The Real Winners and Losers from UFC Fight Night 228
Seasons change. Calendars change.
But, like a leaf-covered snowball down a mountain, the UFC continues rolling.
The mixed martial arts conglomerate greeted the arrival of autumn in the northern hemisphere with a loaded, albeit not particularly star-studded Fight Night 228 card live from the promotion's cozy Apex home in the Nevada desert.
Ranked lightweights Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot vied for positioning in the 155-pound ranks in the main event of an 11-bout card that also featured ranked matchups at featherweight and strawweight in the show's co-main and No. 3 slots, respectively.
The B/R combat sports team was in place to take in all the action and produce the definitive list of the event's winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and leave a thought of your own in the comments section.
Loser: Winning Decisively
1 of 7
The cliché is that fighters "don't want" to win fights that end because of injuries.
But Mateusz Gamrot didn't seem all too bothered by it.
"It's a bad situation, a bad accident, but a win is a win," he said, moments after having his hand raised when Rafael Fiziev was unable to continue with a left knee issue in the main event.
"I won tonight and so I'm looking forward to the next fight."
Gamrot arrived as the seventh-ranked fighter in the lightweight division, and he'll certainly tick up at least a notch to supplant Fiziev, who'd been a spot above at No. 6.
The two men battled through a largely even first round before an abrupt halt came at 2:03 of the second when Fiziev executed a right kick toward Gamrot's body but apparently twisted something as he planted his left knee.
He took an awkward step and immediately crumpled to the ground and referee Herb Dean jumped in to prevent a charging Gamrot from landing any strikes. Fiziev was helped to a stool by his corner team and was unable to leave the cage and head toward the locker room without assistance.
It was his second loss in a row and third in nine UFC fights, while Gamrot has won two straight and six of eight since arriving in 2020.
"The first round was 50/50, but I think the rounds would have been progression, progression, progression," Gamrot said. "The plan was to push rounds three, four and five to give myself the best chance. I am happy, so what can I do now but go back home, rest and see who is next to fight."
Winner: Being Relentless
2 of 7
Fighting Bryce Mitchell is like trying to escape an endlessly breaking wave.
It knocks you down, grinds you along the bottom, and, every time you get close to regaining balance, takes you down again.
The brash Arkansan ranked 10th in the featherweight division was the combative embodiment of his "Thug Nasty" nickname against Dan Ige, taking his 12th-ranked counterpart down five times in 15 minutes while grinding his way to a unanimous decision in Saturday's co-main event.
Now a few weeks shy of birthday No. 29, Mitchell executed 15 takedown attempts and continually chased choke-out submissions in spite of grotesque swelling from the combination of a cut on his right eyelid and another below the eye on his cheek.
The wounds prompted a brief visit from the cage-side physician in the second round, but the fight continued, and Mitchell persevered to win all three rounds on one scorecard and two of three on the others.
"It's a scratch, man, that ain't nothing," Mitchell told analyst Michael Bisping. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The win was Mitchell's sixth in seven UFC fights since an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter in 2018. Ige, meanwhile, lost for the sixth time in 15 fights since graduating from Dana White's Contender Series a year earlier.
"He's the hardest hitter I ever fought," Mitchell said of Ige, a Hawaiian native to whom he pledged to donate $5,000 of his fight purse to help victims of recent wildfires. "I didn't expect him to hit so hard or move so well."
Loser: Playing Tough
3 of 7
Make no mistake, Michelle Waterson-Gomez is as tough as it gets.
But when it comes to world-class combat sports, fighters who boast toughness as their primary quality are often unsuccessful on the highest levels.
The 37-year-old from Albuquerque survived gamely through a first round against repeat foe Marina Rodriguez, whose comprehensive brutality left Waterson-Gomez pouring blood from her nose and right eye. But a one-minute break provided no worthwhile answers, and she was soon stopped amid a flurry of punishing ground shots at 2:18 of the second.
The losing fighter crumbled in tears following the wave-off, which finalized a second loss to Rodriguez after a unanimous five-round decision in a Fight Night main event 16 months ago.
It was also a fourth straight loss and eighth in 13 UFC fights since she appeared on The Ultimate Fighter in 2015. Waterson-Gomez embraced Rodriguez for several seconds after the official decision was read, and it'd be no surprise to see her hang up the gloves after 31 pro fights and a 16-year career.
