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The UFC’s latest Fight Night event didn’t garner much hype, but in the end, it turned out to be a lot of fun.
With a total of nine finishes from 13 bouts, UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Rafael dos Anjos was full of action, and produced a number of big winners. Due to a lack of name value, whether some of these big winners go onto future title contention is a bit of a question mark, but it’s fair to say they shone last night.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Vicente Luque vs. Rafael dos Anjos.
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#5. Marcus McGhee – defeated JP Buys in a UFC bantamweight bout
![Marcus McGhee looked excellent in his second octagon win [Image Credit: @ManiacMcGhee07 on Twitter]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/08/6425a-16919564276354-1920.jpg)
Given that he’s already 33 years old, it’d be hard to label Marcus McGhee as a prospect, but given what he’s been able to do in his two UFC appearances he’s definitely a man to watch.
His octagon debut saw him submit Journey Newson in the second round, but last night, ‘The Maniac’ unleashed his striking in a very scary way against JP Buys.
He landed a crushing right hand at just over the two minute mark of the fight to drop Buys face-first, and the fight was literally over there. McGhee even channelled his inner Mark Hunt by refusing to follow up.
The knockout was so heavy, in fact, that Buys attempted to attack the celebrating McGhee as he apparently believed the fight was still going on.
Quite where McGhee’s ceiling lies in the bantamweight division remains unknown, but based on these first two showings, he’ll be around the promotion for some time yet. More to the point, he earned an extra $50k last night, which makes him a huge winner overall.
#4. Terrance McKinney – defeated Mike Breeden in a UFC lightweight bout
Despite the fact that he took his clash with Mike Breeden on late notice, Terrance McKinney was probably under some pressure last night.
‘T. Wrecks’ had lost his last two bouts in the octagon, being finished in both, and had he lost to Breeden, his spot on the roster likely would’ve been gone. Thankfully for McKinney, he needed just over a minute to dispatch Breeden in brutal fashion, picking up his first win in a year in the process.
A big body shot largely did for Breeden, who looked hurt and then wilted under the onslaught that ‘T. Wrecks’ threw at him to follow up.
Given that Breeden had lost his previous two UFC fights, it’s unlikely that this win will move McKinney up the ladder per say. However, it should re-establish him as a hard-hitting action fighter, and he certainly won’t be complaining about the $50k bonus award he earned, either.
#3. Da’Mon Blackshear – defeated Jose Johnson in a UFC bantamweight bout
![Da'Mon Blackshear busted out the ultra-rare twister to pick up his win [Image Credit: @da_monster94 on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/08/00789-16919568919210-1920.jpg)
Given that his opponent Jose Johnson took last night’s fight on less than a week, a victory was probably the least that Da’Mon Blackshear would’ve been hoping for. ‘Da Monster’ had won his previous trip to the octagon, knocking out Luan Lacerda, and so he had plenty of momentum coming back for his fourth UFC bout last night.
However, few fans could’ve hoped for him to achieve one of the most memorable finishes of 2023 – the UFC’s third-ever twister submission.
Blackshear basically dominated the entire fight once it hit the ground, but few could’ve seen him attempting the twister, which remains one of the rarest holds in MMA.
However, that’s just what he did, switching from a rear-naked choke attempt just before the four-minute mark. Seconds later, Johnson had to tap out.
Blackshear won’t move into the top 15 with this win given the notice that Johnson had to take the fight, but it was still a spectacular finish that rightfully netted him $50k. It’ll also likely send him viral today, which makes him a huge winner overall.
#2. Khalil Rountree Jr. – defeated Chris Daukaus in a UFC light heavyweight bout
While there were plenty of nasty finishes up and down last night’s card, the most brutal overall probably belonged to Khalil Rountree Jr. The No.13-ranked light heavyweight turned the lights out on Chris Daukaus in the first round, welcoming him to the division in the worst way possible.
The big difference between the fighters appeared to be the speed they moved at, and when Rountree drilled Daukaus with a left that dropped him, he just didn’t let up.
A couple of wild, vicious hooks ended the night for the former heavyweight, with Rountree seemingly winding up from a ridiculous distance to land his shots.
‘The War Horse’ is perhaps too limited an overall fighter to climb up into title contention at 205 pounds. However, finishes like this are why he’ll always be kept around on the roster, and at this point, there’s probably an argument that he’s one of the most vicious finishers in UFC history.
More importantly, with an extra $50k in his pocket, he was definitely one of the night’s biggest winners.
#1. Vicente Luque – defeated Rafael dos Anjos in a UFC welterweight bout
While his performance perhaps wasn’t as entertaining as it might’ve been, the biggest winner at last night’s UFC show was definitely Vicente Luque.
‘The Silent Assassin’ not only outpointed Rafael dos Anjos over five rounds, but he showed some new wrinkles to his game, too. Nobody expected him to look to outwork ‘RDA’ using his wrestling skills and ground game, and yet that’s largely how he won the fight.
Sure, it’s arguable that the blueprint to beat dos Anjos – at least at 170 pounds – was written years ago by the likes of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, but that’s not the point.
The fact is that Luque returned from a potentially career-ending medical issue – a brain haemorrhage suffered in his bout with Geoff Neal – to pick up a victory over a very skilled former champion.
Whether ‘The Silent Assassin’ can now climb back up the ladder into title contention at welterweight, or whether this was simply a good stylistic match for him remains to be seen, of course.
Either way, though, it’s hard not to see the No.10-ranked 170lber as last night’s biggest winner, purely because he managed to win while seemingly avoiding another serious injury.
