In what felt like an inevitability following an attack on a fighter bus prior to UFC 223, UFC fighter Michael Chiesa filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Conor McGregor for the events on April 5th.
Among those named in the lawsuit that claims negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery include McGregor, McGregor’s promotional company, his teammates there that day, the Barclays Center arena, and more. The suit was filed in New York State Supreme Court.
The UFC was not one of those named in the suit, the first one following the incident.
There was no financial amount listed in the suit, but Chiesa’s attorney said in the suit that Chiesa “demands judgment that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts.”
At the core of the suit is Chiesa’s belief that he would have received the opportunity given to Al Iaquinta against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 for the then interim UFC lightweight title after Tony Ferguson had to drop out due to injury.
McGregor and his teammates attacked the bus that held several UFC fighters that participated in the UFC 223 media dea with McGregor throwing a metal dolly through a window that injured several fighters including Chiesa. His fight with Anthony Pettis scheduled for that show was postponed to a later date.
McGregor and teammate Cian Cowley negotiated a plea deal with New York State for no jail time, community service, and pleading guilty to non felonies instead. McGregor is scheduled to face Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title in Las Vegas in just a few weeks.
CM Punk spoke for the first time publicly after his second UFC loss, discussing his MMA future, Colby Covington, and why he wasn’t part of All In on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN Monday.
Coincidentally, Monday marked the two year anniversary of his MMA debut, a quick loss to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September 2016.
On the show to promote his ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ show on Netflix, Punk said that he’s been involved with a lot of projects and is the middle of a 20-day shoot for his first leading role in a movie, ‘Girl On The Third Floor’.
He said that when the movie is done filming, he plans on talking with his trainer Duke Roufus about what’s next and resuming training. When asked about whether he would definitely fight again, Punk hesitated and said, “I think so” and that he wasn’t ruling it out, leaving the door open if an opportunity arises.
He said that he has not spoken with Dana White since his loss to Mike Jackson at June’s UFC 225, but that he has spoken with UFC personnel about traveling to Las Vegas to use the company’s Performance Institute. When asked whether it was “UFC or bust”, he said not necessarily and acknowledged there are other places he could fight. However, he said “the world is his oyster” and alluded to the fact that because of his position, he has options.
“It probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to fight in the UFC again, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Helwani asked him about All In and he said that an offer was never made for him to be on the show. “They said ‘Hey, if you want to come, you should come’ and I was like, ‘Ok.”. He said it was extremely vague and that they never came back to him after that, adding that he couldn’t have done it anyway because it was a shoot day for the movie. Helwani asked him if he’s been contacted by other international groups about wrestling and he said he hasn’t.
“There’s nothing that interests me in wrestling,” he said.
Watch Punk’s entire appearance on the show below including his thoughts on why he’s not a fan of Covington’s act, nor President Trump.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till, emanating from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The Octagon returns to Dallas with a 13-fight card featuring UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley defending against Darren Till in the main event.
Woodley returns to action for the first time since July 2017, making his fourth title defends against the undefeated Till. Till has had a quick rise up the welterweight rankings, earning a title shot following back-to-back wins over former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone.
The card lost the co-main event on Friday after Nicco Montano was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship title defense against Valentina Shevchenko after being hospitalized due to health concerns. Montano suffered from the effects of a tough weight cut, and has since been stripped of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Also on the main card, Zabit Magomedshapirov looks to extend his 11-fight win streak against late replacement Brandon Davis, women’s strawweight contenders Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz battle for a potential title shot, Jimmie Rivera takes on John Dodson in a bantamweight bout and welterweight sluggers Abdul Razak Alhassan and Niko Price meet in an explosive contest.
Among the fights on the preliminary card, former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza takes on TUF winner Tatiana Suarez, and a bantamweight battle sees Aljamain Sterling take on Cody Stamann. Also among those fight on the prelims include original TUF winner Diego Sanchez and 30-fight UFC veteran Jim Miller.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:15 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
They trade and Brooks lands a right hand. Sanchez lands against the fence and goes for a takedown. They scramble and Brooks grabs the back. Sanchez gets on top and looking for a choke. Brooks is looking for a heel hook and he has a good hold of Sanchez. Sanchez with some hammerfists and elbows from the top. Sanchez with some hard hammerfists from the top. They get to their feet and Sanchez looking for another takedown. They trade punches in the tie-up. 10-9 Sanchez.
Brooks lands a right hand and they exchange close before Brooks rushes out. Sanchez grabs a single leg as he shoots in for a takedown against the cage. Brooks gets the back and lands a couple of knees. Sanchez pulls guard and Brooks lands from the top. Sanchez spins to get his feet against the cage looking to explode from the bottom. Neither man able to do much on the ground as they look to improve position. Sanchez with a late armbar attempt but Brooks escapes. 10-9 Brooks, 19-19.
Brooks with a spinning back fist. Sanchez then tries one but Brooks landed his better. Brooks with an uppercut and grabs the body lock against the fence. They scramble to the floor and Brooks in side control and lands an elbow. Sanchez trying to get out from the bottom but eats some punches from Brooks.They scramble to their feet and Brooks lands a knee. They go to the ground again and Brooks in the guard. Brooks with some big ground and pound on the top at the end to likely seal the round, and fight, for himself. 10-9 Brooks, 29-28 Brooks.
Official Result- Jarred Brooks def. Roberto Sanchez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
They trade jabs early. Aldana with a leg kick but eats a counter jab from Pudilova. Aldana with a leg kick. They go back to jab trading. Pudilova lands a right hand. They trade punches. Aldana lands a hard right hand and then a leg kick. Aldana with another leg kick but eats a combo from Pudilova. Aldana lands a jab. They trade and Pudilova lands a kick. Pudilova lands a couple of kicks and they then trade leg kicks. Pudilova with a flurry late and Aldana is in trouble but saved. 10-9 Pudilova.
They trade early and Pudilova remains aggressive. Pudilova is throwing a lot of volume but Aldana is landing slightly more of her strikes. Pudilova with a high kick. Aldana lands a hard right hand. They trade and Aldana stumbles. Pudilova rushes with Aldana against the fence. Pudilova with some more kick attempts. Aldana with a leg kick. Aldana witha big body kick. Aldana with a cracking jab and tries a takedown. They trade late. 10-9 Aldana, 19-19.
Pudilova lands a combo early. Aldana with some leg kicks and Pudilova with a high kick before Aldana circles away. Pudilova with some body kicks. Aldana lands a hard right hand. They trade. Aldana lands a good combo. She’s taking over the fight. Pudilova is throwing but not landing and Aldana is landing. Pudilova bleeding pretty good right now. They trade and Aldana lands better. Pudilova lands a nice left hand. Aldana with a front kick. Pudilova with a flurry. Aldana lands a knee in the clinch. They trade against the fence. Pudilova with a hard right hand late. Fun fight, close one. 10-9 Aldana, 29-28 Aldana.
