UFC on FOX: Machida vs. Rockhold (UFC on FOX 15) was live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on April 18, 2015.
The main event was a 5-round middleweight bout that would likely determine the next title challenger within the division as former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida took on former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold.
Just like at every event, UFC on FOX 15 saw a bunch of fighters take a big step forward in their career, whereas others were knocked down a peg. This event was very ‘winner’ heavy and lots of fighters put on statement making performance, but we limited our winners to three. With that being said, check out our biggest winners and losers from UFC on FOX 15 below.
Winners:
Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold took on Lyoto Machida at UFC on FOX 15 and by the end of the night, Rockhold made sure that there were no doubts of who the #1 contender in the middleweight division is. The American Kickboxing Academy middleweight put on an absolutely one sided beat down as he submitted Machida via guillotine choke at 2:31 of Round 2. It was one of, if not the most dominant performance against Lyoto Machida. Nothing else needs to be said other than that the UFC has its clear #1 contender to the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Max Holloway
Max Holloway was riding a 5-fight winning streak coming into UFC on FOX 15 as he took on what was without a doubt one of his toughest tests to date in Cub Swanson. Holloway put on an absolutely flawless performance against Swanson. The 23-year-old was able to pick up the guillotine choke submission victory at 3:57 of Round 3 in a fight where he was up big. It was truly one of those performances that leave people speechless. Max Holloway is as good as they come and has shown an absurd amount of growth over a very short period of time.
Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling had long been one of the biggest prospects within the bantamweight division and at UFC on FOX 15 ‘The Funk Master’ was put to the test as he faced his stiffest competition to date in Takeya Mizugaki. Sterling was able to pass the test with flying colors as he ultimately nullified all of Mizugaki’s offense for the entirety of the fight. The 25-year-old showed outstanding grappling against a real veteran of the sport and was able to get the arm-triangle choke submission victory from the bottom at 2:11 of Round 3. If there were any doubts of whether or not Aljamain Sterling was a legitimate threat within the division, there surely are none now.
Losers:
Cub Swanson
Cub Swanson was looking to bounce back from a loss against Frankie Edgar in a fight where he was absolutely dominated in. Swanson was set to take on the red-hot Max Holloway in a fight that was a big step up for the Hawaiian. For the second straight fight, Swanson just did not show up and had almost no success for the entirety of the fight. Once again, Swanson was down big on scorecards and was ultimately finished in the final round of the fight for the second straight time. This also marks the first time in Swanson’s career that he has lost back-to-back fights. It has certainly been a rough stretch for the 31-year-old, but he is still very much at the top of the featherweight division and will be back sooner rather than later.
Felice Herrig
Felice Herrig was very vocal coming into UFC on FOX 15 about her thoughts on her opponent Paige VanZant. Herrig was the far more experienced fighter, but that did not matter. The Illinois native had little to no success against the 21-year-old VanZant. Herrig ultimately lost the fight via unanimous decision without picking up a single round and having lost a round 10-8 on two judge’s scorecards. Every loss hurts, but one where you talk a lot has to hurt all the more and that is the boat that Herrig is currently in.
Patrick Cummins
Patrick Cummins was able to string together three straight wins after a lopsided loss to Daniel Cormier in his UFC debut and was set to take on Ovince Saint Preux at UFC on FOX 15. It seemed as if it was a favorable match-up for Cummins as Saint Preux suffered his only loss in the UFC to Ryan Bader who also had a very wrestle heavy approach. Early in the fight, Cummins was able to gain a few takedowns, but Saint Preux was immediately able to get back to his feet. ‘Durkin’ continued to try and take Saint Preux down, but was eventually caught by an uppercut that dropped him and ultimately resulted in a TKO loss at 4:54 of Round 1. This was a fight that could have propelled Cummins into the top 10, but with a loss at UFC on FOX 15, the 34-year-old is still on the outside looking in.
