After a trip overseas last weekend, UFC returns to Las Vegas for two shows this weekend, starting tonight on FS1 with the TUF 27 finale event and continuing Saturday with UFC 226, a buzzworthy and much-anticipated card despite the loss of the Max Holloway-Brian Ortega featherweight title bout.
As always, we have some questions about the 20+ fights we’re about to see and the storylines leading in/coming out of them. Joining me as always is Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick, one of which isn’t excited for Saturday one damn bit!
*Chiesa missed weight at 157.5. The fight still has to be agreed to as of this writing.
eeWhat are you most looking forward to?
Ryan: I’m really looking forward to UFC 226 as a whole. It sucks that the event lost the Max Holloway-Brian Ortega fight, but the card is deep overall with a really great main event. Some people may knock it, but maybe those people forgot how great Cormier was as a heavyweight. He’s never lost a round there and 13-0. The winner is arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time, and it’s the top fight I’m looking forward to. The Friday main event between Tavares and Adesanya is a very good fight as well.
Paul: I honestly couldn’t care less about almost everything on the PPV card. Personally, it’s the featherweight tourney final fight on the TUF Finale show between Brad Katona and Jay Cucciniello that interests me the most. Katona just happens to be from my hometown and he’s an exciting fighter and a great promo. Cuccinello is coming off one of the best fights of the year on the last episode of TUF and reminds me a lot of Brad Pickett.
Josh: Ladies and germs, only Paul would say he wouldn’t care about one of the better PPV cards of the year in favor of a TUF finale fight. I haven’t seen any of this season of TUF so you could have handed me a list of fake names and I would have believed they were on that show. The Miocic-Cormier fight is what I’m most looking forward to due to the legacy stakes for both men, but that whole PPV card is interesting even with Holloway-Ortega scrapped.
Anything being overlooked?
Ryan: Maybe the Tavares-Adesanya main event on Friday, but two fights that need more attention on Saturday’s show is Saki vs. Rountree and Felder vs. Perry. Those are both going to be violent. Saki is in the conversation of best kickboxer ever, and his lone UFC bout was all action with a great finish. Felder and Perry should be on all-violence teams, so that should be a war.
Paul: Gilbert Burns vs. Dan Hooker is on the Fight Pass portion of Saturday’s show. Between the two of them, they have 12 UFC wins and 11 of them have been by stoppage. Both are just on the outer fringe of contendership and a win on one of the biggest shows of the year could push one of them to the next level.
Josh: The return of the once buzzworthy Francis Ngannou. The guy fought six months ago in one of the most anticipated heavyweight title fights in years and finally returns. What did he learn? What if he brutally KOs Derrick Lewis? What if Lewis knocks him out? One loss put the halt on the momentum can help get the train moving again.
Anything not doing it for you?
Ryan: Both cards are good, considering the Friday TUF Finale is serving its purpose. Saturday is so deep that there is something for everyone, and even though the actual best fight heading into the week got cancelled, there is still 23 fun fights coming up.
Paul: I don’t care at all for the main event on Saturday, but I know I’m in the minority. Cormier isn’t even the real champion at light heavyweight as far as I’m concerned and him getting the title shot is a gimmick. I see Miocic winning fairly easily as his size and reach will be too much for DC. Cormier’s only path to victory is wrestling him to death and the prospects of that don’t exactly excite me.
Josh: That whole Friday show is a waste. Virtually no one watches TUF anymore and its importance shrinks by the day with the Tuesday Night Contender Series growing in popularity among hardcores. I also hate the Adesanya-Tavares fight. I think it’s too soon for the flashy Adesanya and a grinder loss to the boring fighting style of Tavares doesn’t do anyone any favors. I hope I’m wrong, but as you all know, I’m always right.
Any intrigue with these shows?
Ryan: For Friday, it’s whether Adesanya is being pushed too quick, facing a top-ten ranked opponent in just his third UFC bout. On Saturday, you have Ngannou and Lewis looking to take each others’ head off, and Chiesa looking to break into that next level while Pettis wants to prove he has a lot of fight left. Felder wants to fight badly after two cancelled fights. Assuncao wants to prove that he should be next in line at 135 pounds, not Dominick Cruz or Marlon Moraes. There’s a ton of other intrigue as well.
Paul: I couldn’t disagree more with Ryan. I don’t think anything on either show matters at all with the possible exception of a future champion in Israel Adesanya on Friday. But, no one will see that so it’s probably his next fight where he’ll make a bigger step. I suppose if DC pulls off the upset and beats Stipe, it will be a big story.
Josh: I am stunned at Paul’s lack of excitement for Saturday. Outside the main event on Friday, Saturday is where the attention should be focused. With nearly everything on the main card, we get great litmus tests to where fighters are at. Even that undercard has some talents looking to stake claims to bigger things. The results of Saturday should put some bigger fights for November and December into motion.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Ryan: I do think Stipe Miocic is going to win the main event, so the thing people will be talking about is what is next for both Stipe and Cormier. For Stipe, you could be talking about fights against Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, Alexander Volkov, or even Cain Velasquez when and if he returns. For Cormier, you’d have to think going back to 205 pounds would be where he heads off a loss, and there are fights with Jones (if he comes back soon) and Alexander Gustafsson looming. You also have less than a year left for Cormier in the sport. It’s the fight of the weekend to pay attention to.
Paul: People will be talking about Lesnar vs Cormier because I truly believe that, win or lose, that’s the next fight for him. Cormier is the one guy they can count on to make it to the fight and it’s a winnable fight for Lesnar. Cormier will talk it up to the point that it will probably do really well on PPV. Other than that, if Lewis pulls off a win over Ngannou, he probably sets himself up as a future title contender, but I’m fairly certain he won’t.
Josh: That the new heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier finally came through in a big spot and that we really need to see Jon Jones fight him at heavyweight, but that Miocic rematch needs to happen first…at MSG in November.
Who wins?
Stipe vs. DC
– Miocic: Ryan, Paul
– Cormier: Nason
Ngannou vs. Lewis
– Ngannou: Ryan, Paul, Nason
Adesanya vs. Tavares
– Adesanya: Ryan, Paul
– Tavares: Nason
Chiesa vs. Pettis
– Pettis: Ryan
– Chiesa: Paul, Nason
Assuncao vs. Font
– Assuncao: Ryan, Nason
– Font: Paul
Modafarri vs. Honchak
– Honchak: Ryan, Nason
– Modaferri: Paul
Follow along with all the happenings this weekend on this very site.
As part of International Fight Week, the UFC will induct their latest class into their Hall of Fame, a class that includes a current WWE star and a man that helped launch the organization in 1993.
Follow along with our live coverage starting at 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific.
This year’s class includes:
Ronda Rousey (Modern Wing): The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion heads up the class. Now firmly entrenched in WWE, Rousey has essentially retired from fighting after becoming one of its most recognizable faces, male or female.
Matt Serra (Pioneer Wing): Now seen on Dana White’s Lookin’ For a Fight and heard on UFC Unfiltered, the Serra-Longo team founder pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever when he knocked out Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title in April 2007.
Art Davie (Contributors Wing): One of the driving forces behind the founding of the UFC, Davie co-owned the group from UFC 1 through UFC. He wrote a book about everything that went into the first event and still is looking for his big thing today.
Bruce Connal (Contributors Wing): While unknown to the majority of MMA fans, Connal was a key to how the sport was presented as the longtime producer of the televised product.
Shogun Rua vs. Dan Henderson I (Fights): In one of the best fights in UFC history, the first meeting between Shogun and Henderson took place at UFC 139 in November 2011.
**********
John Anik has the hosting duties tonight and he welcomes us after a nice video package highlighting all the nominees. The female who narrated it sounded familiar…..she may have done something similar for WWE.
