Category: UFC News

UFC Fight Night 130 live results: Stephen Thompson vs. Darren Till

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 130: Thompson vs. Till, emanating from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

The Octagon debuts in Liverpool with their yearly traditional event on Memorial Day Weekend, bringing one of the best match-ups of the year in the headline position.

Former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson goes for his second straight win and potentially another crack at the 170-pound title when he takes on the undefeated hometown hero, Darren Till.

Thompson, still the top ranked contender at 170 pounds, goes into enemy territory looking to build on his win over Jorge Masvidal in November. Till, the big attraction bringing the event to Liverpool, is looking to extend his 17-fight unbeaten streak that last saw him destroying Donald Cerrone in one round in October. This fight has some added intrigue after Till missed weight for the bout by 3.5 pounds.

Also among the fights on the card, welterweight Neil Magny takes on newcomer Craig White, Jason Knight takes on Makwan Amirkhani in featherweight action, and former TUF winner Elias Theodorous takes on Trevor Smith in a middleweight bout serving as the opener of the fight card.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 10:30 AM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 10:30 AM ET/7:30 AM PT

> Elias Theodorou (#15, 14-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Trevor Smith (15-7, 5-4 UFC)
Middleweights

They trade early. They clinch and both land some body punches. Theodorou landing some uppercuts and knees as he has his back against the fence. Smith tried for a takedown but ate some hammerfists. Smith is bleeding from the nose as he eats a knee to the body. They are battling hard in the clinch. Theodorou lands some punches as they break the clinch. They clinch again and each land a knee. Theodorou lands a left as they break and then a side kick. Smith with a leg kick but eats a big knee right to the jaw from Theodorou. Smith lands a left hand. They clinch and each land to the body, Theodorou with some knees. Theodorou with more uppercuts in the clinch. 10-9 Theodorou.

Theodorou with a body kick. They trade punches in close range. They clinch and go to the mat for a moment before Theodorou scrambles to his feet. They clinch and Theodorou with some uppercuts to the body but Smith lands a knee to the body. Smith tries to drag the fight to the mat but they are scrambling around. There is a brief timeout but they are put back together in the clinch and Theodorou rocks Smith with some punches. Theodorou now in control of the clinch. They break and both men land some punches. Theodorou has a cut and the doctors check him out due to it being from a headbutt. They clinch again and both landing knees. 10-9 Theodorou, 20-18 Theodorou.

Theodorou landing some kicks to start the round and lands a spinning back fist. Theodorou lands and then eats a leg kick from Smith as he has scrambling away. Smith lands a knee to the body. Theodorou lands a left hand before they clinch. They trade knees. Smith gets a takedown and lands a couple of punches. Theodorou looks very tired. Smith has the neck as Theodorou is trying to reverse position. Smith trying a takedown but is giving up his back. Theodorou now in side control but Smith gets out. Theodorou gets the back as they get to their feet. They battle in the clinch to end the fight. Close round, close fight overall. 10-9 Smith, 29-28 Theodorou.

Official Result- Elias Theodorou def. Trevor Smith by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS | 11 AM ET/8 AM PT

> Gillian Robertson (4-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Molly McCann (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights* (McCann missed weight by 1 pound)

Robertson looking to land the jab. McCann lands a left hand. McCann lands a right hand. They trade punches. Robertson goes for a single-leg takedown and gets it. Robertson in the half-guard. Robertson lands some punches from the top. Robertson goes to side control for a moment and continues to land some punches from the top. Robertson in the mount looking for a choke but landing some punches. She’s now looking for an armbar as McCann is in trouble. Robertson gets the back and is looking for a choke. Robertson with some elbows from the top as she still has the back. McCann survives the round. 10-8 Robertson.

They trade and McCann goes for a takedown but they both scramble away. They scramble and Robertson gets the takedown. Robertson in the mount and landing from the top. McCann gives up her back and Robertson working for a choke. She has the arm underneath McCann’s neck. It is locked in and Robertson chokes McCann out cold. That was a savage choke from Robertson who gets the win.

Official Result- Gillian Robertson def. Molly McCann by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:05 of Round 2

> Brad Scott (11-5, 3-4 UFC) vs. Carlo Pedersoli (10-1, 0-0 UFC)
Welterweights

They trade early and Pedersoli lands a body kick. They trade kicks. They are trading and Pedersoli lands a head kick. Pedersoli misses a left hand. Scott lands a leg kick. Pedersoli with a side kick. Scott with a body kick but eats a counter left hand from Pedersoli. They trade body kicks and Scott drops Pedersoli with a left hand and then drops him again after he got up. Pedersoli got back up and then started wagging his finger at Scott. Scott with a knee to the body. 10-9 Scott.

They trade early on. Pedersoli landing some big body kicks. Pedersoli keeping Scott at a good range with side kicks and body kicks. Pedersoli with a big left hand. Scott lands a combo but eats another body kick. Scott with a leg kick. Scott lands a right hand. Pedersoli with a spin kick. Scott with an inside leg kick. They trade kicks. They trade kicks. They trade punches and Scott with a body kick. Pedersoli with a late takedown. 10-9 Pedersoli, 19-19.

Scott with a front body kick. Pedersoli with a left hand. They trade punches and kicks. Pedersoli with a head kick that gets blocked. Scott with a leg kick. Pedersoli with a side kick to the body of Scott. Scott lands a right hand but eats a body kick from Pedersoli. Pedersoli with another body kick and gets a takedown. Scott has the neck and looks for a choke but sweeps the fight back to the feet. Pedersoli with another brief takedown but Scott drags it back up. Pedersoli with the clinch advantage against the fence. They break and Scott with a body punch. Pedersoli with a final late takedown. They tade on the ground. 10-9 Pedersoli, 29-28 Pedersoli.

