UFC Fight Night 41 in Berlin and The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale were held on the same day this past Saturday (May 31, 2014), and we got to see a record-setting 22 UFC fights in a single day. It was a great, albeit long day of fights, and these were the best performers… Gegard Mousasi earns Performance of the Night for his first round rear-naked-choke submission victory over Mark Munhoz in Berlin. He dominated Munoz both on the feet and on the mat, and with a beautiful transition towards the end of the round he finished him beautifully with a choke. It was an incredible performance by Mousasi. He said he was going to make a statement with his performance, and he certainly delivered on his promise. Niklas Backstrom earns Performance of the Night for his impressive first round submission of Tom Niinimaki via bulldog choke in Berlin. It was the Swede’s promotional debut, which he was making on short notice. It was the toughest test of his professional mixed martial arts career and he passed it with flying colors, snapping the Fin’s 12-fight winning streak in the process. Magnus Cedenblad earns Performance of the Night for his guillotine choke victory over Krzysztof Jotko in Berlin. The tap came with one second remaining at the end of the second round, and marked the second consecutive guillotine-choke victory for the Cedenblad. After coming short in his promotional debut against Francis Carmont, the Swede is now 2-1 inside the Octagon and continues to improve. C.B. Dollaway earns Performance of the Night for his unanimous decision victory over Francis Carmont. It was a back and forth fight that saw both middleweights have their moments, but ultimately it was “The Doberman” who ended up with his hand raised. The Power MMA product continues to improve, and is now on a two-fight winning streak, though most consider it a five fight winning streak, as his loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 166 last October was very controversial. Stipe Miocic earns Performance of the Night for his dominant performance against Fabio Maldonado at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale, which lasted all of 35 seconds. The Croatian stormed the Brazilian right out of the gate, immediately hurting him. He then followed up with more punches, dropping Maldonado to the mat. Some ground and pound followed on the mat, but the referee Mario Yamasaki quickly stepped in to call off the action, making Stipe Miocic the first fighter to ever truly put Fabio Maldonado away, proving the gritty Brazilian did not belong in the cage with him and should return to 205 lbs for his next match-up. Warlley Alves earns Performance of the Night for his third round technical-submission victory over fellow The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 team member and finalist Marcio “Lyoto” Alexandre. Alves dominated “Lyoto” throughout the bout using his superior grappling, and put him to sleep with a guillotine choke in the third frame, which is the same choke he used to submit Wagner Silva to secure his spot in the finals. It was a very impressive performance for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil season 3 middleweight tournament winner and he will be fighting at welterweight for his next match-up. I expect the Brazilian will have a bright future in the UFC’s 170-pound division. Kevin Souza and Mark Eddiva earn Fight of the Night for having the most entertaining bout on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale’s 12-fight card. It was a very fun stand-up affair that saw both featherweights have their moments, with the Brazilian getting the better of the Filipino, and ultimately scoring a standing TKO stoppage with only eight seconds remaining in the second frame. Both 145-pounders proved to be very tough and won over many fans with their performances. The win makes Souza 2-0 inside the Octagon and puts him on a nine-fight winning streak, while simultaneously dropping Eddiva from the ranks of the unbeaten.
