UFC 332: The Biggest Winners & Losers (And What's Next?)

UFC 332 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City went into the record books. The card produced 11 finishes, all 11 by knockout, and nine of them came in the first round, both UFC records. It also crowned a new women's flyweight champion in Natalia Silva. Olin sat this one out to recover, so Pip and Jive Turkey Nano hosted the Reactions & What's Next show. Both scored the card a 9 out of 10, a long way up from the 7 to 7.5 they expected going in. Below are the winners, the losers and what should come next for each of them.

Biggest Winners

1. Natalia Silva

Pip called it the most technical fight of the night. Some of the crowd booed, which he put down to fans being spoiled by all the knockouts. Silva had the speed edge from the opening bell. She timed Wang's check left hook, blitzed in with combinations and then leaned out of range of the counters. Her best work came in the pocket. She would throw a hook around Wang's neck to pull her head down, then fire shots and knees behind it. The front kick and side kick both landed before Wang could get her jab off, and the steady mix of body and head kicks left Wang trying to guard two targets at once. The grappling mattered too. Silva caught kicks and turned them into takedowns, and the threat alone cut down Wang's leg-kick volume. Wang came on strong in rounds four and five and nearly found a finish late in the fifth, while Silva slowed down. Silva survived those final minutes and won a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). Pip had Silva winning rounds one through three, and Nano said his eyeball score was closer to the 49-46 card. She is now 9-0 in the UFC and the new champion at 125.

What's next? Valentina Shevchenko, if the timing works. Silva called her out, and fans want a proper passing of the torch. But Shevchenko is coming back from surgery and will be in her 40s, and the UFC won't wait forever. If she isn't ready, the show likes Alexa Grasso or the winner of Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius on Oct. 17. Silva will want to stay busy.

2. Payton Talbott

Talbott bullied Figueiredo, and it was over at 2:09 of round one. The biggest difference was size. Talbott was much bigger, he had a real reach advantage, and he had the range worked out within 30 seconds. He measured with the jab and put a pause into his one-two that threw off Figueiredo's timing. Figueiredo had his moments, including slipping a flying knee and turning it into a single-leg attempt, but Talbott kept his feet and walked him down to the fence. A straight right dropped the former two-time flyweight champion, and Talbott finished it with vicious follow-up shots. That's two former champions on his résumé now, after Henry Cejudo and Figueiredo. Pip had picked Figgy and admitted Talbott put him on notice again. Then Talbott used the mic to call out Sean O'Malley, and O'Malley's online response had the hosts laughing.

What's next? Both hosts loved the O'Malley callout but don't expect the UFC to book it, since O'Malley is arguably the No. 1 contender. The realistic version is a top-10 opponent and the star treatment. The show's names were Cory Sandhagen, Mario Bautista, Song Yadong and Umar Nurmagomedov. Talbott vs. Song also came up as a possible No. 1 contender fight.

3. Roman Kopylov

This was the upset of the night, and it cost us. Ateba Gautier was our "take it to the bank" pick. Instead, Kopylov looked sharper and less reactive than usual and showed a clear experience edge on the feet. Gautier landed some good body kicks early, but Kopylov started slipping his one-twos and timing a straight left as he came forward. Gautier got frustrated and started loading up on big swings, and Kopylov kept finding the same straight left. Around the fourth one, Gautier was wobbled. A one-two put him down, and Kopylov finished it on the ground at 3:12 of round one. He earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Pip's verdict was that Gautier didn't get exposed as a fraud. He met a better striker, and all the credit goes to Kopylov.

What's next? Nano wants Edmen Shahbazyan, which Pip called his favorite option. Pip's other names are Kyle Daukaus if he gets past Marc-André Barriault, or Ryan Gandra.

4. Damian Pinas

The Touch of Death struck again. Pinas needed seven total strikes and 75 seconds to put away Andrey Pulyaev, a man who went 15 minutes with Gautier. Even a light calf kick nearly dropped Pulyaev to a knee. Pinas kept walking forward, caught a body kick, landed an overhand behind the ear and then drove a right uppercut through the guard that put Pulyaev out. That's three straight first-round knockouts in the UFC, a seven-fight win streak, an 11-1 record and a Performance of the Night bonus. Pip thinks he might be the scariest man in the division right now.

What's next? Pinas wants a top-10 opponent, but the hosts aren't sure anyone will sign up to fight him. Nano floated Roman Kopylov, since both men are coming off huge first-round wins on the same card, and Shara Magomedov came up too.

5. Johnny Walker

Pip picked Parkin and owned the miss. Walker looked like he had always belonged at heavyweight. He filled out well and kept his explosiveness, speed and power. He fought from range and attacked the legs, then hurt Parkin with an upward elbow in the clinch. Two knees from the Thai clinch put Parkin out cold at 3:35 of round one, and Walker took home a Performance of the Night bonus. Walker himself said he had been "nerfing" his stats at 205.

What's next? Pip likes Robelis Despaigne, a heavyweight rematch with Ryan Spann or a push toward Sergei Spivac. Nano wants Steven Asplund as the next step before the division's big names.

Biggest Losers

1. Ateba Gautier

Gautier was the main-card favorite, and the show's pick, but he ran into a striker with a lot more experience and lost in the first round. Pip pointed to things he needs to fix: cutting off the cage, footwork to back opponents into his power, tighter striking and more grappling, rather than just swinging when the first plan fails. The chat also raised his weight cut down to 185. He's still young and still improving.

What's next? Pip wants a rebuild fight against Jackson McVey, another striker who would give him a similar test.

