5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev
UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev wasn’t the deepest card in terms of name value. However, on paper, it looked like it might produce some exciting fights.
Eventually, the UFC Fight Night was wildly entertaining from start to finish. There were some crazy knockouts and submissions, meaning a few fighters came away with big wins.
Some of these fighters will undoubtedly rise into title contention following their victories, and we may well have seen at least one future champion in action. On that note, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev:
#5. Drew Dober – defeated Terrance McKinney in a UFC lightweight bout
Dre Dober holds a reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC today. However, he must’ve felt like he had his back to the wall coming into his fight with Terrance McKinney last night.
Not only had the Colorado native lost his last two bouts inside the octagon, but he also faced a foe who had taken the fight on just two weeks’ notice. Moreover, his opponent was coming off two impressive stoppages in his first couple of trips to the octagon.
Had McKinney dealt with Dober in the same way he’d done to Fares Ziam in February, it may well have signalled the end of Dober’s career in the octagon.
Instead, though, the TUF 15 veteran was able to weather the early storm from ‘T-Wrecks’. He absorbed everything that was thrown at him before roaring back to knock McKinney down. From there, he pounced and didn’t let up till the fight was over.
Unsurprisingly, with so much action packed into a short period of just over three minutes, this was probably the night’s best fight overall.
While the win won’t elevate Dober into the top ten at 155 lb or anything like that, the fact that he knocked off such a dangerous prospect in entertaining fashion was impressive. Not only did he save his career with the promotion, but he also did so in perhaps the best way possible.