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#4. Merab Dvalishvili – defeated Marlon Moraes in a UFC bantamweight bout
Merab Dvalishvili came into last night’s fight with Marlon Moraes off the back of a six-fight winning streak in the UFC. It’s safe to say that this was his biggest bout to date.
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Not only was Moraes a former UFC bantamweight title challenger, but ‘Magic’ also had his back to the wall following back-to-back losses. He was clearly desperate to make a statement.
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Early on, it looked like he’d make that statement in style. He hammered Dvalishvili with some heavy shots standing, knocking the Georgian all over the octagon and having him on the verge of being TKO’d.
‘The Machine’ survived and, in an incredible turnaround, was able to secure takedowns on the Brazilian. He then beat the hell out of him en route to a second-round TKO victory.
Not only was this a tremendous comeback from Dvalishvili, it was also his biggest win in the UFC to date by far.
Who will be next for him? Given that Moraes came into the fight ranked at no.6, it only makes sense for him to fight a higher ranked opponent. With that in mind, perhaps a fight with Jose Aldo might work.
Either way, he was definitely one of UFC 266’s biggest winners.
#3. Curtis Blaydes – defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a UFC heavyweight bout
It’s safe to say that, even before some of the wilder action at UFC 266, Curtis Blaydes was probably never in line for a $50k bonus after his win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
The fight saw Blaydes outwork ‘Bigi Boy’ largely by using his takedowns. He never came close to finishing the native of Suriname even though he clearly deserved the nod. So why does he warrant a spot here?
The answer is that because, frankly, given his spats with UFC management and that he was knocked out in his previous fight, ‘Razor’ probably had his back to the wall here.
Had Rozenstruik beaten him, there’d have been every chance that the UFC might’ve cut him from his contract. As it is, though, Blaydes won’t move up the ladder in the UFC heavyweight division – he’s already ranked at no.4 after all – but he should remain in title contention.
With a big win over another opponent, he could realise his dream of challenging for the UFC heavyweight title at some point in the future. Last night’s win was just the starting point for that. To that end, Blaydes has to be considered one of UFC 266’s biggest winners.
