Both UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor made weight Friday morning, but they will face off Friday night at the UFC 229 ceremonial weigh-ins at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
You can watch everything happen live at 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific here:
On Friday, Nurmagomedov made 155 pounds right as the official weigh-ins opened up Friday while McGregor weighed about an hour later, making the megafight official. Everyone made weight for the event.
The card:
– Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor
– Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis
– Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov
– Dominick Reyes vs. Ovince Saint Preux
– Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
– Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
– Vicente Luque vs. Jalin Turner
– Aspen Ladd vs. Tonya Evinger
– Scott Holtzman vs. Alan Patrick
– Lina Lansberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya
– Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz
– Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is officially on.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor both made weight today ahead of facing off in the main event of UFC 229 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tomorrow night. Nurmagomedov was the first person to weigh in today, coming in at exactly 155 pounds for their lightweight title fight. McGregor later weighed in at 154.5 pounds.
Tony Ferguson, who likely would have replaced Nurmagomedov or McGregor if either had to pull out, weighed in at 155 pounds for his lightweight fight against Anthony Pettis. Pettis made weight at 156 pounds (with the extra pound allowance).
With McGregor arriving late, yesterday’s press conference for the UFC 229 main event didn’t go according to plan. Nurmagomedov came out when the press conference was supposed to start, took questions for 15 minutes, and left. Dana White then answered questions until McGregor showed up.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor will meet for the final time before UFC 229 at today’s ceremonial weigh-ins. The ceremonial weigh-ins are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The lineup for UFC 229 is listed below. Everyone made weight for the event.
Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. Eastern —
Ryan LaFlare (171) vs. Tony Martin (171)
Gray Maynard (156) vs. Nik Lentz (156)
Yana Kunitskaya (134.5) vs. Lina Lansberg (135.5)
Prelims on FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern —
Alan Patrick (155.5) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)
Tonya Evinger (136) vs. Aspen Ladd (134.5)
Jalin Turner (169.5) vs. Vicente Luque (170.5)
Sergio Pettis (125) vs. Jussier Formiga (125.5)
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern —
Michelle Waterson (115) vs. Felice Herrig (115.5)
Alexander Volkov (251) vs. Derrick Lewis (265.5)
Ovince Saint Preux (205.5) vs. Dominic Reyes (204.5)
Anthony Pettis (156) vs. Tony Ferguson (155)
Khabib Nurmagomedov (155) vs. Conor McGregor (154.5) for the UFC lightweight title
With just days to go before UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov battles returning star and former two division champion Conor McGregor at UFC 229, the two men will attempt to create some headlines Thursday at a pre-event press conference in Las Vegas, NV.
You can watch it live here at 6 PM Eastern or whenever McGregor decides to show up.
McGregor was on his game last month for the duo’s first presser, attempting to both sell the fight and his new brand of whiskey. The New York-based event was also in front of just media with no fans allowed inside. That will not be the case Thursday which should raise the stakes a bit on the emotional front.
The Saturday event should do great business at both the box office and on PPV, the latter of which UFC president Dana White has said is trending toward record levels. McGregor and Nate Diaz’s August 2016 rematch at UFC 202 set the unofficial record at 1.6 million.
McGregor has been part of the top five best-selling UFC PPVs all time, including the top three.
Of all the possibilities to headline the UFC’s November return to Madison Square Garden, a title fight for the vacant women’s flyweight championship wasn’t high on the list of expected outcomes.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Twitter, the main event for UFC 230 on November 3rd will be Valentina Shevchenko vs. Sijara Eubanks.
Shevchenko was to face Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant title in the co-main event of December’s UFC 231, which is why this comes as a bit of a surprise. As of now, it’s unclear why Jedrzejczyk isn’t involved, but it’s assumed that she wouldn’t be ready in time.
Eubanks, who tweeted that she has signed the deal, was originally slated to compete for the title against Nicco Montano after winning the season of TUF where the belt was introduced. However, she had to pull out of the fight due to kidney failure trying to make weight. She made her official UFC debut earlier this year with a decision win over Lauren Murphy.
The 33-year-old has just five career fights and sports a 3-2 record, while the 30-year-old Shevchenko is a decorated fighter in several disciplines and has already competed for a UFC title once. She will be a big favorite coming into the fight.
The UFC appeared to have made efforts on a variety of main events for the MSG show, but nothing came to fruition. Their latest attempt was an Alexander Gustafsson vs. Yoel Romero bout for either the currently non-vacant UFC light heavyweight title or an interim version. That eventually turned into a Gustafsson-Jon Jones rematch for late-December that has yet to be announced.
