Play-by-play commentator Jon Anik is expecting big things down the line from a man who delivered one of the top performances at UFC 313.
While Saturday’s pay-per-view main event between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev failed to bring the kind of entertainment that fans were hoping for, the undercard wasn’t short on notable action.
Alongside Mauricio Ruffy’s spinning wheel kick knockout and Justin Gaethje’s latest brutal war inside the Octagon, rising lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes notched the biggest win of his career to date.
The Chilean made the most of his first opportunity at cracking the rankings, locking in a shock triangle choke submission to force longtime veteran Jalin Turner to tap out in the very first round.
In Bahamondes’ corner, an ecstatic UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad reiterated to the camera the potential of his teammate, and Anik, too, foresees the possibility of stardom for for “La Jaula” — providing he continues to hit the mark on the scales.
“Nacho can be a huge star,” Anik wrote on X a couple of days on from UFC 313. “Big personality. Fluent in two languages. One of the best strikers in the UFC. Will also choke you the f*ck out. Latin America couldn’t have a better ambassador in the UFC. Just hope he can keep making 156 (155) lbs!”
Bahamondes has missed weight once in the UFC and twice overall in professional MMA. He came in three quarters of a pound overweight for his clash with John Makdessi back in 2021.
The Chilean up-and-comer did also appear to have a scare last week prior to UFC 313, requiring a box late in the weigh-in window to hit the 156-pound limit for non-title lightweight bouts.
