Let"s run down the list of "Whos Hot" and "Whos Not" from UFC Fight Night 18: "Dillashaw vs. Cruz" which took place last night (Sun., Jan. 17, 2015), nominating the biggest winners and losers from the FOX Sports 1 event inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Boston, Massachusetts last night (January 17, 2015) for a Sunday special of mixed martial arts (MMA) action, as the TD Garden hosted the riveting UFC Fight Night 81: "Dillashaw vs Cruz" event, live on FOX Sports 1.
In yet another razor-close title fight, Dominick Cruz regained UFC Bantamweight gold in a "Fight of the Night" performance against reigning kingpin TJ Dillashaw (highlights here). Cruz handled business early on, but a late rally from Dillashaw resulted in a split decision that could have gone either way.
In the co-main event, Eddie Alvarez utilized a wrestling-heavy gameplan to pressure and wear down Anthony Pettis en route to a split decision victory over the former UFC Lightweight Champion. After the fight, Alvarez called for a shot at UFC Lightweight gold.
Check out the highlights here.
With that quick overview of the night"s marquee bouts, here are your biggest winners, as well as the runners-up from Boston.
Biggest Winner: Dominick Cruz
The Champion has returned.
Three ACL surgeries, a torn groin, a stripped title, and practically four years on the sidelines couldn"t stop Dominick Cruz from regaining the title he never lost inside the Octagon.
Even if Cruz hadn"t regained his UFC title in Boston, the perseverance and mental fortitude exemplified by the champ by stepping back into the cage after enduring so many hardships was a massive victory in and of itself.
To actually beat an extremely talented champion after having fought merely 61 seconds in the last four years?
Legendary.
TJ Dillashaw was convinced the sport of MMA had past Cruz by during his time rehabbing, and many pundits believed the former Team Alpha Male product was the new kingpin of the Bantamweight division.
That all proved to be a farce, however, as Cruz was elusive as ever in undoubtedly his best career performance to date.
While Cruz"s performance was exemplary, the fight was excruciatingly close, and the scorecards reflected that after five hard fought rounds.
The fight was deemed a split decision, but ultimately the right man was crowned the victor.
Runners-up: Eddie Alvarez
It may not have been the prettiest win in Eddie Alvarez"s career, but earning a split decision over Anthony Pettis is undoubtedly his biggest.
The former Bellator Lightweight Champion stuck to his game plan of pressuring Pettis, hindering the former champ"s striking arsenal for the majority of the fight.
While fight fans weren"t treated to the all-out slugfest we hoped to see, Alvarez utilized the best strategy to ensure he would leave Boston with a massive victory.
Alvarez essentially followed the same game plan laid out by Clay Guida and Rafael Dos Anjos before him, and even with Pettis spending time with Izzy Martinez to shore up the holes in his wrestling game, he simply could not evade the relentless pressure that Alvarez applied throughout.
The result may have been an uninspiring split decision, but it will probably earn Alvarez a shot at UFC Lightweight gold nonetheless.
Patrick Cote & Ed Herman
Both Patrick Cote and Ed Herman deserve a spot on the "Biggest Winners" list for UFC Fight Night 81.
Both longtime UFC veterans picked up huge knockout victories in Boston, angling themselves to compete against the best of the best in their respective divisions late into their MMA careers.
First up was Ed Herman -- who first broke into the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 3 in 2006 -- as he took on fellow longtime UFC veteran Tim Boetsch.
In "Short Fuse"s" 18th UFC fight, he competed in the 205-pound division for the first time, picking up a highlight-reel finish with a brutal knee in the clinch early on in the second round.
As if the win wasn"t satisfying enough, Herman also picked up $50,000 for his "Performance of the Night" bonus.
With slim pickings at Light Heavyweight, Herman could find late career success in 2016 if he can string a few wins together.
Just one fight after Herman, Patrick Cote took on the very dangerous Ben Saunders in the "Prelims" main event, and took care of business by earning the (technical) knockout in the second round.
