The Real Winners and Losers from UFC Fight Night 145
The UFC ventured to the O2 Arena once again, but not the one in London. No, the UFC went to the O2 Arena in Prague for the first time on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 145.
In the main event, Thiago Santos got yet another vicious stoppage at light heavyweight, as he put away Jan Blachowicz in the third round. The former middleweight terror has looked even better at light heavyweight and has now put himself firmly in title contention.
Stefan Struve got off to a rough start in the co-main event against Marcos Rogerio de Lima, but he battled back to get an arm-triangle finish in the second round. Afterward, Struve took to the microphone to say that it may have been his final time competing in the Octagon.
Twenty-six fighters in total competed in the UFC's first Prague event, but who got their hands raised? More importantly, who were the real winners and losers coming out of UFC Fight Night 145?
There is but one way to find out. Let's dig into the action and go a bit deeper than just the end result.
Here are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 145 in Prague.
Winner: Middleweights Going to Light Heavyweight
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Sure, we talk a lot about Anthony Smith, who has earned a title shot against Jon Jones next month, but what about a man who stopped Smith at 185—Thiago Santos?
Santos made his light heavyweight debut in a short-notice bout against Eryk Anders. He got the TKO stoppage and stayed at 205 to go against a top contender in Jimi Manuwa. He iced Manuwa in the second round. Thus, here he was in the main event against another title threat in Jan Blachowicz.
Blachowicz got just a little too wild in the early stages of the third round, and Santos ended his evening.
Santos started motioning for a belt around his waist, and after another stellar finish at light heavyweight, it is difficult to deny him as a legitimate title challenger. Beating Jon Jones, though, is an entirely different prospect than Blachowicz.
But the larger story here is what Smith and Santos have done at light heavyweight. It is similar to what UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has done. They all moved up in weight and maximized their potential.
Cutting weight can give you advantages, but there is also a negative effect. By not putting their bodies through the rigors of weight-cutting, these men have found even greater success at a more natural weight. For Whittaker, he's a champion. Taking his cue, Smith and Santos are title threats. Sure, the greatest light heavyweight ever stands in their way, but they are getting title opportunities they likely never would have gotten at 185.
Santos and Smith are getting the most out of their performances and are now getting the most out of the business side of the sport too: main events, title chances and fatter paychecks. Perhaps more middleweights will see what is going on and decide to make that same leap.
Winner: Stefan Struve
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In the opening seconds, I was prepared to call Stefan Struve a loser.
He got dropped by Marcos Rogerio de Lima and spent the remainder of the round on his back. He looked like a shell of his self, and a lackluster heavyweight was beating him up. It started out very poorly for Struve.
However, he was able to turn it around in the second round. Eventually, Struve secured an arm-triangle choke on the mat and got the tap.
But he's not simply a winner because he came from behind and won. No, Struve is a winner because this was something he absolutely needed. Struve entered Saturday's event on a three-fight losing streak and on the final fight of his UFC contract, per MMA Fighting's Luke Thomas. A loss would have ensured his end in the UFC.
And it still may be.
In the post-fight interview, Struve said his heart is not 100 percent, and though he would not say it is the end just yet, it would be a great moment to go out on. Fighting through his ailment, winning and potentially exiting MMA with a comeback win puts Struve firmly in the winner's category.
Loser: Gian Villante's Liver
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Body shots pay off in long fights to break an opponent down, but if you hit the liver just right, they can also end a fight early. Michal Oleksiejczuk landed a perfect blow on Gian Villante in the first round, and it was a wrap.
In response to Villante throwing a high right, Oleksiejczuk laced a perfect return left. Villante had a delayed reaction before crumpling to the mat unable to offer any defense. The referee stepped in to save him from further damage.
It was a big win for Oleksiejczuk, but more than that, it was a highlight for the devastation that liver shots can be when perfect.
Body-shot KOs don't have the same thundering impact as ones that leave fighters unconscious, but they are arguably more beautiful and devastating because of the pain they cause the opponent. Often a fighter who has been knocked out claims they never felt anything because it shut off their lights, but the pain is visible when body blows come into play. Villante wore this one on his face as well.
Credit to Oleksiejczuk, but offer up your thoughts to Villante's liver.
Loser: Liz Carmouche
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Lucie Pudilova has had a largely uneven and unimpressive UFC tenure to date. Nothing she did prior to Saturday reeked of a top contender. As such, it should have been a fight Liz Carmouche dominated from start to finish to establish herself as a title contender.
It didn't happen that way.
The fight was not that entertaining.
Carmouche was able to secure some takedowns, but high output and damage were limited. Pudilova also offered up plenty of resistance. Carmouche wasn't able to just employ her ground game and come out the other side as a viable title threat.
The win will certainly move her closer to that title shot as the division continues to fill out, but she didn't have the type of showing that would garner her the next title shot. In a spot where she could have made a lot of noise, Carmouche exited with barely a whimper. It's almost like it didn't even happen.
All wins are not created equal, and this one merely kept Carmouche stagnant in the flyweight standings.
Winner: Petr Yan
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Petr Yan has had significant hype around him since entering the UFC. He fought some solid competition but was still awaiting the right opponent who would allow him to take that next step.
He got the opponent on Saturday, and he passed with flying colors.
John Dodson is a talented, quick and well-rounded opponent whom MMA fans respect. He has not been as dangerous since moving up to bantamweight, but the skills are still there to pose a stiff task to anyone who stands opposite him. Yan breezing through the fight shows that his ceiling is very high.
Yan handled the challenge.
Bantamweight now has yet another potential title challenger waiting to make their move in 2019. The UFC's 135-pound division is talented and deep. It should be a fun year with fighters like Yan making their move up the ranks with stellar tactical performances.
Winners: The Preliminary Card Fighters
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Let's just lump in all 14 fighters that were featured on the preliminary card. They check in as winners because they got to be featured on ESPN2. It was a solid platform that will get them solid exposure for fights that were not at all looked forward to heading into the event.
That's half the battle.
The main card is part of the growing slate of action on ESPN's new streaming service ESPN+. Ultimately, it limits the exposure for those fighters. ESPN and the UFC need their value to help bolster the service and not the other way around.
The prelim fighters got to be on a stable, mature network at a time when there was not much else going on in the sporting world.
The undercard ultimately lacked the fire and finishes early, but they didn't put anyone to sleep either. And Dwight Grant's stunning KO in the featured prelim bout helped end the first half of the card on an exciting note.
If anyone could use this platform to help move their way up in their respective division and secure a bigger fight, they are a true winner coming out of Prague.
UFC Fight Night 145 Full Card Results
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ESPN+ Main Card
- Thiago Santos def. Jan Blachowicz by TKO at 0:39 of the third round
- Stefan Struve def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:21 of the second round
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Gian Villante by TKO at 1:34 of the first round
- Liz Carmouche def. Lucie Pudilova by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Petr Yan def. John Dodson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Klidson Abreu by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
ESPN2 Preliminary Card
- Dwight Grant def. Carlo Pedersoli Jr. by TKO at 4:59 of the first round
- Chris Fishgold def. Daniel Teymur via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:10 of the second round
- Gillian Robertson def. Veronica Macedo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:27 of the second round
- Damir Hadzovic def. Polo Reyes by TKO at 2:03 of the second round
- Ismail Naurdiev def. Michel Prazeres by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Rustam Khabilov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Damir Ismagulov def. Joel Alvarez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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