Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC Vegas 65

UFC Vegas 65 went down last night (Sat., Nov. 19, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the event was supposed to be a Heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac, which was ultimately canceled after “Black Beast” fell ill and had to take a trip to the hospital. Thankfully, he was medically cleared hours later. Stepping in to fill the void of headliner was a Light Heavyweight scrap between Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba, which resulted in a technical knockout win for “African Savage.”

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Biggest Winner: Kennedy Nzechukwu

Nzechukwu made the most of his unexpected headlining spot, stopping Cutelaba via strikes in round two of their 205-pound contest. “African Savage” has now won two in a row and his last four wins have come by way of knockout. The win will go a long way in helping him crack the Top 15, though he is still probably another win or two away from getting there. That said, his latest victory — which earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus — put the entire division on notice that another future hard-hitting contender is on the rise.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Runner (s) Up: Jack Della Maddalena and Muslim Salikhov

Maddalena kept trucking right along, picking up yet another impressive first round stoppage win over Danny Roberts (highlights), keeping him perfect (3-0) inside the Octagon with three first-round knockout finishes. The 26-year-old Welterweight contender — who also won an extra $50,000 for his efforts — is making all the right moves so far and has shown promise as a future contender. All told, the Australian has won 13 straight fights after beginning his career winless (0-2). Salikhov, meanwhile, put on a striking clinic against Andre Fialho, who is known for cracking heads, eventually knocking him out in round three with the help of a spinning wheel kick and onslaught of strikes that not only earned him a big win, but a $50,000 post-fight bonus award as well. Salikhov has now won six of his seven last fights.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Biggest Loser (s): Ion Cutelaba and Kevin Natividad

Coming into the event, Natividad earned our spot for the fighter who most needed a win because he came into his fight against Ricky Turcios winless (0-2) in his first two tries inside the Octagon. And though he fought valiantly against Turcios, he ended up on the wrong end of a split-decision loss, extending his losing streak to three. With no wins in three tries under UFC’s banner, Natividad could have a short-lived career with the promotion after coming in on a five-fight win streak. As for Cutelaba, he has also lost three straight, which has put him on UFC’s radar when it comes to making cuts. To make matter worse, “The Hulk” has been finished in all of the three defeats. In fact, he has been stopped in his last six losses and hasn’t had back-to-back wins in four years. Yikes.

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For complete UFC Vegas 65 results and coverage click here.