UFC Vegas 122: The Biggest Winners & Losers (And What's Next?)

UFC Vegas 122 at the Meta APEX gave us a five-round grind in the main event, a run of violent finishes on the undercard, a retirement, a majority draw and three weight misses. Olin and Jive Turkey Nano went live midweek for the Reactions & What's Next show, with Pip out this week, and Olin called the night "great and horrible" in equal measure. Below are the biggest winners, the biggest losers and what should come next for each of them, plus how our picks and bets held up.

Biggest Winners

1. Brendan Allen

Allen reminded everyone why he sits at No. 4 at middleweight. Christian Leroy Duncan took the first round, came out aggressive, and had real success with volume, clinch work, elbows and knees. He even out-struck Allen over the course of the fight. But Duncan never attempted a single takedown, and Allen's control time decided the fight. Duncan also lost a point for an eye poke in round two, and from there Allen started finding his takedowns and riding out long stretches on top. Nano liked how Allen ate Duncan's best shots without showing that they bothered him, and Olin pointed out that Allen's striking defense has improved, even if his slow starts still let opponents hang around early. Olin had it 3-2 for Allen heading into the last round, so the judges were never needed. Once Allen got to the back with one hook in during round five, it felt like a matter of when, not if. He finished it with a rear-naked choke at 2:46 of the fifth round.

What's next? Allen called out Dricus Du Plessis, and both hosts love it. Olin's verdict was simple: give him who he asked for. Nano also floated Khamzat Chimaev, or a rematch with Nassourdine Imavov, who beat Allen in Paris in a fight Allen felt he was done dirty in. If Allen wants to get back in quickly, though, the DDP fight makes the most sense.

2. Andre Fili

This one earned the first shot of the night. Fili's jab was a piston, and he controlled the range early, just as Olin predicted, with Kai Kamaka III giving up height and reach and stuck lunging in. Twenty-two seconds into round two, Fili set up a head kick with straight shots and a feint to the body, and Kamaka went down. What both hosts loved most was what came after. Fili saw he had already done the damage and pulled back from the follow-up shot, giving Kamaka little more than a tap. Nano called it the kind of awareness that only comes from hundreds of fights. Fili said himself that you don't have to be a villain to be a badass, and he has climbed up the featherweight leaderboard for total fight time. The result goes down as a KO at 0:22 of round two.

What's next? Olin offered three names, all ranked just above Fili and coming off losses: Doo Ho Choi, David Onama and Jose Delgado. Nano liked the Delgado fight best, and he also floated Jamall Emmers and Giga Chikadze. Fili told Ariel Helwani he is happy to keep fighting at the APEX, so that part will be easy.

3. Otari Tanzilovi

Malcolm Wellmaker won the first round with pressure and output, but Tanzilovi stayed composed and started landing the harder counters. Then he uncorked a head kick that put Wellmaker on skates, leaned in and finished him at 2:39 of round two. Olin watched the replay of the kick about 16 times and told everyone to rewatch it with the volume up because of the sound it made on impact. Nano was impressed by Tanzilovi's speed and called him a new-school striker, saying the bantamweight division just added another dog.

What's next? Olin's names were Rinya Nakamura and Cody Garbrandt, though he doesn't love the Garbrandt fight because he thinks it's a bad matchup for Cody. Nano's pick is Daniel Marcos.

4. Francisco Prado

This was the get-yours bet. Ismael Bonfim missed lightweight by 7.5 pounds, weighing in at 163.5, and still got steamrolled. Prado pressured him on the feet, scored a clean takedown and finished it with ground and pound at 4:23 of round one. Olin thought Prado's wrestling and top control looked sharper than ever at 155. Nano noted how much the win clearly meant to Prado, who had dropped all four of his fights at welterweight. He was emotional afterward, which Nano said shows how much he cares.

What's next? Olin listed Nazareno Malegarie, Drakkar Klose, or the loser of Nurullo Aliev vs. Grant Dawson. Nano wants Elves Brener in what he called a strikers' delight.

5. Alice Pereira

The 20-year-old came out, in Olin's words, like a pitbull off her chain. She walked Daria Zhelezniakova down, mixed her hands with nasty elbows, and opened a cut so bad that the doctor stopped it at the end of round one. Nano called it a statement win over a game opponent. Olin's only concern is her defensive shell, since she can leave her chin hanging out when she loads up. He also called her everything Maycee Barber was supposed to be.

What's next? Olin wants to pull Pereira up the ladder: the loser of Macy Chiasson vs. Beatriz Mesquita, or the loser of Luana Santos vs. Yana Santos. A win over either would put her close to the top 10.

Biggest Losers

1. Christian Leroy Duncan

Duncan had his moments. He won the first round, landed big shots throughout and out-struck Allen. But the point deduction hurt, and he never had an answer for Allen's grappling. Nano felt Duncan was conceding position at times just to catch his breath over a 25-minute fight. Duncan's knockout threat was real early, but he couldn't land the shot he needed, and the longer the fight went, the more it belonged to Allen.

What's next? The hosts didn't play matchmaker for Duncan, but he's still young enough in his UFC run to rebuild. He needs to show he can stop takedowns and win the late rounds.

