UFC 169 wasn’t the best card of the year by any stretch of the imagination, but it was overall pretty solid and there were a number of fighters who had breakthrough performances. Conversely, there were a number of fighters who disappointed. Without further ado, here’s UFC 169’s Surprises & Disappointments. Surprises Abel Trujillo — In the opening main card bout, Abel Trujillo became the first man to KO Jamie Varner when he hit his opponent with one amazing punch in the second round after losing the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the fight. An amazing comeback win for Trujillo, who will get a considerable step up in competition in his next outing. Tony Martin — In one of the preliminary bouts on Fight Pass, Tony Martin showed amazing grappling skills and toughness in a unanimous decision defeat to Rashid Magomedov. Despite the loss I was still very impressed with Martin and considering he’s in his young 20s, he still has a very good opportunity to be a contender one day. Neil Magny — In the opening Fight Pass prelim, Neil Magny showed improved striking and grappling in a unanimous decision upset over Gasan Umalatov. It was the best Magny has ever looked inside the Octagon, and he proved with the victory that he is deserving of a spot on the UFC roster. Disappointments Frank Mir — In a main card heavyweight bout, Frank Mir looked slow and old in a unanimous decision setback to Alistair Overeem. It was an awful performance by Mir, who has now lost four-straight fights, and it wouldn’t shock me if the UFC released him because it definitely seems like he has very little, if any, left in his tank. John Lineker — In a flyweight bout, John Lineker looked slow and lethargic and ended up losing a clear-cut unanimous decision to Ali Bagautinov. Lineker struggled to make weight on weigh-in day and then looked really bad in the fight, and it’s a loss that is going to set him far back from the UFC flyweight title picture, and that’s if the UFC allows him to stay at 125. Tom Watson — In a middleweight bout, Tom Watson once again showed his takedown defence is not up to par with the rest of the 185 pounders in the UFC as he lost a split decision to Nick Catone. Watson didn’t look good at all in this fight and now 1-3 in the Octagon, it’s very possible the UFC will hand him his walking papers.
