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 are the three surprises and the three disappointments from the TUF Nations Finale. Surprises Patrick Cote — In a battle of TUF coaches, Patrick Cote defeated Kyle Noke via unanimous decision in an upset victory. Cote’s wrestling looked excellent in the fight and his chin held up as well. It was a solid victory for “The Predator” on home soil, and for his next fight I’d like to see him take on someone like Kenny Robertson. KJ Noons — In the most surprising performance of the night, KJ Noons knocked out Sam Stout in brutal fashion early in the first round of their fight. No one expected Noons to finish Stout with strikes and it’s a victory that will elevate him to a high-profile fight his next time out. Maybe a fight against fellow Strikeforce vet Rodrigo Damm (if he wins his next fight) could happen. Ryan Jimmo — In a light heavyweight bout, Ryan Jimmo silenced the critics who called him boring with a first-round knockout win over Sean O’Connell. Jimmo needed a big win like this, and it’s a victory that keeps him relevant in the UFC’s tough 205lb division. For his next bout, Jimmo vs. the winner of Patrick Cummins/Francimar Barroso could work. Disappointments Michael Bisping — In the main event of the evening, Michael Bisping had one of the weaker performances of his career as he lost a clear-cut decision to Tim Kennedy. Bisping hadn’t fought in a year and had returned from a near-career-ending eye injury as well, so in hindsight he shouldn’t have been such a big favorite here, but still, he should have looked better considering the style matchup. Loser of two of his last three bouts, who knows what’s next for “The Count” at this point, but I think the loser of Mark Munoz vs. Gegard Mousasi makes sense. Kyle Noke — In a middleweight bout between TUF coaches, Kyle Noke was thoroughly outwrestled by Patrick Cote en route to a decision loss. Noke was the favorite heading into the fight but obviously shouldn’t have been as outside of a nice knee landed in round two he didn’t do anything in the fight. Noke goes back to the drawing board now, and he’ll need a win in his next fight to stick around in the UFC as he’s lost three of his last four. I wouldn’t mind Noke against fellow Aussie Robert Whittaker next. Dustin Kimura — In a bantamweight bout, Dustin Kimura was easily defeated via unanimous decision by George Roop in what amounted to a very uninspired performance by the young Hawaiian, who offered absolutely nothing of danger to Roop during the fight outside of a back mount in the second round. Although his Octagon record is 2-2, Kimura honestly hasn’t looked that good since coming to the UFC and he desperately needs a win in his next outing. A fight against Dave Galera or Tim Gorman makes sense.
