The Scorecard | UFC Houston

Well, after Saturday night’s showing in Houston, any reports of Strickland’s demise as a middleweight contender were proved to be greatly exaggerated.

Strickland was at his razor-sharp best as he consistently beat Hernandez to the punch and expertly kept “Fluffy” on the outside, struggling to punch his way in. The jabs and teeps that have become Strickland’s trademark have rarely looked this sharp and effective, and the fact that he used them to such effect against a man on a formidable win streak only made his performance all the more noteworthy.

And when Strickland punished Hernandez for working into a clinch by hitting him with a crushing knee to the body, the opportunity opened up for a finish, and Strickland didn’t hesitate. He lit up Hernandez with punches to claim the finish and show the world that he is far from done at the top of the middleweight division.

Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić might not have been at the top of the list of welterweight danger men at the start of the year, but the Serbian striker showed exactly why he should be with a first-round demolition job on divisional stalwart Geoff Neal.

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Neal had only been stopped with strikes once before in his UFC career – by Knockout of the Year candidate Carlos Prates’ spinning back elbow at UFC 319 last year – but while Prates needed something out of the ordinary to put Neal away, Medić did it with his bread and butter, his boxing, and he did it in less than half the time, too.

Since his December 2023 loss to Steve Garcia, the Brazilian has reeled off six straight wins, defeating the likes of Andre Fili, Julian Erosa, and Morgan Charriere along the way. But on Saturday night, Costa claimed his biggest and most notable scalp yet.

Dan Ige has faced a who’s who of the UFC’s featherweight division and has never been finished with strikes or submissions in his prior 29 fights. But Costa changed all that as he stunned, then finished Ige inside the first round in spectacular fashion. 

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Costa unleashed a spinning back kick that connected flush on Ige’s jaw and sent him to the canvas. Costa quickly moved in and finished the job with ground strikes to take his record to 26 wins, 7 losses.

It was the sort of victory that turns a prospect into a contender, and after demolishing the previously unfinishable Ige in less than five minutes, Costa will likely wake up on Monday with a number next to his name. 

And when he gets his next bout assignment, there’s a good chance he’ll be facing top 10 opposition.

Jacobe Smith

With his wrestling credentials, the sort of latent power a combat sports athlete could only dream of, and the bulletproof self-confidence of a man who knows exactly where he’s going, Jacobe Smith is starting to look like the complete package at 170 pounds.

Spivac weathered an early storm as Delija started quickly and let his hands go early. But, rather than turn to his wrestling, Spivac bit down on his mouthpiece, planted his feet, and threw back. And, by the end of the first round, it was the Croatian who returned to his corner with his face busted up – a sure sign that Spivac’s striking had found its mark.

Spivac happily stuck to his boxing for the rest of the bout as he earned scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 to pick up a win that meant plenty for his UFC career, but even more to him personally, as he dedicated his victory to his late father, who passed away last year.

With Spivac listed two spots ahead of Delija in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings before the fight, it’s unclear whether his win will result in a bump up the list. But after losing both of his 2025 fights with Jailton Almeida and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, the victory puts “The Polar Bear” back on track and ready to face another heavyweight contender later in the year.