Surprises and Disappointments is a column featured on MMAOddsbreaker.com after every UFC event, highlighting three fighters who had surprising performances and three fighters who disappointed. Here were the three biggest surprises and the three biggest disappointments from UFC 185. Surprises Rafael dos Anjos – There were very few people picking Rafael dos Anjos to beat Anthony Pettis, but he did just that and more, dominating every round of the fight en route to winning a unanimous decision and the title. RDA is the most complete fighter in the lightweight division and one of the top P4P fighters in the world. As a 4-to-1 dog in this fight, RDA proved all the doubters wrong as he picked up by far the biggest win of his career. Beneil Dariush – I called Beneil Dariush to beat Daron Cruickshank, but I didn’t think it would come so easy. Dariush owned Cruickshank in the grappling department and his striking looked awesome too as he was able to use both in conjunction to snare a second-round submission win. Dariush is a very solid lightweight fighter, so don’t sleep on him anymore. Ryan Benoit – Wow, is all I can say abut Ryan Benoit. After getting smoked in the striking and grappling by Sergio Pettis in the first round of their fight, Benoit landed a Hail Mary punch in the second to put Pettis on his back and he finished it off with strikes for a massive upset win. At 25, Benoit definitely has the potential to be a solid contributor in the UFC flyweight division. I don’t think he’ll ever be the champ, but he can win some fights in his weight class, for sure. Disappointments Carla Esparza – I actually picked Joanna Jedzrejczyk to defeat Carla Esparza for the UFC women’s strawweight title, but I didn’t expect the victory to come so easily. Esparza’s wrestling was ineffective during the fight and her striking was absolutely non-existent as she lost via second-round TKO. Esparza is still a solid fighter but she has a lot of work to do for anyone to consider her an actual challenge for Jedrzejczyk. Sam Stout – I know he was a clear underdog, but I still really thought Sam Stout would be more competitive against Ross Pearson than he ended up being. I thought Stout would be able to at least make it all the way to a decision, but instead he was brutally knocked out in the second round for a second-consecutive knockout loss. Stout is a veteran of the sport at only 30, but after taking so much damage in his career perhaps it’s time he hangs them up. Larissa Pacheco – I quite simply don’t know what happened to Larissa Pacheco, but she has become a different fighter since entering the UFC. After owning the Brazilian regional circuit, Pacheco was submitted by Jessica Andrade in her UFC debut, and now she got knocked out by Germaine de Randamie. I had high hopes for Pacheco, the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at age 20, but it’s obvious she isn’t ready for the big show. Hopefully she gets cut and can bounce back because she is talented, but she definitely hasn’t shown she can hang with anyone at the UFC level in her first two Octagon performances.
