UFC 254- Results, Rankings Update, and What's Next

UFC 254 will be a memorable event forever as Khabib Nurmagomedov retires with an emotional victory. Check out my article here on Khabib's retirement. In this article, I will list the winners, any changes in my rankings, and who I think the winning fighters should fight next time out.

Here are my total prediction stats to date since starting this website:

Total MMA Predictions: 33-15-2 (1 No Contest)

UFC Predictions: 31-14-2

Main Event:

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Justin Gaethje by submission in round 2. The first round was close, but most people gave it to Gaethje. He landed some very good solid leg kicks on Khabib early on. Near the end of the round, Khabib was able to get Gaethje down, and was working for an arm bar submission before he round ended. The second round was all Khabib as he was able to get Gaethje down again and started working for a triangle choke from mount. He rolled onto his back to ultimately get the tap from Gaethje. Somehow, the ref did not see the tap, and Gaethje ended up going right out as a result of the ref stopping the fight late. Khabib becomes the first fighter to win three straight title fights by submission.

Normally I would write about who I want to see the winning fighters to compete against, but with Khabib's retirement, I will do a full length article on the lightweight division including the next title fight, and updated rankings. Expect to see that article sometime this week.

Co-Main Event:

Robert Whittaker defeats Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision.

The #1 contender at middleweight keeps his ranking as he defeats my #2 ranked Jared Cannonier. Whittaker clearly won this fight and proved he may just be the toughest test for champion Israel Adesanya after all. With Whittaker now 2-0 since losing the title to Adesanya, and keeping the #1 spot, it's hard to deny former champ Whittaker another shot at the title.

Alexander Volkov defeats Walt Harris by TKO in round 2.

I had Alexander Volkov ranked at #6 while Walt Harris was #8 on my list. With this win, I have my rankings at heavyweight staying the same. Volkov called for fights against Alistair Overeem or Junior Dos Santos. I like the fight against Overeem, who is ranked one spot ahead of Volkov. Both are tall strikers which would make for a fun match up for sure.

Phil Hawes defeats Jacob Malkoun by KO in round 1.

Phil Hawes earns the big KO victory in his UFC debut in about 18 seconds. If he did not already have a fight next month, KO of the year candidate winner Joaquin Buckley would be the perfect next opponent for Phil Hawes. Dricus Du Plessis who aslo got a big KO win in his debut might be a great next opponent for Hawes.

Lauren Murphy defeats Liliya Shakiova by submission in round 2.

Murphy called for her to be the next one to fight for the title against Valentina Shevchenko. Is Murphy aware that Shevchenko has a title fight already booked next month? I mean it is the co-main event of the next pay per view event, which they did advertise during the fights last night. Also, there's Jessica Andrade waiting in the wings firmly in that #1 spot with her big victory recently. I don't mean to rip on Murphy here, she is a good fighter, but really how often does a win over a short notice debut UFC fighter really earn you a title shot? I think Murphy just needs a win over another a top ranked contender before she gets a title shot. She was originally to fight Cynthia Calvillo at this event. That is a fight I would love to see. Either that or a fight against Andrade who I have as the #1 contender at flyweight.

Magomed Ankalaev defeats ion Cutelaba by KO in round 1.

Ankalaeev finally settles the score against Ion Cutelaba and can move on from that chapter of his career. He called for fights against Shogun Rua or Anthony Smith up next. Both of whom have next fights booked. Magomedov was ranked #11 on my rankings prior to Saturday's fights, while Cutelaba was not ranked. This keeps Ankalaev in the #11 spot on my list. Since the opponent's he called for are both booked, I would like to see Ankalaev against my #9 ranked Johnny Walker. Both fighters are known for their early stand up power in fights and would make for an fast paced exciting fight.

Prelims:

Tai Tuivasa defeats Stefan Struve by TKO in round 1.

Tai Tuivasa gets back in the win column after three straight losses. Tai was to have a fight against Jarjis Danho in June before that event had to be cancelled. While Danho may not have fought in four years, I think the story line of the fact that they were scheduled to fight before the pandemic shutdowns changed that makes that an interesting fight that I would like to see next for Tuivasa. Hopefully by then fans can be in the audience and Tuivasa can do a proper shoey victory.

Casey Kenney defeats Nathan Wood by unanimous decision.

Casey Kenney makes it two wins for him in the month of October, picking up decision victories over Nathan Wood and Heili Alateng. This brings him to an impressive 5-1 in the UFC with his one loss coming to the ranked Merab Dvalishvili. After his last fight, I called for Kenney to be matched up with Thomas Almeida, who he called out after Almeida's last opponent had to pull out. I still think that would be a great next match for Kenney.

Shavkat Rakhmonov defeats Alex Oliveira by submission in round 1.

I might start a list of prospects that I think could become big name contenders for championships. Shavkat Rakhmonov is aboslutely one to watch. He is the former welterweight champion of Russian MMA promotion M-1, and also holds a 2016 victory over big winner from last weekend, Jun Yong Park. Rankhmonov keeps his undefeated record as he wins his UFC debut over a big name in Alex Oliveira. Rakhmonov called for a fight against Donald Cerrone. I am interested that fight absolutely and wold hav no issue seeing tha booked. Although I want to see Cowboy rematch with Niko Price to settle the draw from that fight. So what I would have up next for Rakmhonov, would be to see him against his original opponent, Elizeu Zaleski. Zaleski would provide another big name test for Rakhmonov in his second UFC fight.

Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey declared a split draw.

The judges score cards read as 29-28, 28-29, and 28-28. Da Un Jung dropped Sam Alvey twice by landing some big elbows in the final round. I would have scored it as a 28-28 draw myself with Alvey winning the first two, and Da Un Jung getting a 10-8 in the last round.

For these fighters, as usual when there is a draw, I would like to see an immediate rematch. I do not like leaving unfinished business, and I would like to see who the better fighter is for sure.

Fight Pass Prelims:

Miranda Maverick defeats Liana Jojua by doctor stoppage at the end of round 1.

Maverick landed a big elbow that caused a nasty cut of Jojua's nose. I would be very interested to see Maverick fight against main card fighter, Liliya Shakirova. Shakirova ended up losing a short notice bout to ranked Lauren Murphy. However I think this would be an interested match up for their next time out.

Joel Alvarez defeats Alexander Yakovlev by submission in round 1.

Alvarez had a tight guillotine that almost got the tap, but Yakovlev was able to get out. Alvarez was then able to lock up an arm bar from the bottom to get the tap. This moves Alvarez to 3-1 in the UFC. I would like to see him fight against fellow grappler, Davi Ramos next time out. Would that fight turn into a grappling contest, or would they cancel each other out and turn into a striking match? I think those two match up well for a great stylistic matchup.