Author: Nathan McCarter

UFC 186 hit Montreal on Saturday, but before the five-fight main card unfolded, seven bouts got the night started.

The prelims offered a good mix of veterans and prospects in competitive matches. The matchmakers know what they are doing, and we saw several quality performances that set things up well for the future. Of the seven bouts, four stars stood out from the pack.

We saw a potential title contender come out of the prelims and a veteran shine with one of his most complete performances to date.

The undercard started the night off with fun fights.

Here are four stars from the preliminary action at UFC 186.

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UFC 186 has a very important women’s bantamweight bout as a prelim — Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis.

If you were just to go by rankings No. 3-ranked Davis and No. 5-ranked Kaufman quite possibly could be fighting in a title eliminator, but that is not the sense the UFC is giving. For Davis, that makes sense. She is coming off a 16-second dismantling at the hands of Ronda Rousey, but at the very least should the two top-five combatants be in the discussion with a win?

A top three win for Kaufman should make her a title contender. But will it?

Kaufman fought Rousey in Strikeforce. It lasted 54 seconds before Kaufman was tapping out due to an armbar. Since then she is unbeaten in her last three fights (a contentious decision loss to Jessica Eye was overturned after Eye tested positive for marijuana).

The division is shallow. Very shallow. It does not have a wealth of quality contenders that have not been destroyed by Rousey. In fact, each of the top five ranked fighters in the division have lost two Rousey. Miesha Tate twice. The argument that Kaufman lost to Rousey in 2012 should not hold weight in light of that fact. Everyone has fought, and lost, to the champion.

Why isn’t Kaufman a more talked about contender?

The biggest thing going against Kaufman is the fact she lacks charisma on camera. On social media, Kaufman is funny, articulate and often calls out fighters. She’s fun. On camera, she comes off like the nice Canadian that she is. Casual fans have a hard time getting excited for her fights in spite of the fact she often provides entertaining bouts.

Saturday will be the third meeting against Alexis Davis. Kaufman won the previous two outings with their second fight, in 2012, being a instant classic. It is not as if Kaufman is a grinding grappler who stalls. She attacks and comes to fight each and every round. She should be more of a fan favorite, and more of a company favorite to see in action.

The biggest detraction from Kaufman’s claim to be a contender is the fact this is her third fight against Davis. Even with a win it will only mark the second fighter she has defeated since 2011. In that time she will have two wins against Davis and two wins against Leslie Smith — no one else. She needs to fight different opposition.

A win should put her on the shortlist for a fight against Rousey. A third Rousey-Tate matchup is not exciting to most fans. Even with their hatred for one another. We have seen it twice, and it was not competitive either time.

If a top-five fighter gets a win against the No. 3-ranked fighter in the division and still cannot get in the discussion for a title shot then what is the point of having the fighter rankings to begin with? If the UFC spurns the meaning of being a top-ranked athlete then there is no need to pretend the rankings mean anything.

A win on Saturday should, at the very least, put Kaufman in the mix. But it won’t, and we know it.

Kaufman needs to make a statement both in the fight and in the post-fight interview. A third win over Davis will be no small task, but Kaufman needs to put on a show. She has to emphatically state that she is a contender, and one that is coming for Rousey. She has to try and generate interest as best she can or else the UFC will continue to ignore her presence.

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