5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus

#4. Cub Swanson – defeated Darren Elkins in a UFC featherweight bout

Cub Swanson's win over Darren Elkins was his best performance in years.

The battle of UFC veterans, Cub Swanson and Darren Elkins, was always going to be a fascinating one. However, few people could’ve predicted the way it went.

Rather than looking like a battle of two past-their-prime fighters, Swanson rolled back the clock and looked genuinely phenomenal. He sniped at Elkins with phenomenal precision before putting him away with a wheel kick just minutes into the opening round.

Incredibly, despite being 38, this was probably the best Swanson has looked in years – at least since his victory over Doo Ho Choi, which came five years ago.

More to the point, this felt like a huge personal victory for Swanson. His family was in attendance, and when he won, he was able to celebrate with his wife and children, making for a memorable moment.

In an ideal world, Swanson would have hung up his gloves after this victory. However good he looked last night, it’s unlikely it’ll get any better for him from here, assuming he fights a young up-and-comer next. Of course, that isn’t the way things work in the UFC and MMA, so Swanson could be back.

Even if he loses his next outing, he’ll always have this win – and he may well call it the best of his UFC tenure.

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#3. Ricky Simon – defeated Raphael Assuncao in a UFC bantamweight bout

Ricky Simon's win over Raphael Assuncao should move him into the top 15 in bantamweight.

Bantamweight prospect Ricky Simon had already had a strong 2021 before last night. He had beaten two opponents to move himself back into the cusp of title contention following a failed attempt to get there a few years ago.

Last night, he signed off the year in the most impressive way possible. Simon took out a top 15-ranked contender, Raphael Assuncao, to move up the ladder, probably putting him in line for another big fight in 2022.

Simon looked genuinely excellent last night. He first outworked Assuncao on the mat before showing wonderful patience and timing to take him out on the feet in the second round. It was comfortably the best performance of his UFC career.

Naturally, there are still some question marks over Simon – most notably because this win came over a 39-year old who is far past his prime at this point. However, the UFC has always been built on younger fighters beating older ones, so this bout was no exception.

If nothing else, this win should give Simon the confidence he needs to believe in himself against higher-level opposition. That is significant after he dropped fights to Rob Font and Urijah Faber in 2019. Simon should, undoubtedly, be considered one of last night’s biggest winners.