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 UFC Fight Night 46. Surprises Ilir Latifi — For whatever reason, there was no hype behind Ilir Latifi heading into UFC Fight Night 46. But after picking up his second-straight finish in the UFC, this time over Chris Dempsey by first-round TKO, fans and media are going to have to give this beast of a man the appreciation and respect he deserves. He is a damn good fighter, and although he will never win the title he can still make some noise at 205lbs. Nikita Krylov — He doesn’t get much respect but Nikita Krylov improved to 2-2 in the UFC with a first-round TKO of Cody Donovan. Krylov’s striking is underrated and at only 22 years of age he is still improving. He is flawed as hell, but he’s a pretty good fighter and he can only get better if he continues to put the time in. Patrick Holohan — He was an underdog in the betting odds, but Patrick Holohan proved he was undervalued by everyone as he defeated Josh Sampo in the first round by submission. Sampo is a solid fighter but Holohan looked tremendous fighting on home soil and the Irishman could be a big star for the UFC in Europe if he continues to improve. Disappointments Diego Brandao — Yes, he took the fight against Conor McGregor on short notice, but still. Brandao gave a poor performance for the second-straight fight as he was knocked out by McGregor in the first round. Brandao is only 27 but with six T/KO losses against him already, you have to wonder how much longer his career will last. The UFC will likely keep him around for one more fight, but he clearly will never contend for the featherweight title. Brad Pickett — He dropped down to flyweight in the hopes of winning a title, but after two fights at 125lbs it’s clear this isn’t Brad Pickett’s weight class. Pickett was easily beaten by Ian McCall at UFC Fight Night 46, losing a clear decision, and after the bout admitted he will likely go back up to bantamweight to finish his career. Tor Troeng — And in a middleweight bout, Tor Troeng lost a close decision to Trevor Smith. Although Troeng started the fight off well with his striking, he faded down the stretch and lost to one of the weakest middleweights on the roster in Smith. Troeng has now lost two in a row and the UFC may cut him.
