UFC 192 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Gustafsson vs. Cormier

Patrick Wyman@@Patrick_WymanX.com LogoMMA Senior AnalystOctober 4, 2015

UFC 192 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Gustafsson vs. Cormier

0 of 8

    Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

    Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson went to war in UFC 192's main event on Saturday night.

    The Toyota Center was restless after a relatively slow main card that featured four unanimous decisions, and the natives weren't shy about making their displeasure known. Gustafsson and Cormier put on the kind of show that can't be booed—five rounds of back-and-forth, blood-and-guts action to please even the most discerning connoisseur of violence.

    Jon Jones' rangy shadow hangs over the event like a pall of smoke. How could it not, when he holds victories over all four of the light heavyweights who competed on the main card? Nevertheless, those four showed that the division isn't all Jones. Cormier and Gustafsson put on a great fight, and Ryan Bader finally picked up the name win that has eluded him throughout his career by taking a decision from Rashad Evans.

    Ruslan Magomedov announced himself as a top-15 heavyweight with a wide decision over Shawn Jordan, while Julianna Pena demonstrated that her time has come to face the women's bantamweight division's elite. Ali Bagautinov and Joseph Benavidez put on a reasonably solid fight and yet showed just how far the rest of the flyweight division still has to go to reach Demetrious Johnson's level.

    The undercard was a riot of violence and entertainment. Yair Rodriguez did amazing things in his win over Daniel Hooker, while the heavily hyped Sage Northcutt destroyed Francisco Trevino in his arrival in the promotion.

    Maligned prospects Rose Namajunas and Sergio Pettis got back on track with career-saving wins. Violence specialist Albert Tumenov cracked the granite chin of Alan Jouban in a dominant knockout win, and Adriano Martins flattened Islam Makhachev with a counterpunch.

    On a night with a decent if meaningful main card and a preliminary card as good as the promotion has ever put together, let's take a look at the real winners and losers from UFC 192.

UFC 192 Full Card Results

1 of 8

    Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

    Main Card

    • Daniel Cormier def. Alexander Gustafsson by split decision
    • Ryan Bader def. Rashad Evans by unanimous decision
    • Ruslan Magomedov def. Shawn Jordan by unanimous decision
    • Joseph Benavidez def. Ali Bagautinov by unanimous decision
    • Julianna Pena def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision

    Fox Sports 1 Prelims

    • Yair Rodriguez def. Daniel Hooker by unanimous decision
    • Albert Tumenov def. Alan Jouban by TKO, 2:55, Rd. 1
    • Adriano Martins def. Islam Makhachev by KO, 1:46, Rd. 1
    • Rose Namajunas def. Angela Hill by submission, 2:47, Rd. 1

    Fight Pass Prelims

    • Sage Northcutt def. Francisco Trevino by TKO, 0:57, Rd. 1
    • Sergio Pettis def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision
    • Derrick Lewis def. Viktor Pesta by TKO, 1:15, Rd. 3

Winners: Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier

2 of 8

    Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

    As the aftermath of UFC 192 sets in and we start to consider what this event means, it's inevitable that talk will turn to Jon Jones. The light heavyweight belt is rightfully his, no matter what Daniel Cormier happens to be wearing around his waist. He didn't lose it, and nobody has really forgotten that simple fact.

    Cormier will fight Jones in the late winter or spring—that much seems certain. The greatest fighter in the division's history, perhaps in the history of the entire sport, will return to action, and he'll probably retrieve the bit of gold that will once again grant him his official title as light heavyweight kingpin.

    For now, however, let's appreciate the five outstanding rounds of action that Cormier and Gustafsson provided. In a different world, a world without Jones, both men could rightfully call themselves champions.

    Their fight surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. It featured strategic adjustments, outstanding technical skills in every phase, back-and-forth action, copious amounts of blood and facial trauma, momentum swings and pure grit. Cormier proved himself to be a worthy champion, and Gustafsson a worthy challenger.

