Well, that was a fun time.
UFC on FOX 11: "Werdum vs. Browne" was hyped as the best "free" fight card of 2014. And if every Saturday night (April 19, 2014) fight card looked like the one that went down at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., we'll feel much better about tuning into "Saturday Night Live" directly afterward more often than not.
The main event was a doozy and a half, as Fabricio Werdum outclassed Travis Browne en route to a unanimous decision win by beating the Hawaiian at his own striking game. "Vai Cavalo" pummeled his opponent and even had fun doing so, taunting and talking to him before landing crushing combinations.
In the co-main event, fan favorite Miesha Tate came back from a difficult first round to topple Liz Carmouche in a battle of former UFC women's bantamweight title challengers. Call her "Cupcake," but Tate went back to her "Takedown" roots, grappling and out-muscling "Girl-Rilla" to get the nod from the judges on all three scorecards.
Also on the main card, Donald Cerrone showed us the reason mixed martial arts (MMA) is the wackiest sport in the world, submitting Edson Barboza in little more than three minutes via rear-naked choke after being picked apart for the entire first round.
To cap it off, Yoel Romero put the middleweight division on watch after beating up Brad Tavares over the course of three rounds by using his majestic takedowns to earn himself a victory.
With that said, it's time to name the biggest winner and biggest loser (and their runner ups) from the event in the "Sunshine State."
Here we go:
Winner -- Fabricio Werdum
Duh?
The Brazilian booked his ticket to Mexico, anticipating recovery news from UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez to set up their title fight. The Kings MMA-trained heavyweight also made the bout that more interesting by showcasing his much improved striking, showing the observers he's more than just a Brazilian jiu-jitsu guy.
Werdum completely obliterated Browne, and even though you might be sitting there wondering why Werdum wasn't able to drop or finish the adopted Polynesian, credit the "Fedor Killer" for opting to stand against "Hapa" for the majority of the contest instead of trying to repeatedly clinch him to acquire a safer victory.
Man, that championship clash can't come any sooner.
Runner Up -- Donald Cerrone
Watching Cerrone's fight against Barboza, it looked like it was going to be a wild ride for "Cowboy," and one that wasn't going to end well.
He was getting decked left, right and center from the Brazilian, with an upset looming if the adrenaline junkie couldn't find his footing fast.
Out of nowhere, the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) lightweight championship contender dropped the Brazilian with the stiffest of jabs and locked in a rear-naked choke faster than a cat prowling on a mouse to secure the first-round finish.
Cerrone also ties Nate Diaz for most finishes in UFC and WEC history, clocking in at a ridiculous 11 stoppages.
Also, he's won two bonuses already into 2014 ... how freaking daffy is that?
Biggest Loser -- Travis Browne
For starters, he obviously loses his chance to contend for a heavyweight title for the next year or so.
But, the Hawaiian didn't lose too much of his stock against Werdum. You can't count out his past three victories over Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem or Gabriel Gonzaga, yet his cardio and conditioning is a big question moving forward.
If Browne can't finish the fight in the first round, it becomes problematic. We all remember that atrocious fight between him and Cheick Kongo at UFC 120, right?
There's going to be a lot of work set out for the four-time "Knockout of The Night" winner if he wants to do well in five round (or even three round) fights moving forward.
He said he didn't need judges because he finishes all of his fights, although if he can't get it done within the first five minutes, he's going to get himself into a lot of trouble.
Runner Up -- Pat Healy
2013 was not a good year for Healy.
Unfortunately for "Bam Bam," the string of bad luck continues and it looks like it could be the end of the road for the gritty UFC lightweight.
He was persuaded in trading against Jorge Masvidal, who was clearly the better boxer throughout their three-round "prelims" fight. Healy did his best to neutralize the Miami-based combatant's game, but he couldn't even land a quarter of his 13 takedowns and watching him trying to steer Masvidal towards the cage to avoid blows to the face became hopeless.
The Sports Lab-trained lightweight hasn't won any of his four UFC fights since his first appearance against Jim Miller was overturned because of a positive marijuana test. Losing three straight after that, it's a shame to see Healy's Octagon future in doubt, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Now might be a good time for Bjorn Rebney and/or Ray Sefo to pick up the phone and dial his digits.
That's a wrap.
For your UFC on FOX 11: "Werdum vs. Browne" recap fix, check out our story stream here.