Official Result- Irene Aldana def. Lucie Pudilova by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Jim Miller (28-12 1 NC, 17-11 1 NC UFC) vs. Alex White (12-4, 3-4 UFC) Lightweights
They trade and Miller with a leg kick. Miller with another leg kick. Miller lands a straight left hand and then another. Miller lands and White goes stumbling down and Miller gets on top and is landing lots of punches. He’s close to finishing it but grabs the back and gets a rear-naked choke and White taps! Miller with a huge win in his 30th UFC fight.
Official Result- Jim Miller def. Alex White by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:29 of Round 1
> Diego Sanchez (27-11, 16-11 UFC) vs. Craig White (14-8, 0-1 UFC) Welterweights
Sanchez runs right forward looking to land and goes for a takedown. Sanchez with a big slam. White going for a triangle. White with an upkick. Sanchez remains on top and is landing. Sanchez with more elbows from the top. Sanchez with big right hands from the top but White eating them well. Sanchez in side control looking for an arm. Sanchez postures up and lands more punches. More lands as the round ends. 10-8 Sanchez.
Sanchez again comes forward. He eats a knee from White but turns that into another takedown. White lands another upkick. Sanchez with more control from the top and he is landing punches. White has no ground defense and can’t get out from the bottom. Sanchez with more punches from the top. Sanchez in solid control in side control. He ends the round on top. 10-9 Sanchez, 20-17 Sanchez.
Sanchez fires some lefts but White with a body kick and then drops Sanchez with a hard punch. Sanchez recovers and gets White down and Sanchez is in his guard. White almost landed another upkick. Sanchez with an elbow. Sanchez with more punches from the top and White is trying to scramble out from the bottom but can’t do much. White trying to use the fence to help get from the bottom but Sanchez recognizes it. Sanchez back in the full guard and lands some elbows. White with more upkick attempts but Sanchez avoids them. Sanchez should cruise to the win here. 10-9 Sanchez, 30-26 Sanchez.
Official Result- Diego Sanchez def. Craig White by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
FX PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Charles Byrd (10-4, 1-0 UFC) vs. Darren Stewart (8-3 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC) Middleweights
They are throwing punches early. Both land and Byrd gets a clinch. Stewart pushes Byrd against the fence but Byrd reverses position. They break and Byrd with a leg kick. Byrd lands a right hand and they clinch. Brief scramble to the ground before they tie up against the fence. They break and Byrd with a high kick before clinching back up. A lot of clinching in this one. Byrd with a nice elbow. They trade elbows on a break and Stewart lands a right hand. 10-9 Byrd.
Byrd with a leg kick. Stewart lands some body punches before they clinch. Stewart lands a left and then an overhand right. Byrd with an elbow off a clinch break. Byrd with some right hands and he is pouring it on Stewart. Stewart then rocks Byrd with a right hand. They trade right hands. Stewart is landing some big punches and then knocks Byrd down with a right hand and the referee stops it! Big stoppage by Stewart as he gets the win.
Official Result- Darren Stewart def. Charles Byrd by TKO (strikes) at 2:17 of Round 2
> Geoff Neal (9-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Frank Camacho (21-6, 1-2 UFC) Welterweights
Neal with a fast combination. Neal lands another left hand. Neal with a head kick and Camacho fires back a combo. Neal lands a left hand. They trade in close range. Neal with another head kick but didn’t land as clean. Neal lands another hard left hand. Camacho is eating them clean. Neal lands another left hand. Neal is landing clean punches but Camacho is returning fire. They trade in close range. Neal drops Camacho late and looks for the finish by unloading punches but time runs out. 10-9 Neal.
Camacho goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Neal then unloads with a left hand followed by a series of punches. Neal is unloadking more and lands a flying knee but Camacho is eating it all and coming forward. Neal then lands a head kick that knocks Camacho out cold. Wow. That is for the highlight reel.
Official Result- Geoff Neal def. Frank Camacho by knockout (head kick) at 1:23 of Round 2
Sterling with a couple of head kicks followed by right hands. Stamann tries a head kick. Sterling tries for a takedown but Stamann defends it. Sterling with a leg kick. He tries a head kick but it is blocked. Sterling shoots for a takedown but Stamann defends it against the fence. They trade and Stamann grabs the back. Sterling rolls out to escape but Stamann gets a body lock takedown. Sterling goes for a triangle but Stamann defending and escapes. They get to their feet. Stamann with a late takedown. 10-9 Sterling.
Sterling landing some punches and mixing up well. He lands a kick and Stamann tries to pull guard and Sterling on top. Stamann gives up his back and Sterling looking to take advantage. He does for a moment but Stamann gets up and wrestles him to the mat. They get to their feet. Sterling gets the back and gets Stamann to the ground. Sterling in side control and moves to mount. Stamann gives up his back. Sterling with right hands and flattens him out. Sterling looking for the choke but has Stamann’s arms trapped and lands punches. Sterling then gets Stamann to tap out after he grabs a leg in a weird position and has a kneebar locked in.. Wow. Sterling gets the impressive win.
Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Stamann by submission (kneebar) at 3:42 of Round 2
Suarez gets a takedown after searching for it for the opening thirty seconds. Suarez with punches from the top. Suarez with some sharp elbows. Suarez postures up and lands some punches. Esparza looking for an arm but lets go. Suarez just holding Esparza down and doing great work. They get up and Suarez with a slam and lands some punches. Suarez just too much for Esparza right now. Suarez with some knees to the body. Suarez with more punches. Esparza tries to find an opening to get up but Suarez keeps her down. Dominant round by Suarez. 10-8 Suarez.
Suarez opens round two with another takedown. Esparza gets up but Suarez has the body lock against the fence. Suarez with a big takedown into side control and looking to pass over. Suarez in the full guard and lands some elbows. They get to their feet but Suarez with a trip takedown back into side control. Suarez with some elbows but Esparza escapes and Suarez takes her right back down. Esparza up and escapes back to punching range. Suarez with a high kick and then gets another takedown. Suarez ends with an elbow in side control. All her fight. 10-9 Suarez, 20-17 Suarez.
Esparza looks for a takedown but Suarez blocks it and then goes for one of her own against the fence and gets it. Suarez in firm control as she has top position. She’s going to cruise to a win unless she makes a huge mistake. Suarez trying to pass to mount but Esparza blocking it and Suarez goes back into full guard. Suarez with elbows from the top. Suarez gets the mount for a moment but loses it and gets it again. Suarez with heavy punches from the top and now some elbows. The fight is finally stopped by the referee and Suarez gets the win. Impressive showing.
Official Result- Tatiana Suarez def. Carla Esparza by TKO (strikes) at 4:33 of Round 3
PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Abdul Razak Alhassan (9-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Niko Price (12-1 1 NC, 4-1 1 NC UFC) Welterweights
Alhassan with a leg kick and Price counters with a right hand. They are swinging for the fences early. Alhassan with some hard right hands and he is teeing off on Price. Alhassan loading on his punches and then he knocks Price out with a vicious series of punches. My god what a brutal finish. Impressive by Alhassan.
