Surprises and Disappointments is a column featured on MMAOddsbreaker.com after every UFC event, highlighting three fighters who had surprising performances and three fighters who disappointed. Here are the three surprises and the three disappointments from UFC Fight Night 49. Surprises Rafael dos Anjos — In the main event of UFC FN 49, Rafael dos Anjos cemented his place as a top-five lightweight with a stunning first-round knockout over Benson Henderson. Not many expected RDA to pull off the upset and he was a major underdog heading into the contest, but he came away with the biggest win of his career and it was impressive, to say the least. The victory establishes RDA as a legit top-five fighter, and he’ll most certainly take on another top contender in his next outing. Thales Leites — Thales Leites continued to shown improvement since returning to the UFC as he won his fourth-straight fight in the Octagon with a second-round knockout over Francis Carmont. Leites was the underdog in this one and was being underrated by the betting public but he showed he has a lot left in the tank as he picked up a fantastic KO, his second in a row. Leites is ranked in the top 15 and should take on someone like CB Dollaway or Tim Boetsch next. Chas Skelly — The fight with Tom Niinimaki and Chas Skelly was expected to be competitive, but Skelly didn’t have time to waste as he made quick work of the Fin, submitting him in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Niinimaki is not an easy guy to choke out, which made the finish even more impressive to see happen. The W moved Skelly to 1-1 in the UFC so far and he looks like a pretty good prospect with decent upside going forward. Disappointments Mike Pyle — Every time Mike Pyle makes his way into title contention he seems to get knocked out, and that’s exactly what happened in his fight against Jordan Mein, as Pyle was TKOed just a minute into the fight. Pyle is 38 years old and has been knocked out in two of his last three fights, so even though he can still compete, don’t be shocked if he only has one or two more fights left in his career before he calls it quits. Alex Garcia — It was a close fight, but Alex Garcia just didn’t do enough overall to earn the decision win over Neil Magny and he ended up losing the fight on all judges’ cards to snap his two-fight win streak in the UFC. Garcia is a good fighter but clearly has a lot to work on if he wants to make a run up the 170lb ladder. For his next bout, look for him to take a significant step down in competition. Tony Martin — In one of the early prelims, Tony Martin gassed badly and was submitted in the second round by Beneil Dariush. Although Martin looked very strong in round one, he just didn’t seem to have anything left in the tank in round two and was choked out for his lack of conditioning. Martin is now 0-2 in the UFC and it wouldn’t be a shocker if he was released by the promotion at this point, because he doesn’t look ready for the UFC.
