What’s Next: UFC Vegas 123 Winners

After being treated to some of the best MMA we have had in months at UFC 333, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was back at the Apex last Saturday for a card headlined by veteran fan favourite Renato Moicano and young Australian standout Tom Nolan. The UFC Vegas 123 card featured not one, but two stoppages due to nasty cuts, a spectacular finish from Julian Erosa in his retirement fight and a controversy in the main event. Before we move on to next week’s Apex show, we need to take a look at what’s next for the weekend’s winners.

Tom Nolan

Despite the refereeing controversy, Tom Nolan did show some noticeable improvements in his game. This is, by far, the biggest scalp of his career and it pushes his win streak to six. At just 26 years of age, there are now convincing reasons to be excited about Nolan’s ceiling. With this victory, Nolan will be on the brink or flat out in the division’s top 10, and he won’t be lacking options at lightweight. Mauricio Ruffy, Mateusz Gamrot, the winner of the Hooker/Ortega fight would all be fine options, but the one I find the most tantalising is Rafael Fiziev. That matchup would be guaranteed fireworks.

Nolan’s next fight: Rafael Fiziev

Jacobe Smith

After taking an eight-month break between July 2025 and February 2026, Jacobe Smith has now earned two wins in the span of 28 days. At 30 years old with a perfect 14-0 record in the promotion, I would welcome a steady increase in competition for one of the top prospects in the division. Neil Magny has been testing up-and-comers for years, now, and I think he would be the perfect opponent for Smith, at this stage.

Smith’s next fight: Neil Magny

Cody Durden

Cody Durden is one of those guys who the promotion can count on to be available three or more times a year and that is a valuable thing for them. While this win won’t push him anywhere near the top of the division, Durden’s role in the flyweight division keeps being a measuring stick. Andre Lima, Edgar Chairez, Joseph Morales are all names that would make for sensible matchups, but I landed on Rei Tsuruya, who’s in need of a step up in competition.

Durden’s next fight: Rei Tsuruya

Luana Santos

After facing adversity in the opening round, Luana Santos fought back and won the following two to keep her bantamweight record perfect. She now joins Ailín Pérez and Joselyne Edwards as the streaking bantamweights on the brink of a title shot. This new crop of bantamweight is on the verge of pushing out the old guard. I like the idea of potentially matching up Pérez with Julianna Peña and Edwards with Raquel Pennington. That would leave Norma Dumont available to face Santos.

Santos’ next fight: Norma Dumont

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani’s first UFC finish was a pretty nasty one. He battered Farman Hasanov for the better part of three rounds, ultimately forcing the doctor to put an end to the contest after a bad cut over Hasanov’s eye kept getting worse. Lebosnoyani now moves to 3-0 in the promotion and I suggest he faces another 3-0 welterweight in Jonathan Micallef when the UFC goes to Sydney in February.

Lebosnoyani’s next fight: Jonathan Micallef

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