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Winners
Rick Story - 'The Horror' showed yet again that he is just about the toughest gatekeeper around, and not just in terms of his durability. A strong base, and some of the best boxing in MMA sees Story as a consistent presence in and around the top ten of the UFC welterweight division, and only the very best prospects can beat him. The quality of his work last night against his much more favoured opponent should see that Story will get a chance to be booked against an opponent of serious quality next time out and not just as 'the opponent' to test a fighter who is seemingly ready to speed past him up the rankings. Doing it on the road is another feather in Story's cap, which has been sewn together from the scalps of many unsuspecting blue chip prospects.
Rory MacDonald - A routine showing from the Tristar golden boy, who at least put his shots together in a way this time that he was able to score an impressive stoppage. As suspected, he shipped some good leg kicks, but was still able to come forward and chip away. While the uppercut that spelled the end for Saffiedine wasn't quite Matthew Saad Muhammad Vs Lotti Mwale, it was one of the better lead uppercuts coming off a right hand that I've seen in a while, regardless of sport. Let's hope the winner of Hendricks-Lawler II in December is ready to go quickly, because Rory definitely deserves a title shot after beating Maia, Woodley and Saffiedine inside of twelve months.
Max Holloway - I've said for a while that Holloway will eventually break out of Sean Shelby's habit of matching him against prospects and giving him late fill-in fights against opponents that will do nothing for his standing, and I hope after the Hawaiian's smashing of a Corassani in his hometown that this will happen. Holloway is constantly improving, and is now getting the finishes to show for it. He deserves the plaudits that Donald Cerrone has got this year, and that Matt Brown got when he was awarded 'Fighter of the Year' by this site. Since his loss to Conor McGregor (where Holloway went the distance, the only UFC opponent of the Irishman to do so) Holloway has scored three TKO finishes and one submission; all over respectable opposition. Let's not forget that he may have been hard down by in his decision loss to Bermudez, who is now firmly entrenched near the top of the featherweight division. Holloway is legit'.
Raphael Assuncao - Undefeated since dropping to 135lbs, if not for former champion Dominick Cruz's emphatic return from injury last weekend the Brazilian would surely be getting the next title shot at T.J Dillashaw, who Assuncao holds a close (and in some parts controversial) victory over. He didn't have much hassle with Caraway last night, which is saying something because Caraway is a tough out for any bantamweight. Assuncao is now on a seven fight winning streak. As with Rory MacDonald, I sincerely hope that Dillashaw-Cruz can be made soon and that the winner doesn't sit out for too long, as Assuncao deserves a title shot as much as any other contender regardless of the weight class.
Jan Blachowicz - A few of the Bloody Elbow team were chastised by Polish MMA fans on Twitter last night for going for another win by Swedish powerhouse Latifi, but if everyone's honest Latifi's cult hero worship comes from the beating he absorbed from Gegard Mousasi rather than him being a World beater. Irregardless of that, Latifi has shown himself to be durable, strong and powerful and Blachowicz destroyed him with a snapping body kick. Very impressive for a UFC debut in your opponents home country.
Mike Wilkinson - Choked out by Rony Jason, injuries and a bout with depression have made the last year one to forget for British fighter Mike Wilkinson. But he added to the Swedish fighters woes with an incredible knockout of te heavily favoured Niklas Backstrom. Let's hope the rest of 2014 and onward will see an upturn for Wilkonson's fortunes.
Losers
Gunnar Nelson - First things first; Nelson showed grit and a good gas tank. He is not a prospect who has been 'exposed', and a similarly touted prospect in Kelvin Gastelum was also dropped by Story, who as aforementioned is a very hard man. I also want to dispel the popular notion that dropping to 155lbs will be a miracle worker for Nelson. He didn't look undersized to Story, who is a short and stocky fella, at all. What Nelson needs to do, is improve. He needs to hone his striking further, as it's very limited at the moment. However, even in the fifth round Nelson landed a sweet left straight, took the edge off of Story's follow up and evaded a Story body shot. He has real talent. He landed a brutal knee to the face from a tight Thai clinch earlier on in the fight. He just couldn't slow Story down enough, and the knockdown was a result of him lazily wandering into Story's wheelhouse when Story was static and had his feet planted. Nelson defended the follow up shots on the ground well, but without a very strong takedown game he's going to struggle against the wrestle boxer contingent at 170. That doesn't mean I'm advocating a move down to 155. It's just a sign that Nelson isn't ready for the large jump up in competition that a win over Story would've presented him with. I'm still impressed with what Gunnar showed in this fight. He jut isn't there yet.
