5 biggest winners from UFC 272: Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal

#4. Sergey Spivak – defeated Greg Hardy in a UFC heavyweight bout

Sergey Spivak looked impressive in his win over Greg Hardy

Ever since Royce Gracie blasted through a number of more physically gifted opponents to win three of the first four UFC tournaments, fans have been taught that in the UFC, a great athlete doesn’t always beat a more technically skilled fighter.

That idea has slowed down in the modern era, as more athletically gifted fighters have also been able to pick up the best technical skills too. However, sometimes fans are handed throwback fights that bring back all those memories of Gracie.

Sergey Spivak’s win over Greg Hardy last night was one of those bouts. There was no doubt that Hardy was the superior athlete in last night’s fight. The former NFL star had shown his explosive power in numerous octagon bouts, while the smaller Spivak had struggled with similar opponents at times.

However, ‘The Polar Bear’ dominated when it came to fight time. He barely ate a strike before hitting a hip throw to put ‘The Prince of War’ on the ground. From there, Spivak destroyed him with brutal ground-and-pound for a first-round TKO.

The win not only reinforced the adage that to win in the octagon, you need far more than athleticism and power, but it also showed that Spivak has the skills to survive at the top end of the heavyweight division. He was undoubtedly one of last night’s big winners.

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#3. Kevin Holland – defeated Alex Oliveira in a UFC welterweight bout

Kevin Holland picked up his first win as a welterweight by beating Alex Oliveira

Following five straight UFC wins at 185lbs in 2020, Kevin Holland struggled for traction during 2021 and fell to two losses before being knocked out during a clash that was eventually declared a No Contest.

Despite this, his decision to drop to 170lbs was always a risky one. How would ‘The Trailblazer’ respond to the extra 15lbs weight cut? And could he deal with the superior speed he’d face against smaller foes?

Holland answered a couple of those questions last night, defeating Alex Oliveira in the second round via TKO.

Early on, ‘The Trailblazer’ struggled badly with Oliveira’s speed. He found himself hurt on the feet, and then in deep trouble on the ground when ‘Cowboy’ appeared to have a rear-naked choke locked up tightly.

However, Holland survived and, in the second round, appeared more fired up than ever and turned up the heat. He dropped Oliveira early on with a right hand and then smashed him on the ground to force a stoppage.

Quite how much we can take from this win is a fair question to ask. After all, Oliveira had been on a slide coming into this bout, suggesting his best years may be behind him.

Despite this, a win is a win, and if nothing else, this bout will have given Holland a taste of what’s to come at welterweight – particularly if the UFC chooses to push him up the ladder next time out. Whether he’ll cope well with that is difficult to say, but for now, he should be considered one of last night’s big winners.