Official Result- Carlo Pedersoli def. Brad Scott by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

> Lina Lansberg (#14, 7-3, 1-2 UFC) vs. Gina Mazany (#15, 5-1, 1-1 UFC)
Women’s Bantamweights

Mazany with a body kick but Lansberg grabs the leg and gets a brief takedown. They are clinched against the fence. They break for a moment and Mazany lands a right hand before another clinch. They trade positions and Lansberg lands some knees. They break. Lansberg with a head kick. They clinch again and Lansberg has control of the positioning. Lansberg with a knee. They trade knees. Lansberg lands an elbow and they are broken up by the referee. Lansberg with a body kick. 10-9 Lansberg.

They trade early before they clinch against the fence. Not much happened before they were broken up by Marc Goddard. Mazany gets a takedown against the fence but Lansberg gets to her feet. They break for a moment before clinching again. Mazany with thigh punches and they are split away. Lansberg with a body kick but Mazany counters with a right hand. They clinch again. Lansberg with a knee to the body. Mazany with a left hand after they break and then she gets a takedown. Lansberg right back to her feet and lands a knee in the clinch. This is not a pleasing fight. Lansberg lands a late knee. 10-9 Lansberg, 20-18 Lansberg.

They come out firing kicks before they clinch. They trade knees but are really just holding each other before being broken up. Story of this fight. Lansberg with a high kick. They trade punches. Mazany with a spinning elbow and they end up clinched. They break away and Lansberg with a body kick. Mazany with a body kick. Mazany with a right hand and then another and they clinch yet again. Lansberg with some knees. Mazany with a body kick. Not an exciting fight to say the least. 10-9 Lansberg, 30-27 Lansberg.

Official Result- Lina Lansberg def. Gina Mazany by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

> Dan Kelly (13-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Tom Breese (10-1, 3-1 UFC)
Middleweights

Kelly with a leg kick. They trade punches and Kelly is trying to land that left hand. Breese lands a left hand. Breese lands a combo. Kelly with a leg kick. Breese lands a combo. They trade punches. Kelly with a leg kick. Breese with an uppercut that hurts Kelly and then lands a punch that drops Kelly and he finishes Kelly off with more punches on the ground. Big win for Breese after a long layoff.

Official Result- Tom Breese def. Dan Kelly by TKO (punches) at 3:33 of Round 1

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD | 1 PM ET/10 AM PT

> Eric Spicely (10-3, 2-3 UFC) vs. Darren Stewart (7-3 1 NC, 0-3 1 NC UFC)
Middleweights

Spicely just misses a big overhand right. Stewart lands the jab. Spicely with a body kick. Stewart back to landing the jab. Spicely lands a flush right hand and then goes for a takedown. Stewart with a knee to the body of Spicely. They trade knees before breaking. They trade right hands. Spicely with a couple of kicks. They trade punches. Spicely lands a left hook. Stewart with the jab. Spicely lands a couple of leg kicks. They trade late. 10-9 Spicely.

They trade punches early. Spicely with a leg kick. Stewart rocks Spicely with a right hand and is rushing after him but eats an uppercut from Spicely. Stewart drops Spicely with the jab and is swarming on him and Stewart finishes him on the ground. Big win for Stewart as it is his first UFC win in his fifth UFC appearance.

Official Result- Darren Stewart def. Eric Spicely by TKO (punches) at 1:47 of Round 2

> Claudio Silva (11-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Nordine Taleb (14-4, 6-2 UFC)
Welterweights

Silva right away with a left hand and they clinch. They break and trade kicks. Taleb just misses a head kick. Silva tries a body kick but Taleb grabs it and gets a huge takedown but they get right back up. Taleb with a big body kick. Silva with a leg kick. Silva lunges for a takedown but Taleb gets away and lands a knee to the body. Taleb with a leg kick but Silva grabs it and gets a takedown. Taleb rolls to the leg and grabs it but Silva now landing punches from the top and moves to the mount. Silva with some elbows from the top and Taleb gives up his back. Silva working for a choke and has a squeeze in. Silva has the choke around the neck and Taleb taps out. Big win for Silva as he’s been out of action for almost four years.

Official Result- Claudio Silva def. Nordine Taleb by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:31 of Round 1

> Jason Knight (17-4, 4-3 UFC) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (13-3, 3-1 UFC)
Featherweights

They trade punches and Knight comes on the attack with kicks. Amirkhani rocks Knight with a right hand and misses a flying knee and Knight pulls guard. Amirkhani with some punches from the top. They get to their feet. Amirkhani lands a right hook that hurts Knight. They trade punches. Knight just misses a wheel kick. Knight with a front kick to the body. Knight drops Amirkhani with an uppercut and Knight rushes in but Amirkhani scrambles to his feet. Amirkhani lands a right hand but Knight drops Amirkhani again. Amirkhani gets in the rubber guard of Knight as Knight looks for a triangle choke. Amirkhani holding on and surviving. Knight had a triangle locked in for a second. Fun round. 10-9 Knight.

Knight with a body kick. Knight is talking trash to Amirkhani while standing. Amirkhani with a left hand. Knight with some leg kicks. Amirkhani with a leg kick of his own. They trade right hands. Amirkhani lands a big right hand and then gets a takedown. Amirkhani in the guard of Knight. Amirkhani with a hammerfist as he gets to his feet. They trade punches and Amirkhani gets a body lock and scores a trip takedown. Amirkhani in side control against the fence. Knight looks for a late triangle but Amirkhani lands a hammerfist to end the round. 10-9 Amirkhani, 19-19.

Knight with a leg kick. Amirkhani grabs Knight and gets a takedown. Knight with some heel taps to the back of Amirkhani as he has Amirkhani in his guard. Knight trying for some offense from the bottom but Amirkhani defending well from the top. Knight currently winning the round by being more active off his back. Marc Goddard stands them up as neither were being active on the mat. They land big right hands at the same time and Knight was rocked. They clinch and Amirkhani gets the back of Knight. Knight rolls for a kneebar but ends up on the bottom. Amirkhani with a big elbow from the top. Knight is cut open with just thirty seconds left. Amirkhani in north-south position. Amirkhani with a knee to the body and big right hand. That may get him the fight. 10-9 Amirkhani, 29-28 Amirkhani.

