The UFC made a rare appearance at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse at Indianapolis, Indiana for UFC Fight Night 27 on Wednesday night.
The evening was highlighted by a pivotal welterweight rematch between former interim champ Carlos Condit and perennial contender Martin Kampmann.
While Kampmann fought with everything he had for a little over three rounds, “The Natural Born Killer’s” conditioning and striking were too much for the Xtreme Couture product to overcome.
Other noteworthy bouts saw an ex-WEC lightweight champ show his days as a title contender are numbered, while a former Ultimate Fighter winner remained undefeated and showed he’s ready for high-level competition.
Let’s check out who the biggest winners and losers were on this week’s FOX Sports 1 broadcast.
BIGGEST WINNER
Rafael dos Anjos – Remember when Rafael dos Anjos got his jaw broken by Clay Guida? Neither does anyone else.
With a massive upset over former WEC lightweight champion Donald Cerrone on Wednesday, the Brazilian has now won five straight fights.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has developed a very dangerous wrestling and striking game to compliment his submissions. Dos Anjos should be no more than one win away from a title shot.
WINNER
Carlos Condit – The last reigning WEC welterweight titleholder proved he is still one of the elite fighters on the planet at 170 pounds.
Condit brutalized Kampmann as the fight wore on, leaving his opponent a bloody mess before finishing him with knees in the fourth round. Hard to say what’s next for the Jackson’s MMA fighter, as he’s already lost to champ Georges St-Pierre and top contender Johny Hendricks.
WINNER
Kelvin Gastelum – Looks like its time for fans and media members alike to start giving the most recent TUF winner his due.
Gastelum looked like a stud in his welterweight debut, outstriking his heavy-handed opponent, Brian Melancon, before locking up a picture perfect rear-naked choke. The 23-year-old is now 7-0, with only one bout going to the judges’ scorecards.
WINNER
Brandon Thatch – The knockout specialist made it nine straight victories, all stoppages, when he put Justin Edwards’ lights out at UFC Fight Night 27.
Thatch’s power, accuracy and aggression make him an intriguing prospect, though it would be nice to see how he fares against a strong grappler in the UFC’s wrestler-heavy welterweight division.
BIGGEST LOSER
Donald Cerrone – “Cowboy” is an insanely talented and entertaining fighter, finishing 15 opponents in his 20 career victories.
However, he also has developed a reputation as a choke artist and his decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos isn’t going to make that label go away any time soon.
Cerrone has now lost two of his past three bouts and is just 3-3 in his past six Octagon outings. The striking/submission specialist may have just entered gatekeeper status at 155 pounds.
LOSER
Martin Kampmann – “The Hitman” is an excellent striker with an underrated submission game, but he just can’t seem to hang with the UFC’s elite welterweights.
Despite back-to-back knockouts at the hands of Johny Hendricks and Condit, Kampmann remains a top 10 fighter in the division and has plenty of decent paydays ahead of him.
LOSER
Hastu Hioki – After a six-fight win streak between May 2010 and February 2012, Hioki has now lost three fights in a row.
The Japanese featherweight has a fantastic submission game, but has little to offer against strong wrestlers. Hioki could be handed his walking papers after this loss to Darren Elkins.
LOSER
Roger Bowling – The Strikeforce import didn’t lose on Wednesday, but he also lost on what should’ve been an obvious disqualification win.
Despite clearly getting dizzied and being ruled unable to continue after an illegal knee thrown by Abel Trujillo, the bout was ruled a no-contest and Bowling is still winless in his past three fights.