The Real Winners and Losers from UFC Fight Nights 53 and 54

UFC Fight Nights 53 and 54 came and went, with 23 fighters now in the win column and 23 in the loss column as a result. But who were the biggest winners and losers on Saturday?

The biggest winner by a mile was Rory MacDonald. Sure, every fight matters for every fighter. For an elite combatant like MacDonald, however, who has long been hovering just shy of title contention while battling off his boss's weird brand of promoting fights by telling everyone how much his fighters stink, a win like this is huge and could secure him a title shot opposite the winner of Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler 2.

The biggest loser is tougher to peg but is almost certainly the UFC's plans for "world domination." Both Fight Nights were built around showcasing international talent, but things did not quite shake out as they had hoped. 

Sure, Canada generally dominated in Halifax with both winners of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations joining MacDonald on the left side of the results. However, Fight Night 53 in Stockholm saw Swedish talent go 1-4, while unreachable markets (for now, at least) like Russia and Poland put on strong showings.

Who else came out as a winner? Who wasn't so lucky? Find out right here!

Real Winner: Russia

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Result

Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ernest Chavez by TKO via punches at 4:21 of Round 1
Mairbek Taisumov def. Marcin Bandel by KO via punch at 1:01 of Round 1

Real Winner

Russia. The Stockholm preliminary card flew right by, in large part thanks to a double shot of Russian talent posting first-round knockout wins. Zubaira Tukhugov toyed with Ernest Chavez standing before finishing him with a devastating combination of punches, and Mairbek Taisumov got back into the win column immediately after by punching Marcin Bandel's face off.

Analysis

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Russians who invaded Sweden, with Gasan Umalatov getting robbed by the judges against Cathal Pendred and Alexander Yakovlev getting slapped around by Nico Musoke. However, the early performances by Tukhugov and Taisumov were legitimately impressive, while the other two fights I discussed in that last sentence have already left my memory. 

While you won't see Tukhugov or Taisumov competing for belts any time soon, Russia remains an interesting (albeit inconsistent) source of talent for the UFC. While it would be premature to say that these guys are destined for big things, an injection of knockout artists in the middle of deep divisions is never a bad thing.

Real Winner: Post-Drug Test Dennis Siver

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Result

Dennis Siver def. Charles Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Real Winner

Post-drug test Dennis Siver. While this was supposed to be a squash match for the German striker, last-minute plug-in Charles Rosa showed himself to be an interesting talent in the featherweight division. While Siver is best known for his devastating kicks, this was a back-and-forth ground battle that had fans "ooh" and "ahh" time and again. While officially Siver won just once on Saturday, his victory was threefold.

Analysis

As stated, Siver was popped for hCG, a drug commonly used at the end of steroid cycles. With this being his return bout from a nine-month suspension, Siver had a lot to prove.

Obviously, he had to prove he was better than Charles Rosa. No matter who a fighter returning from a suspension faces, he always has to deal with naysayers who question to whether or not hr "still has it" after getting clean. Needless to say, Siver did that by getting the win.

He also had to prove that he was still good after nine months out of the cage. While the unknown Rosa was beyond game, Siver put on a strong performance by matching him move-for-move on the ground and flashing his signature power striking, particularly with his third-round spinning kick that nearly broke Rosa in half.

And of course, he had to face the court of public opinion. Fighters like Cris "Cyborg" Justino and Alistair Overeem will likely never live down their past drug test failures. Given the silence about the nature of his suspension at the UFC commentary desk alongside general quiet on Twitter, things are looking quite nice for Siver at this point.

Real Loser: Fight Pass Subscribers

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Result

Nico Musoke def. Alexander Yakovlev by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Real Loser

Fight Pass Subscribers. Another event, another Fight Pass bed-messing. Shortly after the horn announced the end of Siver vs. Rosa, UFC Fight Pass crashed. Again. At this point, it's easy to get fed up with the UFC's for-pay streaming service.

Analysis

Granted, there isn't all that much egg on the UFC's face this time (at least in comparison to when Fight Pass exploded in the middle of the Invicta FC 8 main event), but is this ever going to actually work right?