Official Result- Makwan Amirkhani def. Jason Knight by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

> Arnold Allen (12-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Mads Burnell (9-2, 1-1 UFC)
Featherweights

Allen with a big left hand to start. Allen lands another left hand. Allen landing but Burnell covering up and Burnell lands a right hand. Burnell shoots for a takedown but Allen is defending it. They break. Allen lands a left hand. Burnell with a body kick. They are trading and Allen with a leg kick and Burnell with one of his own. Allen with a straight left hand. Burnell gets a takedown and is in the guard of Allen. He passes to half-guard. Allen able to scramble to his feet and lands a left knee. Burnell with a late takedown but Allen right back up. 10-9 Burnell.

Burnell gets a quick takedown to open the second round. Burnell working from the top. Allen able to get to his feet but Burnell takes him back down. Allen gets up and they break. Allen lands a combo. Burnell with the right jab. Burnell gets another takedown. Burnell with some punches from the top. Allen unable to get out from the bottom. 10-9 Burnell, 20-18 Burnell.

Allen lands a left hand but Burnell gets the takedown. Allen gets to his feet but Burnell with another takedown. Allen able to get back to his feet. Burnell has him locked against the fence and is working hard for another takedown and he gets it. Allen gets to his feet. Burnell was trying for another takedown but Allen grabs the neck and has a front headlock locked in. Allen has a choke locked in and is squeezing tight. Burnell drops to the mat but the choke is in tighter and Burnell taps! Wow! Allen was going to lose this fight if it went to the judges but he gets the comeback win.

Official Result- Arnold Allen def. Mads Burnell by submission (front choke) at 2:41 of Round 3

> Neil Magny (#9, 20-6, 13-5 UFC) vs. Craig White (14-7, 0-0 UFC)
Welterweights

They trade kicks. They clinch and White has Magny pinned against the fence. White trying for a trip takedown. Magny reverses positions. Magny trying hard for a takedown but White able to keep his balance. We have a timeout due to a low blow but back to action. White clinches with Magny against the fence right away. Magny with a knee to the body and he reverses a takedown attempt from White. Magny in the mount and was working an arm-triangle. Magny gets to his feet and blocks upkicks from White. White gets up and lands a right hand as he rushes in. Big knee to the face from Magny gets White to the mat and Magny is landing lots of punches and he gets the stoppage. Big finish by Magny to get the win.

Official Result- Neil Magny def. Craig White by TKO (strikes) at 4:32 of Round 1

> Stephen Thompson (#1, 14-2-1, 9-2-1 UFC) vs. Darren Till (#8, 16-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC)
Welterweights* (Till missed weight by 3.5 pounds)

They trade leg kicks early. Till misses a head kick. Thompson with a body kick. Till with a leg kick. Both being pretty patient so far. Till with a body kick and Thompson counters with a combo. Thompson lunges in with a right hand but Till ducks under it. Thompson with a right hand to the body. Thompson with a body kick. Thompson with a leg kick. Pretty patient first round overall. 10-9 Thompson.

They trade kicks and Till just misses a straight left hand. They trade high kicks. This is a chess match in the Octagon. They trade kicks. They clinch briefly and Till lands a knee. Till barely misses a hard left hand. Till with a high body kick. Till with some low kicks. Thompson just misses a head kick. Till with a right hand. Thompson with a side kick and just misses a wheel kick. Still an interesting chess match going on here. 10-9 Thompson, 20-18 Thompson.

Super close fight right now. Till almost landed a right hand but Thompson snuck away. Thompson with a body kick. Till with a body kick. Till doing a lot of stalking but not able to connect on much outside of leg kicks. Thompson lands a right hand. Thompson lands a flush right hand. They trade punches and Thompson misses a head kick. Thompson with a right hand and Till lands a left. Thompson lands a combo ending with a kick. Till with a leg kick. Accidental eye poke by Thompson. Thompson with a left hand followed by a side kick. Till lands a big left hand. 10-9 Thompson, 30-27 Thompson.

They trade early. Thompson with a right hand. Till lands a left hand. Thompson switching stances constantly has kept Till from being able to mount much offense. Till lands a punch. Till misses the left hand. They trade and Till gets the clinch and has Thompson against the fence. They break after nothing happening. Till lands the right double jab. Thompson with a leg kick. Till coming forward and lands a left hand. Another close round. 10-9 Thompson, 40-36 Thompson.

Both land some leg kicks. They are still playing a chess match here. Both landing leg kicks but neither can land that changing punch. Thompson lands a right hand. Thompson with a body kick. Till lands a left hand and then drops Thompson with a left hand and grabs the neck but Thompson gets back to his feet. Less than two minutes left. Thompson lands a big left hand and Till shakes his head at him. Thompson gets a brief takedown to slow Till’s momentum. Neither man not doing much in the final seconds of the fight. This is going to be interesting on the cards as I see Thompson doing enough to solidly win the fight, but you never know. 10-9 Till, 49-46 Thompson.

Official Result- Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

Our questions about UFC Fight Night Liverpool: Thompson vs. Till

Posted on by Josh Nason

It is (was?) a double shot weekend with two overseas shows, one that was on tape delay Friday night and another that’s on mid-morning Eastern time on Sunday. Yeah, tape delays in 2018 and Sunday morning MMA. 2018, everyone.

Now if you’re reading this, you are probably saying, “Hey, I loved the 100th edition of JNPO. That’s it.” Thank you for the compliment, but I should also mention that Bellator 200 was last night so anything you’re reading about that show is posthumous. At times, Bellator feels dead, so I guess that’s fitting.

