1 of 6
UFC on Fox 24 from Kansas City saw Demetrious Johnson do his thing.
That thing is styling all over another poor flyweight soul, Wilson Reis, and defending his title for a record-tying 10th time. It was another stellar performance from an all-time great.
In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas knocked down and choked out Michelle Waterson. Entering the event most of the media buzz was surrounding Waterson who had signed with WME-IMG agents. Namajunas put a swift end to that ride for the UFC's owners.
Those were just the two highlights at the top of the card. As always we wonder what's next for the winners and losers.
Well, let's find out. Here's a look at the matches to make for each participant on the UFC on Fox 24 fight card.
2 of 6
Ketlen Vieira def. Ashlee Evans-Smith by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Zak Cummings def. Nathan Coy via technical submission (guillotine choke) at 4:21 of the first round
Anthony Smith def. Andrew Sanchez by KO at 3:52 of the third round
Devin Clark def. Jake Collier by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Aljamain Sterling def. Augusto Mendes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tim Elliott def. Louis Smolka by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rashid Magomedov def. Bobby Green by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Tom Duquesnoy def. Patrick Williams by TKO at 0:28 of the second round
Alexander Volkov def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
3 of 6
Renato Moicano def. Jeremy Stephens by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Renato Moicano took advantage of his main card tilt by getting a narrow decision victory of the No. 5-ranked featherweight contender. Moicano has largely gone unnoticed due to inactivity, but that'll change now.
The unfortunate part is that the fight wasn't that exciting so fans won't be clamoring for a high-profile fight. That's fine. Featherweight is stacked and Moicano still needs multiple wins before contention. Another featherweight in a similar spot is Shane Burgos.
Burgos and Moicano will fit in nicely on a Fox Sports 1 prelim card and the winner will get a nice boost up the featherweight ladder.
Stephens will still get a high-profile fight and stay in the rankings. A brawl with Doo Ho Choi would serve to be a fine fight with the winner reclaiming a contender's role in the division.
4 of 6
Robert Whittaker def. Ronaldo Souza by TKO at 3:28 of the second round
Robert Whittaker is a title contender, but the division is on hold thanks to Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre. Just ask Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero. All contenders are in a holding pattern.
Jacare Souza finally looked his age in the fight against the up-and-coming Whittaker. From the outset he looked slow, and Whittaker's quick hands only highlighted that fact. Souza is likely on the downside of his career, but the middleweight division itself is old.
The winner of May 13's David Branch vs. Krzysztof Jotko's matchup would be an excellent choice for Jacare's next opponent.
Luke Rockhold reached out to MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani to say he wants to fight Whittaker. On paper, it's a great fight. With the state of the division it's a tough sell. Both the winner and loser would practically maintain their current position. It's best to hold off on that fight.
Either Rockhold or Whittaker should fight Yoel Romero in a true title eliminator with the other fighting another top-10 level opponent. It's up to the UFC to decide which route they want to take. Whittaker, riding high off another big win, would make more sense than Rockhold at this juncture.
5 of 6
Rose Namajunas def. Michelle Waterson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:47 of the second round
The UFC has routinely jumped the gun on Rose Namajunas. When she was on The Ultimate Fighter they tried deeming her as the next Ronda Rousey. When she demolished Paige VanZant they rushed her into a title eliminator which she lost. Now, they are doing it again — but this time their options are limited.
Namajunas looked outstanding, but UFC commentator Jon Anik rushed to anoint her as the next title contender. Hold the phone.
No. 1-ranked contender Claudia Gadelha will meet No. 2-ranked Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 212 (h/t Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com). Gadelha, with two losses to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, likely won't get the title shot with a win, but Kowalkiewicz very well could. Sure, she recently lost to the champion herself. But her most recent win is over Namajunas and a win over the top-ranked contender will surely move her to the top spot.
Oh, and there's an October event scheduled in Poland. It all makes too much sense.
Should Gadelha win, Namajunas is in the cat bird's seat. Should Kowalkiewicz win, it'd be a shame to rush Namajunas into a title shot while Kowalkiewicz is more deserving. It's just too early to hand Namajunas to the title shot with this fight on the books.
Oh, and Michelle Waterson? A rematch with Jessica Penne would be magnificent.
6 of 6
Demetrious Johnson def. Wilson Reis via submission (armbar) at 4:49 of the third round
Wilson Reis is just another flyweight that walked into the Octagon to take a beating against the best mixed martial artist in history. Demetrious Johnson is that good.
Reis can meet Ray Borg in a big flyweight bout later this year. The winner is in title contention, but that's just a slot for someone to catch a beating from the champion.
The real question is what's next for Johnson? Rematches or a "superfight" against the winner of Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw?
The latter is what truly makes sense. He's cleared out the division and a superfight is what he deserves. It's also a much, much steeper test for him as an athlete. He failed to capture the gold against Dominick Cruz before the flyweight division opened, but now after years of development he can try once more.
If he stays, Joseph Benavidez earned his rematch. It's just not exciting.