The UFC visited Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 166. The main event featured a heavyweight showdown between two contenders hoping to climb towards a title shot. Looking for his third straight win, Curtis Blaydes entered the cage fresh off a TKO win over Shamil Abdurakhimov. He would be facing off against former UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos. Dos Santos was 3-1 in his last four, picking up wins over Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis. Coming into the Blaydes fight, he was fresh off a TKO loss to former title challenger, Francis Ngannou.

In the night’s co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos made his return to the cage. After going 1-3 in his last four, picking up the one win over Kevin Lee, dos Anjos was set to return against another former lightweight, Michael Chiesa. Chiesa made his welterweight debut in December of 2018 when he faced off against former interim welterweight champion, Carlos Condit. He defeated Condit by submission, and then would go on to defeat Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision at UFC 239. Earning a shot against dos Anjos meant his first chance at a ranked opponent and a win would put him in the top ten if not very close.

UFC Fight Night 166 featured a whole lot of decisions with only five total finishes out of twelve fights. Taking a look back at the card, those five finishes take the spots for the top five standout performances. In order for a fighter to make this list, their performance must stand out among their peers. This could be quick finishes, flashy knockouts, great submissions, dismantling an opponent, or providing an all-around exciting fight.

UFC Fight Night 166 Standout Performances

#1 Herbert Burns

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 def. Nate Landwehr via Knockout (Knee) at 2:43 of Round One

Brother of UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns, Herbert Burns earned his UFC contract off the Contender Series over the summer. While there he defeated Darrick Minner in the first round, submitting him with a triangle armbar. Prior to that he was on a two fight winning streak, grabbing wins outside the UFC over Luis Gomez and Albek Nurseit. He would be making his official UFC debut against Nate Landwehr.

Landwehr was also making his UFC debut after putting together a seven fight win streak outside the UFC. His win streak included wins under the M-1 banner in Russia, putting together five straight wins there. His most recent win came in June, when he defeated Viktor Kolesnik at M-1 Challenge 102. He would defeat Kolesnik by unanimous decision that night after two straight TKO victories.

The Fight

As the fight began the two quickly met toe-to-toe in the center of the cage. Soon, Burns would begin to pressure Landwehr, using all kinds of kicks to back up his opponent. Less than thirty seconds into the round, Burns landed a perfect double leg takedown and was on top of Landwehr. Once on top, Burns locked in a very tight d’arce choke, but Landwehr defended it well, causing Burns to hold onto it for nearly two minutes. Once the two were separated again, Landwehr began to put on the pressure, coming forward and landing shots. But it did not take too long for Burns to connect with a perfectly placed knee to shut the pressuring Landwehr’s lights out. Welcome to the UFC, Herbert Burns.

What’s Next

After a very impressive win over Landwehr, there is no need to rush Burns into anything just yet. Keep him competing with the lower end of the featherweight division, but make sure he’s faces some notable talent. An opponent that would make for an entertaining grappling match-up would be a fight against Chase Hooper. Hooper is among some of the youngest fighters on the roster at 20 years old. Hooper made his UFC debut at UFC 245, defeating Daniel Teymur by TKO in the first round. With an undefeated record of 9-0, Hooper holds three wins by KO/TKO and four by submission, making for what would be an exciting fight against Burns.

#2 Alex Perez

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def. Jordan Espinosa via Submission (Arm Triangle) at 2:33 of Round One

Since making his debut in 2017, Alex Perez has put together a record of 4-1, with his only loss coming to soon-to-be title challenger, Joseph Benavidez. Before the loss to Benavidez, the Lemoore, California native put together a three fight win streak with notable wins over Eric Shelton and Jose Torres. Prior to UFC Fight Night 166, he recently defeated Mark De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN 2. His next opponent would be another Contender Series alum, Jordan Espinosa.

