Biggest Winners, Loser For UFC On ESPN 12

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kept business rolling last night (Sat., June 27, 2020), staging UFC on ESPN 12 from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of the evening, Dustin Poirier defeated Dan Hooker via unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate, as the two men went to war for 25 minutes (see it). In the co-headlining act, Mike Perry outscored Mickey Gall in Welterweight action with only his girlfriend in his corner (recap here).

Biggest Winner: Dustin Poirier

Poirier is back! Though he actually never really went anywhere following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, a champion who has never been close to tasting defeat. With a huge win over Dan Hooker, “The Diamond” got back on the winning track after suffering the aforementioned loss to “The Eagle” nine months ago at UFC 242, losing the interim title tag in the process. Dustin looked as sharp as ever, but the story of the fight was his heart and grit (as well as Hooker’s) as he took all of “The Hangman’s” best shots (and vice versa) that would’ve dropped and likely finished anyone else. Through it all, Poirier kept firing off his own lethal strikes, happily eating some to deliver his own. And just like that, “The Diamond” reminded the rest of the Top 5 Lightweights that he is still here, still dangerous and still gunning for the throne. And if you want to get through him, your going to have to go through pure hell first.

Runner Up: Maurice Greene

Greene picked up a huge and much-needed victory in “Sin City” over Gian Villante, and he did it in comeback fashion. After landing two illegal blows earlier in the fight, “The Crochet Boss” found himself in a bad position in the third and final round after getting dropped by a thunderous strike from Villante. A few seconds later, Greene was in survival mode, as Villante fained down a bevy of strikes that had the referee on duty close to calling the fight. After surviving, though still in a bad position, it seemed as if Greene was simply holding on to a winded Gian to catch a breather of his own. To everyone’s surprise, Maurice was sneakily working in a submission hold, as he forced Villante to tap out of nowhere eye with a modified arm triangle choke. It was a shocker, indeed. The win was also huge for Greene for other reasons, as it helped him snap his two fight skid, giving him a new lease on his UFC life.

Biggest Loser: Philipe Lins

Two UFC fights, two losses. That’s not how Lins — the former PFL Heavyweight champion — imagined his Octagon career beginning. He did go the distance with longtime veteran, Andrei Arlovski, in his debut in May of 2020, but his knockout loss to Tanner Boser in the very first round last night could be a deal-breaker for UFC. There are no signs (yet) of the promotion looking to thin its roster amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but if and when the promotion starts to do so, Lins should be very nervous. The Heavyweight division isn’t as stacked as it once was, so Lins had the chance to make his mark in a hurry, but failed to capitalize on his two opportunities.

For complete UFC on ESPN 12 results and coverage click here.