The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 161: Jedrzejczyk vs. Waterson

#3 Best: Those fun prelim finishes

Marlon Vera's impressive stoppage of Andre Ewell netted him a $50k bonus

Outside of Gracie vs. Swanson, the best fight on the main card last night was the wild brawl between Luis Pena and Matt Frevola, but in all honesty, some of the most memorable moments came in the preliminary bouts. Ryan Spann, Deiveson Figueiredo, Marlon Vera and Miguel Baeza picked up impressive finishes, and while only Vera won a $50k bonus, all four men saw their reputations soar last night.

Figueiredo might be the biggest winner; his guillotine choke submission of Tim Elliott was hugely impressive considering he’d become mostly known for his heavy hands, and with just one UFC loss to his name – a tight decision against veteran Jussier Formiga – there’s every chance we could see him in an Interim title fight against Joseph Benavidez, should current Flyweight kingpin Henry Cejudo choose to defend his Bantamweight title instead.

In terms of performance though, you simply can’t argue with ‘Chito’ Vera. Faced with a game opponent in Andre Ewell, the Ecuadorian fighter came out with incredible levels of aggression, taking the fight to his foe and coming close to submitting him with a crazy arm triangle that began from a standing position in the first round.

In the end, it was clinch strikes which did for Ewell and gave Vera his 5th win in a row, with all those wins coming by finish. It’s inconceivable to think he won’t get a big step up next time out; at 26 years old he’s probably in his prime right now, and this should be his chance to move up into the top ten at 135lbs. This was a tremendous night for him.