Official Result- Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Niko Price by knockout (punches) at :43 of Round 1
> Jimmie Rivera (#5, 21-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. John Dodson (#7, 20-9, 9-4 UFC) Bantamweights
Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera with another and Dodson counters by throwing some left hands that don’t quite connect. Rivera with a body kick and they tie up for a moment. Dodson with a big head kick and Rivera eats it. Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera grabs the back and tries to pick up Dodson for a slam but Dodson able to block it. Not a lot happening and we gets some boos. They trade. Dodson hurts Rivera for a moment with a left hand. They trade late. Dodson with a body kick. Not much to it. 10-9 Rivera.
Dodson tries to land the left hand but Rivera ducking under. Rivera with more inside leg kicks. They are exchanging in close range. Dodson with a high kick. Rivera lands a right hand. This is technically good albeit not as fast-paced as other fights tonight. Dodson with a body kick. Dodson is trying to find counters but isn’t throwing with much volume when there’s openings. We have a low blow now on Dodson. They trade getting back to action and Dodson with a late high kick that is checked. 10-9 Rivera, 20-18 Rivera.
Rivera tags Dodson with a left hand and Dodson stumbles back for a second. Rivera lands a right hand. Dodson lands a counter left. Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera with some right hands to the body. The crowd is booing some more. They’ve been treated to a lot of violence tonight. They continue to exchange in close range. With a minute left there isn’t going to be a finish here it seems. They trade body punches in the clinch at the end. 10-9 Rivera, 30-27 Rivera.
Official Result- Jimmie Rivera def. John Dodson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Zabit Magomedshapirov (#15, 15-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Brandon Davis (9-5, 1-2 UFC) Featherweights
Davis starts with a leg kick. Davis with some more and Magomedsharipov is switching stances. They trade punches. Magomedsharipov with a spinning back fist. Magomedsharipov tries a trip but Davis blocks it and wags his finger at him. Davis with a right hand. Magomedsharipov has his back against the fence and that might be trouble. They trade and Davis lands a nice uppercut. Magomedsharipov with a jumping switch kick. Magomedsharipov gets the back and looks for a takedown. Magomedsharipov with a slam but Davis props up. Davis landed a lot more in the round. 10-9 Davis.
Davis with some kicks but Magomedsharipov gets a takedown and has the back against the fence as they get to their feet. Magomedsharipov has the back and Davis is trying to crawl away. The boos are beginning to return. Magomedsharipov gets a big takedown but Davis gets back to his feet. Magomedsharipov still has the back. Magomedsharipov gets a takedown and has the back and is working for a choke. He has one almost locked in. Davis gets out. Magomedsharipov going for it again. Magomedsharipov has a kneebar locked in and Davis taps out. Impressive showing by Magomedsharipov.
Official Result- Zabit Magomedshapirov def. Brandon Davis by submission (kneebar) at 3:46 of Round 2
Andrade with a arrage of punches early and Kowalkiewicz is already in trouble. Kowalkiewicz circling away but Andrade landing more. Kowalkiewicz now throwing. Kowalkiewicz lands some punches. Andrade with another barrage. Andrade lands a hard right. Kowalkiewicz tags her but Andrade fires back with huge punches. Already crazy ninety seconds in. Andrade then knocks Kowalkiewicz out with a vicious right hand. One punch ended it. You rarely see that in the strawweight division. Andrade lines up for a fight with Rose Namajunas now.
Official Result- Jessica Andrade def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by knockout (punch) at 1:58 of Round 1
> Tyron Woodley (C, 18-3-1, 8-2-1 UFC) vs. Darren Till (#2, 17-0-1, 5-0-1 UFC) UFC Welterweight Championship
Woodley with a hard right. They clinch and Till lands a knee and Woodley going for the takedown. Woodley has the body lock against the fence. They are broken up. That was quick. Woodley lands a right hand. Till with the jab. Woodley with a head kick. Till trying to find an opening. Woodley shoots but is stuffed. Woodley has the clinch against the fence. They are broken up again. Till lands a left hand. Till with a body kick. 10-9 Woodley.
Woodley drops Till with a right hand and is looking for a finish. He is landing big punches from the top but Till is surviving. Woodley with more punches from the top. Till looking to hold him in the guard. Woodley postures up as Till has weathered the storm. Woodley steps to half-guard. Woodley with some elbows. Till trying to scramble out. Woodley with more elbows. Woodley with more shots from the top. Till is hanging on. Woodley working for a choke and he gets Till to tap out! Tyron Woodley remains the champion as he finishes Darren Till.
Official Result- Tyron Woodley def. Darren Till by submission (D’arce choke) at 4:19 of Round 2 to remain the UFC Welterweight Champion
UFC 228 returns to PPV tonight for what can best be described as “a show” from Dallas, TX.
Without any fanfare, let’s bring you a look at the card courtesy of yours truly, Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick.
The Card
Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewiecz
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis
Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Abdul Razak Hassan vs. Niko Price
Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White
Jim Miller vs. Alex White
Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova
Jarred Brooks vs. Roberto Sanchez
What are you most looking forward to?
Paul: There’s a lot on this show, really. However, it would have been Nicco Montano finally defending her flyweight title and potentially seeing Valentina Shevchenko capturing UFC gold.
Ryan: I’m looking forward to the main event. People like to downplay Tyron Woodley as champion, but he is a smart fighter. However, Till has the edge in this fight in my eyes. He’s going to have the size advantage and with him making weight rather easily on Friday, I think that plays into Woodley’s head just a little bit. I feel like Woodley was fully expecting Till to miss weight. It’s an intriguing welterweight title fight.
Josh: Honestly, nothing. Gun to my head, I’d say Till-Woodley but I don’t like how this fight got made. Overall, there’s some names on this show, but I won’t be hitting the ‘Buy’ button for UFC 228.
Anything being slept on?
Paul: The two bantamweight fights on the FX prelims. Until recently, Jimmie Rivera was on a 20 fight win streak, the 29-year-old Aljamain Sterling was once thought to be the future of the division, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson has a win over current champ TJ Dillashaw, and the least known of the four bantamweights, Cody Stamann, has the quietest 17-1 record you’ll ever see. Sterling meets Stamann and Rivera faces Dodson and the winners of those fights could potentially have a title eliminator fight down the road. It’s notable that Rivera, in the middle of his long win streak, lost an exhibition fight to get on The Ultimate Fighter 14th seasons. The winner of that season? His opponent tonight, Dodson.
Ryan: I see the two bantamweight fights on the card being overlooked. They feature top-ten ranked fighters in Rivera, Dodson, Sterling and Stamann in what has become one of the deepest divisions in the UFC. The winners of the two fights could end up fighting next, and they are both solid fights. Also, the main card opener is a great fight between Alhassan and Price should be explosive.
Josh: Dodson-Rivera for the reasons Paul laid out. It’s easy to forget Rivera had a fight lined up with Dominick Cruz before injury put it on the sidelines. He’s right there in the title match mix and a win here should either get him that shot or perhaps even Cody Garbrandt or Raphael Assuncao depending on how the cards play out with Dillashaw.
Anything not doing it for you?
