UFC Fight Night 74 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Saskatoon
Fun fights were made for Saskatoon.
It may come off as a backhanded compliment, and while it's true that UFC Fight Night 74 was not rife with high-stakes fights or top-ranked fighters, the card was studded with appetizing competitors and competitions for hardcore fans and action junkies.
The main event was the exception, with Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira battling to determine the next bona fide contender in the featherweight division.
Outside of that, plenty of prospects, high-octane fighters and hometown heroes (Patrick Cote, anyone?) made the card interesting, at least on paper.
So how did it all unfold on this rare Sunday card, taking place from the largest city in Saskatchewan, up there in the Great White North? As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 74.
Per usual, full results are available on the final slide.
Loser: Max Holloway
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It was Max Holloway's first main event.
The Hawaiian featherweight, who is only 23 years old, seems to get better every time he fights. His kickboxing combinations have always been sharp and diverse, but he has slowly added other components to his game. Proficiency in the clinch, for example, or takedown defense.
It's somewhat unfortunate that he didn't get much of a chance to showcase those skills Sunday night.
After driving through on a takedown and returning to his feet, Holloway's opponent, Charles Oliveira, waved Holloway off. Doctors rushed in to attend to Oliveira, working on him for extended minutes in front of a silent crowd. It was ruled a TKO win for Holloway.
Credit Holloway for the win, but, you know, he didn't really do anything. It was just one of those freak things that isn't anybody's fault, but darned if it wasn't anticlimactic for all involved.
"Everybody send your prayers to Charles, you know?" said Holloway to broadcaster Jon Anik in the cage as medical professionals continued to work on Oliveira after the fight. "It's a part of the game and it's kind of sad to see that happen. This is how we make a living, you know?"
Holloway called for a bout with Frankie Edgar after the fight, which seemed a little strange. How about a rematch with Oliveira, given that it was a freak injury, and really nothing whatsoever that Holloway did, that ended this bout?
In the meantime, though Holloway won his seventh straight, there really weren't any winners in this one. And this may have taken some of the steam out of Holloway's sails.
Loser: Erick Silva
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In the evening's co-main event, welterweight Neil Magny fought for the second time in August. The first was a rather dominant decision loss to Demian Maia. This one went a little more his way.
Magny essentially controlled the bout from horn to horn. Credit to Magny for staying ready and winning in every phase.
At the same time, one has to throw some shade on Erick Silva, who looked tired before he was even introduced.
When Silva wasn't acting sluggish or looking up at the clock to see how much time was left, he was throwing wild spinning attacks that never seemed to connect. He managed to land a few takedowns, but was never able to do much in the way of advancing, or even holding his position once the action hit the mat.
Silva was also noticeably slower and doughier than he has been in years past.
Silva has at times been hailed as a fighter with high potential. At age 31, he has yet to put it all together on a consistent basis. This might have been the worst effort of his career.
Winner: Patrick Cote
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Patrick Cote and Josh Burkman have a combined 71 pro fights and 70 years of living between them. So you knew that when these two veterans got in the cage Sunday they were going to do a bunch of wily, grizzly veteran things.
Neither man had ever been knocked out in all that time. That changed in the third round when Cote put a hellacious right hand on Burkman's chin. Burkman fell, and then after what felt like an eternity of ground strikes later, the referee finally called the stoppage.
Cote's brawler spirit is still evident, as is Burkman's tough jaw (he stood up to more than one big shot). What was most impressive about the French-Canadian, though, was his evolution beyond the brawl. He had a good clinch and takedown game Sunday, and he continues to get better at age 35.
Winner: Francisco Trinaldo
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It wasn't just the upset first-round knockout of Chad Laprise. And hey, maybe I'm a mark for the human-interest stuff. But if you weren't touched by Francisco Trinaldo's comments after his win, I don't know what to tell you.
Through a translator, Trinaldo, with tears in his eyes, told Anik that he turns 37 on Monday, and then asked his mother "to throw a party for everyone back home in Brazil. I never had a birthday party, and today I can afford to have one, so I want to throw a party, and the kids can have anything they want."
Trinaldo, who grew up in deep poverty, drew huge applause from the Saskatoon crowd for the sentiment.
Here's hoping Trinaldo gets a post-fight bonus to help him finance that party. Get a little something for yourself, too, old man.
Loser: Olivier Aubin-Mercier
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Three UFC fights at lightweight, three wins for Montreal native Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Sunday night, he notched an easy unanimous-decision win over American Tony Sims.
So why is he a loser? I'm super pumped that you asked.
