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The latest UFC event of 2023 went down last night, and while it didn’t receive too much fanfare, it turned out to be a decent show overall.
UFC Fight Night: Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier featured some strong performances up and down the card, but who were the biggest winners on the night?
Unsurprisingly, the ranked fighters who won should be considered amongst them, but overall, this was a night that saw a number of athletes climb the ladder.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier.
#5. Alessandro Costa – defeated Jimmy Flick in a UFC flyweight bout
Any fighter who manages to stand out enough to win a $50k bonus at a UFC event has to be considered one of the biggest winners of the night. Therefore, it’d be hard to leave flyweight prospect Alessandro Costa off this list.
Costa made his octagon debut last December and was stopped by Amir Albazi, but with the Iraqi fighter now in title contention at 125lbs, that loss doesn’t look so bad.
Last night saw ‘Nono’ dispatch the highly-regarded Jimmy Flick in nasty fashion. The first round saw Costa badly damage Flick’s leg with low kicks, even putting him down at one point.
The second round, meanwhile, saw the Brazilian stuff a takedown take top position, and smash ‘The Brick’ with a series of brutal elbows to secure a stoppage.
Will the win be enough to net ‘Nono’ a spot in the top fifteen at flyweight? That’s debatable, but it should definitely move him into a fight with a ranked opponent next time out. Based on this, he’s got the potential to climb into contention at some point.
#4. Pat Sabatini – defeated Lucas Almeida in a UFC featherweight bout
Prior to his fight last September with Damon Jackson, Pat Sabatini was looking like one of the fastest-rising stars in the UFC’s featherweight division.
The Pennsylvania native had won his first four bouts in the octagon, and a win over Jackson would probably have propelled him toward a fight with a ranked opponent. Unfortunately, Sabatini was trucked, and the loss knocked him straight down the ladder.
Last night, Sabatini was faced with a difficult opponent, dangerous finisher Lucas Almeida, and many fans expected the Brazilian to dispatch him as he had done to Michael Trizano.
That wasn’t the case at all, though. Sabatini’s grappling was far too much for Almeida, and after punishing him throughout the first round on the ground, he used a slick arm triangle to submit him in the second.
Basically, this was a one-sided win for Sabatini, and it should move him back into the cusp of contention, exactly where he was before the Jackson fight. Now back on track, it’s hard not to consider him a big winner.
#3. Manuel Torres – defeated Nikolas Motta in a UFC lightweight bout
The best knockout on offer last night was clearly produced by lightweight prospect Manuel Torres. In fact, his standing elbow finish of Nikolas Motta might well have been one of the best UFC knockouts of 2023 thus far.
The fight lasted just under two minutes, but there was plenty of action packed in there. First, Motta appeared to stun ‘El Loco’ with a left hand, but when he failed to follow it up, he left himself open.
From there, Torres stepped forward with a truly brutal elbow, knocking his Brazilian foe senseless, and probably didn’t need to land the follow-up shots he threw.
Was this a flawless win for the Mexican? Given that he ate a hard shot that hurt him, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t. However, he did score a highlight reel knockout, claimed an extra $50k, and is now 2-0 in the UFC.
More importantly, last night’s knockout made him a man to watch in the eyes of the fans, and it’s highly likely that he’ll receive a promotional push because of it. Overall, then, he was definitely one of the event’s big winners.
#2. Arman Tsarukyan – defeated Joaquim Silva in a UFC lightweight bout
In many ways, Arman Tsarukyan was in a no-win situation last night. The No.8 ranked lightweight in the UFC was matched with the unheralded Joaquim Silva, meaning anything but a dominant victory would’ve been considered a massive disappointment.
Thankfully for the Armenian, he did what he had to do, and dispatched ‘Netto BJJ’ in a largely comfortable fashion.
Sure, it took Tsarukyan until the third round to put the Brazilian away, and he also appeared to be hurt by a punch in the second round, but in the end, that didn’t matter.
Once ‘Ahalkalakets’ got top position in the third round, he opened up with a flurry of punches and elbows that were savage enough to force referee Keith Peterson to step in.
It’s unlikely that this win will net Tsarukyan the title fight with Islam Makhachev that he called for afterward, but it should be enough to earn him a crack at a fighter ranked above him. Therefore, he should be considered one of last night’s big winners.
#1. Jared Cannonier – defeated Marvin Vettori in a UFC middleweight bout
Last night’s biggest winner was undoubtedly Jared Cannonier. The No.4 ranked middleweight in the UFC utterly dismantled the man ranked one spot above him, Marvin Vettori, and broke a promotional record in the process.
Quite how Vettori survived for five rounds was anyone’s guess. ‘The Italian Dream’ stunned Cannonier in the first round, but couldn’t put him away, and from there, the fight belonged to ‘The Killa Gorilla’.
He ended up hurting the Italian badly with huge punches, stunning him multiple times, damaging him with low kicks, and punishing him on the ground, too.
In the end, Cannonier landed a total of 241 significant strikes, setting a new record at 185lbs, and the lack of finish didn’t subtract from a brilliant performance.
Will ‘The Killa Gorilla’ earn another crack at Israel Adesanya with this win? That’s debatable, especially as he was completely dominated by ‘The Last Stylebender’ in their first fight.
However, he’s clearly, at worst, the third or fourth-best 185lber in the world right now, which is a huge achievement for a fighter who is 39 years old. Overall, last night belonged to him.
