While UFC 172 didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary on paper, the pay-per-view event ended up easily being the company’s best effort of 2014 thus far.

Six of the 10 fights on the card were finishes, producing top contenders for both “Submission of the Year” and “Knockout of the Year.”

Of course, the show stealer was once again UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, delivering a masterful 25-minute striking clinic against a game Glover Teixeira.

Check out the highlights of the action from the Baltimore Arena on Saturday.

BIGGEST WINNER

Jon Jones – A number of fans and analysts were giving the heavy-handed Glover Teixeira a chance against “Bones,” but obviously that was a mistake.

The champion masterfully used oblique kicks, standing elbows and punching combinations to keep his Brazilian adversary at bay throughout the contest.

While Jones couldn’t quite do enough to finish the fight, he looked untouchable - perfect now that he will rematch the only fighter whose made him look human: Alexander Gustafsson.

WINNER

Anthony Johnson – Few people gave “Rumble” any shot of overcoming Phil Davis’ wrestling, but boy, was that a mistake.

The Blackzilian fighter shook off Davis’ takedowns with ease and bloodied the top contender with stuff punches and kicks throughout the contest.

Don’t look now, but all of a sudden Johnson has won seven in a row and could be primed for a title eliminator bout next.

WINNER

Luke Rockhold – The ex-Strikeforce middleweight champ has had a chip on his shoulder since suffering a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort last year and last night was no different.

Known for his striking, Rockhold finally got to show off his submission skills by locking up an inverted triangle kimura early in the first round. Rematches with Tim Kennedy or Ronaldo Souza certainly look intriguing now.

WINNER

Joseph Benavidez – Following a disappointing knockout loss to flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in December, the Team Alpha Male standout needed a big win this weekend.

He did just that, forcing Tim Elliot to tap out to his patented mounted guillotine choke with his feet. Enough said.

Honorable Mentions

Everyone Except Bethe Correia and Jessamyn Duke – While the sole women’s fight on the card was a disappointment, every other fight on the card was action-packed.

UFC matchmaker Joe Silva deserves a pat on the back for making quality fights, while all the competitors of course deserve credit for putting on a great show – win or lose.

BIGGEST LOSER

Phil Davis – Prior to Saturday night, “Mr. Wonderful” seemed more interested in a championship showdown with Jon Jones than his UFC 172 bout with Anthony Johnson and he paid dearly for it.

Davis had no answers for Johnson’s stellar takedown defense and aggressive striking, getting bloodied and battered for almost the entirety of their 15-minute affair.

The former four-time All-American collegiate wrestler may not be a true top 5 talent since he has lost decisively to opponents he couldn’t take down (Johnson, Rashad Evans).

LOSER

Charlie Brenneman – After getting cut from the UFC in September 2012, Brenneman rattled off four-straight victories on the regional scene before being given another shot by the promotion in January.

Unfortunately for the AMA Fight Club product, “The Spaniard” has been finished in consecutive bouts since returning to the promotion. All signs indicate that another pink slip is coming his way any minute now.

LOSER

Tim Boetsch – The hulking middleweight looked like a dark horse title contender after rattling off four victories in a row between May 2011 and July 2012.

Those days seem like an eternity ago though, as “The Barbarian” has lost three of his past four bouts and could easily be on the cutting block after getting dominated by Luke Rockhold.

LOSER

Jessamyn Duke – After receiving a good amount of hype heading into her bout with Bethe Correira, Duke looked completely lifeless in the bout and made some very amateur mistakes on top of that.

Luckily, she is just 27 years old and this was only her fifth bout as a professional mixed martial artist so she has plenty of time to improve.