#UFCVegas6 Aftermath: Derrick Lewis Bowel Movements #mma
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UFC Vegas 6 wrapped up last night and it was yet again, another great night of fights. From Derrick Lewis doing his normal post fight antics to Dariush with a walk off spinning back fist, we have it all on this edition of Aftermath.
Gavin Tucker Needs More Activity
Next opponent for Gavin Tucker: Rick Glenn rematch, Jared Gordon
Gavin Tucker has had hype around him since UFC 215. He was one of the premier up and coming prospects in the sport. He was soundly defeated in that fight against Rick Glenn. As we said in the Aftermath of UFC 215, we had hoped that Tucker would learn some lessons from this loss, imprve his cardio and come back better than before. In his next fight, two years later, he beat Seung Woo Choi at UFC 240. Now, with his win over Justin Jaynes, he shows improvement in his cardio.
Tucker held a fast pace and dominated the second and third rounds. Gavin Tucker was in trouble early on in the fight at UFC Vegas 6. But he didn’t let that get him down. Instead, he came out in the second round and pushed a Colby Covington/Diaz brother’s style pace, overwhelming Jaynes with 60-70% shots. Tucker eventually got the choke in the middle of round 3 and showed, he’s become a better fighter and is back.
Gavin Tucker’s only issue is his inactivity. Since joining the UFC in 2016, he’s only fought four times. If he wants to become a great fighter, he needs more experience than what he’s getting.
One wild idea for Gavin Tucker is a rematch with Rick Glenn. He wasn’t remotely close to winning that fight in 2017. But another fight with the tough Glenn could shed light on if he’s taken his time off to improve as a fighter. The thought is simple: Gavin Tucker lost to Rick Glenn. Can he win now?
Second option for Tucker is Jared Gordon. Gordon is a great stand up fighter and he and Tucker would be down to tango. Both Gordon and Tucker are fantastic prospects and while Gordon is a good bit more active, Tucker could use that name to make his even more of a force in the featherweight division.
Beneil Dariush With The Spinny Stuff
Next opponent for Beneil Dariush: Donald Cerrone, Al Iaquinta
Beneil Dariush came into UFC Vegas 6 on a four fight win streak. He left on a five fight win streak. In that streak, he’s now beaten Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, Frank Camacho, Drakkar Klose, and now Scott Holtzman. Of those five, he’s finished the last four. Dariush has found a resurgence since losing to Alexander Hernandez in 2018. His boxing has improved when he’s not getting bombarded with punches. It’s there he tends to just get wild, but it’s a lot better than it has been.
Dariush is in a pecuilar spot in lightweight. He’s got a tough rise in the division and has beat some good names, but none that set the world on fire just yet. That will likely be Dariush’s next test. One good fight for Dariush would be a fight with Donald Cerrone. Cerrone is always down for a good scrap and is often a sepping stone for fighters to enter the top echelon of lightweight and welterweight. While Cowboy may have a fight lined up, he still will be down to fight in two weeks, because that’s just his DNA. Dariush and Cowboy would be a fun fight for everyone involved.
Second option for Dariush is Al Iaquinta. Iaquinta is a durable fighter and not many have finished the New Yorker. Dariush could use a dragging out to deep waters and testing his gas tank and poise. Beneil Dariush and Al Iaquinta could go the distance and provide some insight on Dariush’s pacing that has been of question.
Yana Kunitskaya Comes To UFC Vegas 6 With Pressure
Next opponent for Yana Kunitskaya: Ketlen Vieira, Raquel Pennington
In her lead up to her fight at UFC Vegas 6, Yana Kunitskaya had done training with her significant other, Thiago Santos. Knowing how good her opponent was on the ground, specifically with the armbar, Kunitskaya said she had done plenty of training with Santos on defending said armbar. Kunitskaya fought smart. She pushed her opponent against the fence and ground her down and gave her little opportunity to do much of anything. When Storliarenko did get the fight to the ground and had an armbar queued up, she defended well and gave her no oppurtunity to really crank it back.
Kunitskaya has faced tough competition in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division. Her debut was against Cris Cyborg and her third was against Aspen Ladd. Now 3-2 in the UFC, Kunitskaya is ready for the climb. While she’s rebooked, Ketlen Vieira is a great fight to make, win or lose. The two were scheduled for UFC Vegas 5 and then rescheduled for tonight’s card before Vieira withdrew. The two should fight, and win or lose for Vieira, she should fulfil that commitment to Kunitskaya and give her the shot.
