UFC 258 included champion Kamaru Usman expected from the welterweight champion and strong performances from both women in the main event, Alexa Grasso and Maycee Barber. It also included one of the most surprising results in recent memory, as Anthony Hernandez defeated Rodolfo Vieira, a seven-time world champion in wrestling, by obedience.
The UFC Apex event in Las Vegas on Saturday night provided an excellent showcase for a number of fighters who want to continue their pursuit of a title. Grasso showed a new dimension to her game and offered Barber a potential plan to follow. Hernandez now has the UFC’s attention, so what can he do with it?
But at the end of the night, all eyes were again on Usman, who was holding the 170-kilogram belt again. Where does the champion and his last challenger, Gilbert Burns, come from?
Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim reflect on the action of the night.
Okamoto: What’s next for Usman and Burns?
Who’s next for Usman: Leon Edwards
This is the only answer at the moment. The only one. Edwards just lost an opponent in Khamzat Chimaev, which he was to face on March 13. He wants to stay on that card, and the UFC is trying to reserve a new opponent. Potential Colby Covington, according to UFC President Dana White.
Whoever receives Edwards – or even if he doesn’t receive anyone – if he wins, is next. If he ends up not fighting at all, he will. The man did everything you could ask for to win a title. Covington is not booked. Jorge Masvidal is not booked. Edwards was willing to fight Chimaev, a guy no one wanted. He is the competitor no. 1 from this moment and, as long as he does not fight and lose, there is nothing to change that.
Wild card: Colby Covington
The UFC likes this rematch because the first fight was so good. Usman is also open. Covington has a dominant performance against Tyron Woodley. He’s running for a title, but he shouldn’t be ahead of Edwards.
Who’s next for Burns: Khamzat Chimaev
Clearly, not the result Burns was looking for, but no one managed to beat Usman while he was in the UFC. So, even though you never want to lose, it’s not a shame to lose that level of opponent.
Burns doesn’t fall too far in the rankings because of this. Honestly, I’d love to see Burns fight Masvidal, because I think it’s a great fight stylistically. I don’t know what Masvidal wants now, but I don’t think Burns wants it. Just my speculations.
So what’s the next realistic fight for Burns? Well, if Chimaev recovers in the near future, what about him? The UFC will still want to put Chimaev in a big fight, and Burns is one of those weights that seems willing to fight anyone. Fans would embrace this match. If Chimaev returns in a reasonable time, let’s do it.
Wild card: Colby Covington
If Edwards gets the next title, which I think he should, Burns vs. Covington is an obvious struggle to make. There was talk of Covington vs. Masvidal, but it doesn’t seem close to being done. If they don’t come together, this is a good match to pivot on.
Raimondi: Grasso can show Barber the way
Maycee Barber lost two in a row. Her plan, as one of the top prospects in all of MMA, was to become the youngest champion in UFC history. That won’t happen now – and it’s completely OK. The barber is only 22 years old. There is no rush. She was not ready for champion Valentina Shevchenko anyway. There are few. This short skid at this point in Barber’s career could be a disguised blessing.
If Barber wanted a good example of the future, he should look no further than the woman who beat her on Saturday night: Alexa Grasso. Six years ago, Grasso was one of the strongest prospects in MMA. UFC President Dana White was present to see her on an Invicta FC card in Los Angeles and pounced on her potential. Grasso was to have a meteoric rise and become the next big Mexican star of the UFC. That didn’t happen. But guess what: Grasso went from straw weight to fly weight and won two in a row. After Saturday night’s victory, she is now a legitimate competitor at £ 125.
Grasso is only 27 years old. He is of athletic age. Barber is five years younger than her and all she has is time. And what Barber managed to do in the third round, make adjustments and go in front of Grasso when he needed one, was a positive sign. The barber needs a consistent house in which to train. Maybe he discovered this in Chicago with Mike Valle and Israel Martinez. No, she may not be the youngest UFC champion ever. But that doesn’t mean he won’t wear that gold belt one day.
Wagenheim: Anthony Hernandez presented the most shocking result of the night
Who knows, maybe his nickname, “Fluffy”, played a role in Hernandez, being installed as one of the biggest underdogs of the night. A more likely factor has been Hernandez’s results over the past three years – just one victory in the last four previous fights. For the most part, however, the +370 odds against him was a statement about his opponent, Rodolfo Vieira, who came undefeated in MMA with an elite pedigree in one of the key disciplines of the sport.
Vieira has only had two UFC appearances under his belt, but that belt is a black one in his historic career in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The 31-year-old from Rio de Janeiro is a seven-time world champion in wrestling. In over 100 professional wrestling matches, he was sent only once.
But now Vieira has a record loss in his MMA record. Hernandez, who later revealed that it was just a purple belt, got the finish by suffocating the guillotine in the third round.
Of course, elite crickets like Braulio Estima and Bernardo Faria would like to have a talk with Hernandez. They didn’t do as well in the World Cup clashes with Vieira, but the jiu-jitsu rules didn’t allow them to soften him with fists, elbows, and headbutts, as Hernandez did before finishing with the suffocator. .
The record book shows only one victory for Hernandez, but no asterisk was added for the damage caused before the appearance. And any bettor who collected tickets that read “Hernandez by deposit”, at a rate of 30-1, according to the broadcast, will not give back the money won. No matter how someone tries to qualify it, it was a special finish, the kind that will make fans respect the name “Fluffy”. And future opponents will have something to think about – Hernandez’s defensive fight from the start against a virtuoso from the ground, his difficulty in turning the tables and the courage to go for the least likely finishes.