It's a quantity/quality thing.

Though the UFC's Saturday night card at the Apex in Las Vegas wasn't exactly littered with names recognizable beyond the hardcore fan set, that wasn't at all indicative of the value of the matches up and down the 12-bout card.

In fact, no fewer than seven of the 24 fighters involved had rankings numbers alongside their names going in, including three fights between ranked commodities and a main event featuring seventh-ranked middleweight contender Sean Strickland.

Strickland arrived on the rebound from consecutive losses to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier in the back half of 2022, though he did get back on the winning side of the ledger with a decision over Nassourdine Imavov in January.

He faced German veteran Abus Magomedov, who's been a pro since 2010 but didn't reach the UFC until a 19-second KO of Dustin Stoltzfus last September, and rallied from a tough first round to win by stoppage at 4:20 of the second.

The B/R combat team was in position to take in the action and compiled a definitive list of the show's real-time winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.

Winner: Surviving the Storm

Sean Strickland was the picture of composure.

He was on the wrong end of an eye poke in the first 30 seconds of his main event against Abus Magomedov, then lost the remainder of the round as the Germany-based Russian moved forward with effective punches and kicks to the head.

But while he was certainly beaten on the scorecard through five minutes, it wasn't nearly over for the violence-thirsty 32-year-old, who quickly turned the tables on a quick-strike foe who'd gone past five minutes just once in his last four appearances.

"We've got five rounds of fun out here," Strickland said. "You want to win the first round and have some fun? Bring it. We've got two, three, four and five, too."

Indeed, Strickland immediately seized on a noticeably tired opponent as Round 2 began, gradually moving forward behind a strong jab that evolved into fluid combinations as Magomedov retreated.

An overhand right wobbled the 6'2" fighter just 20 seconds into the round and it didn't get much better the rest of the way, ultimately ending when Strickland scored a knockdown and followed up with nearly two dozen ground shots before referee Mark Smith jumped in to end matters at 4:20.

It was Strickland's 14th win in 19 UFC fights and fourth in five main event settings and marked two straight victories since he'd been beaten by Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier last year. In the aftermath, he called for the title shot he never got in 2022—the loss to Pereira was in an eliminator for a bout with Israel Adesanya, which Pereira won by KO and prompted a rematch won by Adesanya.

"I want the title," Strickland said.

Winner: Earning Acclaim

Grant Dawson arrived to Saturday's co-main event with a No. 15 ranking in the UFC lightweight division and an unbeaten record (7-0-1) with the promotion through eight fights.

But in the run-up to his fight with 12th-ranked Damir Ismagulov, all the 29-year-old said he wanted was for rivals, fans, and media members to get to Sunday morning with the thought, "This kid is good."

Well, let us be the first to go on the record.

It's true. This kid is good.

Dawson stated his claim to significance in the 155-pound ranks with a three-round wrestling lesson against his more experienced Kazakhstan-based foe, winning all three on each of the judge's cards—including a two-point margin in the eyes of one official.

He took Ismagulov down in each round, locked him in a body triangle in each round, chased a submission by rear-naked choke in each round, and thoroughly outclassed a guy who'd lost once in six UFC fights.

"This performance was 10 percent me. It was 90 percent them," Dawson said while deflecting credit to his nearby training team. "I'm not a good fighter. I'm a good soldier. They walked me through it. I followed their game plan."

Statistically, he controlled better than 12 of the 15 minutes on the ground, landed 84 overall strikes between the stand-up and ground positions, and made no bones about what he wanted going forward.

"Either a big name or a big ranking. Tony Ferguson if it's a big name. Beneil Dariush if it's a big rank," he said, before swerving to mention the division's incumbent kingpin.

"Makhachev, you are the GOAT. But I am your replacement."

Winner: Changing the Approach

Benoit Saint-Denis came out looking like a lumberjack.

The burly, bearded lightweight started his main card fight with Ismael Bonfim with a series of heavy kicks to the body and head that made it look like he was chopping down a tree.

But just when it looked like the once-beaten, 27-year-old Frenchman was a one-dimensional powerhouse, he showed just the right amount of nuance to his game.

Rattled by a few strikes from a replying Bonfim, Saint-Denis eventually got the fight to the floor, worked his way into a back-control position and chipped away until he finally locked in a rear-naked choke that ended things just 12 seconds before the end of the initial round.

"I wanted to break his arms and I knew everything would go after that," Saint-Denis said. "He was tough and as big as me, so I took my time."

Indeed, once he took the back and locked Bonfim in place with a body triangle, Saint-Denis alternated shots to the head with his left and right hands before cinching his right arm under the chin and locking the grip in by tucking his left hand behind his stricken foe's head.

It was Saint-Denis' 11th win in 12 pro fights and third in four UFC outings. He followed it up with a world-class callout, suggesting either seventh-ranked Mateusz Gamrot or eighth-ranked Arman Tsarukyan for a planned show in Paris later this year.

"I want the toughest guys," he said.

Loser: All-American Aptitude

It's a holiday weekend in the United States.

But the festivities didn't start out so well for two Americans on the prelim card.

Neither welterweight Kevin Lee nor featherweight Westin Wilson made it to the end of the first round in their respective bouts, falling by submission and KO while lasting less than four minutes combined.

Lee, a veteran of 18 bouts in the UFC, was choked out by surging Rinat Fakhretdinov, who picked up a 20th straight win in a streak stretching back to his debut year in 2013.

