

Saturday’s UFC 256 event is in the books, and now that the dust has settled in the “Fight Capital of the World,” it’s time to go to the scorecard to see who the big winners were at the UFC Apex.
The “God of War” delivered one on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Of course, it takes two to put on a Fight of the Year candidate, and Brandon Moreno was right there with flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo for all five rounds before a draw verdict was rendered. It was a fair decision given the performances of both men, because this really was a fight no one deserved to lose. And they did it just three weeks after scoring finishes on the UFC 255 card on November 21. Needless to say, both men deserve a nice vacation after a furious end to 2020, but in 2021, can we see a rematch? Please?
Charles Oliveira is one of the most exciting – and best – fighters in MMA today. His dominant Saturday win over Tony Ferguson proved it. And while he may not have gotten his just due from some leading up to the bout after missing weight several times as a featherweight, that last miss was in 2016, and it’s time to recognize “Do Bronx” for his accomplishments. And if you need a refresher course, how about an eight-fight win streak with seven finishes, six Performance of the Night bonuses, and wins over Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Clay Guida. And that’s just since 2018. Oliveira is for real.
With renowned boxing trainer (and longtime coach) Joel Diaz in his corner, it was clear from the start that Cub Swanson wanted to show off his hands against Daniel Pineda, and while there were some grappling exchanges in their featherweight bout, the majority of the time, Swanson was throwing – and landing – and the result was a second-round knockout that saw “Killer Cub” deliver perhaps his best performance since beating Dooho Choi in 2016. When it was over, the emotion was clear in the face of the longtime contender, who came back from a long injury-induced layoff to extend his winning streak to two and set up what may be a big 2021 campaign.
Already one of the most likeable folks on the roster, Kevin Holland has gone from character to contender in the space of 12 months, as he went 5-0 in a year that no one expected to see that kind of output from any fighter. But Holland dared to be great, stepped up whenever the phone rang, and now he enters 2021 as a serious threat at 185 pounds after knocking out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza on Saturday night. What will he do for an encore? It’s going to be fun finding out.
There are a lot of great strikers in the UFC, but there’s a purity to Rafael Fiziev’s attack that is just beautiful (and frightening) to watch. It’s all so fast, crisp and technical, that a moment’s lapse of focus or defense means it’s the end of your night. I don’t know too many who will want to stand with “Ataman” after his last two bouts with Marc Diakiese and Renato Moicano, but if they do, expect a show.