UFC Fight Night 80 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Las Vegas
The appetizer is served.
And it's not some bush-league appetizer, either. No spinach and artichoke dip here. Not a raw bell pepper in sight.
No, the first course of perhaps the best tripleheader in UFC history—culminating Saturday with the scrumdiddlyumptious UFC 194—began Thursday night with UFC Fight Night 80, which went down from Las Vegas and was available to the American audience only through Fight Pass, the UFC's subscription streaming service.
Headlining the action were two fighters UFC leaders have tabbed as future stars.
In the main event, California blonde Paige VanZant squared off with Rose Namajunas—a short-notice replacement who definitely stood a chance to beat her.
Earlier on the main card, 19-year-old human Ken Doll Sage Northcutt met Cody Pfister. Northcutt is also a pretty good fighter, going 6-of-6 in his young career in pro MMA.
There was plenty of intrigue up and down the full card, and as usual, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 80. Dig in.
Winner: Rose Namajunas
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It's been a long time since I've seen a beating as thorough and prolonged as the one Rose Namajunas put on Paige VanZant in the main event of UFC Fight Night 80.
Pick the phase. On the feet? Namajunas peppered her throughout while taking almost no damage in return.
Wrestling? According to FightMetric, VanZant missed on both her takedown attempts; Namajunas landed eight of 10.
On the ground? Namajunas took VanZant's back with ease over and over, pounding her with strikes and seemingly always latching on one submission hold after another.
To her credit, VanZant powered or gutted out of all of them—including an armbar attempt that appeared to hyperextend her elbow—until a rear-naked choke finally sealed the deal halfway through the fifth and final round.
Newly shorn of her locks, Namajunas is a new fighter. She was always aggressive and well-rounded, but she showed another gear Thursday night. She was relentless with her opponent, even when it was clear she didn't need to be. It was a thuggish display from "Thug" Rose. Who's next?
Loser: Paige VanZant
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Can you praise VanZant for her toughness? Sure. Go ahead. Did she earn new fans for her grit, even as Namajunas pawed her around the cage? I imagine so.
VanZant does indeed deserve credit for persevering through—almost needlessly—a painful and extended clinic.
But there's not enough toughness in the world for you to be considered a winner after you take a whooping like that.
Going back to FightMetric for a moment, Namajunas landed 57 of 100 significant strikes. VanZant landed 10 of 50. She did not attempt a submission. Her guard was passed 14 times. And I already mentioned the two failed takedown attempts.
You get the idea. This was awful. And VanZant's approach to fighting—rush forward, rag-doll opponent—was soundly exposed by a skilled fighter in Namajunas.
The toughness narrative is easy to highlight. I'm sure UFC bigwigs, who have, as mentioned, identified VanZant as a future star in the company, will play that angle to the hilt.
But let's call this what it was: a romp. Observers can think whatever they want, but if VanZant takes anything good out of this fight, it means she didn't learn the correct lesson.
Winner: Sage Northcutt
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OK, Sage. Very well. You're a winner, young man.
A minus-800 favorite in his fight with Cody Pfister, Northcutt was outwrestled for much of the first round. Pfister hit a takedown and worked top position for quite a while. Northcutt did little more than tie up Pfister's arms in response.
As the two writhed around on the mat like amorous earthworms, referee Mark Smith called for a stand-up that reset the action with the two men on the feet, effectively springing Northcutt from Pfister's top-control trap. The two men were not exactly putting on a Metamoris clinic, but action was undoubtedly occurring. It was a strange call by the ref.
In the second round, Pfister rushed in for another takedown attempt, but this time Northcutt was ready with a guillotine choke. Ballgame.
It wasn't pretty, but I suppose the W is what matters. The train rolls on undisturbed on its tracks. For now.
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Winner: Aljamain Sterling
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Aljamain Sterling might be the next great bantamweight in MMA. He also might be the next big fighter to test the suddenly burgeoning MMA free-agent market.
If the latter is true, this super-prospect set himself up for a good payday Thursday with his second-round chokeout of Johnny Eduardo.
Serious fans know Eduardo as a dangerous striker. He's the striking coach at Nova Uniao, the camp of Jose Aldo, Renan Barao and people like that. Eduardo was certainly the aggressor in that area, but that wasn't enough. Sterling took his man down with ease and regularity and eventually found a guillotine choke to close it out.
It was the last bout on Sterling's contract with the UFC. To add intrigue, Sterling has publicly criticized the UFC for various things, including not giving him enough fights to pay the proverbial bills. The UFC really doesn't like being criticized. Maybe that's why he found himself in the middle of the undercard of a Fight Pass event.
So, yeah, a lot of chips were on the table Thursday night. Perhaps that's why Sterling said afterward, according to MMA reporter Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting: "I had more nerves tonight then I’ve had in my entire career. ... I’m so happy with the win and I’m ready to climb the ladder. That belt is the goal and I’ll keep fighting to get there."
Which belt might be the question. His ability to reach that height is not in doubt.
Loser: Kevin Casey's Eye
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That has to hurt on multiple levels.
Kevin Casey and Antonio Carlos Junior both trained for this fight for weeks, if not months. Barely 10 seconds into the contest, an accidental eye poke ended the proceedings.
The problem with the eye poke is that it was very bad. I mean it really got up in there. You see the photo; Casey's eye was trying to leave his face. That's how bad it hurt.
In all seriousness, here's hoping Casey is OK. Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweeted that Casey may have been "transported to the hospital" for treatment after the fight. And it was definitely the right call for the referee to stop the fight, given the extent of the injury. It's hard to play the hero when you can't see the enemy.
But, man, that eye.
UFC Fight Night 80 Full Card Results
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Main Card
- Rose Namajunas def. Paige VanZant by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:25, Rd. 5
- Michael Chiesa def. Jim Miller by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:57, Rd. 2
- Sage Northcutt def. Cody Pfister by submission (guillotine choke), 0:41, Rd. 2
- Thiago Santos def. Elias Theodorou by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
- Tim Means def. John Howard by KO, 0:21, Rd. 2
- Sergio Moraes def. Omari Akhmedov by TKO, 2:18, Rd. 3
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Kevin Casey ruled No Contest (accidental eye poke)
- Aljamain Sterling def. Johnny Eduardo by submission (guillotine choke), 4:18, Rd. 2
- Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Andreas Stahl by TKO, 4:25, Rd. 1
- Danny Roberts def. Nathan Coy by technical submission (triangle choke), 2:46, Rd. 1
- Zubaira Tukhugov def. Phillipe Nover by split decision
- Kailin Curran def. Emily Kagan by submission (rear-naked choke) 4:13, Rd. 2
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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