FS1 cards have a terrible reputation for dragging on with poor pacing and lack of star power, but it seems that the UFC has found something of a happy medium with this card that was packed with a lot of fighters in the middle of their respective divisions and fighting to break free from the pack.
Seeing as these cards are designed primarily to move divisions along and separate the wheat from the chaff, this card was built on the promise of a lot of fun action bouts that were not only divisionally relevant, but stylistically intriguing in almost every case. It makes perfect sense that there be high expectations for this card overall, although as it happens in the fight game, we got more of a mixed bag and some pleasant surprises in the process.
Winners
Cody Garbrandt – As Bas Rutten would say, “someone’s 0 had to go.” Funny enough, Garbrandt beat up Thomas Almeida in very convincing fashion that should slingshot him close to the top ten of the bantamweight division. Despite Almeida defeating more seasoned opposition in an impressive manner, Cody had much more composure in this bout and didn’t rely as much on wide hooks and rushing to pressure his opponent. He remains unbeaten and wants a top 10 fighter in his next bout, and he’s certainly earned that opportunity.
Jeremy Stephens – Biggest winner of the night, right here. Taking on a former champion that was moving up is one thing, finding his chin and testing it while taking what he could throw at you is another. Stephens found his timing and use of range to really put the hurt on Barão, as he rebounds nicely from a loss to Max Holloway. Stephens has now quietly earned another top ten opponent as well as he makes a big statement with this win moving up in the pool of uncertainty that is the featherweight division.
Rick Story – Coming back after almost two years is hard enough, but taking on a veteran striker working with one of the best camps in the world is a tall order. Story used his pressure against the cage to beat up Saffiedine and wear him down. Story now picks up right where he left off and is on a three-fight win streak having defeated Leonardo Mafra, Gunnar Nelson and now Tarec Saffiedine. Yet another fighter that should be guaranteed to get a top ten fighter in his next outing.
Lorenz Larkin – We truly witnessed something special in this fight, because Lorenz Larkin really seems to have reached his full potential in this bout. Everything was on display here, from leg and body kicks to slick counter-punching and head movement, he fought as close to flawlessly as we’ve ever seen. Lone eye poke aside (and it was pretty terrible), this was an excellent fight from beginning to end and Masvidal gave him more than just a few fits. Great performance from both fighters, but Larkin truly looked like a tremendous threat and continues to be a reliably fun fighter, only more dangerous than before. This isn’t the same fighter that had a three fight losing streak in the UFC in 2014, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how he’s booked moving forward.
Sara McMann – After struggling in the early portion of the fight, McMann continued to use her pressure and superior wrestling acumen to dominate Jessica Eye and snap a two-fight losing streak. What that means in the overall picture isn’t very clear, though. The only thing we can surmise here is that she won’t lose her spot in the UFC, as three is usually the magic number for most fighters to get cut. Her standup still hasn’t looked like it has evolved to where it could be with her time in MMA, but her grappling was enough to put on a gritty performance and beat a previously highly-touted fighter.
Bryan Caraway – Say what you will about the man, but he can certainly fight. His striking was improved, but it was his crafty and technical grappling that won him his fight against a young and hungry Aljamain Sterling. Chaining submission attempts, transitioning from one dominant position to another and just straight outworking Sterling through some very tough spots while keeping his striking output at a busy pace got him the win he wanted to break through and continue his move up in the bantamweight division.
Paul Felder put on a hell of a scrap against Josh Burkman, and the interesting thing is how each round built up to a whirlwind of violence. Excellent display of tenacity and durability from both. Erik Koch had a great comeback fight against Shane Campbell with a great finish, and didn’t even look rusty in the process. Jake Collier brutalized Alberto Uda and much like Chris Camozzi did against Vitor Miranda, dismissed any Muay Thai accolades that may have been out there for either opponent. Abel Trujillo took clear command late in his fight against Jordan Rinaldi and espoused the virtues of Kundalini yoga in the process. Finally, Adam Milstead beat Chris de la Rocha in a bloody affair that wasn’t very appealing. When MMA personalities talk about how “everybody loves watching the heavyweights”, it’s straight propaganda. People like skilled heavyweights, and not to disparage either fighter, but that wasn’t high-level heavyweight action. Other than that, a decent enough win for Milstead’s UFC debut.
