In a refreshing change from the UFC’s usual approach to events, Saturday’s UFC on Fox 22’s intrigue wasn’t about the entertaining yet fleeting bouts. It concerned the compelling storylines surrounding them.
That makes this an interesting installment of real winners and losers. With that in mind, it’s worth starting with the official results from Sacramento, California:
- Michelle Waterson def. Paige VanZant by technical submission (rear-naked choke), 3:21, Rd. 1
- Mickey Gall def. Sage Northcutt by submission (rear-naked choke), 1:40, Rd. 2
- Urijah Faber def. Brad Pickett by unanimous decision
- Alan Jouban def. Mike Perry by unanimous decision
- Paul Craig def. Luis Henrique da Silva by submission (armbar), 1:59, Rd. 2
- Mizuto Hirota def. Cole Miller by unanimous decision
- Colby Covington def. Bryan Barberena by unanimous decision
- Alex Morono def. James Moontasri by unanimous decision
- Josh Emmett def. Scott Holtzman by unanimous decision
- Leslie Smith def. Irene Aldana by unanimous decision
- Eddie Wineland def. Takeya Mizugaki by TKO, 3:04, Rd. 1
- Hector Sandoval def. Fredy Serrano by unanimous decision
- Sultan Aliev def. Bojan Velickovic by split decision
There are varying degrees of winning and losing.
Northcutt, Miller and VanZant suffered devastating losses that could impact their careers. Wineland and Jouban scored statement wins, while Smith likely saved her job.
Ultimately, though, the UFC will shake out to be either the biggest winner or biggest loser of this card. This was an event dedicated to testing the success of the promotion’s marketing machine and determining whether its manufacturing of faux-celebrities like Northcutt and VanZant can pay dividends.
The company has poured a great deal of effort into pushing those youngsters and, once the ratings come back, the world will know whether the UFC is a genius of fight promotion or foolhardy in its efforts to make stars out of nothing.
Everyone else is playing for second place.