While most will justifiably be more interested in the fights from the main card at UFC 160, there were a few performances of note in the preliminaries.
Many times, the prelims are a sneak peek at the stars of the future, or the last chance to see fighters nearing the cut line. In either case, the early bouts are usually charged with a healthy amount of desperation.
These winners will likely see their next fights take place a little higher on the card.
George Roop Stops Brian Bowles
Standing 6’1″ tall, Roop took full advantage of his reach over the 5’7″ Bowles. Roop‘s length will be a problem for most bantamweights, and this win could launch him into the top 10 in the division.
He showed good power dropping Bowles with a stiff jab. Once he had his opponent dazed, Roop pounced on Bowles calmly, but viciously.
Roop pounded him out and Bowles offered no argument with Herb Dean’s decision to stop the fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Dominates Abel Trujillo
Nurmagomedov showed up to the weigh in a little too amped, overweight and wearing a lame wig. Despite not representing himself well at the pre-fight event, he was nearly flawless in the Octagon.
He set a UFC record with 21 takedowns of Trujillo, per UFC’s official Twitter account.
While Trujillo may need to work on his takedown defense, Nurmagomedov deserves a ton of credit. He ran his record to 20-0 and continues to show his diverse fighting skills.
Robert Whittaker Batters Colton Smith
The third-round stoppage from Whittaker proved he can be very dangerous in the stand-up. Smith has shown vulnerability to fighters who can stand and bang with quickness.
Whittaker still has to prove he can be effective against another solid striker, but he simply picked Smith apart until referee Chris Tognoni saved him from more damage.
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