No that it is over let’s take a look at the biggest winners from last weekend’s UFC 234 card.
Unfortunately, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was forced to have surgery to fix a hernia rather than defend his title against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event, but luckily the co-main event featured Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya.
Due to the last minute changes to the fight card UFC President Dana White needed to shuffle some fights around to accommodate the five-fight pay-per-view portion of the broadcast. White said it was a “no brainer” when it came time to choose UFC 234’s new co-main event — Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Mariano.
Which leads me to the start of the UFC 234 biggest winners list.
Lando Vannata
Other than Adesanya, no other fighter seized the day as Vannata did at UFC 234. He went from fighting on the prelims to winning the highest profile fight of his life as he submitted Marcos Mariano in the first round of their co-main event fight.
It was a risk that paid off for the UFC, considering Vannata was on a two-fight losing streak heading into UFC 234.
Ricky Simón
If Simón wasn’t on your bantamweight radar heading into this weekend he should be now.
For the majority of their 15-minute fight, Simón put on a clinic against veteran Rani Yahya, demonstrating time and time again that he is more than just a wrestler with power.
With the win, Simón will likely break into the top 15 of the division considering the man he just beat occupies the number 15 spot.
Devonte Smith
“King Cage” took full advantage of being in the ESPN featured prelim fight.
Smith needed less than four minutes to dispose of Dong Hyun Ma and improve his record to 10-1. His effort was good enough to earn him a $50,000 performance bonus.
At just 25 years old Smith is an interesting addition to a talent-rich lightweight division.
Israel Adesanya
Some people just have it. Israel Adesanya is one of those people.
Effortlessly, Adesanya and Silva slid into the main event role to salvage UFC 234. Adesanya rose to the occasion like most people suspected he might. He does so, however, with a blend of flair and swagger that is rarely seen in the MMA universe
Adesanya represents so much more than Nigeria or New Zealand. He represents the new-new breed of fighter. UFC 234 gave birth to a star.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/11/2019.
Miesha Tate couldn’t believe the news that Kayla Harrison would be cutting down to 135 pounds for her UFC debut.
UFC CEO Dana White dropped a bombshell when he announced that former PFL champion Kayla Harrison will be featured on the UFC 300 card on April 13. She’ll be facing former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at 135 pounds. When Harrison competed under the PFL banner, she was in the lightweight division.
Luke Rockhold has recalled the time he had a sparring session with Sean Strickland.
Strickland has developed quite the reputation for being raw and unfiltered. He has come under fire, however, for how he handles sparring sessions. Strickland has even admitted that he doesn’t really have an off switch, and treats his spars like an actual UFC fight.
Arnold Allen is in reflection mode following his close UFC 297 defeat against Movsar Evloev.
Allen and Evloev shared the Octagon on January 20 inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was three hard-fought rounds of action between these two. The featherweight clash went all three rounds and Evloev was awarded the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28 across the board.
Joe Rogan has called for Canada to “get their sh*t together” after fans were chanting “F**k Trudeau” at UFC 297 in Toronto.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its highly anticipated return to Canada earlier this month for the UFC 297 pay-per-view event. Headlining the card was a middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis.
Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has reacted after her former employer Vince McMahon announced his resignation from WWE.
McMahon, the longtime face of the WWE, was appointed TKO Group Holding’s Executive Chairman and board member following the company’s merger with the UFC. However, Vince’s position within the company drew heavy scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal shared a story regarding a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant, that insinuates Vince McMahon was abusing her sexually for years and even pimping her to other men.
Dillon Danis found it comical that Sean Strickland would have the gull to criticize UFC commentator Jon Anik.
Anik made headlines two days ago when he hinted at a career change, suggesting he was growing tired of the ever-toxic MMA space.
Conor McGregor teased a return at UFC 300 on Friday night, spawning reactions from Michael Chandler and Nate Diaz.
McGregor (22-6 MMA) spent most of yesterday promoting his new movie ‘Road House‘ with a series of messages and video trailers on ‘X‘. However, the Irishman concluded his evening by sharing the following cryptic tweet, hinting at a return at April’s historic UFC 300 event.
UFC commentator Jon Anik has issued an apology to the MMA fan base for the recent comments he made on his podcast.
It was just two days ago that Anik, a long-time play-by-play man for the UFC, made headlines when he told Kenny Florian that he was growing tired of the MMA space.