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Last night saw the UFC present its 100th event at the Las Vegas APEX. In the end, it wasn't a memorable one. UFC Fight Night: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira did have some fun fights, but for the most part, it was a show that will quickly be forgotten.
There were at least a few talking points coming out of this event, though, most notably on the value of an injury-induced win.
Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira.
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#5. The 100th event at the UFC APEX showed the evolution of MMA over the past two decades
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Last night's event was the 100th one to take place at the Las Vegas APEX since the UFC started holding the majority of their Fight Nights there in 2020.
In the eyes of many fans, the move to the APEX has been a bad thing, as the shows tend to come across as smaller, cheaply produced, and suffer with a lesser crowd.
One only has to look back at last weekend's event in front of a hot crowd in Louisville to see the difference. That card, on paper, wasn't much better than last night's, but the atmosphere there elevated it.
However, there's another way of looking at these smaller APEX shows. They show the evolution in the sport of MMA over the last two decades.
Back in 2004, an event like this - with no ranked fighters in action outside of the headliner - probably would've been put on by a promotion like King of the Cage or ICON Sport.
Those headliners would've fought and then headed back to the UFC - which didn't have exclusive contracts back then.
Now, though, the TKO-owned promotion is so ubiquitous in MMA that their smaller events have essentially replaced a lot of the higher-end regional promotions.
Could Dana White and company pay more to their fighters? Absolutely, but today's fighters are still doing far better than those who would've competed in King of the Cage in 2004, and that's proof of the evolution in MMA. In that sense, the APEX is a good thing.
#4. Westin Wilson saved his UFC career in style
Any fighter who comes into their third UFC fight after losing their previous two by knockout probably has their back to the wall. That was the case for featherweight Westin Wilson last night.
Had Wilson lost to Indonesia's Jeka Saragih last night, there's absolutely no doubt he would've been cut from the roster. Despite being a clear underdog on the betting lines, it looked like he knew this too.
Once the fight hit the ground, he was extremely aggressive, first hunting for a guillotine. When Saragih was able to avoid that, Wilson switched immediately to a triangle/armbar combination.
The Indonesian fighter knew he was in trouble, but despite trying to slam his way out, the hold was too tight. Moments later, Wilson had scored his first octagon win, and earned a $50k bonus for his efforts, too.
He'll still likely need to be careful in his next fight, as a loss could still put him on the chopping block. For now, though, Wilson can rest easily on the back of a great performance.
#3. Asu Almabayev needs a step up next time around
Several flyweight prospects were in action at last night's event, and one of them was Kazakhstan's Asu Almabayev.
'Zulfikhar' was faced with a tricky, if unheralded foe in the form of Jose Johnson, who offered a difficult proposition. Standing at 6ft, 'No Way' came into the bout as the tallest flyweight in UFC history, towering above his 5ft 4in opponent.
In the end, though, Johnson's lanky frame was not really a factor. Almabayev not only landed the better strikes on the feet, including a nasty spin kick in the second round, but he thoroughly dominated 'No Way' on the ground too.
The win was Almabayev's third in the octagon. Not only does the Kazakh fighter now boast an impressive record of 20-2, he also hasn't lost since April 2017.
The one question mark on him is how he'll do against better opposition, and it's safe to say the promotion needs to match him much higher next time out. Post-fight saw Almabayev call out former title challenger Kai Kara-France, and the matchmakers could do much worse than running with that fight.
Overall, then, the native of Kazakhstan is a man to keep an eye on going forward.
#2. Was Garrett Armfield robbed of a $50k bonus?
The best fight on offer last night was undoubtedly the bantamweight tilt between Brady Hiestand and Garrett Armfield.
It was a clash so good to watch that the UFC probably wished they'd elevated it into last night's co-headline slot when Ikram Aliskerov was moved to fight Robert Whittaker next weekend.
The back-and-forth scrap saw both men land some big strikes to hurt the other, and in the first round, Armfield came close to outright breaking Hiestand's arm in a tight armbar that the TUF veteran somehow escaped.
However, despite being dropped twice in the second round, it turned out to be Hiestand's night. He was able to sink a fight-ending rear naked choke in the third, scoring a comeback victory.
In the aftermath of the event, Hiestand was quite rightly awarded a $50k performance bonus from Dana White and company. But what about Armfield?
Realistically, he played just as much of a part in what was a tremendous fight that should've been given the 'Fight of the Night' award. Instead, the UFC chose to give four performance bonuses.
Hopefully, Armfield was a recipient of one of White's famous under-the-table, quiet bonus payouts. He did more than enough to warrant it with his performance and should've been recognized as such.
#1. Tatsuro Taira is the real deal - but does last night's win make him a UFC title contender?
The big question coming into last night's headline bout was whether unbeaten prospect Tatsuro Taira could make the leap to UFC title contender status.
Faced with former title challenger Alex Perez, who knocked off Matheus Nicolau earlier in the year, Taira needed to be at his best to win.
In the end, the Japanese fighter did win, but the nature of his victory makes it quite hard to quantify today.
After a close first round that Perez probably edged, Taira decided to take things down in the second, and after a brief scramble, managed to take his foe's back while he was still standing.
Looking to force him to the ground, Taira used a body triangle to attempt to wrench Perez down and ended up doing so. However, in hitting the ground, Perez appeared to tear his right knee to shreds, screaming in agony in the process.
The former title challenger tapped out immediately, giving Taira the win.
So how much should this victory count towards the Japanese star's title hopes? On one hand, Perez was forced to stop the fight due to a serious injury. On the other hand, the injury was essentially caused by Taira forcing him to the ground, rather than something Perez did to himself.
At the end of the day, how you see it is debatable. Regardless, though, Taira should find himself in the top five next week and should now be considered a genuine title threat. A big fight for him next time out is a must.
