If you didn't know Ben Nguyen or Ion Cutelaba before UFC Auckland, you probably do now.
Nguyen, ranked #12 in the UFC Flyweight division, emerged as a possible title contender by defeating one in Tim Elliott. After a brief scramble on the ground, Nguyen applied a rear-naked choke to get the tap and a submission victory over the #8 fighter. The win puts Nguyen at 4-1 in the UFC 125 pound division with three finishes.
Immediately following, the struggling Ion Cutelaba made his name in the company's light heavyweight division. After daring opponent Henrique da Silva to strike with him, Cutelaba got in his foe's face during introductions. A straight right and a couple of wild hooks later, da Silva was looking at the lights. Cutelaba followed with vicious ground and pound to gain a one-sided, flawless victory. He moves to 2-2 in the UFC.
Lightweight Dan Hooker made a splash in his home country of New Zealand. After booting Hatsu Hioki from the UFC in 2015, he likely did the same to longtime UFC star Ross Pearson. Hooker used his enormous reach advantage to knock Pearson cold in the second round.
Derek Brunson also made an impact, and ended a two-fight losing streak. In what wasn't much of a surprise despite Dan Kelly's four-fight winning streak, Brunson collapsed Kelly with a left hand in the first round that ended the fight.
You can see Fightful's coverage of UFC Auckland at this link.