Some breaking news as of Saturday morning: headliner and local favorite Darren Till missed weight by 3.5 pounds. Stephen Thompson made weight, but he needs to actually accept the fight under the new terms. You’d have to imagine they would financially make it worth his while to do so since Till is the reason they are doing a show in the city. Officials are saying Till had a family emergency so they extended out the weigh-in deadline by one hour.

In any case, here’s some questions and answers for both UFC Liverpool (Sunday, FS1/FS2) and Bellator 200 (DVR, Paramount on demand, in your hearts). As usual, Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick are in the car too.

Main Card

  • Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Neil Magny vs. Craig White
  • Arnold Allen vs. Mads Burnell
  • Jason Knight vs. Makwan Amirkhani
  • Davey Grant vs. Manny Bermudez
  • Eric Spicely vs. Darren Stewart

Undercard

  • Claudio Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
  • Dan Kelly vs. Tom Breese
  • Brad Scott vs. Carlo Pedersoli Jr.
  • Gillian Robertson vs. Molly McCann
  • Elias Theodorou vs. Trevor Smith
  • Gina Mazany vs. Lina Lansberg

Bellator 200 featured fights

  • Middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho vs. Gegard Mousasi
  • MVP vs. David Rickels
  • Phil Davis vs. Linton Vassell

What are you most looking forward to?

Ryan: It’s the main event for the UFC show between Thompson and Till. It is one of the best matchups of the year and has the potential to be a great fight. However, I do think it is too soon for Till. Aside from the knockout of Donald Cerrone, he has been in fights that have gone the distance and were close including a draw with Nicolas Dalby, who is no longer in the UFC. Thompson has a patient style that will work against Till, and I like him better in this fight. The Bellator main event between Carvalho and Mousasi is also an excellent fight.

Paul: I’m looking at “Mr. Finland” Amirkhani on the UFC main card. He’s an incredible personality, has had some exciting fights, and this will be the biggest showcase for him so far, (even though it’s FS1 on Sunday afternoon). He has a star aura about him and Jason Knight is a quality opponent. That fight could steal the show.

Josh: Till vs. Thompson. That fight has the biggest implications with a rising talent vs. a fixture in the division. The issue is that no one wants another Thompson-Woodley title fight, so if “Wonderboy” wins, we don’t get much in the way of something big to look forward to. I would assume a Till win gets him either Kamaru Usman or the loser of Rafael dos Anjos-Colby Covington. That could be Thompson’s path as well.

Anything being overlooked?

Ryan: The UFC card is essentially a one-fight card. It did have a great co-main event between Neil Magny and Gunnar Nelson, but that got scrapped after Nelson suffered an injury. Bellator lost their main event between Roy Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop, but it was a mistake having that as the main event anyways. Both are middle-of-the-road events with great main events, but nothing is really being overlooked.

Paul: Rafael Carvalho in general. He’s the longest-reigning champion in Bellator and hasn’t lost since his pro debut. Most people are looking at it as a foregone conclusion that Mousasi will walk in and take his title, and he very well might, but I think the odds are a little too long in the favor of the older challenger and he could be prime for an upset. Former UFC fighters haven’t exactly lit the world on fire in Bellator.

Josh: The Carvahlo-Mousasi fight simply because it’s a title fight between two fairly evenly matched talents. However, it’s another reason Bellator needs to be smarter when planning out their shows. Less events and on non-UFC weekends would help them avoid being swallowed up news-wise.

Anything not doing it for you?

Ryan: I don’t care for the co-main events on either show. Magny is facing an opponent making his UFC debut on short notice, and it’s really a fight he is way above. This is a no-win situation as a win doesn’t elevate him, and if he loses, he gets knocked way down the rankings. As for Bellator, Phil Davis against Linton Vassel could be a very boring fight. Davis has lost luster since he left the UFC, but he wasn’t an exciting fighter while he was there. He tends to be in a lot of boring fights, and I don’t think this one will be an exception.

Paul: The Davis-Vassel fight is going to absolutely suck. There’s no doubt about that in my mind. Davis may be the biggest waste of natural talent in the history of the sport. I also have a terrible feeling that the UFC main event isn’t going to live up to the hype. It has the potential to be great but so did both Woodley-Thompson fights. I feel that coaches are game planning too much for Thompson which leads to these standoffs where neither fighter will engage.

Josh: Yeah, Davis vs. Vassel is going to be dull. Nothing else raises my ire that much on either show. I think MVP is a little overrated, but he gets a great opportunity to prove me wrong in his first fight after a long layoff.

Any intrigue with these shows?

Ryan: The intrigue is with the UFC due to the main event, and I would say the biggest intrigue with the Bellator card is Michael Page fighting. Page is exciting as it gets, but he doesn’t seem to fight much, so it is hard for him to stay in the spotlight. A win for him and more activity would be nice. The UFC main event makes the show as everything else is filler there.

Paul: It’s definitely Page-Rickels for me. It’s the biggest test of Page’s career and Rickels derailed the career track of one of Bellator’s young guns in Adam Piccolotti in his last fight. Rickels is a wildman and Page’s style leaves him open to getting caught. Of course, he could just as easily KO Rickels in spectacular fashion. It’s time for Page to step it up and live up to the reputation he’s been building for the last 4 years.

Josh: Whether Till is the real deal and how MVP looks after a long layoff. In a sense, the Bellator title fight has some intrigue but with so much weight class jumping in the company, there’s not a strong sense of a deep contender queue.

What will be people talking about most after the show is done?

Ryan: Stephen Thompson is still a top contender, Darren Till wasn’t quite ready for an opponent like Thompson, the Liverpool crowd was one of the best in UFC history, and we are ready for MVP against Paul Daley. I expect all of those to be the stories coming out of this weekend’s big MMA events.

