UFC 209 results: Biggest winners, loser from ‘Woodley vs Thompson 2’ last night in Las Vegas

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back on pay-per-view (PPV) last night, as the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion staged UFC 209 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the event was a Welterweight title fight rematch, as Tyron Woodley successfully defended his strap against Stephen Thompson, winning the bout via majority decision after a rather lackluster five-round affair (see it). In the co-main event, David Teymur stopped Lando Vannata’s momentum, defeating the up-and-coming prospect after three rounds of back-and-forth action (recap).

Biggest Winner: Daniel Kelly

Every fighter longs for the big win that will catapult him or her to the next level, and Kelly may have gotten just that after he upset former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in what was “Suga’s” Middleweight debut (recap). It wasn’t dominant, as Kelly barely squeaked out the split-decision, but a win is a win, and Kelly will take it to add to his ever-growing resume, collecting his fourth straight victory to move 6-1 inside the Octagon. Expect bigger and better things for the Aussie moving forward.

Runner (s) Up: Alistair Overeem and Darren Elkins

Alistair Overeem got back on the winning track after getting knocked out in his previous bout by Stipe Miocic — which was for the Heavyweight title — by knocking out Mark Hunt in the closing moments of their three-round scrap (relive it). In what was a rather tepid first couple of rounds, Hunt and “The Reem” didn’t exactly thrill fight fans with their performances until Alistair connected with a knee to the kisser that folded “Super Samoan” like a lawn chair. For Alistair, the win is a huge step on he road back to a title shot, as a few wins in the 265-pound weight class — which isn’t exactly loaded these days — can put a contender right back in the the thick of things.

Elkins was beat up from pillar to post from the opening frame by Mirsad Bektic. And when I say beat up, I mean beat up, as he was left battered, bruised, bloodied and left a mangled mess by the third and final round. Anything Mirsad wanted to do to Elkins he did with ease. But, Darren dug deep and clipped Mirsad with a head kick and strikes to pull out an amazing come-from-behind victory to pick up his fourth straight win and hand Mirsad the first loss of his career (see it again here).

Honorable mention: David Teymur

When opportunity knocks, you answer the door, and Teymur did just that as he made the most of his unexpected co-main event slot (thanks to this), taking it to Lando Vannata -- who has quickly become a fan favorite -- en route to scoring a unanimous decision victory. Lando may have had the flash, but Teymur had the poise, patience and perfect gameplan to thwart Vannata’s offense enough to score the win. David remains undefeated (3-0) inside the Octagon, and the win will help him break into the rankings and possibly face a more well-known foe in his next outing. Whether or not he gets another co-headlining spot remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, Teymur has the potential to be a star in UFC.

Biggest Loser: Rashad Evans

Granted, Evans didn’t exactly get dominated, but the judges’ felt Kelly did more than him during their 185-pound scrap to earn the nod. While I personally felt Evans did enough to win, the fact remains “Suga” has now dropped three straight. To make matters worse, most expected a drop down to 185 pounds would be the key for Rashad to run his career around. But with a performance that wasn’t good enough to take out Kelly, the future for Evans is unclear. Whether he opts to stay at middleweight or move back up to 205 pounds is rather unclear, which means Rashad has plenty to think about moving forward, especially with past medical issues, a troubled fight camp and three straight losses.

For complete results from UFC 209: "Woodley vs Thompson 2," including play-by-play updates, click here.