As it currently stands, the title fight will headline above a co-main of Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz, Jacare Souza vs. David Branch, Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman II, Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya, and more.
As has been rumored and discussed for several months, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway vs. top challenger Brian Ortega has been signed for December’s UFC 231 in Toronto, Canada.
The fight initially was supposed to happen at July’s UFC 226, but Holloway had to medically pull out of the fight in the days leading up to the event after showing concussion-like symptoms. There was some concerns that it was tied to weight cutting, raising issues about Holloway’s health and future in the sport.
Holloway is on a 12-fight win streak and has one successful defense of the title he won a piece of in 2016 in an interim title victory over Anthony Pettis. He is coming off back-to-back victories over Jose Aldo.
Ortega is undefeated and has finished all of his seven UFC opponents since he debuted for the promotion in 2014. He was last seen knocking out Frankie Edgar in the first round in March.
As of now, UFC 231 will feature a co-main event of Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant UFC women’s strawweight title, Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos, and Eryk Anders vs. Elias Theodorou.
On Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN Monday, Conor McGregor predicted a “devastating” knockout of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov when they fight this Saturday at UFC 229.
McGregor hasn’t done a lot of media prior to his UFC return, but spoke to Helwani for nearly half an hour about his road back to the Octagon and what could come next, win or lose.
Among the topics discussed:
Helwani asked whether the payday he’s getting for his return is anywhere near what he earned for fighting Floyd Mayweather. He was non-commital, but was very happy with how he’s going to do for the fight. Speaking of Mayweather, McGregor re-iterated that he wants to rematch Mayeather in boxing, not MMA.
Helwani asked about the potential for a Georges St-Pierre fight, but McGregor didn’t seem interested at this time, saying that GSP didn’t have anything against him personally.
McGregor followed that up with showing interest for a fight with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The most telling line: “I’m going to do fights that interest me or have meaning.”
McGregor said that a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz will no doubt happen and that he will “always give that man his rematch”, citing that Diaz gave him a rematch.
In a deal that was reported as probable dating back several months ago, UFC and Eleven Sports announced their new United Kingdom and Ireland broadcast deal which starts in January.
Eleven Sports will broadcast all 42 UFC events in 2019 as well as more than 150 hours annually of UFC original and archived programming as part of a multi-year deal.
Eleven Sports is a streaming platform priced at 5.99 pounds per month or 59.99 pounds per year.
What is different from the announcement and what had been talked about with this deal months ago is there was no mention of a PPV television component directly.
Eleven Sports will air all Fight Night events live, and will also have the option to have partnerships with other broadcast platforms for some of the shows. That line may be in reference to a television PPV component to some of the major fights, but it was not directly spelled out.
The Fight Nights will also be available on demand after the event.
UFC’s broadcast partner in the U.K. had previously been BT Sports, a television paid sports channel. It is expected that BT Sports will attempt to make a deal with another MMA promotion.
“UFC has become a massive brand which has built a hugely dedicated and engaged following over 25 years, making it a perfect fit for our fan centric strategy,” said Danny Menken, the Group Managing Director at Eleven Sports. “We are a big supporter of combat sports across our global markets and the fresh and innovative approach that we have taken with our properties has been very successful. We are looking forward to creating the same added value for the legions of MMA fans in the U.K. and Ireland.”
“We have worked very successfully with Eleven Sports in Belgium and Luxembourg and we are looking forward to extending our partnership here in the U.K. and Ireland,” said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content. “The U.K. and Ireland are among UFC’s strongest markets globally and with Eleven Sports making a significant impact here, it made perfect sense to partner with them to showcase our thrilling product to our loyal and passionate fans.”
According to a Thursday report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the UFC is looking to sign Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II for Saturday, December 29th at UFC 232 in Las Vegas.
Okamoto corresponded with Dana White via text and the UFC president said the fight is far from a done deal, but they want it to close out 2018. If signed, it would headline a show that already features women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino vs. women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in a champion vs. champion fight.
The two first clashed in September 2013 when then-light heavyweight champion Jones defeated Gustafsson via unanimous decision in one of the best fights in company history.
What is interesting is how this fight ties in with the Madison Square Garden November 3rd show which still doesn’t have a main event. Here’s the breakdown via ESPN’s Ariel Helwani:
– UFC wanted Gustafsson vs. Yoel Romero to fight for the light heavyweight title currently held by Daniel Cormier. They would have had to strip Cormier of that title, but the idea was to sign Cormier-Jones III for the year end show instead, except for Cormier’s heavyweight title. This would help avoid an interim title being created.
