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UFC Vegas 16 was the latest addition to the long list of UFC shows badly hit by both injuries and COVID-19 in 2020. Thankfully though, the fighters who did make the card put on an action-packed show that turned out to be well worth watching.
Sure, there wasn’t much in the way of name-value on offer, but this was still one of the more fun UFC cards of recent weeks, with plenty of great finishes across the show’s eight fights.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Vegas 16: Hermansson vs. Vettori.
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#1 Best: Vettori makes the most of his chance and enters the UFC title picture
The big winner from last night’s show was undoubtedly Marvin Vettori. The Italian has been with the UFC now since 2016. And while his record with the promotion was strong – 5-2-1 going into last night – he was lacking the big win he really needed to move into contention for the UFC Middleweight title.
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Now though, The Italian Dream has that win. He wasn’t even supposed to be fighting last night, as opponent Jack Hermansson was first matched with Darren Till and then Kevin Holland. In fact, Vettori took the fight – his first UFC main event - on a week’s notice.
In the end, though, it didn’t matter. The Italian almost finished Hermansson in the first round with a vicious combination. And when the Swede survived, Vettori had enough in the tank to show poise, skill, and excellent conditioning.
He largely beat Hermansson in every area and ended up taking a clear-cut decision win. And sure, while he didn’t call out current UFC champ Israel Adesanya, he’s actually the only man to come close to defeating The Last Stylebender in the UFC. This means that he might well have a chance at claiming that title shot with another big win or two.
#1 Worst: Hermansson’s gamble fails to pay off
On the flip side of things in the main event, you’ve got to feel for Jack Hermansson somewhat. The Swede was coming off one of his UFC career's biggest wins over former UFC title challenger Kelvin Gastelum.
Hermansson could well have found himself in line for a title shot had he beaten Darren Till, who he was initially supposed to fight last night.
Of course, Till – and in turn, Kevin Holland – were forced out of the fight, leaving Hermansson to fight Marvin Vettori. And while Vettori isn’t as well-regarded as Till, the Italian, as we saw, is still an excellent fighter.
More to the point, though, with a largely clinch-heavy grappling style, he’s basically nothing like Till, who Hermansson must’ve spent weeks preparing for. So could The Joker blame that for his upset loss? Quite possibly.
Still, any kind of reason doesn’t make up for the fact that Hermansson lost badly last night and is now – for the time being – out of the UFC title picture. It was an example of why it’s dangerous for any top fighter to take a last-minute fight, even if it can get them into the UFC’s good books.
#2 Best: Leavitt debuts in the UFC with a real bang
Most UFC fans were expecting Jordan Leavitt to win in his UFC debut last night. After all, The Monkey King was faced with Matt Wiman, a man who last won in the UFC back in 2014. However, few people could’ve expected the graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series to be quite so impressive.
It took Leavitt just 22 seconds to take Handsome Matt out, as he scooped him up for a double leg. He then channeled his inner Rampage Jackson by slamming him hard to the ground, knocking him out in the process.
If that was a memorable way to debut in the UFC – slam knockouts are few and far between in the world’s biggest MMA promotion – then Leavitt’s actions after the fight made him stand out even more.
First, he burst into what appeared to be a Dirty Dancing inspired celebration, and then he showed his class by consoling Wiman’s wife at cageside.
Does the win make Leavitt a contender? Of course not. Wiman is years past his prime now, and The Monkey King was always favored. However, the win definitely makes him a man to watch – and also netted him a nice $50k bonus, too.
#2 Worst: Dolidze vs. Allan fails to impress
The one fight that didn’t really impress most watchers last night was the UFC Light Heavyweight clash between Roman Dolidze and John Allan Arte. Both men had impressive records going into last night’s fight, with Dolidze in particular being practically a finishing machine.
However, the fight didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was by far the slowest fight on last night’s card, even if it wasn’t as sloppy as the opener between Gian Villante and Jake Collier.
And while Dolidze cracked viewers up by audibly asking his coach if he wanted him to submit his Brazilian foe, he never really came close outside of a first-round heel hook.
Both men might still go onto have plenty of success in the UFC. But right now, with so many UFC cards coming thick and fast, you have to really do something special in order to stand out. For instance, Jordan Leavitt did that last night, just as Khamzat Chimaev did earlier in 2020. But after their fight last night, nobody is going to be talking about Dolidze or Allan.
#3 Best: Hill makes himself into the latest man to watch at 205lbs
Jamahal Hill was faced with easily the biggest challenge of his young career last night in the form of UFC veteran Ovince St. Preux, and it was a test that few people thought he’d pass. Even when OSP missed weight, he still sounded like a horrible fight for Hill, who’d shown weak takedown defense in his first couple of UFC outings.
However, that wasn’t the case last night. St. Preux never came close to getting Hill down, and Sweet Dreams simply pushed too hard of a pace with his striking for OSP to cope with. By the second round, St. Preux looked exhausted and began to wilt, and Hill showed a superb killer instinct by putting him away with a barrage of strikes.
The win should almost certainly move Hill into title contention at 205lbs, as while St. Preux has taken a number of losses in the UFC, they’ve almost always come against top-level opponents. There can be no doubt that Hill will now be given a chance to climb to that elite level. And judging on this showing, he should be able to make it there.