Shogun Rua vs. Dan Henderson I (Fights Wing)
First up is the Shogun-Henderson fight from November 19, 2011 which, amazingly enough, I’ve yet to see as I was actually watching the free Bellator show that night, which had a fight of the year candidate as well with Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler. From the highlights, I can see why this fight is being inducted. Rafael Dos Anjos was funny in his comments saying he knew watching it that he wasn’t getting a fight of the night bonus that he thought he had wrapped up. Also commenting a lot about the fight was Jimmy Smith, who was actually commentating the Bellator fight that I watched that night.
Shogun wasn’t in attendance but he gave a taped acceptance speech. He will almost assuredly get inducted as a fighter when he retires but he’s still very active and, in fact, on a winning streak going into a show in Hamburg that he’ll be headlining in 2 weeks.
Hendo was in attendance to accept his induction. It’s a very different vibe from the WWE HOF ceremony as it’s a small crowd and it’s a much more casual atmosphere. Henderson says that he had no idea that UFC event inducted fights into the Hall of Fame but he was happy to make a trip to Vegas. He said hearing “Made in America” gives him goosebumps and that this fight was the first time he walked out to that music, which became his signature song.
He said that after this fight, he never wanted to have another fight like that again. And, of course, UFC rematched them 3 years later and Henderson claims that fight was even tougher than the first one. Henderson won the rematch on a 3rd round KO after winning a unanimous decision in the first fight. He dedicated this to his wife and the fans.
Chis Weidman and Aljamain Sterling were interviewed backstage about the induction of their coach Matt Serra. They are both obviously proud but didn’t really have much to say honestly.
Bruce Connal (Contributors Wing)
Jon Anik gave a nice speech emphasizing how important Connal was to the UFC broadcast. It was very emotional and you can tell how personally affected by the premature death of the UFC producer. His wife Karen, along with his children, narrated the video which included photos of Cannal and his family from all over the world. His son Tyler continued the narration and he talked about travelling along with his father to NHL broadcasts prior to Connal starting with UFC. Connal produced every UFC PPV in the 2000s prior to his death as well as every UFC on FOX event during that time. They also aired clips of Connal talking in the headsets to the broadcasters.
His daughter Carly continued the narration. She talked about how Bruce produced every single UFC female title fight in history. His youngest son Trevor talked about how his Dad was his best friend and that his Dad started when he was just 2 years old and he’s now 23. He walked us through how his Dad would’ve produced the McGregor-Aldo fight from the walkout to the fight ending in 13 seconds.
Mike Goldberg, now of Bellator, commented on Connal, which was a nice touch and not something you’d see on a WWE broadcast. Joe Rogan gave an emotional speech about Connal on the tape. You may recall Rogan breaking down when having to talk about Connal on air right after his death. He says that Connal will never be able to be replaced and broke up again. At the end of the video piece, it closed with Connal himself saying “You nailed it”. The Connal family appeared in person to accept the induction on his behalf.
Tyler Connal gave the acceptance speech. He said his two passions were television in family. His father Scotty was also a broadcaster for ESPN, when they launched. Connal was the producer of NHL on ESPN prior to being hired by UFC. He said he never lost his excitement for the UFC, from Tito Ortiz in the beginning to Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and Max Holloway today. He said his Dad was most proud of the opening shot when the main event fighter walks out for his fight. Mike Goldberg was show in the crowd as well as Tito Ortiz during the speech, which closed with a standing ovation.
Matt Serra (Pioneer Wing)
Ray Longo was out first to give a speech about Serra. He told a funny story about Serra cracking him up prior to his UFC debut while he was……”going #2″. He talked about how after going 4-4 to start his UFC career, he agreed to compete on season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter because it had a guaranteed title shot to the winner. Of course, he went on to win the season and the title in the biggest upset in UFC history, at least until Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey in 2016. He said that Serra’s title win sent the message to never stop believing in yourself and to always make the most of your opportunities and that Chris Weidman followed up on that by beating Anderson Silva for the middleweight title. This led into a video package about Serra’s career.
Tons of people appeared in the video package including GSP, Matt Hughes, Daniel Cormier, Din Thomas, Sean Shelby, Brian Stann and Jimmy Smith. They went on to talk about his current show “Looking for a Fight” that he stars in with Dana White and how he’s continuing to contribute to this day with his coaching.
Serra came out to the Rocky music. He sounds a lot like Bully Ray. It took less than a minute for Serra to curse, which is probably good for him. Serra mocked Din Thomas, who was in the crowd. This was basically just Serra doing stand-up comedy and it was pretty entertaining. He got serious when talking about Renzo Gracie, his jiu-jitsu teacher. He said that Renzo gave him the confidence to win his first tournament, basically saying that if he finished second place, he was just the first loser.
He put over Longo, saying he never would’ve won his season of TUF, let alone the title, if it weren’t for his coaching. He made him believe that he could knock out GSP and he’s now tried to carry that on to his students. He also talked about his wife Anne. He was living in a studio apartment when he met her, so he knew she wasn’t a gold digger. She’s the Adrian to his Rocky but unlike the movies, she didn’t become a bitch (his words). In closing, he said to listen to Mr Serra because you never know where your fists will take you. Very entertaining speech.
Dana White interviewed backstage and they announce that Dana White wil be inducting Ronda Rousey later tonight. White said the fighters get to pick who inducts them and he’s honored to have been chosen by Rousey. He said that all of the money that the women in MMA and boxing are making today is due to what Rousey did. He talked about the Shogun-Rua fight, saying it was one of the best fights ever and then talked about Serra and an incident last night at the Red Rock casino where Serra took down a drunk patron. The video of that incident has gone viral in the last 24 hours.
Art Davie (Contributors Wing)
Sean Wheelock was out to induct Davie. Wheelock was the co-author of the book “Is this Legal: The Inside Story of the First UFC from The Man Who Created It”. He talked about the mindset Davie had when organizing the first-ever UFC, wanting to match up individuals from different fighting disciplines to see who would emerge as the premier fighter. He said that Davie would never claim to have created MMA but when you look at what he did, he actually did inadvertently create the sport.
The video package include images of mock-up drawings of the first Octagon. Various MMA media members talked about how Davie recognized the showmanship that was needed to make this work and how he personally recruited several future hall of famers into the sport. Don Frye was also featured heavily on the package. John McCarthy was shown in the crowd. Heavy Bellator presence here tonight.
Davie said that he was told to say that being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame is the biggest accomplishment in our sport. He said it’s special that he’s being inducted during the year of the 25th anniversary of the first UFC. He said he came up with the idea in 1989 to mix up fighters from different styles to see which fighting style was the best. He admitted to being a complete jerk in the first 3 years. He said that even with the idea, he needed Rorion Gracie in order to get this thing off the ground. Davie said he convinced Gracie that if one of his fighters entered the tournament, he would prove that Gracie jiu-jitsu was the premier fighting style in the world.
He revealed that he didn’t sign the contract with SEG until 2 hours before the first event. He also talked about how he pitched the idea of the first UFC to ESPN back in 1993 and joked how they could’ve picked it up for a lot less than $300 million a year if they’d got in then. He listed off the competitors in the first tournament, putting over Royce Gracie specifically. He said that even though they were mocked by saying that these weren’t the best fighters in the world, they were the only guys with the balls to show up and prove it. He said that he, Rorion Gracie and Bob Meyrowitz were the original creators of UFC but put over some of the others who helped along the way. He talked about Campbell McLaren and how he hired commentators like Jeff Blatnik, Jim Brown and Joe Rogan.
