Who Should UFC Vegas 97 Winners Battle Next Time Out?

The welterweight division has found a new top contender. For 25 minutes, Sean Brady dominated former title challenger Gilbert Burns in their main event bout at UFC Fight Night 242, nearly achieving 50-45 scorecards across the board. This win now puts the Philadelphia native that much closer to a possible gold-glove rematch versus the only man to ever beat him, welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.

Other highlights on the card included Natália Silva walking away with a superb unanimous decision victory over Jéssica Andrade, Steve Garcia’s violent one round knockout over Kyle Nelson, and Cody Durden taking out Matt Schnell with an anaconda choke in the second round. 

Now, let’s take a look at who our main card winners should fight next. 

Yanal Ashmouz

To kick off the main card festivities, Yanal Ashmouz (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had to contend with a very game Trevor Peek, a man known for his near-limitless drive to walk forward and high punch volume. However, while his opponent did outland him in overall significant strikes, it was the top notch grappling of Ashmouz that allowed him to secure the unanimous decision win. 

Fight to Make: Clay Guida 

While his striking is nothing to scoff at, it is clear that Ashmouz’s bread and butter resides in his superb ground game. For his next contest, a pairing with one of the lightweight division’s best ever wrestlers, Clay Guida, would be the right test to see if “Red Fox” has the skills to make it past the more veteran competitors in the weight class. 

Cody Durden

Ending a two-fight losing streak in style, Cody Durden (17-6-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) finished perennial flyweight contender Matthew Schnell in the second round of their 125-lb. clash with an excellent anaconda choke. The win marks Durden’s first since August of last year after suffering two back-to-back stoppage defeats to Tagir Ulanbekov and Bruno Silva.

Fight to Make: Tim Elliot

Despite finally getting back into the winners circle, Durden still has a lot of work to do in the upper echelon at flyweight if he wants to ever reach title contention. For his next UFC appearance, a meeting with the current number ten contender in the division, Tim Elliot, would be just the victory “Custom Made” needs for a rapid resurgence in the 125-lb. rankings. 

Steve Garcia

Logging his second consecutive Performance of the Night-earning win in a row, Steve Garcia (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) needed just under four minutes to punch out Kyle Nelson in the very first round. Now riding a five-fight knockout streak, Garcia has now elevated himself to being one of the promotion’s more prolific finishers. 

Fight to Make: Edson Barboza

At this point, Garcia has more than proven that he is one of the best Featherweight fighters on the planet and has rightfully earned his shot at challenging for a place on the 145-lb rankings. And it just so happens that the No. 15-ranked, and fellow finishing powerhouse, Edson Barboza is also without an opponent, having not fought since a main event loss to Lerone Murphy back in May. 

Natália Silva

Putting on a striking clinic against a former UFC champion, Natália Silva (18-5-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) picked up the biggest win of her MMA career when she defeated Jéssica Andrade by unanimous decision. With her current win streak now at 12 in a row, it seems only a matter of time before the surging Brazilian is knocking on the door for a title shot at 125 lbs.

Fight to Make: Maycee Barber

With a spotless record in the UFC, has all the makings of a future star at Flyweight. Standing in her way, however, is another top contender in the division, Maycee Barber. Barber has looked amazing herself over the past three years since losing to eventual champion Alexa Grasso back in 2021, winning her past five fights. Only one of these top-caliber strikers can be the next big thing at 125 lbs., with the winner likely earning the right to challenge for the belt sometime in 2025. 

Sean Brady

Although he may have been on the sidelines for more than a year due to injuries, Sean Brady (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) looked utterly dominant in his unanimous decision triumph over Gilbert Burns last weekend. With his signature aggressive grappling style, Brady completely stymied the former welterweight title challenger across all five rounds, earning almost perfect scores across the board.

Fight to Make: Ian Machado Garry

In his post-fight interview, Brady insisted on taking on someone within the Welterweight top five for his next opponent or streaking 170-lb. contender Ian Machado Garry. While a big name within the utmost echelon of the division would make sense, a win over the undefeated Machado Garry could be all the Philadelphia native needs to catapult himself into title talks. With his stand up looking better than ever since his layoff, Brady could very well stand toe-to-toe with the Irish striking specialist, while also further cementing his claim to being called arguably the best grappler in the division.