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The UFC visited its Las Vegas APEX last night. An underwhelming show followed, and few fans will be talking about this one come next week.
UFC Fight Night: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergey Spivak 2 did feature some good wins for a handful of fighters, though, so what is next for them?
As always, the matchmakers have a number of options ahead of them.
Here are five fights to make following UFC Fight Night: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergey Spivak 2.
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#5 UFC bantamweight bout: Toshiomi Kazama vs. Cameron Saaiman
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Arguably the best fight on offer last night saw Toshiomi Kazama pull off one of 2024's best comebacks.
'Silent Finisher' recovered from a bad knockdown to submit Charalampos Grigoriou in the second round of their bantamweight tilt, earning a $50k bonus in the process.
The win was Kazama's first in the UFC, and while he probably doesn't have enough to climb into contention, he proved he can put on fun bouts and belongs in the promotion.
A good fight for him, then, could be with South African prospect Cameron Saaiman.
'MSP' garnered some hype with three wins in the octagon between 2022 and 2023, but has since suffered the first two losses of his career.
As an entertaining fighter in his own right, though, Saaiman would be hopeful of beating Kazama in explosive fashion. Likewise, though, based on last night, the Japanese fighter would have a chance of winning, too.
Overall, this would be a fun bout to book for a lower-end Fight Night event.
#4 UFC heavyweight bout: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergei Pavlovich
While he lost badly to Sergey Spivak last night, Marcin Tybura remains a viable heavyweight contender, largely because of the division's thin nature.
'Tybur' is no longer a title contender, but the UFC can always rely on him to put up a good fight against the world's best big men. Therefore, there's no point in shoving him down the ladder just yet.
A good fight for the Polish star, then, could be with former interim title challenger Sergei Pavlovich.
The hard-hitting Russian was once considered the division's most dangerous man, but he's now on a two-fight skid and desperately needs a win. Therefore, Tybura is the perfect foe for him.
Either Pavlovich would get back to form with a win over a credible foe, or Tybura would pick up one of the biggest wins of his UFC career to move back up into contention in his own right.
If there is a European Fight Night event coming up before the end of 2024, it'd be well worth putting this bout on there.
#3 UFC bantamweight bout: Chris Gutierrez vs. Montel Jackson
Chris Gutierrez picked up an important win last night, outpointing newcomer Quang Le on late notice.
The win likely won't be enough to elevate 'El Guapo' back into the top 15 at bantamweight, but it should be enough to mean the UFC gives him another shot at getting there.
A solid fight for him, then, would be against No.15 ranked Montel Jackson. 'Quik' broke into the rankings with a rapid knockout of Da'Mon Blackshear in July, and interestingly, was scheduled to fight Gutierrez in 2023 before the bout fell apart.
'El Guapo' would represent the toughest test of Jackson's octagon career thus far. Therefore, he'd either continue his rise up the ranks, or Gutierrez would regain the momentum he had coming off his win over Frankie Edgar.
Either way, this would be a fun fight to watch, and would be well worth putting together in the near future.
#2 UFC featherweight bout: Chepe Mariscal vs. Edson Barboza
While his failure to hit the 145-pound featherweight mark meant a flavor of controversy hung over his win over Damon Jackson, Chepe Mariscal still looked good last night.
'Machine Gun' took his UFC record to 4-0 with a hard-hitting decision victory over 'The Leech', and has now not lost since 2020.
It's clear that he deserves a step up in competition in his next bout, and so a fascinating opponent for him could be veteran Edson Barboza.
'Junior' does appear to be slowing down at this point. He's been in the UFC for nearly 15 years now, and has lost three of his last five fights.
However, his recent wins over Billy Quarantillo and Sodiq Yusuff mean he's still a viable threat at featherweight, and indeed, he still sits at No.15 in the division.
If Mariscal could get past the Brazilian, it'd send a real message that he is for real. If he were to fail, there'd be no shame in a loss to the veteran, either.
Simply put, this is the kind of fight that makes sense for 'Machine Gun' after last night.
#1 UFC heavyweight bout: Sergey Spivak vs. Jailton Almeida
Last night's main event saw Sergey Spivak avenge his earlier loss to Marcin Tybura in style. After being taken down early, 'The Polar Bear' surprised his foe with a quickfire armbar, coaxing a tapout in under two minutes.
The win should elevate Spivak at least one spot up in the rankings, as Tybura was one place above him at No.8 coming into their fight.
It makes sense to match the native of Moldova with a foe ranked higher than him again, so the most viable option would be Jailton Almeida.
'Malhadinho' was knocked out of direct UFC title contention by Curtis Blaydes earlier this year, but he's since bounced back with a slick win over Alexander Romanov.
To add to this, the Brazilian has some serious grappling chops to go along with a solid striking game, and would definitely look to test 'The Polar Bear' in every area.
With both fighters still young enough to make a big impact in the heavyweight division, this fight would be worthy of headlining a lower-end Fight Night later in the year.