After earning a contract on the Contender Series, Espinosa made his debut last year against Eric Shelton. He would pick up his first UFC victory that night as he defeated Shelton by unanimous decision. He would then go on to face Matt Schnell at UFC on ESPN 5, where he would lose by triangle choke submission in round one. That loss would set him up with Perez.

The Fight

For the first minute the two engaged in a striking match in the center of the octagon. But just as the minute mark passed, Perez was able to lock his hands around Espinosa’s body and take him down. Once on the mat, Perez would find himself in Espinosa’s half guard. Perez quickly began to search for the arm triangle submission as he inched himself higher towards Espinosa’s neck. He was shortly able to get his arms in the right position to lock up the choke. Before locking it in, Perez began softening his opponent with body shots from the top.

He then began to look for the finish as he started locking his hands together. Traditionally, to finish an arm triangle choke, the fighter on top needs to get out of half guard and into side control on the side of the choke in order to lock it in completely. However, Perez was able to sit in Espinosa’s half guard and tightly squeeze in his choke before Espinosa went unconscious.

What’s Next

Perez has alternated between flyweight and bantamweight during his UFC career. If he was to stay at flyweight, he could challenge for the title with just a couple of key wins. After his win against Espinosa, Perez mentioned Askar Askarov as a name for who he could face next. Askarov just recently faced Tim Elliott at UFC 246 defeating him by unanimous decision. He holds an undefeated record of 11-0 with one draw, with seven wins by submission and three by KO/TKO. He currently holds the number six spot in the flyweight rankings and a fight with Perez would surely be entertaining while also putting the winner one big win away from a title shot.

#3 Curtis Blaydes

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def. Junior dos Santos via TKO (Punches) at 1:06 of Round Two

Curtis Blaydes has been among the top of the heavyweight division for a couple of years now. Since debuting in the UFC in 2016, he has only lost to one man, Francis Ngannou, and he has lost to him twice. Blaydes came close to making a case for a title shot after four straight wins including wins over Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem. But then he met Ngannou for a second time and would lose by TKO once again, this time in round one. Since the loss he has looked great, getting a unanimous decision win over Justin Willis and a TKO win over Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 242. That win would earn him his second main event slot, this time against former UFC heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos.

Heading into UFC Fight Night 166 against Blaydes, dos Santos was 3-2 in his last five, with losses coming to UFC heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. He most recently lost by TKO to Ngannou in June but prior to that he had put together a three fight win streak. That win streak included TKO wins over Tai Tuivasa and former title challenger, Derrick Lewis. Late in his career, he looked to put together another run at the title, and a win over Blaydes would have helped a lot.

The Fight

The first round of their fight was fairly close. Blaydes was putting on the pressure as he searched for takedowns. But dos Santos did very well at defending every one of Blaydes’ shots. It wasn’t towards the last half of the round, after a brief pause due to a groin strike, where Blaydes began to find the most success success with his striking.

Blaydes came out in round two pressuring dos Santos once again. As he moved forward, he continued to land punches. Throughout the fight, dos Santos was throwing a lead uppercut that would leave his chin wide open. Just a minute into the second round, Blaydes would hit the mark as JDS threw the uppercut, stunning him with a right hand. Blaydes swarmed his stunned opponent, pouring on strikes before the ref stepped between them to stop it. The big win for Blaydes puts him right back at the top of the division in a clustered title picture.

What’s Next

As previously mentioned, the win puts Blaydes in title contention once again. But the title picture at heavyweight is a little clustered at the moment. Current champion Stipe Miocic and former champion, Daniel Cormier await their trilogy fight. Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou is matched up in a main event against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in March. A win for Ngannou should guarantee him another shot at the title. So where does that put Blaydes? It doesn’t seem like he has a case to sit out and wait for a title shot so he will have take another fight in the meantime. That would mean fighting back in the rankings. This opens up a couple of ideas.

