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Five Things We Learned From UFC Fight Night 233

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Five Things We Learned From UFC Fight Night 233

Now that there's a full slate of UFC Fight Night 233 results in the rearview mirror, we're here to detail all of the results and unpack the biggest storylines to come from these UFC results. From a dominant main event performance from a young and hungry fighter, to a vicious finishing display in the co-main, to a series of exciting finishes earlier on in the card, there was no shortage of UFC results last night that are worth talking about today. 

With that in mind, let's get into ‘Five Things We Learned From UFC Fight Night 233′, and try to grapple with what this newfound knowledge means for these UFC fighters' respective futures. 

UFC Fight Night 233 Results: Five Things We Learned

1. Song Yadong is (Still) a Savage

Let's get straight to the main event, where Song Yadong produced a dominant masterclass over Chris Gutierrez, en route to earning a unanimous decision win. Although we already knew that Song — still just 26 years old — was a mainstay within UFC's bantamweight division, his UFC Fight Night 233 results proved that his name deserves mention in the title conversation. 

Song brought a patient, stoic, savage approach to Saturday's fight, and his dominance was never in doubt. And considering his post-fight interview, we think a matchup with former champ Petr Yan may be next for the Chinese prodigy.

2. Lights Too Bright for Chris Gutierrez

While Song Yadong's performance was supremely impressive, the UFC results for his opponent, Chris Gutierrez, was supremely disappointing.

Not only did Gutierrez get dominated in the octagon for five rounds physically, but Gutierrez also seemed distracted during the fight mentally; proven by him making multiple cheap, tacky fouls like fence grabs and eye pokes, and he even got in a verbal exchange with one of the fans in the UFC apex while the fight was underway. 

All things considered from this poor performance, it's hard to imagine we'll see Chris Gutierrez be treated to another UFC main event anytime soon.

 

3. Khalil Rountree Jr is Ready For Light Heavyweight Elite

Perhaps the most vicious UFC results last night was Khalil Rountree Jr's striking masterclass over Anthony Smith. Rountree Jr's power immediately proved to be a problem for his opponent, and he ultimately finished Smith with a brutal 3rd round TKO — and earn himself a performance of the night bonus

Now that Rountree Jr will find himself in the Top 10 of the UFC Light Heavyweight rankings next week, it's only going to be big time fights for him moving forward. While he called out Alex Pereira in his post fight interview, it's unlikely he'll earn a title shot next. But if he keeps performing like he did last night — and earning similar KO finishes — a title shot in the future seems inevitable.

4. Nasrat Haqparast Has Arrived

While we did predict Nasrat Haqparast to earn a win against Jamie Mullarkey last night, we didn't think he'd do so via knockout, less than two minutes after the first bell. 

Haqparast looked the best he ever has last night. He had no problem walking Mullarkey down, landing punishing strikes, and ultimately producing a finish that earned him a performance of the night bonus. 

While Haqparast is still outside of the UFC's top 15, the UFC results last night proved that he's still an intriguing prospect. We wouldn't be surprised to see him get matched up against a ranked opponent for his next fight. 

5. Tim Elliott isn't Done Yet

Despite being 36 years old in a division that's usually dominated by younger, faster fighters, Tim Elliott proved last night that he's just as fast — and as vicious — as fellow flyweights than are ten years younger than him. His first round submission over Sumudaerji — which we predicted — was one of the most impressive performances all night. 

Considering that Elliott said he wanted to remain active in his post-fight interview, we're eager to see what's next for the 20-fight UFC veteran. 

UFC Results Last Night: Everything You Need to Know

With the five biggest UFC results and ensuing storylines now covered, let's disclose the complete UFC Fight Night 233 results: 

Main Card:

• Bantamweight: Song Yadong vs Chris Gutierrez – Yadong won via Unanimous Decision
• Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith vs Khalil Rountree Jr – Rountree Jr won via TKO (Round 3, 0:56)
• Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast vs Jamie Mullarkey – Haqparast won via KO (Round 1, 1:44)
• Flyweight: Sumudaerji vs Tim Elliott – Elliott won via Submission (Round 1, 4:02)
• Middleweight: JunYong Park vs Andre Muniz – Muniz won via Split Decision

Prelims:

• Welterweight: Song Kenan vs Kevin Jousset – Jousset won via Unanimous Decision
• Flyweight: HyunSung Park vs Shannon Ross – Park won via KO (Round 2, 3:59)
• Lightweight: Steve Garcia vs Melquizael Costa – Garcia won via KO (Round 2, 1:01)
• Women's Bantamweight: Luana Santos vs Stephanie Egger – Santos won via Unanimous Decision
• Flyweight: Tatsuro Taira vs Carlos Hernandez – Taira won via TKO (Round 2, 0:55)
• Women's Strawweight: Rayanna Amanda vs Talita Alencar – Alencar won via Split Decision

Grant Young is a sports writer from San Francisco. He has had two professional Muay Thai fights: he got knocked out in one, and got a knockout in the other. When it comes to his favorite fighters, it's Israel Adesanya, and then it's everyone else.