It was a pretty conservative affair, one he probably could have finished instead of coasting for the full three rounds. But that's not enough in and of itself to be a real loser despite a win.
The tipping point is that OAM set a bit of a dubious UFC record for 15-minute fights. According to a tweet from Michael Carroll, a statistician for official UFC stat keeper FightMetric, "Aubin-Mercier land[ed] just three significant strikes in a decision win, a new record for a 15-minute decision winner."
And if it makes sense, viewers felt each one of those three strikes. Each. Dull. One. Of. Them.
Winner: Canada (Once Again)
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The UFC doesn't seem to look to stage big-ticket events in Canada anymore. This whole event was one big "why?"
The card's nine Canadian fighters—Misha Cirkunov, Shane Campbell, Chris Kelades, Yves Jabouin, Sam Stout, Valerie Letourneau, Aubin-Mercier, Laprise and Cote—fared well, going a highly respectable 6-3 as a group.
And the Saskatonians? Oh, those Saskatonians. As is the wont of the Canadian MMA fanbase, they were in full throat from the word go, cheering on their countrymen and not just generally making a lot of noise, but doing so at the right time.
It was a great debut for Saskatchewan as a host, and a great reminder that Canada has some of the very best MMA fans and fighters on planet Earth.
Loser: Michael Bisping
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Frankie Perez had a pretty good night at UFC Fight Night 74.
Facing a well-known veteran lightweight in Sam Stout, Perez floored him with a perfectly timed straight right, then finished with ground strikes. It was over in less than a minute, and the New Jerseyite had his first win in the Octagon.
But the story took a turn in the post-fight interview with Anik, when Perez threw a curveball by announcing his retirement.
"Me being 26, man, this was my first win in the UFC and my last," Perez said. "I'm done after this, man. I brought my dreams here to come true, and I'm done putting my body through all this."
It's surprising, but with this being the sport that it is, it's also understandable. It might even be a more popular stance down the road, given the persistent concerns over low pay for UFC fighters.
No matter the reasons, it was Perez's decision to make. And not a bad way to go out, right? Right. Unless you're UFC middleweight and Fox analyst Michael Bisping, that is, who couldn't help but drop a massive Bayless in the punch bowl.
"No offense to Frankie Perez, and I don't know the guy...But if he retired after knocking somebody out in his second UFC fight, I would say he hasn't got the cojones to really be in this sport...Let the real men do it," Bisping said after the fight during the Fox Sports 1 studio broadcast.
Well then.
After the fight, MMA Junkie writer Mike Bohn apprised Perez of Bisping's comments. Perez responded by calling Bisping a "clown." That pretty much sums it up.
Or, if you prefer, take it from Bisping's fellow analyst Dominick Cruz, who weighed in on Perez's decision right after the Englishman.
"Sometimes," Cruz said, "it takes more cojones to stop yourself than to keep going."
Winner: The Light Heavyweight Division
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Light heavyweight Rafael Cavalcante has lost three of his last four fights. That's good enough for a No. 14 spot in the UFC's current official rankings.
Such is the rubber fire that is this particular division. So the fresh wave of talent that arrived Sunday night must have been pretty welcome.
In the evening's first bout, Latvian-Canadian Misha Cirkunov lived up to his top-prospect status, dominating Daniel Jolly for a first-round knockout.
Later on the undercard, fan favorite Nikita "The Al Capone" Krylov submitted Marcos Rogerio de Lima with a first-round rear-naked choke. It was a typical Krylov fight: sloppy, powerful, aggressive and over quickly. The Ukrainian is now 19-4 and has only left the first round one time.
Krylov may not challenge for the belt anytime soon, but he's now 3-1 as a light heavyweight. Get this man on a main card!
UFC Fight Night 74 Full Results
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Main Card
Max Holloway def. Charles Oliveira by TKO (injury), 1:39, Rd. 1
Neil Magny def. Erick Silva by split decision
Patrick Cote def. Josh Burkman by TKO, 1:26, Rd. 3
Francisco Trinaldo def. Chad Laprise by KO, 2:43, Rd. 1
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Sims by unanimous decision
Valerie Letourneau def. Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Frankie Perez def. Sam Stout by TKO, 0:54, Rd. 1
Felipe Arantes def. Yves Jabouin by submission (armbar), 4:21, Rd. 1
Nikita Krylov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:29, Rd. 1
Chris Kelades def. Chris Beal by split decision
Shane Campbell def. Elias Silverio by unanimous decision
Misha Cirkunov def. Daniel Jolly by KO, 4:45, Rd. 1
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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