The Russian sent Lee to the floor with a hard right hand, then, as Lee subsequently scrambled to his knees, locked in a right-arm guillotine that left Lee unconscious upon rescue by referee Herb Dean.

The official time was 55 seconds.

Wilson, meanwhile, was beaten into semi-consciousness by Brazilian Joanderson Brito, who won by TKO at 2:54 of the first.

"We're the new generation. We're the best fighters around here," said Fakhretdinov, who's now won three straight UFC fights. "I can punch. I can wrestle. It all depends on what our game plan is. That's what I'll do. The plan was to take him to the deep waters in the first round."

Winner: Recuperative Underdog

If you like your MMA to look like a slasher movie, this was the fight for you.

Lightweight Guram Kutateladze arrived as a -700 betting favorite and certainly looked the part while beating opponent Elves Brener to a bloody pulp across the first 10 minutes of their prelim three-rounder.

An elbow to the face opened a cut alongside Brener's left eye in the first round and a particularly brutal elbow on the ground instantly ripped a jagged inch-plus gash on his forehead, transforming his platinum blonde hairstyle to a ghastly red by the time the second round was over.

But something funny happened on the way to the plastic surgeon's office.

The Brazil-based training partner of former champ Charles Oliveira remained in the fray in spite of his injuries and began getting the better of things in the late going.

He ultimately landed a left hook that rendered Kutateladze helpless as he stumbled backward to the fence and fell to his knees, and Brener pounced in for four ground shots before referee Chris Tognoni waved things off at 3:17.

"This is the way we play," Brener said. "With all the hardships I've gone through in my life, this is nothing. Tomorrow it'll be just a scar."

Two fights later, featherweight Joanderson Brito fulfilled his billing as a -1400 favorite, countering a kneebar by opponent Westin Wilson with a series of heavy punches that left Wilson semi-conscious and prompted Tognoni's intervention at 2:54 of the first round.

It was Brito's third straight first-round finish in the UFC and 10th of his career.

"There's so many people but they don't want to fight me," he said. "I don't know what the problem is in this division."

Loser: Remaining Unbeaten

Luana Carolina and Ivana Petrovic were headed in opposite directions.

The former had split six UFC fights since arriving after a successful run on Dana White's Contender Series in 2018 while the latter had won six in a row and earned a title in another promotion while stopping five of those opponents inside the scheduled distance.

So much for directions.

Rather than providing competitive fodder for her 29-year-old foe, Carolina held her own across three rounds, out-striking Petrovic in each session while establishing an advantage in ground-control time and successfully fending off both of the Norwegian's late submission attempts.

All three judges gave Carolina a 29-28 margin on the scorecards. Two gave her the first and second rounds, while the third had her winning the first and third to cement her first victory since an October 2021 decision over Loopy Godinez.

She'd lost two straight fights in the meantime, by third-round KO to Molly McCann and split decision to Joanne Wood.

Another unbeaten, 10-0 middleweight Bruno Ferreira, suffered a fate similar to Petrovic's when he was dropped and stopped in one round by 46-fight vet Nursulton Ruziboev.

It was Ruziboev's first fight in the UFC after debuting as a pro in 2014.

Ferreira had won all his fights by finish, including first-rounders on Dana White's Contender Series last September and in his official UFC debut in January.

"I've been waiting for this for 10 years," a tearful Ruziboev said. "I fought every week and every month to get to the UFC."

Welterweight Michael Morales became the lone unbeaten fighter to win when he beat Max Griffin by unanimous decision in an eventful three-rounder on the main card.

"It's hard to imagine a UFC prospect with the potential Michael Morales has," ESPN's Brandan Fitzgerald said of the 24-year-old Ecuadorian, now 15-0. "Lots to be excited about for Team Morales."

Winner: Defending Top-15 Turf

It was put up or shut up time for Moldovan heavyweight Alexandr Romanov.

The UFC's 14th-ranked big man had lost two straight fights and had his contender status on the line in Saturday's opening bout when he met No. 15 heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov.

Turns out he was ready for the challenge.

The mammoth jiu-jitsu ace was at his grinding, punishing best across 15 minutes against Ivanov, ditching a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision in which all three judges scored all three rounds in his favor.

He landed 60 more overall strikes (104 to 44), scored the fight's lone two takedowns and had his foe in a particularly compromising position at the final horn as he gained full mount and let loose with a barrage of ground strikes.

"I wanted to show that I still belong here, and I still can fight here," Romanov said. "King Kong is back."

Full Card Results

Main Card

Sean Strickland def. Abus Magomedov by TKO (punches), 4:20, Round 2

Grant Dawson def. Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Michael Morales def. Max Griffin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Ariane Lipski def. Melissa Gatto by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Benoit Saint Denis def. Ismael Bonfim by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:48, Round 1

Nursulton Ruziboev def. Brunno Ferreira by TKO (punches), 1:17, Round 1

Preliminary Card

Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Kevin Lee by submission (guillotine choke), 0:55, Round 1

Joanderson Brito def. Westin Wilson by TKO (punches), 2:54, Round 1

Karol Rosa def. Yana Santos by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Elves Brener def. Guram Kutateladze by TKO (punches), 3:17, Round 3

Luana Carolina def. Ivana Petrovic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Alexandr Romanov def. Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)