As well as the main event, the UFC San Diego co-main delivered everything you could’ve hoped for as a fight fan, resulting in an all out war. With that being said, let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners of the night.

Marlon Vera

“Chito” Vera once again put in a claim for the nickname ‘the legend killer.’ There were high stakes coming into his UFC San Diego fight between two top rated Bantamweights, and with the rest of the division tied up, it offered the chance for one of these men to separate themselves.

Dominick Cruz began the fight extremely well and implemented his extremely unique footwork and movement from the first bell. All three judges had Cruz winning the first two rounds, despite being dropped in them both. The volume striking from “The Dominator” became a staple in this fight. In round three “Chito” woke up and Cruz went to sleep. A picture perfect left high kick turned Cruz’ lights out and catapulted Vera even higher into superstardom.

With four extremely impressive wins in his last four outings, Vera is now knocking on the door for a title shot. The question now is whether Vera waits it out and see’s how the title fight between Sterling and Dillashaw plays out. The other option being to fight the winner of Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley, with the possibility of a rematch with O’Malley being something a lot of fans want to see.

Marlon Vera’s Next Fight: The winner of Yan vs O’Malley

Nate Landwehr

Wow. Nate “The Train” put on a show and won over hundreds of thousands of fans. Landwehr was taking on a young hungry lion in David Onama, a fighter that possesses serious knockout power. Going into the bout, I believed that if Onama couldn’t get it done early on then Landwehr would take over. And that’s exactly what happened. Onama connected with a huge shot early on, dropping Landwehr, however his follow up shot seemed to wake up the Clarksville native.

The three rounds that these two men put on were absolutely relentless, and Landwehr maximized his mic time by showing off his hilarious personality. Being five fights into his UFC career, Landwehr is finally maximizing his potential and showing what a warrior he is.

A man he was scheduled to fight previously is Lerone Murphy, and that’s a fight that still makes sense.

Nate Landwehr’s Next Fight: Lerone Murphy

Yazmin Jauregui

The battle of the J(I)asmins was the most under the radar fight of the weekend due to the two women being extremely young. Combining for an age of just 43, there was a reason these two women were so high up the card in what was both their debuts.

Lucindo was coming into what was her 18th professional fight at the age of just 20. Jauregui on the other-hand was making her UFC debut after conquering the Combate Global Strawweight division and only being 23-years-old herself. The two put on an absolute show, and it’s a fight I wouldn’t be surprised seeing five years down the line for UFC gold.

With her being a promotional newcomer, it’ll take a few more fights under the UFC lights for her to become a household name. For her next fight, let her take on the “Spider Girl.”

Yazmin Jauregui’s Next Fight: Maria Oliveira 

Azamat Murzakanov

The Russian continued his flawless record going 12-0 with another impressive victory, this time against Devin Clark. The Contender Series alumni has finished his first two UFC bouts in the final round, showing that his skill and power carries through.

“The Professional” has been living up to his nickname, and he may have earned himself a higher ranked opponent for his next outing. Someone who is coming off the back of victory over Sam Alvey is Michal Oleksiejczuk. While a victory over the slumping Alvey isn’t going to boost one’s stock too much, it was still a solid performance. A match-up between Murzakanov and Oleksiejczuk could make sense next.

Azamat Murzakanov’s Next Fight: Michal Oleksiejczuk

Priscilla Cachoeira

Despite having to wait an extra week for this fight, Priscilla Cachoeira didn’t want to wait around for much longer, and dispatched of Ariane Lipski within the first round at UFC San Diego. After getting involved in a slugfest, Lipski could no longer take the barrage of punches coming her way and shelled up on the ground.

Cachoeira has put together two wins in a row, and will now be looking to make it three on the bounce in her next outing, something she hasn’t managed to do since 2017. Another women who has recently scored an impressive victory is Joselyne Edwards. That’s a match-up we may see next.

Priscilla Cachoeira’s Next Fight: Joselyne Edwards 

Gerald Meerschaert

“GM3” scored an extremely impressive win in what marked his 50th professional bout, and 17th UFC appearance. Meerschaert’s last seven wins have all came by way of submission, making him extremely dangerous to go to the ground with. He rocked Silva with a beautiful left straight, and then subsequently synched the neck of Silva making him tap.

Despite coming off a loss to Buckley, a bout with Albert Duraev could be a good match-up for Gerald Meerschaert next.

