UFC Fight Night 54 Results: Winners, Scorecards from MacDonald vs. Saffiedine

Rory MacDonald ended a bland night of fights in Halifax with a bang. In the third round of his UFC Fight Night 54 main event bout against Tarec Saffiedine, MacDonald landed a huge left uppercut that dropped his opponent. Saffiedine fell to his knees, and MacDonald pounced until referee Herb Dean stepped in to halt the assault.

After the win, MacDonald showed us an awkward chest-pounding demonstration. He'll have to work on his celebrations, but that's about the only thing that was flawed in his performance.

"

The celebration after he wins is the best part of a Rory MacDonald fight. He studies tape just to mimic the human emotion of happiness.

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

The victory should earn him a title shot.

In the co-feature, Raphael Assuncao picked the one-dimensional Bryan Caraway apart with a strong stand-up game and sound takedown defense. The Brazilian earned a unanimous-decision win for his efforts. Caraway tried desperately to get the fight to the mat, but Assuncao was having none of it.

Even when Caraway successfully landed takedowns, Assuncao easily returned to his feet. The win was his seventh straight, and he is moving ever so close to a shot at UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw.

Assuncao is the last man to defeat Dillashaw, so a rematch would make sense. Dillashaw may have to take down Dominick Cruz before he can avenge a loss against Assuncao or be beaten again.

Here's a look at all of the results from Saturday night's card.

• Rory MacDonald defeats Tarec Saffiedine by third-round TKO
• 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 the first round
• 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 the second round
• 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 the first round
• Pedro Munhoz defeats Jerrod Sanders via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:39 of the first round

Biggest Winners

Assuncao

USA TODAY Sports

In a crowded division filled with talented fighters, the best thing a contender can do is to keep winning. That's exactly what Assuncao is doing. 

His winning streak is the third-longest in the UFC, and he can't be ignored for much longer. There are sexier matchups for Dillashaw against the likes of Renan Barao and Cruz, but if Assuncao is made to fight more than one more time before obtaining a title shot, it will be a travesty.

MacDonald

USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps the only reason MacDonald hasn't gotten a title shot yet is because he has lost to two perennial contenders (Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler).

The 25-year-old now has three wins in a row over ranked opponents in Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and now Saffiedine. He's positioned himself as the next man in line for the winner of Johny Hendricks and Lawler's rematch at UFC 181 in December.

MacDonald's game and confidence are at an all-time high. There might not be a more dangerous fighter in the sport right now.

Biggest Losers

Anthony Njokuani

At one point, Njokuani seemed like a future star with his dynamic striking and excellent length. Now, he just looks like a fighter who will never pan out.

On Saturday, he lost a unanimous decision to a good fighter in Daron Cruickshank, but the way he lost was most disconcerting.

The match seemed like a potentially exciting stand-up bout, but Njokuani was tentative and subsequently outworked by a hungrier opponent.

Saffiedine

We saw Saffiedine's ceiling as a fighter on Saturday, and that's always humbling. He punched a little and leg kicked a lot, but not once did it appear as though he could beat MacDonald.

It seemed like only a matter of time before MacDonald would crack him or gain control on the mat.

Because Saffiedine doesn't have any devastating attacks or an aggressive ground game, he simply tries to chip away at his opponent to win rounds.

That approach won't work against multifaceted and elite fighters. Saffiedine found that out the hard way on Saturday night.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.