UFC Fight Night 77 Results: Real Winners and Losers at Belfort vs. Henderson 3
UFC traveled back to Brazil for its 77th Fight Night event, and the Sao Paulo crowd was treated to a night full of action.
In the main event, Vitor Belfort knocked Dan Henderson out for a second time.
Belfort connected with a head kick that hurt Henderson, and in classic Belfort fashion he swarmed with phenomenal killer instinct. Henderson's arms went stiff, and referee Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the bout. It was a big win for Belfort, who hopes to move back into title contention.
That wasn't all.
Glover Teixeira got a second straight victory when he got the TKO stoppage over Patrick Cummins in the second round. The former light heavyweight contender ends his 2015 campaign by putting his name back in the mix at 205 pounds.
Hot prospect Thomas Almeida continued his ascent up the ranks with a knockout of Anthony Birchak in the first round. The highlight-reel KO only makes Almeida all the more palatable to fans as he inches closer to title contention at 135 pounds.
There were plenty of finishes to enjoy, and a few back-and-forth scraps entertained for 15 minutes. But who walked out of Sao Paulo as the real winners and losers? That's what I am here to break down for you.
Winner: Thiago Tavares
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Tavares has been in the UFC since 2007 but has never made much of a splash. He has never strung together more than two straight wins during his time in the world's No. 1 MMA promotion.
At UFC Fight Night 77, in front of a friendly Brazilian crowd, he got one of the biggest victories of his career.
Tavares went for the guillotine choke when Clay Guida shot in for the takedown. Guida fought briefly, but Tavares had it in tight. He got the tap in just 39 seconds for the fastest victory in his entire career.
A quick, impressive win over a Top 15-ranked opponent will surely move Tavares into position for bigger bouts in 2016. This was a huge win for the Brazilian.
Loser: Clay Guida
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Often, I don't devote a slide to a loser on the prelims because those fights aren't that important or no one had any expectations for the fighter. That's not the case for Guida, though.
Guida has been a mainstay in the UFC, and he entered as the No. 11-ranked featherweight contender. He was coming off a win over Robbie Peralta and fighting someone who looked to be a good stylistic matchup for him. And he tapped out in less a minute.
What's worse is that he failed to defend the choke properly. As Kenny Florian noted during the broadcast, Guida panicked and tried to defend to the wrong side. Guida is highly experienced and has trained at some the most elite gyms across the country. He shouldn't have made such a mistake right out of the gate.
This loss is a massive setback for the fan favorite. Where does he go from here? He will be 34 next month, and his athletic prime is most likely behind him. The featherweight division is deep, talented and young. The future isn't looking too bright for Guida, and Saturday's loss was damaging to his lofty hopes of getting back into title contention.
Loser: Bruce Buffer
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The man has to read “Beastin' 25/8” every single time Corey Anderson fights. That's terrible.
And he had to do it twice on Saturday because Anderson won! The horror!
Nothing but respect for you, Mr. Buffer.
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Losers: Fabio Maldonado and Corey Anderson
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There was very little chance these two were going to put on an amazing fight. The matchup just screamed “15-minute snoozer” from the get-go. I suspect both Fox Sports 1 and the UFC put it as the opening bout for that very reason.
In the heat of the College Football Playoff race, the UFC was going up against LSU vs. Alabama, Ohio State football, a crazy Michigan State vs. Nebraska finish and several other important and compelling football games. So, why not start the main card with a fight barely anyone cares about while those games wrap up?
It's smart, and it worked for the network and promotion—just not for the two fighters involved in the underwhelming and forgotten battle.
Winner: Rashid Magomedov
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Magomedov entered the fight 19-1 with an 11-fight win streak. You can tack on another in the win column.
The bout wasn't all that exciting or memorable, but the UFC brass saw a top-tier fighter compete. The Dagestan native put together a complete performance over a dangerous opponent in Gilbert Burns and didn't have much issue.
The victory will put him in a position to be ranked and to have big-time Top 15 fights. Magomedov is a fighter no one in this division will want to fight. He's technically proficient while fighting very smart. His newly minted 12-fight win streak could get a lot bigger in the future.
Winner: Thomas Almeida
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He is the No. 8-ranked contender at 135 pounds and showed why in Sao Paulo.
Almeida is pure violence in the cage. And he's only 24 years old! Amazing.
An undefeated 20-0 record with three straight knockouts puts him in prime position to be a title contender. There are still issues with his game, but nothing that would detract from making him a title contender in the near future. In fact, his flaws would help sell a more exciting fight.
Almeida does get hit. Anthony Birchak got his attention with some hard strikes before he got pasted in the later part of the first round. Almeida will want to clean that up before taking on the elite of the division, but from the UFC's perspective, his aggression will force those more methodical fighters ahead of him into more entertaining fights.
2016 should be a lot of fun with the possible matchmaking options the UFC has for Almeida. Be prepared for a title eliminator full of fireworks no matter who meets him in the coming year.
Loser: Glover Teixeira
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Yes, he won the fight. Yes, he did so by knockout. No, he wasn't in much danger. So, how does he wind up as a loser here?
Teixeira didn't look good physically. Cummins, who admittedly is a good wrestler, took him down with ease several times without much resistance. Even in the second round while hurt, he put Teixeira on his butt even though he couldn't fully complete the takedown. That's not a good sign when the division includes Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader at the top.
If you were hoping to see Teixeira return to a state of being a believable contender, you likely left UFC Fight Night 77 with those hopes dashed. He is slow. His saving grace is that light heavyweight is a wafer-thin division without many intriguing contenders, but he isn't a threat to wear gold.
Is that harsh? Perhaps, but it's the truth.
I do not see how anyone can buy into Teixeira as a legitimate threat at the top end of the division. Knockout power alone is not going to get it done when he's lacking hand speed. Teixeira may as well join Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson on the senior circuit and only take fun stand-up fights, because he'll drown in the deep waters.
Losers: Dan Henderson and His Fans
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He's 45 years old, and he is just taking a beating inside the cage. No one can feel good about that.
The head kick that floored him would have dropped almost anyone, and Belfort followed up nicely. Even still, this is getting hard to watch. Henderson is not an elite fighter anymore. He is one-dimensional, slow and just getting his brain scrambled.
He is never going to make another run. That's why he lost, but his fans lose because they have to continually watch him take the damage. It's borderline disturbing. As fans of combat sports, we love knockouts and violence to an extent, but witnessing an aging fighter take unnecessary blows is not why we love this sport.
We can only hope Henderson rides off into the sunset soon, but he has said he will fight the final bout left on his contract. We don't need to keep watching this kind of bludgeoning.
Winner: Vitor Belfort
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Belfort's body sure looks different, but he can still turn off the lights in the blink of an eye. That has to account for something.
Will he work his way back up the middleweight ladder? That's a difficult question to answer. The top of the division is stacked, but it is not as if it is loaded with young, talented, vicious monsters. Both Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza are long in the tooth as well. Belfort has a small window where he can get one more crack at gold.
There may be some naysayers out there commenting that this was because he was fighting Henderson, but that kick was fast and hard. That was elite-level striking.
Belfort shut up a lot of critics on Saturday evening. He showed that he isn't quite done yet and that there is a possibility he can return to the top of the division. That is an interesting proposition as we enter 2016. The Phenom is still capable of ending anyone's night early with a vicious knockout.
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