UFC 226 has come and gone, and now it’s time to reflect on the fighters’ performances from the card in the latest edition of the stock report.
Stock Way Up
Daniel Cormier – By far the biggest gain of the night came courtesy of Cormier, who knocked out Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title. Cormier is now a double champion and has put his name into the ring when it comes to listing the greatest fighters in MMA history. He is just an incredible athlete and to see him win two belts in the Octagon was a historic moment.
Anthony Pettis – Pettis’ UFC career seemed to be on the brink but a huge submission win over Michael Chiesa reaffirmed his spot amonst the lightweight top-10 instead. He seems to have found second life, and a confident Pettis makes 155lbs even more stacked.
Khalil Rountree – A huge KO from Rountree over Gokhan Saki opened up the card and it’s the kind of breakthrough win that Rountree needed. He’s now 3-0, 1 NC in his last four fights, and is in line for a top-10 opponent his next time out.
Paulo Costa – Similarly, a big knockout by Costa over Uriah Hall showed the MMA world this guy is for real and is a top-10 middleweight. If the UFC was smart with its matchmaking, it would give him a big name for his next fight and let him prove himself.
Dan Hooker – It’s now four-straight finishes for Hooker since moving up to lightweight. After an up-and-down career as a featherweight, he looks like a top contender at 155lbs, and this latest KO win over Gilbert Burns will prove to be huge for his career.
Stock Up
Mike Perry and Paul Felder – A solid outing by both Perry and Felder in a “Fight of the Night” candidate. Both men are warriors and Perry should remain a solid fighter at 170lbs for a while, and on the othe hand hopefully Felder can go back to 155lbs and dominate.
Raphael Assuncao – Another win for Assuncao, this time taking out Rob Font via decision. It’s the kind of win that shows that Assuncao is ready for that title shot, though he may never get the chance.
Drakkar Klose – A great showing by Klose against Lando Vannata after losing badly to David Teymur in his last fight. Klose is still a great prospect and shouldn’t be forgotten about in the lightweight division.
Emily Whitmire – Whitmire picked up the first win of her UFC career when she won a decision over Jamie Moyle. Her wrestling looked really good in this fight and perhaps she could be someone to keep your eye out on at 115lbs.
Stock Remains The Same
Derrick Lewis – It was an ugly fight but Lewis got the job done with a crappy split decision win over Francis Ngannou. The fight sucked, but Lewis ultimately proved to be the victor with an upset over the No. 1 ranked contender and his rank shouldn’t fall too much.
Curtis Millender – Millender made it two-straight wins in the UFC with a decision nod over Max Grrifin. It wasn’t as impressive as his UFC debut KO win over Thiago Alves, but he shouldn’t fall in the rankings considering he did get the win over a good fighter in Griffin.
Stock Down
Stipe Miocic – A bad loss for Miocic agianst Cormier, but it shoudn’t drop him too far down the rankings. Miocic is still a very talented fighter and whenever he feels comfortable returning to the Octagon he should get a top-five opponent for his next bout.
Michael Chiesa – It was a bad performance all-around by Chiesa, who first missed weight at 157.5lbs and then was tapped out by Pettis. Chiesa is a good fighter, but he’s now an elite lightweight by any means.
Uriah Hall – Another knockout loss for Hall, but at least he showed off some skills in this fight against Costa. His jab looked amazing in this fight but ultimately Hall just doesn’t have a good chin and he was knocked out yet again.
Rob Font – Font was coming off of a KO win over Thomas Almeida that really boosted his stock but this decision loss to Assuncao shows he’s now truly an elite bantamweight. Having said that, there’s still plenty of exciting matchups for him in the 135lbs division.
Lando Vannata – He’s a fun fighter to watch but this latest loss to Klose brings Vannat’s UFC record down to 1-3-1. The UFC should give him another fight, but hopefully they give him a bit of a step down as he’s fought only really good fighters up until this point.
Max Griffin – He didn’t look too outclassed by Millender but Griffin couldn’t do enough to get the win in this one. He’s turned into a solid gatekeeper at 170lbs, but he’s definitely not a contender by any means.
Gilbert Burns – A really bad loss for Burns after building up his stock in his previous couple bout as Hooker brutally knocked him out. Burns is a solid lightweight, but he will probably never be a contender in what is proving to be the UFC’s most stacked weight class.
Stock Way Down
Francis Ngannou – Just a godawful showing by Ngannou in his fight against Lewis. He looked scared to throw a punch and it just didn’t make sense that he didn’t do anything. His stock drops big time after this fight, but a big KO win in his next fight will help him out a lot.
Gokhan Saki – It was a bad outing by Saki who was knocked out quickly by Rountree. He’s a great kickboxer but considering his age and all the damage he’s taken in his career, perhaps he won’t be as successful in the UFC as we may have first believed.
Jamie Moyle – An ugly performance by Moyle against Whitmire could cost her her job in the UFC. She really did nothing right in this fight, and with new female fighters emerging all the time the UFC may cut her, or send her back to Invicta FC.
