UFC Vegas 38 went down last night (Sat., Oct. 2, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Thiago Santos defeat Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Kyle Daukaus and Kevin Holland’s Middleweight bout was ruled a No Contest (NC) due to a nasty clash of heads. Initially, the win was awarded to Daukaus after he pulled off the second round submission (see it here). But after officials got together and reviewed the inadvertent clash of heads, the decision was overturned. These two will more than likely run it back in the immediate future.
Winner: Thiago Santos
Who He Should Face Next: Anthony Smith rematch
Santos scored a huge win over Walker after 25 minutes of action, earning a unanimous decision win in the headlining bout. The win snapped his three fight skid and gave him some much-needed confidence moving forward. After Anthony Smith defeated Ryan Spann a few weeks ago, I mentioned he should face the winner of Santos and Walker, and that sentiment still stands. Santos defeated Smith two years ago, though that bout was contested at Middleweight. A fight between Jiri Prochazka (No. 2) and Aleskandar Rakic (No. 3) should be booked soon to determine the next title challenger at 205 pounds, which leaves Smith (No. 4) and Santos (No. 5) without a dance partner. Book this fight one more time to see who takes the next big leap in the Light Heavyweight division.
Winner: Niko Price
Who He Should Face Next: Khaos Williams
Price finally got back in the win column by defeating longtime veteran Alex Oliveira after a tumultuous two years which saw him go 0-2-1 since 2019. I would be highly interested in a fight between Price and Williams, who also has a natural knack for putting on exciting performances inside the Octagon. “Khaos” is coming off a big win over Mathew Semelsberger, getting back on track after having his eight fight win streak snapped by Michel Pereira. This has “Fight of the Night” written all over it, so it’s a fight that would please all parties involved.
Winner: Krzysztof Jotko
Who He Should Face Next: Gerald Meerschaert
Jotko got back on the winning track after earning a hard-fought decision win over Misha Cirkunov, who was making his Middleweight debut. Up next for Jotko, perhaps a fight against Meerschaert is in order. Meerschaert is currently riding a two fight win streak and is coming off a big win over Makhmud Muradov this past August. Both men are working toward earning a spot in the Top 15, so why not get it on in the center of the cage to see who gets closer?
Winner: Alexander Hernandez
Who He Should Face Next: Leonardo Santos
Hernandez made quick work of UFC newcomer Mike Breeden, knocking him out in the very first round in spectacular fashion (see it again here). Breeden stepped in for Leonardo Santos on short notice after the Brazilian bomber was forced out of the fight. Following his big win, Hernandez called for UFC to re-book the Santos fight, and that really is the fight to make. Hernandez wants it and it’s safe to assume Santos would like to settle that business once he recuperates from his calf injury.
For complete UFC Vegas 38 results and highlights click here.