The Scorecard | UFC Fight Night: Costa vs Vettori

Middleweight contender Marvin Vettori didn’t have to fight last Saturday night, and no one would have blamed him if he said, ‘Nah, I’m not having it,’ when his opponent, Paulo Costa, turned up for fight week overweight and seeking a catchweight. Costa got what he wanted, with the UFC Fight Night main event taking place 20 pounds north at light heavyweight. That has everything to do with “The Italian Dream” taking the fight, and to top it off, he went out and beat Costa at his own game for five rounds, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts in taking a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.

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WHAT’S NEXT? With the rest of top five occupied, I know I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch with Jack Hermansson as they try to top their Fight of the Night battle from December 2020.

2 – Alex Caceres

There were many who believed that happy-go-lucky Alex Caceres was going to stay that way forever, in the process not reaching his full potential as a fighter. But here he is, a mature 33-year-old, more than a decade into his UFC career and showing his best form yet during a five-fight winning streak. It’s one of the great stories of 2021, and if the “Bruce Leeroy” of 2011 shows up against SeungWoo Choi last Saturday, maybe he doesn’t bounce back and win that fight. But the 2021 version of the Floridian did, in the process picking up another win and his first post-fight performance bonus since a Fight of the Night with Martin Bravo in 2018.

WHAT’S NEXT? Caceres has earned a crack at a Top 15 foe with his current winning streak, but wouldn’t a fight with Nate Landwehr be all sorts of chaotic fun?

3 – Gregory Rodrigues

Gregory Rodrigues is not a perfect fighter, but he is an exciting one, and that will keep him in bonus money and on UFC fans’ “must watch” lists as he navigates the waters of the middleweight division. Put in trouble by Junyong Park last weekend, Rodrigues refused to wilt under pressure, going with the best defense is a good offense strategy to get into a slugfest with “The Iron Turtle” and ultimately finish him in the second round.

WHAT’S NEXT? A matchup with Khalil Rountree Jr. would be interesting, assuming that Rodrigues decides to try and implement his ground game on the standup specialist.

4 – Jeff Molina

I think everyone who saw Jeff Molina on Dana White’s Contender Series and his UFC debut is high on the potential of “El Jefe,” but he did get a fight out of Daniel da Silva on Saturday before roaring back and halting his foe in the second round. And while he may not feel this way today, coming back from adversity and bad positions will be valuable things to take with him when he reaches the elite level at 125 pounds. And he is expected to reach that level sooner rather than later, exciting UFC fans every step of the way.

WHAT’S NEXT? Flyweight’s a tough division for any prospect because you will be in the fire almost immediately, so if that’s the case, how about Molina versus hard-hitting vet Tyson Nam?

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5 – Jai Herbert

Jai Herbert looked like he showed up for a sparring session and not a prizefight on Saturday night, and that was a good thing for the “Black Country Banger,” as he was loose, confident, and on point as soon as he started throwing punches and kicks at Khama Worthy. Less than three minutes into the bout, it was over, and Herbert had an important win after losing his first two trips to the Octagon, and if he can continue to stay loose and stick to his gameplan moving forward, he’s going to be a problem for the rest of the lightweight division.

WHAT’S NEXT? A fight with Mike Davis would be an explosive one for as long as it lasts.

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