The Real Winners and Losers From UFC Fight Night 220
Just another night in the light heavyweight division.
The UFC's 205-pound ranks have been nothing but tumultuous lately, with four fighters reigning as a champion since ex-king Jon Jones vacated the belt three years ago.
So if a Fight Night headliner was going to blow up just moments after the main card went live on ESPN, it's probably no shock that it occurred in the company's most chaotic weight class.
Sixth-ranked contender Nikita Krylov arrived to the Apex facility in Las Vegas but subsequently dropped out of his scheduled main event with No. 9 Ryan Spann thanks to a foodborne illness, according to ESPN's Megan Olivi.
Olivi said Krylov was in the building and taking fluids when it was determined he would be unable to go, and the fight was scrubbed. The change in plans elevated the middleweight co-main between Andre Muniz and Brendan Allen to the top spot.
Their fight remained as a scheduled three-rounder despite the promotion.
"Nikita Krylov is a professional," ESPN analyst Michael Bisping said.
"For him to pull out the day of a fight, it must be very serious."
The B/R combat writing team was in place to take in all the late-stage adjustments and assembled a definitive list of the show's biggest winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with, and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.
Winning: Walking the Walk
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Brendan Allen has never been lacking in confidence.
He'd been a chest-banger after many of the eight wins he'd scored in 10 previous UFC fights, and he told anyone listening prior to Saturday that the UFC's No. 11 middleweight wouldn't be an issue.
Turns out he was right. Again.
"I had so many people sending me so much hate stuff," Allen said. "To everyone who doubted me, I'm laughing all the way to the bank."
The Florida-based 27-year-old competed evenly on the feet against the black-belted Andre Muniz before reversing a takedown and racking up several minutes of side control in the second round.
A caught body kick yielded another takedown in the third and wound up with Allen on the back chasing a finish until he finally seized the rear-naked choke at 4:25.
It was his 21st win in 26 career fights and 12th submission finish and, as Bisping said, "by far the most impressive performance of his career."
Allen didn't disagree.
"I knew he was gonna try to take me down," he said. "My coach told me before the second round that he had nothing for me on the ground. And he was right.
"Now we need to run back those fight posters so I can get my face out there."
Muniz had been 23-4 as a pro and was 5-0 in the UFC after two Dana White's Contender Series wins.
He'd won 15 by submission, but in the aftermath, it was all about Allen.
And all about revenge.
"Sean Strickland, Chris Curtis, let's run it back," he said, referring to his two UFC losses. "And if they don't want it, Jack Hermansson and Dricus Du Plessis, you guys can get it, too.
"I'm trying to fight everyone."
Loser: Stealing the Show
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It wasn't the highest of high-profile cards.
But Saturday's show was moving along at a prodigious clip, with five finishes in the first eight fights before the principals in the night's lone heavyweight bout took center stage.
And then it wasn't.
Rather than a knockdown, drag-out slobber-knocker, the battle between fighters weighing better than 526 combined pounds turned into a momentum-sapping grunt fest.
Brazilian big man Augusto Sakai was a more effective leaner and grasper than Kentucky-born slugger Don'Tale Mayes on the way to a unanimous decision that sucked most of the air out of the pre-main Apex.
Sakai won by three matching scores of 30-27 to end a skid that had included KO losses to Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Spivac in less than 40 total minutes of cage time since the last of six straight wins in May 2020.
Mayes fell to 2-3 with a no contest in the UFC, including a third-round submission loss to imminent heavyweight challenge Ciryl Gane in October 2019.
"These past three years have been so tough in my life," Sakai said. "I deserve it. I deserve to be here tonight. I want to thank everyone here in the UFC for not letting me go."
Winner: Regaining Lost Mojo
3 of 6Apparently, grip strength doesn't fade.
Tatiana Suarez hadn't appeared in a UFC Octagon in nearly four years thanks to a series of injuries, but the ferocity with which she cinched up a guillotine choke against a helpless Montana De La Rosa made it look like she's already back in familiar form.
