UFC light heavyweight veteran Alonzo Menifield shared his reaction to his first-round knockout win over Zhang Mingyang at UFC Macau.
The American Menifield was a +200 betting underdog for his co-main event spot against the Chinese native Zhang, who was fighting in front of his home crowd. But Menifield silenced Zhang’s fans with a blistering first-round knockout in what was a very exciting fight for the 4:15 that it lasted. For both fighters’ performances in the bout, they each earned $100,000 for Fight of the Night.
Alonzo Menifield Shares Reaction to Zhang Mingyang KO Win at UFC Macau
Following his blistering first-round KO win over Zhang, Menifield spoke to the UFC and shared his reaction to the victory.
“Awesome. You know, big underdog. So I’m feeling great. Lovin’ that. I’m loving that. All glory to God, baby,” Menifield said.
With the win over Zhang, Menifield defended his spot in the top-15 rankings, as he entered this bout as the No. 15 light heavyweight fighter on the UFC roster, while Zhang was unranked at the time the fight took place (though Zhang was No. 14 ranked when the bout was first announced).
Either way, it’s a huge win for Menifield, and one that should hopefully get him a bigger name in his next fight after he’s now won three of his last four fights overall.
What’s Next for Alonzo Menifield?
Since Menifield is ranked at No. 15 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings, there are two ways the UFC matchmakers can approach his next bout. Either he can get a step up in competition and fight someone ranked ahead of him, or he can fight someone unranked again and attempt to defend his No. 15 spot in the rankings.
If the UFC chooses to give him a ranked opponent, then No. 11-ranked Dominick Reyes makes a lot of sense. Reyes is coming off a split decision win over Johnny Walker at UFC 327, but it was a mostly uneventful fight that saw the Miami crowd boo most for most of the 15 minutes it lasted, as neither man showed much aggression in the bout. After that kind of fight, Reyes can’t expect to fight ahead of himself in the rankings, so a fight against someone like Menifield, who is a few spots below him, seems like the perfect fight for both men right now.
Another option could be Bogdan Guskov, who is ranked at No. 10 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. Guskov was supposed to fight Jan Blachowicz at UFC 328, but after Blachowicz withdrew with a knee injury that subsequently required surgery, he was left without an opponent. Menifield did not take much damage against Zhang, so he should be able to go again in a few months. Perhaps if Guskov is available at that point, he could fight Menifield next.
Of course, the UFC has been using Menifield in a gatekeeper role, so he could very well fight someone unranked next, such as the winner of the upcoming Iwo Baraniewski vs. Junior Tafa fight at UFC Vegas 118. But after taking out Zhang as a big dog and winning a bonus, Menifield deserves someone ranked next.
Alonzo Menifield Reacts to Zhang Mingyang KO Win at UFC Macau