– However, both Jones and Cormier wanted the fight at light heavyweight instead and the date didn’t work for Cormier anyway.
– From there, they moved to Jones-Gustafsson as the plan for the year end show and the Romero fight idea was dropped.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 137: Santos vs. Anders, emanating from Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Octagon heads back to Sao Paulo with a 14-fight card featuring a main event that has undergone a slew of changes in recent weeks.
Long-time middleweight fighters Thiago Santos and Eryk Anders meet in the headline bout, but as a light heavyweight bout, as both men stepped in on short notice for this event. Santos replaced Glover Teixeira while Anders replaced Jimi Manuwa, taking the fight on just six days’ notice. Both men are looking to score their second straight win.
Also on the card is a light heavyweight battle between Sam Alvey and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, while former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao looks to end his losing skid as he takes on UFC newcomer Andre Ewell. On the preliminary card are two long-time UFC veterans, lightweight Evan Dunham and middleweight Thales Leites, who both have said they will be retiring after their fights on this card.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT
> Livia Renata Souza (11-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Alex Chambers (5-4, 1-3 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Souza lands an overhand right that hurts Chambers. Souza follows with a leg kick and then another overhand right. Chambers in trouble early. Souza with a combo then gets a single-leg takedown. Souza gets full mount and lands some punches. Souza has a guillotine from mount locked in and it is in tight. Chambers taps! Souza gets the quick win in impressive fashion.
Official Result- Livia Renata Souza def. Alex Chambers by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:21 of Round 1
> Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (19-5, 5-1 UFC) vs. Luigi Vendramini (7-0, 0-0 UFC) Welterweights
Zaleski with a body kick but Vendramini takes him down. Zaleski then gets a tight modified guillotine choke in. A Peruvian Necktie it is. Vendramini fighting out of it but still in deep. He escapes and then gets the back of Zaleski. Vendramini climbing on the back standing. Vendramini looking for a rear-naked choke and they go to the mat. Zaleski fighting it off. Vendramini still looking to lock it in. Vendramini just gouged the eyes of Zaleski. Zaleski gets out and they break. Zaleski with some kicks. Zaleski lands some punches. They trade kicks. 10-9 Vendramini.
Zaleski looking to land something big. Vendramini throwing punches but is missing them. Zaleski lands a left hand. Zaleski then lands a flying knee that rocks Vendramini and then follows it up with a right hand that finishes Vendramini off. Big win for Zaleski in another crazy finish by him.
Official Result- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Luigi Vendramini by knockout (flying knee, punches) at 1:20 of Round 2
Leites misses a head kick to start off. Leites with a high kick. He lands another. Lombard with a leg kick. Leites with a high kick. Lombard with a leg kick. Leites lands a right hand. Lombard with a leg kick and Leites counters with a body kick. Both looking for counters and not going on heavy attacks. Lombard with an inside leg kick. Lombard with a heavy leg kick. Leites is limping as he keeps getting his front leg kicked. Leites not switching his stance. Lombard with more leg kicks. 10-9 Lombard.
Lombard with more inside leg kicks. Leites lands a right hand. Lombard with another leg kick but trips and goes to the ground and Leites tries to take control but they spring to their feet. Leites starting to land right hands. Lombard finds himself pressed against the fence. Leites landing combos but Lombard still attacking the knee. They clinch and Leites pulls an arm down looking for an armbar but lets Lombard get in his guard but they stand. Leites with a knee in the clinch. Lombard cut over his eye. Leites with a right hand. 10-9 Leites, 19-19.
Lombard back with some more leg kicks. They clinch. Lombard with some body punches. Leites with some knees to the body before they break. Leites with a body kick. They trade punches. They trade again. Leites with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Lombard has slowed tremendously. Leites lands a right hand. Leites with the jab followed by a right hand. Lombard affected by the cut. Leites with a high kick. Lombard not busy at all. He’s thrown the fight away after winning the first round. Lombard gets the body lock. Leites gets a late takedown and that should seal it. 10-9 Leites, 29-28 Leites.
