After one of the wilder nights in recent MMA memory, the results from the UFC 159 pay-per-view prove that Saturday night had its fair share of good, bad and ugly moments that highlighted the event.
In an event that saw a championship defended, knockout victories, bones broken and injuries galore, the biggest winners of the night were the fans in attendance and watching at home that saw the madness unfold.
All of the following made up the good, bad and ugly of this unforgettable PPV.
The Good: Roy Nelson’s KO Victory
There are few fighters that carry the kind of aura that Roy “Big Country” Nelson carries into the Octagon, but the legend that surrounds the tough-chinned heavyweight only continues to grow after another dominant win, this time over heavyweight gatekeeper Cheick Kongo.
Nelson stole the show before the fight—the fan favorite arrived at the event in his ever-portly body with giant beard and signature rat-tail mullet—but it is his continued destruction of everyone he steps into the ring with that fans have truly come to love.
While he doesn’t have the build of the prototypical fighter, there is no questioning the three-fight winning streak (all by KO) or the fact that UFC president Dana White has already said another victory against top competition would likely result in a title shot.
Expect huge things from Big Country moving forward.
The Bad: Alan Belcher’s Loss
While Alan Belcher didn’t get knocked out or submitted Saturday night, there is no question that he was the biggest loser of the night. Not only did Michael Bisping thoroughly outclass him, Belcher suffered a gruesome eye injury in the loss.
Belcher has also suffered through two previous eye injuries in his career (h/t MMA Weekly), but the latest inadvertent eye poke from Bisping‘s left hand could be the worst he has faced to date.
This injury was devastating to witness for the fans, but Belcher’s work ethic will likely bring him back to the Octagon if he is physically able to compete.
As tough as he is, though, this could be the kind of injury that has the veteran fighter reconsidering his line of work.
The Ugly: Jon Jones’ Big Toe
While Jon Jones was talented enough to pull out a first-round TKO victory over Chael Sonnen in the duo’s title fight Saturday, the ugliest part of the night was the broken big toe on Jones’ left foot (h/t Fox Sports) that included plenty of blood and a bone protruding through the skin.
Despite the gruesome injury suffered during the fight—likely by getting his toe caught in the mat during one of his shoot attempts—Jones continued to battle through the pain and gained the upper hand on Sonnen by punishing him mercilessly.
For those squeamish, this is not the type of injury you want to see photographs of, but the allure this amount of toughness adds to Jones’ aura as one of the top MMA stars in the sport today is undeniable.
While the injury was awful, the victory was anything but ugly.
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