This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 37, we saw a light heavyweight showdown between Ion Cutelaba (16-6-1, 1 NC) and Devin Clark (12-6). Both of these light heavyweight contenders were looking to bounce back after recent losses.
Cutelaba was actually coming off of a draw heading into UFC Vegas 37. The last time we had seen Cutelaba prior to Saturday night was back in May when he fought to a draw with Dustin Jacoby.
That night, Cutelaba started out extremely fast and scored a 10-8 first round. However, he completely gassed and lost the final two rounds leading to the judges calling the fight a draw.
I was very worried about Cutelaba’s cardio heading into his fight with Devin Clark. In fact, the cardio issues are why I picked Clark to squeak by and get a decision win at UFC Vegas 37, however, I was dead wrong.
In the opening round, Cutelaba nearly finished Clark after dropping him with a big shot. The rest of the fight, Cutelaba continued pushing forward and taking Clark to the ground. In the end, Cutelaba won a lopsided decision win to get back on track.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 37?
This was a big win for Cutelaba as he hadn’t won a fight since September of 2019 in the UFC. He was finished twice by Magomed Ankalaev and then had the draw against Jacoby a few months ago.
He looked incredibly impressive on Saturday and he looked like the contender we thought he could be. The question now becomes, who should the UFC pair him with next after that victory?
Well, we have to remember that Cutelaba was in the top fifteen not too long ago. He looked like a top fifteen fighter on Saturday night. I think the UFC should look at top fifteen guys for “The Hulk’s” next fight.
A few guys to keep in mind are Paul Craig (15-4-1), Jimmy Crute (12-2), and Jamahal Hill (8-1, 1 NC). Hill and Crute are set to fight each other in December. Both are in the rankings and coming off losses. Whoever wins could be a good opponent for Cutelaba.
Craig is also around the same spot in the rankings and he needs a new opponent. He was originally supposed to fight Alexander Gustafsson next, but that fight fell through. A fight between Cutelaba and Craig would be interesting for the UFC fans who love grappling. This could be a potential matchup to watch out for.