Gerald Meerschaert’s Next Fight: Albert Duraev

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We’ve put on our matchmaker hats to see what comes next for the losing side of Saturday’s Fight Night card.

Dominick Cruz

The booking for the legend’s next fight involves a lot of open questions after getting knocked out with a head kick by Chito Vera. Most importantly, what does he want now? After having his latest run to the top disrupted on Saturday is he going to retire? Does he want one last fight before laying down the gloves? Or is he determined to still get to the title and win it for a third time? It would be a hard road back to the top, given Cruz is 37 years old, and there are no guarantees in this sport.

Operating under the assumption that he is looking to retire soon, the next big question is who will win Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili next week at UFC 278? If Jose Aldo loses then having the bantamweight GOAT face the featherweight GOAT would be every WEC fan and fight nerd’s dream come true. If Aldo wins and moves closer to the title then perhaps Frankie Edgar would be an option – but he wants to retire at UFC 281 at MSG in November and it is unlikely that Cruz would be ready by then after this brutal knockout. Cub Swanson recently moved down to 135 and is another WEC legend that would make for a great last hurrah. For now, the loser of Aldo vs Merab should be the choice, albeit with a tiny asterisk next to it.

Cruz’s Next Fight: Loser of Aldo vs Dvalishvili*

David Onama

The 28 year old Ugandan prospect has been must-watch TV in every UFC fight thus far, win or lose. Despite losing the decision against Nate Landwehr on Saturday the fight was an instant Fight of the Year contender and the Glory MMA athlete should be booked against another unranked action fighter. Steven ‘Ocho’ Peterson is coming off of a similar chaotic bout against Julian Erosa earlier this year that also won the Fight of the Night bonus and would be a perfect opponent for Onama for his fifth UFC fight.

Onama’s Next Fight: Steven Peterson

Iasmin Lucindo

In her UFC debut the 20-year old Iasmin Lucindo acquitted herself better than anyone could have imagined. She was the underdog against a highly touted and undefeated prospect in Yazmin Jauregui but she still fought her heart out, arguably won the fight in some fan’s minds, and would undoubtedly have won Fight of the Night if not for the insanity that followed with Landwehr vs. Onama. This fight raised her stock more than most debuting fights have their stock raised, even if they win their fight.

At such a young age and with the athleticism she has — especially her power and her chin — the ceiling is sky high and she deserves a match-up that allows her to grow. Ashley Yoder is a long time veteran of the sport. She was around for the earliest days of this division in the UFC and although she sits at an 8-8 record, she is a good test for any up and coming prospect. If Lucindo can win against her then it will show the world that she is ready for a step back up in competition.

Lucindo’s Next Fight: Ashley Yoder

Devin Clark

Devin Clark has been a borderline top fifteen light heavyweight for a long time now, even dipping his toes into that group briefly in 2020. He is almost the epitome of a ‘win one, lose one’ fighter and all but one of his previous losses in the sport have been to fighters who have themselves been ranked at some point. On Saturday he was stopped in the third round by undefeated Russian prospect Azamat Murzakanov.

Clark should look to rebound against someone in a similar position to himself. Da Un Jung is also coming off of KO loss, his being to the ranked former GLORY kickboxer Dustin Jacoby. A match-up between the two would give them a chance to right the ship and see the trajectory that their future lies in.

Clark’s Next Fight: Da Un Jung

Ariane Lipski

Ariane ‘Queen of Violence’ Lipski was on the receiving end of a violent stoppage from Priscilla Cachoiera at UFC San Diego. The two had been booked for the card at the Apex a week prior but Lipski was not cleared by doctors to fight. This time around she fought up a weight class, but was defeated by her opponent with a quick knockout. There is no way to know whether the dual weight cut was the issue but it is quite possible.

Lipski has now lost three of her last four after a two and two start to her UFC career. She could be potentially fighting for her job in her next fight. That indicates a certain prestige of fighter to be booked against. Debuting ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner Juliana Miller fits that bill. Miller will look to make a name for herself on the roster with the backing of a TUF championship while Lipski will look to keep her job against the youngster.

Lipski’s Next Fight: Juliana Miller

Bruno Silva

Bruno ‘Blindado’ Silva was defeated in a shocking upset loss against Gerald Meerschaert on Saturday. He over-swung on many of his punches in attempts to knock down GM3 and instead was unexpectedly dropped himself in the final round by the underdog, who is widely considered to be more of a grappler than striker. That grappling was still what finished the fight, as Silva was forced to tap. A logical next step for ‘Blindado’ would be against Hawaiian striker Punahele Soriano as both men look to fight up towards a future spot in the rankings.

