UFC Vegas 120 Takeaways

Before every UFC event held in the Apex, the collective fanbase seems to underestimate the action it may bring, and tonight was a prime example of that. While the name value was low some future stars shone brightly and some veterans put on exciting performances. 

Obviously, tonight’s big winner was Australia’s Quillan Salkilld, but there were plenty of other fighters whose stock rose tonight. This piece will give the biggest takeaways from a card that exceeded expectations. 

Manoel Sousa Has the Tools to Contend at Lightweight

Out of all the fighters on the prelims, Manoel Sousa clearly has the most potential, but he got all he could handle against Richie Miranda. Heading into this fight, it was known how powerful Sousa is and how dangerous that makes him, but it has also been seen that his defensive grappling can get him into tricky positions. 

Take for example Sousa’s UFC debut against Bolaji Oki, Sousa gave away the first round because of his inability to defend off his back. Fortunately, his power saved him in the third round when he starched Oki, but at some point that luck will run out. 

Tonight, Sousa showed once again that every lightweight should fear his offensive striking, but he also showed them an opening for him to be beaten. If he can clean up his defensive wrestling and fight smarter, Sousa can be a real lightweight contender.

Steven Asplund May Be the Most Entertaining Heavyweight on the Planet

After this performance, it should be an undisputed fact that Steven Asplund can stay in the UFC as long as he wants. Heavyweight is a division desperately in need of entertainment value and while Asplund may never fight for a title he is committed to putting on entertaining fights every time he steps into the octagon. 

Unlike many heavyweights, Asplund has the cardio to go a hard 15 minutes and is a danger to finish the fight at every moment. It would be incredible to see Asplund get into the top 15 and fight relevant opponents, but if not let him stick around as a can crusher for as long as he wants, even if it is only for his awesome post-fight speeches. 

Ty Miller Put Welterweight on Notice

To put it simply, Ty Miller put on one of the most one-sided beatdowns in recent memory in his win over Billy Ray Goff. After battling off an early clinch situation initiated by Goff, Miller put on a clinic once the fight got to striking range. The second round of this fight could have arguably been scored 10-7 as he outlanded Goff in significant strikes by a staggering 107 to eight. 

Miller’s boxing looked as fast, accurate, and powerful as anyone else’s at welterweight. This division is already stacked with killers but that doesn’t matter to Miller and he proved he is ready to be given better opposition in his next octagon appearance. 

Welcome to the Top 10 Alexia Thainara

One of the most hyped contenders at Women’s strawweight, Alexia Thainara, got the steepest test of her career tonight when she took on former title challenger Amanda Lemos. Everyone, including Thainara, knew this fight wasn’t going to be easy and she was right, but despite the adversity she faced, Thainara powered through and proved she belonged in the top 10.

Many thought that for her to win this fight she would have to overcome a significant striking disadvantage, and while her grappling played a huge part in this win, she held her own and more when striking with Lemos. If her boxing is as fast and powerful as it looked tonight, don't be surprised to see Thainara in a title fight sooner than originally anticipated. 

Poor Matchmaking Steals the Show in Darren Elkins’ Retirement Fight

Darren “The Damage” Elkins announced that this fight would be his last and instead of the 30-fight veteran getting a fight that was either winnable, or another veteran, he was given one of the hardest-hitting prospects in the division. Obviously this resulted in Elkins being knocked out in under a minute, but this didn’t need to happen.

When a fighter like Elkins announces their retirement after giving the UFC an action-packed career, it feels almost disrespectful to stick him in the Apex in a fight he is bound to get crushed in. Moving forward, the UFC needs to be better at matchmaking retirement fights as no one wants to see beloved veterans exit the sport like Elkins did tonight. 

Diego Ferreira Still Has It at 42 Years Old

While 42 years may be the line in the sand for Darren Elkins it certainly isn’t for Diego Ferreira. For three rounds, Ferreira put an absolute beating on Billy Quarantillo and proved that he still has something to offer the lightweight division. 

Following the fight, Ferreira had a perfect callout of fellow veterans Jim Miller and King Green. If either of these two fights is booked they would be electric and provide longtime fans with some nostalgia. 

Quillan Salkilld: The Lightweight Boogeyman

I can now say with almost 100% confidence that Quillan Salkilld will at least challenge for the lightweight title if not be the long-reigning champion of the division. When Salkilld got to the UFC he was viewed as an elite striker, and while that is true, he has recently shown that his grappling is just as elite. 

In tonight’s main event, he took on top 10 contender Mateusz Gamrot and made it look easier than anyone other than Charles Oliveira has. Even more impressively, he dominated Gamrot in every aspect of the sport. Early in the first round Salkilld rocked Gamrot with a jab, but for the remainder of the fight he dominated the grappling exchanges and submitted him before the final bell rang in the first round. 

There seems to be no weaknesses in Salkilld’s game and his finishing ability is second to none. Everyone in the lightweight top seven should dread getting the call to face Quillan Salkilld because it doesn’t seem like many would stand much of a chance.