The UFC fans that reside in Canada can’t seem to catch a break.
Every time major event comes to their country, something seems to go wrong. Interim bantamweight champ Renan Barao was supposed to defend his belt against Eddie Wineland in the man event, with the Brazilian predictably getting injured weeks before the card.
Then, it appeared a high-profile light heavyweight fight between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Chael Sonnen was then rumored to save the show, but the match up was moved to UFC on FOX Sports 1: #1 at the last minute.
While the event was universally panned by critics, there certainly were plenty of fights were watching. Check out the biggest winners and losers from UFC 161.
BIGGEST WINNER
Stipe Miocic - Being written off as another first round knockout victim for Roy Nelson may have been the best thing that could’ve ever happened to Stipe Miocic.
Coming off a brutal knockout to fringe contender Stefan Struve in September, many fans thought Miocic was never going to be a top-tier heavyweight. He certainly proved them wrong Saturday night.
The versatile striker gave Roy Nelson fits as he stuck and moved, circling away from “Big Country’s” signature overhand right. Nelson looked awful, but that shouldn’t take away from Miocic’s impressive performance.
WINNER
Rashad Evans - After back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the former champion had his back against the wall.
The Blackzilian gym co-founder rose to the occasion though, defeating former PRIDE and Strikeforce titleholder Dan Henderson via close split decision. A fight with Glover Teixeira would certainly draw a lot of fan interest.
WINNER
Shawn Jordan – While Pat Barry may never be the most complete heavyweight mixed martial artist, he certainly knows how to stand and bang and Jordan beat him at his own game.
Less than a minute into the fight, Jordan bull-rushed Barry, dropped him with a right uppercut, and then finished him off with some absolutely brutal ground-and-pound.
Jordan has consecutive KO’s over respected veterans in Mike Russow and Barry, so he has earned a step up in competition.
WINNER
James Krause - Earning an extra $100,000 in your UFC debut isn’t a bad night. After a back-and-forth bloody war with respected kickboxer Sam Stout, Krause locked up a guillotine choke with just seconds left in the fight to earn the submission victory.
The tap out earned him both “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night,” also boosting the Virginia native’s win streak to eight in a row.
BIGGEST LOSER
Dan Henderson – “Hendo” is a legend of the sport and could easily soldier forward and a have a few fun fights before he calls it a career. However, his time at the top of the food chain is over.
After four consecutive wins, the Team Quest co-founder has now lost two straight to former UFC champions in Lyoto Machida in Rashad Evans.
While there’s no shame in losing to competitors of that caliber, all hopes and dreams of Henderson taking on current divisional kingpin Jon Jones have been crushed.
LOSER
Roy Nelson – “Big Country” was supposed to make quick work of Stipe Miocic, being able to say he’s the only heavyweight on the UFC roster with four straight knockouts as he negotiated a new contract.
Instead, Nelson’s horrendous conditioning finally caught up to him, as he got soundly outstruck by a much more polished striker. Both the UFC and Bellator will still give The Ultimate Fighter a lucrative contract offer, so it will be intriguing to see where he fights next.
LOSERS
Jake Shields and Tyron Woodley – Two former title challengers in the UFC and Strikeforce, respectively, and all the fans got out of them were pitter-patter punching against the cage for 15 minutes.
“T-Wood” landed a few big right hands and a beautiful spinning back fist in the final frame, so many argued the judges were wrong to award Shields the split decision. However, in a fight this bad, did anyone really win? The fans certainly lost, that’s for sure.
LOSER
Pat Barry – “Hype or Die” has never won back-to-back fights in the Octagon, and after a devastating KO at the hands of Shawn Jordan, doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.
Barry has a big personality and some serious knockout power, but his own chin is suspect and his grappling is virtually non-existent. Realistically, Barry should be fighting pro kickboxing or regional MMA somewhere and is not a UFC-level talent.