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Another UFC Fight Night has come and gone and the UFC made a hell of a splash following a week off of action. It wasn’t just that nine of the twelve fights came to a conclusion before the final bell. It was the manner in which they ended. Don’t just take my word for it. Traditionally awarding just four Performance Bonuses at their events, the organization handed out a total of ten this time around, all the awards going to the fights that managed to end early.
The final results are sending some major ripples too. Arman Tsarukyan proved he’s legitimately one of the top lightweights in the world by running through Beneil Dariush in just 64 seconds. Jalin Turner’s late notice gamble paid off fabulously when he scored one of the more violent finishes of the year over Bobby Green. High profile names in Deiveson Figueiredo, Sean Brady, and Miesha Tate managed to right recently floundering ships. It’s hard to think of a recent UFC Fight Night card that immediately came across as impactful as this one.
It wasn’t just the impact of the UFC fights either. The violence level was a big part of it too, even beyond the controversial ending to Turner and Green’s bout. Entering the contest, there were a total of 12 slam finishes in UFC history. Not only were there two at this event, they came in consecutive contests where the slammer was attempting to escape a submission. The sudden nature in which the main event came to a close is sure to be remembered as well. All of it made for a very difficult time figuring out the biggest winners and losers.
But who were the real winners and losers of the event? Sure, 12 UFC fighters officially had their hand raised in victory, but that doesn’t always mean they are the true winners of the night. Same with those who didn’t get their hand raised. Just like not all wins are created equal, not all losses are either. I’ll give you the lowdown on who the biggest winners and losers of the event were. I’ll limit it to three in each category, doing my best to avoid having the same combatants of a contest in both categories. Let’s dig in!
UFC Fight Night Winners
Sean Brady
Brady needed an absolutely dominant performance if he was going to regain the hype he lost when he fell to Belal Muhammad last year. After all, while Kelvin Gastelum is a known name, his recent record doesn’t exactly scream quality win. Brady managed to deliver exactly what he needed for the buzz to return. He took Gastelum down at will and dominated him on the mat, smothering him for two plus rounds before twisting his arm like a pretzel for the kimura submission.
Unless Brady manages to claim the title, it’s likely the mystique that was around him will never be fully recovered. There’s something about having that zero in the win-loss record. Regardless, Brady should be ecstatic with the final result. It has long been believed 170 is Gastelum’s best weight class, provided he can make the weight. Given how Brady decimated him, I’m sure there will be some who believe Gastelum might be best served going back to 185. That’s a phenomenal indication of how commanding Brady was in this UFC fight.
Miesha Tate
There were some questioning whether Tate’s coming out of retirement was a mistake. After all, her lone victory upon her return was over Marion Reneau, who happened to be the oldest fighter on the roster at that time. Her other two appearances saw Tate losing one-sided decisions, her trademark toughness being the one thing that kept her in those UFC fights. Most telling, she couldn’t get her wrestling going in those fights, allegedly her strongest suit. How would she do against Julia Avila, one of the physically strongest members of the division?
It turned out that Tate was better than fine. In fact, I’d say it was the most dominant performance on the card, arguably turning in a pair of 10-8’s before finding the third-round finish. Granted, Avila was returning from a long layoff herself for various reasons, so no one should declare Tate as anywhere back to being a title contender. Regardless, even if Tate shouldn’t be fighting for gold in the next couple of fights, she should be back to fighting opponents with higher visibility. Perhaps a rematch with Holly Holm, the woman Tate won the belt off of? I wouldn’t be shocked in the least to see that UFC fight.
Rodolfo Bellato
Bellato was thisclose to having his UFC debut go up in flames. Ihor Potieria hurt him with an elbow early in the second round of their UFC fight, then proceeded to land big shot after big shot, several forcing Bellato’s eyes to roll up into his head. And yet, Bellato managed to remain active enough for the referee’s liking, avoiding a stoppage to secure the win. It wasn’t just that he secured a win; he managed to turn the tables on Potieria within the same round Potieria managed to put a potentially career altering beating on him. Talk about a memorable debut!
This contest was a nightmare from a coaches perspective. Bellato managed to pull out the win thanks to his insane toughness and durability as Potieira blew his wad going for the finish. It’s good to know Bellato has those characteristics to fall back on, but skill and technique would be better to utilize for a longer career. Regardless, there isn’t anyone who watched the UFC fight that will forget it, and that in itself may be worth the price as Bellato may have made himself someone fans will want to keep a pulse on after his miraculous comeback. Besides, UFC fighters who engage in those type of brawls tend to be favorites of Dana White.
UFC Fight Night Losers
Beneil Dariush
Don’t get me wrong, Tsarukyan is a huge winner in this. But Dariush has effectively been booted out of title contention despite having entered the year on an eight fight win streak. Had the UFC fight been a competitive back-and-forth affair, Dariush could have remained in stasis as a gatekeeper to the tip top of the division. Instead, given the contest lasted just over a minute, things couldn’t have gone worse for Dariush as it’s hard to believe anyone is going to consider him contention material coming off consecutive first round KO losses.
While Dariush is one of the nicest guys in the sport, he isn’t exactly marketable. Thus, while the UFC wasn’t going to relegate him to fighting outside the top ten after the loss to former champion Charles Oliveira, they’re probably willing to do so now. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be fair, but there’s the eternal argument of someone like Conor McGregor. I get why McGregor gets the special treatment from the UFC, but it’s a bummer someone like Dariush is so easily cast aside into a diminished role so easily when McGregor has a single win over the last seven years.
Referee Kerry Hatley
This isn’t hyperbole when I say this: that was the worst stoppage that I have ever seen, from a UFC fight down to a regional show. Jalin Turner blasted Bobby Green to the mat with a clean shot. Hatley was far enough away from the action that it wouldn’t have been controversial for Turner to have landed the first one or two follow-up punches once Green hit the mat. I don’t think there would have been much said had one or two more after that landed. The problem is there were about 13 total punches landed. Granted, not all of them cleanly, but that was absolutely inexcusable.
Hatley isn’t one of the more recognizable referees on the circuit, but he’s been around long enough that most fans who watch on a weekly basis would recognize him. Typically, he’s not noticed, which is how a referee should be. This was bad enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if Dana White doesn’t want to see him officiate a UFC fight again. White is influential enough that we stopped seeing Steve Mazzagatti and Mario Yamasaki when White had enough of their BS. We’ll have to see what happens here, but that we’re talking about this instead of how great Turner looked is a real shame.
Zach Reese
I get that I could just as easily throw Joe Solecki in this spot. After all, both suffered their KO losses after being slammed to the mat by their opponents as they were attempting to submit them. What makes it more painful for Reese than Solecki it twofold. First, it was Reese’s debut. It may not mean anything in the long run, but Reese will need to stick in the long run for it to become a moot point. Secondly, Reese was the only native Texan on the card, meaning he suffered that loss in front of his friends and family in attendance. That hurts.
I’m still not sure what to make of Reese. In the short time the UFC fight lasted – a total of 109 seconds – Reese proved to be a dangerous submission artist. But he also was taken down with surprising ease and hasn’t shown the ability to make use of his impressive length on the feet. I wouldn’t give up on him yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some already have as Cody Brundage is considered a fringe talent. Losing to him is enough of a red mark for many to write off Reese.
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