We're 10 months into Fight Pass' existence. The library remains poorly archived, and the user interface remains a train wreck. Even the live events randomly crash. This kind of stuff was supposed to be hammered out in beta, and it obviously wasn't.

Real Loser: Sweden

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Results

Krzysztof Jotko def. Tor Troeng by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Jan Blachowicz def. Ilir Latifi by TKO via kick and punches at 3:02 of Round 1
Mike Wilkinson def. Niklas Backstrom by KO via punch at 1:02 of Round 1
Max Holloway def. Akira Corassani by TKO via punches at 3:11 of Round 1

Real Loser

Sweden. Alexander Gustafsson became an anchor for Sweden with his strong showing against Jon Jones in 2013, but it was all the prospects who popped up around him that made the Scandinavian nation so intriguing as a hotbed of talent. Many of those prospects fought here, and most of them lost.

Analysis

Early on, random The Ultimate Fighter 17 dude Tor Troeng lost to Krzysztof Jotko and likely punched his ticket back to the European circuit. Not a big deal, really. Troeng was never especially impressive, and that was bound to happen.

Not long after, Niklas Backstrom, one of the supposed hottest up-and-comers at featherweight, stepped into the cage. He was knocked out cold by TUF: The Smashes also-ran Mike Wilkinson. Oh, and Backstrom made something of a fool of himself when he mouthed off on the microphone during Wilkinson's post-fight interview.

Then Ilir Latifi jumped in. With another win, he could have asserted himself as a Top 10 205-pound fighter and possible title contender for 2015. Jan Blachowicz kicked his sternum clean out.

To top it all off, things went from bad to worse to terrible for Akira Corassani. He started his UFC career with three straight wins but was chopped down by Dustin Poirier earlier this year. While he was set to potentially rebound at the expense of fan favorite Chan-Sung Jung, he was instead handed his second consecutive loss by Max Holloway.

Not a good night for Sweden.

Real Winner: Poland

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Results

Krzysztof Jotko def. Tor Troeng by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Jan Blachowicz def. Ilir Latifi by TKO via kick and punches at 3:02 of Round 1

Real Winner

Poland. Sweden lost badly Saturday, and two of those losses were handed down by interesting Polish talents. Krzysztof Jotko punched Tor Troeng's face and (probably) ticket out of the UFC. Jan Blachowicz, meanwhile, upset surging Alexander Gustafsson training partner Ilir Latifi. That combination of wins reopens the door for a potential push into KSW's stomping ground.

Analysis

The UFC quietly cancelled an event planned for Lodz, Poland earlier this year. While the reason remains unclear, the fact that Poland had pretty much no homegrown talent to speak of didn't help. 

There is no doubt that Poland is home to some great fighters. KSW's Mamed Khalidov and Damian Grabowski are both possible top-10 fighters in their respective weight classes. Not only that, but there's a very real possibility Bellator will have a Polish lightweight champion by year's end in Marcin Held.

The UFC was left out in the cold in that regard...but no longer. Blachowicz added a huge scalp to his shelf by beating Latifi. Jotko earned a solid win by dominating Troeng. Add to that serviceable lightweight Piotr Hallmann and potential strawweight contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk and you have a solid core of Polish talent to build around.

A show brimming with hard-to-pronounce names may be in the UFC's near future.

Real Loser: The Gunnar Nelson Hype Train

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Result

Rick Story def. Gunnar Nelson by split decision (47-48, 49-46, 50-44)

Real Loser

The Gunnar Nelson hype train. Nelson was one of the most hyped UFC prospects in recent years. While that "was" lasted up until about an hour ahead of this writing, it feels like an eternity ago. Rick Story and Nelson combined for one of the worst main events of a major MMA card in recent history, putting on the MMA equivalent of a New England high school football game.

Analysis

Story hasn't been ranked among the upper echelon of the welterweight division since 2011, and for good reason. He is a unique sort of gatekeeper for the division. While fellow fighters who share the moniker like Michael Bisping and Ryan Bader own wins over respected names, Story almost exclusively filters out the chaffiest of chaff (with the notable exception of his 2010 win over pre-power punching Johny Hendricks).

