UFC 140 Results: Philippou's Power Will Allow Him To Climb Middleweight Rankings

In tonight's UFC 140 preliminary fights, one man stood out as a potential future force in mixed martial arts.

Middleweight contenders Constantinos Philippou (9-2) and Jared Hamman (13-4) faced off in one of the shorter matches this evening.

Philippou controlled the match from the first punch until the knockout just a few minutes into the first round.

The result was a little shocking, considering the fact that Hamman was the fighter known as the dominant striker in the ring.

Ten of his 13 career wins in the Octagon have come by way of knockout.

Tonight, he suffered his fourth career loss. It was the third time he was knocked out.

Philippou showed signs of being a future talent in the middleweight division.

The only top-tier fighter in the division right now is Anderson Silva.

Philippou is not even close to being on the level of Silva, but he has the potential to climb the rankings and be a competitor amongst other top fighters in the division.

After a few more fights you could see Philippou start taking on fighters at the top of the division.

Demian Maia, Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo Souza are all ranked by ESPN as top-10 fighters in the middleweight division.

There isn't too much depth in the division.

If Philippou can keep coming forward with dominant performances like tonight, it shouldn't take long for him to be considered a top fighter in the weight class.