UFC 186 Results: The Real Winners and Losers
UFC 186 suffered a lot of criticism in the lead-up to the event, but once Saturday came, the fighters who were left on the card delivered.
Two high-ranked women's bouts helped bolster the undercard. No. 6-ranked strawweight Randa Markos defeated No. 10-ranked Aisling Daly in the opening fight of the night, and No. 3-ranked bantamweight Alexis Davis finished No. 5-ranked Sarah Kaufman a little later in the evening.
On the main card, we were treated to the comeuppance of a top-tier prospect, the return of a legend and the championship statement of Mighty Mouse.
Demetrious Johnson completed the latest finish in UFC history at four minutes, 59 seconds of the fifth round when he got the armbar on Kyoji Horiguchi. Just another title defense for the flyweight kingpin.
UFC 186 delivered on all fronts. It was a fun card, but there were winners and losers. Real winners and losers.
Here is your look at UFC 186's real winners and losers coming out of Montreal.
Winner: Randa Markos
1 of 10
The No. 6-ranked strawweight came through with another exciting performance. Randa Markos is developing into a real threat in this division.
Markos has fast hands and a very good ground game. She is a tough out for anyone in this division. Beating a veteran like Aisling Daly makes a real statement at this weight. There are still some holes in her game, but overall she is one of the more complete fighters in the division.
Because she was coming off a loss to Jessica Penne, she won't be in the title talk right now, but that's a good thing. She is not ready for that level of fight just yet. But she is not far off. With another win or two, don't be surprised to see Markos' name in the challenger spot.
UFC 186 was a great way for Markos to get in the win column.
Loser: Aisling Daly
2 of 10
Daly is a loser for one big reason: If she had won, she very well could have challenged for the title.
She was the lower-ranked fighter, but the way the division currently is, she very well could have put her name into that discussion. Few fighters have winning streaks and top-10 victories, and Daly's nationality would have certainly assisted. A Daly-Jedrzejczyk fight would play very well in eastern Europe.
A win over the No. 6-ranked contender would have immediately put Daly in contention.
She was close to winning this fight, but poor takedown attempts allowed Markos to fall right into mount. Daly had opportunities to take control of this fight but put herself in bad positions.
The loss will see her fall out of the top 10, and she will likely never become a serious title contender again. A huge missed opportunity for Daly.
Winner: Olivier Aubin-Mercier
3 of 10
Olivier Aubin-Mercier lost his welterweight final on The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia, but since dropping to lightweight, he is 2-0 in the UFC.
Aubin-Mercier is only 26 years old, and this performance showed he is a bright prospect in the 155-pound division.
David Michaud was a good matchup for where Aubin-Mercier is in his career. The matchup pushed Aubin-Mercier and allowed him to display his skill set. That is good matchmaking from the UFC.
Aubin-Mercier was constantly looking to finish the fight, and once he found the rear-naked choke, he tapped Michaud out. That is what fans and the UFC want to see out of its fighters. Aubin-Mercier could have played it conservative with a two-round lead, but he did not.
The streak of prospects shining in the UFC continues with Aubin-Mercier's performance.
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Losers: Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman
4 of 10
This was a fight featuring two top-five fighters. Because of their performances against Ronda Rousey, it was unlikely a win would give them a title shot, but undoubtedly a strong showing would put them in a title eliminator.
Kaufman was touching up Davis over and over for the better part of the first round. It was a classic Kaufman fight. Then she played too long in the grappling exchanges with Davis. She was taken down and submitted.
And she takes an extra loss because of the referee's failure to see the tap as well as ignoring her screams. We will find out in the post-fight medical reports if she sustained damage to her arm.
For Davis, this was a loss because she didn't look improved at all in this fight. She took a beating until she got the win. That is the most important part for her, but if she wanted to make a statement, she failed. She did not look the part of a top-five-level fighter.
This fight did nothing to further their spot in the division. A complete failure for both women.
Loser: Joe Riggs
5 of 10
Joe Riggs' career resurgence got him back to the UFC, but his showings since have left a lot to be desired.
In this fight, he landed a few good strikes and got Patrick Cote on the mat. But on the ground, where he should have had a decided advantage, Cote was able to win multiple scrambles. Riggs could not control Cote on the canvas or do much of any offense because of it.