Paul: I think it will be either how badly the main event of the UFC show sucked or Till getting a surprising KO win. Also, the potential big futures for MVP or “Mr. Finland”. The other intrigue, for me anyway, is whether a Sunday afternoon show on FS1 for UFC will outdraw a prime time Bellator event on the Paramount Network. It is interesting that both promotions are running in the UK on the same weekend.

Josh: The potential next fights for both Till and Thompson. Both will get names, win or lose. Who those names are will help guide toward another round of fun welterweight fights.

Who wins?

Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson

–Thompson: Ryan, Paul
– Till: Josh

Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho vs. Gegard Mousasi

– Mousasi: Josh, Ryan
– Carvalho: Paul

MVP vs. David Rickels

– MVP: Josh, Ryan, Paul

ESPN takes entire UFC TV package

Posted on by Josh Nason

This story was updated at 4 PM Eastern.

Two weeks after ESPN officially got into the UFC game with 15 shows for its OTT platform, the Disney-owned sports media giant doubled down, adding another 27 events to its package that begins in 2019, ending the Fox era.

Variety had the scoop in the early morning hours of Wednesday that the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand confirmed and added more details to. The official announcement came Wednesday afternoon via a press release in which they touted UFC’s claim that they have the youngest fanbase among major pro sports organizations (40) and an audience of 40% millennials. They didn’t reveal where that info came from.

The new deal is for five years and a total value of $1.5 billion. ESPN outbid Fox Sports for the contract that kicks off in earnest this January. Ourand said NBC Sports and Turner Sports were also interested.

The breakdown of shows, courtesy of Ourand, is as follows:

– 20 yearly ESPN+ events
– 10 yearly shows on ESPN linear TV
– 12 yearly PPV prelim events on ESPN linear

UFC will run 12 PPVs per a year while Fight Pass exclusive shows weren’t mentioned. Per Dana White via ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, UFC will continue to handle TV production. This is unlike other sports that have deals with ESPN, say the NFL, which ESPN handles full production for, including commentators.

The amount is over twice what UFC was receiving in their Fox deal for prelims, FS1 Fight Nights, and shoulder programming.

Dave Meltzer and others had said UFC had a standing offer of $200 million from Fox for a package of shows even after the initial ESPN deal. Given Fox’s reported 5 year, $1 billion deal for WWE SmackDown, questions remain on how that affected negotiations and whose decision it was to move on.

If all reported numbers from the past week come to pass, WWE’s annual North American TV contract values for Raw and SmackDown would be more than UFC’s, something that just a year ago seemed highly unlikely.

UFC Fight Night 129 live results: Demian Maia vs. Kamaru Usman

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 129: Maia vs. Usman, emanating from the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.

The Octagon debuts in Chile with a 13-fight card featuring a UFC veteran looking to get back to his winning ways against a fast-rising contender in the welterweight division.

Former two-division title challenger Demian Maia looks to end his two-fight losing skid when he takes on the dangerous Kamaru Usman, who is undefeated in the Octagon and winner of eleven straight overall. Maia steps in for this fight on a shortened training camp as he replaced Santiago Ponzinibbio, who was forced out due to a broken hand.

Maia fights for the UFC for the 28th time, and only two fighters have competed under the UFC banner more. Usman is making a charge at 170 pounds and could solidify a potential title shot with another win, but Maia is dangerous and always primed for an upset.

Also on the main card is a battle in the women’s strawweight division as Alexa Grasso looks for her second consecutive win against former TUF winner Tatiana Suarez, who looks to remain undefeated in her career. In the women’s flyweight division, Andrea “KGB” Lee makes her UFC debut, and she has a lot of star potential, as she takes on Veronica Macedo.

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

> Claudio Puelles (7-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Felipe Silva (8-1, 1-1 UFC)
Lightweights

Silva starts with a leg kick. Puelles blocks a head kick and Silva just misses a spin kick. Puelles gets a takedown and into the guard of Silva. Puelles stands up and then comes back into the guard after a hard left hand. Puelles stands and lands another left and then grabs the neck looking for a choke. Silva was able to scramble and ends on the top and starts landing punches. Puelles rolls for a kneebar and has a foot lock in but Silva gets out of trouble. They get back to their feet. Silva with some knees to the body. Puelles pulls guard looking for an armbar. They’re back on the feet. Puelles grabs a leg and gets another takedown. Puelles with some left hands from the top. Back on their feet. Puelles shoots for a takedown but pulls guard and Silva lands a punch. 10-9 Silva.

Silva starts with a leg kick again. Silva lands some punches as Puelles retreats. Puelles lands a left hand. The pace has slowed a little bit. Silva lands a standing knee to Puelles’ body. Silva with a leg kick. Silva with a high kick. Puelles with a body kick. SIlva lands a right hand. Puelles shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Silva lands a big combo and Puelles drops to the ground. Silva goes to the mat and is landing some punches looking to finish. Silva with more big punches from the top. Silva with more big punches. They get to their feet. Silva lands some big punches and to the body. Puelles pulls guard to survive the round as Silva lands punches to end it. 10-8 Silva, 20-17 Silva.

Puelles with a spinning back fist. They trade leg kicks. Silva drops Puelles with a big right hand and is going for the finish. Silva with big punches on the ground. He backs off and the ref stands Puelles up. Silva rocks Puelles with a left hand. Silva then drops Puelles again with a body punch. They are back on the feet. Silva landing big punches on the feet. Puelles shoots but ends on the bottom and Silva landing punches and elbows. Puelles then locks a kneebar out of nowhere and it is in tight. Silva taps! Wow! A big comeback win for Puelles in the third round. Incredible comeback.

Official Result- Claudio Puelles def. Felipe Silva by submission (kneebar) at 2:23 of Round 3

> Henry Briones (16-7-1, 1-3 UFC) vs. Frankie Saenz (12-5, 4-3 UFC)
Bantamweights

Saenz with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Saenz with a left hand to the body followed by a right hand. They are being patient so far. Briones with a leg kick. Saenz lands a punch and then gets a takedown. They get to their feet and Saenz starts landing more punches. They are trading punches on the feet. Briones lands a big right hand. They trade late. Close round. 10-9 Saenz.