    The Swede has now lost two in a row. There's no shame in falling to Anthony Johnson's thunderous fists or in losing a tight split decision to a former Olympian whose only loss is to the champion. Here's to hoping that Joe Silva will give him more of a bounce-back fight in his next outing; at only 28 and with years of productive fighting still ahead of him, he deserves the chance to rebuild.

    Whether Cormier can pull off the upset against a returning and presumably vengeful champion or not, and he probably won't, his reign deserves to be remembered fondly. He's put on three incredible title fights and come out on top in two of them against the best the division has to offer. He's a complete fighter who can threaten in every phase and at every rangea marvel of toughness, athleticism and skill.

    Forget about Jones, if only for a minute. Let's appreciate Gustafsson and Cormier and what they gave us: five great rounds.

Loser: Rashad Evans

3 of 8

    Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

    You have to feel for Rashad Evans. A consensus top light heavyweight for most of the last decade, he sat out for almost two years following a devastating knee injury that he suffered shortly before a scheduled fight with Daniel Cormier in February 2014.

    On Saturday, he didn't look like the same fighter who blew Chael Sonnen's doors off in his last outing all the way back in November 2013. Whether it was the injury, a lack of confidence or just the simple wear and tear associated with the passage of time, Evans' prime years are clearly over. 

    That's not to say that Bader deserves no credit for the victory. His jab was exceptionally sharp all night, and it served to bust up Evans' face and disrupt his timing and rhythm. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine the peak version of Evans losing a fight to Bader's jab, no matter how good it might be.

    Evans can stick around the top of a thin division for years to come, but there is next to no chance that he'll again find a way to best the light heavyweight elite.

Winner: Ruslan Magomedov

4 of 8

    Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

    Dagestan's Ruslan Magomedov is the rarest of creatures, a young heavyweight prospect who is improving steadily as he climbs the ladder. He is athletic, quick, a smooth striker and a good enough wrestler to keep the fight on the feet where he wants it. The counterpunching skill and slick kicks he showed off against Shawn Jordan are unique in a division full of aggressive but plodding fighters.

    Now 3-0 in the UFC, Magomedov is ready for a step up in competition. At only 28, there's no reason to rush him against an elite, but he's easily ready to test himself against a heavyweight on the fringes of the top 15.

    It's impossible to overstate how rare a commodity a heavyweight under 30 is. The champion is 38, and the youngest fighter in the top 15 is Stefan Struve, who has been a professional for a decade and is already shopworn. Magomedov has a good shot of reaching the top based purely on his youth and intact physical gifts.

    He might not have the raw power that other heavyweights possess, but he has a number of different ways of hurting his opponent, and the sheer skills will take him a long way. A regular training partner of Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez at the American Kickboxing Academy, he's in the right situation to continue making regular improvements.

    The UFC has found a heavyweight for the future in Magomedov.

Losers: Joseph Benavidez and Ali Bagautinov

5 of 8

    Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

    Placing Benavidez and Bagautinov in the losers category isn't so much about their fight, which wasn't nearly bad enough to justify the chorus of boos it drew from the crowd in Houston, but about the lack of improvement they showed in the grand scheme of things.

    Demetrious Johnson rules the flyweight division with an iron fist and smoked both Benavidez and Bagautinov in recent meetings. Both fighters need to show continuous, serious improvement to justify getting another shot at him, much less to show they have a chance at being competitive with the reigning champion.

    Neither fighter did that. They were both hesitant, threw little volume and didn't put the different pieces of their skill sets together into a coherent package. The level of skill on display was considerable, and they're undoubtedly elite flyweights who stand among the division's best.

    For Benavidez, there have to be real concerns about whether he's past his prime as a fighter. He's now on the wrong side of 30 with a decade of professional experience, and from a skill perspective he doesn't seem to be getting better. Bagautinov didn't exactly look amazing in his first fight back from a positive test for the banned substance erythropoietin.

