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\nRaul Rosas Jr., UFC Vegas 121 Weigh-Ins Credit: Pat Danna\/Cageside Press<\/p>\n
UFC Vegas 121 ended in a rather scary scene this past Saturday at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, as Raoni Barcelos was stretchered out following a takedown in the fifth round. All reports are that Barcelos is awake, communicating, moving fine, and on Monday, he released his first statement to fans saying as much. Luckily, a potential catastrophe was avoided. Now, it\u2019s time to look at what\u2019s next for the winning side of the Fight Night card.<\/p>\n
Despite the strange ending, Raul Rosas Jr. is the one who got his hand raised, after being down on all three judges\u2019 scorecards going into the final round. The UFC has clearly been pushing Rosas Jr. and understandably so, he\u2019s one of the very few candidates that come up every couple of years with a shot at beating Jon Jones\u2019 record as the youngest champion ever. To keep that brand alive, he needs a favourable matchup, and there is one that stands out above all else. Aiemann Zahabi is still ranked inside the division\u2019s top 10 and turns 39 in November. Fighting another veteran with hard miles on him who advances Rosas further up the division is exactly what the UFC will look to do.<\/p>\n
Rosas Jr.\u2019s next fight: Aiemann Zahabi<\/em><\/p>\n The bad blood between Ail\u00edn P\u00e9rez and Norma Dumont got so heated that the fight was promoted to the co-main event, after initially being buried on the prelims. Unfortunately, we can add this one to the list of fights with real animosity that ultimately did not materialize in a good fight. However controversial the result may be, this fight simply wasn\u2019t good enough to garner outrage about it. In the end, Fiona\u2019s win streak stays alive, and she will probably find herself in a number one contender fight next by virtue of there not being a ton of candidates at bantamweight. Fights with Raquel Pennington or Joselyne Edwards would be fine, but I like the Julianna Pe\u00f1a matchup since it might produce the more entertaining action in and out of the cage.<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez\u2019s next fight: Julianna Pe\u00f1a<\/em><\/p>\n In what might have been the most talked-about matchup of the card outside the main event, Luis Hernandez made quick work of Sedriques Dumas in a very quick turnaround from his contract-winning DWCS<\/em> performance. To keep the momentum going, Hernandez should look for another quick turnaround against a beatable middleweight like Ben Johnston.<\/p>\n Hernandez\u2019s next fight: Ben Johnston<\/em><\/p>\n Winning TUF<\/em> by disqualification isn\u2019t the way you usually draw it up, but it was the correct call to make since Osmanli\u2019s illegal knee was outrageous. Once Akylbek recovers and is ready to go, he should face a low-end bantamweight to see what he has to offer in a fight that hopefully will have a more satisfying result. Someone like Mark Vologdin should do the trick.<\/p>\n Akylbek\u2019s next fight: Mark Vologdin<\/em><\/p>\n Valesca Machado, better known as Tina Black, ran through Melissa Amaya to win this season of The Ultimate Fighter<\/em>. This was a good highlight finish to have on a UFC event, and the promotion should look to have her actual octagon debut play out in a similar way to add her to the list of new, exciting strawweights with Shanelle Dyer and Carol Foro. I say giver her someone like Puja Tomar, who will be all too happy to brawl it out.<\/p>\nAil\u00edn P\u00e9rez<\/h2>\n
Luis Hernandez<\/h2>\n
Ilimbek Akylbek<\/h2>\n
Tina Black<\/h2>\n