5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo

#4. Jamahal Hill – defeated Jimmy Crute in a UFC light heavyweight bout

Jamahal Hill impressed greatly in his win over Jimmy Crute.

UFC light heavyweight prospect Jamahal Hill probably had his back to the wall coming into last night’s clash with Jimmy Crute.

The lanky striker was destroyed by Paul Craig in his last UFC bout, ending his unbeaten run and exposing him pretty badly. Had he lost here, his UFC career might well have been over.

Hill clearly recognised that, though, and came into last night’s bout looking more serious than he has ever been before. That approach soon turned out to be fruitful. A big shot in the fight’s opening sequence knocked Crute down.

While the Aussie got back to his feet, his eye looked badly busted up, and moments later, another crushing right hook sent him down for good.

Hill has always had the explosive striking to take out almost any opponent at 205 lbs. However, his previous octagon showings always left more questions than answers, especially the application of his skills.

There could be no such questions last night in what was Hill’s best UFC showing to date, despite the fight only lasting 48 seconds. Hill was undoubtedly one of the show’s biggest winners, and he should go into 2022 with plenty of momentum behind him.

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#3. Rafael Fiziev – defeated Brad Riddell in a UFC lightweight bout

Rafael Fiziev picked up the night’s most explosive finish over Brad Riddell.

There was plenty of hype around Rafael Fiziev going into last night’s show. The native of Kazakhstan had used his explosive striking to win his last four bouts in the UFC, picking up three $50K bonuses in the process.

Last night saw him pick up his fourth bonus cheque in what was undoubtedly the biggest win of his UFC career. That should be enough to propel him into a clash with a top ten-ranked lightweight next year.

Fiziev faced Brad Riddell in a genuinely excellent striking bout. While ‘Quake’ had his moments, it was clear the Kazakh fighter’s speed was giving him difficulties.

Nobody expected ‘Ataman’ to finish Riddell with a picture-perfect spinning wheel kick, though. Fiziev landed the shot midway through the third round directly to the face of his opponent. While Riddell didn’t go down instantly, he was frozen in time, forcing Herb Dean to call a justified stoppage.

Based on the striking skill, explosive power and athleticism he has shown in his past five bouts, it’s clear Fiziev is a threat to anyone in the lightweight division. Given the talent in the top ten, the UFC could match ‘Ataman’ with anyone and produce an excellent fight.

Can he rise into title contention? Only time will tell, but based on what he showed last night, he has got a great chance.