Paul: I’ll say it: the main event. Woodley bores me and Till should be fighting at middleweight. And why bother having Colby Covington fight for an interim title a couple months back if he was just going to be stripped for not making this show? The welterweight division has kind of been a mess since GSP vacated the title in 2013 and I couldn’t care less who wins this fight.
Ryan: The fight, to me, that had the least intrigue ended up falling off the card when Montano was forced out of the Shevchenko fight. I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Shevchenko was going to win the fight easily. It’s a shame the fight was taken off the card, but it wasn’t doing much for me.
Josh: As I mentioned before, the whole show. Not to be too negative, some of these fights could be better used other places. This feels like a quota show, not a can’t miss event.
What’s the intrigue with the show?
Paul: Despite me not personally caring about the result of the main event, it has to be who emerges from that fight. Another thing for those of us who follow the business of MMA is just how this show will do on PPV. With college football just getting going, a big boxing show airing opposite the event, and a month out of the biggest MMA show of the year with Conor vs. Khabib, a lot of casual PPV buyers may choose to skip this one.
Ryan: It’s what happens in the main event. It feels like it might be time for someone new to reign at 170 pounds, and it will see where Woodley needs to be when discussing the great fighters in the sport.
Josh: Whether size matters and whether Till is ready for this opportunity. I cringe a bit at the thought of another boring Woodley fight and the post-fight reaction if that happens.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Paul: I fully expect Colby Covington to make some sort of appearance and challenge the Woodley-Till winner so there could be some buzz around that. Also, Tatiana Suarez is unbeaten and has the featured FX prelim fight. Another win for her could have people talking about a potential title shot at Rose Namajunas.
Ryan: I’m not sure anyone is going to be talking about much when this show is over. It’s going to be whoever wins the main event. I do see that we will have the next challenger for Rose Namajunas being determined, and I’m picking it to be Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Outside of that, not a whole lot will be talking points come next week.
Josh: That Woodley is better than given credit for, that Till is heading to middleweight, that Rivera is ready for bigger names, and that Suarez could be Namajunas’ biggest challenge to date.
UFC president Dana White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter Friday that UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano will be stripped of the title and that top contender Valentina Shevchenko will be competing for the vacant strap.
On the FS1 weigh-in show later, White told Megan Olivi that Shevchenko will compete for the title by the end of the year.
The 30-year-old Montano was hospitalized earlier Friday morning due to kidney issues related to her weight cut and her UFC 228 co-main event fight with Shevchenko was cancelled. Her management team said that the UFC medical team was called in and said she needed to see further medical attention for her kidneys.
She hasn’t defended the inaugural title she won in December 2017 at the TUF finale.
Dana White announces that the UFC women’s flyweight title is now vacant.
First reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the co-main event between women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko at Saturday’s UFC 228 was canceled due to Montano’s hospitalization Friday morning.
No reason has been given for Montano’s condition. Shevchenko made weight Friday morning in Dallas, but ESPN’s Ariel Helwani said that she will not fight another opponent on Saturday.
From the UFC: “As a precautionary measure, UFC flyweight Nicco Montano was transported to a medical facility Friday morning due to health concerns.”
Montano has yet to defend the inaugural title she won after defeating Roxanne Modaferri on a TUF finale show in December 2017. Helwani pointed out this is the second time Shevchenko has had a title fight fall through at the last minute as her UFC 213 clash against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was canceled due to Nunes’ sinusitis.
On a positive note, welterweight title challenger Darren Till successfully made weight Friday morning in Dallas as did champion Tyron Woodley. There were doubts about Till due to him missing weight for his last fight against Stephen Thompson.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 135: Gaethje vs. Vick, emanating from the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Octagon debuts in Lincoln with a headliner that should produce fireworks featuring one of the most exciting fighters in the sport taking on a rising contender.
Lightweight slugger Justin Gaethje headlines his third UFC event in his fourth UFC fight looking to end a two-fight losing skid as he takes on James Vick, in his first UFC main event, who comes in having won his last four fights. Gaethje remains in the title picture, but is in desperate to score a win after back-to-back losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier. Vick’s win streak has come against unranked competition and Gaethje represents his biggest opponent to date.
Also on the card, Michael Johnson looks to avoid his fourth straight loss as he takes on Andre Fili in the co-main event, women’s strawweights Cortney Casey and Angela Hill do battle, and welterweight Jake Ellenberger looks to end a three-fight losing skid and keep retirement away just a bit longer as he goes against Bryan Barberena.
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
> Rani Yahya (25-9 1 NC, 10-3 1 NC UFC) vs. Luke Sanders (12-2, 2-2 UFC) Bantamweights
Yahya goes right for a takedown but pulls guard though Sanders avoids the trap. Yahya lands a right hand that stuns Sanders. Yahya gets a heel hook but Sanders escapes. Yahya still looking for it and gets it locked in and Sanders taps! Solid finish by Yahya as he makes quick work of Sanders.
Official Result- Rani Yahya def. Luke Sanders by submission (heel hook) at 1:31 of Round 1
> Drew Dober (19-8 1 NC, 5-4 1 NC UFC) vs. Jon Tuck (10-4, 4-4 UFC) Lightweights
Tuck starts with a leg kick but eats a left hand from Dober. They trade kicks. Dober with a body kick. Another body kick from Dober. Tuck lands a right hand. Tuck with a front kick to the body. Dober with a head kick but Tuck barely blocks it. They trade punches and Tuck lands a body kick. Dober fires back with a leg kick. Dober stumbles Tuck with a combo. They tie up and Dober has position against the fence. They break. They trade in close range. Dober with a solid combo. Dober with a body kick. He’s in control right now. Dober with a leg kick. Dober lands another good combination. Dober with more combos. 10-9 Dober.
Dober with a leg kick but Tuck fires back with a body kick. Dober with a kick to Tuck’s knee and Dober’s foot was hurt after. He is switching his stances and now Tuck is landing some punches. Dober with a counter right hook. Tuck shoots for a takedown but Dober defends it. Dober may have a broken foot. Dober gets a takedown but Tuck has the neck and is looking for a guillotine choke. Dober escapes and gets into the full guard of Tuck. Dober with some punches from the top and he’s keeping busy. Dober looking to set up an arm-triangle but insteads continues to land from the top. Dober with more big punches from the top. 10-9 Dober, 20-18 Dober.
They trade to start the third round. Dober lands some big left hands against the fence as Tuck is unable to get his back off the cage. Dober gets a big takedown. Tuck briefly has the neck but lets go. Tuck is bleeding and his eye is swelling shut. Dober with an elbow from the top. Dober with some more ground-and-pound from the top. Dober with more punches from the top and Tuck looks like he is conceding this fight. Dober gets the mount from a second but continues to land to the body and head. Dober should cruise to the win. 10-9 Dober, 30-27 Dober.