The first idea would be a fight with former Bellator heavyweight champion, Alexander Volkov. Volkov made his UFC debut in 2016 and since then has gone 5-1, holding notable wins over former heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, and Roy Nelson. His only loss came in 2018 at UFC 229 when he lost to Derrick Lewis at the last second in a fight he was winning on the scorecards. A fight between Blaydes and Volkov gives Blaydes the opportunity to face someone new and add to his résumé. Meanwhile it gives Volkov another chance to add a top name to his list of wins and put himself back into the title mix.

The second option for Blaydes would be Jairzinho Rozenstruik if he beats Ngannou in March. Rozenstruik made his UFC debut in February 2019 and has already gone 4-0, putting together four straight KO/TKO victories. The most notable of those wins include a first round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski and a fifth round knockout of Alistair Overeem. A big win over Ngannou would make a fight between him and Blaydes the perfect number one contender match-up.

#4 Angela Hill

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def. Hannah Cifers via TKO (Punches) at 4:26 of Round Two

The women’s division’s ‘Cowboy’ was back at it again at UFC Fight Night 166. Following the withdrawal of Brianna Van Buren in her fight with Hannah Cifers, Angela Hill would step up on about a month’s notice. It would be her fifth fight in less than a year, as she went 2-2 in 2019. Entering UFC Fight Night 166, she was coming off a TKO win over Ariane Carnelossi in September. Going into Saturday night, she looked to put together consecutive wins for the first time since 2016.

As for Cifers, she entered the fight coming off back-to-back wins after losing her UFC debut to Maycee Barber. Those two wins include a split decision win over Polyiana Viana at UFC 235. She most recently defeated Jodie Esquibel by unanimous decision at UFC 241. She looked to pick up a big win over Hill for her third straight in front of her North Carolina home crowd.

The Fight

In round one, Hill found early success with her striking. She was moving in and out of Cifers’ range and landing short punches before moving out of the path of Cifers’ combinations. The first grappling exchange happened a little over three minutes into the fight as Cifers tried to clinch with Hill. But Hill was able to land a couple knees to Cifers’ midsection before breaking apart. As the two were striking again, Cifers began to find more success, landing more punches, but Hill continued finding success of her own. They clinched once again before the end of the round, this time Hill would hold Cifers there a little longer before breaking apart hitting Cifers with a spinning back fist to end the round.

The second round started with much of the same action from the first. Hill continued finding success with her jab as she moved forward, closing the distance and landing shots. Meanwhile, Cifers was connecting with kicks as she backed up, to the legs and the body. Just under two minutes into the round, Hill would take the fight to the ground as she grabbed a hold of Cifers and tripped her from the Thai clinch. Once on top, it didn’t take long for Hill to pass into full mount. After gaining the mount position, Hill began landing elbows and punches from the top for two minutes until the ref stepped in. Hill has now won back-to-back fights by TKO for the first time since 2016.

What’s Next

After splitting four fights in 2019, Angela Hill has started off 2020 right with a win. The win now puts her at two in a row and in a position to challenge for a top fifteen ranking again. But instead of throwing a ranked opponent at her next, why not have her take on another unranked challenge with a full camp to then earn a ranked opponent. That being said, why not book her against the person she filled in for, Brianna Van Buren. Van Buren is the former Invicta FC strawweight champion, defeating three women in one night to win that title. She is coming off her UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 155 last summer as she defeated Livia Renata Souza by unanimous decision. Booking Angela Hill against Brianna Van Buren would make for an interesting fight that would surely grant the winner a top fifteen opponent.

#5 Brett Johns

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def. Tony Gravely via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:53 of Round Three

Out of competition since August 2018, Brett Johns was set to make his return at UFC Fight Night 166. Prior to the injuries that shelved him, Johns was on a two fight losing streak. After starting his career 15-0, grabbing wins over Joe Soto and Albert Morales, Johns lost two straight to top contenders Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz. He would make his return to the cage against a debuting fighter, Tony Gravely.

