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 65. Surprises Daniel Hooker — Daniel Hooker was getting absolutely no respect against Hatsu Hioki, but he showed everyone how good he really is as he was able to land a beauty head kick on his more experienced opponent in the second round and win the fight in devastating fashion. Hooker is very tall and long for 145lbs, and beating Hioki in such devastating fashion proves how good he truly is, and that he shouldn’t be underrated anymore. Ben Nguyen — Most people were writing off Ben Nguyen against Alptekin Ozkilic, but clearly that was wrong. Nguyen, a frequent contributor to Reddit, was known mainly for beating up a bully in a viral video, but he showed against Ozkilic he’s a very good fighter as well, as he won the fight in the first round by knockout. It was a nice win for Nguyen, and I’m curious who the UFC will match him up with next. Alex Chambers — Down two rounds to Kailin Curran, Chambers badly needed a finish if she wanted to get her first win in the UFC — and keep her job. And someone she did just that. Curran made a mistake on the mat in the third round and Chambers capitalized, earning an armbar submission victory. This was one of the biggest surprises on the card, and continues the trend of female upset finishes due to armbars. Disappointments Brad Tavares — Once again Brad Tavares was a betting favorite and once again he lost, this time by knockout to Robert Whittaker. Tavares is definitely a good grinder, but he does not have the chin to hang with the best guys at 185lbs. With losses in two of his last three fights, it’s clear he is no longer a true contender at 185lbs and he could be cut because he does not have a fun style to watch. Jake Matthews — I know he’s only 20 and is still learning, but I expected more from Jake Matthews. I thought he’d give James Vick a great fight and I picked him to win, but he got straight-up dominated and lost in the first round by submission. Matthews is a good fighter and hopefully this loss doesn’t completely shatter his confidence, but clearly he has a ton to work on. Hatsu Hioki — I have no clue what happened to Hatsu Hioki, but his fall from grace has been nothing short of astonishing. Once a title contender, Hioki is now 3-5 in the UFC following his shocking head kick loss to Daniel Hooker. I don’t know what happened to him. Maybe he was just never that good? Regardless, this was the worst performance of Hioki’s career and he’ll almost certainly be cut from the UFC now.