He said that Blatnik as well as Big John McCarthy knew way back then which direction the UFC needed to go and spearheaded the changes needed to take the sport to the next level. Davie actually gave him the nickname “Big John” because McCarthy used to actually pick him up off the ground. He said that the first UFC was incredible because it exposed boxers as being one dimensional and introduced ground fighting to American audiences. He said that after the first UFC, people were calling him to enter the next tournament and he could stop cold-calling gyms looking for fighters. He said that all of his ideas weren’t great because at one point he came up with the idea to put John Wayne Bobbitt into a UFC but John McCarthy talked him out of it. He then compared this to Dana White signing CM Punk.
He said that after awhile he didn’t like working for UFC anymore because he wasn’t the promoter anymore and he didn’t like answering to people who had just joined the company. He talked about being asked to leave the company because he was going to start a rival company. He said that he had no regrets when UFC was sold for 4.2 billion dollars because he did what he could with the company and then left and gave credit to Dana and the Fertittas for taking UFC to where it got to. He said he’s recently come to realize that he didn’t create the first UFC, UFC created him and every fighter who ever became a star from Royce Grace to Ronda Rousey and everyone in between.
He thanked the 1,793 fighters who have stepped foot into an Octagon over the years. He also thanked all of the employees who’ve worked for the company over the years. And he thanked the fans who supported the UFC over the years, despite politicians and media trying to kill it. He said that his “baby” grew up and conquered the f***ing world. Speech was a little long but when you created the UFC, I guess you’re entitled to that.
Ronda Rousey (Modern Wing)
A video package aired prior to the induction speech putting over how important Rousey was to the sport with virtually every big star, both man and woman, in the last several years commenting including Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, Miesha Tate, Chuck Liddell and many others. Some of the current women stars talked about how she inspired them to get into the sport. Jon Anik talked about several numbers, emphasizing 90, which is the number of female fighters currently under contract to UFC and they all owe Ronda Rousey for it.
Dana White gave the induction speech. He said that in 18 years, he’s learned a lot of things but most importantly “never say never”. He admitted that Rousey changed his mind about allowing women to fight in the UFC and in doing so, she changed the world. He said he was shocked at the backlash when they signed Rousey and then announced that she would headline the show over Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida. He said she proved that not only could women fight but that they could sell tickets and PPVs. He said that Rousey launched a women’s revolution, empowering women to fight for what they want and never take no for an answer. He said that out of all the big stars they’ve had over the years, only Ronda Rousey transcended the sport and became a cultural icon. He surprisingly mentioned that she’s now making millions doing professional wrestling.
Another video package again emphasized the importance of everything that Rousey did, dating back to her days in judo and her early MMA fights. They must not have been able to get the rights for “Bad Reputation” as they had a sound-alike song playing during the video package. Jon Anik said her run of 6 consecutive title defences, all by finish, will not be duplicated any time soon. Paige VanZant said that when she saw Ronda in the UFC, she realized she could do this as a career. Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk said similar things. Joe Rogan called her the biggest pioneer in the history of MMA.
Rousey was accomponied by her husband Travis Browne and did come out to the Bad Reputation song. She seemed overwhelmed by everything at the start of her speech. She thanked “you”, meaning the UFC fans. She said that for 10 years, she was at the pinnacle of athletic achievment and no one cared and it was only when she came into MMA and people cared, that it made a difference. She talked about what an honor it is to be the first woman inducted into the Hall of Fame and hopes to be the first of many. She said that “we changed what it means to fight like a girl”.
She said that the fans have inspired her and that everything that fans claim she’s done for them, they’ve done for her tenfold. She gave a very personal speech to her fans encouraging them to not believe anything negative people say about them. She said it was an honor to be able to go through this journey with everyone and this was only possible because they were all watching.
The speech was short but incredibly humble, moving and personal and not at all what you would normally expect from Rousey. This was a great 2 hour show and well worth watching if you’ve just been reading along.
The show closed with all of the inductees coming out onto the stage for a curtain call.
With the much-anticipated Max Holloway-Brian Ortega featherweight title clash now in moth balls due to Holloway’s sudden health issues, Saturday’s UFC 226 card got an adjustment Thursday assuming no other fights fall through due to weight cut issues.
Replacing Holloway-Ortega on the PPV portion of the show will be a potentially fun lightweight tilt between Paul Felder and Mike Perry, a fight bumped up from FS1.
Franics Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis is now the co-main event. The card is headlined by heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier with Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis and Khalil Rountree vs. Gokhan Saki also on the main card.
In related news, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that the promotion was trying to put together Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens for the interim featherweight title but due to a recent stem cell injection that Edgar got in his shoulder, he couldn’t be ready but was down to fight on three days notice.
By all indications, Ortega is going to wait for the Holloway fight. There were rumors that the fight could be done on the promotion’s early August PPV in Los Angeles, but that would appear unlikely until Holloway gets a clean bill of health.
For the third time this year, Max Holloway has been pulled from a UFC card.
Ariel Helwani reported tonight that Holloway is off Saturday’s UFC 226 pay-per-view due to what his management team described as concussion-like symptoms after not appearing normal in the last week.
“He was showing concussion like symptoms before he even started his weight cut and was rushed to the ER on Monday where they admitted him over night,” Holloway’s management team wrote in a statement to ESPN. “Initial scans seemed okay and he was released Tuesday afternoon but symptoms still continued.
“Max fought with his team to continue with the fight. He showed some improvement over the next day but was still showing obvious symptoms. After open workouts he crashed and was very hard to wake up, when he did he had flashing vision and slurred speech.”
They noted that Holloway is now back in the ER for further tests.
Holloway was scheduled to defend his featherweight title against Brian Ortega in the semi-main event of Saturday’s PPV in Las Vegas before having to be pulled. Ortega’s status for the show hasn’t been made clear as of this writing.
UFC 226 will be headlined by Daniel Cormier challenging for Stipe Miocic’s heavyweight title.
Holloway this year has had to pull out of fights against Frankie Edgar and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the latter of which was for the UFC lightweight championship. Holloway took the bout with Nurmagomedov on short notice and was pulled during his weight-cut, while a leg injury kept him from facing Edgar.
It lasted longer than his quick knockout of Jose Aldo, but Thursday’s court date with former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor wrapped in 90 seconds with a less than eventful end.
McGregor’s team is attempting to work out a plea deal with the New York district attorney for he and teammate Cian Cowley. The two have a new court date of July 26th set in order to help facilitate that process.
McGregor recited a quick statement:
A member of McGregor’s legal team made a brief statement today, courtesy of Ariel Helwani:
Helwani briefly spoke to McGregor’s manager Audie Attar who said McGregor isn’t focusing on his next UFC fight until this matter is cleared.
McGregor and Cowley were part of an attack at the Barclays Center during UFC 223 media day on April 5th in which McGregor threw a metal dolly through a bus window, injuring several fighters. He has not competed in the UFC since November 2016. McGregor was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief and Cowley got one count of assault and one count of criminal mischief.
Though Dana White took a similar approach after his first loss, it appears that CM Punk won’t be getting another shot in the UFC.
“It should be a wrap,” White replied when asked about Punk fighting in the company again at the post-UFC 225 press conference. “The guy is 39 years old. I love the guy — he’s the nicest guy in the world. We gave him two shots, and he had a lot of heart tonight in this fight. And, yeah, I think he should call it a wrap.”
Punk didn’t speak to the media on Saturday night due to being transported to the hospital for a facial CT scan after losing a one-sided unanimous decision to Mike Jackson. He later sent out a tweet after the show: “You win some, you lose some! I’m 1-1 this week and I’ll take it! Thanks to my team, my family, my friends, and THE FANS! Wouldn’t be here without any of you. Respect to @TheTruthJackson, thanks for the fight! You only live once, and… I’M ALIVE!”
