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Despite little fanfare coming in, the UFC’s latest Fight Night turned out to be a really fun show with plenty of cool fights on offer.
UFC Fight Night: Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill featured six finishes in 12 fights, but who were the biggest winners overall?
With some fighters advancing into title contention and others making waves in new weight classes, a number of stars climbed the ladder last night.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill.
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#5. Gilbert Urbina – defeated Orion Cosce in a UFC catchweight bout
Every UFC event feels like it features at least one or two fighters who miss weight, and last night was no exception. Two fighters failed to hit their mark, with Orion Cosce coming in 2.5 pounds overweight for his welterweight tilt against Gilbert Urbina.
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His opponent's weight miss didn’t make things any easier for Urbina, who had his back to the wall coming into the bout. If he’d lost, his octagon record would’ve slipped to 0-2 and it’s likely that he’d have been cut from his contract.
Despite this, the TUF veteran fought fantastically. He dominated Cosce in the opening round, largely on the ground, and then stopped him in the second round in vicious fashion.
The stoppage came in dramatic fashion, as Urbina cracked ‘Galaxy’ with a front kick to the ribs, then followed with some nasty knees to seal the deal.
Whether Urbina can continue to advance at 170 pounds is debatable, but this win not only saved his octagon career, it also earned him some extra money due to Cosce’s weight miss. That makes him one of the night’s big winners.
#4. Carlos Diego Ferreira – defeated Michael Johnson in a UFC lightweight bout
While a number of fighters perhaps had their jobs on the line last night, the man with his back to the wall the most was probably Carlos Diego Ferreira.
The longtime veteran had lost his last three bouts and hadn’t won since January 2020. What’s more, he turned 38 years old earlier this year. Had he lost to Michael Johnson, there would undoubtedly have been calls for his retirement.
Instead, Ferreira turned back the clock by scoring one of the best knockouts of the year, winning a $50k bonus in the process.
The first round actually didn’t go so well for the Brazilian, as ‘The Menace’ looked to be piecing him up for the most part on the feet. That changed entirely in the second round.
With Johnson continuing to look to pick at him, Ferreira uncorked a ridiculous overhand right, knocking ‘The Menace’ out before he’d even hit the ground.
Whether Ferreira really needed to add an extra hammer fist is debatable – he could easily have left it as a walk-off KO – but it was still a devastating finish that will live long in the memory.
How much longer he can last is anyone’s guess, but for now he should be considered a big winner.
#3. Anthony Hernandez – defeated Edmen Shahbazyan in a UFC middleweight bout
Coming into last night’s event, the fighter who seemed to be flying under the radar, albeit slightly unfairly, was Anthony Hernandez.
‘Fluffy’ was riding a three-fight win streak and hadn’t lost a fight since May 2020, but very few fans were giving him a chance against Edmen Shahbazyan. After all, ‘The Golden Boy’ had always been pegged as a future title contender at 185 pounds.
Early on, it looked like Hernandez’s doubters were right. Shahbazyan came out quickly and appeared to have him stunned with a flurry of punches. ‘Fluffy’ did survive and then came back to look strong as the round ended, but it was still a tricky opening for him.
In the second round, though, he simply took over. After getting on top, he destroyed Shahbazyan with strikes from the top, throwing in enough submission attempts to ensure he kept his dominant position too.
‘The Golden Boy’ survived the round, but he was exhausted, and nobody was surprised when Hernandez took him back down in the third and ended things with some ruthless elbows.
With this being his fourth win in a row, Hernandez ought to crack the middleweight division’s top 15 next week, and he looks like a threat to anyone. Overall, he won big last night.
#2. Joaquin Buckley – defeated Andre Fialho in a UFC welterweight bout
Joaquin Buckley will probably always have a spot on the UFC’s roster thanks to his all-time great knockout of Impa Kasanganay.
However, that knockout also happened back in 2020 and while ‘New Mansa’ has had some more high points since, he had also lost his last two bouts pretty badly.
Last night saw Buckley drop to 170 pounds for the first time since 2018, and if he was hoping for a fresh start, then he got exactly what he was after in his fight with Andre Fialho.
‘New Mansa’ forced Fialho onto the back foot from the off, never allowed him to get comfortable, and when the chance arose, he threw a vicious head kick that knocked the Portuguese fighter senseless.
The stoppage was a little strange, as Buckley seemed to celebrate before throwing his follow-up strike, but that was largely on referee Kerry Hatley more than anything else.
Either way, this was Buckley’s best highlight-reel moment since that famous 2020 knockout, and while it won’t go as viral as that one did, it was enough to net him a $50k bonus.
More to the point, it was a fantastic way for him to begin his career in the UFC as a welterweight, and based on this, he could well make some genuine noise at 170 pounds.
#1. Mackenzie Dern – defeated Angela Hill in a UFC strawweight bout
The only fight on offer last night with real UFC title implications was the headline bout between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill.
Dern was ranked No.8 in the strawweight division coming in and was looking for a victory to advance her into title contention. Hill, meanwhile, was hoping to crack the top 10 in her own right with a huge win.
In the end, despite an apparently horrible fight camp that included a nasty divorce, Dern came out on top. More than that, though, she produced one of the best showings of her octagon career.
Not only did Dern dominate ‘Overkill’ on the ground as many people figured she would, but she also hurt Hill badly on the feet, wobbling her in the third round with a nasty knee.
Essentially, she did everything but net a finish, and even though she didn’t, it was hard not to be impressed.
Should the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace be considered a title contender going forward? Based on this showing, absolutely – and if she can net a fight with former champ Rose Namajunas next, she’ll have another chance to prove it.
Overall, then, it’s undeniable that she was last night’s biggest winner.