Official Result- Thales Leites def. Hector Lombard by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Robertson goes for a quick takedown but it is defended by Silva. Silva lands an elbow. She wobbled Robertson. Robertson gets a takedown and looks to get to mount but settles for half-guard. Robertson with some hammerfists from the top and steps to side control. They get to their feet and Silva lands a right elbow. Silva with a spin kick to the body and then lands some right hands. Robertson gets a takedown but Silva able to step over on top. Robertson grabs a leg and looks for a leg lock. Robertson gets in the guard of Silva. Robertson with some punches but Silva grabs the arm and locks in an armbar and gets Robertson to tap with seconds left in the first round. Wow, that came out of nowhere.
Official Result- Mayra Bueno Silva def. Gillian Robertson by submission (armbar) at 4:55 of Round 1
> Sergio Moraes (13-3-1, 7-2-1 UFC) vs. Ben Saunders (22-9-2, 9-6 UFC) Welterweights
They spend the first minute feeling each other out before swinging at the minute mark. Moraes gets a takedown and Saunders has rubber guard. Moraes in the half-guard. Saunders landing short punches from the bottom. Moraes keeps working from the top and moves to full mount. He kept advancing and hasn’t been stalling despite Saunders landing more from the bottom. Moraes looking for an armbar but Saunders fights it off to the horn. 10-9 Moraes.
Moraes gets another takedown to start the second round. Moraes trying to pass back to the mount as Saunders has rubber guard. Moraes trying to pull away from the fence and Moraes gets back to half-guard. Moraes gets the mount. Both men are landing soft punches on the ground as Moraes is trying to set up a submission. Moraes working for an arm-triangle and he steps over and has it locked in. Saunders fighting it but eventually taps. Moraes with a ground clinic as he gets the submission.
Official Result- Sergio Moraes def. Ben Saunders by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:42 of Round 2
FOX SPORTS 2 PRELIMS | 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT
> Augusto Sakai (11-1-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Chase Sherman (11-5, 2-4 UFC) Heavyweights
Sherman with a body kick. Sakai fires back with a leg kick and lands another. They trade leg kicks. Sherman with a right hand. They trade leg kicks and Sakai lands an overhand right. Sherman with a left hand to the body. They trade punches. Sakai lands a combo. Sherman lands a combo ending with a body kick. Sakai lands a right hand and they trade in close range. Sherman lands a lead left hand and a body kick. They trade punches. Sherman lands a big left hand and Sherman with a big elbow at the end. 10-9 Sherman.
We have a quick timeout due to an eye poke in the second. Back to action and Sherman lands a stiff jab. Sherman lands a combo and a knee to the body. Sakai lands an overhand right. They trade kicks. They trade punches and Sherman lands an uppercut that gets through. They trade inside the pocket. Sakai lands a combo and they clinch and Sakai lands some uppercuts. They are pressed against the fence. They break. They trade big punches. Sakai lands a knee in a brief clinch. Sherman with a combo ending with a leg kick. They trade punches. Both are hitting each other with some solid power. Sakai with an overhand right. 10-9 Sakai, 19-19.
Sakai with a couple of body kicks. Sakai with a combo. They trade inside the pocket. Sherman with some body kicks. Sakai lands some hard punches and Sherman is eating them well. Sakai landing some big shots as Sherman has his back to the fence. They clinch and both are tired. They trade knees. Sakai hurts Sherman with a big knee to the body. Sakai with some big knees to the head. Sherman stays standing. Sakai with more knees and is looking to finish. Sherman somehow survived but then went crashing to the mat. Sakai in side control and landing big elbows. Sherman is exhausted. Sakai landing punches and the fight is stopped. Big win for Sakai as he finishes the tough Sherman.
Official Result- Augusto Sakai def. Chase Sherman by TKO (strikes) at 4:03 of Round 3
> Luis Henrique (10-4 1 NC, 2-3 UFC) vs. Ryan Spann (14-5, 0-0 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Henrique with a leg kick but eats a counter right hand from Spann. Spann with the jab. Henrique already bleeding from the nose. Henrique tries for a takedown but Spann grabs the neck and Henrique lets go. Spann with the jab. Spann with an overhand right and Henrique finds an opening for a takedown. They get to their feet and Henrique goes back for another takedown. Spann grabs the neck and commits for the guillotine. He had it for a moment but Henrique spins out and they scramble to their feet. Henrique lands a right hand. Henrique with a late takedown. 10-9 Henrique.
They clinch to start the second. They trade in the clinch. Henrique tries a trip takedown and gets it but Spann reverses to the top in the half-guard. They scramble to their feet. Henrique grabs a leg and trips Spann to the ground and gets on top. Henrique landing punches from the top as Spann is unable to get up from the bottom. Spann is able to reverse and gets on top and works to side control. He is looking to set up a D’arce choke but uses it to get into mount. Spann with some big punches and elbows from the top to end the round. 10-9 Spann, 20-18 Spann.
