The best and worst from UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana

Holly Holm dominated Irene Aldana in last night's main event.
Holly Holm dominated Irene Aldana in last night's main event.

#2 Best: Todorovic impresses in his debut

Dusko Todorovic impressed in his win over Dequan Townsend.
Dusko Todorovic impressed in his win over Dequan Townsend.

On a show seriously lacking in name value, there was always going to be the chance for some unheralded fighters to shine. And that's exactly what unbeaten UFC debutant Dusko Todorovic did in his Octagon debut.

Sure, he wasn't faced with the most dangerous opponent – Dequan Townsend had gone 0-3 in the UFC leading into last night – but that didn't make his win any less impressive. The native of Belgrade, Serbia, simply bullied his opponent from pillar-to-post, not really allowing him to have any meaningful offense.

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In the second round, Todorovic took Townsend down, and from there, he absolutely destroyed him with some seriously nasty ground-and-pound. The win gave Todorovic his first UFC win and took him to 10-0 overall, so he's clearly a man to watch.

How far can he go? Well, it's hard to say given the level of opposition he's faced so far. But a pre-UFC win over rising star Michel Pereira suggests he has some real talent. Hopefully, the UFC pushes him up the ladder for his next fight and brings him back soon.


#2 Worst: The UFC's choice for co-main event backfires

Carlos Felipe's fight with Yorgan De Castro slowed to a crawl in the third round.
Carlos Felipe's fight with Yorgan De Castro slowed to a crawl in the third round.

Eyebrows were raised across the MMA world when the UFC chose to showcase a couple of largely unheralded Heavyweights – Yorgan De Castro and Carlos Felipe – in last night's co-main event. The two men had a combined UFC record of 1-2 and had basically stunk out the Octagon in their last two appearances.

Well, the first two rounds of the fight were....okay. The two big men winged heavy blows at each other throughout, and while neither man came close to a finish, it was at least decent to watch. The third round, though, saw the pace grind to a horrendous halt, as both fighters looked exhausted and simply leaned on one another in the clinch for five minutes.

In the end, Felipe picked up his first UFC win, but it'd be hard to find a UFC fan this morning looking forward to seeing either man in action again. The UFC were clearly hoping for a quick knockout in this fight, and that plan backfired badly.


#3 Best: Phillips shines in a fun showcase

Kyler Phillips dominated Cameron Else in an impressive showing.
Kyler Phillips dominated Cameron Else in an impressive showing.

While Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie, Carlos Condit, and Dusko Todorovic all shone on last night's card, the performance of the night probably belonged to rising Bantamweight star Kyler Phillips.

'The Matrix' was faced with a somewhat tricky challenge, as his initial opponent Danaa Batgerel was forced out of the fight on late notice. The UFC replaced him with the UK's Cameron Else, and given 'Camchida' was riding a six-fight win streak, there was definitely an argument that he was an upgrade on Batgerel.

That clearly didn't matter to Phillips. He thoroughly dominated Else, both standing and on the ground, and eventually put the UFC newcomer away with a series of brutal elbows from the mount in the second round.

Bantamweight is an incredibly deep division – arguably the deepest in the UFC, in fact – but after last night, it's hard not to view Phillips as one of the division's better up-and-comers. Hopefully, the UFC can get him back into the Octagon sooner rather than later with a tougher test to see if he can climb the ladder further.

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Edited by Zaid Khan
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