Tarec Saffiedine - Unfortunately for the Belgian, he found out he's not the best range striker in the division last night. And without having too much pop and much else to fall back on, I'd say it's unlikely he'll be able to make the move from fringe top ten fighter to legitimate title contender. Still, he gave Rory MacDonald a few things to think about, and he still has some of the best leg kicks in the business.
Bruno Santos - Simply for the fact that he proved himself yet again to be one of the most boring fighters in MMA. Unfair? Perhaps, but who disagrees with me? Boring is okay when you're putting on masterclasses. When you're eeking out decision victories or losing them, something needs to change. And I hope the change will be in the organisation that employs Santos.
Niklas Backstrom - No matter how well you're performing, dropping your hands and disrespecting your opponents offence is a no-no, and Backstrom paid for it badly by being rendered completely unconscious by Mike Wilkonson, who has always impressed me more with his grappling to be honest. Backstrom has now taken a mighty step back, when after beating the highly-touted Tom Niinimaki earlier this year he absorbed a lot of his hype.
The Swedish Fans - Look, I like good fighting no matter whether or not one of my compatriots is on the winning end, but for the Swedish fans that came out to see their boys getting smashed up from pillar to post it must have been a little disheartening. Still, they were treated to a decent night of fights and some good finishes, so I'd hope they still enjoyed themselves and didn't feel the (probably) extortionate UFC ticket prices were a waste of money.
Jim Bergman - I almost put Bergman in the 'Winners' section, because who doesn't like to see someone getting paid in their job despite being completely inept? But something needs to be said about his horrendous decision to give Gunnar Nelson a 48-47 win against Rick Story. What better than naming and shaming him in an opinion piece on an MMA blog? Boo to Bergman, and let's hope he never gets a judging job in a high-profile bout again.
Anthony Njokuani - The popular former WEC fighter has been on the decline for a long time, but his non-performance against Daron Cruickshank will likely see him relegated to the minor leagues indefinitely. A shame for the fan favourite, but Njokuani looks pretty much a spent force at this stage.
Rick Story - 'The Horror' showed yet again that he is just about the toughest gatekeeper around, and not just in terms of his durability. A strong base, and some of the best boxing in MMA sees Story as a consistent presence in and around the top ten of the UFC welterweight division, and only the very best prospects can beat him. The quality of his work last night against his much more favoured opponent should see that Story will get a chance to be booked against an opponent of serious quality next time out and not just as 'the opponent' to test a fighter who is seemingly ready to speed past him up the rankings. Doing it on the road is another feather in Story's cap, which has been sewn together from the scalps of many unsuspecting blue chip prospects.
Rory MacDonald - A routine showing from the Tristar golden boy, who at least put his shots together in a way this time that he was able to score an impressive stoppage. As suspected, he shipped some good leg kicks, but was still able to come forward and chip away. While the uppercut that spelled the end for Saffiedine wasn't quite Matthew Saad Muhammad Vs Lotti Mwale, it was one of the better lead uppercuts coming off a right hand that I've seen in a while, regardless of sport. Let's hope the winner of Hendricks-Lawler II in December is ready to go quickly, because Rory definitely deserves a title shot after beating Maia, Woodley and Saffiedine inside of twelve months.
Max Holloway - I've said for a while that Holloway will eventually break out of Sean Shelby's habit of matching him against prospects and giving him late fill-in fights against opponents that will do nothing for his standing, and I hope after the Hawaiian's smashing of a Corassani in his hometown that this will happen. Holloway is constantly improving, and is now getting the finishes to show for it. He deserves the plaudits that Donald Cerrone has got this year, and that Matt Brown got when he was awarded 'Fighter of the Year' by this site. Since his loss to Conor McGregor (where Holloway went the distance, the only UFC opponent of the Irishman to do so) Holloway has scored three TKO finishes and one submission; all over respectable opposition. Let's not forget that he may have been hard down by in his decision loss to Bermudez, who is now firmly entrenched near the top of the featherweight division. Holloway is legit'.
