5 biggest winners from UFC 270: Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane

#4. Vanessa Demopoulos – defeated Silvana Gomez Juarez in a UFC strawweight bout

Vanessa Demopoulos may have become somewhat of a star thanks to last night's performance

While she probably won’t move into contention for the UFC strawweight title thanks to last night’s win, it’s probably fair to say that few fighters made as much noise last night as Vanessa Demopoulos.

‘Lil Monster’ picked up an excellent come-from-behind victory in her octagon debut against Silvana Gomez Juarez. Furthermore, she also garnered plenty of attention thanks to the revelations about her background, as well as a fun post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Essentially, eight weeks ago, Demopoulos was a stripper. She only gave up that profession to focus on her fighting career upon signing to face Juarez at UFC 270.

Evidently, the switch to full-time fighting worked for her. Early on, she was knocked down. However, once the fight hit the mat, ‘Lil Monster’ surprised Juarez with an armbar and quickly coaxed a tap from her opponent with more than half of the first round remaining.

If that wasn’t enough, in a hilarious moment post-fight, Demopoulos allowed Rogan to carry her in his arms, providing the fans with an unforgettable visual that should make her into a semi-star.

Quite how long her star will remain shining is anyone’s guess. However, given that the promotion also rewarded her with a $50k bonus, it’s hard not to see her as one of the show’s big winners.

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#3. Said Nurmagomedov – defeated Cody Stamann in a UFC bantamweight bout

Said Nurmagomedov looked awesome in his victory over Cody Stamann

Despite not being related to former UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov, there seemed to be a lot of pressure on namesake Said last night. Not only was he bringing a lot of hype into his bout with Cody Stamann, he was also faced with an extremely tricky and underrated opponent.

However, by the time the fight ended, it was clear that Nurmagomedov was definitely for real and probably a genuine bantamweight title contender right now.

He caught Stamann with some early strikes. When ‘The Spartan’ shot in for a takedown, it took the Russian seconds to latch onto a slick modified guillotine to force a quick tap from his more experienced foe.

Who should Nurmagomedov fight next? This win should probably earn him a spot in the top 15, so a clash with someone like Marlon Moraes or Ricky Simon would definitely work. Either way, his next outing should be a huge one to watch, and based on his latest performance, he’s capable of beating anyone.