UFC Vegas 71 had the look of a fantastic Fight Night card on paper, and it delivered quite well on that promise. Merab Dvalishvili firmly announced himself as a title contender with a dominating win over Petr Yan in the main event. While Alexander Volkov and Nikita Krylov slammed the door on rising talents in their respective divisions.
So, is there any way we see Merab Dvalishvili fight again in 2023 if Sterling doesn’t lose? Is there a top-5 fight out there for Volkov? And is Jonathan Martinez a dark horse at 135 lbs?
To answer those questions—and a few other things—I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past.