Henrique gets a takedown early in the third round. Henrique looking to set something up but Spann is able to sweep to the top and has side control. Spann landing from the top and he moves to the half-guard. Spann doing enough to keep it from being stood up. Henrique doing nothing from the bottom. Spann rides out the round on the top landing a couple of knees. They get to their feet late. Slow and boring final round. 10-9 Spann, 29-28 Spann.
Official Result- Ryan Spann def. Luis Henrique by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Francisco Trinaldo (22-6, 12-5 UFC) vs. Evan Dunham (18-7-1, 11-7-1 UFC) Lightweights
Dunham lands a left hand. Dunham with a body kick that Trinaldo catches and he lands a counter punch. They trade left hands. Dunham shoots for a takedown but it is defended by Trinaldo. They trade left hands and Trinaldo with a spin kick that is partially blocked. Dunham with a leg kick. Trinaldo with an overhand left. Trinaldo tries a kick but Dunham grabs the leg and throws him to the mat following a left hand. They scramble and Dunham has the neck but Trinaldo escapes into the half-guard. Trinaldo with an elbow as Dunham sprawls out. Trinaldo with a huge head kick that Dunham eats. 10-9 Trinaldo.
Dunham tries a head kick but Trinaldo knocks him off balance with a left hand. They trade punches and Trinaldo lands cleaner. Trinaldo grabs the neck and they go to the mat and Trinaldo trying to set up a choke. Trinaldo lets go and they get to their feet and trade punches. Dunham lands a left hand. They trade left hands. Trinaldo misses a big left hand. Dunham with some kicks. Trinaldo then with a big knee to the body drops Dunham and this fight is stopped as Dunham is in absolute pain. Wow. Big finish by Trinaldo.
Official Result- Francisco Trinaldo def. Evan Dunham by knockout (knee) at 4:10 of Round 2
> Charles Oliveira (23-8 1 NC, 11-8 1 NC UFC) vs. Christos Giagos (15-6, 1-2 UFC) Lightweights
Oliveira with a leg kick. Giagos with a body punch. Oliviera just misses a flying knee but lands a leg kick. Giagos lands a right hand. Oliveira with a spinning back kick. They clinch for a moment but neither land much before they break. Oliveira with a leg kick. Oliveira with a jump knee to the body but eats a straight right hand. Oliveira ducks under a right hand and gets a takedown. Oliveira with full mount but Giagos able to reverse it and gets to his feet. Oliviera stands. Oliveira with a jumping kick. They trade and Giagos landed a nice right hand. 10-9 Oliveira.
Oliveira with two spinning back fists. Oliveira with another jumping kick and they clinch. They continue to trade with Oliveira getting the better of it. Oliveira misses a spin kick but changes levels and gets a takedown. Oliveira takes the back and is working for a choke. Oliveira has the body triangle and has a rear-naked choke locked in and gets the submission. With the submission, Oliveira has now set the UFC record for most wins by submission with 11, breaking the record he held with Royce Gracie. Impressive.
Official Result- Charles Oliveira def. Christos Giagos by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:22 of Round 2
Markos trying to come out quick with punches. They trade right hands and then clinch. Markos grabs the head and gets a takedown and Rodriguez is trying to escape. Markos in dominant position as she moves to mount. Markos with some big right hands from the top. Markos with more big punches from the top as she moves to half-guard. Markos gets back to full mount but goes back to half-guard. She moves to side control. Markos with some knees to the body. Markos with punches and elbows from the top. Rodriguez had nothing for Markos on the mat. 10-8 Markos.
Rodriguez with a leg kick. They trade punches and clinch and Markos with some dirty boxing. Rodriguez lands a couple of kicks. Markos with some uppercuts from a brief clinch. Rodriguez with some low kicks. Markos lands a right hand. They trade punches and Rodriguez with a leg kick. Markos lands some punches and they clinch but break. Markos lands a left hand and gets underhooks but lets go. Markos lands a left hand. They trade in close range. Rodriguez lands some punches and they trade elbows late. Markos misses a spinning back fist. Close round. 10-9 Rodriguez, 19-18 Markos.
