UFC just held its first event of 2024 as UFC Vegas 84 took place at the Apex in Las Vegas, headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between top 3 contender Magomed Ankalaev and No. 7 ranked Johnny Walker.
Their first fight went down at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi last October and ended in controversy as the bout was declared a No Contest due to an illegal knee by Ankalaev.
Magomed Ankalaev finishes Johnny Walker in brutal fashion
This time, Ankalaev got a hard warning for a groin kick in round one but would ultimately settle the score with a vicious knockout in round two. Ankalaev dropped Walker with a right hand and most likely broke his nose with a brutal follow-up shot.
Ankalaev has now gone undefeated in twelve straight bouts with ten wins, one draw and one No Contest since his lone defeat, a Hail Mary submission loss to Paul Craig who he literally dominated for 14 minutes and 59 seconds before getting caught in a triangle choke.
Now, Ankalaev wants another title shot and he’s certainly in the mix, considering his resume and the fact that he didn’t lose his first championship bout but rather fought to a draw against Jan Blachowicz.
Jim Miller wins third fight in a row, targets Paul Felder at UFC 300
In the co-main event, veteran fan-favorite Jim Miller extended his records for most fights and most wins in the UFC octagon as he tapped out Gabriel Benitez with a face crank in round three. Miller was in the driver’s seat for most of the fight and landed some bombs in the first two rounds before securing the late finish, and now he’ll most likely move on to fight at the milestone UFC 300 event on April 13 next. He would then be the only fighter to compete at UFC 100 and UFC 200 as well as UFC 300.
In his post-fight interview, Miller jokingly suggested Brock Lesnar as his UFC 300 opponent as well as more serious callouts to Matt Brown and Paul Felder. Felder was actually calling the action octagon side and although he’s currently retired, he did show interest in the idea of coming back to fight Miller.
Jim Miller vs. Paul Felder? Matt Brown? BROCK LESNAR?! 😳
Before the co-main, Mario Bautista won a unanimous decision after an absolute banger of a fight against a game Ricky Simon and Brunno Ferreira put Phil Hawes to sleep with brutal punches.
Could be climbing into the Top 15 with that performance! 👏
Check out the official UFC Vegas 84 results down below!
Magomed Ankalaev def. Johnny Walker via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:42
Jim Miller def. Gabriel Benitez via submission (face crank) – Round 3, 3:25
Mario Bautista def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Brunno Ferreira def. Phil Hawes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:55
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preston Parsons def. Matthew Semelsberger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marcus McGhee def. Gaston Bolanos via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:29
Farid Basharat def. Taylor Lapilus via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jean Silva def. Westin Wilson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:12
Nikolas Motta def. Tom Nolan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:03
Joshua Van def. Felipe Bunes via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:31
UFC Vegas 84 bonuses
Magomed Ankalaev and Jim Miller both got 50 000 dollar bonuses for their performances. Performance bonuses were also awarded to Brunno Ferreira and Marcus Mcghee.
