UFC 215 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2
More turmoil allowed Amanda Nunes to headline UFC 215 just two months after UFC President Dana White said she never would headline again. The rematch with Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, would give her a platform to redeem herself.
Not everything went as planned.
The most important plan for Nunes did come through: She retained the UFC bantamweight championship by split decision. She just didn't get back in the good graces of MMA fans.
Rafael dos Anjos made a statement in the co-main event with a first-round submission over Neil Magny. The former lightweight king looked outstanding and every bit of a welterweight contender.
Those are just the big stories exiting Edmonton and UFC 215. There were plenty of other winners and losers when the cage door closed.
Wondering who are those fortunate, and unfortunate, souls? Here are the real winners and losers.
Full fight card results appear at the end.
Losers: Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko and the Bantamweight Division
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The first fight that sent Nunes toward the UFC bantamweight championship was competitive and exciting. The rematch was competitive, but it lacked the excitement to captivate a wide audience.
Nunes retained her crown by split decision. That's unfortunate for Nunes, Shevchenko and the bantamweight division.
Nunes headlined UFC 200 with Miesha Tate, and her championship-winning performance made her a known commodity. Then came the fight with Ronda Rousey, a massive platform where Nunes shone by knocking her out. It looked like the UFC could survive a post-Rousey bantamweight world.
This rematch was booked for UFC 213, but Nunes was pulled from the card the morning of the fight. B/R's Jeremy Botter detailed how White buried Nunes after falling out of the main event. It damaged the rematch, damaged Nunes and damaged the division.
Nunes and Shevchenko had an opportunity to reinvigorate the division and erase the past, but they didn't get it done.
It's tough to blame either party. This is the elite level of MMA, and caution needed to be taken. However, public perception of their fight will hurt their drawing power going forward. It's an unfortunate turn of events. After UFC 200, Nunes looked to be a viable draw. UFC 213, Dana White and the UFC 215 rematch ruined it all.
Bantamweight is now in the doldrums. It is seeking a revitalization, but there is not much in the pipeline to put it back where it was at the start of 2017.
Loser: Demetrious Johnson
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Both Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg were losers following Borg's illness that resulted in the fight's cancellation, but it's Johnson who suffers more.
Mighty Mouse was finally getting a push from the UFC. Sure, it was a tiny sliver of a push, but it was a push nonetheless. Johnson was headlining another pay-per-view with a tad bit of marketing behind it thanks in large part to his potential history-making title defense.
Borg's illness ruined it. Another main event falling out on fight week hurts.
Even though it wasn't Johnson who pulled out, he still comes off the card. Fans will be hesitant to pull the trigger on his next fight no matter who he is facing. He is partially guilty by association. At least psychologically. Fans who got excited about the title defense now have a sense of disappointment associated with the flyweight champion.
One step forward, two steps back. The sport's best pound-for-pound fighter continues to fight opponents and perception.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos
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Holy smokes!
If you forgot how good a grappler Dos Anjos was, he reminded you Saturday. Flawless.
The man known simply as RDA moved up to welterweight earlier in 2017 with a victory over Tarec Saffiedine. The former lightweight champion looked even better in his sophomore effort against Neil Magny.
Once the fight hit the mat, it was all Dos Anjos. He passed Magny's guard with relative ease and locked in one of the tightest arm-triangles you'll ever see inside the cage. Magny had no room to breathe and no choice but to tap.
Magny entered as the No. 6-ranked welterweight contender. After easily submitting the challenger, the double-digit number is able to get a bit slimmer for RDA.
Winner: Henry Cejudo
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A 10-0 start to the career of Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo earned the man a flyweight title shot. Johnson easily solved the puzzle and sent him searching for answers.
He found some.
Cejudo looked improved against Joseph Benavidez but came up short. He looked even better and put Wilson Reis away at UFC 215.