Keep in mind, this is the guy whose title hopes were emphatically dashed by Charlie Brenneman and whose biggest win since 2012 came over...Brian Ebersole, I guess?

And he just beat Nelson. Badly.

That's a very bad look for the Icelandic grappler and places a clear cap on his potential. Nelson became flummoxed in the later rounds as Story stopped walking into his straight right, and the Icelander failed miserably at getting the veteran to the ground. Because of that, it is hard to view Nelson as anything other than yet another example of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu chess master who is limited in any situation that isn't a dominant position on the mat.

Real Loser: Ireland

ANDERS WIKLUND/Associated Press

Results

Cathal Pendred def. Gusan Umalatov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Chris Kelades def. Patrick Holohan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Real Loser

Ireland. Two Irish hopefuls fought on opposite ends of the Atlantic Ocean, but both failed to impress. Cathal Pendred was on the better end of a controversial split decision, edging out Russian Gusan Umalatov at Fight Night 53 in Stockholm. Hours later, Patrick Holohan was upset by short notice fill-in Chris Kelades in Halifax.

Analysis

This is the last "this country won" or "this country lost" slide. Promise!

Conor McGregor remains one of the hottest names in the business, but the UFC needs more than one man to cement its place in Ireland for the long term. While Pendred is little more than a stopgap, Holohan was a fighter the UFC was likely hoping would be able to win emphatically here, which would set him up for a possible title fight with one more win. Alas, both of them are sent back to the drawing board, and the UFC is left with little to work with in the long term for its next foray into Ireland.

Real Loser: Anthony Njokuani Fans

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Result

Daron Cruickshank def. Anthony Njokuani by unanimous decision

Real Loser

Anthony Njokuani fans. WEC staple Njokuani came up short against TUF15 alumnus Daron Cruickshank. While, on paper, this fight was supposed to be a high-flying, fast-paced slobberknocker, the Nigerian's tentative approach severely limited the fun factor here. In the end, it didn't help, as Cruickshank still managed to outland him and take him down repeatedly en route to a handy dandy win. 

Analysis

"

There's healthy fear of the takedown and then there is this. RT @brentbrookhouse I like FUN Njokuani. THIS version just sucks

— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) October 5, 2014"

This pretty much says it all. Njokuani had lingered despite dancing at or below .500 throughout his UFC career in large part because he was so fun. With the fun times seemingly over, he will almost certainly wind up with World Series of Fighting or Bellator.

Real Loser: UFC's Chinese Foothold

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Result

Nordine Taleb def. Li Jingliang by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Real Loser

UFC's Chinese foothold. In one of those fights that makes you realize how little the "UFC-caliber" moniker means these days, two-time TUF washout Nordine Taleb narrowly edged out the UFC's foothold in China, Li Jingliang. It was an unimpressive battle of dueling clinch strikes and takedowns that yielded no true winner, but the biggest loser involved was not one of the fighters.

Analysis

China remains the market the UFC wants to break into, but the talent just isn't there. Everyone involved with TUF: China looks genuinely terrible. Worse yet, the random free agents who were meant to cement their presence in the region like Hailin Ao and Jumabieke Tuerxun have all proved to be, ahem, less than good.

Li Jingliang is basically the only Chinese fighter on the UFC roster who has had anything resembling UFC success, and while a win here would have meant very little in reality, it would have been something to give the promotion hope. Alas, here we are. Jingliang now joins almost every one of his countrymen in the loss column.

Real WInner: TUF Nations' Credibility

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Results

Chad Laprise def. Yosdenis Cedeno by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Elias Theodorou def. Bruno Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Real Winner

TUF: Nations' credibility. While few tuned in for the showdown between Canada and Australia on TUF: Nations, the season's two winners, Chad Laprise and Elias Theodorou, kicked off their post-show careers in style. Laprise handily defeated Yosdenis Cedeno, while Theodorou took a fairly clear-cut 29-28 decision at the expense of Bruno Santos.