2. Malcolm Wellmaker

That's three straight losses. Wellmaker was the betting favorite and the guy we both picked, but Tanzilovi's head kick put him on skates and the finish followed. Olin asked whether this could be the end for Wellmaker in the UFC, and Nano called it a brutal run for a fighter whose story everyone wanted to see continue. The machine, as Olin put it, needs a tune-up.

3. Gerald Meerschaert

Olin made GM3 his dog of the week and stacked props on a Meerschaert submission. It was the biggest drain on our week. In his light heavyweight debut, Meerschaert looked slower against a bigger opponent. Julius Walker controlled the fight from start to finish with pressure, volume and a takedown, and he finished it with ground and pound at 3:35 of round two. Meerschaert's submission game never got a chance to show, and Olin compared him to an old muscle car that cranked the engine but never got warmed up. Afterward Meerschaert laid his gloves in the Octagon and retired, ending a 60-fight career that leaves him atop the UFC middleweight submission records. Nano called the performance poor but tipped his cap to a career that went the distance.

4. Ismael Bonfim

Bonfim lost this fight on the scale. He missed weight by 7.5 pounds, and it was the last fight on his contract. Olin argued he didn't even try to make weight, and Nano agreed that Bonfim took the quickest way out once the fight got hard. Bonfim should have had the size and power advantage. Instead he was finished in the first round and showed none of the emotion Prado did afterward.

5. Felipe Franco

Franco was around a -390 favorite and got caught. He took Brendson Ribeiro down early, but Ribeiro, who also missed weight, at 208.5 pounds, reversed to mount and locked up a mounted guillotine for the tap at 1:49 of round one. Olin admitted he could not have gotten this one more wrong.

Other Notable Performances

• Jai Herbert used his jab, footwork and an eight-inch reach advantage to edge Matheus Camilo by unanimous decision. Camilo started hot with a takedown and probably won round one, but Herbert took over late. It was another win for the veterans this year. Olin suggested Chase Hooper or Mason Jones next, while Nano liked Michael Johnson, Jalin Turner or Mateusz Gamrot. Olin said Gamrot might be his favorite.

• Loopy Godinez beat Ketlen Souza by unanimous decision. Souza missed weight by about a pound and a half, bloodied Godinez early and likely took round two, but Godinez's jab, pressure and third-round takedown and control won it. Neither host saw controversy. Olin wants Gillian Robertson next, and Nano wants Denise Gomes, who is on a five-fight win streak.

• Julius Walker turned in the best UFC performance we've seen from him in Meerschaert's farewell. Olin offered Oumar Sy or Rodolfo Bellato, and Nano wants Ion Cuțelaba.

• Niko Price came back from a short retirement and blitzed Leon Shahbazyan for a TKO at 1:58 of round one. Shahbazyan didn't land a strike. Price left the door open to fight again, but Olin expects his next big payday to come in Gamebred FC or BKFC rather than the UFC.

• Brendson Ribeiro snapped a four-fight skid with that mounted guillotine. Nano suggested Rodolfo Bellato, while Olin pitched Julius Walker, or a chance to avenge his UFC 298 knockout loss to Zhang Mingyang.

• Allen Frye Jr. cooked us. We both picked RJ Harris, who gassed around the two-minute mark and kept his hands low. Frye slipped off the center line, sat Harris down with a one-two and finished him at 2:59 of round one. Olin's names for Frye were Mick Parkin, Ryan Spann, Kennedy Nzechukwu, or the winner or loser of Tanner Boser vs. Jhonata Diniz in Edmonton.

• Ernesta Kareckaitė vs. Melissa Gatto ended in a majority draw. Kareckaitė lost a point in round one for grabbing the fence, and Olin believes she wins the fight without that deduction. Nano noted that, without the deduction, she would have won on two of the three scorecards.

How Our Picks Did

It was a profitable week, but not a clean one. On straight picks, Olin and Nano each went 6-5 with a draw. We were both right on Allen, Fili, Prado, Price and Pereira, and Olin also had Godinez by decision, while Nano took the other side with Souza. Nano got Walker over Meerschaert right, and Olin's dog-of-the-week pick on GM3 missed. We both missed on Camilo, Wellmaker, Franco and Harris, and our shared Kareckaitė pick ended in a draw.

The bets did better. Five plays cashed: Pereira to win inside 2.5 rounds at +320, Price by KO inside 1.5 rounds at +320, Prado in round one at +350, the Godinez decision-plus-most-takedowns builder, and Allen by submission or decision at +100. Those five returned 8.476 units on 2.5 units staked. Counting every bet, including the Meerschaert props that cost us 1.4 units and the weight-miss parlay that Ribeiro sank, we put out 5.5 units and finished up 2.976 units. The show also wrapped the Contender Series season more than 16 units in profit.

Looking Ahead

Allen is right back in the title picture and asking for Du Plessis. Fili and Tanzilovi delivered two brutal head-kick finishes, Prado found a home at lightweight, and Alice Pereira looks like a real problem at 20 years old. We also said goodbye to Gerald Meerschaert after 60 professional fights. Next up is UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. Malott in Edmonton on Oct. 17, where Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius could produce the next challenger at flyweight.

Stay tuned as we keep breaking down the road ahead for the fighters of UFC Vegas 122.