Casual MMA fans might deride UFC Vegas 40 for its lack of big names or its main event that came and went without many fireworks. However, the ten-fight card had plenty of implications for the future of the promotion and perhaps revealed more than one future title contender on the women’s side of the equation.

The Cage Calculus favorites went an even 5-5 from last week’s forecasts. Headliner Norma Dumont pulled off the biggest forecast upset, having been given less than a 40% chance of victory in her main event fight. One could argue forecast favorites went 6-4 given the return of judge Chris Lee (but more on that later). You can look back at the projections the forecast made for these fights here and here. With all that said, here is what we learned at UFC Vegas 40.

Norma Dumont Should Be Next for Amanda Nunes

Many fans will joke about this main event for being “boring” or unworthy of being a headliner, but there was plenty there to behold. This fight featured the long-awaited return of Aspen Ladd, a highly-rated bantamweight contender against a fighter in Dumont who was, before Saturday, unknown to most non-hardcore MMA fans. Yet, Dumont completely outclassed Ladd for the vast majority of the fight. Dumont was able to keep Ladd at distance with a superior jab working all night. She was also able to defend all but one takedown attempts. The only time she was in trouble was for the final 30 seconds of the fourth round.

Dumont, in the past, expressed a desire to make a permanent move down to bantamweight. However, after Saturday’s fight, Dumont expressed commitment to featherweight and urged other bantamweights who might struggle to make 135 lbs to come up and do the same. With that being the case, Dumont has made it clear she is the next best option for Amanda Nunes at featherweight. Dumont has the size to compete in the division and has frighteningly fast hands. Given Nunes is holding two belts and will defend her bantamweight title in December, it’s unclear what the timeline will be for her next defense at featherweight. Dumont has floated the possibility of facing former bantamweight champion Holly Holm, who recently announced a move to featherweight, in the meantime. Whatever the future holds for the often embattled women’s featherweight division, Norma Dumont has earned the right to be the next to try her hand at defeating Amanda Nunes.

Age Is Only a Number

Two members of the UFC’s 20-win club made appearances in the octagon Saturday and both emerged victorious. Jim Miller, usually a submission artist, spoiled the debut of Erick Gonzalez with a rare knockout, putting the newcomer to sleep. The KO win earned him Performance of the Night honors, the sixth such honor of his UFC career. While he will likely never challenge for the lightweight title and, honestly, it’s a tragedy that he never got to fight for a title during his legendary career. But, that he has maintained the level of skill he has over a 13-year UFC career is impressive in and of itself. And, he insists he wants to fight until UFC 300.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski also pulled out a victory against a much younger opponent. Arlovski’s fight was much closer than Miller’s, but his cardio was just enough to outlast Felipe to a unanimous decision win. Arlovski has now won four out of his last five fights. He is creeping closer to being one of Cage Calculus’ top 15 heavyweight contenders at the age of 42. One more win would probably put him over the top. The UFC might have to step up the competition for Arlovski, against all odds.

Flyweights Beware of Manon Fiorot

In a world where MMA fans are searching for someone to give Valentina Shevchenko a legit challenge for her flyweight belt, anyone who strings together some wins starts to look good. However, Manon Fiorot is different. She dominated Mayra Bueno Silva, who had previously been ranked as Cage Calculus’ #12 ranked flyweight contender. She is now on an eight-fight professional win streak. Her striking volume is impressive and she has a finish rate unmatched by most in women’s MMA. Her win vaulted her into Cage Calculus’ flyweight top 10. Like fellow up-and-comer, Casey O’Neill it may be important to take it slow before thrusting her into the title picture. But, the women’s flyweight division is hurting for anyone who can give the champ a competitive fight. Fiorot has become someone to watch.

Chris Lee Must Be Stopped

Ramazan Emeev lost his spot in the Cage Calculus welterweight rankings after his split decision loss to Danny Roberts. However, the scorecards were a little suspect. There was pretty widespread consensus that Emeev won the first round, Roberts won the third and the close second round was the decider. It is the opinion of this editor that Emeev took the second round, but reasonable minds can disagree. However, judge Chris Lee delivered a 30-27 scorecard for Roberts that had even Roberts puzzled. Lee is notorious for delivering some bizarre scorecards, the most glaring of which was his 48-47 decision for Paul Felder over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lee is certainly a wild card for any fighter who lets their fight go to the scorecards.

Strawweights Beware of Ariane Carnelossi

Carnelossi may have flown under many fans’ radars because she’s been slotted in the first fight of the night in each of her last two appearances. However, in both, she delivered impressive finishes, one through striking and the most recent by rear naked choke. Carnelossi’s impressive physical fitness led many to make jokes about potential steroid use. However, Carnelossi has been tested by USADA 13 times and has not registered a bad test thus far. Her style is very reminiscent of Jessica Andrade. She’s very strong for the division and throws with heat on almost every punch. If she can, as she just demonstrated, add a good submission game to her repertoire, she is going to be dangerous for strawweights up the chain. Her only UFC loss was a short notice bout against Angela Hill. This latest win moves Carnelossi into the Cage Calculus top 15 and she’s earned a chance to fight one of the UFC’s official top 15.

Photo Credit: Doha Roots