out process and trading blows in the center of the cage out of the gate. As momentum began to swing in Dober’s favor, Moicano managed to secure a crucial takedown before controlling his opponent on the mat for the remainder of the round.

The second frame started with more of the same, as Moicano continued to assert his jiu jitsu prowess and ground dominance, flowing smoothly from position to position while raining down heavy ground and pound strikes. Dober would turn the tide, however, escaping to his feet before a clash of heads caused a huge gash to open under the right of eye of Moicano. Dober capitalized, controlling position on the ground and effectively stealing the round.

The fight would see a third round, one that was all Moicano. The Brazilian lightweight would defeat Drew Dober two rounds to one on all three judges’ scorecards, improving his record to (18-5-1) before stealing the show on the mic.

Moicano revealed that his 62-year old father had a child yesterday, that after fighting he would like to be a police officer or become a member of the SWAT team, and that something is wrong with America.

“People need to respect the f*cking law. Otherwise this great country is going to be a third-world country. And I don’t want that motherf*ckers,” Moicano exclaimed to Daniel Cormier following his victory over the lightweight knockout king.

Congrats to Renato Moicano and his dad.

Official Result: Renato Moicano def. Drew Dober by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Both fighters were in opposite positions coming into this fight. Both had alternated wins and losses recently. The difference being that Randy Brown was coming off a win while in his physical prime, while Salikhov was not. Both men had been on the edge of the welterweight top 15 for several years, and both needed a win here to really have a shot at doing something in the rankings before they were too old to have an impact.

Salikhov began the fight by countering the jab with a hard low kick to the long, skinny calf of Randy Brown, a tactic he would key in on for most of the fight. Randy switched back and forth and used teeps and jabs to control range mostly. Brown poked Salikhov’s eye halfway through the round, but Muslim was fine to continue. Randy got back to action with a swift headkick; Salikhov blocked it at the last moment and responed by beginning to use his classic spinning kicks, learned from his Sanda background. Then in a flash it was over. Randy Brown dropped the hammer of his right hand following a double jab. Salikhov hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and rolled over. One more shot hit him on the ear before the referee stepped in.

Randy Brown’s knockout was everything a beautiful knockout should be and will now be the best highlight on his reel in the last several years. Randy Brown stated how badly he needed that knockout after letting out a sigh of relief and a scream of joy. He improved to a stellar 12-5 record in the UFC and used that to call for a spot on the massive upcoming UFC 300 card.

Official Result: Randy Brown def. Muslim Salikhov by TKO, Round 1, 3:17

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Araujo, ranked #7 in the weight class, opened on the offensive, putting the #9-ranked Silva on the fence. She would eventually spend a whole lot of time there, climbing Silva at points, fishing a hook in and looking for back control. Silva struggled to get her opponent off of her, but most of the round was a slow, grinding pace with knees and clinch work in close against the cage. Silva had something of a late surge in the final moments of round one, but it wasn’t much. The biggest surprise was that the ref wasn’t more on top of separating the pair.

Round two saw Silva on the outside, and Araujo walking her down only to be greeted with front kicks. Silva’s jab started to come on, and the pace had picked up from the first frame. Silva’s lateral movement was constant, though Araujo finally closed the gap with about two minutes left in the frame, putting on a body lock for a moment. The pair battled for head position in a fight that had been more about control than damage for the majority of the first two rounds. Still, Silva had a much better round and likely did enough to secure the round.

The third round opened with Araujo again coming forward, and Natalia Silva once again staying on her bike on the outside. Silva then connected with a pair of kicks, drawing a reaction from the sparse crowd inside the UFC Apex. Not out of it yet, Araujo connected with a right hand. She then closed the distance, pursuing a single-leg takedown to no avail while the ref urged the pair to work, while warning Araujo to let go of the cage.

Silva eventually freed herself with over two minutes left on the clock. That didn’t give much time for Viviane Araujo to mount a comeback; in any case it was Silva with some offensive flurries including spinning attacks, jabs, and kicks in the final minute.

With wins over KGB Lee and Jasmine Jasudavicius, both of whom are no stranger to the women’s flyweight rankings, Natalia Silva claimed her biggest scalp yet at UFC Vegas 85. The win comes on her birthday, making it a little extra special as well.

Official Result: Natalia Silva def. Viviane Araujo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Inactivity has plagued Khizriev since signing with the UFC in 2020. He has had five fights canceled for one reason or another since then, and it took him two years and four cancellations just to get to his debut, in which he dominated and finished Denis Tiuliulin. Two years later, he takes on a once-hyped prospect in Muradov who had his train derailed with two straight losses in 2022. A win in 2023 over veteran Bryan Barbarena got him back on track, and taking the ‘zero’ of Khizriev would put him right back in the limelight. But neither fighter was happy when they left the UFC Apex on Saturday.

Aliaskhab Khizriev opened the fight pressing forward in his southpaw stance, throwing hands right away. However, on the way to begin his combination he poked Muradov in the eye with his lead hand. It was a bad one; the doctor was heard informing referee Herb Dean that Muradov’s cornea was scratched. The fight barely got started before it was over, continuing Khizriev’s run of bad luck which rivals fighters like Alex Perez.

The only things that can be said now are that hopefully Moradov is okay and hopefully they are able to rematch soon, so both of their careers can move past this incident.

Official Result: Aliaskhab Khizriev vs Makhmud Muradov ends in No Contest (eye poke), Round 1, 0:11

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The welterweight fight kicked off Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with Radtke pushing forward early.

Urbina circled on the outside, but a left hand soon landed for Radtke, who had courted controversy in his promotional debut by letting slip a homophobic slur in his post-fight interview, though he later apologized.

It was Urbina who no doubt wanted to drop a few f-bombs of a different on Saturday after being caught by a low blow with about a minute left in the opening round. But after a brief reprieve, he chose to fight on, barely using his allotted five minutes for recovery.

Urbina will likely regret that decision, because a moment later, Charles Radtke had dropped Urbina. And while Gilbert Urbina survived that battering, after just a few seconds more, he was put away by another left hook. One more blow was all it took for the ref to have seen enough, as he came in to make the save.

“Colby Covington, you still suck!” Radtke exclaimed after saying he was there to make the welterweight division great again in his post-fight interview.

Official Result: Charles Radtke def. Gilbert Urbina by TKO, Round 1, 4:47

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Both fighters were coming off losses, with McCann having dropped fights to Julija Stoliarenko and Erin Blanchfield.

Right out of the gate, McCann landed a very meatball-like right hand that landed heavy, though Belbita didn’t seem to miss more than a step. McCann clearly had the power edge however, while Belbita mixed kicks into her combos as the pair got to work. Rather surprisingly, two minutes in, McCann landed a quick double-leg takedown, though the pair got right back up— where Molly fired a spinning back kick.

In a clinch alongside the cage, McCann landed a spinning back elbow, a move that had served her well in her career. Belbita continued to fight on, pressing forward even as she ate another one of those spinning elbows. Belbita meanwhile went to the body and kept touching McCann’s legs with kicks, though her shots had far less on them. Things opened up in the final minute, with Belbita ducking a punch and connecting, only to be scooped up and planed on the mat minutes later with McCann in mount.

Belbita, on bottom, looked like she might escape the round— but McCann locked up an arm-bar just ahead of the buzzer and got the tap!

“You don’t change the goal, you change the plan,” McCann exclaimed after mentioning her plan had been to be champ at 125lbs. The goal is clearly the same in her new home at strawweight.

Official Result: Molly McCann def. Diana Belbita by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:59

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