The UFC returned to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida Saturday night to host their 11 major network event on FOX.
While finishes were tough to come by on this card (9 decisions in 13 fights), the event generally came up big in delivering the action for the 17,000 or so fans watching live.
In main event of the evening saw the next UFC heavyweight contender emerge, while the next lightweight title challenger may have quietly emerged on the undercard.
Furthermore, the women’s co-main event certainly did not disappoint and a middleweight dark horse contender showed he is the real deal.
Let’s check out the biggest winners from UFC on FOX 11 from Easter weekend.
BIGGEST WINNER
Fabricio Werdum – A slight underdog heading into his matchup with knockout specialist Travis Browne, few fans and/or analysts saw any way “Vai Cavalo” could hang with the Jackson’s MMA standout on the feet.
However, Werdum turned the MMA world on its head by using his crisp Muay Thai to overwhelm Browne for almost the entirety of their 25-minute affair, taking over the fight after getting dropped early in the first round.
Werdum is now tied with UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez for longest active win streak in the division (four) and now gets to challenge from the strap before the year is up.
WINNER
Miesha Tate – Entering her bout with Liz Carmouche, “Cupcake” was a paltry 1-3 in her past four fights. While two of those losses were to dominant champion Ronda Rousey, a win for Tate was imperative here.
Despite starting slow, the 27-year-old finished strong and nearly choked out a very tough, game opponent at the tail end of the third round. Tate now opens herself up to big money fights in the division with basically anyone besides Rousey.
WINNER
Khabib Nurmagomedov – A perfect 22-0 professional record overall, including a 6-0 mark overall? Sounds like stats from a video game, but that’s exactly what “The Eagle’s” ledger says after a clear-cut decision win over Rafael dos Anjos.
Anything less than a title shot for the Russian grappler in his next outing doesn’t make much sense from a matchmaking standpoint.
WINNER
Yoel Romero – After three straight knockouts inside the Octagon, the former Olympic silver medalist put on a complete, 15-minute performance against Brad Tavares on Saturday.
Tavares had no answers for Romero’s power punching, takedowns and ground-and-pound. Romero improved to 8-1 and deserves a top 10 opponent as his true Litmus test on where he stands in the middleweight division.
HONORABLE MENTION
Thiago Alves – After sitting on the shelf for 13 months following multiple injuries and subsequent surgeries, “The Pitbull” dialed in a decisive decision win over Seth Baczynski at UFC on FOX 11.
Baczynski was simply outclassed by the former UFC title challenger’s stellar Muay Thai, but he refused to go a way, one reason the bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
BIGGEST LOSER
Liz Carmouche – While Carmouche will always be respected for her military background and for being the first woman to ever enter the Octagon, it just does not seem like she is a UFC-level talent.
The “Girl-rilla” has lost three of her four fights under the UFC banner, and while she was competitive in a razor-thin decision loss to Miesha Tate, she showed that her game is very one-dimensional around her wrestling.
Given the limited number of women on the UFC roster, it is likely Carmouche will get one more chance to prove herself, but it is pretty clear now she doesn’t have what it takes to be a champion.
LOSER
Travis Browne – “Hapa” offered next to no offense despite being favored going into his main event scrap with Fabricio Werdum.
Browne suffered a broken hand, a broken nose and possibly some broken ribs as a result of being outstruck for 25 minutes. Still, a 7-2-1 record inside the Octagon is nothing to be ashamed of and Browne has plenty of time to climb the ladder again at 31 years old.
LOSER
Pat Healy – After six straight victories, it seemed academic that “Bam Bam” would be brought over to the Octagon in 2013.
However, following his loss to Jorge Masvidal this past weekend, Healy is now 0-3(1) under the UFC banner. It’s hard to imagine him getting another chance in the UFC after another setback.
LOSER
Rafael dos Anjos – The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was likely just one win away from a title shot after five straight victories between May 2012 and August 2013.
Unfortunately, he ran into the Khabib Nurmagomedov freight train at UFC on FOX 11 and now has to head to the back of the line at 155 pounds.