Last night’s UFC Vegas 70 fight night at the Apex was the last event before moving into a huge month of fights in March for the UFC. In a quality night of fights, six performance bonuses were handed out by UFC president Dana White.
The main event was cancelled on the night as Nikita Krylov had fallen ill. Therefore, Andre Muniz vs Brendan Allen at middleweight was promoted to the main event. Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann has since been rescheduled for March 11th.
UFC Vegas 70 Bonus Winners
Joe Solecki
The lightweight fighting out of Wilmington came into last night with a 4-1 record within the organisation. With 7 of his 12 career wins coming via submission, Solecki will always be a threat on the ground. Carl Deaton discovered that towards the end of the second round, Solecki locked in a tight rear naked choke and put Deaton to sleep. The division has incredible depth, so Solecki will have options. Jordan Leavitt also picked up a performance bonus this evening with his first KO victory. With both men coming off great victories and not taking much damage, they can be turned around relatively quickly to face one another.
Jordan Leavitt
In London, it did not go his way against rising superstar Paddy Pimblett, so Jordan Leavitt was keen to return to the win column. His opponent Victor Martinez was making his UFC debut but came into the fight on a seven fight win streak. As one of the most intriguing characters in the division, Leavitt divides opinion with interviews and celebrations. The turning point came as Leavitt got Martinez in a Thai clinch and landed violent knees up the middle. The second crumbled Martinez down by the fence. As previously mentioned, I think Leavitt should take on fellow bonus winner Joe Solecki next.
Trevor Peek
Making his UFC debut fighting out of Alabama, Trevor Peek had just turned professional back in 2021. Since then, he has fought seven times and has a 100% knockout rate. Fans looked forward to seeing if that continued as he stepped up into the elite organisation. It did with a brutal flurry of punches at the very end of round one to secure a bonus. Peek is added to a list of names to watch in the lightweight division. I can see him facing a fellow finisher, and Uros Medic fits that profile. Both have similar records. This would be a great fight.
Mike Malott
In a great spot opening the main card, an all-Canadian bout took place with Mike Malott vs Yohan Lainesse. Malott was making his second walk to the UFC octagon looking to extend a four fight win streak. Malott hasn’t needed the judges in his career. His last fight was a stunning first-round KO of Mickey Gall. The impressive finish came at the end of round one; Malott tightened up an arm triangle choke making Lainesse tap. Looking up the welterweight rankings, Tim Means is a tough veteran that would be a great opportunity for Malott.
Tatiana Suarez
This event was marked as the long-awaited return of fan favourite Tatiana Suarez. Unfortunately, her career had been halted due to injuries, but she made the walk after not competing for 1359 days. Many fans were intrigued to see how the time off would affect Suarez in the octagon. Suarez looked comfortable in the first round. Into the second round, Suarez latched onto a guillotine, and soon enough, Montana De La Rosa was tapping. Now her intention is clear that she will return to the strawweight where she had been making waves previously. Elite champion Weili Zhang is rumoured to be taking on Amanda Lemos next. Therefore, a great matchup would be against top contender Xiaonan Yan before Suarez enters the title picture at strawweight.
Brendan Allen
Facing his toughest test to date, Brendan Allen took on submission specialist Andre Muniz, an elite BJJ black belt. Promoted last minute to the main event, extra pressure mounted onto the fight. Allen was competing well throughout the fight and looked on his way to a decision victory over Muniz, however in the last minute of the third round, he had taken the back of Muniz and locked in a rear naked choke to hand Muniz his first-ever submission loss very deserving of a bonus. A brilliant victory for Allen. Next, he looks to avenge his losses to Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland. However, the callout for Jack Hermansson makes sense as he was unmatched and sat at #9 in the rankings.
What was your standout moment from UFC Vegas 70? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
