UFC Vegas 84: Five Things We Learned
The first UFC event of 2024 is in the books. The event was struck with a last-second cancellation that greatly damaged the quality of the card; however, the fights that came to fruition did not disappoint. The card yielded seven finish wins and several fan-friendly scraps. Let’s look back at the results and discuss the five biggest lessons we learned.
Magomed Ankalaev has the best performance of his career:
I am not a part of the Magomed Ankalaev fan club. I recognize his skills, but he has consistently underperformed based on the lofty expectations that many have set for him. At UFC Vegas 84, Ankalaev broke that habit as he picked up a great finish over Johnny Walker.
Ankalaev did everything he needed to do to impressively beat Walker. In the first round, he avoided Walker’s explosive kicks while remaining active. In the second round, once the fight became less chaotic, he took advantage of a Walker mistake and capitalized with a knockout shot. The criticism that I would provide is that he should have utilized his wrestling advantage. I hate seeing a fighter avoid strengths, but it worked for him in this fight.
In my opinion, this was the best performance of Ankalaev’s career because of his timing. After a draw and a no-contest, Ankalaev desperately needed to remind fans why he is one of the best light heavyweights on the planet. Plus, this win possibly earned him a title fight.
Jim Miller earns a spot at UFC 300:
The UFC Vegas 84 co-main event was a scrap between Jim Miller and Gabriel Benitez. Ultimately, Miller pulled ahead and got a submission victory.
Miller did a lot of great work throughout this fight. The headline was the copious amount of leg kicks that he landed. The bout swung heavily in his favor once he started landing takedowns. In that realm, Miller had a leg up and finished the fight.
The most important aspect of Miller’s performance is that he theoretically earned a spot on UFC 300. The veteran has fought on UFC 100 and UFC 200. The fact that he picked up a win while remaining healthy makes him a strong candidate for a bout on the next landmark card.
The best part is that Miller is not being given a UFC 300 spot out of pity. It is not like he has been getting beat up and wants to be a put on the event. Miller has legitimately looked solid while engaging in fun fights. If he fights at UFC 300, he would likely provide a fan-friendly scrap.
Mario Bautista is a problem:
At UFC Vegas 84, Mario Bautista and Ricky Simon put on a show. It was a three-round war that included a great mix of grappling and striking. The only thing that could have made it better was an extra two rounds.
Bautista deserves a ton of respect for this performance. It is not common to find a fighter that handles Simon’s offensive wrestling the way he did. According to UFC Stats, Simon finished the night two for 13 on takedown attempts. In the striking exchanges, Bautista used his speed, length, and cardio to push a serious pace. Bautista ended the fight with 276 significant strike attempts to Simon’s 115—127 of Bautista’s strikes came in the final round.
Bautista has rightfully earned a spot in the UFC bantamweight rankings. What’s more interesting is that he will be a problem for a lot of ranked fighters. I doubt many wrestlers would look to test his takedown defense. At the same time, I doubt many strikers want to deal with his offensive wrestling. The cardio and pace present more concerns too. It will take another elite and well-rounded fighter to beat Bautista.
Phil Hawes is unlucky:
At this point, you have to feel bad for Phil Hawes. At UFC Vegas 84, Brunno Ferreira brutally knocked out Hawes in the first round. That loss was his third consecutive knockout loss and fourth knockout loss in the UFC.
Hawes simply has an all-time poor chin. It sucks, but it is the reality. What is even worse is that Hawes is actually good at MMA. It is clear that he put the work in to become a legit wrestler and he rounded out his striking skills well. That does not win him fights, however.
Once Hawes gets hit with a solid shot, it is only a matter of time before he is out cold. Unfortunately, Hawes’ body has let him down and prevented him from reaching his potential.
Joshua Van is a must-watch prospect:
At UFC Vegas 84, Joshua Van opened the event with a knockout win over Felipe Bunes. It is time to start talking about Van as a legitimate prospect.
At 22, Van already has three UFC quality wins. That is because he has an advanced skill set for his age. That begins with his boxing. Van pushes a pace, makes reads, digs to the body and finds a way to land massive shots to the head. Those are traits I like to see in 30-year-old fighters.
Now, Van is not a championship-caliber fight right now. I would like to see him start faster and, despite having an elite chin, it would be highly advantageous to be more defensively responsibly. Thankfully, he is 22-years-old. It is more than likely that Van will improve in those areas. Regardless, his baseline skill at his current age is highly unique and worth watching.
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