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 183. Surprises Thiago Alves — “The Pitbull” is back. After getting outstruck by Jordan Mein in the first round of the opening main card bout at UFC 183, Alves was able to catch Mein with a brutal body kick in the second to put him out. It was Alves’ second-straight win in the Octagon and firmly entrenches him within the top 15 of the UFC welterweight division. Derek Brunson — I didn’t expect Derek Brunson to become the first man to knock out Ed Herman, but he did just that with a brutal blitz in the first round that knocked Herman out. Brunson is a very solid middleweight and another win should earn him a spot in the division’s top 15. John Lineker — He missed weight by five pounds and will be fighting at bantamweight in his next outing, but John Lineker beat Ian McCall via unanimous decision in upset fashion for the biggest win of his career to date. Lineker is a great fighter but it would be nice to see him act more professional and make weight, and he’s lucky he won because the UFC could have cut him with a loss. Disappointments Kelvin Gastelum — First he missed weight by 10 pounds then he turned in a listless performance against Tyron Woodley in the UFC 183 co-main event, losing a split decision after 15 minutes. Gastelum still has a bright future in the sport but he will have to move back up to middleweight after the weight debacle and it’s anyone’s guess how he will fare against the elite at 185lbs. Sara McMann — After a strong start against Miesha Tate in the preliminary card main event, Sara McMann slowed down in rounds two and three to lose a unanimous decision in upset fashion. McMann is a hell of an athlete, but she is not a complete mixed martial artist and and at 34 years of age, there’s no guarantee she ever will be. Tom Watson — I had high expectations for Tom Watson, but he was dominated both on the feet and on the ground for 15 minutes by Rafael Natal, dropping a clear-cut unanimous decision. Watson is now 2-4 overall in the UFC and at this point he’ll be lucky to get another fight inside the Octagon.
