UFC on Fox 19 Results: The Real Winners and Losers of Teixeira vs. Evans
A month ago this looked like a card worthy of network television. Going against boxing on NBC and the NBA playoffs, the UFC and Fox pulled out the big guns.
Top lightweights Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were scheduled to do battle in a fight likely to crown an eventual title challenger. Meanwhile veteran mainstays Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira and Rashad Evans were booked to give the young stars plenty of support among casual fans.
By fight night, however, only one original contest survived. Thanks to injuries and the continuing PED plague, Evans and Teixeira became the main event by default.
The bout, scheduled for five rounds, ended quickly courtesy of a Teixeira left hook. It's a victory that will give him a second chance at title glory and send the 36-year-old Evans home with some important decisions to make about his career and life.
"My focus is always to finish fights," Teixeira said after the fight. "I am here to take care of business and always want things to end as quickly as possible. The fight could have easily gone to five rounds but it didn’t."
The main event, of course, wasn't the only bout on the card. Technically there were 10 other winners and 10 losers. You'll find a complete account on the last slide.
But, as any MMA fan could tell you, official results only mean so much. What follows are the real winners and losers, the men and women who impacted the card for good or ill.
Have some thoughts of your own to share? Sound off in the comments.
Loser: Rashad Evans
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Rashad Evans has had a career to envy. He's won every prize there is to win in the sport, including The Ultimate Fighter reality show and the UFC light heavyweight championship.
His 20 fights inside the UFC Octagon included bouts with some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport—champions and legends like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson and Jon Jones.
But, after 10 years of competition at the highest level, the 36-year-old fighter simply doesn't have what it takes to compete with the sport's best. If that wasn't clear after his loss last October to Ryan Bader, it was crystallized by Glover Teixeira in just under two minutes.
Teixeira's left hook sent a message that will be hard to ignore. It's time for Evans to step gracefully from the cage to the broadcast booth. He's done all there is to do in the sport.
All that remains is potential tragedy and heartache. It's time to walk away. Evans can do so with his head held high.
Winner/Loser: Rose Namajunas
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Don't get me wrong here. Rose Namajunas showcased her increasingly technical standup against a game Tecia Torres. It was arguably fight of the night and showed, quite clearly, that Namajunas is among the best fighters in the world at 115 pounds.
So, what's not to like? If you're a Namajunas fan, it's what comes next. Her name was tossed into the mix as a potential title challenger for the winner of Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha. And that, friends, is very bad news.
Torres found her best success in the clinch, overpowering "Thug" Rose and nailing her with combination punching. Both Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha are even stronger than the undersized Torres. Both also have significantly more reach and will be better able to close the distance.
That spells bad news for Namajunas, who may have just vaulted to a level where her physical ability will fail her.
Loser: UFC Matchmaking
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Twelve days ago, rising star Tony Ferguson was forced to drop out of his main event bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov due to injury. After nearly two years on the sidelines, the undefeated Dagestani looked likely to have to sit out for another couple of weeks.
To the rescue came Darrell Horcher, a UFC newcomer who works as a project manager at a sheet metal company. While his bravery is commendable, the fight soon made clear what we should have all known already—no part-time fighter belongs in the cage, on short notice no less, against one of the best athletes in the entire sport.
Khabib brutalized Horcher, who wore a hopeless expression on his face throughout the week. He wasn't competitive for a single second of a one-sided bout.
A tuneup fight makes sense for a title challenger who has been out of the cage for years. But this felt less like an athletic contest and more like a televised execution. According to Fight Metric, Nurmagomedov landed 75 significant strikes compared to six for Horcher.
Worse was the way he dominated him, effortlessly controlling his opponent on the ground like he was little more than a white belt. Nurmagomedov was clearly looking for cage time. The moment he decided to finish it, the bout was quickly over.
Horcher, of course, survived. But this fight shouldn't have. This was better off left on the drawing board.
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Winners: Female Fighters
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Despite Ronda Rousey's unprecedented success, it still feels like women in the UFC have something to prove every time they step in the cage. Women's MMA has been contested in the UFC Octagon for just three years. Skeptics abound and it may take years for the fights to lose their freak show feel and be recognized for what they are—athletic contests between willing, able athletes just like bouts between men.
Fights like the one between Bethe Correia and Raquel Pennington, however, take months, even years off that process. The two bantamweights engaged in a spirited battle for three rounds, pounding each other to the body in the clinch and exchanging punches from a distance.
"That was a three-round war," Pennington said after the fight. "We just went after it. "
After 15 minutes, Pennington had her hand raised, winner of a split decision. But there were no losers in this fight. Both women gave us everything they had. There's nothing more a fan could possibly ask for.
Winner: Jorge Gurgel and Former Fighters
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In 2014, on the heels of three consecutive losses, veteran journeyman Jorge Gurgel hung up his gloves, retiring with a professional record of 14-10. In 100 years, Gurgel will fade from MMA history. There are, to be perfectly blunt, hundreds of Jorge Gurgels.
But, for those who bore witness to his career, he's a fighter that is hard to forget. His passion, enthusiasm and stubborn insistence on engaging in unwinnable slugfests despite his Brazilian jiu jitsu pedigree, supersede his lack of professional success.
Gurgel popped up in the Octagon in Tampa for this show, serving as the UFC's official Portuguese translator, helping Brazilian fighters express themselves in front of an English-speaking audience. He spoke with confidence, even when thrown a curveball with a Spanish-speaking Santiago Ponzinibbio.
Old fighters often fade away. Gurgel could have easily become one. Instead, he's earned a chance to stay close to the sport and help a new generation connect with an audience he held in the palm of his hand. That's pretty cool.
Winner: John Dodson
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The first time I met John Dodson was when he'd just won a bout on a regional card. Despite the UFC being little more than a pipe dream for a man of his size, he carried himself with the confidence and swagger of a long-time champion.
His attitude, in fact, was so remarkable that I made an effort to keep track of this kid who was so sure he was going to be something special.
Seven years later, Dodson still has the infectious enthusiasm he broadcast so clearly early in his career. Now, however, it's completely justified. He starched veteran Manny Gamburyan in his return to bantamweight, and talk of a title shot doesn't seem remotely ridiculous.
What he lacks in size, Dodson more than makes up for in quickness and power. He can beat anyone in the division—something he proved years ago against former champion T.J. Dillashaw. In the prime of his career, Dodson seems likely to be a regular on the winning side of the ledger for years to come.
"Fight felt amazing," Dodson said after the bout. "I am more excited about being at bantamweight as I can see the potential of what I can become."
Complete Results
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Glover Teixeira defeated Rashad Evans by KO (left hook) R1 1:48
Rose Namajunas defeated Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Darrell Horcher by TKO (punches) R2 3:38
Cub Swanson defeated Hacran Dias by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Michael Chiesa defeated Beneil Dariush by submission (neck crank) R2 1:20
Raquel Pennington defeated Bethe Correia by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Sergio Ponzinibbio defeated Court McGee by TKO (punches) R1 4:15
Michael Graves defeated Randy Brown by submission (rear-naked choke) R2 2:31
John Dodson defeated Manny Gamburyan by TKO (punches) R1 0:47
Cezar Ferreira defeated Oluwale Bamgbose by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 29-27)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos defeated Omari Akhmedov by TKO (punches/knees) R3 3:03
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