While White credited Punk for the heart he showed, he wasn’t a fan of Punk’s opponent. White said Jackson was acting like a “goofball,” never looked like he was trying to finish the fight, and said he got the sense Jackson was a “complete f*cking idiot.” White said Jackson’s UFC career is over and that he wouldn’t even put him on the Tuesday Night Contender Series.
Former UFC star and current WWE star Ronda Rousey will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame during International Fight Week in July.
The announcement was made during the UFC 225 broadcast. She will be inducted into the “modern” wing, and joins Matt Serra, Art Davie, Bruce Connal, and the Dan Henderson/Shogun Rua fight from UFC 139 as this year’s Hall of Fame inductees. The ceremony ttakes place on July 5th at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas and will air on UFC Fight Pass.
Rousey won the Strikeforce bantamweight championship in her fifth pro fight and came into the UFC as champion, defending the newly-christened UFC women’s bantamweight title and successfully defending it in the first ever female fight for the promotion against Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 158 in February 2013.
She went on to defend the belt five more times, winning all of them by stoppage, before finally dropping her title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. Along the way, she became one of the biggest PPV draws in the sport, drawing over a million PPV buys on 3 separate occasions.
She returned in December 2016 and lost to current champion Amanda Nunes and has not fought since. She signed with WWE late last year and made her debut at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, LA. She is set to challenge WWE Raw women’s champion Nia Jax at Money In The Bank in her first singles match for the company.
In what is most likely to be his final fight in the UFC, CM Punk dropped a rather one-sided unanimous decision loss to Mike Jackson to open up the UFC 225 PPV.
All three judges had the fight 30-26 for Jackson (1-1).
In the first round, Punk (0-2) was active, throwing some kicks, hitting a good left hand, and cage grappling a bit. However, Jackson’s experience took over. He blocked a Punk takedown and started to outstrike Punk, bloodying him up. He did get a takedown with about 40 seconds to go, but couldn’t do anything with it.
In the second round, Jackson hit a big right hand that hurt Punk. He tried a strange standing guillotine which Jackson countered by just dropping him to the mat. Jackson didn’t show much of a sense of urgency in punching Punk while in his guard, many while looking in another direction. He was dominant in battering Punk and the fans began to boo at the action. Punk looked tired throughout the round, somethign that would continue in the third round.
The third was all Jackson, who picked apart Punk on the feet. Punk was throwing wildely but not hitting. Again, Jackson wasn’t showing a sense of urgency and pounded Punk more whhen getting him to the mat. Fans were booing or just plain sileint in the 10-8 round. Punk was trying the entire time, but just had nothing to offer Jackson.
This was Punk’s first fight since September 2016 when he lost to Mickey Gall via first round submission. Ariel Helwani reported via the UFC that Punk was being transported to a local hospital for a facial CT scan.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2, emanating from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The Octagon returns to the Windy City with the deepest fight card of the year, headlined by what has become a non-title fight, but with another title fight still on the card and a slew of big names all along the card.
UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker will fight Yoel Romero in the main event. It was scheduled to be a championship fight, but Romero missed weight on Friday, coming in just over at 185.2 pounds. The fight remains a five-round affair, but Whittaker will walk out of Chicago remaining the champion, win or lose. Whittaker does hold a previous win over Romero, at UFC 213 eleven months ago.
In the co-main event, it will be a battle for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship as Rafael Dos Anjos takes on Colby Covington. Both men are on impressive win streaks, as Dos Anjos is undefeated since moving to 170 pounds, winning three straight, while Covington has won five straight bouts. The winner should be in line to face UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley later this year.
Also on the main card, former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm welcomes Megan Anderson to the UFC in a fight that could set up the next challenger for Cris Cyborg, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski takes on Tai Tuivasa, and former WWE superstar CM Punk looks for his first professional MMA win after a trying few weeks as he battles Mike Jackson.
In a star-studded preliminary card, we have Alistair Overeem taking on Curtis Blaydes in heavyweight action, women’s strawweights Claudia Gadelha and Carla Esparza do battle, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans returns to 205 pounds to take on Anthony Smith, flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Sergio Pettis take on each other looking for a title shot, and popular lightweight Clay Guida takes on Charles Oliveira.
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].
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT
> Mike Santiago (21-11, 0-2 UFC) vs. Dan Ige (8-2, 0-1 UFC) Featherweights
Ige with a quick combination and he gets Santiago to the ground and is in the mount. He is dropping punches and takes the back and is landing big punches from the back. He is working for the choke but still landing hard punches. Santiago in tons of trouble and the referee stops the fight. Wow. Ige with a dominant victory in the first round.
Official Result- Dan Ige def. Mike Santiago by TKO (punches) at :50 of Round 1
> Clay Guida (34-17, 14-11 UFC) vs. Charles Oliveira (22-8 1 NC, 10-8 1 NC UFC) Lightweights
Oliveira with some kicks early. They trade punches. Guida now with some leg kicks. Both are finding their timing. Oliveira lands a left hand. Guida has a cut and Oliviera lands a right hand and grabs the neck on a Guida takedown and it is on tight. Guida taps as there was no escape there. Oliveira with a big submission win in the first in a fight he took two weeks ago.
Official Result- Charles Oliveira def. Clay Guida by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:18 of Round 1
BREAKING: In between fights, it was announced that UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson would be defending against Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 on August 4 in Los Angeles. It is the second fight between the two as Johnson defeated Cejudo by first-round TKO at UFC 197 in April 2016.
> Joseph Benavidez (#1, 25-4, 12-2 UFC) vs. Sergio Pettis (#5, 16-3, 7-3 UFC) Flyweights
Benavidez with an early series of leg kicks. They trade punches and Pettis lands a clean right hand. Pettis tags and hurts Benavidez with a right hand. He lands another and Benavidez is in trouble early. Benavidez gets a takedown into the guard of Pettis and it will give him time to recover. Pettis able to scramble to the feet and they are clinched against the fence. They trade strikes as both are landing. Pettis lands a right hand. Benavidez is keep his hands low. Pettis lands a right as Benavidez comes in range. Benavidez with a leg kick. Pettis with a head kick as Benavidez shoots in and has a leg but Pettis defends and breaks away. Pettis lands a left jab. 10-9 Pettis.
Benavidez lands a quick combo to start the second. Benavidez pushes Pettis against the fence in a tie-up. Pettis was able to get out of the clinch and they’re back to the center. Benavidez with a leg kick. Pettis with a high body kick. Benavidez with one of his own and they clinch against the fence. Benavidez working hard for a takedown against the fence but Pettis defends and they break. They trade kicks. Benavidez with a leg kick. They trade punches and Benavidez back working for a takedown. They trade punches. Pettis lands the jab. Benavidez pushes Pettis against the fence. Close round. 10-9 Benavidez, 19-19.
They come out swinging. Benavidez with a hard right hand and a spinning back fist that lands. They clinch but Pettis defending the clinch and takedown attempts well. Pettis lands a right hand as they break. They trade punches. Pettis with a knee to the body of Benavidez. Benavidez with some body kicks and he lands his punches. Pettis lands a right hand and a body kick. Benavidez goes for a takedown but Pettis grabs the neck for a moment before he lets go. Benavidez goes back for the takedown but Pettis gets away. Pettis lands a double jab and a body kick. Benavidez goes for yet another takedown and it is defended again. They break. Benavidez with a body kick and he gets a takedown. Pettis gets to his feet and has the neck. They break. They trade big punches and kicks late. Good, close fight. 10-9 Benavidez, 29-28 Benavidez.
Official Result- Sergio Pettis def. Joseph Benavidez by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
> Rashad Evans (19-7-1, 14-7-1 UFC) vs. Anthony Smith (28-13, 4-3 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Smith with an early leg kick. Smith with another. They clinch and Smith lands a huge knee that drops Evans and Evans is out cold. Smith with one final punch for good measure as he gets the knockout win in less than a minute. A brutal finish and this is likely the end of Evans’ career.
