How wrong we were.
Anthony Pettis was supposed to take another step toward the top of the pound-for-pound mountain after destroying a tough Rafael dos Anjos. That didn't happen.
Carla Esparza was supposed to walk across the Octagon and stalk her taller opponent before utilizing her superior wrestling en route to cementing her status as the best strawweight on the planet. That also didn't happen.
But for as little as our predictions coincided with reality, there's little reason to be upset. Sure, two of the champions lost their crowns, one of which looked to be one of the more promising young stars of the lighter weight classes. But when one champion falls, another rises.
Here are the three stars who emerged from UFC 185.
Joseph Duffy
He may not have received the same sort of recognition that Jake Shields or Eddie Alvarez did when they first signed with the UFC, but Joseph Duffy was already famous for at least one of his accomplishments outside of the Octagon: He's the last man to defeat Conor McGregor. He did so five years ago in less than a minute. Trust me, the UFC won't let you forget it in the lead-up to Duffy's next bout.
It may have only been about two minutes of work inside of the cage, but Duffy showcased enough of his striking ability—which isn't even his forte, mind you—to get people to take notice. That's not to say he won't have trouble when facing the crop of fighters that rest atop the UFC's lightweight ranks (or featherweight ranks, assuming he moves down to face McGregor one day), but you can bet that the world will pay greater attention to Duffy's next Octagon appearance.
Rafael dos Anjos
Of course this guy's here. You don't just beat the incumbent champion for five full rounds without making it onto a list like this.
After spending seven years as journeyman in the UFC, dos Anjos finally took that step. He became a UFC champion in what is often considered the toughest division in all of MMA. But he didn't just beat the champion; he destroyed the champion. As Dana White put it, nobody actually thought Pettis could ever go down like that. We'd seen him lose fights before, most recently to Clay Guida, but he was never beaten so severely. From pillar to post, Pettis was dominated.
Dos Anjos wouldn't let the champion breathe for more than a few seconds before darting forward with a face-crushing left hand or a soul-crushing takedown. When all was said and all was done, dos Anjos sat atop the cage and pointed toward the stars. It's safe to say dos Anjos is still a ways away from seeing himself plastered on the cover of a Wheaties box, but knocking off a flurry of challengers certainly wouldn't hurt his cause.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
She may not have taken part in the main event. She may not have dominated the most popular fighter on the entire card. She may not have been in the cage for more than two rounds. Even with all that, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is still the biggest star to come out of UFC 185.
She'd already done herself a lot of good after all of the UFC Embedded videos prior to her co-main event. She did what few other non-American fighters have been able to do: She made herself likeable in the eyes of the fans who are seemingly reluctant to accept anybody who doesn't speak English as their first language (see Jose Aldo and Renan Barao).
And as if her charming ways on the video blogs weren't enough to give her name some sort of recognition, the belt secured around her waist should fill in the gaps. She is Joanna Champion and, with the right dance partner, she may very well headline her own pay-per-view card before Demetrious Johnson ever does again.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University's student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec, and a programming intern at Fox Sports San Diego. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
