5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum
UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum may not have garnered much fanfare coming in, but it turned out to be a very entertaining show for the most part.
With several fighters picking up important wins and others pulling off highlight-reel finishes, this was actually a great way for the UFC to return after a weekend off.
With a handful of fighters from last night moving into UFC title contention and others climbing the ladder, there are probably several happy UFC stars this morning.
With this considered, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum:
#5. Mark Madsen â defeated Clay Guida in UFC Fight Night co-main event
It wasnât as entertaining a win as heâd probably have hoped, but Danish Olympic silver medallist Mark Madsen still picked up the biggest victory of his UFC career last night over veteran Clay Guida.
Despite his wrestling accolades, Madsen was never able to ground Guida, meaning that the fight took place largely on the feet. And while âThe Carpenterâ was, as per usual, the more active fighter, the big difference appeared to be Madsenâs accuracy, particularly with his jab.
âThe Olympianâ won a split decision in the end, improving his overall record to 3-0 in the UFC and 11-0 in MMA. It wasnât a truly entertaining fight, and if anything, Madsen should probably rue the fact that he didnât push harder for the finish given Guidaâs waning durability these days.
However, to defeat a veteran whoâs been in the UFC since 2006 without facing real adversity is still pretty impressive. At the age of 36, Madsenâs window for moving into title contention isnât all that big, so hopefully, the UFC move him up the ladder and test him again next time out.
Based on this performance, whether heâs capable of moving up to the elite level of the 155-pounders is a major question mark, but with his athletic gifts, he probably has as good a chance as anyone right now.