5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland

#2. Julian Erosa – defeated Steven Peterson in a UFC catchweight bout

Julian Erosa edged out Steven Peterson in a wild fight that won him an extra $100k

It was hardly a surprise to learn that the UFC’s ‘Fight of the Night’ award at last night’s event went to Julian Erosa and Steven Peterson. The two men went to war for fifteen minutes, throwing everything they had at one another. ‘Juicy J’ eventually earned a split decision.

To tell the truth, this fight could probably have gone either way. Both men took some huge strikes from the other and both looked badly hurt at points. Most importantly, neither man backed down an inch in any of the three rounds.

In the end, Erosa edged things, most likely due to his faster start and stronger third round despite taking plenty of punishment in the second stanza.

Usually, you’d have to consider both men winners in a fight as good as this. Unfortunately, Peterson missed the 145lbs featherweight limit – meaning that he was ineligible to win any kind of bonus award and therefore making Erosa $100k richer.

Is ‘Juicy J’ now a contender of sorts at 145lbs? On the face of it the answer might be no. Then again, he’s 5-1 in his last six fights and has picked up three finishes in the octagon. If nothing else, given his exciting style, he’s a must-see fighter these days, which definitely makes him a big winner from last night’s show.

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#1. Sean Strickland – defeated Jack Hermansson in a UFC middleweight bout

It wasn't entertaining, but Sean Strickland's win over Jack Hermansson makes him a genuine middleweight title contender

Last night’s main event was a massive opportunity for Sean Strickland to really establish himself as a title contender in the middleweight division. While his victory over Jack Hermansson was largely dull, it was also Strickland’s sixth in a row, meaning he’s become very hard to ignore.

Like his win last year over Uriah Hall, ‘Tarzan’ will probably gain no new fans from this showing. Essentially, he won due to his ability to keep Hermansson at the end of his strikes, picking at the Swedish fighter from a distance without really doing all that much damage.

Strickland himself seemed to recognize the fact that this wasn’t the best performance in his post-fight interview. He acknowledged that he had a lot of nerves coming into the fight due to “men in suits” talking of a potential title shot.

That title shot certainly won’t come in his next bout after the lack of entertainment factor here. However, ‘Tarzan’ should still be considered last night’s biggest winner as he comfortably outpointed one of the better fighters in his division.

Can he beat the likes of Jared Cannonier, Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori – not even mentioning the division’s big two in Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya? It’s highly debatable, but he’s at least earned a shot at one of them – probably in another headline bout.