Official Result- Anthony Smith def. Rashad Evans by knockout (knee) at :53 of Round 1
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Rashad Coulter (8-3, 0-2 UFC) vs. Chris de la Rocha (4-2, 0-2 UFC) Heavyweights
They trade punches early. They clinch and de la Rocha has Coulter against the fence. Coulter with a short knee to the body. They break and Coulter lands a couple of big punches. They clinch and Coulter slips on a knee to the body and de la Rocha gets into the mount and lands some punches. Coulter gives up his back. de la Rocha looking for a choke. Coulter escapes and they get to their feet. Coulter lands some big punches and de la Rocha is rocked and in trouble. Coulter lands some more big punches. de la Rocha is cut badly above his eye. de la Rocha now landing big punches on Coulter against the fence. They are swinging and both landing big punches. Both look gassed. Coulter lands another big right hand. de la Rocha gets a takedown. Not much happened at the end. 10-9 Coulter.
de la Rocha lands a big right hand. Coulter lands a huge right hand. They clinch and de la Rocha gets a takedown. Coulter gives up his back and de la Rocha looking for a choke. He looked to have it for a minute but lets go. de la Rocha landing punches but gets warnings for grabbing the fence a couple of times. de la Rocha looking for the choke again but can’t get it. de la Rocha landing more punches from the back. Coulter somehow surviving. Both are exhausted. de la Rocha still landing from the top. The fight is finally stopped by the referee and de la Rocha gets the win.
Official Result- Chris de la Rocha def. Rashad Coulter by TKO (punches) at 3:53 of Round 2
Lamas with a front kick. Lamas gets a brief takedown but Bektic right back to his feet. Lamas has the body lock on Bektic against the fence. Bektic is landing punches. Lamas with a couple of knee to the body but Bektic reverses position and lands his own knees. They trade knees. They break. Bektic lands a left hand. Bektic lands a right hand. Lamas with a leg kick and eats a right hand as he tries for a head kick. They clinch and Bektic with some short knees. They break but Bektic quickly grabs Lamas for a takedown. They get back to their feet. Lamas misses a spin kick. 10-9 Bektic.
They come out trading to start the second. Lamas with a leg kick. They both defend takedown attempts from the other. Bektic lands a right hand and Lamas is cut open. They clinch and trade knees. Bektic has Lamas pinned against the fence. It was a headbutt that cut Lamas open. Bektic with an elbow. They break. Lamas tries for a takedown but Bektic defends it. They get up and break. They clinch again and each land but they break. They trade punches and Bektic lands a solid combination. Bektic lands a couple of solid punches as Lamas lands a couple of leg kicks. 10-9 Bektic, 20-18 Bektic.
Lamas lands a right hand as he tries to change levels. Bektic counters with a right hand. Lamas fakes a takedown but eats some punches from Bektic. They clinch but nothing happens before they break. Lamas mistimes a spin kick and Bektic is able to score a takedown off of it. Lamas is able to reverse into side control but Bektic quickly scrambles back to the top. Lamas grabs the neck and is looking for a guillotine choke. He is squeezing but Bektic is holding on and broke out of it. They get up and Bektic has the body lock. Lamas grabs the neck again and was looking for a choke but lets go and lands some elbows and punches. Lamas tried for it again but Bektic slipped out and is on top. Bektic with a knee to the body. 10-9 Bektic, 30-27 Bektic.
Official Result- Mirsad Bektic def. Ricardo Lamas by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
They trade punches and Esparza with a leg kick.Gadelha drops Esparza for a moment with a right hand. They scramble and Esparza working for a takedown but Gadelha sprawls and grabs the neck. They get to their feet and break. Gadelha with a right hand but Esparza with a leg kick. Gadelha lands a couple more hard right hands. Esparza clips Gadelha with a right hand and has her rocked. Esparza with another right hand and drags Gadelha down and is in the guard. Gadelha sweeps out by grabbing a leg. Gadelha then gets in the guard of Esparza. Both women landing punches on the ground. They scramble to their feet. Gadelha gets a takedown into side control. Gadelha with some hammerfists. Gadelha has a deep guillotine late but Esparza survives. 10-9 Gadelha.
They come out swinging. Both land right hands. They clinch against the fence. Both battling for position and underhooks. Esparza has the better position. Gadelha reverses and has the body lock and gets Esparza down. Gadelha in the guard and landing punches and big elbows. Big elbow from Gadelha. They get to their feet and Gadelha gets another takedown. She is in real control of the fight now. Gadelha working in the half-guard. Esparza gets to her feet and quickly takes Gadelha down at the end of the round. 10-9 Gadelha, 20-18 Gadelha.
Esparza lands a nice right hand at the start of the third. They trade right hands. Esparza with a front kick but eats a counter right hand from Gadelha. Esparza lands a couple of right hands. Esparza with a knee to the body. Esparza lands a combo. Esparza with a leg kick. Esparza with a combo. Gadelha looks to be trying to coast this round. Esparza lands another hard right hand. Esparza tries a kick but Gadelha grabs the leg and grabs the back. Gadelha with a suplex takedown and is in side control. Both landing on the ground. Esparza pushes Gadelha off and then gets a takedown and is in the guard of Gadelha. Esparza starts landing big punches from the top. Gadelha’s right eye is closed. Esparza finishes with punches from the top. Close fight. 10-9 Esparza, 29-28 Gadelha.
Official Result- Claudia Gadelha def. Carla Esparza by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Overeem keeping his hands low. Nothing has happened 90 seconds into the fight. Blaydes misses a high kick. Blaydes gets a big takedown. Blaydes with some punches from the top. There isn’t much happening otherwise. Overeem going for a leg lock late but isn’t going to have enough time. A complete nothing round. 10-9 Blaydes.
They are fighting now. Overeem with a big knee that hurts Blaydes. Blaydes looks for a takedown but Overeem has the neck. Blaydes completes the takedown and Overeem is looking for a heel hook. Blaydes gets out of it and jumps right back on Overeem. They get to their feet. Blaydes lands an uppercut. Overeem with a step in knee and Blaydes grabs him and gets a takedown. Blaydes in the half-guard and keeping Overeem pinned on the mat. Blaydes with an elbow. Blaydes with some late ground-and-pound. 10-9 Blaydes, 20-18 Blaydes.
They trade punches. Overeem with a body kick. Blaydes lands a right hand. Blaydes with a hard right hand and a knee and then lands some punches against the fence and gets a takedown against the fence. Blaydes solidly in control on top. Blaydes then lands a huge elbow that rocks Overeem badly and then starts firing elbow after elbow and the fight is stopped as Overeem is out and is a bloody mess. A huge win for Blaydes and a dominant showing.
Official Result- Curtis Blaydes def. Alistair Overeem by TKO (elbows) at 2:56 of Round 3
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> CM Punk (0-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Mike Jackson (0-1, 0-1 UFC) Welterweights
Punk with a leg kick. Jackson lands a right hand. Punk lands a right hand and they clinch. Punk with a knee to the body. They break the clinch. Punk lands another right hand. Jackson lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence and Punk with a knee. Jackson with some body punches. Punk goes for a takedown but it is defended. They break and trade punches. Punk goes for a takedown but it is defended again. Jackson lands a left hand. Punk gets a takedown and steps over into half-guard. Punk lands a couple of punches but they scramble to the feet. Jackson with a body punch and a big elbow. 10-9 Jackson.
