10 Things I Like at UFC Vegas 32
There's no other way to say it: this card slaps, hard
Look folks, I try to do my best to present fair, accurate thoughts about upcoming cards here, and while I probably lean overly positive because I’m just kind of guy (when it comes to fight cards), I also make it clear when the weekend’s offering is, as my friend Danny Austin used to say, “A Spencer Card,” meaning one of those events like last week or next week where the marquee names are few, the elite prospects are limited, and only full blown lunatics like myself are able to find 10 things they like about the slate.
This card though?
This card ain’t one of those cards.
This card is for everyone.
This card is like Wu-Tang — it’s for the people; all the people.
This card is so good that I don’t need to dip into the Fighter I Can’t Quit and I Want to Know More About wells, even though I won’t be quitting a bunch of the athletes on this card any time soon and there are a couple people (hello Nassourdine Imavov; greetings Raulian Paiva) that fit that bill as well.
I love this card.
You will love this card.
These are the things I love the most.
Enjoy.
Enter Sandman
Cory Sandhagen has looked like a legitimate title threat since he gave Raphael Assuncao the business at UFC 241. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t a stoppage, but it was the kind of smooth, professional effort against a durable, seasoned veteran that you need in order to be considered in the contender class in your division. That was the night Sandhagen graduated from “emerging contender” to “straight up threat.”
He lost his next fight in 88 seconds. Aljamain Sterling scrambled across the cage, climbed on his back, and forced him to tap before the broadcast team could even really set up the stakes of the fight. What followed took Sandhagen from “straight up threat” to “he might be the best guy in the division” for me.
In his next two appearances, the Elevation Fight Team member finished Marlon Moraes with a spinning wheel kick a minute into the second round and flat-lined Frankie Edgar with the most beautiful jumping knee I’ve ever seen in my fight-loving life.
He’s shifted his mindset since the loss to Sterling and the physical tools have always been there, and if he puts up another dynamite effort on Saturday against returning two-time champ TJ Dillashaw, it will be impossible to deny the 29-year-old the next championship opportunity in the bantamweight division, you know, once Sterling and Petr Yan get their shit figured out.
Like everybody else, I’ve been counting down to seeing Sandhagen back in action since he skied and dropped Edgar, and now it’s only two more sleeps away.
Sqweeee!
The Villain is Back
I like TJ Dillashaw.
I know there are a lot of people who feel entirely different and will never, ever, ever give the two-time former bantamweight champion any credit for what he’s accomplished in his career or what he does from here on out because he cheated, but I’m not one of those people. I don’t know whether he was cheating before that — he says he wasn’t, former teammates say otherwise, nothing ever popped up with USADA — but I genuinely appreciate that when he got caught, he owned his actions, took his punishment, and vowed to return.
Some people want to argue, “Well he only admitted it when he got caught,” and sure, that’s true, but how many people have gotten caught, acted completely caught off guard, and still to this day will try to argue that they did nothing wrong and had no idea what illegal substances they were putting in their bodies? I mean, Chael Sonnen used that approach to become a superstar and fashion a post-fighting career for himself, and y’all want to be mad at Dillashaw for saying, “Yep, I cheated. Give me my two years.”
Dillashaw has owned up to his mistakes and has moved on from it, whether anyone else has or not. He’s ready to resume his career and believes he’s still the best fighter in the division. He knows there are some people that will never believe he’s clean, will never give him full-marks for what he does going forward, and want to see him forever banished from the title conversation because he cheated, and d’you know what?
He doesn’t give a shit, and I really appreciate that.
This dude is bent on proving he’s still the best and becoming only the second person in UFC history to win the same title three times and I’m fully onboard with watching him try.
He’s embracing being the bad guy, the guy no one likes, no one wants to see succeed, and I want to see how angry he can make them by coming back and being a force in the bantamweight division again.
Cannonball Call by Aspen Ladd
You have to give Aspen Ladd credit for jumping right back into the thick of things with a date opposite Macy Chiasson this weekend in her first fight since undergoing knee surgery.
Stationed at No. 3 in the rankings, but out of action since December 2019, the 26-year-old is still very much in the championship mix, but also needs to show she’s still deserving of her position in the divisional hierarchy, and fighting Chiasson is both a good way to do that and a potential nightmare waiting to happen. It’s a brassy move by the talented NorCal native and she deserves props for taking such a tough fight right out of the chute.
Long pegged as a championship contender, Ladd’s in a weird spot right now, in my opinion: she’s 9-1 overall and beaten solid competition, but there hasn’t been a single instance where she didn’t get the result I expected.
No, I didn’t see her getting Tonya Evinger out of there in the first round the way she did, but I thought she’d win handily, and that still probably remains her most impressive effort to date. It’s a really good win for a 26-year-old with just 10 pro fights, but it’s also not exactly what you expect from the third-ranked contender in the bantamweight division, you know?
Beating Chiasson has the potential to be that victory, as the Fortis MMA product has continued to improve, has the physicality and strength to potentially out-muscle Ladd in those spots where she usually thrives, and feels like the kind of athlete that could make a major leap between fights in this early stage of her career. She’s a tough out and not the type of fighter I would have opted to return against, and I give Ladd full marks for jumping right back into the deep end of the division this weekend.