If Vieira is fastracked to a title shot, Raquel Pennington is always in the wings waiting for a fight. Her experience is deep, having fought Jessica Andrade, Cat Zingano, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes, and Germaine De Randamie. Rocky has taken on all challengers, though not always successful. Kunitskaya beating Pennington would give her that sought after win against a very seasoned fighter and would make a statement that the improvements she has been working on are making her a better fighter.
Is Chris Weidman Back? (No.)
Chris Weidman was a favorite of mine in his heyday. But ever since he lost his belt to Luke Rockhold, Weidman has been terrible. It’s not like Weidman took on bad fighters, however. Since the Rockhold loss, he has fought Yoel Romero, Gegard Mousasi, Kelvin Gastelum, Jacare Souza and Dominick Reyes. Three title challengers and two killers. The fight with Omari Akhmedov at UFC Vegas 6 was a step back and man, Weidman didn’t look good. Even though Akhmedov is essentially a decision machine and doesn’t really get many knockouts, I found myself flinching every time Weidman got punched. I just knew it would be the end. Weidman looked somewhat decent in round one and then came out in round two compltely gassed like sitting on the bench was tiresome or something. If not for the ground control in round three, Weidman would have likely been finished.
But he wasn’t. Instead he won and announced, “I’m back.” Let me make this very clear: Chris Weidman isn’t back. If you look at the top 10 of the middleweight division, there isn’t a single matchup I like Weidman in. Here’s the list: Shahbazyan, Hall, Gastelum, Brunson, Till, Romero, Hermansson, Cannonier, Costa, Whittaker, and of course Israel Adesanya.
Chris Weidman isn’t back and should retire on a win.
Derrick Lewis Needs to Go #2
Next opponent for Alexey Oleinik: Rozenstruick/Dos Santos loser, Andrei Arlovski
Alexey Oleinik plans on fighting another 10 years. But with the punishment Lewis dished out in the second round, it’s looking more like five years now. Oleinik didn’t look terrible. He had Lewis in trouble in the first round, having him in a submission for a while. Somehow, Lewis was just a freak of nature and didn’t tap. Somehow, he found oxygen. Oleinik doesn’t have a championship run in him, as much as I’d like to see. But he still has some good fight in him.
There are some fun matchups for Oleinik after UFC Vegas 6, as well. But, most of the division is booked at the moment. That said, the loser of Jairzinho Rozenstruick and Junior Dos Santos on this card is a logical choice for Oleinik’s next fight. While stylistically, it’s not the most intriguing, it’s a fight that any of the three would benefit from with a win.
Second option is a matchup not made yet. Andrei Arlovski is fighting Tanner Boser in a few weeks. But after that fight, he should be wide open. This fight would give Oleinik some time to recover from the damage dolled out from Lewis and same for Arlovski should he be on the bad end of a Boser haymaker.
Next opponent for Derrick Lewis: Rozenstruick/Dos Santos winter, Curtis Blaydes
Derrick Lewis came out like a bat out of hell. He was aggressive and that’s what got him trouble against Alexey Oleinik. But, he was able to persevere and survive a couple choke attempts. Lewis very obviously hits hard and he showed no mercy to Oleinik in their fight. He was throwing bombs with bad intentions. Eventually, he clipped the submission specalist and dropped hammers on Oleinik to which was enough for the referee. Then he said this post fight:
Now, Lewis is looking up again. He is more aggressive than ever and looks to be past his back issues that plagued him in the Francis N’Gannou fight. He says he plans to return in December after he’s dropped about 20 pounds, which he could massively benefit from. When he returns, the winner of Dos Santos and Rozenstruick should be waiting for him in a title eliminator bout. Dos Santos is a great counter striker and always a fan favorite. Rozenstruick is a banger. Both provide Lewis an opportunity to get his weight down and get a quality win.
If we are trying to rush Lewis to the next title shot, Curtis Blaydes is the next matchup. Blaydes, an excellent wrestler, is coming off of a win at UFC Vegas 3, to which Dana White wasn’t pleased with. White could see a power puncher matchup against Lewis as a punishment for the “boring” (White’s words, not mine). Lewis, should he win, would only be behind Francis N’Gannou for a title fight. But, if Blaydes is victorious, there is absolutely nobody else. He gets the next title shot, be it against Stipe Miocic for the title, vacant or not.
