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UFC Vegas 24 was largely overshadowed by the fact that it took place on the same night as the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match.
UFC Vegas 24 may probably turn out to be one of 2021’s most forgettable events, with just two finishes on its ten-fight card. However, there were still some big winners on last night’s card, and these fighters should rise up the UFC rankings thanks to their victories.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Vegas 24: Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum.
#1 Robert Whittaker – defeated Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC Vegas 24 main event
Coming into UFC Vegas 24, it felt like Robert Whittaker needed one more win to gain a shot at winning back the UFC Middleweight title he lost to Israel Adesanya in 2019.
And last night he picked up that win, outpointing the tough Kelvin Gastelum over five rounds.
Whittaker didn’t get a finish, but there was no shame in that. Gastelum is renowned as one of the UFC’s most durable fighters and has never suffered a TKO loss in his UFC career.
But last night the TUF 17 winner was outclassed by Whittaker, who hit him with some beautiful combinations and even took him down on a couple of occasions.
Most importantly, Whittaker made beating Gastelum look easier than Adesanya did in 2019, as Gastelum had given ‘The Last Stylebender’ a hugely tough fight.
The win should be enough to set Whittaker up for a rematch with Adesanya later in 2021, and based on his last three fights, it’s almost certain that he’ll give the champ a tougher fight this time around.
#2 Gerald Meerschaert – defeated Bartosz Fabinski
Outside of Robert Whittaker, last night’s biggest winner was definitely Gerald Meerschaert.
‘GM3’ not only picked up the sixth submission win of his UFC career, tying a UFC Middleweight record in the process, but he also netted a $50k bonus for his win over Bartosz Fabinski.
More importantly though, he got his UFC career back on the rails following that devastating KO loss to Khamzat Chimaev in late 2020.
Meerschaert will likely never become a star in the UFC. He simply doesn’t have the personality for it, and while he’s an exciting fighter – he’s only gone the distance twice in his 13-fight UFC tenure – he isn’t quite elite.
But if he can keep producing finishes like this beautiful guillotine choke, then he’ll probably have a UFC roster spot for as long as he wants, which is rare these days.
#3 Jacob Malkoun – defeated Abdul Razak Alhassan
Jacob Malkoun made his UFC debut in the worst possible fashion last October.
The Australian was destroyed in a matter of seconds by Phil Hawes, and it felt like he’d been selected purely to make Hawes look good.
For many fans, the suspicion was that the UFC was looking to use Malkoun in the same fashion last night. Up against concussive puncher Abdul Razak Alhassan, a first-round KO loss seemed like the most likely outcome for the Aussie.
Somehow though, Malkoun managed to wear down ‘Judo Thunder’ en route to a unanimous decision win by using a wrestling-heavy style and putting together takedown after takedown.
Sure, the fight wasn’t at all entertaining, but the fact that the unheralded Malkoun was able to grind out a win definitely raised some eyebrows.
At the very least, he proved that he belongs in the UFC – making him one of the night’s big winners.
#4 Andrei Arlovski – defeated Chase Sherman
Andrei Arlovski didn’t pick up a knockout win like he probably would’ve hoped, but he did largely outclass Chase Sherman in last night’s co-main event.
When you stop to think about it, the fact that ‘The Pitbull’ is still winning UFC fights in 2021 is absolutely remarkable.
Most fans figured he was finished as a top-level fighter well over a decade ago when he suffered four losses in a row outside of the UFC. The same was felt when he suffered five straight UFC losses between 2016 and 2017.
But Arlovski has always been tougher than many fans give him credit for.
At 42 years old he’s still in phenomenal shape, and while he’s a limited fighter these days – largely reduced to a boxing-heavy style – he still has enough athleticism, veteran wares and durability to beat the likes of Sherman.
Quite how much longer he can hang on is a question mark, but for now, ‘The Pitbull’ keeps on trucking, and for longtime UFC fans, it’s always nice to see him still doing his stuff out there.
#5 Tony Gravely – defeated Anthony Birchak
UFC Vegas 24’s opening fight saw Tony Gravely thoroughly destroy veteran Anthony Birchak, finishing him with a brutal second round TKO.
The win was one that should find itself on highlight reels for a while to come. And given that it was one of just two finishes on last night’s show, it’ll also likely propel Gravely forward in the UFC’s Bantamweight division.
Quite how far Gravely can go in such a stacked division is anyone’s guess, as he’s still early into his UFC career and is just 2-1.
But based on what we saw last night, he’s got the kind of raw athletic potential that could give any fighter in the division problems, particularly if his overall game continues to develop.
At worst, Gravely is $50k better off this morning thanks to his impressive showing, and that alone makes him one of last night’s biggest winners.
