5 biggest winners from UFC Vegas 27: Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt
UFC Vegas 27 was a low-key show despite featuring two fights at the top of the card between high-end contenders.
In the end, UFC Vegas 27 was short on explosive finishes but definitely wasn’t short on impressive performances, meaning the show was well worth watching.
With this in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Vegas 27: Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt.
#1 Carla Esparza – defeated Yan Xiaonan in UFC Vegas 27 co-main event
UFC Vegas 27’s biggest winner was quite clearly Carla Esparza.
Faced with Yan Xiaonan – who was undefeated in the UFC and held wins over Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill – the Cookie Monster pulled off one of the best wins of her entire career.
She simply dominated Xiaonan on the ground from the off in the fight, destroying her with elbows in the first round before finishing her off from a mounted crucifix in the second.
The turnaround in Esparza’s UFC career has been mightily impressive. Written off after losing the UFC strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015, Esparza is now on a five-fight winning streak. She should almost certainly claim the next title shot.
And given that she’s already defeated Rose Namajunas in a UFC title fight previously, would anyone really bet against her pulling the feat off again?
If the Cookie Monster can do so, she’d become one of the most unlikely two-time UFC champions in history - and a UFC legend in the process.
#2 Rob Font – defeated Cody Garbrandt
Rob Font didn’t get the explosive knockout he was hoping for in last night’s main event. However, he still impressed greatly against Cody Garbrandt, picking up the biggest win of his UFC tenure in the process.
Font basically outstruck Garbrandt throughout the fight, keeping him at bay with a ramrod jab and landing the heavier blows throughout the contest.
Usually considered a chinny fighter, Garbrandt’s jaw did hold up against Font’s offense, but it was quite clear who the winner was when the fight was over.
No Love simply couldn’t get his usually slick striking game going and looked outgunned from a technical standpoint for arguably the first time in his UFC career.
The win probably won’t put Font in line for a shot at the winner of the Aljamain Sterling/Petr Yan UFC bantamweight title fight. It just wasn’t memorable enough for that.
But it should probably mean he faces the winner of Cory Sandhagen vs. TJ Dillashaw to decide the top contender. That makes him one of UFC Vegas 27’s biggest winners.
#3 Jack Hermansson – defeated Edmen Shahbazyan
In a fight that wasn’t quite as entertaining as some UFC fans might’ve hoped, Jack Hermansson got back into UFC middleweight title contention with a win over Edmen Shahbazyan.
Shahbazyan quite clearly took the first round, coming out strongly with his striking game and hurting Hermansson on more than one occasion.
However, the final two rounds saw the Joker use his superior ground game to continually take Shahbazyan down. On the mat, it was clear who was the better fighter.
It wasn’t his most explosive showing, but Hermansson beat the Golden Boy down every time he had him on his back. In the end, it was enough for a clear-cut unanimous decision.
After a disappointing end to 2020 that saw him lose to Marvin Vettori in a fight that could’ve provided a path towards a UFC title shot, this win should put Hermansson back on track. With another solid win, he could well find himself in line for a shot at gold.
#4 David Dvorak – defeated Juancamilo Ronderos
The UFC flyweight division is somewhat short on prospects right now. It means that any fighter who can put together a three-fight win streak as David Dvorak has done is well worth watching.
Last night, the Undertaker was faced with late replacement Juancamilo Ronderos. While he won’t gain any traction in terms of his ranking with his win, he probably gained some fans.
Dvorak looked excellent, hurting Ronderos badly with his strikes before submitting him with a pretty slick one-armed rear-naked choke.
The native of the Czech Republic still has a number of fighters sitting above him when it comes to gaining a UFC flyweight title shot. However, another big win over one of those men could well push Dvorak into firm contention.
And with UFC champ Deiveson Figueiredo fighting regularly, he could well dispatch enough contenders that the Undertaker ends up in line for a shot as early as 2022.
When you’re faced with a late replacement as Dvorak was last night, the only good thing a UFC fighter can do is win impressively. And he did that in style, making him one of the night’s big winners.
#5 Ben Rothwell – defeated Chris Barnett
The UFC has been quite ruthless in recent months when it comes to cutting veteran fighters who have fallen out of contention and are still earning decent payouts.
That meant that coming into last night’s show, Ben Rothwell, who earned a reported $135k for his loss last year to Marcin Tybura, was probably in jeopardy of losing his UFC spot if he’d lost his fight.
But Big Ben turned up the heat on newcomer Chris Barnett. After a sloppy first round, Rothwell hurt Beast Boy with punches before submitting him with his trademark 10-finger guillotine.
Sure, the win won’t move Rothwell back into title contention. It probably won’t even move him into the UFC’s top 10 or 15 by the start of next week.
But it should ensure the veteran keeps his spot on the UFC roster for at least one or two more fights.
And in the post-COVID-19 era, with everyone looking to tighten their belts, that’s probably the most important thing for a fighter like Rothwell. This makes him one of UFC Vegas 27’s biggest winners.