Official Result- Drew Dober def. Jon Tuck by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Faria gets an immediate takedown and is in side control of Calderwood. Calderwood scrambles out for a moment but Faria gets right back on top in the half-guard. Faria gets back into full guard. Calderwood is landing to the body from the bottom. Faria with some punches and elbows from the top. Calderwood lands an elbow from the bottom but Faria remains on top in controlling position. Calderwood has no answer from getting off of the ground. Calderwood throws up the legs looking for a triangle and she has it locked in. It is in tight. Faria fighting it. Calderwood pulling the head trying to get the finish. She lands some elbows. Calderwood has the armbar and Faria taps! Wow. What a finish by Calderwood.
Official Result- Joanne Calderwood def. Kalindra Faria by submission (armbar) at 4:57 of Round 1
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> Mickey Gall (4-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. George Sullivan (17-6 1 NC, 3-3 UFC) Welterweights
Gall starts with a high kick. Gall gets a takedown and grabs the back of Sullivan and is looking for a choke as he locks the body triangle in. Sullivan landing back punches. Gall has the arm under Sullivan’s neck and has the choke locked in. It is deep and Gall gets Sullivan to tap out. Wow. That was absolute domination by Mickey Gall in winning in just around 90 seconds into the fight.
Official Result- Mickey Gall def. George Sullivan by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:09 of Round 1
> Andrew Sanchez (9-4, 2-2 UFC) vs. Markus Perez (10-1, 1-1 UFC) Middleweights
Perez with a high kick to start. Sanchez with a body kick. Sanchez lands a right hand. Perez with a big body kick and then another. Perez lands another. Perez with a high kick. Sanchez lands a left as he initiates a clinch. Sanchez gets the back and is trying for a takedown. Perez defends well and reverses but Sanchez reverses back and has Perez against the fence. Sanchez lands a combo as they break the clinch and move to the center. They clinch for a moment again. Perez with a late spin kick. 10-9 Sanchez.
Perez lands a left hand. Sanchez with a leg kick. Perez with a big body kick followed by a left hand. Sanchez is backing up. Perez with some more body kicks and then a right hand to the body. Sanchez is now coming forward and looking to land. Perez with a left hand. Sanchez lands a right hand and then grabs the back against the fence. He turns and lands a knee and they break. Perez with a knee to the body followed by a left elbow. Sanchez lands a good combo before starting a clinch. Perez drops down trying to pull guard but the round ends. 10-9 Perez, 19-19.
They trade to start the round. Perez lands a left hand. They trade punches and Perez lands a big left hand. Sanchez lands a solid combination. Sanchez with a stiff jab. Perez with a series of punches and kicks. Perez with a spinning back elbow and then a left hand and a body kick. Perez misses a left hand and they clinch for a moment before breaking. Sanchez now lands some punches. They clinch for a moment but break. They clinch again and Sanchez looking for a takedown but it is defended. Sanchez with a right hand. Perez with a spinning elbow but Sanchez counters with an uppercut. Close fight. 10-9 Sanchez, 29-28 Sanchez.
Official Result- Andrew Sanchez def. Markus Perez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alcantara has Sandhagen in trouble early as he has him back against the fence after some punches. Alcantara gets a takedown and has a deep armbar locked in and somehow Sandhagen is holding on. Alcantara is landing punches and that elbow is bent all weird directions. It is in deep but somehow Sandhagen escapes. Sandhagen lands punches from the top and has Alcantara in trouble now. Big elbows from the top by Sandhagen. Sandhagen with more punches from the top and he is looking for a finish. Alcantara looks done here and he loses his mouth piece. More big punches from Sandhagen and this fight somehow makes it to the end of the round. This could have been stopped several times. 10-8 Sandhagen.
Sandhagen rocks Alcantara early. Alcantara tries an elbow but falls to the ground and is covering up as Sandhagen is landing lots of punches. The fight should be stopped but we have bad officiating going on here. Sandhagen landing punches with no response. This fight should be stopped. Super late stoppage as the referee finally stops it. Sandhagen gets the win in a crazy fight.
Official Result- Cory Sandhagen def. Iuri Alcantara by TKO (punches) at 1:01 of Round 2
> James Krause (25-7, 6-3 UFC) vs. Warlley Alves (12-2, 6-2 UFC) Welterweights
Krause tries a head kick but Alves gets him on the mat and on top for a moment. They get to their feet and Alves has Krause against the fence in the clinch. They battle for underhooks as each reverse position. They break. Krause with a right hand to the body. Krause goes for a jumping kick but Alves catches him and throws him to the mat. Krause gets up. Krause lands some punches in close and they clinch for a moment but break. Alves with a body kick. Alves with a body kick. They trade punches. Krause landing the jab well. Close round. 10-9 Krause.
They come out swinging especially Alves. Alves clips Krause with a right hand but Krause quickly recovers. Alves swinging for the fences. Krause then lands a big knee that rocks Alves. Alves is in trouble. Krause landing lots of punches against the fence and Alves is out on his feet as the referee stops it! Big win for James Krause after he lands the huge knee and he finishes Alves.
Official Result- James Krause def. Warlley Alves by knockout (knee, punches) at 2:28 of Round 2
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> Eryk Anders (10-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Tim Williams (15-4, 0-1 UFC) Middleweights
WIlliams with a body kick. Anders with a left hand. Williams with a head kick followed by a combination. They clinch and Anders with a knee to the body. Williams pushes Anders against the fence and lands some knees before they break. They trade in another clinch before breaking again. Williams with a high kick and Anders counters with a left hand. Williams with an inside leg kick. Williams lands a right hand. Anders continues to press forward and lands a body kick. Williams gets a takedown against the fence. Williams gets the back and has a hook in but the round ends. 10-9 Williams.
Anders lands a left hand to start the second round. Williams with a high kick. Anders rushes in and Williams gets a clinch. Williams drops down and gets a big takedown. Anders gets to his feet but Williams grabs the back against the cage. They break and Anders lands a left hand. Anders lands a combination and a knee in the clinch. Williams is cut open under his left eye. Anders starting to land more. Anders with a left hand and Williams counters with a takedown attempt but Anders stuffs it. Anders with a brief mount but they get to their feet. Anders lands big in an exchange and they clinch. They break. Anders with an uppercut followed by a left hand and elbow. Anders lands a couple of left hands late. 10-9 Anders, 19-19.
Anders drops Williams with a left hand as Williams was attempting a leg kick. Williams is let back up by Anders. Williams with a couple of leg kicks. Williams lands a right hand. Williams with a body kick but Anders counters with a straight left hand. They trade. Williams shoots for a takedown but Anders stuffs it and lands a kick as Williams gets to his feet. Anders lands some more left hands. Williams lands a spinning back fist. Anders with a head kick and then knocks Williams out cold as he lands a head kick as Williams was getting back to his feet. Vicious knockout by Anders and it was clean.
Official Result- Eryk Anders def. Tim Williams by knockout (head kick) at 4:42 of Round 3
> John Moraga (#6, 19-6, 8-5 UFC) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (#14, 14-0, 3-0 UFC) Flyweights
Moraga with a leg kick. He lands another. Figueiredo with a right hand and he chases Moraga around the Octagon. Moraga lands a right hand and they clinch and Moraga gets a brief takedown. Figueiredo gets a trip takedown against the fence. Figueiredo with some punches from the top. Moraga gets two warnings for his toes being in the fence. Moraga trying to spin out from the bottom but Figueiredo keeps him on the mat. Figueiredo with more punches from the top to end the round. 10-9 Figueiredo.