    At 125 pounds, being among the division's elite just isn't enough. Johnson is one of the best fighters on the planet, and it will take something special to give him a fight. Neither fighter showed that. 

Loser: Jessica Eye

6 of 8

    Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

    Saturday's loss to Julianna Pena drops Eye to 1-3 with a no-contest in five UFC outings. Granted, those losses have come to the cream of the division, but at this point her limitations have become clear: Eye is constantly in her own way when she fights. She willingly engages in situations she doesn't need to be in and does silly things.

    Several cases stood out in Saturday's fight. The knee to Pena's head on the ground that cost her a point was an obvious example, but so too was her willingness to engage in the clinch. Repeatedly diving into the area where Pena had to be in order to get her takedowns was a serious mistake, and it's a big part of what cost Eye the fight.

    She might not have won the fight if she'd spent more time at distance, but she would have had a much better chance, and this isn't the first time one could say something similar.

    Eye is at her best when she's sticking and moving at range. That doesn't mean avoiding everything else like the plague, but it does mean that she should know where she's best and try to stay there as much as possible.

    We've more or less seen Eye's ceiling in the division at this point. She can put an incredible amount of volume on opponents who are willing to strike with her, and against lower-level opponents the rest of her skills are enough to get by.

    Against the division's elite, and the aggressive and physical specimens who reside there, Eye has substantially less to offer. She'll stick around for the foreseeable future and put on some fun fights, but there's no reason to expect her to contend.

Winner: Albert Tumenov

7 of 8

    Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

    Tumenov looked amazing in thoroughly dismantling Alan Jouban. The native of tiny Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus region of Russia has steadily improved since entering the UFC in February 2014, picking up his fourth consecutive win after a loss in his debut.

    He's only 23 years old and already one of the sharpest strikers in the division. The combination of highly advanced boxing with lethal kicks and an incredible sense of timing makes him a threat to anybody at 170 pounds. Even more important than his considerable technical skill is brutal, next-level power. He throws one of the hardest left hooks I've ever seen, and his pinpoint accuracy accentuates it.

    Putting Jouban, a rawhide-tough competitor with an iron chin, to sleep inside three minutes is a serious accomplishment. Tumenov deserves an opponent in the top 15 in his next outing, and if his current path of improvement continues, there is every reason to expect him to crack the division's elite sooner rather than later.

    Tumenov's future looks bright, even in a welterweight division stacked with talent.

Winner: The UFC's Future

8 of 8

    Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

    Rose Namajunas, Sage Northcutt and Yair Rodriguez all came through in a huge way Saturday night. Namajunas and Northcutt blew away their overmatched opponents in the first round, while Rodriguez styled on the durable and well-rounded Daniel Hooker for three rounds to take a decision.

    The UFC has big plans for all three of them. Namajunas was set to be the strawweight Ronda Rousey, at least according to the UFC, until Carla Esparza wrestled her to death during the inaugural championship fight. Despite that loss, she still has enormous potential to be an exciting and marketable fighter in that division, especially now that the expectations have cooled a bit and she can develop like a prospect.

    Texas native Northcutt has the looks, style and violent potential to become a huge moneymaker for the promotion. At only 19, he has at least a couple of years ahead of him before he needs to worry about facing the division's true elite, and the UFC will use that time to craft him into a marketable media product. As important as his marketability might be, the kid can really fight, with next-level athleticism and killer instinct.

    Of these three fighters, Rodriguez means the most to the UFC's future plans. A native-born Mexican who won The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, he too has unreal athleticism, great confidence and the kind of slick, creative game that only comes along once in a long while.

    With the UFC doubling down on its attempts to crack the Mexican market, Rodriguez is the linchpin of that effort. Without exception, every successful international expansion in the promotion's history has had a native star to build around, and all the signs point to Rodriguez being the fighter who can carry the UFC into the waters at the top of the market.

    The UFC is getting smarter about picking and choosing the fighters to really push, and Rodriguez and Northcutt in particular are the wave of the future. They did their part Saturday night.

X