They trade early on. Saenz drops Briones with a right hand but Briones gets back to his feet. Saenz scores a takedown. Saenz landing some punches from the top before they get back to their feet. Saenz with some body shots. Briones lands a right hand. They are trading punches and kicks on their feet. They continue to trade punches and kicks at the end. 10-9 Saenz, 20-18 Saenz.

Saenz lands an accidental groin strike early. They trade kicks. Saenz lands a knee in the clinch. Saenz gets a takedown but Briones has the neck looking for a choke. Saenz slips out and is in the guard. Saenz with some elbows. Saenz landing big shots from the top as Briones is trying to roll out from the bottom. Saenz keeping Briones on the mat but they do get to their feet. They break as Saenz lands an elbow. They go to the mat and Saenz has the back. Saenz landing punches from the back as the fight ends. 10-9 Saenz, 30-27 Saenz.

Official Result- Frankie Saenz def. Henry Briones by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

> Enrique Barzola (14-3-1, 4-1 UFC) vs. Brandon Davis (9-4, 1-1 UFC)
Featherweights

They both miss on high kicks. Davis lands a right hand. Barzola with a teet kick. Barzola trips up Davis with a leg kick and then grabs his back. Barzola trips Davis to the mat but they quickly get up. Barzola gets a big slam takedown. They get up and break. They trade leg kicks. Davis lands a hard right hand. Davis lands a combo and then a leg kick. Davis lands another hard right hand. Barzola lands a left hand. Davis gets a takedown. They get to their feet and Davis lands a solid combo to end the round. Close round. 10-9 Davis.

They trade leg kicks. Barzola grabs the back and gets a brief takedown. Barzola is relentless with back control. Davis with a backwards elbow. Barzola with a big takedown and in the half-guard. Barzola looking to grab the back but moves to the neck and is looking for a choke. Davis gets to his feet and escapes. Barzola gets another slam takedown. Barzola has the back and is working for a choke. Barzola landing punches from the back. Davis gets out. Davis working for a takedown but eating elbows. Barzola going for a guillotine choke. Davis gets out. 10-9 Barzola, 19-19.

They trade punches and kicks to start the final round. They trade punches in close range. They continue to trade in close range and Barzola lands a hard right hand. Davis fires back with a combo. They trade body kicks. Davis lands a left hand. Barzola gets a takedown and moves to the back. They get to their feet. They break and Davis lands a knee to the body. Barzola grabs the neck and drags the fight to the mat. Barzola in the half-guard. Barzola gets the back and is landing punches as the fight ends. 10-9 Barzola, 29-28 Barzola.

Official Result- Enrique Barzola def. Brandon Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

FOX SPORTS 2 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Gabriel Benitez (20-6, 4-2 UFC) vs. Humberto Bandenay (14-4 1 NC, 1-0 UFC)
Featherweights

Benitez right away with a leg kick and then drops Bandenay with a left hand. Benitez gets on top and landing but Bandenay looking for an armbar from the bottom. He has it locked in but Benitez slams him hard to the mat and knocks Bandenay out after a left hand. Wow. Big finish by Benitez as he gets the knockout in less than a minute.

Official Result- Gabriel Benitez def. Humberto Bandenay by knockout (slam & punch) at :39 of Round 1

> Poliana Botelho (6-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Syuri Kondo (6-0, 1-0 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

Botelho with a leg kick to start. She lands a big body kick that hurts Kondo. She drops Kondo with a right hand and Kondo is in a lot of trouble. Botelho lands some more punches as Kondo is having trouble defending and the fight is stopped. Wow. Botelho with a big finish in another fight that goes less than a minute.

Official Result- Poliana Botelho def. Syuri Kondo by TKO (strikes) at :33 of Round 1

> Brandon Moreno (#7, 14-4, 3-1 UFC) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (#12, 18-3, 2-1 UFC)
Flyweights

Moreno with a quick leg kick. Pantoja with a leg kick in return. Moreno just misses a spinning wheel kick. They trade and Pantoja lands a knee. Moreno gets a takedown but they scramble to the feet. Pantoja lands a left hand. They trade punches. Pantoja lands a good combo that wobbles Moreno. Pantoja lands a solid right hand that hurts Moreno and Moreno starts to retreat away. Moreno fakes a takedown. Moreno falls to the mat after missing a takedown and Pantoja follows down and is landing punches from the top. Pantoja with some big punches and Moreno is bleeding. Pantoja takes the back and lands big punches to end the round. 10-8 Pantoja.

Pantoja with a leg kick. He lands an overhand right. Moreno lands a left hook but Pantoja is countering with big combos. They are dirty boxing against the fence. Pantoja landing the jab. Pantoja with a leg kick. They trade punches and kicks. Pantoja with more leg kicks. The pace has slowed a little. They trade some punches inside the pocket. Pantoja wobbles Moreno with a left hand and then lands a knee to the body against the fence. 10-9 Pantoja, 20-17 Pantoja.

Pantoja with an inside leg kick. Pantoja lands a left hand. They clinch and Moreno pushes the fight against the fence. Pantoja reverses and lands a knee. Moreno with an elbow on the break and they trade punches. Moreno gets a brief takedown but Pantoja gets it right back up. They both trade big punches and Pantoja got the better of it. Pantoja lands a hard right hand. Pantoja lands some more hard punches. They trade punches. Wild brawl to end the fight. 10-9 Pantoja, 30-26 Pantoja.

