Video: Who made the biggest impact at the UFC’s first event of 2023?

The UFC returned to action this past Saturday for its first event of the year, and first in a month after a holiday break. Who stood out?

The UFC returned to action this past Saturday for its first event of the year, and first in a month after a holiday break.

UFC Fight Night 217 in Las Vegas featured a mix of great finishes, as well as some dominant decisions. Sean Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) outworked Nassourdine Imavov (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) on just five days’ notice for a big win in the main event. Dan Ige (16-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) starched Damon Jackson (22-5-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) with a second-round knockout in the co-feature.

Raquel Pennington (15-9 MMA, 12-5 UFC) beat Ketlen Vieira (13-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and called for a women’s bantamweight title shot. Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) knocked out Raoni Barcelos (17-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to stay unbeaten. Roman Kopylov (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) beat Punahele Soriano (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a second-round TKO.

But who made the biggest impact at UFC Fight Night 217?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King dove into that topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above. And don’t miss this week’s full episode below.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.

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