The Real Winners and Losers from UFC Fight Night 163

There was a lot at stake at UFC Fight Night 163 on Saturday night at CSKA Arena in Moscow.

Russian phenom Zabit Magomedsharipov couldn't afford any missteps in the main event against decorated striker Calvin Kattar if he wanted to prove he was ready for a shot at the UFC featherweight title.

Heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov was ready to put his devastating last-second KO loss to Derrick Lewis behind him for good by halting the progress of talented upstart Greg Hardy.

And the 22 fighters competing across the other 11 contests, spreading over the preliminary and main cards, were all hoping to make their marks during the UFC's first event in Moscow since September 2018.

But who were the biggest winners and losers at UFC Fight Night 163?

Winner: The Mesmerizing Artistry of ZaBeast

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Is there a more tantalizing MMA fighter in the world than Zabit Magomedsharipov?

In defeating Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision Saturday, Magomedsharipov showed much of why his supporters envision him as the future UFC featherweight champion.

It isn't just that Magomedsharipov won his 14 straight fight, and sixth in the UFC, in dominant and decisive fashion. It's how good he looked doing it.

Magomedsharipov is nicknamed ZaBeast, but he looks more like an artist than an animal. The 28-year-old could probably have made things easier on himself by taking Kattar to the ground, where Magomedsharipov would have had a clear advantage. Instead, he stayed on his feet and proved he's one of the most complete fighters in the sport.

The Dagestani's fluidity was the difference against Kattar. He moved with such glorious precision from one angle to the next, and he was seemingly able to spin in and out of harm's way just about anytime he wanted.

He just makes everything look so easy, and he should be shortlisted as the opponent for the winner of Max Holloway's upcoming UFC featherweight title defense against Alexander Volkanovski. That's a huge opportunity, but one for which Magomedsharipov is surely ready.

Loser: Greg Hardy's Uninspired Effort in an Unnecessary Gambit

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Hardy badly wanted to prove he belonged among the best heavyweights in the UFC.

But in suffering a third-round decision loss to No. 7-ranked contender Alexander Volkov in the co-main event, Hardy mostly just showed that he wasn't quite ready for such a big step up in competition.

The gambit Hardy entered into when he decided to fill in as a replacement for injured teammate Junior dos Santos was that the former NFL player finally had a chance to prove his doubters wrong.

It's not necessarily that he had to win such a difficult fight this early in his career. But he at least needed to impress the MMA world by displaying the assets that could one day make him something special on the big stage.

That isn't what happened. Instead, Volkov used his long limbs to pick Hardy to pieces from distances from which Hardy could never seem to close, and he never figured out an answer for it.

Still, it wasn't all bad news for Hardy. He didn't get destroyed the way some of his biggest detractors probably thought he would, so even in making the losers list for his uninspired effort in the biggest fight of his career, he will at least be able to take the experience back to the lab to help turn him into the fighter he wants to be.

Winner: Ed Herman's Glorious Bloodbath Against Khadis Ibragimov

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Veteran UFC light heavyweight Ed Herman engaged in an action-packed slugfest with Khadis Ibragimov and came out the other side of things with a blood-soaked victory.

Herman entered the contest 15 years senior to the 24-year-old Ibragimov, but his considerable ability to withstand the younger fighter's vigor earned him the much-needed victory. Entering the contest, Herman was just 2-3 over his past five fights, so some in the sport had probably started to wonder whether he should consider retiring.

But Herman brought the action to Ibragimov in a brutal contest wherein both fighters landed vicious punches and kicks all over each other for the course of the three-round bout.

It's rare to see such scintillating action between a 39-year-old and a 24-year-old—and rarer still to see the older man outwork the younger one when both seem so dog tired from throwing and landing strikes.

It was quite the bloody battle to behold, and one the UFC Moscow matchmakers had to feel great about themselves for making after the fact.

Loser: Moscow's UFC Fans Rooting for Russian Prospects

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It wasn't a great night for the many Russian prospects on the main card looking to take an important step in the right direction.

Light heavyweight Shamil Gamzatov got the nod over Klidson Abreu by split decision, but he probably shouldn't have. Gamzatov just couldn't seem to track down Abreu, and the Russian was lucky to escape with the victory.

Welterweight Ramazan Emeev was supposed to use his fight against Rocco Martin as a springboard of sorts. Instead, Martin outworked him over the majority of the fight to nab the stunning victory.

Herman knocked off Ibragimov by having better cardio and more precision to his strikes than the much younger prospect, and welterweight veteran Danny Roberts snapped a two-fight losing streak by knocking out Zelim Imadaev with a tremendous left hook in the second round of a fight Roberts was probably losing up until that point.

It all meant it wasn't that good a thing to be a Russian MMA prospect at UFC Fight Night 163 in Moscow. That probably wasn't what UFC executives had in mind when they were putting together the card for UFC fans in Russia.

Winner: Rocco Martin's Inspired Performance to Honor His Mother

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American welterweight contender Rocco Martin was in a tough spot against Ramazan Emeev.

But after Martin recently learned his mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, the 29-year-old disclosed during his post-fight interview that he knew he wanted to do whatever he could to upset Emeev so he could dedicate the win to her.

That was a tall order, but Martin pulled it off.

Against Emeev, Martin was facing a former Combat Sambo world champion and two-time M-1 Challenge middleweight champion. He had the added difficulty of doing it in Russia against a tough fighter from Dagestan who was undefeated in the UFC.

But Martin overcame the odds to nab the huge win, and then he used his post-fight interview to speak some heartfelt words.

"Mom, I love you," Martin told Dan Hardy after the win. "Get that bucket list ready. Let's go out with one hell of a bang."

MMA seems a brutal sport at times, but its competitors are human beings. Like everyone, these athletes have lives filled with love and loss, so it was nice to see Martin share what was going on in his family life after seeing him beat Emeev.

UFC Fight Night 163 Full Card Results

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Main Card

• Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
• Alexander Volkov def. Greg Hardy by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
• Danny Roberts def. Zelim Imadaev by second-round knockout (4:54).
• Ed Herman def. Khadis Ibragimov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
• Anthony Rocco Martin def. Ramazan Emeev by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
• Shamil Gamzatov def. Klidson Abreu by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).

Preliminary Card

• Magomed Ankalaev def. Dalcha Lungiambula by third-round TKO (0:29).
• Rustam Khabilov def. Sergey Khandozhko by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
• Karl Roberson def. Roman Kopylov by third-round submission (4:01).
• David Zawada def. Abubakar Nurmagomedov by first-round submission (2:50).
• Roosevelt Roberts def. Alexander Yakovlev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
• Pannie Kianzad def. Jessica-Rose Clark by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
• Davey Grant def. Grigorii Popov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).