The first PPV of the new year, UFC 220 didn’t go off the way the UFC brass hoped. Putting all of their promotional stock behind Francis Ngannou, the sculpted big man fell short in his bid to become the MMA version of Mike Tyson. Instead, Stipe Miocic survived a few early scares to grind away at the big man and derail his hype train. You’d think the UFC would learn to make contingency plans after the way Ronda Rousey’s return blew up in their face….

We may not have gotten the explosive finish we were hoping for in the main event, but we did get some solid and consistent action with over half of the main card fights delivering the goods, including Daniel Cormier putting on an entertaining defense of his light heavyweight title. Given we already knew Gian Villante and Francimar Barroso was already going to be a lost cause, that’s pretty damned good.

As for the winners and losers of the night, here they are…

Winners

Stipe Miocic: I’m willing to concede that Miocic’s performance wasn’t the most entertaining, but he set the record for most consecutive title defenses in the UFC’s oldest division and thwarted the biggest hype train to hit the UFC heavyweight division since Cain Velasquez. That isn’t enough for you? Fine. According to FightMetric, Miocic landed 70 significant strikes to Ngannou’s 21 in addition to six takedowns to none for Ngannou. It wasn’t the prettiest contest, but Miocic dominated to make a case for him being the greatest heavyweight of all time. Yeah, I think it’s pretty damn clear Miocic walked out a big winner!

Daniel Cormier: Cormier survived a slow start to turn in the most dominant performance of the night. Sure, he took some early damage, but once he exhausted Oezdemir a bit more, he had little trouble getting him to the ground and trapping him for a ground-and-pound stoppage. If nothing else, he needed the win to erase the most recent memory of him in the cage being cut down by Jon Jones. It’s unlikely he’ll ever be able to get the Jones-monkey off his back once and for all, but he can distance himself from it by defending his title as many times as possible. Such a shame that one of the most dominant competitors in MMA history is plagued by one man…. Nonetheless, Cormier was a big winner at UFC 220.

Calvin Kattar: It’s rare you fight a technically sound fight and still produce the levels of violence Kattar was able to against Shane Burgos. Granted, Kattar needed the right dance partner to produce that level of entertainment, but we can’t short him any deserved credit either. Either way, that’s twice that Kattar has come in as a sizeable underdog against a more physically talented opponent. Maybe I need to stop underestimating the Massachusetts native….

Rob Font: Font had been developing a bit of a reputation as a front runner, being unable to overcome adversity. Though he was never in danger of being finished, Almeida began to take control of the contest at the end of the first. Font didn’t crumble, instead catching Almeida a couple of times before the Brazilian couldn’t take anymore. It isn’t enough to launch Font into talks of contention, but he kept the possibility of it alive if he can deliver in his next performance.

Kyle Bochniak: Anyone else who put on this performance, I’d be reluctant to list them as a winner. Compare this performance to Bochniak’s past UFC performances and it’s clear that he’s been working hard to up his game. He likely saved his job in the process.

Abdul Razak Alhassan: Many great fighters have gone their entire careers without landing a KO as devastating as the one Alhassan put on Sabah Homasi. Seriously, when did Randy Couture ever lay out another human being in that manner? Alhassan has earned a permanent spot on the all-time highlight reel with that one-punch KO. That’s a HUGE win.

Julio Arce: Great debut from newcomer. Long on the radar as a prospect to watch, Arce’s debut felt long overdue and he proved it with a disciplined approach. I do wish he’d have shown greater killer instinct as he appeared content to pepper away with jabs and short combinations, but that’s nitpicking. He won all three rounds clearly despite what a moronic judge might have thought.

Enrique Barzola: It was a good, but not great showing from the Peruvian. His low kicks were as prominent as ever and he even showed some improved boxing. However, his takedowns seemed to be lacking. Nonetheless, it was enough to get a win over hometown favorite Matt Bessette. Good enough to make him a winner for the night.

Islam Makhachev: Was there any doubt about Makhachev? Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate wasted no time, landing a one-two in with the second punch landing square on the usually durable Gleison Tibau’s jaw, putting the longtime UFC veteran out cold. Given Makhachev isn’t particularly known for his striking prowess, that’s a scary proposition for future opponents. 2018 could be the year Makhachev climbs the lightweight ladder.

