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UFC Vegas 31 was one of those UFC events that was flying under the radar in terms of star power, but ended up being a massively entertaining show overall.
We saw eight of UFC Vegas 31’s 10 fights end in violent fashion, and that meant that the card had plenty of huge winners from top to bottom.
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So with a number of fighters looking to use this event as a springboard to move into UFC title contention, keep their UFC careers afloat, or just ensure that their name would be remembered by fans, who succeeded last night?
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Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Vegas 31: Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises.
#5 Rodolfo Vieira – defeated Dustin Stoltzfus on UFC Vegas 31’s main card
Last night’s fight against Dustin Stoltzfus was easily the most important of Rodolfo Vieira’s MMA career thus far. ‘The Black Belt Hunter’ is renowned as one of MMA’s best submission artists, with an extensive history of tapping out some true greats in the realm of grappling.
However, in his last UFC fight, he was embarrassed by the unheralded Anthony Hernandez, submitting to a guillotine choke in the second round after completely gassing out. It was the kind of performance that suggested the Brazilian wasn’t ready for the top level of MMA.
That meant that last night, Vieira’s back was against the wall in his fight with Stoltzfus. But thankfully, he showed some improvements to win the fight with a third-round rear-naked choke.
Vieira showed far more patience than he’d done before, and didn’t gas himself out by spamming takedowns against his more defensive opponent. Instead, he backed him up and kept the pressure on without being too explosive.
And when the time came, naturally Vieira delivered the goods, snaking onto Stoltzfus’s back before strangling him with a beautiful rear-naked choke.
Will Vieira ever become a UFC title contender? It’s honestly doubtful as he still has holes in his game to fill, but at the very least, this performance showed he does belong in the world’s biggest MMA promotion.
#4 Amanda Lemos – defeated Montserrat Ruiz on the UFC Vegas 31 prelims
UFC Vegas 31’s best knockout belonged to Amanda Lemos, who turned out the lights on Montserrat Ruiz with a beautiful combination after just 35 seconds of their fight. Lemos showed tremendous timing, footwork and explosive power, and simply outclassed her opponent.
The performance was so impressive, in fact, that some fans questioned why she’d even been matched against Ruiz. It was a confusing conclusion to reach, given that ‘Conejo’ was also considered a strong prospect coming into the event and was on a two-fight win streak of her own.
Lemos is now on a four-fight winning run in one of the UFC’s deepest divisions, the women's strawweight weight class, and as she’s already ranked at #14, it’s probably time that the promotion moves her up to fight a top ten opponent next time out.
A fight with someone like Tecia Torres, Nina Nunes or Claudia Gadelha would definitely work, and judging by the striking poise that Lemos showed last night, she’d be a very real threat to any of them. After last night, Lemos simply can’t be overlooked.
#3 Mateusz Gamrot – defeated Jeremy Stephens on the UFC Vegas 31 main card
Faced with a far more experienced opponent in Jeremy Stephens, who has been in the UFC now for well over a decade, you could’ve forgiven Mateusz Gamrot for being a little overawed last night. After all, the Polish fighter has less fights overall than Stephens has in the UFC.
But ‘Gamer’ showed no sign of any nerves at all when it came down to it. If anything, he was the one who showed veteran poise, as he took advantage of what was a rookie mistake of sorts from Stephens, spinning his way into a kimura after escaping an attempted one from ‘Lil Heathen’.
Gamrot is now 2-1 in the UFC and has finished two credentialed veterans in his wins, with his lone loss coming in a razor-close fight with fellow prospect Guram Kutateladze.
Based on his showing last night, the Polish fighter is probably capable of taking on the 155-pound division’s better fighters and, given the sheer depth of that division, there won’t be any shortage of opponents for him.
However, given how good he looked last night, the UFC would probably be best served to shoot him up the ladder against a top 15 foe. Judging by how he handled Stephens, he’s more than ready.
#2 Miesha Tate – defeated Marion Reneau in the UFC Vegas 31 co-main event
Considering she retired back in 2016, which feels like a lifetime ago now, it was never going to be easy for Miesha Tate to return to the highest level of the UFC.
Somehow though, ‘Cupcake’ made it look easy last night, as she outclassed a tough opponent in Marion Reneau en route to a third round TKO win. It felt like Tate eased through her gears for the most part as she landed the better strikes on the feet, and gradually took over the fight completely before finishing things on the ground.
Sure, Reneau has now retired herself and wasn’t on a good run at all, but to whitewash her like this after five years on the shelf was still very impressive.
Where next for Tate? Well, as a former UFC bantamweight champion and a well-known and marketable star, there’s every chance that the UFC looks to fast-track her into another fight with Amanda Nunes, who took the title from her at UFC 200.
That means a big fight next time out, but judging by how ‘Cupcake’ looked last night, she’s more than ready for it.
#1 Islam Makhachev – defeated Thiago Moises in the UFC Vegas 31 main event
In many respects, Islam Makhachev was in a no-win situation last night. Faced with a lower-ranked opponent in the form of Thiago Moises, most fans expected a whitewash from the Russian fighter, and anything less than a finish would not suffice.
That kind of pressure is never good, and other fighters have choked under it before. Makhachev didn’t fall into that kind of trap though, and dominated Moises just as much as everyone had been expecting, but still managed to finish the Brazilian off with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time anyone had ever tapped the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
Post-fight, Makhachev called out Rafael dos Anjos, and while that fight works to an extent, the truth is that the training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov may even deserve better.
He’s on an eight-fight win streak right now, something that only a handful of fighters in the history of the UFC lightweight division can match. Basically, another win or two should be enough to net him a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
If that win comes against RDA, then so be it, but the UFC should probably consider matching Makhachev with Michael Chandler. If the Russian could defeat the former Bellator champ, then his reputation as the ‘new Khabib’ would be cemented for good.