Raphael Assuncao - Undefeated since dropping to 135lbs, if not for former champion Dominick Cruz's emphatic return from injury last weekend the Brazilian would surely be getting the next title shot at T.J Dillashaw, who Assuncao holds a close (and in some parts controversial) victory over. He didn't have much hassle with Caraway last night, which is saying something because Caraway is a tough out for any bantamweight. Assuncao is now on a seven fight winning streak. As with Rory MacDonald, I sincerely hope that Dillashaw-Cruz can be made soon and that the winner doesn't sit out for too long, as Assuncao deserves a title shot as much as any other contender regardless of the weight class.
Jan Blachowicz - A few of the Bloody Elbow team were chastised by Polish MMA fans on Twitter last night for going for another win by Swedish powerhouse Latifi, but if everyone's honest Latifi's cult hero worship comes from the beating he absorbed from Gegard Mousasi rather than him being a World beater. Irregardless of that, Latifi has shown himself to be durable, strong and powerful and Blachowicz destroyed him with a snapping body kick. Very impressive for a UFC debut in your opponents home country.
Mike Wilkinson - Choked out by Rony Jason, injuries and a bout with depression have made the last year one to forget for British fighter Mike Wilkinson. But he added to the Swedish fighters woes with an incredible knockout of te heavily favoured Niklas Backstrom. Let's hope the rest of 2014 and onward will see an upturn for Wilkonson's fortunes.
Losers
Gunnar Nelson - First things first; Nelson showed grit and a good gas tank. He is not a prospect who has been 'exposed', and a similarly touted prospect in Kelvin Gastelum was also dropped by Story, who as aforementioned is a very hard man. I also want to dispel the popular notion that dropping to 155lbs will be a miracle worker for Nelson. He didn't look undersized to Story, who is a short and stocky fella, at all. What Nelson needs to do, is improve. He needs to hone his striking further, as it's very limited at the moment. However, even in the fifth round Nelson landed a sweet left straight, took the edge off of Story's follow up and evaded a Story body shot. He has real talent. He landed a brutal knee to the face from a tight Thai clinch earlier on in the fight. He just couldn't slow Story down enough, and the knockdown was a result of him lazily wandering into Story's wheelhouse when Story was static and had his feet planted. Nelson defended the follow up shots on the ground well, but without a very strong takedown game he's going to struggle against the wrestle boxer contingent at 170. That doesn't mean I'm advocating a move down to 155. It's just a sign that Nelson isn't ready for the large jump up in competition that a win over Story would've presented him with. I'm still impressed with what Gunnar showed in this fight. He jut isn't there yet.
Tarec Saffiedine - Unfortunately for the Belgian, he found out he's not the best range striker in the division last night. And without having too much pop and much else to fall back on, I'd say it's unlikely he'll be able to make the move from fringe top ten fighter to legitimate title contender. Still, he gave Rory MacDonald a few things to think about, and he still has some of the best leg kicks in the business.
Bruno Santos - Simply for the fact that he proved himself yet again to be one of the most boring fighters in MMA. Unfair? Perhaps, but who disagrees with me? Boring is okay when you're putting on masterclasses. When you're eeking out decision victories or losing them, something needs to change. And I hope the change will be in the organisation that employs Santos.
Niklas Backstrom - No matter how well you're performing, dropping your hands and disrespecting your opponents offence is a no-no, and Backstrom paid for it badly by being rendered completely unconscious by Mike Wilkonson, who has always impressed me more with his grappling to be honest. Backstrom has now taken a mighty step back, when after beating the highly-touted Tom Niinimaki earlier this year he absorbed a lot of his hype.
The Swedish Fans - Look, I like good fighting no matter whether or not one of my compatriots is on the winning end, but for the Swedish fans that came out to see their boys getting smashed up from pillar to post it must have been a little disheartening. Still, they were treated to a decent night of fights and some good finishes, so I'd hope they still enjoyed themselves and didn't feel the (probably) extortionate UFC ticket prices were a waste of money.
Jim Bergman - I almost put Bergman in the 'Winners' section, because who doesn't like to see someone getting paid in their job despite being completely inept? But something needs to be said about his horrendous decision to give Gunnar Nelson a 48-47 win against Rick Story. What better than naming and shaming him in an opinion piece on an MMA blog? Boo to Bergman, and let's hope he never gets a judging job in a high-profile bout again.
Anthony Njokuani - The popular former WEC fighter has been on the decline for a long time, but his non-performance against Daron Cruickshank will likely see him relegated to the minor leagues indefinitely. A shame for the fan favourite, but Njokuani looks pretty much a spent force at this stage.