Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC Vegas 47

UFC Vegas 47 went down last night (Sat., Feb. 5, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which featured a main event between Jack Hermansson and Sean Strickland. After five rounds of action, Strickland walked away with a split-decision victory (highlights). In the co-main event of the evening, Nick Maximov improved to 8-0 by edging out Punahele Soriano via split-decision (recap).

Biggest Winner: Sean Strickland

Not only can Strickland steal the press conference with his no filter style, but the man flat-out gets it done inside the cage. For 25 minutes against Jack Hermansson, Strickland didn’t show any signs of struggling. And though he didn’t exactly blow his opponent out of the water, he did clearly win the fight, though the judges felt it was only good enough to earn a split-decision. While he admitted post-fight that he kind of took the foot off the gas pedal and he should’ve done more, he did enough to get his sixth straight win. Whether or not it’s good enough to put him into the Top 5 remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, he’s making his way up a crowded division and he will give any of the cream of the crop contenders in the division more than they can handle.

Runner Up: Shavkat Rakhmonov

There were several fighters we could have gone with here, but Rakhamonov gets the nod after picking up consecutive win number 15 to stay undefeated (15-0, 3-0 UFC) following a dazzling spinning hook kick knockout win of Carlston Harris. The win definitely put the Welterweight division on notice by letting contenders know there’s another man climbing the ranks, and fast, who has shown no weaknesses thus far. Not only did Rakhmonov keep his undefeated streak alive, but also the streak of finishing every single one of his opponents. The former M-1 champion is definitely making all the right moves on his way to an eventual spot in the Top 15.

Honorable Mention: Julian Erosa

What’s better than winning your second straight fight? Getting a $50,000 post-fight bonus for putting on an early “Fight of the Year” performance. But what’s better than a $50,000 post-fight bonus? Two $50,000 post-fight bonuses. That’s just what Erosa walked away with because his opponent, Steven Peterson, failed to make weight, making him ineligible to win and prompting UFC officials to give it to Erosa. On top of that, Erosa also took a percent of Peterson’s fight purses. So all in all it was a good night for “Juicy J,” who is now 4-1 in his last five fights inside the Octagon.

Biggest Loser: Sam Alvey

In his return to Light Heavyweight, Alvey had a rough night at the office after getting submitted by late replacement Brendan Allen, who forced “Smilin’ Sam” to tap in the second round via rear-naked choke. That is now Alvey’s third straight loss, bringing his record to 0-7-1 in his last eight fights. Trust me, I don’t advocate for anyone losing their job, but it is going to be hard for the promotion to justify keeping him around when they’ve cut other fighters for losing less fights.

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For complete UFC Vegas 47 results and coverage click here.