Moraga with a body kick but Figueiredo counters with his own body kick. They trade punches. Figueiredo with a takedown and in the half-guard. Figueiredo with a short elbow from the top. Figueiredo opens up a big cut on Moraga. Figueiredo with big punches from the top as he’s looking to get into mount position. Figueiredo drops Moraga with a right hand but Moraga is able to get to his feet and lands a big right hand. They clinch and Figueiredo drops Moraga with a body punch and then lands some punches on top and the referee rushes in and stops the fight. Big finish by Figueiredo as he remains undefeated.
Official Result- Deiveson Figueiredo def. John Moraga by TKO (punches) at of 3:08 Round 2
Ellenberger lands a combo to start things off. They clinch and Ellenberger lands a right hand on the break. Ellenberger with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. They trade punches. Ellenberger with a leg kick and then a body kick. Barberena rocks Ellenberger with a right hand. Ellenberger slips to the mat and is in trouble. Ellenberger throws a right hand but eats a right hand and goes back to the mat and Barberena finishes him off with a few more punches on the mat. Ellenberger has to be done as that is four straight losses by knockout.
Official Result- Bryan Barberena def. Jake Ellenberger by TKO (punches) at 2:26 of Round 1
BREAKING: Ellenberger announces his retirement inside the Octagon following the bout. He ends his career with a 31-15 record, and a 10-11 UFC record. He had a rough end to his career, going 2-9 in his final eleven fights, but there was a time where Ellenberger was among the top six welterweights in the world.
> Cortney Casey (#11, 7-6, 3-5 UFC) vs. Angela Hill (#14, 8-4, 3-4 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Hill with a leg kick after Casey misses some punches. Casey goes to the mat for a brief second but gets right back up. Hill with a leg kick. They trade right hands and leg kicks. Casey with a couple of punches and a step-in knee. They clinch and Hill with a knee to the body as they break. Casey lands a left hand and an uppercut. Hill with a right hand. Hill with another. They clinch and Casey gets a takedown and works in full guard. Hill grabs an arm and is working for an armbar. Casey slams her way out of danger and is on top. They get to their feet and Hill lands a knee followed by an elbow on the break. They trade kicks and Hill lands some punches. Hill with a big right hand at the end. Close round. 10-9 Hill.
Hill lands some jabs. Casey with a couple of right hands that rock Hill. Casey goes in for a takedown and they clinch. They break. Casey with a combo. They trade kicks. They exchange combos and Casey lands a big right hand. Hill with a body kick. Hill with an inside leg kick. They trade and Casey with an uppercut. Casey with a combination. Hill with a left hook. They trade and Hill stuns Casey with a left hook. Hill starting to land more as we wind the round down. Casey lands a combo. Casey with a body kick. Hill with a body kick after a left hand. They exchange late. 10-9 Casey, 19-19.
They trade punches and Casey lands a nice right hand. Casey with a body kick. They trade some more. This is a close fight. Casey with a right hand followed by a body kick. Hill with a body kick. Casey attempts a takedown but Hill defends it. Hill lands some punches. They trade punches. Hill with a body punch. Neither woman is doing something to ensure they win the round. Hill with a body kick. They are pretty even on the stries here. They trade jabs. Hill with a combo. Hill lands an overhand right. Casey with a knee to the body. Hill with a combo and a knee and uppercut. Super close fight. 10-9 Hill, 29-28 Hill.
Official Result- Cortney Casey def. Angela Hill by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
> Michael Johnson (17-13, 9-9 UFC) vs. Andre Fili (18-5, 6-4 UFC) Featherweights
Johnson lands the left hand. Fili just misses a head kick. Johnson with another left hand. Johnson with some leg kicks. Fili being aggressive. Fili lands a kick but Johnson counters with a left hand. Johnson with a body kick. Fili with a head kick. Johnson lands a right hand then follows with a left hand and then another. Fili’s head snapped back on that last one. Johnson with a combo followed by a body kick. Fili with a body kick but Johnson counters with a left hand. Fili lands a right hand. Johnson with a straight left and then another. They trade kicks. Close round. 10-9 Johnson.
They come out trading. Johnson lands a low kick right to the groin of Fili and we have a timeout. We get back to action and Johnson starting to apply pressure. They trade and Fili scores a takedown and takes the back of Johnson. Johnson stands with Fili on his back. Fili trying to find an opening for a rear-naked choke. Fili gets it locked in and they go to the mat and it is in deep. Johnson trying to survive and fights it off. Wow. Johnson gets out of danger but Fili still has the back. Johnson is stalling the fight on the mat as he recovers. Johnson spins out of trouble and gets into the guard of Fili. Johnson with some elbows from the top. Fili looks for a triangle choke. Johnson gets out and finishes with some more elbows on top. 10-9 Fili, 19-19.
Fili with a head kick to start the third round. They trade punches. Johnson lands a left hand. Fili misses a spin kick. Fili gets the back and scores a takedown and Fili has the back against the fence. They get to their feet and break. Fili with a head kick. He lands a body kick afterwards. Johnson with a leg kick and a left hand to the body. Fili goes for a takedown but it is defended easily by Johnson. Fili with another head kick but it is blocked by Johnson. Johnson goes for a takedown against the fence but Fili defends it. Fili sprawls a takedown and they break. Johnson with a left hand at the end. Close fight. 10-9 Fili, 29-28 Fili.
Official Result- Michael Johnson def. Andre Fili by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
> Justin Gaethje (#7, 18-2, 1-2 UFC) vs. James Vick (#10, 13-1, 9-1 UFC) Lightweights
Vick with a side kick. Vick with a front kick. He lands a leg kick. Gaethje with a leg kick. Gaethje closes the distance with a combo and then they break. Vick with a couple of body kicks. Gaethje then lands a massive overhand right that puts Vick out to sleep cold. Wow. A vicious knockout by Justin Gaethje as he halts Vick’s win streak.
Official Result- Justin Gaethje def. James Vick by knockout (punch) at 1:27 of Round 1
The UFC’s August has been a relatively quiet one, but the promotion kicks off a four-in-five week stretch tonight in Lincoln, Nebraska, with an interesting main event and a lot of litmus test fights up and down the card.
Per usual, Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick are here to help me answer a few questions about the card, the majority of which can be seen on FS1 and FS2.
The show:
Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick
Michael Johnson vs. Andre Fili
Cortney Casey vs. Angela Hill
Jake Ellenberger vs. Bryan Barbarena
John Moraga vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Eryk Anders vs. Tim Williams
James Krause vs. Warlley Alves
Iuri Alcantara vs. Cory Sandhagen
Andrew Sanchez vs. Markus Perez
Mickey Gall vs. George Sullivan
Joanne Calderwood vs. Kalinda Faria
Drew Dober vs. Jon Tuck
Rani Yahya vs. Luke Sanders
What are you most looking forward to?