Silva’s Next Fight: Punahele Soriano

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It very may well win Fight of the Year when all is said and done.

The fight in question, the co-main event featherweight scrap between Nate Landwehr and Dominick Cruz, went the distance, though not for lack of effort. From the opening bell, Landwehr, known as “The Train,” brought constant pressure, hurting Onama repeatedly. At times, he came close to putting Onama away, only for Onama to not only survive, but thrive in the third and final round, hurting Landwehr several times himself.

Watching the fight unfold was akin to watching a movie, with numerous shifts in momentum, and both fighters playing up the crowd. In the end, two judges scored the fight for Landwehr, while a third deemed it a draw, resulting in a majority decision win for the former M-1 champion.

On any other night, the UFC San Diego main event between Marlon “Chito” Vera and ex-bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz might have claimed Fight of the Night honors. Instead, Vera’s fourth-round head kick KO of Dominick Cruz had to settle with a Performance of the Night bonus.

The other Performance of the Night award at UFC San Diego went to Tyson Nam, who put together a pair of right hands to put away Ode Osbourne in the opening round of their flyweight fight.

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Osbourne had a couple of KOs under the UFC banner, a rarity for a 125’er. Nam proved he too has dynamite in his hands, finishing the fight with a couple of right hands inside of a round.

“That was all of the emotions in one punch,” Nam told media outlets including Cageside Press following the win, which happened to be his first fight in 19 months. “Not surprised that it was the right hand again.”

It’s a moment Nam had been focused on for the entirety of his absence. So much so that he was smiling in the octagon. That, said Nam, was due to being “So happy. 19 months, right? All I’ve been doing is thinking about it for 19 months. Something that will drive any human being insane. So to make it back here, make the walk in front of fans? My God.”

“All the way from the training, the coaching, the rehabbing, the progression, all the way up to that stepping into the cage. It was always in your mind: 19 months, ring rust, you’re going to feel a little bit nervous, you’re going to feel a little bit anxious,” Nam continued. “I didn’t feel none of it. As soon as we were riding the bus, I’ve been here before, I’ve been doing it longer than pretty much anybody on top of this fight card. I’m home. I’m home.”

As for the 125lb weight class, Nam was bullish on it. “The flyweight division is smoking hot. We’re knocking each other out, we’re throwing each other around. That was probably the biggest knock on the flyweights, was the lack of KOs. We’re bringing it every week. Put a flyweight on top of every single card, you’ll see a knockout.”

Watch the full UFC San Diego post-fight press scrum with Tyson Nam above.

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While it was Vera who had pursued the fight ahead of Saturday’s bantamweight clash, Dominick Cruz came out fired up, taking the fight to Vera. After an early attack on the feet, he would land a takedown about 90 seconds in; Vera bounced back from both, then rocked Cruz in an offensive foray of his own, knocking the ex-champ down care of a well-placed left hook.

Cruz shook that off, and the pair settled in, Cruz working his hands, and throwing numerous feints. Vera flashed a front kick, while Cruz kept his opponent guessing, miming knees that never delivered. In the final minute of the round, Cruz landed a takedown, smack dab in the center of the octagon. In a highly competitive round, that might have given Cruz the edge, but Vera nearly caught him in an arm-bar, forcing Cruz back to his feet.

Round two opened with Dominick Cruz finding a home for his right hand, and firing a front kick. He mixed things up, attacking Vera’s leg. Cruz showed impressive accuracy through several exchanges through the first half of the round, landing seemingly at will. Vera continued to walk forward, however — but to that point was unable to take advantage of his edge in power.

The movement of Cruz? As good as always. That allowed him to get in, rip the body, land one upstairs, and get out. Vera would land a right hand, but in terms of volume, he was slipping behind. Late in the round, Cruz changed levels for a takedown, but this time, Vera was ready with a sprawl and stuffed the attempt.

More quick exchanges awaited in round three. Cruz continued to create space with his front kick. Then, 90 seconds in, Vera landed a scorching right hand that dropped Cruz! Cruz looked to be in real trouble, but was able to keep Vera off him and return to his feet. Another takedown attempt by Cruz was stuffed at the two minute mark; Vera landed clean a moment later, but Cruz was able to shake that one off. It was an edge-of-your seat affair through the final two minutes however: could Vera catch Cruz and win the fight, or would the “Dominator” survive the round?

