UFC Fight Night 35 turned out to be a pretty solid Wednesday night card, as it featured a number of high-level knockouts and exciting back-and-forth bouts that we’ll go back and re-watch time and time again for entertainment’s sake. There were a number of breakout performances by fighters on the card, and there was also a number of fighters who didn’t like up to their potential. Without further ado, here’s what I believe were the Surprises and Disappointments from UFC Fight Night 35. Surprises Brad Tavares — He was a sizeable underdog, but Brad Tavares showed he’s a middleweight to keep your eyes on with a unanimous decision win over Lorenz Larkin in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 35. Tavares showed impressive kickboxing skills throughout the first two rounds and a great pace as well, but he did slow in round three and he will need to work on his cardio if he ever wants to make a run for the title. Still, a great performance by an underrated fighter. Derek Brunson — Although he lost the fight, Derek Brunson showed an incredible amount of heart as he took two rounds from Yoel Romero and then nearly survived a brutal beating in round three to make it to the final bell. Unfortunately for Brunson, Romero turned on the jets and won the fight with a series of vicious elbow strikes to the body with just over a minute left, but Brunson showed he’s a solid middleweight in the loss and he earned himself a 50k bonus check for FOTN and also another fight in the Octagon with the performance. Louis Smolka — Flyweight Louis Smolka put on an impressive performance on the undercard as he defeated Alptekin Ozkelic via unanimous decision. Smolka showed an awesome Thai clinch, an impressive boxing game, and also excellent cardio as he definitely took rounds two and three. Smolka has become my new favorite flyweight, and I can’t wait to see him fight in the Octagon again. Disappointments Mike Easton — Mike Easton lost his third fight in a row when he was thoroughly dominated by TJ Dillashaw over the course of three rounds in a unanimous decision defeat. Although Dillashaw was expected to win the fight by most observers of the sport, most figured Easton would at least make it competitive. But he didn’t do anything in the 15 minutes, and now he might get his release papers from Zuffa. Brian Houston — In a very winnable fight, Brian Houston took off round three and was outpointed by Trevor Smith en route to a split decision loss. Houston could have easily won this fight but he completely froze and now he’s 0-2 in the Octagon. I would be surprised if Houston got another fight in the UFC after such a poor outing. Charlie Brenneman — In the very first fight of the night, Charlie Brenneman was knocked down by Beneil Dariush and then quickly submitted in the first round. It was an awful performance by Brenneman in his return to the UFC, and he’s at risk of being cut yet again. Unless Brenneman begins to take his striking defence seriously, he will never go as far in the world of MMA as he should because he does have a very solid wrestling base.
