Rafael dos Anjos earned a victory by unanimous decision over Anthony Pettis in the main event of UFC 185 Saturday night. The event, which took place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, featured a pair of title changes and some dominant showings.
Of course, “dominant” is a relative term in a promotion that features Ronda Rousey. She won in just 14 seconds at UFC 184. Nobody was able to replicate that level of success, but a lot of fighters did take a step forward with an impressive effort.
So let’s check out a complete list of winners from the latest UFC showcase. That’s followed by a breakdown of some of the biggest wins from the card.
UFC 185 Results
Most Notable Victories
Rafael dos Anjos Defeats Anthony Pettis
Dos Anjos has enjoyed a steady rise over the past couple of years. Yet, even following wins over Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz, it was hard to expect the ease with which he dismantled Pettis. He attacked from the outset and never left an opening for the champion to mount a comeback bid.
That aggressive mindset, which is often absent during a fighter’s first shot at a title, seemed to catch Pettis off guard. Afterward, the new titleholder sent out a message on social media directed toward his opponent on Saturday night:
That’s a classy, respectful response when he had every right to become boisterous. He put together the best, most well-rounded performance of his career at the perfect time. The question now is exactly how good he can be given the comfort zone he’s seemingly found.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports notes UFC President Dana White confirmed Dos Anjos will have his first defense against either Donald Cerrone or Khabib Nurmagomedov. The latter is the only person to defeat him in his past 10 bouts. That would make for an intriguing encounter.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk Defeats Carla Esparza
Jedrzejczyk came into the night unbeaten through eight career fights. Battling Esparza for the title was by far her most important bout to date, though. And just like Dos Anjos, she rose to the occasion in impressive fashion.
She fended off numerous takedown attempts by the champion. Then she used her power to take control before eventually earning the knockout in Round 2. Bas Rutten of Fuel TV was clearly enamored with the performance:
Jedrzejczyk presents an interesting puzzle for opponents. She’s strong defensively, and her ability to quickly turn defense into offense poses a lot of problems. Esparza obviously didn’t have nearly enough answers.
The Polish rising star joins Rousey as the promotion’s two women’s champions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they both enjoy extended title reigns, with the bantamweight champ already five one-sided fights into hers.
Alistair Overeem Defeats Roy Nelson
Overeem was at a crossroads after a first-round loss to Ben Rothwell last September. It marked his third defeat in four outings, and at age 34, it wasn’t clear whether he’d ever regain top form. At the very least, he’s back trending in the right direction.
Following a knockout of Stefan Struve in December, he was in control throughout against Nelson to score the win by unanimous decision. Dave Sholler, UFC’s vice president of public relations, points out the win has brought The Reem back into the heavyweight conversation:
He definitely looked more like the fighter who went 12 straight fights without a loss before the skid that raised questions about his future. Now he must continue to make progress as he seeks more opportunities in the division.
Overeem isn’t at the point where he deserves a title shot quite yet. Perhaps a few more wins against other top contenders would change that outlook. For now, he should be satisfied with the improvements he’s made in the past few months.
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