Markos lands some punches and gets a clinch. Markos tries a sloppy throw and is on top for a moment but they stand up and Rodriguez lands a forearm. Markos with some dirty boxing as they remain clinched. They break. Rodriguez with a right hand and they clinch. Markos with the double jab and gets a takedown. She is in the guard. Markos landing from the top. Rodriguez able to roll out from under and they get to their feet. Rodriguez lands some kicks. Markos with some dirty boxing. Rodriguez with some leg kicks. Rodriguez mixing her kicks up. Close fight. 10-9 Rodriguez, 28-28 DRAW.
Official Result- Randa Markos vs. Marina Rodriguez ends in a majority draw (29-28 Markos, 28-28, 28-28)
> Renan Barao (34-6 1 NC, 9-5 UFC) vs. Andre Ewell (13-4, 0-0 UFC) Bantamweights* (Barao missed weight by 5.75 pounds- 141.75)
Barao missed weight badly for this one. They trade in the pocket. Barao with a body kick and he chases Ewell around the Octagon but Ewell drops Barao with a left hand. Barao recovers and gets to his feet and looks for a takedown. They go to the mat with Ewell on top but they get back to their feet. Barao gets a takedown and is in side control. Barao with some punches and a knee from the half-guard. Barao with some more knees to the body. Barao with a huge barrage of punches. Barao steps over into mount and lands some punches and then goes for an armbar but Ewell fighting it off. Barao sweeps and still has the arm but Ewell escapes. They get up but Barao with another takedown. 10-9 Barao.
Barao with some kicks to start the second. The pace has slowed to start the round. They trade some punches but neither doing much. Ewell rocks Barao with a left hand. Ewell lands another good combination after eating a right hand from Barao. Barao with a leg kick. Ewell with a body punch. He is landing lots more than Barao. Ewell with another one-two combo. Barao shoots for a takedown but Ewell defends it. Barao has the body lock and gets an outside trip to the mat. Barao ends the round on top but didn’t do a lot. 10-9 Ewell, 19-19.
Ewell with some leg kicks. He lands a combo. Barao needs to do something on the feet as he has given away the fight standing. Ewell lands a left hand. Ewell still landing. Barao doing nothing and missing when he actually does something. Ewell with a knee to the body. Barao with a leg kick. Ewell with a hard jab. Ewell lands a right hand. Barao with a right hand. Ewell lands a straight left hand and then two more and Barao is hurt. Ewell lands more left hands. Both breathing heavy. Barao with a spin kick and both have a late flurry. 10-9 Ewell, 29-28 Ewell.
Official Result- Andre Ewell def. Renan Barao by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Sam Alvey (33-10 1 NC, 10-5 UFC) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (22-8, 5-5 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Alvey with an inside leg kick. Alvey with a left hand. Alvey lands another left hand. Nogueira moving forward but being passive. Alvey with a low kick and leads with the jab. Nogueira lands an overhand left. Nogueira with another left hand. Alvey keeping his back to the fence. Nogueira pokes Alvey in the eye and we have a brief timeout. They trade soft leg kicks. Both being very cautious. They trade in close range. Alvey lands a left hand that rocks Nogueira. Alvey lands another left hand. Nogueira lands a late left hand. 10-9 Alvey.
Nogueira lands a left hand and clips Alvey a couple of times. Alvey is backing away as Nogueira lands punches. Nogueira opening up and he drops Alvey and the fight is stopped. Alvey protested the stoppage as he was trying a takedown as the fight was stopped but he had trouble standing. Vintage knockout by Nogueira as he gets his first win in a long time.
Official Result- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Sam Alvey by knockout (punches) at 1:00 of Round 2
> Alex Oliveira (#14, 19-4-1 2 NC, 8-3 1 NC UFC) vs. Carlo Pedersoli (11-1, 1-0 UFC) Welterweights
Oliveira coming out with high kicks. Pedersoli lands a kick and gets dropped from a right hand by Oliveira. Pedersoli is hurt. Oliveira with some ground and pound and is landing big punches and the referee stops the fight. Impressive stoppage by Oliveira in less than a minute.
Official Result- Alex Oliveira def. Carlo Pedersoli by knockout (punches) at :39 of Round 1
> Thiago Santos (#12 MW, 18-6, 10-5 UFC) vs. Eryk Anders (11-1, 3-1 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Santos with a low kick and Anders counters to a takedown. They scramble up to their feet, then back to the mat and then back to the feet. Anders has Santos pinned against the fence. Anders grabs a leg and pulls Santos to the mat for a second but they get up. Anders with a knee. They break and Anders with a left hand. Santos with a body kick and then a high kick. Santos with a left hand. They clinch and trade knees. Anders lands a left hand as they break. Santos lands two left hands. Santos with a low kick. Close round. 10-9 Anders.
