5 biggest winners from UFC Vegas 30: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov

#2 Tanner Boser – defeated Ovince St. Preux

Tanner Boser probably saved his UFC career with his finish of Ovince St. Preux

Tanner Boser probably had his back to the wall coming into last night’s UFC event, as he was on a two-fight losing streak. Sure, he looked excellent in his last two wins – a pair of quick knockouts – but no fighter can afford to go on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC in 2021.

Thankfully for the Canadian, he produced arguably the best performance of his UFC career to take out veteran Ovince St. Preux in the second round.

Sure, you could probably put the win down to OSP’s bizarre passive behavior in the octagon, as outside of a takedown in the second round, he barely attacked Boser.

But he’s still a tough fighter to deal with, and 'The Bulldozer' did just that. Boser destroyed OSP in the second round with strikes after escaping to his feet via a questionable fence grab.

The win should erase memories of Boser’s dull losses to Andrei Arlovski and Ilir Latifi. Additionally, this victory means he’s once again a fighter to watch at heavyweight after saving his UFC career.

With quick hands, knockout power, and a seemingly developing ground game, Tanner Boser could be around for a while now – meaning he stands as one of UFC Vegas 30’s big winners.

Make that 1️⃣1️⃣KOs for 🇨🇦 @BulldozerBoser[ #UFCVegas30 | Main card starts NEXT on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/r5Sxo4fBPs

— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2021

#3 Timur Valiev – defeated Raoni Barcelos

Timur Valiev outpointed Raoni Barcelos - and should take the bantamweight's momentum

Casual fans might not have cared too much, but hardcore fans were probably looking forward to last night’s bantamweight clash between Timur Valiev and Raoni Barcelos greatly.

Most of that interest would’ve centered around Barcelos. The Brazilian was bringing in a lengthy win streak and had won five UFC fights in a row dating back to 2018. Some observers even considered him a dark horse contender for the UFC bantamweight title.

That’s why it was so impressive to see Timur Valiev pick up a tight majority decision win over Barcelos last night.

The Russian – who was unbeaten in the UFC in his own right – edged the first and third rounds of the fight. He even survived a second-round onslaught from Barcelos, who came close to finishing the Dagestani at one point.

Old-school PRIDE rules may well have declared Barcelos the winner for that big round, but in the modern-day UFC, it was Valiev who came away with his hand raised.

And with that, the Russian should now steal a lot of the Brazilian’s momentum. As a result, Valiev could find himself in the UFC’s top 15 at 135lbs come Monday morning.

🇷🇺@TimurValiev_DF gets the majority decision! What do your scorecards look like? 📝[ #UFCVegas30 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/cWCTP0wTgz

— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2021