UFC 195 came and went, producing an exciting night of action from start to finish and kicking the 2016 calendar year off on a high note. After the event concluded, the UFC awarded $50,000 to two fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’. The lines to wager on these props were available at Several Bookmakerss. UFC 195’s Post-Fight Bonus-Award winners were… Stipe Miocic earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) Miocic made quick work of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, dismantling him with a pair of shots on/behind the ear for the T/KO finish. Following the win, Miocic raced towards UFC President Dana White and began yelling his lungs out, saying he wants a title shot. White obliged. It is not official, but according to White, Miocic is to challenge the winner of UFC 196’s Werdum vs Velasquez bout. That leaves free agent Alistair Overeem on the outside, and he could refuse to sign another contract with the UFC if a title shot is not included in writing. Miocic or Overeem, somebody will end up getting screwed, it will be interesting to see how this situation develops. Noteworthy T/KO(s): – Sheldon Westcott picked up his first UFC win with a first round TKO of Edgar Garcia. He was quick to close the distance and take the fight to the mat, where he took his time advancing into mount, and from there it was all she wrote. Michael McDonald earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) “Mayday” made his return to the Octagon following a two year long layoff and scored a second round rear naked choke submission victory over a very game Masanori Kanehara. McDonald looked to be in trouble, as he was outwrestled and lost the first round, and was again being outwrestled in the second until getting caught in a choke. He felt it was tight but decided to make one last ditch effort to get out instead of tapping.It worked! McDonald exploded out of the choke and immediately took Kanehara’s back, sinking in a choke of his own to get the tap. It was a nice come from behind win for “Mayday” and fight fans look forward to seeing him back inside the Octagon. Noteworthy Submission(s): – Brian Ortega earned a third round triangle choke submission win over Diego Brandao on the evening’s main card. He was outstruck and outwrestled for two rounds by Brandao, then caught him with a standing head and arm choke. Brandao fell to the mat and looked to defend, from which point Ortega transitioned beautifully into a mounted guillotine choke. The choke was tight, but being afraid that his arm would gas before Diego taps, he opted to transition into his famed triangle choke, which worked like a charm and he earned the tap from the fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. It was a fantastic come from behind highlight reel win for Ortega, who has already cemented his status as a Pay Per View caliber fighter, despite his short time with the promotion. – Abrel Trujillo defeated Tony Sims via guillotine choke submission in the very first round of action. Sims was soundly outstriking Trujillo and getting the better of him on the feet. He got too comfortable and shot for a takedown, and Trujillo was quick to capitalize on it by sinking up the choke. It was a nice come from behind with for “Killa” and a solid way for him to make his return to the win column. Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit earn Fight of the Night honors for delivering arguably the greatest welterweight title fight in the history of the UFC, and that is keeping in mind last year’s ‘Fight of the Year’ which was Lawler vs MacDonald. Lawler and Condit went to war for all five rounds and it all came down to a razor thin split decision on the judges’ scorecards, where Lawler took home the nod in another successful title defense. Noteworthy fight(s): – Albert Tumenov and Lorenz Larkin went to battle for 15 minutes and it came down to a close call, and it ended up with Tumenov taking home a split decision victory. Ultimately, the two of three judges appreciated Tumenov’s boxing more than Larkin’s devastating leg-kicks. Judging by damage, Larkin should have gotten the nod. It was a very fun fight that saw both fighters have their moments and I think both of their stocks will rise after Saturday night. – The aforementioned Ortega vs Brandao bout. – Short notice promotional newcomer defeated veteran Kyle Noke via very controversial split decision on the judges’ scorecards following three entertaining rounds of action. It was a fun fight, but I personally felt this decision was a robbery, as I had the fight scored 30-27 for Noke (like the only judge who scored it for him) and could not see how Morono could have won two rounds. Despite the controversy, this was a very fun preliminary card scrap that left fight fans pleased. – Drew Dober saved his UFC contract by defeating Scott Holtzman via unanimous decision in an entertaining three rounds of action that saw both lightweights have their moments. Ultimately, it was Dober came out on top, using his wrestling (which came as a surprise to many) to control Holtzman in the deciding third and final round of action. – Dustin Poirier and Joe Duffy went to war in the featured bout of the UFC 195 Fight Pass prelims and this fight was a lock to take home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors until Lawler and Condit squared off in the Pay Per View main event. This was a very exciting fight and a real bloodbath; both fighters were sent to the emergency room immediately following the contest. There were moments where I had to look away due to the gruesome amount of blood that was squirting out of Poirier’s nose. The begining of the fight looked to be one-sided in favor of Duffy, but the tides began to turn later in the same round and Poirier took over with his wrestling, and the rest of the fight became one-sided in his favor, though still entertaining. He started to get the better of Duffy on the feet and used his wrestling to cruise to a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards and his third straight win in his return to the lightweight division. – Michinori Tanaka took a very close split decision win over Joe Soto in an entertaining fight that saw both 135-pounders have their moments, both on the feet and on the mat.
