The 3 stars of 'UFC on FOX 19: Teixeira vs. Evans' in Tampa

The UFC plans to stage more than 40 events in 2016, and during that time, hundreds of fighters will enter and exit the octagon.

While pre-fight hype is an enjoyable aspect of the sport, it’s ultimately the in-cage performances that speak most to fans. For the majority of fighters, the opportunity to present their skills to the world only comes along a few times per year.

A total of 24 fighters got the chance on Saturday as part of UFC on FOX 19 in Tampa, Fla., Now that the UFC on FOX 19 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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Third Star: Rose Namajunas

Rose Namajunas (5-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has come a long way since she lost to Carla Esparza in a fight for the inaugural UFC strawweight title in December 2014. She’s come even further since her first career loss to Tecia Torres (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) under the Invicta FC banner in July 2013.

Namajunas got the chance to show as much, beating Torres by unanimous decision in a rematch of their fight from nearly three years ago. It was a complete performance by “Thug Rose,” who used a mix of striking and grappling to rack up points on Torres and take a victory on the scorecards.

Although there were moments in the fight where she was clipped with big shots and forced to readjust, Namajunas stayed focused on victory and ended up getting her hand raised for the third time in a row since losing to Esparza.

At 23, Namajunas continues to show marked improvements fight over fight. If she keeps dedicated to developing it won’t be long before few, if anyone, can stop her in the 115-pound division.

Second Star: Michael Chiesa

UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is beginning to join the argument of best talent to ever come out of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series after his latest impressive victory.

Chiesa’s, the “TUF 15” winner, has made plenty of bold statements regarding his intent to capture the 155-pound belt and how he would use the streaking Beneil Dariush (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) as a catalyst to the title. He lived up to his word again, because he submitted Dariush with a rear-naked choke in the second round.

The UFC lightweight division is talent rich. Dariush had one of the longest winning streaks in the weight class prior to the fight, and never before had he been put away by submission in his career.

Chiesa’s submission game is quickly becoming one of the strongest in the UFC. He’s one of just three men to earn five or more rear-naked-choke finishes inside the octagon. With plenty of time left in his career, it’s not a matter of if, but when, he’ll snap Kenny Florian’s all-time record of seven.

First Star: Glover Teixeira

Short notice? No problem. Five rounds? No problem. UFC light heavyweight Glover Teixeira (25-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) took everything in stride going into his bout with former champ Rashad Evans (19-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC). He accepted the fight on short notice and didn’t hesitate when two more rounds were added by being bumped to the main event at the last minute.

Not that any of it mattered, though, because Teixeira needed less than two minutes to violently dispatch of Evans with a first-round knockout in their main event clash.

Although much of the narrative coming out of the fight centered around Evans and whether he should retire after his fourth loss in six fights, that’s taking away from Teixeira’s accomplishment of putting the former titleholder away faster than anyone prior.

Evans may be at the tail end of his career, but beating him is still an extremely meaningful accomplishment. Teixeira did that, extending his winning streak to three fights and further rebuilding himself as a title contender after falling short in his first opportunity at UFC gold against Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014.

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