Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Fight Night: Glasgow

Sunday afternoon, an unexpectedly pleasant time for a bit of the old violence for MMA fans. UFC Fight Night 113 from the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, turned out to be an extremely exciting, fun card that featured several breakout performances.

From a shocking main event finish to a never-before-seen front face slam knockout, Glasgow delivered on a number of crucial fronts.

Take a look at our five biggest takeaways from Sunday’s event!

5. Welcome To The UFC, Galore Bofando

You couldn’t ask for a better UFC debut than Galore Bofanfo’s.

The unknown welterweight burst into the big leagues with a stunning face-plant slam KO over Charlie Ward.

The finish is truly one of a kind, and no other slam knockout has ever played-out like that. Bofando seemed to just toss Ward like a child on to the ground facefirst, and did so with enough force to knock him unconscious.

The knockout was without a doubt one to remember from a very promising welterweight prospect, however Ward’s durability has to be called into question after Sunday. Having been knocked out in his UFC debut in less than a minute prior to this fight, Ward may be better suited for other promotions, lest he risk more of these brutal knockout losses.

Little known fact here: Ward is actually the fighter who essentially beat Portuguese mixed martial artist Joao Carvalho at show in Ireland in 2015, where Conor McGregor was sitting cage side in support of his SBG teammate.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

4. Rountree Jr. Notches Second Straight First-Round KO Win

The light heavyweight division is in desperate need of new contenders. With the sudden departure of top three “Rumble” Johnson and quick decline of Glover Teixeira, the division that once was the marquee weight class for the UFC has become stale.

Which makes Khalil Rountree’s performances all the more important. He has all the physical tools to be a top contender, but after two disappointing defeats into his UFC career, questions began to mount about his potential.

However, after a 52-second knee KO in his last outing, coupled with his performance against Paul Craig on Sunday, is enough to conjure up some momentum again.

Rountree blasted through Craig’s defense on the feet and simply powered through him the majority of the first round. With four seconds left on the clock, Rountree blasted him with a short punch that just leveled the Scotsman.

Perhaps a fight with Misha Cirkunov or Ovince Saint Preux could be in order. Keep an eye on Rountree; he could be a top ten light heavyweight with another solid performance in a rather shallow division bereft of top talent.

3. Paul Felder Scores Beautiful Knockout Via Hellbows

The flashy, powerful striker Felder has always been a bit inconsistent, but when he’s on, he’s really on. Like his spinning back-fist KO over Danny Castillo a few years back, Felder’s knockout on Sunday was a not so gentle reminder of how dangerous he can be.

Felder took out Scottish native Stevie Ray with a nasty series of elbows just a little over three minutes into the first round.

Again, the biggest knock against Felder has always been his inconsistency. But, this makes for his second straight knockout by elbows, so it’s most likely back to fighting top ten lightweights for Felder.

A fight with Anthony “Showtime” Pettis or Dustin Poirier make sense for the Philadelphia native.

2. Santiago Ponzibbibio Knocks Out Gunnar Nelson

What an unbelievable showing by Ponzibbibio. After a shaky first minute, he found his shot and put Nelson away.

This, of course, was against Gunnar Nelson, a highly touted welterweight who had never been knocked out before.

Ponzibbibio has emerged as a force at welterweight, and after Sunday’s performance, he has earned his spot in the divisions top ten.

Fights with Carlos Condit or Neil Magny, fighters whom he both called out after his biggest MMA win on Sunday, seem to be logical choices.

1. Gunnar Nelson’s Uncertain Future In The UFC

It’s hard to make sense of Nelson’s presence in the welterweight division at this point.

Once an incredibly promising prospect, Nelson’s future in the UFC seems cloudier than ever. The worst part about his performance on Sunday was that he looked great in the first minute and just before the knockout punch from Ponzinibbio.

Coming into Sunday, Nelson was the No. 8-ranked welterweight in the UFC. Now, he will most likely have to go back to fighting guys outside of the top ten in order to get back on track.

The fact that his opponent, while supremely talented, was fairly unknown to most fight fans doesn’t bode well for Nelson either.