Will the UFC keep him around? Perhaps. His name isn't what it once was, but he can still elevate a lower-level prospect.
If the UFC cuts Riggs, it won't be a loss for the organization or division. He just isn't worth it anymore. And with his UFC credentials, he may even be able to make more money on the regional circuit.
Winner: Thomas Almeida
6 of 10
Thomas Almeida entered with a lot of fanfare and backed it up in the opening contest on pay-per-view.
Almeida torched Yves Jabouin against the fence. Accuracy and power. The referee saved Jabouin against the cage, and Jabouin did not put up a protest. He knew he was done.
Almeida is one of the brightest prospects in the UFC today. This could have been his coming-out party, but the woes of UFC 186 likely saw a significant portion of PPV buyers leave this card unpurchased. That is unfortunate for him.
Regardless, the UFC will be happy about his performance.
Almeida could see his stock dramatically increase in the bantamweight division following this performance. And he looked every bit ready at UFC 186. The kid has it.
Winner: John Makdessi
7 of 10
Shane Campbell entered with a wealth of striking credentials behind him and a reach advantage, and John Makdessi pasted him.
Makdessi returned after a lengthy absence and looked great.
No one is going to confuse Makdessi for a title contender. He just doesn't have enough tools in his game to be a legitimate threat in this division, but he is very entertaining, which counts for a lot. Also, he will challenge anyone in the stand-up department.
A first-round TKO showing puts Makdessi back in the win column and should give him new life in the UFC.
The UFC should be smart with his next opponent. Makdessi is a great talent to have on the roster to put against other strikers or up-and-coming fighters who need their striking tested. He is valuable. UFC 186's TKO win makes him even more so.
Winners: Michael Bisping and C.B. Dollaway
8 of 10
This was a fantastic fight, and both men came away winners in the eyes of the fans.
It was a tightly contested battle. Dollaway's left hook found the mark again and again, and Bisping's volume gave Dollaway fits. In the end, Bisping nabbed the decision.
Dollaway will learn a lot from this fight. He needs to continue building his cardio, and he will notice he started using only one tool once he got tired. He will return to the cage a much more dynamic fighter because of this fight. It was an invaluable learning experience.
For Bisping, he needed this win to keep his relevance in the division.
This fight was worthy of a bonus check. It was fun and technical; these are the types of fights we expect at the UFC level. Bisping and Dollaway delivered in a big way and should be thanked in their bank accounts.
Winner: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
9 of 10
This was not the fight fans wanted to see, but it was a fight that saw Rampage return better than when he left the company.
It has been a long time since we have seen Jackson's muay thai, but on Saturday he pulled it out of the closet and dusted it off. And it worked, giving him the edge to beat Fabio Maldonado in a stand-up affair.
Maldonado is a solid boxer who could have peppered Jackson if it was just boxing vs. boxing, but the addition of kicks and knees made Maldonado more hesitant than he normally would be. He had to defend those extra strikes. Jackson's game plan was money.
Jackson still needs to add in more cardio, but if he continues to utilize other areas of his striking arsenal, he will return to big-time fights in this thin light-heavyweight division.
This is the Rampage we have been wanting to see for some time. Let's hope the legal battle doesn't keep him out of the cage for an extended period of time. He needs to be active.
Winner: Demetrious Johnson
10 of 10
Wow. Just, wow.
Kyoji Horiguchi showed Demetrious Johnson a few wrinkles in the first two rounds, but he still won them cleanly. After that, Johnson cruised. He had him figured out.
There is no fighter in MMA today who does what Mighty Mouse does. He is that good. Level changes at the blink of an eye, incredibly diverse striking and an always-threatening ground game. Not to mention an endless desire to finish.
At 4:59 of the fifth and final round, Johnson got an armbar to make Horiguchi tap. He could have easily just maintained top position and got the decision victory, but he took the arm and finished. Johnson is one of the best—if not the best—pound-for-pound fighter on the planet today.
That was a championship performance. Dominating and finishing.
We can only hope fans across the world start tuning in and caring about his fights. He is special. We don't have too many special fighters in this sport, and he shouldn't be taken for granted.
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