The three stars of ‘UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs. Smolka' in Dublin

The UFC plans to stage 41 events in 2015, 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 20 fighters got the chance on Saturday as part of UFC Fight Night 76 at 3Arena in Dublin. Now that the event is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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Third Star: Neil Seery

UFC flyweight Neil Seery (16-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC) comes to fight hard every time he steps in the octagon, but his latest showing may have been his most impressive to date.

After going the distance four-straight fights to open his UFC career, Seery finally got the stoppage victory he was looking for when he submitted Jon Delos Reyes (8-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in the second round with the help of a guillotine choke.

At 36, Seery has a limited ceiling in the sport and has stated in the past that every fight could be his last. He’s certainly capitalizing on whatever time he has left, though, because the finish of Delos Reyes was deemed worth of a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Second Star: Tom Breese

For the past decade Michael Bisping has been the face of English MMA in the UFC. He could soon have a challenger to that throne, though, because welterweight Tom Breese (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) appears to be the real deal.

Breese utterly dismantled Ireland’s own Cathal Pendred (17-4-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) on the feet for a first-round knockout to add another win to his undefeated record.

His technique, patience and power in the striking game shows tremendous promise and his domination of Pendred, who had won four of five in the UFC coming into the fight, is proof of his potential.

The 24-year-old has done everything right thus far to set up a bright future. He trains at one of the best gyms in the world at Tristar in Montreal and if he can continue to build on an already solid skillset, Breese is going to cause problems for a lot of the 170-pound division.

First Star: Louis Smolka

UFC Fight Night 76’s main event wasn’t what everyone had expected to the see, but in the end the makeshift flyweight headliner provided the opportunity for a previously unheralded fighter to take the spotlight.

Louis Smolka (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) played spoiler against Dublin native Paddy Holohan (12-2-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) when he second-round submission of “The Hooligan” after a thrilling back-and-forth affair.

The bout was promoted to main event status after the original headliner of Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy fell apart days before the card due to a Duffy injury. Smolka relished the opportunity and choked out Holohan, who had previously never been submitted, to silence the Irish crowd.

The victory moved “Da Last Samurai” to 4-1 under the UFC banner and will likely put him in position to get a big-name opponent at 125 pounds.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 76, check out the UFC Events section of the site.