As for the winner, whose work was described by analyst Michael Bisping as "truly vicious," "a stunning display of violence" and "a nonstop beatdown," it was all according to plan.
"After my last two fights we put it in my head that we had to train to be the person that I am," Rodriguez said, "a violent person."
Winner: Repping the Family
4 of 7
It's true. He may never be a champion like his big brother.
But if Jake Collier had any real questions about whether Mohammed Usman was a UFC-quality fighter on his own merits, they've probably been answered.
Collier opened the verbal floodgates at Friday's weigh-in by suggesting a sibling's success didn't necessarily mean a family member could fight, but Usman surely proved a little something by roughing the Missourian up over 15 minutes on the way to a unanimous decision win.
One judge scored it a shutout and two others gave two of three rounds to Usman, who did struggle with his bigger, brawling opponent in the opening five minutes before focusing on precision striking and high-end mat work and leaving Collier bloody and gasping by the final horn.
Collier was compromised by an unintentional right eye poke in the opening minute of the second round and the fight was halted for better than three minutes before he decided he could return. When he did so, though, he quickly sustained a left eye cut from a jab and never fully recovered.
"It was a fight to get better," Usman said. "Everybody looks at the record, but they don't understand how tough Jake is. For me to be able to come out and test myself against him, that was a testament to me."
"I wanted to get better, and I felt like I did it tonight."
Loser: Forging Ahead
5 of 7
This was one for the body language experts.
There's no legitimate debate over whether heavy favorite Jacob Malkoun landed an illegal elbow to the back of Cody Brundage's head while the two were on the ground, he certainly did.
What some may debate, however, was whether Brundage was healthy enough to continue and if he was interested in doing so after having been on the short end before the foul.
Following the blow, Brundage repeatedly asked referee Mark Smith how much time he had to recover before resuming the fight.
And as he sat casually with his back against the fence, he stole several looks toward the gathered officials, appearing to gauge what the result would be.
"It's up to the fighter at this point," analyst Dominick Cruz said. "He's got to want to get back in there."
Ultimately, Brundage chose not to rejoin the fray and Smith, who had the choice of deeming the fight a no contest or a disqualification, picked the latter and officially ended matters at 4:15 of the first. Incidentally, one fight earlier, Jake Collier continued after a nasty eye poke and went on to lose a unanimous decision to Mohammed Usman.
Still, Cruz, who'd leaned skeptical during the delay, spun his judgmental needle toward Malkoun at the conclusion.
"As a fighter you've got to look at this from a responsible place," he said. "You have to take those positions carefully because you have an easy win under your belt. Instead, it's a loss."
Winner: Keeping It Pristine
6 of 7
Who says you need to be a UFC fighter to beat a UFC fighter?
Not octagonal newbie Montserrat Rendon, that's for sure.
The 34-year-old Mexican arrived to Saturday's opening bout with a pristine 5-0 record, but she was matched tough with a surging foe in Tamires Vidal, who'd not only earned a championship in the wonderfully named Samurai Fight House promotion but had scored a one-round finish in her UFC debut.
But rookie exuberance mattered more as Rendon bounced back from an uneven first round to control the final 10 minutes on the way to a tight but fair split decision win.
She was the only unbeaten fighter on the card coming in and managed to seize the initiative with three takedowns and better than four minutes of control time over the final two rounds.
All three judges scored it 29-28, with two in her favor and one in Vidal's.
"This is a dream come true," Rendon said, dedicating the fight to her 10-year-old son and a cadre of supporters. "All of you that have been with me, this is all for you."
Full Card Results
7 of 7
Main Card
Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael Fiziev by TKO (injury), 2:03, Round 2
Bryce Mitchell def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Marina Rodriguez def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez by TKO (strikes), 2:42, Round 2
Bryan Battle def. AJ Fletcher by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:32, Round 2
Charles Jourdain def. Ricardo Ramos (guillotine choke), 3:12, Round 1
Preliminary Card
Miles Johns def. Dan Argueta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Tim Means def. Andre Fialho by TKO (strikes), 1:15, Round 3
Cody Brundage def. Jacob Malkoun by disqualification (illegal strike), 4:15, Round 1
Mohammed Usman def. Jake Collier by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mizuki def. Hannah Goldy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Montserrat Rendon def. Tamires Vidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
.jpg?w=600 "🚨 Giants Picking 5th and 10th")
