5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev

#4. Alex Pereira – defeated Bruno Silva in a UFC middleweight bout

Based on his win over Bruno Silva, Alex Pereira is ready for a run at the top middleweights in the world.

Alex Pereira made a flying knee knockout on his UFC debut and has a considerable background in kickboxing, complete with a KO win over current middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya. So it was understandable why Pereira had plenty of hype around him last night.

The promotion hardly threw him a softball on his second trip to the octagon. That’s because opponent Bruno Silva had reeled off three straight stoppage wins in 2021, and looked every bit one of the most dangerous prospects at 185 lbs. However, in a largely entertaining contest, ‘Po Atan’ came out on top, essentially outstriking Silva from start to finish.

Sure, ‘Blindado’ had his high points too, landing some solid blows, taking Pereira down a couple of times and becoming the first man to take him the distance in MMA. However, it was pretty clear who won in the end. Pereira even came close to a late stoppage, thanks to a nasty left hook in the third round.

Where does ‘Po Atan’ go from here? He’s clearly got the striking ability to stand with anyone in the division – including Adesanya. Really, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks into the top ten. The promotion should probably look to match him with someone like Derek Brunson next and see what happens.

Either way, it’s clear to say that Pereira was one of the biggest winners from last night’s event.

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#3. Sodiq Yusuff – defeated Alex Caceres in a UFC featherweight bout

Sodiq Yusuff was impressive in his win over Alex Caceres.

In a bout that appeared to be flying under the radar last night, Sodiq Yusuff outpointed Alex Caceres pretty convincingly. The win should probably move him into the featherweight division’s top ten next week.

‘Super Sodiq’ basically got the better of Caceres from start to finish in the fight. He outwrestled the veteran early before abusing ‘Bruce Leeroy’ with some nasty low kicks for the better part of the last two rounds.

Was it a perfect showing from Yusuff? Arguably not, as he didn’t really come close to finishing Caceres off. When you consider that ‘Bruce Leeroy’ has never been known for his durability, the native of Nigeria may be a little disappointed from his exploits on the night.

However, with his heavy striking and somewhat underrated grappling, he’s clearly a danger to any 145 lber on the planet and deserves a big fight next time out. There’s no doubt that even without a finish, he was one of last night’s big winners.