Ryan: Gaethje vs. Vick. Gaethje provides some of the most action-packed fights in the sport, and there is a very good reason tonight is his third main event in just his fourth UFC appearance. It is about time that Vick, an excellent fighter, gets a spotlight fight as he has a solid win streak and is making headway into the title picture at 155 pounds. It’s a great fight that should produce a lot of action. I’m also interested in seeing how some notable fighters — namely Eryk Anders, Mickey Gall and Joanne Calderwood — bounce back after recent tough losses.
Paul: The main event, for sure. Other that, I’d like to see if Mickey Gall can rebound from his first career loss and become any kind of a star coming off the high profile wins over Sage Northcutt and CM Punk. He’s in a good spot, opening up the TV broadcast on FS2.
Josh: Without a doubt, the main event because of the stakes for both guys. Vick has been calling for a big fight for months and months, and answered the call when Al Iaquinta had to drop out due to…something. A win here puts him in a spot where he can’t be ducked anymore while a loss makes it that much harder to get the names he wants. For Gaethje, he really needs a win here. He certainly won’t get cut, but even the most exciting fighters need a ‘W’ to stay relevant, especially in a deep division like 155.
Anything being slept on?
Josh: Gall vs. Sullivan because, not that long ago, Gall was touted as a very interesting prospect at welterweight. I’m glad to see him back in there after his recent defeat and this one will tell us a lot about whether he’s made advances since his last time out. Also, the aforementioned Anders gets a nice opportunity to resume his push after his controversial decision loss to Lyoto Machida, a fight he shouldn’t have been in to begin with. A flashy finish will put him back on the right track.
Ryan: There is an excellent flyweight fight between John Moraga and Deiveson Figueiredo on the main card that is flying under the radar. There hasn’t been much attention given to the flyweight division this year (I believe this is just the second or third flyweight fight to be on a main card in 2018), but there is a new champion at 125 pounds and a growing list of contenders. Moraga has bounced back strong of late after a tough string of losses, and Figueiredo is undefeated in 14 career fights. This should be a good one.
Paul: Anders was supposed to be the next big thing before the Machida fight. He’s still very early in his career and his fight with little-known Tim Williams is not getting a lot of buzz. He’s the biggest favorite on the card and I’m looking for a big bounceback performance from “Ya Boy”.
Anything not doing it for you?
Paul: I like women’s MMA as much as the next guy but seeing Angela Hill vs. Cortney Casey that high up on the card seems a little odd. Pair that with the fact that it will most likely be a boring standup fight for 15 minutes and I’m not really sure why they’re getting such a high profile spot that could be used for the flyweight bout Ryan brought up earlier, or even what I think could be a better women’s fight between Joanne Calderwood and Kalindra Faria on the Fight Pass portion of the show.
Ryan: I’m not sure we should still be seeing Ellenberger fight, at least not in the UFC. He is 2-8 in his last ten fights, being finished in six of those losses. He was actually cut at one point, but begged Dana White to get his job back, won in his next fight after that, but has since lost three straight, all by brutal knockout. He is also less than three months removed from being knocked out cold at the hands of Ben Saunders. He probably shouldn’t be fighting at all, let alone this quickly again, but this could be it against Barberena.
Josh: I agree with Ryan on Ellenberger, but another fighter in that same vein is Michael Johnson. He’s lost five of his last six and while I understand he’s moved down a division, he’s been finished in his last three. Another loss here doesn’t forebode well for his Octagon future.
What’s the intrigue with the show?
Ryan: I don’t think there is that much intrigue, but it is nice to see some UFC action after three weeks away. It’s a big stretch heading into the end of the year. The only real interest might be in the main event, and a couple of undercard fights. This isn’t a star heavy show and might not pull in big ratings, but is a solid refresher from no UFC action since August 4.
Paul: Whether or not Gaethje will actually die in the Octagon. He gives it his all each and every fight and at some point, all of these brutal wars are going to catch up to him. Until they do, he’ll keep racking up the Fights of the Night and entertaining his growing multitude of fans.
Josh: The outcome of Vick-Gaethje and how Anders performs.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Ryan: That the winner of the main event finds himself just outside the title picture at 155 pounds. It’s a real toss-up as to whom that is going to be, but the winner will definitely be in the conversation for a top-five opponent in their next fight.
Paul: Other than the main event, It will be whether or not Anders is as good as he’ll probably look against Williams and whether he can be a middleweight contender like everyone thought he could be going into the Machida fight. Also, Gall will probably have an interesting callout should he win his fight.
Josh: That Gaethje sustained his spot and that Vick is still a bit far away from the upper echelon of the division.
It appears that Tony Ferguson will return from injury at the UFC’s biggest show of the year.
MMA Junkie first reported last night that Ferguson will face Anthony Pettis at UFC 229. That pay-per-view is taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 6 and is being headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor for the lightweight championship.
The UFC has yet to officially announce Ferguson vs. Pettis.
Ferguson, who was then interim champion, was supposed to face Nurmagomedov in an undisputed title fight at UFC 223 this April with McGregor being stripped of his belt, but Ferguson suffered a knee injury while promoting the event and had to be replaced. Max Holloway initially stepped in to face Nurmagomedov, but problems with his short-notice weight cut led to Nurmagomedov instead defeating Al Iaquinta to become champion.
With Ferguson on the same card as Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor, he would likely be the backup plan for the main event if anything were to cause Nurmagomedov or McGregor to be unavailable to fight. Ferguson tweeted yesterday that he has three opponents to train for.
The UFC has signed their second champion vs. champion fight of 2018 as women’s featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino will face women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 in Las Vegas on December 29th, the promotion’s final show of the calendar year.
The news was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN. The fight will be for Justino’s featherweight title.
The 33-year-old Justino will be looking for the third defense of the title she won in July 2017. She has been unbeaten since her pro debut in 2005, a stretch of more than 20 fights, and is 5-0 in the UFC.
The 30-year-old Nunes has won seven straight and has three successful defenses of the title she won from Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July 2016.
It’s unknown if this will be the main event of the show or if another title fight will headline instead. Given the promotion’s schedule over the next few months, that would appear to be unlikely unless Daniel Cormier was to defend his light heavyweight title or if the much-anticipated Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega featherweight title fight was slotted there instead.
In July, Cormier bested Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title to go along with his light heavyweight crown.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor’s ten-year tenure in UFC ended today when he was released from the company, less than two months before his two-year drug test failure suspension expired.
Lawlor, 35, who wrestles independently, most notably with Major League Wrestling where he’s one of their signature stars, was planning on returning to UFC when his suspension ended on October 10. Lawlor also does a regular weekly show, “Filthy Four Daily” with Bryan Alvarez on this site.
Lawlor failed a test for low levels of Ostarine on October 10, 2016, and had no explanation of how it got in his system. He went so far as to test an enhanced coffee that he had been given by someone, but that failed to be the answer.
