UFC 165 in Toronto, Canada hosted one of the best light heavyweight fights of all time, as champion Jon Jones took all he could handle from challenger Alexander Gustafsson.
The two fierce competitors displayed the type of heart, will power and skill that made each fan take a step back and remember why they love to watch such a brutal sport.
While Jones had his hand rose in the end, Gustafsson raised his stock higher than anyone could have ever imagined in defeat.
Not bad for a 9-to-1 underdog.
As spectacular as the main event of the evening was, Jones and Gustafsson weren’t the only stars that shined at the Air Canada Centre.
Check out who the biggest winners and losers were from Saturday night.
BIGGEST WINNERS
Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson – While no fight can ever end with two winners in the record books, neither Jones nor Gustafsson looked like a loser at the end of their 25-minute war Saturday night.
Sure, both top-tier 205-pounders were wearing a prominent crimson mask at the end of their back-and-forth battle and needed to spend the night at the hospital, but the incredible amount of resolve and will to win shown by both men was a true sight to behold.
Jones won the tight decision, to the dismay of many fighters and fans, even though the Fight Metric decision supported the judges’ scorecards.
WINNER
Renan Barao – Whether you agreed with the stoppage or not, Barao continued his 32-fight unbeaten streak against Eddie Wineland, scoring with a spinning back kick and finishing the fight with punches early in the second round.
While Wineland was a game opponent, arguably winning the opening frame, the Brazilian’s well-versed striking game proved to be too much for him.
“Interim champion” no longer seems to be a fitting title for Barao, regardless of when titleholder Dominick Cruz returns from his nearly two-year absence.
WINNER
Khabib Nurmagomedov – Any doubters of “The Eagle” were silenced when the Russian grappling sensation took down, smothered and pummeled Pat Healy at UFC 165.
Nurmagomedov channeled former welterweight champ Matt Hughes in the third frame when he hit an incredible running double leg slam on the fellow respected mat technician. The 24-year-old should be just one win away from a title shot now.
WINNER
Francis Carmont – Yes, it was probably the least entertaining bout on the card, but Carmont is now 6-0 inside the Octagon after defeating a consensus top 10 middleweight in Costa Philippou.
In all fairness, “Limitless” hit Philippou with a lot of shots on the ground and obtained dominant positions many times, but “The Cyprus Slugger” wasn’t willing to go away quietly. With the win, Carmont has officially entered middleweight title contention.
BIGGEST LOSER
Pat Healy – Just five months ago, Pat Healy was on top of the world: he had just choked out a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt at UFC 159 and had finally become a household name among fight fans.
However, he posted positive for marijuana in his post-fight drug test, losing out on $130,000 in fight bonuses. Now at UFC 165, “Bam Bam” was dominated on the mat by a superior fighter. There goes any hope for being a dark horse title contender at 155-pounds.
LOSER
Costa Philippou – Like Healy, Philippou lost to a superior grappler in the midst of the best stretch of his career.
Philippou was borderline helpless off his back and Francis Carmont punched and elbowed him in the face, going through the motions in hopes of catching a basic submission. Looks like the “Cyprus Slugger” should’ve never left Team Serra-Longo in New York.
LOSER
Matt Mitrione – Looks like it the end of the line for “Meathead,” as the submission loss to Brendan Schaub was his third loss in his past four fights.
Mitrione was choked unconscious with a d’arce choke in the first round, moments after giving the ref the thumbs up that he was alright. Mitrione is a big guy who hits hard, but he doesn’t bring much else to the table in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
LOSER
Eddie Wineland - Wineland really didn't look half bad against dominant interim champ Renan Barao, and even argued he was ready to keep fighting when the ref stepped in, but he still got knocked out in the second round.
Despite just competting in a title bout, Wineland is just 2-3 in his past five bouts, leaving some debate if he is truly an elite talent or if the bantamweight division is just very short on contenders right now.