Reis was never in this fight. Cejudo was in control from the outset, and he got to showcase his skills. Cejudo ended the fight in the second round by dropping Reis with a powerful right hand before follow-up ground-and-pound.
Cejudo's showing puts him right back in the thick of things at 125. The losses still will keep him out of a title rematch, but he looked every bit the part in his victory Saturday. Another win or two and the golden boy can get his shot at redemption.
Loser: Sara McMann
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Sara McMann entered on a three-fight win streak with back-to-back stunning submissions. With Rousey's likely retirement, Julianna Pena's recent defeat to Shevchenko and Holly Holm's possible featherweight tilt against Cyborg, McMann was set up as the next title contender with a victory.
The UFC put her in the featured prelim slot against a favorable opponent. All signs pointed to McMann finally getting another crack at the gold.
Ketlen Vieira had other ideas.
Vieira scored an excellent takedown in the second and choked out McMann with an arm-triangle. It was a thunder-stealing performance.
McMann now hits the back of the breadline. She turns 37 in September, and this damaging loss could mean she never gets to realize her UFC dreams. It was a big loss for the Olympic silver medalist. More than just the L on the record.
What's that they say about the best-laid plans? Oh, yeah, they often go awry. McMann and the UFC go back to the drawing board.
Losers: Alberta's Athletic Commission
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It's been a couple of years since Jerin Valel has made an appearance as a "Real Loser," but he's back in 2017 to reclaim his throne as the worst official in MMA.
Valel could have stopped the Jeremy Stephens vs. Gilbert Melendez fight after Melendez was reduced to fighting on one leg. Perhaps even worse, after one leg-kick knockdown from Stephens, he stood in between the two, forcing Stephens to gently nudge him so he could land ground-and-pound.
There was also referee Kyle Cardinal, who let Gavin Tucker get bludgeoned to the point where UFC officials had to usher Tucker's crying wife to the back because of the unnecessary beating he took.
Cardinal was not seen the rest of the night, according to MMARising.com's Robert Sargent.
What about the commission as a whole? Combatsportlaw.com's Erik Magraken tweeted a mandatory waiver fighters have to sign giving up their rights to sue the commission for negligence. It's a true embarrassment that the UFC put on an event with this commission in control.
There were also some questionable scorecards, but somehow that doesn't even register after the shoddy refereeing that took place.
Winner: Sarah Moras
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Welcome back, Ms. Moras!
The talented grappler had been away from the UFC's Octagon for over two years in part because she couldn't afford to train, per Sargent. Hopefully, now, the UFC will give her a pay raise to allow her to get into the cage more often.
Moras looked outstanding against one of the better athletes in the division: Ashlee Evans-Smith.
Evans-Smith's roller-coaster career continued because Moras was vicious with her armbar attempt. The technique was perfect, and Moras dislocated Evan-Smith's arm to end the fight. All it took was 2:51 of work. Moras' grappling has to be reckoned with no matter who stands opposite the cage from her, and given her inactivity, she may have made strides on the feet as well.
If the UFC calls her number again, fans should be excited to see what's next for "Cheesecake" following her UFC 215 performance.
UFC 215 Full Card Results
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Main Card
• Amanda Nunes def. Valentina Shevchenko by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
• Rafael dos Anjos def. Neil Magny via submission (arm triangle) at 3:43 of the first round
• Henry Cejudo def. Wilson Reis by TKO at 0:25 of the second round
• Ilir Latifi def. Tyson Pedro by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Jeremy Stephens def. Gilbert Melendez by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
• Ketlen Vieira def. Sara McMann via submission (arm triangle) at 4:16 of the second round
• Sarah Moras def. Ashlee Evans-Smith via submission (armbar) at 2:51 of the first round
• Rick Glenn def. Gavin Tucker by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-24, 29-27)
• Alex White def. Mitch Clarke by TKO at 4:36 of the second round
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
• Arjan Bhullar def. Luis Henrique by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Kajan Johnson def. Adriano Martins by KO at 0:49 of the third round
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