Another Cruz takedown was stuffed, and Cruz was rewarded for his efforts with an elbow to the head. They would head to the fourth round, however, with Vera holding the momentum.

Cruz would land early in round four with a right hand that had Vera falling back, more off-balance than rocked. But a left jab by Vera mere moments later dropped Cruz! Dominick got back up, and took a few big swings. The question before the court, how much had the knockdowns taken out of Dominick Cruz? We found out a moment later, with Vera ending the former champ’s night in violent fashion. A head kick connected clean, the sound reminiscent of a baseball bat connecting for a home run wing. Cruz had been ducking down as the kick connected, making it all the worse, and struggled to get back to his feet even after the fight had been called.

Official Result: Marlon Vera def. Dominick Cruz by KO (head kick), Round 4, 2:17

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In the first round heavy favorite Onama came out strong, as expected. He hurt Nate Landwehr badly multiple times and seemed close to a finish but ‘The Train’ was able to control Onama’s posture and keep him from finishing the fight with ground and pound. More than anything, Nate’s iron chin was on display.

When the fighters came out for the second round, everything changed. Nate used a combination of distance and dirty clinch striking to beat down his quickly tiring foe. Onama especially could not cope with the clinch work, he kept trying to swing his patented wild, powerful hooks in the short space and ducking his head which resulted in getting kneed. As the round went further he went from tired to utterly spent and now Landwehr seemed close to a finish. The fight arguably could have been stopped at many points.

On the stool between rounds Coach James Krause asked his pupil if he wanted to continue and while Onama took a long time to answer, in the end he said yes. He stood up for the third round with everyone wondering how he would manage to survive another thirty seconds, let alone five more minutes.

For a while it was more of the same. Onama fell to the ground in pursuit of a takedown on multiple instances, but Nate stood back up and walked away, playing to the crowd rather than trying to end his opponent. Onama got back up again and again. To the amazement of everyone, around the midpoint of the round he actually landed a big bomb that rocked Landwehr. However the ensuing flurry was incapable of denting Landwehr’s iron chin. Landwehr ate everything and came back even harder, peppering Onama with shots and almost finishing him many more times in the clinch and on the ground. Finally, at the ten second clapper, David Onama unleashed a wild flurry of bombs that sent Landwehr falling backwards onto the mat against the cage. The crowd was as loud as any UFC event ever at that point. While Onama could not finish the fight, and lost the decision, he won a moral victory by surviving to the decision in one of the most insane fights in a long time. One fight after an incredible women’s strawweight bout that everyone thought would surely win Fight of the Night, this fight stole that out of their grasp.

In the post fight interview, Nate The Train delivered an iconic interview in his patented Tennessee accent, with a brash drawl that would make Nate Diaz proud. “Nate the Train is in the UFC baby!” he repeated over and over again, to the cheers of the crowd. Everyone won tonight.

Official Result: Nate Landwehr def. David Onama by majority decision (28–28, 29–27, 29–27)

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Lucindo, just twenty, had begun her fighting career at just 14, and was stepping in on short notice.

Jauregui wasn’t much older, just twenty-three herself. Both could very much be a big part of the division’s future some day.

Jauregui and Lucindo started off with a heavy heavy exchange with Jauregui landing a bit cleaner. A failed takedown from Lucindo followed. They both decided to exchange and Lucindo did hurt Jauregui briefly. Jauregui was doing a nice job mixing in kicks into her combinations. Lucindo landed a good combination but ate a nice counter left from Jauregui. In the final minute of the round, Jauregui landed slightly with a head kick and was able to fend off a takedown from Lucindo.

In round two Jauregui landed a good combination getting the attention of Lucindo. Another heavy exchange from both and Jauregui got the best of it hurting Lucindo and forcing her to clinch up. Jauregui defended and went back to work staying busy. Lucindo was completely fine trading with Jauregui but was just a step behind in those exchanges. A wild exchange from both ladies ended round two, where both got in some good licks.

In the final round, Jauregui early on was getting in her counter shots more and more. Lucindo kept going to the well with a spinning kick to the body but wasn’t landing with any impact. She did land a heavy leg kick off an exchange though. Jauregui continued to do a good job at moving her head in exchanges. She landed a nice left hand that snapped the head back of Lucindo. Lucindo was crazy tough and fought strongly to the final bell; Jauregui came away with the unanimous decision win however.

