The UFC was at the UFC Apex for the third week in a row before they go back to Phoenix, AZ next week. While the card appeared very shallow on paper, the fighters showed up and put on a great card.
Here are fights to make for the winners and losers of UFC Vegas 53: Font vs. Vera
Marlon Vera
Marlon comes up with the win in his first UFC main event as he defeated Rob Font via unanimous decision. Chito came into the fight ranked No. 8 and on Tuesday, he will crack the top five. He has now won three straight and he has set himself up with a date with Cory Sandhagen. Book it for UFC 276 – international fight week. Please.
Joanderson Brito
Holy shit. Joanderson Brito smoked UFC veteran Andre Fili in 41 seconds to pick up his first UFC win. Everyone knew Brito had power, and he certainly showed it. In his post-fight interview, he said he was dealing with the death of a family member, which made the win even better. A fight with Melsik Baghdasaryan would be absolute fireworks.
Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson became the first man to submit Jared Gordon to extend his winning streak to 10. Dawson is now 6-0-1 in the UFC and will hopefully get a top 15 matchup next. This fight was also Dawson’s first fight with his new team at American Top Team. The UFC should rebook Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
Darren Elkins
Darren Elkins defeated Tristan Connelly via a unanimous decision. ‘The Damage’ just keeps winning. When we all think maybe he has taken a step back, he proves everyone wrong. A fight with fellow UFC veteran Alex Caceres should be next.
Krzysztof Jotko
Krzysztof Jotko defeated Gerald Meerschaert via unanimous decision, snapping his three-fight win streak. Jotko is getting awfully close to the top 15 middleweight rankings again. A fight with Bruno Silva would be awesome.
Alexandr Romanov
Alexandr Romanov was a -2200 favorite for a reason. He smashed Chase Sherman and then submitted him with an americana. Romanov is now 5-0 in the UFC with four finishes. It is time for a huge step up in competition. He called out Augusto Sakai after his win, which makes sense, but I think Marcin Tybura is the fight.
Francisco Figueiredo
Francisco Figueiredo made easy work of fellow Brazilian Daniel Da Silva. The younger Figueiredo brother tapped Silva in 1:18 with a kneebar. That is two wins in the UFC for ‘The Sniper.’ A quick turnaround should be in Figueiredo’s mind or filling in on short notice. A fight with Carlos Hernandez would be fun.
Gabe Green
Gabe Green showed his resilience and ended up finishing Yohan Lainesse, spoiling his UFC debut and taking his 0. Green is now on a two-fight win streak, only losing to Daniel Rodriguez on short notice. Mike Malott is a name who Green should fight next.
Natan Levy
Israel’s Natan Levy was the second fighter in a row to pick up his first UFC win. He defeated Mike Breeden in a total war, which should get him $50,000. Levy showed why he had a lot of hype coming into the UFC, even though he was fatigued in the third round. For his next fight, Levy should fight Viacheslav Borshchev in what would be a striker’s delight.
Shana Young
Shana Young picked up her first UFC win by stopping Gina Mazany in the second round. Young was fighting for her job, and she showed up. A move to flyweight was the best move for her. ‘The Shanimal’ should fight Hannah Goldy next.
Rob Font – Song Yadong
Jake Collier – Tanner Boser
Andre Fili – Lando Vannata
Jared Gordon – Vinc Pichel
Tristan Connelly – Youssef Zalal
Gerald Meerschaert – Marc-Andre Barriault
Chase Sherman – Chris Barnett
Daniel Da Silva – Victor Altamirano
Yohan Lainesse – Carlston Harris
Mike Breeden – Brandon Jenkins
Gina Mazany – Mandy Bohm