Such had been the disdain for a diluted UFC 186 card remaining on pay-per-view, that you wonder how many actually forked out premium dollar for a sub par show. We don’t need to wait for Dave Meltzer to give us his most educated guess on this one, there is every chance the UFC won’t do a lower buy rate all year long.
Yet by the time the show actually began, there had grown, at least within insular MMA circles, a belief that this card might produce the goods. A chance to see the most skilled fighter on the planet, a couple of well-matched scraps to compliment it, and a violent prospect opening the show.
What we got was somewhere in between. As always there were winners and losers, fighters whose stock increased and those who took a significant hit. With that in mind, here are your countdowns of the 3 biggest winners, and losers, coming out of the Bell Centre in Montreal.
#3 Winner – Alexis Davis
Coming into UFC 186 a number of assumptions had been made regarding Alexis Davis’ after her devastating defeat to Ronda Rousey at UFC 175. She hadn’t fought since that night in July of last year, and we were told that the Rousey defeat would surely have wrecked her chin. Having already lost twice to Sarah Kaufman, a third defeat was expected. It wasn’t that Davis even looked that good in her win over Kaufman, in fact, until the fight hit the mat she was being outclassed. She found a way to win and earn herself potential fights against other top five fighters.
#2 Winner – Thomas Almeida
Most expected undefeated Brazilian, Thomas Almeida, to beat Yves Jabouin in the main card opener. When you combine that with the constant references to his potential as a prospect and future title challenger, Almeida was under pressure to deliver in Montreal. His striking was on point, and his ability to let go and string combinations together once he had Jabouin hurt served as a great starting point for the pay per view portion of the card. Almeida can only be given a bigger opportunity next time out.
#1 Winner – Michael Bisping
The 36-year-old Brit has been one of the UFC’s most consistent entities over the past near decade. His role as a test for anyone in the middleweight division, and a fighter who usually beats all but the very best, was under threat against C.B. Dollaway. So was his spot in the top ten. Dollaway is exactly the sort of opponent that Bisping usually dispatches. Had he lost in Montreal, that status would have been gone. Reacting well to being hurt, and consistently out landing his larger opponent, Bisping showed he is still a force at 185 pounds. He might not be able to work his way to a long awaited title shot, but his status remains secure.
Notable Mention: Demetrious Johnson. His performance was unquestionably, and quite typically, outstanding. He turned a fight against a talented opponent into a safe and secure rout. Still, it did absolutely nothing to increase his status, or add drawing power to his name.
#3 Loser – C.B. Dollaway
Dollaway has been an improving middleweight for some time now. At this point, he is probably the best C.B. Dollaway we are ever going to see. What his record lacks is a big name win, and against a 36-year-old Michael Bisping, he had his best chance yet to add one to it. Dollaway had Bisping hurt, but could not convert the big opportunity he’d been given. When you add this to the defeat he suffered in his previous fight against Lyoto Machida, he is left looking like a fighter who will never be able to get over that hump.
#2 Loser – Fabio Maldonado
Preparation for his catchweight bout with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson could not have been ideal. The back and forth chance of opponents, and constantly speculation made it a tough ask. Still, like Dollaway, Maldonado will probably never get a better opportunity to beat a big name fighter. Maldonado took more punishment to add to his career tally, and rarely did enough to make the fight exciting. His tough, punishment absorbing style may warm the hearts of bloodthirsty fans, but it can’t be good for his long term health.
#1 Loser – Sarah Kaufman
Like her opponent Alexis Davis, Kaufman had previously fought Ronda Rousey for a title. Unlike Davis, Kaufman’s fight took place under the Strikeforce banner two years earlier and lasted longer than sixteen seconds. As such, she had a more realistic path back to a title shot should she get the win in Montreal. When you consider that she had already beaten Davis twice previously, it seemed like a routine reaffirmation of her top five ranking in the division. In the first round that is exactly what it looked like. Then a mistake in the second saw Davis pluck a win out of nowhere with an armbar. The defeat leaves Kaufman looking back over her shoulder at a series of younger, possibly hungrier, prospects.
Notable Mention: Aisling Daly who may just have been able to sneak her way into a strawweight title shot by default, with a win over Randa Markos. What made it worse was that Daly appeared to have weathered a stormy first round, coming back to win the second. The eventual decision defeat pushes her way out of title contention.
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