Santos with a body kick. They trade big punches and Anders shoots for a takedown but Santos defending against the fence. Santos gets in the guard of Anders and lands some big punches. Santos with more big punches as Anders can’t get off of his back. Santos in the half-guard but Anders gets to his feet. Santos lands a knee as Anders gets up. Santos with some big punches that hurt Anders. Anders is firing back. Santos with a body kick. Santos with another one after they exchange punches. Santos with a leg kick. Anders with a left hand. Santos with a body kick and he is unloading punches and Anders is able to get away. Santos with a big elbow and then an eye poke. Back to action and Santos with a high kick. Anders gets a late takedown and lands a big knee. 10-9 Santos, 19-19.
Santos with a leg kick. Santos with some more leg kicks. Anders lands a left hand that stuns Santos and then scores a takedown. Santos gets the back and has the hooks in. Anders with an elbow and he is looking for a choke but didn’t have it in. Santos spins and they scramble to the feet. Santos with a knee followed by a left hand and a high kick. Santos with a spinning elbow. Santos with some big punches but Anders counters with a big left hand. They are swinging. Anders gets a takedown and is in half-guard. They get up and Anders gets a takedown but Santos lands elbows. They get up and Santos lands knees. Anders working for a takedown but Santos landing elbows and punches. Anders in trouble but survives the round. 10-9 Santos, 29-28 Santos.
Anders was having trouble getting up after the third round. He got up, was walking funny and fell to the mat. He got up again and then fell right back down and the fight was waved off. Santos gets the win. Huge credit to Anders, who took the fight on Sunday and had no training camp for the fight.
Official Result- Thiago Santos def. Eryk Anders by TKO (referee stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 3
Nearly a year after the title was officially created, the UFC will have their second-ever women’s flyweight title fight.
On Thursday night, the promotion announced that the vacant title will be decided between former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and former women’s bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 231 in Toronto, Canada, on Saturday, December 8th.
It’s unknown whether the fight will be the main event or co-main event as the previously canceled featherweight title fight between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega has been rumored to be the headliner.
Shevchenko was scheduled to face then-champion Nicco Montano earlier this month at UFC 228, but Montano fell ill during her weight cut and couldn’t compete. Plagued by injuries and other setbacks, Montano was stripped of the title she won by defeating Roxanne Modaferri in the TUF finals to crown the first-ever champion in December 2017 without ever actually defending it.
The 31-year-old Jedrzejczyk has yet to compete at flyweight in the UFC having spent nearly all of her Octagon tenure as either strawweight champion or competing for the title. She last fought at 115 pounds for another organization in 2014, and is coming off a July decision win over Tecia Torres.
The 30-year-old Shevchenko made her promotional debut at flyweight with a dominant performance over Priscilla Cachoeira in February. That followed a close split decision loss to bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in September 2017, her only UFC title fight to date. Before the Cachoeira fight, her last flyweight tilt was in 2006 for another promotion. She did make weight for the canceled Montano fight.
The two have fought in the past, albeit in muay thai fights nearly a decade ago.
UPDATE: After initially telling ESPN that Conor McGregor signed an eight-fight contract, Dana White noted that it’s a six-fight deal.
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Conor McGregor is staying put with the UFC for a while longer, at least contractually.
Reported by ESPN’s Darren Rovell Thursday night, the former UFC lightweight champion has re-upped with a new six-fight contract for the promotion. Financial terms were not disclosed, but “White said the deal could make McGregor the most money in the sport, especially given his pay-per-view appeal”.
Given the current crop of fighters, that would seem to be an inevitability.
Rovell said the deal also includes sponsorship for McGregor’s whiskey company anytime he fights. It is also unclear whether the deal includes boxing matches should he decide to return to that sport in the future.
The 30-year-old has become one of the most popular fighters in the world since his UFC debut in April 2013. In the five plus years since his promotional debut, he has gone 9-1 in the UFC, won titles at both featherweight and lightweight, set several UFC PPV records, and made his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in a high-profile financial windfall for all involved.
Promotion for arguably the most anticipated UFC fight of the year kicks off Thursday at 5 PM Eastern as UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will go face to face in New York City at a press conference.
The two will face off in the main event of UFC 229 on Saturday, October 6th in Las Vegas. This will be Nurmagomedov’s first fight since winning the then-interim title in a dominant decision over Al Iaquinta in April while McGregor hasn’t had a UFC fight since he beat Eddie Alvarez for the strap in November 2016.