"I'm so happy," he said, "I've been dreaming about this for a long time."
The unbeaten strawweight moved up a weight class for her return fight and was challenged by her heavier, stronger opponent in the first round, but she seized a front headlock early in the second and dropped to her back to lock in the choke with her left arm.
De La Rosa struggled to escape and ultimately tapped at 2:51.
It was Suarez's 10th straight win as a pro and her fifth in the UFC since winning in The Ultimate Fighter finale back in 2016.
"I know what it's like to lose one dream, and I didn't want to lose another," she said.
"I wanted to show anybody who's going through tough times to keep your head up, because it's going to work out."
De La Rosa had scored TUF wins in 2017 and 2018 but had gone just 3-3-1 in seven fights since, including a unanimous decision loss to 12th-ranked flyweight Maycee Barber in April.
The win over De La Rosa prompted Suarez to guarantee a title run at 115 was imminent.
"Here I am. I belong here," she said.
"I'm a little anaconda out there. I'm coming for the belt."
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Winner: A Peek Performance
4 of 6Trevor Peek had something for everyone on Saturday.
Not only was his victory over veteran Erick Gonzalez compellingly violent—ending with a series of concussive strikes that left Gonzalez semi-conscious along the fence—but the post-fight interview was equal parts character introduction and religious revival.
It was an eighth straight KO and sixth in one round for the affable Tennessean, who won on Dana White's Contender Series last September and got the stoppage this time with a single second remaining in the opening session.
The display earned him a fan in Bisping.
"That was a helluva debut," the ex-middleweight champion said,
"There were some mistakes, sure, but the grittiness and aggression—it was magnificent. What a display of violence. That was sensational."
Upon seizing the mic for himself, Peek professed his religious faith and claimed it's what saved him from a difficult upbringing and early adult life in Chattanooga.
"I can't be more grateful for this opportunity," he said,
"I was just violent as a young kid. I didn't have meaning for my life. Now I don't have to wonder what my purpose is. Lord willing, I stay healthy because I really do believe I can make a run for a title. I really believe I can go a long way."
If nothing else, ESPN blow-by-blow man Brandan Fitzgerald insisted he's a must-watch.
"Trevor Peek just became appointment television," he said.
Winner: The Monkey King
5 of 6Jordan Leavitt is already a high-quality lightweight.
But he's not yet established himself as a reliable commodity.
The 27-year-old began his affiliation with the company with a win on Dana White's Contender Series and ended his official UFC debut with a 22-second finish.
He's been just a .500 proposition win since, however, with a unanimous decision loss to Claudio Puelles in June 2021 and a second-round submission to Paddy Pimblett last July sandwiching two victories.
If Saturday night is indicative, though, he's ready for another run.
And perhaps with a new wrinkle or two.
A grappling ace with six submissions in 10 previous triumphs, Leavitt changed his tactics this time around and earned win No. 11 with a series of knee strikes that felled Victor Martinez.
The end came after just 2:33 of the first round.
"I'm so happy," he said. "I've always said I could strike a little bit. I've never rocked someone before. I hit him to the body, and I think that hurt him initially, then the knee hit him, and he kinda stalled a little bit. I was like, 'Oh crap, I'm gonna get a knockout.' I've never done that before."
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Brendan Allen def. Andre Muniz by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:25, Round 3
Augusto Sakai def. Don'Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tatiana Suarez def. Montana De La Rosa by submission (guillotine choke), 2:51, Round 2
Mike Malott def. Yohan Lainesse by submission (arm triangle choke), 4:17, Round 1
Preliminary Card
Trevor Peek def. Erick Gonzalez by KO (punch), 4:59, Round 1
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Gabriella Fernandes by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Jordan Leavitt def. Victor Martinez by KO (knees), 2:27, Round 1
Ode' Osbourne def. Charles Johnson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Joe Solecki def. Carl Deaton by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:55, Round 2
Nurullo Aliev def. Rafael Alves by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
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