UFC Fight Night 223 went down on Saturday in Las Vegas, and while the card caught a lot of flack for its lack of big names and top talent, it ended up being pretty entertaining, with a couple of fun scraps and some highlight-reel knockouts.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern reasserted herself as a top strawweight contender with a lopsided unanimous decision victory of Angela Hill—we're talking about a mauling.

In the co-headliner, Anthony Hernandez gave Edmen Shahbazyan a similar treatment, dragging his foe through the ringer on the mat en route to a third-round TKO win.

Other highlights of the card included a trio of highlight-reel knockouts from Joaquin Buckley, Diego Ferreira, and Viacheslav Borschev, as well as impressive performances from rising talents like Chase Hooper and Themba Gorimbo.

Keep scrolling to see the real winners and losers for this under-the-radar card in Sin City.

Winner: Giving New Looks

We knew Mackenzie Dern could grapple. She was already a long-time Brazilian jiu jitsu black and decorated submission grappler when she arrived in the UFC, and she has since affirmed her grappling prowess with some impressive wins in the Octagon.

Yet in the UFC Fight Night 223 main event, the No. 8-ranked strawweight contender flaunted a new layer to her game: some solid striking.

Dern met strawweight veteran Angela Hill in the card's headlining attraction, and while many expected her to look for the takedown early, she instead got to work with her hands, blasting her foe with power shots—and even dropping her with a punch.

Dern looked to her grappling more often as the fight wore on and nearly submitted Hill at several points, but her striking continued to give Hill problems for the duration, which few people expected.

With the win, Dern rebounded from a hard-fought decision loss to top contender Yan Xiaonan. She's still a couple of wins away from a title shot, but in her post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, called for a clash with former champ Rose Namajunas or a rematch with Yan.

Given that she looked better and more complete than ever in Saturday's main event, we say the UFC should give her one of those opportunities.

Loser: Familiar Problems

There was a time when Edmen Shahbazyan was considered one of the hottest young contenders in the middleweight division. Some people even saw him as a future champion—much like his former training partner Ronda Rousey.

Unfortunately, it ultimately became clear that Shahbazyan has a big hole in his game: he's not much of a grappler. That's a problem in a MMA.

After starting his career with a 12-fight unbeaten streak, he suffered three straight victories against Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Nassourdine Imavov—two of those being stoppages. His issues with grappling defence were the deciding factor in all three losses, and it was clear he had a lot of work to do in that department if he was ever going to live up to the hype he had early in his career.

After taking some time off, Shahbazyan changed camps—definitely the right move—and rebounded with an impressive knockout win over Dalcha Lungiambula. Lungiambula is not exactly a world-beater, but it was a sorely needed win for Shahbazyan, and a definite confidence booster.

Unfortunately, his UFC Fight Night 223 fight with Anthony Hernandez exposed his grappling defence as an enduring problem. While he landed some nice shots in the first half of round one, Hernandez gradually began to seize the momentum, and by the opening of round two, was firmly in control of the fight.

Things only got worse from there, as he drowned Shahbazyan on the mat and ultimately finished him with ground strikes in round three.

Maybe Shahbazyan still has a title run in him—he's still only 25—but he is not showing much improvement, and he is taking some pretty punishing losses in that Octagon.

Winner: Adding to the Highlight

Heading into UFC Fight Night 223, Joaquin Buckley already had one of the best highlight reels in the sport, having scored stunning KOs against the likes of Antônio Arroyo, Jordan Wright, and most notably, Impa Kasanganay.

His highlight reel looks even better after the Saturday card in Las Vegas, where posted a vicious second-round knockout against Andre Fialho with a head-kick and merciless follow-up punch. It was probably the best KO of the night, which is saying something, considering the amazing stoppages we saw earlier on the card.

It wasn't just a flashy KO, either. It was a hugely important win for Buckley.

It marked his successful debut in the welterweight division. The knockout artist spent the earlier chapters of his career up at middleweight, and while picked up some notable victories, he suffered some tough losses too, including his last two fights in the division.

"None of these boys at 170 can stop me," he shouted in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

It was a great way to announce his arrival to the weight class, and he capped it off with a spirited post-fight interview that definitely endeared him even more to fans.

Loser: Big Dreams

During the opening round of Michael Johnson and Diego Ferreira's main card lightweight fight, the commentary team mentioned that the former was still dreaming of capturing the division's title—even at 36 years old, and after 27 fights in the Octagon.