Much of the video promotion for the fight has stemmed from McGregor throwing a bus dolly through a window that Nurmagomedov was sitting on during the UFC 223 media day in April. McGregor later worked out a plea deal with New York State for the attack which injured several fighters.
In the co-main event, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will face former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Ferguson was scheduled to face Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 but had to withdraw due to a freak knee injury. It’s expected that if either McGregor or Nurmagomedov has to bow out of the fight, Ferguson would tabbed to replace them.
UFC president Dana White appeared on ESPN Morning show ‘Get Up’ Thursday and reiterated that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is likely to return to action in early-2019.
This would dispell the notion that Jones will headline the promotion’s early-November event at Madison Square Garden that still doesn’t have a main event.
On Wednesday, Jones was given a 15-month suspension from his July 2017 failed USADA test prior to UFC 214, retroactive to the failed test date. That would clear him to return to action as early as October 28.
White, in town for Thursday’s Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov press conference, said, “He’s been off for a while. I think he’s a little heavy right now and he needs to start cutting weight and getting back into shape. We should see him early next year.”
White added that USADA reduced the suspension because their third party investigator believed tainted supplements were involved.
Jones put up a thank you post on Instagram Wednesday night, closing with “But now is the time to shift the focus front and center to the road ahead. Greatness is what I’m chasing and the path to reclaiming my throne is now officially open. Comeback Season begins now.”
Two fighters not amused by this situation are current heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and now former UFC light heavyweight Tom Lawlor. On UFC Tonight, Cormier didn’t go too deep into the ruling, saying he’s moved past it. However, his frustration with USADA can be heard in this video clip:
One of the greatest — and most beleaguered — MMA fighters of all-time finally knows when he is cleared to compete again.
On Wednesday night, USADA announced that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has received a 15-month suspension following a ruling by an independent arbitrator, Richard McLaren of McLaren Global Sport Solutions.
The suspension is retroactive to when Jones tested positive for Turinabol on July 28, 2017, clearing him to return as early as October 28 of this year.
Perhaps a coincidence, but the UFC’s third trip to New York City’s Madison Square Garden is set for Saturday, November 3rd, and is still lacking a main event. For what it’s worth, UFC president Dana White said he looks forward to having Jones return in early 2019.
The 31-year-old was suspended by USADA after that July 2017 in-competition test, taken just a day before Jones defeated Daniel Cormier in a rematch at UFC 214. It was Jones’ second offense with USADA after a July 2016 positive test, coincidentially with an in-competition test prior to a scheduled rematch with Cormier.
In their statement, USADA reduced the potential four year suspension for a second offense by 30 months, citing “substantial assistance” on Jones’ part. The arbitrator then came to their ruling, citing a “reduced degree of fault” and the circumstances of the case which included multiple negative tests leading up to UFC 214.
“The independent arbitrator found that Jon Jones was not intentionally cheating in this case, and while we thought 18-months was the appropriate sanction given the other circumstances of the case, we respect the arbitrator’s decision and believe that justice was served,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “This case is another strong reminder that athletes need to be extremely cautious about the products and supplements they use to ensure they are free of prohibited substances.”
UPDATE: Jones posted on Instagram about today’s announcement: “It’s difficult to express myself at this moment but I can definitely say my heart is filled with gratitude and appreciation. I want to thank all of you who have stood by me during the toughest stretch of my life. It has meant the world to me and always will. But now is the time to shift the focus front and center to the road ahead. Greatness is what I’m chasing and the path to reclaiming my throne is now officially open. Comeback Season begins now”
According to MMA Junkie, the main event for this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has changed…again.
Thiago Santos will now face Eryk Anders (seen above) in a light heavyweight bout instead of Jimi Manuwa who had to withdraw from the fight due to undiclosed reasons as of this writing. The show is scheduled for FS1.
Anders, a former college football player at Alabama, traditionally fights at middleweight and is coming off a recent third round KO win over Tim Williams. Santos also traditionally fights at middleweight and was an injury sub for Glover Teixeira who was originally slated to face Manuwa.
UFC hasn’t officially made the announcement of this writing, but the news was also confirmed by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
Santos has won five of his last six with four finishes by TKO. He competed in early August and picked up a decision win over Kevin Holland. Anders is 3-1 in his brief UFC career with his lone loss coming in a tight decision loss to Lyoto Machida.
MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn noted this is the 23rd change to a main event and/or co-main event in 2018.
