8 memorable moments from UFC on FOX 19, from a lonely place to a few bold requests

UFC on FOX 19 suffered through a number of changes and two late fight cancellations, but in the end, it was still a very enjoyable fight card.

In the main event, Glover Teixeira earned his third consecutive stoppage victory, knocking out Rashad Evans in the first round. While in the co-main event Rose Namajunas continued to shine, avenging one of her previous defeats by besting Tecia Torres over three rounds.

There was also the long awaited return of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who did his thing on the way to earning a second round TKO win over UFC newcomer Darrell Horcher.

Those fights might have captured the most attention during the event, but by no means were they the only takeaways from the card. And so, here are eight memorable moments from UFC on FOX 19, which took place on Saturday from Amalie Arena in Tampa Fla.

1. A lonely sport

When one fighter knocks out another fighter, the focus tends to be on the winner, and for good reason, they won. However, sometimes that focus shifts to the fighter that got knocked out. Saturday’s UFC on FOX 19 main event was one of the times to concentrate on the vanquished.

That’s not to take anything away from Teixeira (25-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who laid out Evans (19-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) in the first round of their light heavyweight fight. Teixeira fought great, but seeing Evans, a former UFC champion, get to his feet after the stoppage and ask what happened, that was a little rough to watch.

Things didn’t improve at the post-fight press conference.

“I’ve been at the top, and I’m riding a real low right now,” said Evans. “When you’re at this point right now, you’ve just got to reevaluate everything. I don’t want to lose hope – I don’t want to lose heart in fighting, because it’s what I like to do. But at the end of the day, something’s got to change.

“I’ve got to do something better, and it’s embarrassing, it’s sad, but welcome to being a fighter.”

It’s times like these that remind us that MMA might be the loneliest and most unforgiving sport in the world.

2. Run it back, but make it five rounds

The first time strawweights Namajunas (5-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Torres (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) met, at Invicta FC 6, Torres earned the unanimous-decision win. In Saturday’s rematch, it was Namajunas’ turn to get the unanimous-decision nod.

There’s no way these two don’t meet again, and when that fight does happen, the UFC would be well served to make it a five-round main event.

Judging from their first two fights, no one will leave disappointed.

3. Tuned up

Horcher (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had the unenviable task of facing Nurmagomedov (23-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) on short notice. Horcher got the fight when Tony Ferguson was forced from the event after it was discovered he had blood and fluid in his lung.

As expected, the fight was all Nurmagomedov.

Competing for the first time in almost two years, Nurmagomedov used his wrestling and ground game to end Horcher’s night via ground strikes at the 3:38 mark of Round 2. It could have, and probably should have, been stopped earlier.

The fight was a solid tune up for Nurmagomedov and let the lightweight division know that he is indeed back and looking to make up for time missed.

4. Speed kills

John Dodson must have had an early dinner reservation on Saturday night.

Dodson (18-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who returned to the bantamweight division for the first time in more than four years, destroyed Manny Gamburyan, knocking him out in just 47 seconds.

Once Dodson had Gamburyan (15-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) hurt, he teed off with a flurry to end the fight. A rough count revealed that Dodson landed 13 uppercuts in approximately five seconds.

5. A strange argument

During the middleweight bout between Cezar Ferreira and Oluwale Bamgbose, Ferreira (9-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) landed a kick directly to the front of the knee of Bamgbose (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC). That kick bothered Joe Rogan, who questioned the legality of the technique and spoke about it long after it had landed.

At the end of the fight, which Ferreira won by unanimous decision, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner confirmed the legality of the kick, but added, “It’s a horrible technique.”

Yes, the kick is visually unappealing, but don’t forget, there were five knockouts on this card, and it could easily be argued that the techniques used to stop a fight by knockout are far more damaging than a single kick to the knee.

6. It’s a new world, get used to it

Lyoto Machida

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) left its fingerprints on this event.

First, Lyoto Machida was pulled from his fight with Dan Henderson after he revealed he’d taken a banned substance. Then, less than 24 hours before the event, Islam Makhachev was pulled from the fight card after a potential failed pre-fight drug test. Like the Henderson versus Machida fight, Makhachev’s fight against Drew Dober was scratched from the card.

It’s clear USADA means business with its handling of the UFC’s anti-doping program.

7. Some firsts

The UFC on FOX 19 prelims had a pair of firsts. In the welterweight bout between Court McGee and Santiago Ponzinibbio, Ponzinibbio (22-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) became the first fighter ever to stop McGee (17-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC). The end of McGee’s run of 22 fights without a stoppage loss came at the 4:15 mark of Round 1 when Ponzinibbio earned the TKO. The stoppage was Ponzinibbio’s 19th career stoppage and second consecutive first-round UFC TKO victory.

Beneil Dariush was also on the wrong side of a first in his lightweight fight against Michael Chiesa, losing a fight by submission for the first time in his 14-fight career. Chiesa (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) stopped Dariush at 1:20 of the second round with a rear-naked choke. The win ended Dariush’s (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak and gave Chiesa his third straight UFC victory. Chiesa now has 10 career submissions, eight by way of rear-naked choke.

8. Working the mic

Fighters sometimes get criticized for not making the most of their time on the mic after a win; Saturday’s winners were not reluctant to make the most of that time.

“Why do you keep on saying wide open?” Dodson asked Joe Rogan about his description of the bantamweight division’s title picture. “You’re looking at the new champion,”

“Tony Ferguson? You and me buddy, main event, let’s do it,” Chiesa said. “I’m ready for whatever. I’m here to stay. He’s No. 7, what’s that put me at? I should be top-8, top-5. I’m looking for the tough fights. I want to be the best in the world, I’m here to prove that.”

“You guys see how dangerous ‘Eagle’ is when he’s hungry,” Nurmagomedov said. “I saw Rafael dos Anjos called me out. I finished my business. Two years ago, in Florida, I finished this business, I beat you by unanimous decision, let’s go finish your business and see you in September, October or maybe November in New York. I am ready for anyone, anyone in any weight class.”

“(Anthony) ‘Rumble’ Johnson, he is waiting around for (Jon) Jones and (Daniel) Cormier soap opera, so he don’t want to wait around,” Teixeira said. “Let’s dance baby, let’s make some money.”

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 19, check out the UFC Events section of the site.