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UFC Vegas 18 turned out to be a cracker of an event. The Fight Night card that took place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, was full of breathtaking stoppages and back-and-forth action between some of the most skilled fighters in the world.
In the main event, Alexander Volkov picked up a big second-round TKO win against Alistair Overeem. The co-main event saw Cory Sandhagen knocking out fight game veteran Frankie Edgar in devastating fashion with a flying knee in the first round.
In the main card opening encounter, Beneil Dariush picked up a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Diego Ferreira in their lightweight encounter at UFC Vegas 18.
As another enthralling Fight Night goes into the books, we look at the three biggest winners and the two biggest losers from UFC Vegas 18.
Three biggest winners from UFC Vegas 18
1) Cory Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen set the octagon on fire in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 18. The Sandman knocked out former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar with a spectacular flying knee inside thirty seconds of the first round.
The knockout, which has gone viral on the internet, was reminiscent of Jorge Masvidal's knockout of Ben Askren in 2019. We all know how that propelled Masvidal into becoming the megastar that he is today. Even UFC president Dana White was in awe of Sandhagen's picture-perfect KO of Edgar.
The win will likely land Sandhagen in the title conversation in the 135lb division. Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan are set to go to battle with the bantamweight title on the line at UFC 259. Both Yan and Sterling took to Twitter to applaud Sandhagen on his brilliant performance on Saturday.
The Sandman himself claimed that he is deserving to fight for the title next and doesn't mind whether he faces Yan or Sterling. There is no doubt that Sandhagen is the biggest winner coming out of UFC Vegas 18, with a possible title shot lined up for him next.
2) Alexander Volkov
By defeating a future Hall-of-Famer like Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov has proved that he belongs at the top of the UFC heavyweight division. The Russian knockout artist completely dominated Overeem in the fight before violently finishing him in the second round of their main event clash.
Following the win, current title challenger Francis Ngannou congratulated Volkov but also reminded him to be careful because he has entered the big league now.
While it is not known if a title shot awaits Volkov on his next octagon outing, he is likely to be matched against a top-ranked opponent. Volkov could also be offered the chance to welcome Jon Jones to the heavyweight division.
3) Beneil Dariush
Beneil Dariush has clearly emerged as one of the biggest winners of UFC Vegas 18. His impressive win in the rematch against Ferreira takes his winning streak to six in a row inside the octagon, and the Iranian-American fighter now demands a top-five opponent for his next fight.
According to Dariush, the top-ranked fighters in the lightweight division intentionally avoid the prospect of fighting him because of the 'high risk and low reward' involved. However, Dariush's perseverance has paid off, and he is likely to fight a top-ranked opponent the next time he steps inside the octagon.
That's because his impressive winning streak is just impossible to be overlooked at the moment, even in a heavily stacked division like the 155lb one.
Two biggest losers from UFC Vegas 18
1) Frankie Edgar
For Frankie Edgar, the disappointing knockout loss against Cory Sandhagen couldn't have come at a worse time. The UFC veteran was looking to resurrect his career by switching to the bantamweight division, but a loss like this on his second outing in the division doesn't augur well for his prospects
Edgar managed to pick up a unanimous decision win in his last fight. But with the manner of the loss against Sandhagen, he can kiss any title ambitions goodbye for the time being. At 39 years of age, switching to another division isn't realistically possible for Edgar.
Having to work his way to the top of the bantamweight division from scratch could be an option, but again, at his age, it may not be a viable option for Edgar. Only time will tell what's next for Edgar, but it is likely he could have a chat with Dana White about his future soon.
2) Alistair Overeem
The Demolition Man had made it clear heading into the fight against Volkov that he wanted to mount one last title run in the UFC before calling it a day. However, for that to have worked out the way he wanted, Overeem had to beat his Russian counterpart, which he failed to do.
The loss takes away any momentum that Overeem had gathered with a win in his last fight and pushes him way down in the list of potential contenders for the heavyweight title. With Jon Jones entering the division, it seems unlikely that Overeem will find himself fighting for the title again.
