Penick's Take
THE HIT LIST: Top rated fights, standout finishes, and more from UFC Fight Night 57
Nov 23, 2014 - 10:30:35 PM THE HIT LIST: Top rated fights, standout finishes, and more from UFC Fight Night 57

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The star rating system we use here at MMATorch is essentially a short hand, easy way to subjectively let our readers know whether a fight stands out as something better than average, if it falls into the large segment of indelibly skippable fights, or if it reaches the depths of the downright awful. To that end, it's a quick way to look through our event reports and see whether or not you've missed something worth watching from an event if you don't catch it live.

To that end, we bring The Hit List, where we'll run through the rated fights from televised prelims or main cards to let you know in an even quicker recap what's worth watching from each event, and what we had to say in the event report. Occasionally, an undercard fight will stand out as particularly noteworthy or exciting, though fights on the un-televised portion of UFC cards typically don't get rated. In that instance, we'll let you know what we feel is worth watching from those fights in a special section.

Today we'll highlight the top rated fights, the not yet rated fights you should check out, and the top highlight reel finishes from UFC Fight Night 57.



Weekend's Top Rated

Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson

Star Rating: (****)

Jamie Penick says: "Amazing performance from Frankie Edgar. He kept ramping up the offensive output on the ground, and never coasted, looking for the finish until he got it in the final seconds. It was just an incredible performance, what else can you say? One of the best he's ever had, and he's had a lot of really good ones in his run."


Joseph Benavidez def. Dustin Ortiz

Star Rating: (***)

Penick says: "Great fight. Benavidez was on his game, and though Ortiz was tough as all hell tonight, Benavidez hit him with everything he had. Just another really good performance against Benavidez, while Ortiz shows he can at least survive against elite competition."


Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Jared Rosholt

Star Rating: (***)

Penick says: "That was so much better than expected. Rosholt had several moments where it looked like he was going to finish Oliynyk, and then that finish came out of nowhere. The finish elevated it."


Edson Barboza def. Bobby Green

Star Rating: (***-)

Penick says: "Very good fight that would have been better without them both fading a bit. Barboza looked better than ever for much of the fight, while Green is very tough and hard to put away. Really, really promising performance for Barboza, bodes real well for his future."


Unrated Highlights

Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via third round TKO

Penick says: "What an awesome fight. VanZant was extremely active in all areas of the fight, controlling the clinch battle, threatening from the bottom when Curran managed to take her down, pulling off fantastic sweeps, landing brutal knees against the cage, and finally finishing Curran off with a takedown out of the clinch and strikes on the ground. Great debut from the 20-year-old."



Highlight Reel Finishes

-Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via TKO at 1:52 of the first round

-Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO at :18 of the first round


This feature remains a work in progress, so if you have any suggestions on what you might like to see added in future installments, email me at MMATorchEditor@gmail.com with the subject header "Hit List Feedback" to give us your thoughts.