Cote truly looked better than ever in his 19th UFC fight, winning his third straight, including two finishes in a row for the first time inside the Octagon since 2008.
While it is hard to predict how Cote would fair against the elite at Welterweight, the savvy veteran absolutely deserves a crack at a ranked opponent next.
At 35-years old "The Predator" is enjoying his best career stretch, and could be fighting a major name his next time out.
Biggest Loser: TJ Dillashaw
Losing a title is never easy, and especially so when it happens via split decision in a very close fight.
Ultimately, TJ Dillashaw"s ineffectiveness in the early rounds cost the former champ on two of the three judges" scorecards.
The incredible movement Dillashaw utilized to batter Renan Barao and Joe Soto in his previous title bouts was essentially neutralized by even better footwork and elusiveness by Cruz.
By round three, Dillashaw was almost completely flat footed, trying to land bombs while withholding the dangerous jab that helped him accrue UFC gold.
Dillashaw had his moments in the first 15 minutes sure, but overall he was dumbfounded by Cruz and not nearly as effective on his feet as he has been in his last several fights.
The third round saw Dillashaw beginning to find his rhythm just a bit, but his most impressive rounds came in the fourth and fifth, as he battered Cruz"s legs, slowing down his opponent"s mobility and making him an easier target to hit.
Even with the late surge in the final 10 minutes, Dillashaw did not do enough in the judges" eyes to defend the UFC Bantamweight title.
Still, the former champ is clearly among the top three Bantamweights in the world, so it likely won"t be long before he fights for UFC gold again.
If Aljamain Sterling signs a new UFC contract, I could see "The Funk Master" battling the former champ in a No. 1 contender fight later this year.
Runners-up: Anthony Pettis
When Clay Guida beat Anthony Pettis in his Octagon debut way back in 2010, "The Carpenter" exposed Pettis" deficiencies in the wrestling department.
Pettis was able to stitch up some holes in his game, and utilized his savvy striking and brilliant grappling arsenal to attain and defend UFC gold.
By the time UFC 185 rolled around, Pettis was one of the biggest stars in the sport, and looked to be well on his way to competing with BJ Penn"s legacy as the greatest Lightweight of all time.
Pettis was a beloved Champion, but his wrestling deficits proved to be his downfall once again when Rafael Dos Anjos dominated him and took the UFC title in Dallas.
In his return bout in Boston, Pettis needed an exceptional performance to earn another crack at UFC gold, but once again fell victim to the pressure of an aggressive opponent.
Pettis wasn"t necessarily all that bad last night, but Alvarez outworked him en route to a split decision.
With two losses in a row, Pettis needs to right the ship quickly. Expect "Showtime" to fight a lower ranked opponent in order to regain some confidence as he makes his climb back to the top of the Lightweight heap.
Matt Mitrione
Two "accidental" eye pokes and a terrible referee cost Matt Mitrione a potentially massive victory in Boston.
Nearing the end of a strong first round for Mitrione, an inadvertent eye poke from Travis Browne changed the complexion of the fight drastically.
After the poke, Mitrione abandoned his footwork, fighting emotionally instead of technically, all the while Browne was capitalizing.
Then came the second eye poke.
A thumb to the eye was missed by the referee, but he finally paused the action 30 seconds later after Mitrione said he was seeing double.
Still, no point taken.
And with that, the fight was essentially over. Mitrione"s momentum was completely stripped away, his vision was shoddy at best, and Browne was not being punished for his fouls by an incompetent referee.
As if it couldn"t get worse, the referee once again failed to do his job by not protecting "Meathead" late in the fight.
After securing full mount, Browne landed 30 or so unanswered shots to a dazed Mitrione before the ref finally called the bout.
It was a despicable performance from the referee, and it cost Mitrione dearly in his final fight of his UFC contract.
For complete results from UFC Fight Night 81: "Dillashaw vs. Cruz," including play-by-play updatesclick here.
Source: http://www.mmamania.com/2016/1/18/10782598/ufc-fight-night-81-results-biggest-winners-losers-from-dillashaw-vs-cruz-boston-mma
