UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee (UFC Fight Night 71) was live from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California for a rare middle of the week card on July 15, 2015.
The main event was a heavyweight clash where Todd Duffee would take a huge leap up in competition as he took on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir.
Just like every event, UFC Fight Night 71 saw many fighters take a big step forward in their career, whereas others were not as successful and were forced to take a step back for the time being.
Winners
Frank Mir
At UFC Fight Night 71, Frank Mir was looking to win back-to-back fights for the first time in almost four years as he took on Todd Duffee. In what was a wild slugfest, he did just that. Mir picked up his second straight first round knockout as he knocked out Duffee at 1:13 of Round 1. Many were calling for an end to the 36-year-old’s career just last year, but with his recent turnaround that is out of the question for the time being. After 25 UFC fights, the heavyweight is still going strong and continues to evolve and will have another high profile fight his next time out.
Tony Ferguson
At UFC Fight Night 71, Tony Ferguson took on the biggest name of his career as he squared off with former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and the #9 ranked Josh Thomson. Ferguson has shown to have great potential for quite some time and has long been a dark horse in the lightweight division and at UFC Fight Night 71 he had his chance to prove he is amongst the best the division has to offer. ‘El Cucuy’ did just that as he put on likely the best performance of his career. The fight wasn’t close from start to finish as he dominated everywhere like no one has really been able to do to Thomson his entire career. The unanimous decision win extended Ferguson’s win streak to six and he will surely get a highly ranked guy his next time out as he is likely only one or two more big wins away from challenging for the title.
Losers
Josh Thomson
At UFC Fight Night 71, Josh Thomson was taking on one of the hottest fighters in the division as he competed against Tony Ferguson. Thomson was trying to avoid losing his last three fights, but was unsuccessful in that attempt. ‘The Punk’ was dominated from start to finish on his way to a unanimous decision loss. With talks of retirement before this fight, the former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion’s future may be in doubt. Whether he calls it a career or not, Thomson had a very successful career and at UFC Fight Night 71 he showed how tough he is and the heart that he has.
Scott Jorgensen
At UFC Fight Night 71, Scott Jorgensen was in a must win situation as he took on Manvel Gamburyan in an attempt to avoid losing five of his last six fights. Yet again, Jorgensen was unsuccessful and did not win a single round as he lost the fight via unanimous decision. ‘Young Guns’ has now lost seven out of his last nine fights and his UFC future is very much in doubt.