Losers
Renan Barao – From his time as interim champion, there were few complaints when he was given the full title as Dominick Cruz sat on the sidelines because of Barão’s body of work and consistently amazing performances. One has to wonder at this point if losing as badly as he did in back to back performances against TJ Dillashaw broke something in Barão, because he was somewhat gun shy in his bout against Mitch Gagnon and now has a two-fight losing streak in which he got obliterated by Dillashaw in their rematch and got tagged with serious firepower against Stephens in this fight. I’m not saying he’s done, but he’s certainly lost a lot of the edge he had before. As good as Stephens is, I didn’t expect him to be a guy that would find Renan’s chin that often and crack him that hard while doing so. He’s likely to fight another fighter towards the bottom end of the top ten next.
Thomas Almeida – Rough night for the young phenom, but that’s the fighting game. He doesn’t lose that much, but his inexperience and ability to cope with a certain degree of adversity were exposed here. Not anything that he can’t bounce back from and use as a learning experience, but he very clearly has some work to do. Seeing as there are a series of moving pieces soon in that division, it could end up setting him back a bit more than if it were another division, like middleweight. Not only that, but perhaps UFC management may want to slow down his progression a bit to not burn him out.
Jorge Masvidal – Every time Masvidal loses a close decision, it’s really sad. He’s now facing back to back losses, but there’s no way he gets cut. He’s talented and hasn’t looked bad at all in his move to welterweight, despite concerns that he’d be at a size disadvantage against most fighters there. He took on the best Lorenz Larkin we’ve seen and lost, so there’s no shame in that. He really should take Zane Simon’s advice and work on not hanging back as much with his pressure and striking. He still looks great, but welterweight is a division where one loss can set you back pretty far.
Josh Burkman – Burkman is in the unenviable position of being 1-3 in the UFC with a no contest against Hector Lombard, a fight that was an absolute drubbing. Fortunately, he snapped his losing streak against KJ Noons, which means he may still not get cut. That’s also a good thing, because he’s been pretty fun to watch when he goes out there and puts everything out on the line. That doesn’t mean that any of it is good for his health, because he’s been absorbing a ton of damage in his bouts. Still, he lives to fight another day, hopefully without too much long-term damage.
Jessica Eye – Eye now ends up on a three-fight losing skid against current champion Miesha Tate, possible future title contender Julianna Peña and now Sara McMann. Not that the UFC would wish to part ways with her, especially as she’s part of what is probably the shallowest division in all of the UFC right now. Think about it, she was ranked #7 after two consecutive losses. Her grappling is not where it needs to be, and her overall MMA game needs some revising. She’s also 29, so one has to wonder how much improvement she can make.
Tarec Saffiedine – Time has not been kind to Saffiedine in his UFC run. Plagued by injuries and some unfortunate moments in his performances, he now loses to a resurgent wrestle-boxer with a really good coaching staff and improving fight IQ. Regardless of the situation with the cut on his knee and how much of a factor that may have been, Tarec couldn’t keep the fight in a comfortable range and paid the price for it. Welterweight has no shortage of interesting matchups for him, so he’s likely to get a fun action fight with a striker soon enough.
Vitor Miranda suffered what is only his second UFC loss, but his limitations were really badly on display and another loss could send him packing. Alberto Uda ate some hard shots in his debut, but has plenty of fun grappling-heavy match ups that could be made on the horizon. Shane Campbell started off well enough, but eventually got submitted after a wild scramble in a manner that could happen to anyone. He could very well also bounce back with his fun and kick-heavy style. Jordan Rinaldi may have lost in his debut, but he got his foot in the door and took on a massive challenge, so he deserves another opportunity. Chris de la Rocha drops his second consecutive fight, and after that showing is likely to get his walking papers.
Neither
Aljamain Sterling – Look at it this way: he just signed a new deal with the UFC, which he claims he’s very happy with. He fought on the Fight Pass prelims with a bunch of advertising and shine for it and has his first loss of his entire professional career after beating two fighters in the top ten of his division. He’s still in a very good spot. This one loss against a wily veteran doesn’t do away with much of the progress he’s made thus far, so it’s unfair to write him off or celebrate his misfortune in a way that only the internet can. He’ll be back and he’s still growing as a fighter.
Mightiest Daddy 
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