Jump to
Another UFC Fight Night has come and gone and we all witnessed a major breakout moment for a fighter. No, it wasn’t Song Yadong, the victor of the main event. His victory over Chris Gutierrez was very much expected as Gutierrez was ranked significantly lower than Yadong. Instead, it was Khalil Rountree Jr. destroying a respected and established veteran in Anthony Smith in the co-main event for his fifth consecutive win.
Some might argue with the breakout part. After all, Smith fought for the title almost five years ago and isn’t the same fighter he was even just two years ago. Regardless, the manner in which it was done is what will stick around in the minds of fans when they reminisce on this event down the road. Thus, I would certainly say it qualifies as a breakout contest. At least Smith wasn’t accusing Rountree of attacking his family….
The main event felt about as ho-hum as it gets. Gutierrez had a few moments to keep the fight from being a complete drubbing. That said, he still lost every single round, the opening frame being the only one that left even the most remote of doubts whether Song took the round. Song picked up the aggression in spots in hopes of finding a finish, but never really came close to finishing the job. Regardless, it was a nice win for him that allows him to maintain his spot in a stacked division.
But who were the real winners and losers of the event? Sure, 11 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
Khalil Rountree Jr.
Rountree has been on the UFC roster since 2016. His talent has always been obvious, but he’s been his own worst enemy at times. Over the last few years, Rountree has been putting it together. However, there was controversy around his victory over Dustin Jacoby and Chris Daukaus appeared to be a step down. Could he handle Anthony Smith? Given the resourcefulness of Smith, it was no guarantee, even as Smith appears to be slowing down. We got a definitive answer and that answer is a resounding yes.
Aside from the opening few minutes where Smith’s length caused some problems, Rountree dictated the entire fight. After a few hard counters, Smith didn’t want to eat anymore of Rountree’s firepower and fought cautiously from that point. Thus, Rountree was walking down Smith, looking to land home runs. While it can be argued Rountree would have been better off just looking for a clean hit, he eventually got the job done, leaving the tough and durable Smith in a state we haven’t seen the former title challenger in. Given that, it was incredibly impressive for Rountree, even if Smith isn’t what he once was.
Tim Elliott
The longest tenured flyweight on the roster, Elliott was willing to step up on short notice when Allan Nascimento pulled out with less than a week before the event. Of course, it required the weight to be moved to 135, it was still a risky move by Elliott. After all, when one has been around as long as he has, there’s a lot of years and miles on his body. While his chin has always been solid, there’s signs it has been deteriorating and Su Mudaerji is one of the heaviest hitters in the division. Then again, there’s Mudaerji’s poor grappling record…
Elliott fought as intelligently as he could have been asked to. It took a couple of tries, but Elliott got the fight to the ground with plenty of time to secure the submission. In the process, Elliott’s chin received a minor test and passed with flying colors. At 36, Elliott isn’t going to leap into title contention, but he looks like he still has enough left in the tank to be a top ten gatekeeper for another year or two. That wasn’t clear after his loss to Muhammad Mokaev. In other words, Elliott isn’t going to retire a legend, but he has more time to add to his already noteworthy career resume.
Steve Garcia
A lot of credit goes to Melquizael Costa as well for taking the fight with Garcia a week later, but Garcia absolutely made good on the second chance the UFC gave him for this fight. Originally scheduled to be at 145 a week earlier, Garcia’s illness cancelled that contest and allowed for it to be rescheduled a week later at lightweight. The first round saw Costa control Garcia against the cage for almost the entirety of the fight, putting Garcia in the hole with the likelihood he would slow down first given his illness from a week ago.
Fully aware of the circumstances, Garcia came out swinging in the second and caught Costa. Costa desperately fought to stay alive, shooting for a desperation takedown. Garcia made every adjustment needed, transitioning to the back and then to the top to deliver some brutal GnP before the ref stepped in to call the fight. Not exactly a blue-chipper when he was signed, Garcia’s present three-fight win streak is one of the more surprising win streaks in the organization. Even more impressive, he made good on the UFC rebooking the fight quickly. No one sees him becoming a UFC contender, but he’s already found more success than anyone expected.
UFC Fight Night Losers
Chris Gutierrez
The outcome wasn’t surprising. After all, Song was roughly a 4-to-1 favorite with the oddsmakers. But what Gutierrez needed was to offer a competitive fight to Song. Take a round. Maybe have Song limping around the cage due to an accumulation of leg kicks. Something memorable besides just managing to hang tough. Nothing like that came about and we ended up with a contest that is going to become largely obsolete when observers look back on it down the road.
Given this was the second opportunity Gutierrez has been given against a top ten opponent, it’s safe to say the UFC isn’t going to be anxious to push Gutierrez back into the spotlight. If it was just the loss, he might be getting another push. That’s why he needed something memorable so bad. If a fighter is willing to go out on their shield, or at least produce some drama when the stage is biggest for them, the UFC will give them a long leash. Look at how long Lando Vannata has hung around based on his first two UFC fights. Gutierrez has shrunk against tough competition… at least the competition that isn’t shopworn.
Jamie Mullarkey
It has been hard not to appreciate Mullarkey since he stepped foot in the UFC. As hard-nosed as they come, he has been in several notable slobber knockers that made him into a fan favorite of sorts. His blood and guts style was very reminiscent of Darren Elkins. Of course, what has made Elkins a cult figure of sorts is that he’s been able to endure the punishment for years on end while maintaining his hard-charging style. It looks like Mullarkey will have to change things up as his chin appears to have disintegrated before our very eyes.
Nasrat Haqparast isn’t exactly known for being a power puncher. Of his seven UFC victories entering the night, only one of them was a stoppage from strikes. He didn’t even need two minutes to put away Mullarkey. Given all three of Mullarkey’s most recent losses have come via strikes – not to mention being hurt in some of his wins – it’s fair to say he doesn’t have the chin to extend his UFC run much further. Perhaps if he changes his fight style, but there’s been far more failures than successes in that endeavor. If he does try it, there goes his fan-friendly style. Regardless, it’s largely a lose-lose for him.
Rayanne dos Santos
For someone who ate an L, you’d be hard pressed to find a greater consensus of UFC pundits who agreed they actually deserved the W. However, you’re also not going to find many of those pundits who are going to offer much of a defense for dos Santos. The newcomer delivered a dominant opening round over fellow debutant, Talita Alencar. It wasn’t quite a 10-8, but there’s no doubt dos Santos proved to be the better fighter. However, after a solid start to the second round, dos Santos took her foot off the gas and allowed Alencar to dictate the pace. As a result, the judges awarded Alencar with a decision victory.
While fighters coasting doesn’t appear to be as prominent as it used to be, it still happens. This contest is a friendly reminder of why fighters shouldn’t be taking that strategy. Dos Santos certainly did more damage, but most of it came in the first round. There wasn’t a definitive way to say she dealt more damage than Alencar did after that as it was wearing early. Thus, the judges liked the control of Alencar in the second half of the second round and her forward movement in the third. Dos Santos has no one to blame but herself for a loss to start her UFC career.