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On paper, UFC 281 always looked like a thrilling show, and in execution, it turned out to be an instant classic.
Fans in attendance at UFC 281 were treated to 11 finishes from 13 bouts; a promotional record. Hence, naturally, some fighters came away as huge winners.
With two new champions crowned and some fighters likely moving into title contention, this event will definitely be remembered for a while. Here are the five biggest winners from UFC 281: Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira.
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#5. Erin Blanchfield – defeated Molly McCann in a UFC flyweight bout
There were a number of big winners on UFC 281’s preliminary card, and the fighter who advanced her cause further than any other in terms of title contention was probably flyweight prospect Erin Blanchfield.
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Sporting an impressive 9-1 record with three wins in the octagon, Blanchfield was ranked at No.12 going in, but all of the hype appeared to be on her opponent Molly McCann, who had dispatched two straight foes with brutal knockouts earlier in 2022.
‘Meatball’ never stood a chance here, though. Blanchfield simply took her down and absolutely dominated her on the ground, claiming a dominant position quickly before smashing her from a mounted crucifix and securing a nasty kimura.
Somehow, McCann resisted tapping straight away, but a second attempt forced her to submit and gave Blanchfield the dominant win.
The victory should move her up into the top ten at 125 lbs, and based on this, she’s definitely a future threat to current champion Valentina Shevchenko. In a division devoid of hot contenders, she turned herself into one last night, making her one of the show’s big winners.
#4. Dan Hooker – defeated Claudio Puelles in a UFC lightweight bout
One fighter who definitely had his back against the wall coming into UFC 281 was veteran lightweight Dan Hooker. ‘The Hangman’ came into last night’s bout against Peruvian prospect Claudio Puelles, who was ranked at No.12 in the division. Hooker had also lost four of his last five trips to the octagon, where three were by finish.
Puelles, meanwhile, was on a four-fight win streak and had quickly gained a reputation for finishing foes with nasty kneebars. When he caught Hooker in a leglock in the first round and began to crank on a possible heel hook, it looked like the New Zealand-based fighter was in trouble.
However, ‘The Hangman’ gutted it out and in the second round, began to take over once Puelles. ‘The Prince of Peru’ couldn’t get Hooker to the ground, and after flopping to his back on a number of occasions, ended up succumbing to a body kick finish.
It’s hard to downplay the significance of this win for Hooker. Not only was it his first win since his 2021 decision over Nasrat Haqparast, but it was his first finish since 2019. It won’t elevate him into title contention, but it will keep him alive in the rankings, making him a big winner.
#3. Dustin Poirier – defeated Michael Chandler in a UFC lightweight bout
Outside of the two fighters who claimed titles, the big winner from last night in terms of advancing into title contention was definitely Dustin Poirier.
‘The Diamond’, who hadn’t won a fight since his victory over Conor McGregor last year, finished Michael Chandler in a three-round thriller, picking up his first submission victory since his 2017 submission of Anthony Pettis.
The fight was just as back-and-forth as everyone had expected, but the fact that ‘The Diamond’ won by submission should be considered hugely significant. After all, his last two losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira came via tapout, bringing into question whether he’d simply focused too much on his striking.
Evidently, that isn’t the case. Poirier showed his usual pressure-striking game last night but also displayed poise and courage under fire, particularly in a bad second round and finishing skills from the ground.
Hopefully, the win should put him in line for a shot at the winner of the upcoming Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski UFC lightweight title bout because based on this showing, he’d be the biggest threat to either man.
#2. Weili Zhang – defeated Carla Esparza to win the UFC strawweight title
When Weili Zhang lost her UFC strawweight title to Rose Namajunas via head-kick knockout in 2021 and then fell to ‘Thug Rose’ by decision in their rematch, it looked like she’d end up at the back of the queue for another crack at the gold for a while.
That didn’t happen, though. Namajunas was instead upset by Carla Esparza, losing her title in the process, and that vaulted Zhang back into contention.
We’ve seen on numerous occasions before that new titleholders cement themselves as champions by beating a former champion, but that wasn’t the case at all here. Instead, ‘Magnum’ thoroughly whitewashed Esparza, submitting ‘The Cookie Monster’ in the second round after dominating her in her own wheelhouse, the ground.
With this win, can anyone defeat Zhang at 115 lbs? It’s unlikely that Namajunas will find herself in line straight away again, meaning her first challenge could come from someone like Amanda Lemos, who won big last weekend, or perhaps even her old foe Jessica Andrade, who holds a win over Lemos from 2021.
Either way, while ‘Thug Rose’ might have Zhang’s number, it’s not likely that anyone else will, meaning that her second title reign could be much more successful than her first was.
#1. Alex Pereira – defeated Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight title
Last night’s biggest winner was undoubtedly Alex Pereira, who seemed to prove once and for all that even though he might not be the most well-rounded fighter in the middleweight division, he’s got Israel Adesanya’s number.
Last night was the third time that ‘Poatan’ was able to beat ‘The Last Stylebender’, but given what was on the line, it’s fair to say that this was the biggest of those three wins by a mile.
It didn’t come easily, as Pereira found himself in trouble in the first round and was clearly behind on the scorecards going into the fifth. When he found an opening, he capitalized and destroyed Adesanya with a violent combination, forcing referee Marc Goddard to rescue him.
Given that Adesanya was widely regarded as the most dominant middleweight since Anderson Silva, it’s hard to quantify how big of a win this will turn out to be for ‘Poatan’.
Whether he goes onto a dominant reign of his own now or whether he gets exposed on the ground by a different contender is a huge question. It wouldn’t even be a surprise to see Adesanya get a rematch, given his status as a big drawing card for the UFC.
However, based on last night, it’s simply impossible to count a striker as powerful as Pereira out of any fight, even if he’s losing. With his power, in fact, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him chasing Derrick Lewis’ record of knockouts in the octagon in the near future.
Either way, as the first man to capture middleweight gold since 2019 and beat a hugely dominant champion in the process, it’s safe to say that ‘Poatan’ was the biggest winner in Madison Square Garden last night.