Official Result- Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)

> Zak Cummings (21-5, 6-2 UFC) vs. Michel Prazeres (24-2, 8-2 UFC)
Welterweights

Prazeres with a body kick. Prazeres lands a right hand. Prazeres gets a takedown and is on top. Prazeres in the half-guard but not doing much and they are stood up by the referee. They trade punches and Cummings is cut open from a headbutt. Prazeres lands a left hand and then a leg kick and followed with a right hand. Cummings with a high kick that misses. 10-9 Prazeres,

Prazeres goes for a takedown and has the back of Cummings. Prazeres gets a takedown but Cummings gets up. They break and Cummings lands some punches and Prazeres is cut open under his eye. They continue to clinch and Cummings with some body punches. They break and both land. Cummings with a high kick and Prazeres counters with a right hand. Cummings lands a straight left hand. They clinch and Cummings pushes it against the fence. Prazeres grabbed the cage to block a takedown. They trade punches. 10-9 Cummings, 19-19.

They trade punches. Cummings starting to bleed more. Prazeres lands a right hand. He fakes a takedown and ends with another right hand. Cummings lands a left. They are fighting slow and the crowd is booing. Cummings with a high kick that is blocked. They clinch but nothing happens and they are split by the ref. Cummings with a body kick and then a head kick. They trade. Prazeres lands a left hand. Cummings with a big body kick and then a knee to the body. Prazeres with a late takedown. He ends the fight on top. 10-9 Prazeres, 29-28 Prazeres.

Official Result- Michel Prazeres def. Zak Cummings by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT

> Vicente Luque (12-6-1, 5-2 UFC) vs. Chad Laprise (13-2, 6-2 UFC)
Welterweights

Luque with some leg kicks and Laprise counters with one of his own. They trade punches. Laprise with a leg kick followed by a left hand. They trade and clinch and Laprise gets a takedown but they get right back up. Luque lands a right hand. Laprise lands a double jab. Luque with a head kick that is blocked. Luque drops Laprise with a big left hand and then finishes him off with a couple of more punches. Big finish by Luque.

Official Result- Vicente Luque def. Chad Laprise by knockout (punches) at 4:16 of Round 1

> Veronica Macedo (5-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Andrea Lee (8-2, 0-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

They trade leg kicks. Macedo lands a nice combo. They clinch and Lee lands a knee and then some to the body and another to the head. Macedo with a spin kick to the body. They trade and clinch. Lee with some more knees to the body. Lee gets a takedown. Lee with some kicks as Macedo is on the ground. Macedo with a big knee and then rocks Lee with a head kick. They clinch and Lee gets a throw takedown. Lee gets the back and locks in a rear-naked choke. She had it but let go and landed some elbows. Lee still has back control and goes for an armbar but time runs out. 10-9 Lee.

Macedo misses a spin kick. They clinch and Lee lands a couple of knees. Lee with a head-and-arm throw but Macedo able to scramble to her feet. Macedo pulls guard. Lee gets to her feet and lands some leg kicks to the downed Macedo. Macedo gets up and lands a left hand. They clinch and Lee lands a knee and Macedo an uppercut. Macedo then gets a takedown but Lee able to reverse to the top. Macedo rolls for a kneebar but Lee able to get out of it. Lee working for an arm-triangle. Lee mounts Macedo and lands an elbow before Macedo escapes. 10-9 Lee, 20-18 Lee.

They trade punches. Lee gets a takedown and ends up on top. Lee with some punches from the top and she gets to her feet. Macedo remains on her back. Macedo wants Lee back on the mat. Macedo lands a couple of upkicks. They trade punches. They clinch and Lee with some knees and then gets a takedown. Lee in side control and then moves to mount. Macedo gives up her back and Lee looking for an opening for the choke. They scramble and Macedo grabs the neck for a moment but Lee gets to her feet. Lee ends the fight on top. 10-9 Lee, 30-27 Lee.

Official Result- Andrea Lee def. Veronica Macedo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Diego Rivas (7-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Guido Cannetti (7-3, 1-2 UFC)
Bantamweights

Rivas drops Cannetti for a moment to start the fight. RIvas gets the fight to the mat for a moment but Cannetti gets it up and has Rivas against the fence. Cannetti gets a takedown. Rivas grabbed an arm and was looking for an armbar but Cannetti escaped out and got the back. They get to their feet and Cannetti has the backpack and Rivas is looking for an escape. They break as the round ends. 10-9 Cannetti.

Cannetti with a body kick. We have an errant groin shot on Rivas and a timeout. They get back to action and Cannetti gets a takedown and is in the guard working for something. They are stood up by the referee. Rivas unable to do much in this one so far. They trade kicks. Rivas gets a big takedown but Cannetti right back to his feet. Rivas grabs the neck and has the guillotine locked in but Cannetti pops his head out. They get to their feet and Cannetti ends the round on the back of Rivas. 10-9 Cannetti, 20-18 Cannetti.

They come out trading. Rivas lands a big right hand that wobbles Cannetti. Cannetti misses a spin kick by a mile. They clinch and Rivas lands an elbow. Cannetti tries a trip takedown but can’t get it and Rivas grabs the neck. Rivas lands some knees and some elbows and uppercuts in the clinch. Cannetti grabs the neck and they drop to the mat. Cannetti working for a guillotine but Rivas escapes. Cannetti has a big cut open. They get to their feet and Cannetti lands a couple of kicks. Rivas with a body kick. Crowd with loud chants for Rivas. They trade strikes. Rivas with a flurry to end. 10-9 Rivas, 29-28 Cannetti.

Official Result- Guido Cannetti def. Diego Rivas by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Jared Cannonier (10-3, 3-3 UFC) vs. Dominick Reyes (8-0, 2-0 UFC)
Light Heavyweights

Cannonier with a leg kick and an overhand right. Reyes with a leg kick. Cannonier with a right hand. Reyes with an inside leg kick. Reyes goes for a takedown and grabs a leg but Cannonier lands some punches and he lets go. Reyes lands a left hand. Cannonier lands a right hand. Reyes with a series of strikes. Reyes rocks Cannonier with an uppercut and Cannonier is retreating. Reyes follows up with leg kicks and then drops Cannonier with an uppercut and the referee stops it. Cannonier went limp after the uppercut and Marc Goddard had seen enough. Impressive stoppage by Reyes.

