5 Fights We Need to See After UFC Fight Night 218
UFC Fight Night 218 went down on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, but nobody is going to fault you if you missed it.
The card was originally supposed to emanate from Seoul, South Korea. That plan fell through when the "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung, was sidelined with an injury, but by that point, the UFC had already filled the line-up with Asian MMA talent. In an effort to ensure Asian fans could still tune in to see their local favorites, the event was given an unusual 10:00 pm ET start time—Sunday morning on the other side of the world.
The fans that managed to tune in—whether they woke up early in Asia or stayed up late in North America—were rewarded with some pretty fun fights.
In the main event, Moldova's Serghei Spivac became a legitimate heavyweight contender, effortlessly submitting former title challenger and fan favorite Derrick Lewis in the first round.
Earlier on the main card, Devin Clark defeated Da Un Jung by unanimous decision at light heavyweight, and Marcin Tybura defeated Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision at heavyweight. Both of those fights were pretty forgettable, but the undercard was packed with memorable moments.
The early portion of the broadcast featured the finale of the Road to UFC series, a tournament that saw some of Asia's best lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight prospects vying for contracts with the promotion.
India's Anshul Jubli defeated Indonesia's Jeka Saragih to win a contract at lightweight, South Korea's Jeong Yeong Lee defeated China's Yi Zha by split decision to do so at featherweight, and Japan's Rinya Nakamura won the bantamweight tournament with a first-round KO of his countryman Toshiomi Kazama.
The undercard also saw undefeated Japanese flyweight, Tatsuro Taira, assert himself as a title threat with a first-round submission against Jesus Aguilar.
Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled.
Serghei Spivac vs. Curtis Blaydes
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Moldova's Serghei Spivac was one of the few ranked fighters on the UFC Fight Night 218 bill. He was the UFC's No. 12-ranked heavyweight ahead of the card, and after submitting Derrick Lewis with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of the card's main event, he is all but guaranteed to crash into the Top 10.
Spivac will have tons of fresh matchup options from that enviable vantage point, but our pick is a fight with No. 4-ranked contender Curtis Blaydes.
The wrestling specialist is currently on a three-fight streak. His latest win, which came after his opponent Tom Aspinall suffered a leg injury in the opening seconds of their fight, was definitely flukey, but he remains one of the division's top contenders.
Unfortunately, Blaydes has been left out in the cold after Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane were booked to fight for the heavyweight belt Francis Ngannou dropped on his way out the door. He's got a few options with which to stay busy in the meantime, but Spivac might be the best, as they're two of the division's best grapplers.
Maybe they'd end up settling it on the feet, but any ground fighting they do would be very interesting, and the winner would be well positioned for a title shot.
Anshul Jubli vs. Trey Ogden
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When Anshul Jubli defeated Jeka Saragih by second-round TKO on the UFC Fight Night 218 undercard, he became the Road to UFC lightweight winner, and the second Indian-born fighter to sign a contract with the promotion. That's pretty special.
The future looks bright for Jubli. He's 7-0 as a pro, and all of his wins have come against fighters with winning records, most of whom were also more experienced than him. He's also just 28, so he has plenty of time to improve further.
Our pick for his next opponent is Trey Ogden.
Ogden, who fights out of Kansas City, is 16-5-0 overall and 1-1 in the UFC, first losing a split decision to Jordan Leavitt in his debut, then rebounding with a unanimous-decision win over Daniel Zellhuber in his next fight.
He's definitely more experienced than Jubli—particularly in terms of big-stage experience—but so far, being the less experienced man in the cage has never been a problem for the Indian fighter.
Book it for a future Fight Night card and see who's ready to take the next step in the jam-packed lightweight division.
Jeong Yeong Lee vs. David Onama
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South Korea's Jeong Yeong Lee (10-1) went big game hunting after winning the Road to UFC featherweight tournament with a split-decision defeat of Zha Yi on the UFC Fight Night 218 undercard.
In his post-fight interview with commentator Michael Bisping, he called out featherweight contenders Dan Ige and Ilia Topuria, former champion Max Holloway, and reigning king Alexander Volkanovski.
It was a great display of Lee's ambition, but those fights are a long way off. First, he'll need to build up a win streak in one of the UFC's most perilous divisions.
We'd like to see him get started against Uganda's David Onama.
Despite having a similar record to Lee, Onama (10-2) is definitely more experienced in terms of big-stage experience, with four UFC fights to his credit. However, he's only won two of those fights, and after a wild decision loss to Nate Landwehr in his last fight, is surely eager to get back on track.
A fight with an up-and-comer in Lee would be just what the doctor ordered. If he wins, he proves he belongs in the UFC. If Lee wins, he's one step closer to the kind of big-ticket fights he clearly envisions for himself.
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Rinya Nakamura vs. Cristian Quinonez
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Japan's Rinya Nakamura was the bantamweight winner for Road to UFC, and he might be the most promising fighter to emerge from the whole thing.
The 27-year-old is a decorated freestyle wrestler in his native Japan, as he proved with his contract-winning knockout over Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Fight Night 218, he's got some serious stopping power too.
Now 7-0 as a pro, there's no telling how far he can go.
Our pick for his next opponent is Mexico's Cristian Quinonez. The 28-year-old earned his UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021, and after a long layoff, finally made his official Octagon debut with a knockout of Khalid Taha late last year. Like Nakamura, he seems to have a ton of potential. And while he has a lot more pro experience than the Japanese fighter, at 17-3 overall, that difference is somewhat diminished by the fact that Nakamura has spent most of his life on the wrestling mats.
It's a tough fight that should tell us a lot about both prospect's futures in the UFC.
Tatsuro Taira vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
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Japan's Tatsuro Taira might be Japan's best hope for a UFC champion.
At 23, he is already 13-0 as a pro mixed martial artist, and 3-0 in the UFC flyweight division.
His latest win occurred in the opening bout of the UFC Fight Night 218 bill, when he defeated Jesus Aguilar with a first-round triangle armbar.
The win over Aguilar should earn Taira a spot in the increasingly busy UFC flyweight Top 15. But even if it doesn't, he deserves a ranked opponent next.
Our pick is Russia's Tagir Ulanbekov.
Currently 14-2 overall, Ulanbekov is sitting on the outer edge of the flyweight rankings, at No. 14—a position he earned with a quick sub of Nate Maness last year. However, he is still just one win removed from a loss to former title challenger Tim Elliott, and would probably love the chance to give himself a boost with a win over a red-hot prospect like Taira.
It's a great fight, but hopefully, the UFC refrains from burying Taira on the undercard this time. He's main card material.
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