UFC Fight Night 48 and 49 Results: The Real Winners and Losers

Another UFC double-header is done, and fans were, ahem, “treated” to 21 fights stretched out over 19 hours. It was a brutal day for the members of the MMA media who had to watch each and every fight, especially given how remarkably bad UFC Fight Night …

Another UFC double-header is done, and fans were, ahem, “treated” to 21 fights stretched out over 19 hours. It was a brutal day for the members of the MMA media who had to watch each and every fight, especially given how remarkably bad UFC Fight Night 48 was and how unnecessarily long Fight Night 49 was. As such, it’s easy to label all the folks who spent their entire day watching fights, willingly or not, as the day’s biggest losers.

Who is the biggest winner, though?

While it’s easy to label Rafael dos Anjos as the day’s biggest winner, courtesy of his huge upset of Ben Henderson, the night’s biggest winners didn’t actually fight on Saturday. No, the biggest winners are all the lightweight contenders who suddenly no longer have to worry about Henderson. 

If you’re Donald Cerrone, Henderson being out of the picture all but guarantees a title shot with a win. If you’re Gilbert Melendez, you no longer have to worry about facing Bendo in your first title defense (assuming he takes the belt). If you’re Khabib Nurmagomedov, you have basically nobody standing between you and a title shot. If you’re Nate Diaz, Henderson’s loss opens the door for another run at the title.

Who (and what) else lost on Saturday? Find out right here.

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