UFC Vegas 24 Results and Takeaways: Robert Whittaker Proves He is Ready for Israel Adesanya Rematch

UFC Vegas 24 Results

Main Card

•  Robert Whittaker defeats Kelvin Gastelum via Unanimous Decision – (50-45 x3)
•  Andrei Arlovski defeats Chase Sherman via Unanimous Decision – (29-28 x3)
•  Jacob Malkoun defeats Abdul Razak Alhassan via Unanimous Decision – (30-27 x3)
•  Tracy Cortez defeats Justine Kish via Split Decision – (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
•  Luis Pena defeats Alexander Munoz via Split Decision – (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Prelims

•  Alexander Romanov defeats Juan Espino via Technical Split Decision – (29-28 x2, 28-29)
•  Jessica Penne defeats Lupita Godinez via Split Decision – (29-28 x2, 28-29)
•  Gerald Meerschaert defeats Bartosz Fabinski via Submission (Guillotine) – Round 1 (2:00)
•  Austin Hubbard defeats Dakota Bush via Unanimous Decision – (29-28 x3)
•  Tony Gravely defeats Anthony Birchak via TKO – Round 2 (1:31)

UFC Vegas 24 Takeaways

Whittaker 2.0 Can No Longer be Denied

In the UFC Vegas 24 main event, we saw a fight over two years in the making between former Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker and top ten contender, Kelvin Gastelum. Since losing the title to Israel Adesanya back in 2019, Whittaker had beaten Darren Till and Jared Cannonier coming into this main event outing.

Robert put on an absolute striking clinic against Kelvin in this bout and has shown that he continues to improve fight by fight. Not to mention, we saw more wrestling from Whittaker in this one than we ever really have before, but defensively and especially offensively, as he secured multiple takedowns and a decent amount of control time. His arsenal of weapons is only continuing to grow and considering he is only 30 years old, “The Reaper” may just now be entering his prime.

Now riding a three-fight win streak, it is clear that the rematch between Whittaker and the current middleweight king, Adesanya, needs to be next. We have seen plenty of former champions in the past do much less to earn a rematch for their title, but the competition that Robert has had to go through for his shot is quite astounding. These two world-class strikers, paired up once more, in what would hopefully be a soldout stadium in Australia is the title fight to make at 185 pounds.

Another Flyweight Prospect Emerges 

Tracy Cortez earned a hard-fought victory over Justine Kish at UFC Vegas 24. Tracy’s grappling proved to be the difference in rounds one and two, but in round three she would find herself facing adversity in the striking. Cortez would survive a flash knockdown and go on to trade shot for shot with Kish in the third. Tracy came out on the winning end of the judges’ scorecards and remained undefeated in the UFC in the process, now at 3-0.

The former Dana White’s Contender Series standout in total is on a nine-fight win streak and at only 27 years old, has proved she is game for any challenge. Recently the women’s flyweight division is having a lot of fresh blood enter the weight class, including two other young prospects in Maycee Barber and Miranda Maverick, just to name a couple. Cortez now finds herself in similar company and with her grapple heavy style, look for her to be an issue for opponents in the future.

Jessica Penne Comes Away Victorious in UFC Return

Former strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne secured a big win at UFC Vegas 24, after four years away from the octagon. Challenging Penne was the debuting, undefeated prospect, Lupita Godinez. While Lupita had her moments and looked good in the striking department, it was the clinch work of Jessica that made the difference in this one. 

Disputes with USADA played the biggest factor in the layoff for Penne, however, she has since had her name cleared of all potential issues and was ready to show she still belongs in the stacked strawweight division. Jessica did just that and now finds herself back in the win column for the first time since 2014, after entering her hiatus on a three-fight losing streak. 

Penne showed her veteran expertise and it proved to be too much for the young up and comer, Godinez. It was truly a feel-good moment to see Jessica get her hand raised again after the adversity she faced to get back into the UFC. It will be very interesting to see how the promotion will match her up next, but don’t be surprised if they give the once number one contender a ranked opponent sooner rather than later.

Give us your thoughts on the UFC Vegas 24 results in the comments below!

Featured Image Credits to Embed from Getty Images

UFC Vegas 24 Results UFC Vegas 24 Results UFC Vegas 24 Results UFC Vegas 24 Results UFC Vegas 24 Results