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 55. Surprises Robert Whittaker — In a middleweight main card match at UFC Fight Night 55, Robert Whittaker won a share of Fight of the Night for his second-round TKO win over Clint Hester. Many were unsure why Whittaker was moving up to 185lbs and Hester looked like a bad matchup on paper, but Whittaker looked very impressive in his 185lb debut and at only 23 years of age, he could be a future contender in the weight class. Whittaker, the TUF Smashes winner, is 4-2 in the UFC now and deserves a name opponent for his next contest at 185lbs as he continues moving up the middleweight laddeer. Anthony Perosh — In a light heavyweight bout, Anthony Perosh once again displayed his strong ground game with a first-round submission upset win over Guto Inocente. Perosh took the fight to the mat quickly and got the tapout, improving to 5-5 overall in the UFC. He’s 42 years old and will never be a contender, but he is a solid fighter and deserves a spot on the roster. He called out Fabio Maldonado after the win, and that’s a fight I think makes a lot of sense. Chris Clements — In a welterweight contest, Chris Clements returned from a 14-month layoff to upset Vik Grujic with a first-round knockout. Clements improved to 2-1, 1 NC with the win and showed once again he has the power to knock out anyone in the division. He is 38 years old and will never contend for the title, but Clements will be involved in fun fights for the rest of his career. Look for the UFC to match him up with another striker coming off of a win for his next fight. Disappointments Ross Pearson — In the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 55, Ross Pearson was knocked out by Al Iaquinta in a loss that pretty much ends Pearson’s hopes of ever competing for the UFC lightweight title. Pearson had jumped into the top 15 recently with a knockout win over Gray Maynard, but it’s pretty clear his chin and poor striking defence will hold him back from ever contending. There are still plenty of fun matchups for Pearson at 155lbs, but at 30 years of age his days as a rising contender are over. Dylan Andrews — In a middleweight match, Dylan Andrews landed awkwardly on his head during a takedown attempt on Sam Alvey and was quickly punched out by “Smile’N’ en route to a first-round TKO defeat. Andrews is now 2-2 in the UFC but has lost his last two fights by finish and he has been injured in his last three fights. Andrews is a good fighter, but with all these injuries he just doesn’t seem like he has much of a future. Look for him to get one more fight in the UFC, but if he loses that one he should be cut. Luke Zachrich — In another middleweight prelim, Luke Zachrich was taken down to the ground and submitted with a first-round kimura by Dan Kelly. Zachrich is now 1-2 in the UFC and both of his losses came by first-round stoppage. The TUF 7 veteran certainly has some nice boxing, but his chin isn’t good and defensively he has problems defending submissions. He may get one more fight, but it’s pretty clear at this point that he’s not really a UFC-caliber fighter.
