Ryan Jimmo, Matthew Riddle and Francisco Rivera are UFC 149?s Three Stars

After the preliminary card, UFC 149 seemed to be headed towards classic status. The momentum from exciting performances early in the night would have to carry over to the main card, right? As we soon found out, wrong. Whether it was injury, short notice or "Octagon jitters," most of the pay-per-view had none of the magic from early in the night.

Who were those fighters who stood out? Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars. Tell yours in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

No. 1 star -- Ryan Jimmo: Two fighters with long careers in other promotions made their UFC debuts at UFC 149. Though Hector Lombard came in one a steam-powered locomotive of hype, it was Jimmo who had the memorable fight, knocking out Anthony Perosh in just seven seconds. He tied the UFC record for fastest knockout and won a $65,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

No. 2 star -- Matthew Riddle: On less than a month notice, Riddle took out Chris Clements with a third round arm-triangle choke after a thrilling bout to kick off the pay-per-view card. (See? Not the entire PPV was terrible.) He pulled off that win after driving from Texas to Calgary so that his pregnant wife could be with him for the fights. Did I mention they also have twins at home? I'm exhausted on his behalf. Hopefully, the $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus will buy Riddle some rest and relaxation.

No. 3 star -- Francisco Rivera: Coming right after Jimmo's knockout, poor Rivera didn't have a chance at the Knockout of the Night bonus. However, he still delivered with a huge left to send Roland Delorme to the canvas with a first-round knockout.

Jai Bradney  Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito  Rob Broughton