Lawlor had a 10-6 record with 1 no contest as a fighter, with his most recent fight being a close decision loss to Corey Anderson on March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas. Anderson is currently the No. 6 ranked contender in the light heavyweight division. He had expected to return to the UFC in the fall.
Lawlor had asked for his release when being suspended and UFC declined to release him at the time.
“All things come to an end and it was inevitable that so would my time in UFC,” said Lawlor. “Today I was informed that I will be released by the UFC despite my USADA suspension being nearly over and my previous requests for a release being denied. While the timing is unexpected, hopefully this opens the doors for me to continue with my mixed martial arts career as well as in the squared circle (squared circle is an old term for pro wrestling). Combat sports is one of my life’s great loves and I look forward to showing and sharing that with the fans as soon as possible.”
He had done pro wrestling prior to UFC before being chosen for the cast of the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Before that, he had won three NCWA small college national championships in wrestling while attending the University of Central Florida.
The UFC returns tonight for the first of two August shows, headlined by two rematches in lighter weight divisions struggling to get attention.
Yes, welcome back to the “Demetrious Johnson isn’t a star/is an underpromoted star” show, even though he’s not headlining tonight’s event….even though he is continuing to attempt to set records with flyweight title defenses. (See? Now I’m doing it!)
The card:
Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt II
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo II
Ryan: The main event. Yeah, it is quick to give Garbrandt an immediate rematch seeing as he never even defended the bantamweight title before losing it to Dillashaw, but the only other viable contender in the division, Dominick Cruz, has been on the injured list until just recently. The rivalry is there, and I don’t expect it to endthere. I’m also looking forward to the Johnson-Cejudo rematch, but just because I appreciate how great Johnson is, and I wanna see if Cejudo has anything for him this time.
Paul: Garbrandt has been one of my favorite fighters for a couple of years now. Longtime readers may recall me picking him as a future fighter to watch before he even won the title from Cruz. He’s still very young and winning the title back could cement him as one of the greatest 135’ers in history.
Josh: Not much. This card isn’t doing it for me at all and while the two top fights are high on skill, I’m not into anything happening tonight. Dillashaw and Garbrandt basically disappeared for a year, outside Dillashaw and Johnson flirting with a fight that seemingly will never happen. Johnson is what he is and while Cejudo has shown marked improvement since they last fought, we’ve seen this movie before.
Anything being slept on?
Paul: Brett Johns vs. Pedro Munhoz, two of the most underrated fighters in their division, anchors the FX prelims. A high profile win here could put either guy one or two fights awa from a title shot. Johns, in particular, has been a champion in other organizations and has a bit of a star aura about him.
Ryan: I’m not sure if it’s being slept on as it’s getting some attention, but the Fight Pass headliner between Shorty Torres and Alex Perez is one of the best fights on the card. Torres had full preparation for this fight, and it’s a good fight for him as Perez is tough and solid. Johnson did mention Torres as a future challenger, so he knows where his competition is going to be coming from. IAnother intriguing prelim is the bantamweight battle between Ricardo Ramos and Kyung Ho Kang.
Josh: Nah.
Anything not doing it for you?
Josh: As mentioned before, it’s the whole show for me. Maybe it’s because of the Red Sox-Yankees slugfest, but I can’t muster up the interest. I think part of that is the lack of a fun contender queue for the champion. If Garbrandt wins, I don’t want to wait a year to see this a third time. If Cejudo pulls off the upset, we’re getting that fight a third time. So…yeah.
Ryan: It’s not a deep show by any means. It’s not the weakest pay-per-view line-up this year, but injuries did take their toll on the card with cancelled bouts. There isn’t anything not doing it for me, but there isn’t a lot of overall interest outside of the top two fights.
Paul: Honestly, anyone but the most hardcore of hardcore fans would have to struggle to find anything on this show worth caring about outside of the two main events. The whole undercard is kinda “meh”, but the Danielle Taylor fight on the Fight Pass prelims is the one that will probably suck the most. If I didn’t have to watch it, I wouldn’t because the next good Danielle Taylor fight I see will be the first.
What’s the intrigue with the show?
Ryan: The intrigue is in the main event and if Cejudo can score a different outcome in his second shot at dethroning Johnson. Outside of that, the show is really only for the hardcores. There was more intrigue for the press conference on Friday.
Paul: If Johnson can cement his legacy as the greatest pound for pound fighter in history by successfully defending his title yet again. People are talking right now that this is a foregone conclusion, and it probably is, but I have a funny feeling things may not go according to plan.
Josh: If Johnson can retain yet again. If he does, I agree with the sentiment Chuck Mindenhall had on this week’s ‘MMA Beat’ that eventually, Johnson will need to go outside his comfort zone and go up a weight class or fight Dillashaw or else risk complete fan apathy.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Ryan: It will be that Johnson remains the top pound-for-pound top fighter in the sport, and if it is finally time for the superfight between him and the winner of the main event. I personally think that Garbrandt is going to win this time over Dillashaw, and that it’ll probably lead to an immediate third fight which would be a mistake for now. Give it some breathing room if that happens as these two have tied up the 135-pound title for close to two years now. It’s time to get these divisions moving.
Paul: I’m going out on a limb and predicting that people will be talking about the fact that for the first time in history, someone other than Demetrious Johnson is the UFC flyweight champion. Outside of that, and what Ryan mentioned, it will be just whether or not this show can set the modern era record for the least purchased PPV.
Josh: That Johnson and Dillashaw were both victorious and that they really need to make that fight happen.
Nearly two years after he last fought in the UFC and after a mega-payday in his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor will finally return to the Octagon in a lightweight title fight against current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The fight will be the main event of UFC 229 on Saturday, October 6th in Las Vegas, NV. It was announced at Friday’s UFC press conference but neither man was in attendance.
Nurmagomedov won the interim version of the title in a dominant win over Al Iaquinta at April’s UFC 223, a fight that originally was supposed to be against Tony Ferguson. When McGregor was eventually stripped of the title, the ‘interim’ was dropped.
McGregor was last seen knocking out Eddie Alvarez to win the title at UFC’s debut in Madison Square Garden in November 2016. He hasn’t competed in MMA since then with the Mayweather fight as his only daliance into fighting.
The UFC will hold another one of their multi-person press conferences Friday afternoon, this one highlighting fights for the final few months of 2018 including their 25th anniversary show, the November Madison Square Garden show, and more.
You can stream the proceedings starting at 4:30 PM Eastern/1:30 PM Pacific below:
A pair of fighters who are expected to be there are Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz who will square off in the co-main event of the UFC’s third Madison Square Garden show in November. There is also a lot of curiosity on whether Conor McGregor and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in attendance to announce a date for their seemingly inevitable clash.
Not counting Saturday’s UFC 227, the promotion has 15 shows remaining in 2018. Some notes on those shows:
They will have debut shows in Moscow, Russia; Lincoln, Nebraska; Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; and Buenos Aries, Argentina.
Of the 15 shows, four are PPVs.
There is one remaining Fox network event while the majority of the shows are expected to be on Fox Sports One with the chance of a Fight Pass show somewhere in there, possibly the late-November event at a location to be determined in China.
