Frankie Edgar: To many, the mark of a true champion is the ability to overcome adversity. Edgar showed one of the greatest examples of this against Gray Maynard, as he took one of the most hellacious beatings ever seen in a title fight, and not only survived the round but somehow came back to take round 2 clearly. Edgar is very disappointed that the fight came out to a draw, but the fact that he even made it to a decision at all is incredibly impressive by itself. He came back from a 10-8 first round to take a draw on one scorecard, and even win the fight on another. He has nothing to be ashamed of.
Brian Stann: Stann took a huge risk in calling out a fighter like Chris Leben while still trying to establish himself since dropping to 185. He was rewarded in the best way possible for his risk by not only beating Leben, but finishing him with strikes; something only middleweight champ Anderson Silva has managed to do. Stann arguably shot up from unheralded middleweight to top 15 in one fight.
Thiago Silva: After a year layoff to correct a back injury he's fought with for a while, Silva dominated and humiliated Brandon Vera on Saturday. With his performance, there are already suggestions from fans to give him Rampage or the winner of Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader for his next fight, which would put him in the mix.
Dong Hyun Kim: Kim impressed with a dominant grinding win over Nate Diaz, where he showed off his great strength and excellent awareness on the ground. He's not quite ready for GSP yet, but he definitely needs a top 10 opponent.
Clay Guida: Guida seems to be hitting a stride. His guillotine choke victory over for Pride lightweight king Takanori Gomi was his third straight submission victory, and in those fights he has displayed improvements in just about all facets of his game. It may be time to enter Guida in lightweight contender talks.
Dustin Poirer: A dominant decision over Josh Grispi has surely earned Poirer a top 10 featherweight spot, and likely has him close to earning a title shot.
Brad Tavares: Tavares showed some heart after getting dropped and nearly finished by a dangerous Phil Baroni, only to turn around and impressively TKO him shortly after.
Diego Nunes: The first round may not have been pretty, but Nunes is now arguably a top 5 featherweight after edging out former king Mike Brown via decision.
Chris Leben: After the impressive 2010 Leben had, just losing to Stann didn't put him on the cold list. However, getting stopped due to strikes for just the second time in his career in a territory he usually calls his own (a brawl) justifies his entry. Reports have risen that Leben was sick during the fight (and he did look more sluggish than usual), but I hate excuses, and I doubt it would have gone too much differently. Leben is still a threat to most 185'ers so I'm sure he'll bounce back.
Brandon Vera: It's bad enough that Vera has now lost 3-straight, which is usually grounds for extermination in the UFC; but Vera also lost in lackluster and embarrassing fashion against Thiago Silva. After being dominated for 2 rounds, he practically did nothing while Silva rode his back, slapped his head, and drummed on his body in the 3rd. Vera was definitely one of the bigger losers Saturday.
Marcus Davis: Also in the 3-straight loss crowd is Marcus Davis, who had his debut at 155 spoiled when he suffered a 3rd round KO at the hands of Jeremy Stephens. All the more disheartening for Davis is that he was arguably winning the fight before the KO; he was soundly outboxing Stephens and overpowering him in the clinch and on the ground. As one of the more exciting fighters he may get another chance, and he definitely showed signs of being competitive in the division.
Josh Grispi: After his performance against Dustin Poirer it's hard to believe Grispi was originally slated to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight strap on at UFC 125. He's still very young so he has plenty of time to develop, but he is clearly not ready for upper-level featherweights yet.
Phil Baroni: The third and final entrant in the 3-straight loss club at UFC 125, Baroni is likely in the most danger of getting cut. After a strong start in which he seemed dropped Brad Tavares and almost locked in a tight guillotine, Baroni was shocked with a barrage of strikes.
Antonio McKee: McKee's mouth is what got him onto this list. His close decision loss to Jacob Volkmann (ending a 15 fight, almost 8 year unbeaten streak) is only a minor setback, but when you consider the amount of cocky trash talk and promises of coming into the UFC and taking reign over the lightweight division in brutal fashion, McKee was a pretty big loser that night. Usually eager to shoot off at the mouth when given the chance, he has been pretty quiet since the loss.
Gray Maynard: Maynard looked great in the first round of his title fight against Frankie Edgar. But after trying so hard to finish in that round, he was decidedly slower and less effective for the following 20 minutes. He still did well, but how do you go from destroying someone for 5 minutes to getting slammed on your ass and outworked by that same guy in the very next round?
Nate Diaz: Diaz is still a solid fighter, but Dong Hyun Kim just showed us what we already knew: Diaz can't handle the combo of good wrestling and submission defense. His performance against Kim was his typical fare, where he is taken down and nullified for 2 rounds, and finishes strong due to his great cardio, but it doesn't make up for being dominated for the majority of the fight.
Takanori Gomi: Gomi's susceptibility to submissions rears its ugly head once more against Clay Guida. Aside from that, he's faced nothing but tough competitors and he didn't look bad against Guida. Knowing how the UFC seems to deal with Japanese fighter, I sadly wouldn't be too surprised if Gomi was cut after going 1-2 in the UFC, but he still has a lot to offer them so I don't see it happening.
Jeremy Stephens: An impressive knockout doesn't erase the fact that Marcus Davis outworked him for much of the match. Nothing major, but Stephens will need to tighten up his game if he wants to compete at a higher level.
Mike Brown: Despite his decision loss to Diego Nunes, Brown looked solid in the fight, especially in the first round where he was aggressive with his striking and closed Nunes' left eye. He still has good fights to give in the UFC, but I fear the division is starting to pass him by.
Jacob Volkmann: You'd figure that with his third straight win he'd be in the hot column right? Not when you consistently deliver uneventful decision wins. Outwrestling Antonio McKee is a very impressive feat, but Volkmann won't get onto the main card anytime soon with his style.
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