A Quiet Contender Emerges
Kyler Phillips isn’t someone that gets a lot of buzz, especially not in the talent-rich bantamweight division, where established names and loud voices dominate the championship tier. But quietly over the last three fights, the 26-year-old who was on both the Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter has began stating his case to be viewed as a potential title contender.
Phillips won Fight of the Night with Gabriel Silva in his debut, earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his win over Cameron Else, and last time out, he pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the first half, out-hustling Song Yadong at UFC 259 to push his record to 9-1 and send him into this weekend on a four-fight winning streak.
Skilled in all facets, dangerous in every phase, “The Matrix” is one of those young, emerging talents that is going to be problems for some of the more senior members of the bantamweight elite. He was supposed to get the chance to show that on Saturday, as he was initially paired off with Raphael Assuncao, but the Brazilian veteran was forced out due to an injury and replaced by Raulian Paiva, who was an intriguing fighter at flyweight because of his size, but is less intriguing up a division.
This most likely won’t be the fight that prompts people to sit up and take notice of Phillips as a future contender, but that fight is coming, and it’s coming soon.
Fight for Flyweight Prospect Supremacy
A lot of people seem to believe that this isn’t much of a fight at all — that because Miranda Maverick has won each of her first two UFC starts and Maycee Barber enters on a two-fight skid, the former will trounce the latter without much trouble and we’ll spend Sunday and Monday wondering aloud if Barber is going to be released and if she spent too much time talking about breaking Jon Jones’ record for becoming the youngest champion in UFC history.
I’m not one of those people.
Do I believe that Barber has struggled in her last two appearances, highlighted by holes in her striking defences and head movement? Yes I do.
Do I believe Maverick has looked strong in scoring victories over Liana Jojua and Gillian Robertson? Yes I do.
But Barber lost to Top 10 fighters — the most experienced woman on the roster (Roxanne Modafferi) and a post-hype sleeper with sharp hands (Alexa Grasso) — and while she didn’t have many positive moments in the second of those two fights, I’m not sold on Maverick being at that level quite yet. Maybe I’m wrong and she proves that on Saturday, but I also remember her getting touched up a little by Jojua before making adjustments and having to navigate some dicey moments on the ground against Robertson, whom, I might add, Barber dispatched in expedient fashion.
To me, this is a fight to determine which of these women should be viewed as the top up-and-coming talent in the division, and it’s not a slam dunk either way. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see Barber right the ship and get back into the win column, just as a Maverick victory with relative ease wouldn’t shock me either, as they’re both young, both developing, and both nowhere near being the fighters they’ll be with three, four, five more years of training and experience.
I think this is going to be a competitive fight and an entertaining fight and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it shakes out on Saturday night.
Speaking of Highlander-esque Battles Between Hopefuls…
One of the really cool elements of this card (in my opinion) is that there are a couple different “There Can Only Be One” clashes that will send an emerging talent further up the rankings or closer to the rankings in a couple different divisions.
The Maverick-Barber fight is one of those and the fight between middleweight Contender Series grads Punahele Soriano and Brendan Allen is another, and it should be a good one.
Soriano is undefeated, with first-round stoppage wins in each of his first two UFC starts. He’s mild-mannered and moving up the rankings, jumping into the thick of the fray with this fight on Saturday. When I spoke to him ahead of this contest and suggested this bout was like taking two stairs at a time given his last two opponents, the Xtreme Couture product wasn’t so sure and wasn’t particularly bothered, which is what makes him such an interesting figure in this division.
Allen is a Contender series grad as well, but he had a little more experience against a lot higher levels of competition, and has already posted a 4-1 mark inside the Octagon, including a submission win over everyone’s favorite loudmouth from last year, Kevin Holland. He got back into the win column earlier this year with an ankle lock finish of Karl Roberson, and seems really settled into his new surrounds at Sanford MMA.
The Louisiana native has always operated with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, feeling like the overlooked guy in the middleweight division, which makes sense given how much love and attention Holland received, while few batted an eye when Allen choked him out, and he heads into this one looking to take Soriano’s unbeaten record and hype.
This fight is going to tell us a great deal about both of these middleweight hopefuls, and it should put the winner in a position to face a Top 15 opponent next time out.
I know both guys a little, I like both guys a lot, and I cannot wait to see them step into the cage and beat the hell out of each other on Saturday.
Is Hurricane Season Over?
Ian Heinisch blew into the UFC with consecutive victories over Cezar Ferreira and Antonio Carlos Junior, crashing the Top 15 in the middleweight division just seven months after stepping into the Octagon for the first time. Between his strong start and his unique life story, “The Hurricane” was positioned as someone to watch in the 185-pound ranks and booked in a way that told you the UFC was interested in finding out just what they had in the Contender Series grad.
