After a great night of fights we take a look at what happened and the implications moving moving forwards for the fighters on the main card.
Mike Perry at risk of getting cut?
After the defeat to Daniel Rodriguez on Saturday night Perry could be at risk of getting cut from the UFC given his out of octagon antics and being 7-8 in the UFC. You can see the improvement in Perry's wrestling however you can see the levels in striking when he's faced guys like Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal and Daniel Rodriguez. Its unlikely Perry will compete in the upper echelon of the welterweight division so it wouldn't surprise me if he got cut soon.
The improvement in Mackenzie Dern is clear to see
Mackenzie Dern won via armbar on Saturday and its clear to see her game improve all round putting the striking together with her known world class BJJ, after beating Nina Nunes I'd like to see her face someone like Claudia Gadelha or Michelle Waterson to see if she's ready for a title run. You still have to remember the defeat to Amanda Ribas but with improvement in her standup Dern could be ready for a title run.
Watch out for Arnold Allen
England's Arnold Allen has gone under the radar slightly in the featherweight division but the top 10 featherweights should be on standby after an impressive performance against Sodiq Yusuff. Yusuff is a tough opponent and Allen stunned Youssef twice in the first and second round to get close to a finish. Being 8-0 in the UFC Allen deserves someone being between 5 and 10 ranked next to build him up to a title run. A great fight would be against Calvin Kattar although he might need a while longer to recover from the fight against Max Holloway, whoever he faces next Allen showed he's legit and ready for higher ranked opponents.
Kevin Holland should move to 170 or bulk up for 185
There's no doubting Kevin Holland ability on the feet, he can stand and bang with anyone at 185 however the grappling is the problem with heavier opponents dominating him on the ground. Derek Brunson showed a clear path to victory by taking down Holland easily in their fight and Marvin Vettori did the same on Saturday utilizing his size to keep Holland on the ground. Holland is BJJ black belt but fighting off your back against heavier guys is difficult against the higher ranked guys maybe he could get away with it against the unranked guys. I'd like to see him take a few months off work on takedown defence and put on some size to compete in the grappling or move to 170 where he'd face smaller guys. Marvin Vettori showed he's game finding the path to victory over Kevin Holland but is calling for a title shot, I believe he needs to beat a top 5 to get a rematch with Adesanya which I suggest Paulo Costa who hasn't got a fight and a
win over the guy who just fought for the belt would undeniably put him in line next. I think the fight with Till could've been a different result than with Holland with Till being bigger and in the past showing good takedown defence and potentially superior striking, its a fight I'd love to see but with Till pulling out I see Vettori moving on which I why I suggest Costa.
