UFC Fight Night 123 results: Biggest winners, loser from ‘Swanson vs Ortega’ last night

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last night (Sat., Dec. 9, 2017) for UFC Fight Night 123, which took place inside Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.

In the main event of the evening, Brian Ortega upset Cub Swanson after he submitted the longtime veteran in the second round with an air-tight guillotine choke to earn his fifth straight victory under the UFC banner (see it again here). In the co-main event, Gabriel Benitez upset Jason Knight by schooling him with an array of striking using pretty much all of his limbs (recap).

Biggest Winner: Brian Ortega

Ortega once again proved he indeed is the real deal by taking it to longtime veteran Cub Swanson in the main event of the evening, submitting Cub in the second round with a very impressive and calculated guillotine choke. And he made it look easy, almost catching Swanson with an anaconda choke in the opening frame if he had a few more seconds to work with. No fret, as “T-City” finished the job a few minutes later. Now, the undefeated (11-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC) 26-year old has set himself up for a huge fight next. Whether or not he gets Frankie Edgar or Max Holloway, remains to be seen. But, there is no denying Ortega is a potential star of the sport.

Runner Up (s): Gabriel Benitez and Marlon Moraes

Benitez has had a sub-par career thus far inside the Octagon, but the Mexican-born fighter picked up the biggest win of his career, taking out Jason Knight after putting on a striking clinic in the co-main event. Granted, Knight isn’t the biggest name out there, but you have to crawl before you can walk, and a win over Jason is huge for Gabriel’s resume. And he made sure to make the best of his time in the spotlight, taking the opportunity to introduce himself to company president Dana White during his post-fight victory speech.

After a disappointing UFC debut at UFC 212, losing to Raphael Assuncao, Marlon Moraes has looked every bit like the former champion that dominant World Series of Fighting (WSOF), winning two in a row in the span of a month alone. His latest victory was a spectacular head kick knockout of Aljamain Sterling in the very first round in Fresno (see it again here). Now, Moraes can start looking ahead to the bigger challenges he wanted prior to entering the Octagon this past summer, putting the rest of the 135-pound weight class, in the process.

Biggest Loser: Cub Swanson

It’s very hard to call Cub a loser, as he has long been and still is one of the most entertaining fighters in the game dating back to his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) days. But, simply looking at his loss, it’s huge one of “Killer Cub.” That’s because not only did his title hopes go out the window, Swanson didn’t extended his contract with the promotion prior to the fight, opting to test the free agent waters. While it’s respectful he decided to bet on himself, the dice came up craps for Cub, who will now have a tough choice to make regarding his fighting future. UFC will obviously want to keep him, but that big-money contract probably won’t be on the table. He can still see how much other promotions are willing to pay him, but he won’t have the leverage he would’ve had with a win over “T-City.”

To get full UFC Fight Night 123: “Swanson vs Ortega” play-by-play updates and results click here.