Gravely was making his debut coming off of the Contender Series, where he defeated Ray Rodriguez by TKO in round three of their fight. Before getting his shot on the Contender Series, Gravely put together a six fight win streak, picking up wins under the KOTC, M-1, and CES MMA banners. He looked to earn a big win over a notable opponent in his octagon debut.

The Fight

Round One:

Gravely started the fight with nice kick combinations before searching for the first takedown of the fight. Johns was able to defend it well and locked his hands around Gravely’s neck in a front choke position. But Gravely was able to quickly change levels and take Johns down to escape his grasp. They didn’t stay on the mat for long before they were standing in the clinch again. Once there, Johns was able to flip Gravely to the mat but would not hold him long as Gravely began getting up. As he attempted to get up Johns kept fighting for another takedown and would eventually get it. Gravely looked to get back to his feet again but would give up his back, allowing for Johns to search for the choke. As he fished for the choke, he began punching Gravely from the back, connecting with some decent shots.

After a little while, Johns began slipping off Gravely’s back. As he recognized it, he grabbed Gravely’s leg and looked to be searching for a leg lock but would quickly get Gravely’s back again. Gravely was able to get back to his feet but Johns stayed on his back and came very close to finishing the fight with the choke. But Gravely survived and the horn sounded for the end of round one.

Round Two:

The beginning of round two saw Gravely finding some success with his strikes. He connected with a few knees to Johns’ body in the clinch while also landing some combinations while closing distance. About thirty seconds in, Johns looked to drag Gravely to the ground but Gravely kept his balance and stayed on his feet. Johns then looked to hip toss him to the mat but Johns defended it and got Johns down with a double leg. After Johns got up a few times, Gravely put him back down and would end up on Johns’ back searching for a choke of his own. Soon, Johns was able to reverse the position and roll Gravely off his back as he was too high.

This allowed for Johns to get another takedown of his own and take Gravely’s back once again. But then Johns would end up too high and fell over top Gravely, giving Gravely the advantageous position. But then Gravely fell over top of Johns once again and Johns was right back on top. In the remaining two minutes of the round, the two exchanged takedowns once again before the horn sounded.

Round Three:

Round Three opened up with punches being thrown right away before Johns caught a body kick from Gravley and forced him back towards the fence. As Johns forced Gravely backwards in hopes of a takedown, Gravely got Johns in a headlock and got his own takedown. But once again, Johns was able to reverse the position, take Gravely down and take his back once again. As he was finally able to lock in the body triangle this time around, Johns was finally able to lock in the choke after a flurry heavy ground and pound. After a little under a year and a half away, Johns returned in a big way to earn the hard fought victory.

What’s Next

After just returning from injury, giving Johns a top opponent next doesn’t seem like the smartest move. He is 0-2 when it comes to ranked fighters faced, granted those fighters are top-6. In a deep division like bantamweight, it shouldn’t be hard to find Johns a notable unranked fighter to face off against next. To make things exciting, why not match Johns up with another experienced ground fighter. With that being said, look no further than Kyung-ho Kang. Kang has won eleven of his eighteen victories by submission. He is currently on a three fight win streak with notable wins over Teruto Ishihara and Brandon Davis. A win for either Johns or Kang would definitely grant them a ranked opponent in their following outing.

Next Week

Following UFC Fight Night 166, the UFC takes a short break next week. They return on February 8 for UFC 247 live from Houston, Texas. In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, puts his title on the line against undefeated Dominick Reyes. Plus, Valentina Shevchenko looks to defend her women’s flyweight title for a third time when she takes on Katyln Chookagian. Other key fights on the card feature Ilir Latifi‘s heavyweight debut agaisnt Houston’s own Derrick Lewis. Plus, Mirsad Bektic takes on Dan Ige in an exciting featherweight match-up. Check back here in two weeks to find out who took home UFC 247’s Standout Performances.

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