Heinisch has gone 1-3 since then, dropping back-to-back fights against Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov before bouncing back with a quick knockout win over Gerald Meerschaert. Last time out, he got beaten to the punch frequently enough by Kelvin Gastelum to land on the wrong side of a decision once again, and now as he heads into this weekend’s clash with Nassourdine Imavov, I’m curious to find out where the 32-year-old fits in this division.
He said all the right things in speaking with “The Godfather” Thomas Gerbasi ahead of this fight — that he’s settled in at Sanford MMA, that he’s gotten pointers from his teammate Phil Hawes, who edged out Imavov earlier this year, that he’s no longer worrying about his place in the rankings or the name of the guy standing across from him — but I need to see it because Imavov is a solid, young talent from a good camp and the kind of guy that can spoil all your plans for getting back in the chase.
Heinisch is at his best when he’s weaponizing his conditioning and applying all kinds of pressure, forcing you to fight him in a phone booth and deal with his pace. He’s gotten away from that over his last three losses, and if he doesn’t get it back, it could be the end of “Hurricane Season” in the UFC.
The People’s Main Event
Adrian Yanez and Randy Costa more or less set up their fight this weekend themselves, sussing things out on Twitter while also playfully bickering about Dr. Pepper and Reese Peanut Butter Cups.
Then, just a couple days before the event, the interesting in the friendly rivalry forged over preferred snacks between a pair of electric bantamweight prospects gained so much traction that the UFC opted to elevate the pair to the main card.
This is the 2021 People’s Main Event and nothing else is going to come close to it, but what’s more is that it’s a helluva fight too.
Yanez has looked outstanding through his first two starts, dispatching Ray Rodriguez with the quickness in his debut before counter-punching Gustavo Lopez into the land of whispers and dreams in his sophomore outing earlier this year. Lopez had been bumping his gums in the build to the fight, talking about “who had Yanez fought?” and the LFA alum and Contender Series grad pieced him up and put him down; no retraction ever came, but it should have.
As for Costa, the Massachusetts native and new Sanford MMA representative has bounced back from a loss in his promotional debut with a pair of first-round finishes over Boston Salmon and Journey Newsom. The 27-year-old fan favorite, who carries a picture of his late friend and teammate Devin Carrier with him everywhere he goes, has never been out of the second round, has finished all of his wins in 2:15 or less, and is the kind of guy that seems ready and able to get in there and mix it up with Yanez on the feet.
This is going to be fireworks for as long as it lasts and I hope — I HOPE — that when it’s done, they trade favorite snacks and have a little junk food party in the center of the Octagon to commemorate the occasion.
Julio Arce Returns
I’ve always liked Julio Arce’s style and after 20 months on the sidelines, the New Yorker is set to return to action this weekend, moving back down to bantamweight to take on Andre Ewell in what is (to me) a perfect fight to gauge where he fits in the 135-pound weight class.
Arce has split time between featherweight and bantamweight throughout his career, fighting exclusively at ‘45 in the UFC, compiling a 3-2 record with wins over Dan Ige, Daniel Teymur, and Julian Erosa, and losses to Sheymon Moraes and Hakeem Dawodu. Standing five-foot-seven, he’s always felt a little undersized competing at featherweight and this shift back down a division should, in theory, give him a chance to maximize his weapons and not give up size and strength as he did so frequently before.
The longtime Ring of Combat competitor has always profiled to me as someone capable of living on the fringes of the Top 15, sneaking into the rankings on occasion with the right combination of victories, and while bantamweight is insanely deep, that doesn’t feel out of the question here. Saturday’s fight with Ewell is a good litmus test, as he’s lost to the best competition he’s faced and isn’t someone that has completely run over lesser opponents.
This is the kind of fight Arce needs to win and look good in if he wants to eventually gain some traction in the bantamweight division, and now that he’s healthy and ready to return, I’m eager to see if what this change of scenery produces going forward.
Eubanks Back to Flyweight
First things first: Sijara Eubanks needs to make weight on Friday morning without issue, but if she can do that, I’m going to make sure to pay real close attention to her flyweight fight with Elise Reed on Saturday.
Eubanks is returning to the 125-pound weight class after a six-fight stint at bantamweight yielded a 2-4 record and really highlighted that she should be fighting at flyweight. The problem, if you’ll recall, is that “SarJ” has routinely struggled to hit the mark and arrive to her fights healthy, missing out on an opportunity to fight Nicco Montano in the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight world title fight because her weight cut went sideways and she was forced to withdraw at the 11th hour.
She did log two appearances in the division after that, winning both, but missing weight by a couple of pound for the second one, which got her sent to bantamweight, but now the 36-year-old is returning to the division where she has already beaten Roxanne Modafferi and Lauren Murphy, looking to for a fresh start and a chance to be a title challenger once again.
Saturday’s contest is no cake walk though, as the 28-year-old newcomer Reed is 4-0 as a pro and the reigning CFFC strawweight champion, having secured the belt with a win over Jasmine Jasudavicius and successfully defended it against Jillian DeCoursey and Hilarie Rose.
But if Eubanks can earn a victory — especially an emphatic one — she should find herself right back in the thick of the chase.