Punk goes for a takedown and it is defended. They break the clinch. Punk lands some punches. Jackson lands a right hand that hurts Punk. Jackson with an elbow over the top. Punk tries for a jumping guillotine and Jackson takes it to the mat and is in the guard of Punk. Jackson with some punches and elbows from the top. Punk is bleeding. Punk looked for a triangle choke but couldn’t secure it. Jackson still on top and landing some punches to the body. Jackson with punches to the body. This isn’t a good fight at all. 10-9 Jackson, 20-18 Jackson.
They clinch and just nothing happening. Jackson lands a right hand. Punk goes for a takedown but eats a left hand and Punk flops to his back. Punk does land a left hand. Jackson lands a right hand. They clinch and Punk going for a takedown. They break and Jackson lands a right hand. Jackson with some elbows and they clinch and Jackson has the back. Jackson gets the takedown and is in side control. Kudos to Punk because he has heart but this has no business being on a UFC event. Jackson on top and lands some punches. 10-9 Jackson, 30-27 Jackson.
Official Result- Mike Jackson def. CM Punk by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
> Andrei Arlovski (#9, 27-15 1 NC, 16-9 UFC) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#12, 7-0, 2-0 UFC) Heavyweights
They both land short punches. Arlovski lands a right hand and a leg kick. Tuivasa with a leg kick. Arlovski with a hard inside leg kick and he follows with a jab. Tuivasa gets a takedown right into full mount. Nothing is happening on the ground and they scramble to their feet. Tuivasa is cut open but drops Arlovski with a left hand and lets him up. Arlovski with a body lock and almost gets a takedown. Arlovski with a knee to the body. Tuivasa with a combo. They clinch and Arlovski with a knee. They break and Tuivasa lands a big punch. They trade right hands. Tuivasa slips after landing a head kick. 10-9 Tuivasa.
Arlovski with a front kick to the body. Arlovski with some leg kicks. Arlovski lands a couple of solid right hands and then lands a leg kick. They trade and Arlovski lands a solid one-two combo. They trade big punches and Arlovski with a double jab. Tuivasa is a bloody mess but lands a right hand. Tuivasa with a leg kick. Arlovski with a spinning back fist. Tuivasa with a combo and Arlovski stumbles for a moment. Arlovski gets a brief takedown and we have a timeout as Tuivasa pokes Arlovski in the eye. We get back to action and both land solid punches. Close round and close fight. 10-9 Arlovski, 19-19.
Tuivasa with a leg kick. Arlovski counters with his own but eats a right hand from Tuivasa. Arlovski with a couple of kicks and then he lands a right hand. They trade in close range. They trade again. Tuivasa with a right elbow. Arlovski with some knees in a brief clinch. Arlovski misses a head kick. Tuivasa hurts Arlovski with a right hand but Arlovski is recovering. Arlovski with a solid combo. This is gonna come down to the last minute. Arlovski with the jab. They trade strikes. Arlovski with the jab. Tuivasa with a right hand. They trade at the end. Close fight. 10-9 Arlovski, 29-28 Arlovski.
Official Result- Tai Tuivasa def. Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Holly Holm (#1 WBW, 11-4, 4-4 UFC) vs. Megan Anderson (8-2, 0-0 UFC) Women’s Featherweights
They trade early. Holm with a body kick but eats a big knee from Anderson. They clinch and Anderson with another knee. Holm with a short elbow. Holm with a knee to the leg of Anderson. They stay in the clinch as Holm has Anderson up against the fence. They break. Anderson lands a knee. Anderson lands a short combo but eats a front kick to the face from Holm. Holm gets a takedown but Anderson is looking for a twist. Anderson lets go and Holm is in side control. Holm with an elbow from the top. 10-9 Holm.
Holm coming out with some kicks. Anderson tries a kick but Holm grabs her and pushes her against the fence. They break. Holm with a body kick. Anderson tries a knee but Holm is able to counter into a takedown and is in side control. Holm landing punches from the top. Holm gets into full mount and lands some big punches. Holm working for an arm-triangle. She lets go but lands some big punches. Holm in control from the top. 10-9 Holm, 20-18 Holm.
Holm firing kicks but eats a hard right hand from Anderson. Holm goes right for the takedown but Anderson is defending well. Holm pushes Anderson against the fence. Holm gets a takedown and is in the half-guard of Anderson. Holm gets into the mount. Anderson was looking to escape so Holm just got up and let Anderson up. Holm with a head kick followed by a leg kick and then a front kick to the body. Holm gets another takedown into half-guard. Holm moves to side control and lands some elbows. Holm back into full mount and with punches and shoulder strikes. Holm is going to cruise to victory on top. Great performance from Holm. 10-9 Holm, 30-27 Holm.
Official Result- Holly Holm def. Megan Anderson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
> Rafael Dos Anjos (#1, 28-9, 17-7 UFC) vs. Colby Covington (#4, 13-1, 8-1 UFC) Interim UFC Welterweight Championship
They come out swinging and Covington right into a takedown. Dos Anjos back to his feet. Covington is all over Dos Anjos. They break. Dos Anjos with a leg kick and then lands a left hand as Covington clinches. Dos Anjos with a knee to the body. Covington with a high kick and back to the clinch but they break. Dos Anjos with a right hook to the body and then a knee to the body. They clinch and Covington with some short left hands. Covington trying a takedown but eats some elbows and a knee to the body. Dos Anjos with another knee to the body. Covington with some leg kicks. Dos Anjos lands a combo. They trade body kicks. Covington keeps going back to the clinch as Dos Anjos is landing more when they are separated. 10-9 Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos with a leg kick and they trade punches in close range. Covington gets a brief takedown but Dos Anjos gets up. They break the clinch and Dos Anjos with a big body kick. Covington goes for another takedown but Dos Anjos defending. They break and trade kicks. Dos Anjos landing punches to the body. They trade punches and Dos Anjos rocks Covington with a left hand. They trade punches. Covington lands an uppercut. They break the clinch with both utilizing dirty boxing. Covington gets a takedown and takes the back. Covington with some punches from the back. 10-9 Covington, 19-19.
Dos Anjos lands some quick punches before Covington clinches against the fence. They break. They trade punches. Covington back working for a takedown but they break. Covington with some kicks. Covington back working for a takedown and gets it for a brief second. Covington lands a low blow on Dos Anjos and we have a break. Back to action and they trade in the pocket. They clinch and not much happens. Dos Anjos lands a big left hand as they break and Covington back to a takedown attempt that is defended. They trade kicks. Covington grabs the back of Dos Anjos. Not much happened afterwards. 10-9 Covington, 29-28 Covington.
Dos Anjos lands a huge left hand to start the fourth. Dos Anjos gets a takedown on Covington. Covington scrambles to the sprawl and Dos Anjos has the neck. They get up and break and Dos Anjos gets another takedown. Covington with some deep breaths. They get up and Dos Anjos has the back and the body lock. Dos Anjos with some knees to the legs and he takes Covington back down. They get to their feet. They break. Dos Anjos lands a left hand. Dos Anjos gets a brief takedown but they clinch against the fence. They break and trade punches. Both land solid punches and now Covington going for a takedown. Covington lands an uppercut but eats a counter left from Dos Anjos. Covington gets a late takedown and ends the round on top. 10-9 Dos Anjos, 38-38.
They trade early and Covington working for a takedown. Covington has the back. They break. Covington gets a takedown. Dos Anjos gets back up. They trade kicks. Covington working for another takedown. Covington hanging on to Dos Anjos but not really doing much. They break and Dos Anjos with a body kick. Covington lands a left hand and going back for another takedown. Dos Anjos with a right hand to the body. They break. They trade punches. Dos Anjos clips Covington with a left hand. They are battling in the clinch, Covington gets him down but they scramble back up. They trade punches. They are swinging in the last minute. Dos Anjos landing cleaner. Covington tries a takedown to no success. Dos Anjos with a body kick. Close fight. 10-9 Covington, 48-47 Covington.
