Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 16

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) staged UFC Vegas 16 last night (Sat., Dec. 5, 2020) from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of the evening, Marvin Vettori upset Jack Hermansson to carve himself a place in the stacked Middleweight division (video highlights). In the co-main event, Jamahal Hill knocked out Ovince Saint Preux in Light Heavyweight action (see it again here).

Winner: Marvin Vettori

Who He Should Face Next: Jared Cannonier

After picking up the biggest win of his UFC career against Hermansson, Vettori can expect to be offered big fights moving forward. So after taking out the No. 3 ranked Middleweight on the UFC roster, it’s going to be kind of tough to convince Vettori to take on someone out of the Top 10, heck even the Top 5. That being said, a fight against Jared Cannonier sounds tempting. Cannonier (No. 4) came up short in his last fight by losing to former division kingpin, Robert Whittaker, at UFC 254 a few months ago. His last win came against none other than Hermansson, so I’d love to see matchmakers book this fight, as it is likely to produce some fireworks in the standup department.

Winner: Jamahal Hill

Who He Should Face Next: Jimmy Crute

Hill continued his ascension up the Light Heavyweight ladder by knocking out a former title contender in Saint Preux. Since “OSP” is currently ranked No. 15, it only makes sense to give Hill a guy in the Top 15, and Crute (No. 13) fits the bill nicely. Jimmy is currently riding a two-fight win streak and most recently defeated Modestas Bukauskas a couple of months ago. Crute does have his eyes on former title challenger, Anthony Smith, but “Lionheart” has his eyes set on Paul Craig, for whatever reason.

Winner: Gabriel Benitez

Who He Should Face Next: Joaquim Siva

Benitez picked up a huge win over Justin Jaynes, knocking him out in the very first round to avoid losing three in a row. Up next for the Mexican-born combatant should be a fight against Silva. The Brazilian bomber hasn’t competed in over a year, so he should be primed and ready to mount a return soon. Losing two of his last three, Silva needs a win in the worst way to avoid the dreaded pink slip, and a win over Benitez could be a nice way to bounce back.

Winner: Roman Dolidze

Who He Should Face Next: Ed Herman

While Jamahal Hill was all the buzz after his knockout win over Ovince Saint Preux at Light Heavyweight, Dolidze has also been putting in his fair share of work inside the Octagon. Dolidze earned his second straight win inside the UFC cage by defeating John Allan via split decision. In doing so, he improves to 8-0, 2-0 UFC. Up next for Dolidze, a fight against long-time veteran, Ed Herman, sounds appealing, “Short Fuse” was last seen defeating Mike Rodriguez this past September, earning his third straight win in the process. A bout against an experience foe like Herman will let us know just where Dolidze is, and can go.

Winner: Jordan Leavitt

Who He Should Face Next: Luis Pena

Leavitt has as good a UFC debut as he could have imagined, earning the win plus an extra $50K in bonus cash after knocking out Matt Wiman “Ramage” style (see it again here). “Monkey King” improves to 8-0, 1-0 UFC and had all eyes on him after his KO slam was on repeat on the highlight reel. Up next, a fight against Pena is an appetizing matchup. Pena has lost two of his last three, losing any momentum he had going for him coming out of the Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Pena obviously has the experience edge on Leavitt, but “Monkey King” proved that all those years are just numbers after his dominate win over Wiman.

For complete UFC Vegas 16 results and coverage click here.