John Lineker did it again.
As UFC Fight Night 96 began Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, it did so in a bit of a headwind. The main event, originally a potential number-one bantamweight contender bout between Lineker and John Dodson, lost some serious steam when Lineker missed weight. For the fifth time in his UFC career. That's a record.
That certainly lowered the stakes (and the purse) for Lineker, as there was a much lower chance of a win moving him into title contention given the clear risk he posed. But even with that fact, the stakes remained high for Dodson—a Greg Jackson trainee who won his last fight with a 37-second knockout.
There was a flash of gold in the co-main event, where Will Brooks, the longtime lightweight champion in the Bellator promotion, fought for the second time in the UFC when he took on Brazilian stoppage-seeker Alex Oliveira.
As the West Coast card stretched into Sunday morning, there was plenty of intrigue for a cable TV card. And as always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 96.
Full card results appear on the final slide.
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