For those on this side of the world, Sunday night MMA can be a bit of a bitch as work in the morning limits the length of time we can Clockwork Orange our eyes open until the sun comes up.
But for the determined fans who thought ‘I can survive with three hours sleep,’ you were rewarded with six first round finishes, some gorgeous submissions and bizarre scenes of stunned silence as the main event finished with a bizarre injury to Charles Oliveira.
Here are the warriors who earned our appreciation last night.
Knockout of the Night – Frankie Perez
Sometimes you score a knockout so pretty that you literally decide that it’s never going to get better.
26-year-old Frankie Perez came through the biggest fight of his short MMA career when he landed a short right hook on the jaw of UFC veteran Sam Stout before pouncing on his injured opponent with smothering ground-and-pound.
After the bout Perez announced his retirement from the sport so he could spend more time with his family and there was no better way to go out.
Submission of the Night – Felipe Arantes
For those of you looking for the perfect armbar template, look no further than Felipe Arantes’ fight-ending effort against Yves Jabouin last night.
Hooked the leg, tested the sweeping ability of Jabouin and after feeling no threat, the Brazilian separated the Canadian’s hands and followed the armbar with supreme technique to earn the panicked tap.
Performance of the Night – Olivier Aubin-Mercier
He may not have gotten the finish but Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s back-taking masterclass was enough for us to believe that he’s able to outgrapple the vast majority of UFC lightweights.
The way that the Tristar product transitions from takedown attempts to backmount is gorgeous to behold and he’s no slouch on the feet either.
A ranked opponent could very well be next for the 26-year-old and the fact that one judge awarded one round to opponent Tony Sims is bloody criminal.
It wasn’t flashy but effectiveness is underrated in MMA. G’won OAM.
One to Watch – Nikita Krylov
One to watch for fans and definitely one to watch for referees.
Nikita Krylov isn’t a breakout star by any means because we’d already seen him five times in the octagon heading into last night’s bout against Marcos Rogério de Lima.
But, having just turned 23, the Ukrainian has the world ahead of him at light heavyweight and he availed of some lenient officiating from Herb Dean who let Krylov fight off an early fence grab.
Krylov was delighted with the clemency and snapped on the tightest of rear naked chokes that gave his opponent no option but to tap.
