No matter how you scored the fight the championship match between Daniel Cormier (17-1) and Alexander Gustafsson (16-4) was tremendous. Clearly one of the most hard fought title bouts of the year for the UFC, DC edges out The Mauler in a very close exchange. You almost have to say this is the case where the challenger needed to take the belt from the champion as each round was very tightly contested. If anything the true downfall for Alexander could have been due to the chase that was given throughout many portions of the night. It’s not that Gustafsson was running from him he just was looking for space but turning his back to the champ may have not swayed the judges favor enough. It was truly a back and forth type of affair as DC laid a WWE styled slam to the taller fighter in the first round but it was Alexander who actually scored more of the takedown. Gustafsson hit Cormier repeatedly in the eye over and ever cutting him but the champion still kept up his fierce pace. An extraordinary knee dropped DC in the mid round but he was able to recover. The biggest weapon for DC was his uppercut in the clinch that was able to neutralize Gus and score him more hits per round. The final round was capitalized by a great overhand right of Daniel and it's what helped edge him on to victory. It was a truly extraordinary fight and will go down as one of the best of 2015.

Many would not have expected a boxing match between Ryan Bader (20-4) and Rashad Evans (19-4). Also if the fight stayed on the feet you would expect the advantage to go to Evans. That was not the case at UFC 192 as we continue to see the evolution of Ryan Bader’s game imploring a great jab and sneaky right punch on his way to victory. Evans cornerman Tyrone Spong continued to tell Suga to pull the trigger but it was to no avail. Ryan avoided the slowered former world champion and used his wrestling to land three takedowns in a fight that shows Ryan is steadily improving. The right eye of Evans closed early and from there Ryan was able to avoid any true trouble from Evans. It's hard not to notice the slower pace of Rashad who looked a little heavy than normal but more due to muscle mass than anything. Ryan is now on the outside looking in at the top of the light heavyweight division.

Shawn Jordan (18-7) and Ruslan Magomedov (14-1) did the unlikely thing by being two heavyweights that went the distance. Ruslan hurt Shawn in the first round with a vicious kick to the body that more than likely broke the rib of Jordan. The tall and technically sound heavyweight picked Jordan apart landing a great amount of combinations. He also caught Shawn three times above both eyes initiating cuts with kicks to the head after both fighters braked. Jordan still landed some big blows and found his best round in the second. He really never recovered from the kick to body which allowed Ruslan to stay one step ahead and pull off the decision victory.

Joseph Benavidez (23-4) wins a very technical fight between Ali Bagautinov (14-5). Both fighters stayed in the pocket the entire time exchanging counters and pressing forward. Ali loaded up a bevy of punches that unfortunately didn’t find Joe as he used great footwork and head movement to stay out of the way. Ali caught Joe in the first with an uppercut that cut him above his left eye but the team Alpha Male fighter steadied the pace and continue to land more. Ali slammed Joe in the second as well but he quickly got to his feet and continued to land a kick to the head that keep Ali guessing. Bagautinov best round was late in the third and he upped the pressure on Benavidez but just really had no answer for the speed and regime of Joseph who cruises to the unanimous victory.

Julianna Pena (7-2) continues her unbeaten UFC streak with a win over close win over Jessica Eye (11-4). In the first round, Eye was content with pressing Pena up against the cage and found success with a few knees to the body. The ground game for Eye was also impressive as she almost pulled off two submissions against Pena who was able to manager her way out of them. In the second round Pena continued her wild swinging of punches and landed another trip takedown that put the girls on the mat. An Illegal knee to the head of Pena would cause her to lose a point and just may have been the reason she lost the fight. Julianna scored another takedown in the third round and almost pulled off a rear naked before the closing seconds. Pena earns the unanimous victory and lets the UFC brass know she is coming for the champion. The Vixen is still a work in progress but clearly one of the more candid individuals in the sport.

Up next for the UFC is UFC Fight Night Poirier - Duffy on Saturday October 24th exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. The full results for UFC 192 are listed below.

Main Card

Daniel Cormier  def  A. Gustafsson Split Dec

Ryan Bader  def  Rashad Evans Unanimous Dec

Ruslan Magomedov  def  Shawn Jordan Unanimous Dec

Joseph Benavidez  def  Ali Bagautinov Unanimous Dec

Julianna Peña  def  Jessica Eye Unanimous Dec

Prelims

Yair Rodriguez  def  Daniel Hooker Unanimous Dec

Albert Tumenov  def  Alan Jouban KO/TKO, 2:55 R1

Adriano Martins  def  Islam Makhachev KO/TKO, 1:46 R1

Rose Namajunas  def  Angela Hill Sub, 2:47 R1

Sage Northcutt  def  Francisco Trevino KO/TKO, 0:57 R1

Sergio Pettis  def  Chris Cariaso Unanimous Dec

Derrick Lewis  def  Viktor PeštaKO/TKO, 1:15 R3

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About the author
Travis Brown
Travis has been covering the sport of mixed martial arts for the past three years. He has been a fan of combat sports all of his life and looks to bring his bettors perspective to the Vavel family. Mixed Martial Arts is a global sports and there is no better place for it than Vavel.