5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Amanda Lemos vs. Jessica Andrade

#4. Claudio Puelles – defeated Clay Guida in a UFC lightweight bout

Claudio Puelles should be considered a threat at lightweight after his win over Clay Guida

While the UFC often makes a big deal out of hot prospects – look at their treatment of Khamzat Chimaev, for instance – the majority of them tend to fly under the radar somewhat until they pick up a breakout victory.

Last night may well have seen one of those breakout performances, as Peruvian lightweight Claudio Puelles submitted longtime veteran Clay Guida with a slick kneebar in the first round.

Fans could easily be forgiven for failing to recognize ‘The Prince of Peru’ as one of the lightweight division’s better up-and-comers. After all, he’d been folded in his UFC debut back in 2016 and hadn’t appeared on the main card of a show since.

However, in the years that followed that loss, Puelles put together a run of four wins, finishing two of them with kneebars. Last night, he performed masterfully, baiting Guida into taking the fight to the ground before running a submission clinic on him, finally finishing the veteran with his favorite hold.

Should Puelles now be considered a contender at 155lbs? It’s debatable. The division is arguably the UFC’s deepest, and there are plenty of fighters around who’d be favored to beat Guida. However, the Peruvian clearly has some serious talent – particularly on the ground – and after this win, it’s unlikely he’ll be ignored any longer.

That alone undoubtedly makes him one of last night’s biggest winners.

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#3. Maycee Barber – defeated Montana De La Rosa in a UFC flyweight bout

Maycee Barber feels back on track after her win over Montana De La Rosa

While she wasn’t able to pick up an impressive finish, the fact that Maycee Barber was able to shut out longtime veteran Montana De La Rosa – taking a unanimous decision over her without dropping a round – makes her one of the bigger winners from last night’s event.

‘The Future’ once had a dream to become the UFC’s youngest-ever champion, and her wins over Hannah Cifers, JJ Aldrich and Gillian Robertson appeared to be putting her on the way to achieving that goal.

However, her losses to Roxanne Modafferi and Alexa Grasso – as well as a serious knee injury – derailed her badly, and while she won her last bout over Miranda Maverick, it came in somewhat controversial fashion.

Last night’s win, though, was far more clear-cut. Barber largely used the clinch to bully De La Rosa, who seemed to be at a disadvantage physically, and when the fight hit the ground, she used her skills and power to easily avoid her opponent’s submission attempts.

Overall, it wasn’t the most entertaining performance from ‘The Future’. However, in the thin flyweight division, it should be enough to move Barber up the rankings slightly, meaning her title dreams, even if they’re now a little late, aren’t totally out of her reach.