Official Result- Colby Covington def. Rafael Dos Anjos by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47), Covington wins the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship
> Robert Whittaker (C, 19-4, 10-2 UFC) vs. Yoel Romero (#1, 14-2, 9-1 UFC) Middleweights* (Originally a UFC Middleweight Championship bout, but Romero missed weight by .2 pounds)
Main event coverage by Paul Fontaine as I ran into computer issues
Whittaker opening with kicks, mostly to the lead leg. Punch combo from Whittaker at 1:30. Romero just biding his time and covering up. Punch combo from Whittaker at 2:45. Romero with one at 3:00. Whittaker with 17 kicks landed in the first 3 minutes. Romero lands his first leg kick at 4:45 and it staggers Whittaker. Nice punch combo from Whittaker follows. 10-9 Whittaker
Total strikes are 35-8 for Whittaker. Whittaker continuing to land kicks early. Punch combo from Whittaker at 45 seconds. Punch/kick combo from Romero at 1:00. Punch/kick combo from Whittaker at 2:00. Total strikes attempted 128-44 for Whittaker. Romero with damage to his right eye and it’s almost swollen shut. Punch/kick combo from Whittaker at 3:30. Punch combo from Romero at 4:00. Kick/punch combo from Romero at 4:30. Romero stuffed on a takedown attempted. Whittaker picking him off with jabs before the buzzer. 10-9 Whittaker, 20-18 overall
Punch combo from Romero to open. Romero rocks Whittaker with a punch at 30 seconds. Romero all over him. Whittaker down and Romero dropping hard elbows. Whittaker up and tries a takedown but Romero landing elbows to the head. Romero controlling a cage clinch at 1:00. Punch combo from Romero and Whittaker is rocked. Whittaker lands elbows to the head and Romero in trouble. Both guys just throwing bombs. Romero back to the clinch at 1:45. Romero with light punches to the body. Whittaker bleeding from his nose. Romero with a punch combo and tries a takedown but maintains clinch control. Whittaker takes control at 2:45. Romero quickly takes it back. They separate and another crazy punch exchange at 3:00. Both guys throwing bombs again. Romero all over him but Whittaker stays up. Romero all over him with punches again. Whittaker running away at 3:30. Whittaker rocks him with a head kick. Romero with a punch combo. Elbows and punches from Romero at 4:00. Romero takes the back standing. Romero with a 54-20 advantage in strikes landed and gets a takedown but Whittaker right up. Whittaker controlling the clinch at 4:45. 10-9 Romero, 29-28 Whittaker overall
Punch combo from Whittaker 15 seconds in. Whittaker rocks Romero with a head kick at 45 seconds. And another. Whittaker landing hard leg kicks. Punch combo from Romero at 1:45. Whittaker with a series of jabs at 2:00. Whittaker may have broken his right arm as he’s throwing exclusively lefts and kicks. Whittaker has landed 36 leg kicks so far. Whittaker with a punch combo at 3:30. Punch combo from Romero at 4:15. Whittaker bleeding heavily from beside his left eye. Whittaker with a 32-6 advantage in strikes landed for Round 4. Romero rocks Whittaker with a punch at 4:45. Another combo follows. Whittaker running away. Romero may have stolen it at the end. 10-9 Romero, 38-38 overall
Punch combo from Romero 15 seconds in and Whittaker is rocked. Punch combo from Whittaker at 1:00. Punch combo from Romero at 1:15. Romero chasing Whittaker down now. Whittaker down and Romero all over him. Romero dropping punches and elbows and Whittaker cowering up. Romero landing punches to the body and head. Whittaker not blocking the punches at all. Whittaker to his feet and attempting a takedown but Romero stuffs it and lands more punches. Elbows and punches to the head at 2:30. Whittaker up and eats knees and punches to the head. Romero takes his back and takes him down. Whittaker up and Romero drags him down. Romero on his back at 3:15. Hard knees to the back from Romero. Whittaker to his feet and Romero drags him right down. Whittaker up again at 3:45. Ref warns them to work. Ref breaks it up at 4:15. 10-9 Romero, 48-47 overall
Official Result- Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
Despite a day full of nonsense revolving around whether or not we had a main event due to Yoel Romero missing weight, UFC 225 is a full go for Saturday and man, what a card it is. I mean, where else can you get two pro wrestlers — former WWE star CM Punk and former TNA star Colby Covington — competing for big stakes on a PPV?
Helping me answer the many questions about this card are Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick. Note that everyone wrote their piece before the events of Friday at the weigh-ins. An added note from Paul: Since November, fighters missing weight are 13-2 since November in their fights.
UFC welterweight champion Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II (non-title)
UFC Interim middleweight championship: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Colby Covington
Holly Holm vs. Megan Anderson
Andrei Arlovski vs. Tai Tuivasa
CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson
Prelims
Alistair Overeem vs. Curtis Blaydes
Claudia Gadelha vs. Carla Esparza
Ricardo Lamas vs. Mirsad Bektic
Rashad Coulter vs. Chris de la Rocha
Rashad Evans vs. Anthony Smith
Joe Benavidez vs. Sergio Pettis
Clay Guida vs. Charles Oliveira
Mike Santiago vs. Dan Ige
What are you most looking forward to?
Josh: This entire damn show. Even without the big name headliner, it’s been a while since we had one of these top to bottom loaded shows. I can find storylines and interest in nearly every fight.
Ryan: There’s not one thing I don’t love about this card. It’s the deepest fight card in quite some time and has intrigue all over it. When Clay Guida and Charles Oliveira are in the second fight on a card, you know you have a special card. The fight I’m most looking forward to is the main event between Whittaker and Romero. Their first fight was excellent and I think this one will be even better.
Paul: Punk vs. Jackson. This really intrigues me on so many levels. Two weeks ago, I was firmly convinced that Punk would win but then, I heard Josh interview Jackson on his podcast and then Punk spent the key part of his time he should have been getting ready for the fight in court. Now, I’m not so sure.
Anything being overlooked?
Josh: A lot. Basically, the entire Fight Pass portion (Evans/Smith, Benavidez/Pettis, Guida/Oliveira) has intrigue from returns (Benavidez) and last stands (Evans). Also, the Gadelha-Esparza and Overeem-Blaydes bouts are of interest for what happens to the winners.
Ryan: I think the fight between Holly Holm and Megan Anderson is getting overlooked. As much as people might not believe it, Anderson is a real threat to women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg as she’s as big or even bigger than Cyborg and has good all-around skills. I think she gets past Holm here and gives a great challenge to Cyborg in the near future.
Paul: In addition to the fights Josh mentioned, there’s Alistair Overeem vs. Curtis Blaydes. Overeem is going to be looking to prove a point as he’s mad his fight wasn’t put on the main card and honestly, he’s got a point.
Anything not doing it for you?
Josh: The arrangement of the fights is kinda strange. I would think FS1 would want the more well known fighters like Benavidez and Evans on their prelims. It’s weird to me that UFC would decide to throw a bone to Fight Pass subscribers at this point, but the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this will be a trend on PPV shows until the current TV deal is done. I can’t imagine they’d do the cut nose/spite face deal, but it’s possible.
Ryan: Other than the fact I’m not a fan of Colby Covington’s tactics outside the cage, everything is doing it for me. I won’t ever complain about placement on a show of fights because I watch everything, and there is something for everyone from the moment the first fight enters the Octagon.
Paul: I feel the same as Josh here. I mean, why is Rashad Coulter vs. Chris De La Rocha with their combined 0-4 UFC record on FS1 while Evans vs. Smith is on the Fight Pass portion? The Evans fight might be boring, but you know what won’t be? Charles Oliveira vs. Clay Guida and their combined 17 post show bonus awards. Why this isn’t headlining the FS1 prelims right before the PPV is beyond me and it’s a mistake the previous regime wouldn’t have made. In fact, go ahead and add Oliveira-Guida to the list of overlooked fights. How Josh, with his obsession for “crossroads fights” missed that is just more evidence as to how overlooked it is.