Nobody can fault Johnson for clinging to his title dreams in what is clearly the twilight of his career—in fact. he should be commended for his resolve. But this is brutal, brutal sport, and Johnson got a tough reminder of that in his fight with Ferreira.

The lightweight veteran, who holds victories over the likes of Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson, got off to a good start, but ended up suffering a brutal, one-punch knockout loss in round two, which left him rigid on the canvas.

It was a worrying KO given Johnson's age and the punishment he has already sustained, and it may be the loss that forces him to accept the tough reality he faces: that his chance to become the king of one of the UFC's most dangerous division's is almost certainly over.

Winner: Powering Through Adversity

Russia's Viacheslav Borshchev posted one of the most impressive wins over the UFC Fight Night 223 card, flooring China's Maheshate with a blistering right hand in the second round. It was a sorely needed win for the lightweight, who had lost his last two, and it will appear on his highlight reel for years to come.

He had to fight through some adversity to get it, too. Maheshate had a strong first round, and more notably, landed an inadvertent but nasty eye poke on the Russian mid-way through that first frame.

"I couldn't see," Borshchev told commentator Michael Bisping in his post-fight interview.

It was obvious the accidental foul was affecting Borshchev, who could be seen squinting in pain after the fact, but after hurting his foe at the end of round one, he poured on the pressure in round two to finish it.

"That was the best camp I've ever had," he said, referencing his work at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, where he trains under former WEC champ Urijah Faber. "Doesn't matter if he poked both eyes."

Winner: Moving Up

23-year-old fan favorite Chase Hooper picked up one of the best wins of his young career at UFC Fight Night 223, defeating fellow American Nick Fiore by unanimous decision.

The win was impressive for a couple of reasons.

First, because Hooper showed off a significantly improved overall game in the fight. We knew the BJJ black belt was good on the mat, but he was stringing together some nice combinations on the feet against Fiore, and making very effective use of his reach advantage. That's something we haven't really seen from him in the past.

The other reason Hooper's win was particularly impressive is because it was his first fight up at lightweight after competing at featherweight in his first six UFC bouts, which he split 3-3. While he didn't have great results at featherweight, his fight with Fiore was a strong indication that things will go much better for him at lightweight.

He certainly seems to think so.

"Moving up to 155 felt amazing," he said in his post-fight interview with commentator Michael Bisping. "Weight cut was great.

"Hopefully [I have] a nice long career in the UFC at 155. I'm performing my best here in this new division."

It should be said that lightweight is one of the UFC's deepest divisions—maybe the deepest outright. The road ahead is definitely perilous for Hooper, but he looked good in his debut.

Loser: The Flu

Themba Gorimbo's win over Takashi Sato was impressive under any circumstances.

While Japan's Sato had lost his last three heading into the fight, he has had some solid wins in the Octagon, and trains with some of the best fighters in the world a Kill Cliff FC in South Florida. He's a tough test, and beating him looks great on the resume of a relative newcomer like Gorimbo.

Gorimbo's win is made all the more impressive by the fact that he was apparently under the weather.

Between rounds, the South African welterweight admitted to his corner that he had the flu in the immediate lead-up to the fight. It's tough enough to get out bed when you've got the flu. Winning a fight in that condition is something else entirely. It's not exactly Michael Jordan's flu game—it was the first fight of arguably the weakest UFC card of the year to date, not an NBA playoff game—but Gorimbo deserves some props for his toughness.

It was also his first win in the Octagon after he was submitted by AJ Fletcher in UFC debut in February. It'll be interesting to see what he can make happen when he's feeling 100 percent.

Full Card Results

Main Card

Mackenzie Dern def. Angela Hill by unanimous decision (49-43, 49-44, 49-44)

Anthony Hernandez def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO (strikes), 1:01, Round 3

Loopy Godinez def. Emily Ducote via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Joaquin Buckley def. Andre Fialho by KO (head kick), 4:15, Round 2

Diego Ferreira def. Michael Johnson by KO (punch), 1:50, Round 2

Preliminary Card

Viacheslav Borshchev def. Maheshate by TKO (punches), 2:37, Round 2

Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Gilbert Urbina def. Orion Cosce by TKO (strikes), 2:55, Round 2

Rodrigo Nascimento def. Ilir Latifi by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Chase Hooper def. Nick Fiore by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Chase Hooper vs. Nick Fiore by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Natalia Silva def. Victoria Leonardo by TKO (strikes), 2:58, Round 1

Themba Gorimbo def. Takashi Sato by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)