UFC Fight Night 60 Results: Winners, Scorecards from Henderson vs. Thatch Card

Benson "Smooth" Henderson has stepped up to take on Brandon "Rukus" Thatch in the main event at UFC Fight Night Colorado on Saturday night. That intriguing battle will serve as Henderson's first bout at 170 pounds. The former lightweight champion has been one of the most dependable fighters in the UFC.

He stepped up on short notice after Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson had to bow out due to injury. This is a tall task for Henderson considering Thatch is 6'2" and Smooth is only 5'9". This is one heck of indoctrination into the welterweight division.

Thatch has finished every opponent he's beaten and has lost just once. He's also fighting in his hometown. Henderson was born in Colorado but raised in Washington, and he attended high school in Nebraska. Thus Thatch will be the clear fan favorite in the bout.

In the end, the fans won't decide the outcome. Can Henderson pull off the improbable win? Check back as the results of the card are updated in the table below.

Just below the table is a breakdown and reaction from the fights on the card.

The Moon Walker Tramples Pfister

After a solid first round, James "Moonwalker" Moontarsi choked out Cody Pfister to grab his eighth professional win. Moontarsi rocked Pfister with a hard right hand. The punch created the opening for Moontarsi to take his opponent's back.

Once he sunk the hooks in, it was just a matter of time before Moontarsi got his arm under Pfister's chin and finished the bout with the rear-naked choke.

Makovsky Beats Elliott at Torrid Pace 

In an early favorite for Fight of the Night honors, Zach "Fun Size" Makovsky kept pace with the wild and unpredictable Tim Elliott en route to a unanimous-decision win.

Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow was hoping Makovsky and Elliott would earn the bonus:

Kinda rooting for the rest of the card to stink and/or have blowouts so that Makovsky and Elliott can get deserved bonus money.

— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) February 15, 2015

Makovsky's wrestling was the difference, but Elliott had some strong moments. With Fun Size glued to his back, Elliott pulled off two bone-rattling slams, but his tough and determined opponent still wouldn't relinquish his grip.

Unable to do the work he hoped to perform, Elliott was at Makovsky's mercy on the ground, and that's where most of the fight took place. Makovsky landed 54 significant strikes to 46 for Elliott. Fun Size also secured five takedowns to none for Elliott. 

To round out the statistical dominance, Makovsky spent 9:56 in dominant position. 

Skelly Vanquishes Alers 

Previously Chas Skelly had been known for his grappling and submission prowess. On Saturday night, he proved he could bang in the stand-up game.

Skelly consistently found a home for his overhand right, and, foolishly, Jim Alers wouldn't raise his left hand to protect himself from the shot. After landing a good number of the punches in the first round, Skelly badly hurt Alers in the second.

Alers fell into the cage and went to a knee and put his right hand on the mat. Skelly didn't appear to see it, and he landed a knee flush to the face of Alers. The referee looked as if he was on his way to stop the bout, but the technically illegal knee added some controversy to the ending. 

Rob Tatum of Combat Press thinks Alers should take issue with the no-call from the referee:

Alers should appeal that result. Skelly finished with an illegal knee. #UFCFightNight

— Rob Tatum (@RobTatumMMA) February 15, 2015

Knee or no knee, Skelly earned the win. The last blow should be charged to the game. 

Escudero Outlasts De Lima

To put it plain, Efrain Escudero beat up Rodrigo De Lima for three rounds. Escudero out-landed De Lima 94-24 in regard to significant strikes. De Lima had very few bright spots as he looked to be overwhelmed by Esudero's pressure the entire night.

The win was the 24th of Escudero's career, and it was pretty easy for the most part. It's been a long time as Mike Bohn of USA Today indicates, but after a long absence, Escudero is back in the UFC win column:

Efrain Escudero breaks his skid of four UFC losses, picks up first octagon victory since Dan Lauzon at UFC 114 in May 2010. Long road.

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) February 15, 2015

His stay in the UFC could be longer this time around.

Borg Submits Kelades 

After a dominating first round, Ray Borg put the ultimate whammy on Chris Kelades in the third round with a submission via kimura. From the outset, it seemed as if it was just a matter of time before Borg finished Kelades.

Borg completed five takedowns and landed 19 significant strikes to completely stamp out Kelades' offense. MMA Fighting admired Borg's performance:

Look at Borg balancing on his right shoulder. Almost how a break dancer would finish the sub. Kelades is trying to move & can't from control

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 15, 2015

It was a workmanlike effort for Borg, but I'm not sure it was enough to have Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson shaking in his boots. It's still nice to see a potential new challenger start work his way up the 125-pound ladder.

Lee Too Quick and Skilled for Prazeres

With well-timed takedowns and lightning-fast jabs and straight punches, Kevin Lee picked Michel Prazeres apart en route to a clear unanimous-decision victory.

Women's bantamweight Sarah Kaufman perceptively called the turning point in the fight:

fight turned around 1/2way through rd 2 as prazeres faded and lee started landing takedowns. lee Should win a decision #UFCBroomfield

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) February 15, 2015

Lee smartly kept the fight on his terms by mixing up strikes and only taking the bout to the mat when he had the clear advantage. Prazeres was the stronger fighter physically, and he had a bright spot when he landed a solid strike to Lee's right eye.

Lee shook off the shot and took care of business with superior technique and cardio.

Dan Kelly Bores Us and Beats Patrick Walsh

In a fight that was one of the worst fights in the last three UFC events, Dan Kelly outstruck Patrick Walsh. Aside from a late takedown in the first round, Walsh simply swung wildly with a sloppy stand-up game that was neither effective nor aesthetically pleasing. 

Tatum didn't like this fight at all; he wasn't too fond of the card to this point in the night:

I want that 15 minutes of my life back... scratch that, I want the last hour of my life back. #UFCFightNight

— Rob Tatum (@RobTatumMMA) February 15, 2015

Kelly wasn't much better, but at least his punches were straight and thus found the mark a bit more.

Magny Keeps Winning

In a most impressive display, Neil Magny dominated Kiichi Kunimoto and finished him with a rear-naked choke. The victory was the sixth straight for Magny, as UFC on Fox noted, and stopped a seven-fight win streak for Kunimoto:

Neil Magny has now won six straight fights - the longest streak in the welterweight division #UFCBroomfield

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 15, 2015

Magny used a huge reach advantage to buzz Kunimoto from the outside. The former owned a 76-10 edge in significant strikes. Once Magny gained an advantage with his hands, he immediately went for the takedown.

He scored a total of three in the fight. Kunimoto seemed defenseless against the takedowns, and Magny had his way with the fight on the ground.

Kunimoto narrowly escaped the finish at the end of the second round, but Magny wasted no time putting him in peril to begin the third. The win should put Magny in the Top 15 or higher. If he keeps rolling, he could be a serious contender for a title shot in mid- to late 2016.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.