Official Result: Yazmin Jauregui def. Iasmin Lucindo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Clark had been successful against William Knight up a division, but was back at his more natural weight class opposite Russia’s Murzakanov.

Ninety seconds into the opening round, it was Murzakanov sneaking a left hand through the guard of Clark. That hurt Clark, who continued to circle and stay on the outside as Murzakanov pressed. Clark fired a side kick, then attacked the lead leg as well. In the final minute, one of Clark’s kicks got through, clipping Murzakanov’s head. The Russian survived and immediately tied things up, though he couldn’t get the fight down.

Early in the second, Murzakanov got his hands going, hurting Clark, then in a moment of questionable decision making, tied things up. He went back on the attack a moment later, ripping the body. Clark returned fire; Murzakanov slipped the punch and got a body lock in place. The Russian fired some knees at Clark’s thigh, as Clark fought the hands and tried to free himself. Moments later, Murzakanov would hurt Clark again, sending him stumbling. Murzakanov pounced, landing ground n’ pound, but Clark was able to tie things up a little and survive.

In the third, Murzakanov put things away. He had Clark hurt care of another body shot, after which Clark dropped like a sack of potatoes. Murzakanov poured on with more ground n’ pound as Clark covered up, and tried to move. He could not escape, and ref Frank Trigg made the call.

Official Result: Azamat Murzakanov def. Devin Clark by TKO, Round 3, 1:18

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Lipski and Cachoeira would throw down at bantamweight in San Diego, with both fighters coming in off wins. It didn’t take long for a statement to be made.

Almost off the opening bell, Lipski and Cachoeira began trading, Cachoeira the aggressor. Lipski tried to hold her own, returning fire, but while they mimicked a game of rock ’em, sock ’em robot, Cachoeira was landing the harder strikes. And landing more period. Soon enough, she dropped Lipski, who rolled to her side and covered up. The ref gave her a good long moment to try to defend, allowing Lipski to arguably take more damage than was really necessary. With Lipski unable to defend, he finally waved it off as Cachoeira rained down blow after blow on her fellow Brazilian.

JUST 👏 LIKE 👏 THAT 👏

[ @PedritaUFC | #UFCSanDiego | LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/PTvH77PRln

— UFC (@ufc) August 13, 2022

Pushed back, but the fight was absolutely worth the wait. Cachoeira remains a scary prospect at flyweight — and at bantamweight, though she’s unlikely to stick around 135 pounds following Saturday, given the unique circumstances ahead of the bout.

Official Result: Priscila Cachoeira def. Ariane Lipski by TKO, Round 1, 1:05

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While “GM3” was well-versed on the ground, Silva himself had a black belt in BJJ, and also brought knockout power to the equation.

It was Meerschaert on the outside early, throwing leg kicks and slipping the odd Silva attack. Silva marched his opponent down, extending with his jab and looking to pick his spots. Meerschaert went to the body with a kick; Silva later flashed a kick that fell just shy of his opponent’s chin.

With two minutes left in the frame, Meerschaert finally took the fight into his wheelhouse, timing a takedown perfectly and planting Silva on his back. Silva closed his guard as Meerschaert came over the top with an elbow. Posturing up, Meerschaert added another elbow, landed a punch to the body, then went back to an elbow.

Round two opened with Silva fanning on an overhand right. Meerschaert again stayed mobile on the outside. Meerschaert fired a body kick; “Blindado” fired one, then two punches that missed. Another landed, but Meerschaert was off-balance. A moment later, Silva nearly gave up his neck, but pulled free before Meerschaert could clamp down on it. Silva, contending with a couple more body kicks through the round, switched stances a couple of times to avoid them.

The third saw Silva coming forward once again, trying to open things up. Meerschaert tied him up, but couldn’t get the fight to the ground. Meerschaert then showed that he had heavy hands as well, just crushing Silva with a left hand! Silva slumped to his knees, and Meerschaert added in a few more punches before jumping on a guillotine and forcing the tap!

WELL THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY!!! 😱@The_Real_GM3 delivers a club and a sub in R3!!!

[ #UFCSanDiego | LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/4VNYMr4y2C

— UFC (@ufc) August 13, 2022

Official Result: Gerald Meerschaert def. Bruno Silva by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 1:39

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