5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum

#2. Alexandre Pantoja – defeated Brandon Royval

Alexandre Pantoja may net a UFC flyweight title shot following his win over Brandon Royval

There’s probably an argument to suggest that last night’s biggest winner overall was Alexandre Pantoja, despite the fact that he fought in the opening bout of the main card.

After all, ‘The Cannibal’ not only defeated Brandon Royval with a second-round rear-naked choke, but he did it in what was probably the most entertaining bout overall on this UFC Fight Night. He was handed a $50k bonus for his efforts.

NO PARPADEAR! @PantojaMMA ejecuta con su BJJ la finalización! #UFCVegas34 pic.twitter.com/QJpMZRV2bs

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) August 22, 2021

However, what makes Pantoja such a big winner after this event is that UFC announcers last night were openly talking up the fight as a flyweight division title eliminator.

This type of thing happens a lot in the UFC and doesn’t always guarantee the winner a title shot, of course, but after a performance like this, it’d be hard to deny Pantoja.

And when you add in the fact that ‘The Cannibal’ already has a win over current UFC flyweight kingpin Brandon Moreno, there’s actually a chance that we were watching a future UFC titleholder in action last night.

Essentially, in a high-stakes fight, things probably could not have gone any better for the Brazilian last night, and that makes him one of the biggest winners from this UFC Fight Night event.

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#1. Jared Cannonier – defeated Kelvin Gastelum in UFC Fight Night main event

Jared Cannonier's heavy hands allowed him to pick up a win over Kelvin Gastelum

In all but exceptional circumstances, the victor of a UFC main event is always likely to be considered the night’s biggest winner, and so Jared Cannonier must take his spot at the top of this list.

‘The Killa Gorilla’ was hoping for an impressive win that would allow him to jump the queue for a UFC middleweight title shot. And while he may not have done enough to earn that, he should probably be considered next in line for the winner of the Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker clash, which should hopefully take place soon.

Cannonier’s clash with Kelvin Gastelum wasn’t the easiest fight to score by any means. Both men landed plenty of telling blows throughout the fight, but in the end, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ just about edged it.

If nothing else, he clearly had the biggest moment of the fight; he dropped Gastelum with a huge right hand in the third round. It was a shot that probably would’ve knocked out 90% of the UFC’s middleweight roster, and quite how Gastelum survived it is anyone’s guess.

Cannonier peligroso aún! Una pelea de mucha táctica ya agresividades #UFCVegas34 pic.twitter.com/atwTbbQKkX

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) August 22, 2021

The win marked Cannonier’s fourth in five fights as a 185-lber, and he’s clearly dangerous enough to take out most fighters in the division.

Will he ever be capable of toppling either Adesanya or Whittaker? Probably not, but on the evidence from last night, it’s worth letting him try.