Losers

Francis Ngannou: Hardly the biggest loser of the night, it was still a rough night for the Cameroonian. He was overly aggressive in the first round in his attempts to finish of Miocic and left himself with nothing to offer in the remaining four rounds. I don’t know if the spotlight was too bright or what, but that wasn’t typical of the big man. Nonetheless, these types of losses are typical for young prospects making their way up the ladder. Like many others, I believe Ngannou will be a champion someday. That day simply has yet to come.

Volkan Oezdemir: Given how many people believed Oezdemir was going to be flattened by Cormier out of the gate, Oezdemir put on a competitive showing. He peppered Cormier with punches early before Cormier got his bearings about him and took him to the ground. However, given how little hype there was around this contest – don’t tell me it was just overshadowed by Miocic-Ngannou – it’s unlikely Oezdemir is going to get another opportunity at the belt. I suppose he could beat Glover Teixeira and Alexander Gustafsson and get another chance… but does anyone realistically see that happening?

Gian Villante and Francimar Barroso: Every MMA writer and analyst feared the fight would go the way it did. Villante stalked Barroso around the cage with the occasional flurry while Barroso circled the cage with the occasional kick in the direction of Villante. It was wash, rinse, repeat. Villante may have picked up the win to save his job. He may even have fought an intelligent fight. But he didn’t pick up any new fans. As for Barroso, he may have lost quite a few of them.

Brandon Davis: The UFC hyped him up by giving him the final spot in the prelims and he came out looking flat as hell. What happened to the aggressive come-forward punching machine on the Contender’s Series? The broadcast team said Davis was dealing with an injury, which I supposed provides some explanation, but fighters are rarely if ever at 100%. He needs a big rebound performance in his next contest.

Sabah Homasi: Awesome dance moves aside, nobody had a worse night than Homasi. He gets a chance to redeem a loss that never should have been pinned on him and ended up on the receiving end of a spectacular finish. It’s one thing to end up on the end of a lights out punch from Ngannou or Miocic as many other have. But to Alhassan? Unless Alhassan develops into a star, that really stings.

Alexandre Pantoja: In terms of pure talent and skill, Pantoja was clearly ahead of Ortiz. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the gas tank to deliver the goods. This was probably the best chance he was going to have to launch himself into title talk and he blew it. Given the strained relationship that appears to exist between the UFC and Nova Uniao, he may not get another opportunity.

Dan Ige: I don’t want to trash too badly on Ige, but given he never made any adjustments, it makes it hard for me to call him anything other than a loser. Even though he couldn’t secure takedowns in the first round, his strategy was the same in the second and third. The youngster has time to improve, so this isn’t the condemnation it could be.

Gleison Tibau: People are forgetting in the midst of Tibau’s return from a two-year USADA imposed suspension that he lost two contests in a row. The KO loss to Makhachev makes it three. The Brazilian has a lot of mileage on his body with very little tread left on the tires. I have no clue about his contract situation, but given the UFC has been letting contracts expire rather than cutting talent, I’m curious how many more fights he has left to fulfill. I’m not expecting the UFC to re-up him.

Neither

Shane Burgos: How can you call this man a loser? Okay, maybe he got knocked silly by Kattar, but were you not entertained!? No matter the outcome, you know that Burgos has left everything in the cage. For all the fans that had never seen him before, Burgos picked up all sorts of respect. If there was someone on the main card who picked up fans despite not winning, Burgos is the man. I can’t consider him a winner as this was a winnable fight if he fought a smarter fight, but he certainly wasn’t a loser.

Thomas Almeida: I could very easily put Almeida in the loser’s column, but he fought hard and looked good for a long period of time before Font caught him. I liked enough of what I saw to believe Almeida is still improving. No doubt his defense could be shored up, but given he’s a pressure fighter, he’s bound to take a lot of damage. At this point, I’m largely expecting Almeida to deliver the goods in terms of entertainment and he did just that.

Dustin Ortiz: Ortiz did what he needed to win… but just barely. He was controlled by Pantoja for roughly half of the contest, hardly providing inspiration that he might be able to provideDemetrious Johnson a challenge. Granted, it’s hardly a guarantee he’ll get that chance, but who else is there to challenge the champ that he hasn’t already beat? I was hoping for more out of the winner of this fight and Ortiz didn’t deliver.

Matt Bessette: Given he was on the verge of retiring before accomplishing his UFC dream, Bessette needs to be commended for finally accomplishing this dream. Granted, he didn’t quite look like himself, likely suffering from the Octagon jitters. Nonetheless, it wasn’t a bad performance and he accomplished a lifelong dream. Hard to label him a loser.