Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last night (Sat., Nov. 18, 2017) for UFC Fight Night 121, which took place inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The FOX Sports 1-televised event featured a Heavyweight collision which saw Fabricio Werdum dominate Marcin Tybura for five rounds to score his second straight win (recap).
In the co-main event, Jessica Rose-Clark pulled out a big win over Bec Rawlings in her first-ever fight inside the Octagon, defeating “Rowdy” via split decision (recap here).
Biggest Winner: Jesse Rose-Clark
If you didn’t know who she was before, you definitely know who Jesse Rose-Clark is now. Clark stepped in on short notice to make her Octagon debut against Bec Rawlings after Joanne Calderwood was forced out of the bout with an injury. And she made the most of it by upsetting “Rowdy” after 15 minutes of back-and-forth action. While Bec isn’t exactly the biggest name in the division, it’s still a nice feather in Jesse’s cap, especially for her first fight inside the Octagon. Clark proved she can be a force to be reckoned with, especially after she gets a few more fights inside the eight-walled cage.
Runner Up: Belal Muhammed
Don’t look now, but Belal is slowly but surely starting to make moves inside the Octagon, as he has now won three straight inside the Octagon against some rather stiff competition in Jordan Mein and most recently against Tim Means. He took a shot by calling out Colby Covington after his third straight win, but he won’t be getting that fight anytime soon. Still, you can’t blame a man for trying. Nevertheless, after getting another win, Muhammed’s confidence is high and with good reason. Who knows, Muhammed may squeeze into the top 15. If not, the win will get him closer, and it will also earn him a bigger fight his next time around.
Runner Up: Tai Tuivasa
The 24-year old Aussie made a splash in his Octagon debut, knocking out Rashad Coulter in he very first round with a vicious flying knee. Tai had actually signed with the promotion over a year ago, but was forced to delay his debut after undergoing surgery. And he was worth the wait, as Tai showed why he’s undefeated and why the promotion inked him to a deal. He’s still very young and green with only seven fights to his name, but Tai shows the promise of a future contender with time on his side to improve and get even better.
Biggest Loser: Bec Rawlings
Bec just can’t seem to turn it around. “Rowdy” has now lost three straight fights under the UFC banner, dropping fights to Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres, and now Jesse-Rose Clark. To make matters worse, her latest defeat came at the hands of an Octagon newcomer who took the bout on short notice. Bec has not had a good run with the promotion, going 2-4 thus far, leaving her wide open for the possibility of getting her pink slip. Where it went wrong for Bec is unknown, and while she has never been in contention for a shot at the strap, you’d figure she would at least be able to get a win over a UFC newbie in order to right her ship.
To get full UFC Fight Night 121 play-by-play updates and results click here.