Now, hear me out...
While it certainly was not a "bad" night of fights I truly wonder if anyone on the card really came out of the event as a big "winner" in the eyes of the public. For me this means getting the win, your fight making the PPV broadcast, and putting on an impressive performance.
Based on the first two criteria the potential winners would be John Hathaway, Marcus Davis, Alan Belcher, Rousimar Palhares, Mauricio Rua, and Dan Henderson.
Hathaway looked good but watching the fight it was almost more Egan looking like he had no business in the Octagon than Hathaway really impressing. Palhares dominated a washed-up Jeremy Horn but it wasn't anything that casual fans will remember in a week.
I refuse to accept Marcus Davis' win as anything of meaning. As I said in a few different places, the fight with Lytle was as close to a "scripted" fight as anything I've seen in a long time. To have an agreement that you wouldn't go to the ground, pass up opportunities to take an advantagious position when the other guy ends up on his back, and high five in honor of your awesomeness every time you have the fight stood back up is just lame.
Alan Belcher pulled off an upset win but spent the majority of the fight getting bested on the feet despite his recent claims that he could beat anyone in the UFC in a muay thai bout. He frustrated Kang with his ability to defend on the ground but in the end it seemed like Kang just sloppily fell into the choke. Belcher did nothing to establish himself as a contender in the division and if anything I'm even more sure that Anderson Silva would destroy him.
Shogun looked awful. I'm sorry, but he genuinely looked like an undercard fighter. He had a gassed 44 year old in front of him for the majority of the fight and not only was he not able to put him away until just before time ran out, Shogun himself became so gassed that he was getting manhandled for the majority of the third round by the exhausted old man. He got his hand raised, but I don't know too many people who consider him a "winner" coming out of that fight.
Finally, Dan Henderson... Dan was another victim of the cardio monster. You could see him fade throughout the fight and were it a five rounder I think Franklin stops him in the next round. It wasn't though and Hendo did legitimately win on the scorecards. He now goes on to fight Michael Bisping in a fight that I honestly think Bisping will win. The Brit has cleaner boxing and is a very tough guy to hold down if you put him on his back.
All I'm saying is that when a guy who gassed and looked like he was just trying to get to a decision as the fight wore on is the biggest winner on the show...maybe it just wasn't a great night for the promotion.
What do you think? Who was the big winner on the night?
