UFC Fight Night 48 and 49 were live yesterday (August 23, 2014) from Macau, China and Tulsa, Oklahoma for another UFC double-header featuring a combined 21 fights and 12 finishes. It was a great, albeit long night of fights, of which these were the best performers… Michael Bisping earns Performance of the Night for his fourth round TKO of Cung Le in the main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 48 in China. There was some entertaining, back-and-forth action between the middleweights for three rounds, with the Brit getting the better of Le; then at the start of the fourth frame, he backed the former Strikeforce middleweight champion against the cage and put together a beautiful combination that included a knee to the face, which dropped Le. A few punches followed before the referee dove in and waved off the action, awarding The Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner the main event victory via TKO. It was a solid outing for Bisping and a great way for him to get back to the win column. Tyron Woodley earns Performance of the Night for his first round TKO of “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim in the co-main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 48 in China. It was an incredible way for Woodley to return to the win column after dropping an uneventful unanimous decision to Rory MacDonald just a couple of months ago. I think this puts him just a win or two away from being back in the title picture. Alberto Mina earns Performance of the Night for his first round TKO of fellow promotional newcomer Shinsho Anzai at UFC Fight Night 48 in China. It was a back-and-forth battle on the feet that saw both welterweights land some clean shots, but it was the Brazilian who got the better of the exchanges, ultimately dropping Anzai with an uppercut and putting him away with hammer-fists on the mat. It was an impressive Octagon debut for Mina and he certainly left fight fans looking forward to his next outing. Yuta Sasaki earns Performance of the Night for his first round rear naked choke submission victory over the Canadian Roland Delorme at UFC Fight Night 48 in China. The Japanese prospect immediately took Delorme’s back during the first grappling exchange and in the blink of an eye already had his arm under the chin with both hooks in. Shortly thereafter, Delorme was forced to tap, giving Sasaki his first win inside the Octagon. It was a very impressive debut for Sasaki and I expect him to be a threat in the UFC’s bantamweight division. Rafael dos Anjos earns Performance of the Night for his first round TKO of former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 49 in Oklahoma. It was an impressive performance by the Brazilian, whose striking looked more crisp and better than ever. It was the single most impressive victory of his professional mixed martial arts career and puts him on a two-fight winning streak, making him 7-1 in his last eight Octagon appearances. I think he is just one more win away from being in the mix for a title shot. Jordan Mein earns Performance of the Night for his first round TKO of former WEC welterweight champion Mike Pyle in the co-main event of last night’s UFC Fight Night 49 in Oklahoma. Mein impressed with his performance, and the victory gave him two wins in a row inside the Octagon. For his next outing, “Young Gun” will likely face another ranked opponent, likely in another co-main event. Thales Leites earns Performance of the Night for his second round TKO of Francis Carmont at last night’s UFC Fight Night 49 in Oklahoma. After a closely contested back-and-forth first round that arguably went to the French-Canadian, Leites came out in the second round fired up and quickly dismantled Carmont with strikes on the feet, sending him to the canvas then following up with a couple more until the referee stepped in to call off the action. The Brazilian’s striking looked better than ever and it was without a doubt his most impressive victory since his return to the Octagon. The win makes him four in a row since his return to the UFC and seven straight in total. He is one step closer to another crack at the promotion’s 185-pound gold and I believe for his next outing, he will be paired up with a highly ranked opponent coming off a win. Ben Saunders earns Performance of the Night for his first round omoplata submission of promotional newcomer Chris Heatherly at UFC Fight Night 49 last night in Oklahoma. The tapout marked the first submission via omoplata in UFC history, and grinning ear-to-ear was his Jiu-Jitsu coach Eddie Bravo in his corner. It was an outstanding way for “Killa B” to make his return to the big show and fight fans will be looking forward to see him in his next outing, hopefully against a fellow veteran of the Octagon.