(Josh note: HOW DARE YOU, PAUL!!!)
Any intrigue with this show?
Josh: And how! Will Covington be able to back up the talk? Can RDA win another (interim) title? Can Whittaker or Romero put their stamp on the middleweight division? Is Benavidez back? Is Evans done? Has Punk improved? Real talk, this show is something else.
Ryan: Lots and lots of intrigue with this one. The main event is dynamic and has intrigue on its own. The co-main will set up a showdown with Tyron Woodley. Anderson, Benavidez, and Gadelha could secure title shots. Tuivasa could show he’s the next big thing at heavyweight, or Arlovski could show he has more in the tank. Blaydes gets his tough fight with Overeem who wants to show he’s still a top dog. Bektic can be a threat at featherweight, but Lamas is a guy you have to get by to contend. And then, there’s CM Punk.
Paul: Is Tuivasa the next heavyweight contender? Does Guida have another good run left in him? Can Arlovski turn back time and pick up a third straight UFC win at his advanced age? Does Overeem have another run to a title shot in him? Is Megan Anderson the next featherweight contender for Cris Cyborg? Is CM Punk still a PPV draw? Ya, I’d say there’s just a bit.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Josh: That CM Punk has fought his final fight in the UFC and that we need to be treating RDA as a real threat to Tyron Woodley’s title.
Ryan: Obviously. the Punk fight will get the most attention. I think people will be talking about a trilogy between Whittaker and Romero after this one, and we’ll actually have people excited for a future Woodley fight with the co-main winner.
Paul: The Punk fight for sure, win or lose. If Romero beats Whittaker….was he clean? Who’s next? Do they do a rubber match? If Covington wins, I feel like we may hear rumblings about a fight with Conor McGregor.
Yoel Romero missed weight Friday, so his UFC 225 main event vs. middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is now a non-title affair.
There was no official statement from the UFC on the matter, but UFC president Dana White said the fight is on. MMA Junkie’s John Morgan said as of 11 PM that the commission has yet to make an official statement either.
It’s unknown as of this time whether a financial arrangement was made between the two or if there are fight day parameters in place. Several reporters cited that Whittaker was comfortable with the fight going on, but Romero was the one unsure if he wanted to continue.
If this sounds like deja vu, Romero missed championship weight at February’s UFC 221 in an interim middleweight fight with Luke Rockhold. He won that fight via third round knockout but was ineligible to win the title.
At the official weigh-ins Friday morning, Romero missed weight at 186 pounds but the Illinois Athletic Commission gave him two extra hours to cut, apparently because he is fighting for the title. His second attempt was 185.2, just 2/10 of a pound over where he needed to be.
What happens to Romero after the fight is anyone’s guess. One would think the UFC would make him move up to light heavyweight (205) as this is two straight misses, something they’ve done in the past with other fighters who keep missing.
The 41-year-old faced Whittaker at UFC 213 for the interim title nearly a year ago and lost a unanimous decision. Due to injuries, Whittaker hasn’t fought since then.
The UFC 225 official weigh-ins kicked off 20 minutes early in Chicago, IL, and CM Punk has already made weight, hitting 169 pounds. You can watch the live stream of the rest of the proceedings below:
Thus far, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Holly Holm, Punk, Rashad Evans, Rafael dos Anjos, Ricardo Lamas, and a few others have made weight successfully as of this writing.
You can also watch the ceremonial weigh-ins here tonight, starting at 7 PM Eastern:
UFC 225 card:
– Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero II
– Interim welterweight championship: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Colby Covington
– CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson
– Holly Holm vs. Megan Anderson
– Tai Tuivasa vs. Andrei Arlovski
– Alistair Overeem vs. Curtis Blaydes
– Claudia Gadelha vs. Claudia Esparza
– Rashad Coulter vs. Chris de la Rocha
– Rashad Evans vs. Anthony Smith
– Ricardo Lamas vs. Mirsad Bektic
– Joe Benavidez vs. Sergio Pettis
– Clay Guida vs Charles Oliveira
– Dan Ige vs. Mike Santiago
CM Punk is ready to put his pro wrestling career behind him.
After saying yesterday that he didn’t think he’d be open to an offer to return to the ring, Punk clarified his position during today’s UFC 225 media day in Chicago.
“I’m done, I’m done, I’m done with professional wrestling,” Punk told TSN. “A lot of people like to be mad at me about that and make fun of me because I lost my first fight. And it’s like, that’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinion. But you do not own me, and I am entitled to do what I want to do. And that’s what I’m doing.
“Wrestling is in the rearview mirror. I’ve been trying for five years to put wrestling in the rearview mirror. And some people…they won’t let it go. They, I don’t know, want to live my life for me. I kind of don’t understand that. But it doesn’t matter what I say. I’ve said ‘no, no, no, no’ so many times that people just always kind of be like, ‘oh, so there’s a chance.'”
Punk was following up on comments that he made during an interview with Ariel Helwani yesterday. Helwani asked Punk if he’d be participating in Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks’ All In show this September, and Punk replied that he wouldn’t be. Punk said that no one has ever made him a concrete offer to wrestle for them since he left WWE in 2014. He said he didn’t think he’d be open to one and feels like he’s out of the business — but didn’t completely close the door at that point on something coming up in the future.
Punk’s second MMA fight will be taking place at the United Center on Saturday as he and Mike Jackson open the pay-per-view portion of UFC 225.
Now that his time in court is a wrap, CM Punk/Phil Brooks can focus on the other important to do items in life like his second fight in the UFC, coming up this Saturday at Chicago’s UFC 225 against Mike Jackson.
While he hasn’t done any media leading up to the fight, the PPV opener did his annual longform chat with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani and also a shorter form talk with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan.
In the Helwani interview, he talks about the recently wrapped up defamation trial and the emotions leading up to the final decision. He talks about whether he is going to sue for legal expenses, why the trial was this week, and more.
The 39-year-old lost his first career fight to Mickey Gall in September 2016 while Jackson dropped his first UFC fight to Gall in quick fashion as well. As of Wednesday, Jackson is a -225 favorite going into Saturday.
UFC 225 is headlined by welterweight champion Robert Whittaker defending his title against Yoel Romero with an interim middleweight title fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington as the co-main event. Holly Holm vs. Megan Anderson is also on the PPV portion.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will become the latest fighter to attempt to retire, announcing his intentions on his podcast Monday.
Bisping said that health is a driving factor as he started seeing flashes in his left eye after a knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum late last year. He was diagnosed with a vitreous detachment which he said puts him at risk for a detached retina, the same injury he suffered in his right eye.
He said he was still planning on fighting Rashad Evans in London this month, but after watching a movie about a fighter who suffers major injuries and health declines when he refuses to stop fighting, he decided to call it a career.
Best known for being a great promo and essentially an MMA heel during the boom period of the UFC, the 39-year-old finally reached the mountaintop in June 2016 by knocking out then-champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 to capture his first and only UFC title.
That fight came in a stretch in which he defeated Anderson Silva, Rockhold, and Dan Henderson before losing the belt to the returning Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217 last November. He made an ill-advised return just three weeks later against Gastelum in Shanghai and lost via first round knockout.
He finishes up his pro career at 30-9, having started in 2004. He made it to the UFC in 2006 as part of the TUF 3 cast and moved to middleweight after a handful of fights at light heavyweight. Including the names above, Bisping fought a who’s who including Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Brian Stann, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and Chris Leben.
