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 62. Surprises Leonardo Santos – I never thought much of Leonardo Santos, but with a 3-0-1 record inside the UFC it’s clear he’s a good, solid lightweight fighter. He has decent standup and as he proved in his win over Tony Martin, he has an elite ground game and is a guy who is a near-lock to win when he fights in front of his Brazilian countrymen. Alex Oliveira – He came into his fight against Gilbert Burns as a huge underdog, but Alex Oliveira showed up in a big way, giving Burns two-and-a-half rounds of a tough fight before finally succumbing to a third-round submission. Still, he showed numerous skills in the fight and I can’t wait to see the Brazilian “Cowboy” fight again. Godofredo Pepey – I’ve been fading Pepey ever since he came into the UFC, but at this point I’m done betting against this guy. With three-straight finishes – all coming in the very first round – Pepey is proving his worth in the UFC featherweight division and one has to wonder what his ceiling is at this point. I’m 0-3 picking against this guy in his last three fights, so I clearly don’t a great read on him – he’s clearly made some huge improvements in recent years and once needs to be careful betting against him going forward. Disappointments Josh Koscheck – I have no idea why Josh Koscheck decided to return so soon after his recent submission defeat to Jake Ellenberger, but after this first-round submission defeat to Erick Silva he has now lost five in a row – four in a row by stoppage – and he absolutely needs to call it quits. I hope the UFC doesn’t ever offer him another fight. Shayna Baszler – There hasn’t been a women’s bantamweight fighter in the UFC that has had a bigger fall from grace than Shayna Baszler. The WMMA pioneer entered TUF 18 as the favorite to win the show but lost to Julianna Pena and has since lost to Bethe Correia and Amanda Nunes since entering the real Octagon. I like Baszler and respect what she’s done for the sport, but she needs to retire for her own health and safety. Andre Fili – I was really high on Andrei Fili, a top featherweight prospect out of Team Alpha Male, but losing to Godofredo Pepey, who is a flawed fighter, really hurts his stock in my opinion. I like Fili and I felt he still had potential after losing to Max Holloway at UFC 172, but this loss to Pepey really sets him far back in the division and I’m not sure how good he really is anymore.