Analysis

From a ratings and talent perspective, TUF: Nations was not an especially great success. That is of no concern for Laprise and Theodorou, however. The two of them just need to show up and win, and they did just that. Look for both to become staples on Canadian cards and for Theodorou to possibly get star treatment in the near future.

Real Winner: Raphael Assuncao

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Result

Raphael Assuncao def. Bryan Caraway by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Real Winner

Raphael Assuncao. While it was not particularly glamorous or impressive, Assuncao defeated Bryan Caraway without incident. He was never really in trouble during the fight, handily outpointing the grappler. While in most cases a seven-fight winning streak would equate to title contention, Assuncao feels like he is miles away from having the opportunity to beat T.J. Dillashaw...again.

Analysis

Assuncao's win over Dillashaw has been actively buried by the UFC. Even when the commentators paid it lip service to that inconvenient truth, Assuncao was labeled as "the last man to beat Dillashaw" rather than "the guy who beat Dillashaw less than a year ago."

Unfortunately, the UFC seems dead-set on giving Dominick Cruz the next crack at Dillashaw. As such, Assuncao is almost certainly left on the outside looking in when it comes to the bantamweight title picture.

Real Loser: Long Layoffs

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Result

Rory MacDonald def. Tarec Saffiedine by TKO via punches at 1:28 of Round 3

Real Loser

Long layoffs. After a grueling 10-month wait, Tarec Saffiedine returned to the Octagon. It did not go well for him.

In a technical striking affair, Saffiedine kept MacDonald at range with his brutal leg kicks and stiff jab. While MacDonald seemed to get less and less active as the fight went on, he was evidently just running calculations in his robot-like brain. He identified the Belgian's jab getting a bit lazy as the fight went on, and once the target was locked, he exploded into a devastating overhand right into left uppercut combination in highlight-reel fashion.

Analysis

Long layoffs have been the story of Saffiedine's career thus far. After taking the Strikeforce belt from Nate Marquardt in January 2013, he spent the rest of the year recovering from injuries. After he returned to face Hyun-Gyu Lim in January 2014, he once again wind up landed on the shelf due to injury. He would stay there for another 10 months, and, well, you saw how that worked out.

The loss moves Saffiedine from dark-horse title contention to the middle of the pack. Not a great turn for an undeniably talented fighter.

Full Results

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Fight Night 53 Results (h/t BloodyElbow.com's Mookie Alexander)

Main Card 

• Rick Story def. Gunnar Nelson via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 50-44)
• Max Holloway def. Akira Corassani via TKO (punches) at 3:11 of Round 1
• Jan Blachowicz def. Ilir Latifi via TKO (body kick and punches) at 1:58 of Round 1
• Mike Wilkinson def. Niklas Backstrom via KO (punches) at 1:19 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

• Magnus Cedenblad def. Scott Askham via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nico Musoke def. Alexander Yakovlev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Dennis Siver def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Cathal Pendred def. Gasan Umalatov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Krzysztof Jotko def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• Mairbek Taisumov def. Marcin Bandel via TKO (punches) at 1:01 of Round 1
• Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ernest Chavez via TKO (punches) at 4:21 of Round 1

UFC Fight Night 54 Results

Main Card

• Rory MacDonald defeats Tarec Saffiedine by TKO at 1:28 of Round 3
• Raphael Assuncao defeats Bryan Caraway by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Chad Laprise defeats Yosdenis Cedeno by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Elias Theodorou defeats Bruno Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nordine Taleb defeats Li Jingliang by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
• Mitch Gagnon defeats Roman Salazar via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:06 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

• Daron Cruickshank defeats Anthony Njokuani by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeats Jake Lindsey via submission (inverted triangle choke) at 3:22 of Round 2
• Paul Felder defeats Jason Saggo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Chris Kelades defeats Patrick Holohan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Albert Tumenov defeats Matt Dwyer by TKO 1:03 of Round 1
• Pedro Munhoz defeats Jerrod Sanders via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:39 of Round 1