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 were the three biggest surprises and the three biggest disappointments from UFC Fight Night 56. Surprises Ovince St-Preux — In a light heavyweight bout, Ovince St-Preux staked his claim as a legitimate top-10 fighter with a first-round knockout of legend Mauricio Rua. OSP wasn’t give much credit for his knockout power going into the bout, but he certainly showed he does indeed have the ability to knock his foes out with his first-round blasting of “Shogun.” OSP is now 4-1 in his last five fights, and he absolutely deserves another ranked fighter for his next contest. Claudio Silva — In a welterweight match, Claudio Silva had a successful debut at 170lbs as he was able to take out Leon Edwards via split decision. It was a very competitive fight but Silva’s ground game and wrestling won him points on the judges scorecards, and he improved to 2-0 with the win. Silva isn’t very fun to watch, but he is very effective at what he does and he should face another welterweight coming off of a win in his next bout. Leandro Silva — In a lightweight contest, Leandro Silva finally won a UFC fight as he was able to submit Charlie Brenneman in the first round with a rear-naked choke. With the upset win, Silva is now 1-2 in the UFC, and will get at least one more fight in the promotion. As for Brenneman, he has now lost three-straight fights, all by stoppage, and he should absolutely without a doubt finally be cut from the UFC. Disappointments Warlley Alves — In a welterweight matchup, Warlley Alves was able to edge out Alan Jouban to take home a razor-thin unanimous decision victory. Alves was the aggressor in the fight and landed the harder blows, but Jouban appeared to land cleaner combinations and a higher volume of strikes and many felt he won the fight. Even though he won, many expected Alves to look better in this fight, one that was meant as a showcase, and in the future he has to work on his striking defence and cardio if he wants to reach the championship potential some think he has. Dhiego Lima — In a welterweight bout, Dhiego Lima beat Jorge Oliveira up for three rounds and took home a unanimous decision win for his first UFC victory. There’s no doubt Lima was dominant, but the fact he couldn’t find an overmatched opponent who clearly had no idea what he was doing on the ground was concerning, and going forward Lima is going to have to get better at finishing fights if he wants to succeed at the UFC level. Nina Ansaroff — In a women’s strawweight contest, Nina Ansaroff’s offence was muted by Juliana Lima’s grind, as the UFC newcomer lost a clear-cut unanimous decision in her debut. A lot of people were high on Ansaroff, who was coming off of a brutal knockout in Invicta, but she didn’t look very good in the fight with Lima and clearly needs to work on her takedown defence if she wants to have a career in the UFC.
