The three stars of 'UFC 174: Johnson vs. Bagautinov' in Vancouver

The UFC returned to pay-per-view on Saturday night with UFC 174 at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena. The organization has run into some bad luck in recent trips to western Canada, and in a few ways, the trend continued.

It may not have been the UFC’s worst event of the year, but it certainly wasn’t the best. Fortunately, when a fight card turns dull, it attracts more attention to the athletes who truly stood out.

Now that another night of UFC action has come and gone, here are our three stars from UFC 174.

* * * *

Third Star: Tae Hyun Bang

Tae Hyun Bang (17-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) doubled up on fight-night bonuses with “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” honors for his crushing one-punch knockout of hometown favorite Kajan Johnson (19-11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

After two somewhat competitive rounds, Bang came out in the third hunting for the finish. The persistent fighter finally got it when he caught and walked through a Johnson head kick to land a crushing counter right hand.

Johnson was down and out immediately upon impact. It produced was one of the few “holy sh-t” moments from a somewhat underwhelming event.

Second Star: Kiichi Kunimoto

Kiichi Kunimoto (17-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was one of the biggest betting underdogs on the card, but that didn’t stop him from walking into the octagon and becoming the first fighter to submit Daniel Sarafian (8-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC). Not only did he tap out the “TUF: Brazil” veteran, but he did it in less than three minutes to win a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Those who have followed Kunimoto’s career are aware the 33-year-old Pancrase vet is not the world’s most talented fighter, but against Sarafian, he appeared to be at his best.

After receiving a tremendous amount of criticism from fans for his bizarre disqualification win in his UFC debut in January, Kunimoto proved he’s deserving of his UFC roster spot.

First Star: Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was UFC 174’s man of the hour before, during and after the event. Some fighters dislike the burden of carrying an event on their shoulders, but MacDonald embraced it, and the result was what he called the best victory of his career, which came against fellow against Tyron Woodley (13-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

Woodley is an incredibly dangerous fighter with the ability to close the distance and land a one-strike knockout or take the fight to the ground with his high-level wrestling ability. MacDonald neutralized all those threats and shut down Woodley’s offense with forward pressure and efficient striking.

MacDonald’s performance further separated him from the memory of his previous failure four years ago in the exact same Vancouver venue. On that night he allowed Carlos Condit to pull off a come-from-behind stoppage victory in a fight that’s stung ever since.

The Canadian’s masterful effort in front of his hometown crowd is sure to bring him some closure. It also made his critics reconsider his potential and, more importantly, put him in the thick of the welterweight title hunt.

For complete coverage of UFC 174, stay stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

* * * *

MMAjunkie’s John Morgan recaps the UFC 174 card, including the biggest surprises and disappointments:

view original article >>