2. Deiveson Figueiredo

Figueiredo looked undersized against a bigger, longer bantamweight and was finished in two minutes and nine seconds. He showed some good evasiveness, but he never solved the range or the pauses in Talbott's rhythm.

What's next? Pip floated Figueiredo as a high-profile ranked test for Marcus McGhee.

3. King Green

Esteban Ribovics snapped Green's four-fight win streak with a TKO at 4:08 of round one, and Pip said Ribovics was the first opponent in a long time to really exploit the known holes in Green's game. He stayed out of kicking range, exploded in with three- and four-punch flurries and met Green in the center every time he came forward. Late in the round, a body-head combination set up a left hook that dropped Green. Two more left hooks put him down again before Herb Dean stepped in after the third knockdown. Green argued the stoppage, but both hosts thought Dean gave him every chance.

What's next? Pip wants the loser of Dan Hooker vs. Brian Ortega, which is booked for Nov. 21 in Qatar.

4. Marvin Vettori

Ismail Naurdiev beat Vettori on all three scorecards, Vettori's fifth straight loss. Naurdiev built his lead with inside leg kicks and takedowns in round one, and at one point he kicked Vettori's leg out from under him three times in a row. Vettori's durability was remarkable. He took a big right hand in round two and kept walking forward, then had his best round in the third, but he ran out of time. Pip's diagnosis is that Vettori has moved away from the clinch-and-pressure game that made him a contender, and his takedown entries have suffered. Nano's view was that he's stuck throwing the same one-two over and over. Vettori appeared to take off his gloves afterward.

What's next? Both hosts would rather see him step away, at least for a long reset. If he keeps fighting, Pip suggested Jun Yong Park, a matchup between two similar, inconsistent pressure fighters.

Other Notable Performances

• Imanol Rodriguez busted our parlay. We both picked Alden Coria, and Rodriguez handed him his first UFC loss. He showed some of the fastest hands at flyweight, mixed his targets between head and body, caught a low kick for a takedown, and then folded Coria with a front kick to the body at 3:11 of round one. He stays unbeaten at 8-0 and picked up a Performance of the Night bonus. Next, Pip wants Edgar Chairez, or even Asu Almabayev.

• Roberto Soldić survived early trouble against Khaos Williams, who stung him with right hooks in round one, and took over from there. Soldić controlled him on the ground, then hit and moved and attacked the body to break Williams down, winning a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27). Pip thought round two was a 10-8. Nano admits he has to eat his words. Pip wants Leon Edwards, or Carlos Leal as the realistic option.

• Esteban Ribovics got the win, but it comes with an asterisk because he missed weight, which also made him ineligible for a bonus. Pip suggested Ignacio Bahamondes next.

• Marcus McGhee dropped short-notice opponent Anthony Romero with a jab, then a left hand off a leg kick, then another jab, and finished him with two seconds left in round one. Romero had his moments and even wobbled McGhee. Next, Pip likes Marlon "Chito" Vera, while Nano offered Farid Basharat or Raul Rosas Jr.

• Anthony Wint needed 23 seconds and 18 strikes to put away Lucas Armand and stay unbeaten. He called out Sean Sharaf, and both hosts want it booked.

• Jacobe Smith shook off an accidental low blow early, survived some scrambles, then chained a single-leg into a slam and finished Bruce Whitehead with ground and pound at 1:32 of round one. Pip suggested Sam Patterson, and Nano offered Chidi Njokuani or Daniil Donchenko. Pip would also take Neil Magny.

• Alexander Hernandez survived a vintage first round from Rafael dos Anjos, including a body-head combination that wobbled him. In round two he dropped RDA with a jab and finished him with a right hook at 3:12. Both hosts hope RDA retires. Pip's names for Hernandez are Chris Padilla, Nurullo Aliev, or the loser of Aliev vs. Grant Dawson.

• Eric Nolan stopped Court McGee with strikes at 3:26 of round three in the opener. McGee outworked him early, but Nolan's elbows changed the fight, and a right hand at range ended it. McGee left his gloves in the Octagon after 16 years in the UFC and 20 years of sobriety, and we wish him all the best. Next for Nolan, Pip suggested Themba Gorimbo or Max Griffin.

How Our Picks Did

The parlay died on the prelims. Anthony Wint and Damian Pinas both cashed, but Alden Coria ran into Imanol Rodriguez. On the main card, Silva delivered (Nano had her by decision), Ribovics won as both hosts expected (Pip had him by TKO in round three, and it came in the first), and Pip's Soldić call came good even though it went the distance instead of ending by knockout. Pip went contrarian with Figueiredo and lost, and our "take it to the bank" pick, Gautier, got knocked out. On the prelims and early prelims, McGhee, Wint, Pinas (Pip had round two, it came in round one), Jacobe Smith and Hernandez all came through. Parkin over Walker, Vettori over Naurdiev and the hometown pick on Court McGee all missed. All told, Pip finished 8-6 straight up. The misses that hurt most were Kopylov's upset of Gautier and Rodriguez's win over Coria, which sank the parlay.

Looking Ahead

UFC 332 crowned a new women's flyweight champion and gave the UFC a star at bantamweight. It also showed that nobody is a lock. Silva now waits on Shevchenko's recovery, Talbott has a top-10 fight coming, and the heavyweight division has to deal with a full-sized Johnny Walker. Next up is UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan on Oct. 10, followed by the Oct. 17 card in Edmonton, where Blanchfield vs. Jasudavicius could produce a challenger for Silva.

Stay tuned as we keep breaking down the road ahead for the fighters of UFC 332.