Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC Vegas 78

UFC Vegas 78 went down last night (Sat., Aug. 11, 2023) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Welterweight bout that saw Vicente Luque grind out a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos (recap here). In the co-main event, Cub Swanson also took home a unanimous decision win over Hakeem Dawodu, though it wasn’t without controversy.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Winner: Khalil Rountree

Don’t look now, but Rountree has now won four straight fights after stopping Chris Daukaus in the very first round via technical knockout (TKO), spoiling the former Heavyweight’s debut at 205 pounds (highlights). Rountree’s recent resurgence is a drastic difference from the slump that saw him go 1-3 from 2018-2021. Now, the “War Horse” will look to build on this momentum to hopefully get him into the Top 15. In the meantime, he will enjoy the “W” and the extra $50,000 he bagged for the “Performance of the Night.”

---

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Runner (s) Up: Terrance McKinney and Vicente Luque

We are going to go all the way down to the “prelims” for our next biggest winner because Terrance McKinney earned himself a new lease on his combat life by knocking out Mike Breeden via first-round technical knockout (TKO). It’s a fight “T Wrecks” took on short notice just three weeks removed from his first-round submission loss to Nazim Sadykhov, his second straight defeat. Indeed, McKinney was staring down the barrel of a potential three-fight losing streak and sliding to 1-4 in his last five fights. Instead, the young contender gets back on track and saves his spot on the UFC roster, in the process.

While it wasn’t a feast for the eyes, Luque did what he had to do to against dos Anjos get himself back on track after dropping his previous two contests. More importantly, however, Luque is clearly back to full health after suffering a brain hemorrhage almost a year ago today. With a win in his back pocket, Luque now has some newfound confidence moving forward knowing he’s back in the win column and his health is in great standing.

---

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Biggest Loser: Chris Daukaus

While Rountree kept on rolling with his fourth straight win, his latest victory led to Daukaus losing his fourth in a row, all via technical knockout (TKO), three in the very first round. Daukaus was looking for a fresh start after dropping his previous three bouts in the Heavyweight division, but now finds himself at a crossroads after dropping his debut fight at 205 pounds. It’s a drastic downfall for the big man who started off his UFC career with four straight technical knockout (TKO) wins, which saw him win three straight “Performance of the Night” bonuses, in the process. There is no telling where Daukaus is at mentally after getting stopped in his fourth consecutive bout, but he will definitely have to get back into the war room with his team to see how he can fix his slump.

---

For complete UFC Vegas 78: “Dos Anjos vs. Luque” results and play-by-play, click HERE!