Official Result- Dominick Reyes def. Jared Cannonier by TKO (strikes) at 2:55 of Round 1

> Alexa Grasso (#9, 10-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Tatiana Suarez (#12, 5-0, 2-0 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

They trade kicks. Suarez shoots for a takedown but Grasso defends against the fence. Suarez with a head-and-arm takedown. Grasso back to her feet. Suarez with another takedown. Grasso trying to get out but Suarez gets the back and keeps the fight down. Suarez looking for a rear-naked choke and she has it locked in. She gets Grasso to tap out! Suarez with an impressive first-round submission win.

Official Result- Tatiana Suarez def. Alexa Grasso by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:44 of Round 1

> Demian Maia (#5, 25-8, 19-8 UFC) vs. Kamaru Usman (#7, 12-1, 7-0 UFC)
Welterweights

Usman with a leg kick and then another. Maia lands a left hand. Usman with another leg kick. Maia lands another left hand. Usman with a leg kick and Maia counters with a takedown but Usman right back to his feet. Maia has the back of Usman standing. Maia with a right hand from the back. They are broken up by the referee. Usman with a leg kick. Usman with the jab. Not much to the round. 10-9 Maia.

Usman lands a right hand. Maia goes for a takedown but it is stuffed by Usman. Usman has the neck in the sprawl position. They get back to their feet and Maia lands a left hand. Usman with a right hand. Usman lands another right hand. Usman with a leg kick and Maia works for a takedown but Usman defends it. They trade punches and Maia goes for another takedown but Usman defends it perfectly. Usman lands some right hands. Maia with an uppercut to the body and Usman counters with his own. They clinch against the fence. Maia pulls guard but not much happens after. 10-9 Usman, 19-19.

Maia lands a left hand. Usman with a right hand. They trade punches. Usman stumbles but lands a right hand as he catches his balance. Maia with a combo. Maia lands a left hand. Usman trying to land punches but Maia is in retreat mode. Maia dives for a takedown but Usman defends. Maia inviting him to the mat but Usman is having none of it. They trade punches. Maia with another takedown attempt that Usman stuffs. 10-9 Usman, 29-28 Usman.

Usman drops Maia with a right hand and he is swarming looking to finish but Maia sprawls to his knees and grabs Usman. Usman trying to escape there and is landing punches. They get to their feet. Maia shoots for a takedown but Usman sprawls and starts landing punches. They get back to their feet. Neither man landing anything now. Maia lands the jab. Maia bleeding now. Maia grabs the single leg but lets go as he can’t get Usman down. Usman lands a right hand. 10-9 Usman, 39-37 Usman.

Maia still trying for takedowns but can’t get Usman down. Maia is exhausted. He wants Usman on the ground but Usman won’t take the bait. They trade punches and Maia starts retreating again. Maia lands a left hand. Maia tries a takedown but Usman quickly grabs the head and sprawls. Usman lets go and they get to their feet. Usman with a right hand. Maia tries a takedown but it is defended and Usman goes to the mat in Maia’s guard. Usman gets to his feet and Maia continues to invite him to the mat. Usman with a right hand. Usman with a head kick. Not the most exciting fight you will see to say the least. 10-9 Usman, 49-46 Usman.

Official Result- Kamaru Usman def. Demian Maia by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

Our questions about UFC Fight Night Chile: Usman vs. Maia

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: MMA Fighting

UFC returns for its second show of three this month, a Fox Sports One show emanating from Santiago, Chile — their first show in the country. Fun fact: all three of their May events are outside of North America. Use that at your next round of trivia and stump everyone!

The show was supposed to be headlined by a battle of fast-rising welterweights, but local favorite Santiago Ponzinibbio had to bow out due to injury, leaving Kamaru Usman without a dance partner. Enter veteran Demian Maia, looking to snap a two-fight losing streak and hold as he nears the end of an interesting career.

Helping me preview the show and answer some questions are “Mr. Winnipeg” Paul Fontaine and Texas tough Ryan Frederick.

Main Card

  • Demian Maia vs. Kamaru Usman
  • Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez
  • Jared Cannonier vs. Dominick Reyes
  • Diego Rivas vs. Guido Cannetti
  • Veronica Macedo vs. Andrea Lee
  • Vicente Luque vs. Chad Laprise

Undercard

  • Zak Cummings vs. Michel Prazeres
  • Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
  • Poliana Botelho vs. Syuri Kondo
  • Gabriel Benitez vs. Humberto Bandenay
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Brandon Davis
  • Henry Briones vs. Frankie Saenz
  • Claudio Puelies vs. Felipe Silva

What are you most looking forward to?

Frederick: I guess it would be the main event as there isn’t much to this card. I don’t think Maia has much of a chance against Usman, and the short training camp and preparation time hurts him more. Usman has so much power on his feet and has arguably the best wrestling in the welterweight division. Out of all of the rising competition at 170, I see Usman as the one that is destined to be the champion more than any of the others (Darren Till, Colby Covington and Santiago Ponzinibbio to name a few). Also, I am looking forward to Andrea “KGB” Lee’s UFC debut as she has star potential.

Fontaine: I’m a big proponent of women’s MMA and have been following Lee’s career for a couple of years and it’s great to see her finally debuting in UFC this weekend. I think she could be the signature star of the UFC’s newest weight class within a year or two.

Nason: Usman-Maia because Usman has a lot on the line after his last outing, a dull win that raised Dana White’s ire as Usman’s “30%” comment that got taken the wrong way. With an impressive showing, he gets right back in the mix for an interesting fight. With a boring win, I think they try to run the Ponzinibbio fight back. The Grasso-Suarez fight is also on my radar, but more on that below.

What is being overlooked?

Fontaine: The fact this show is even happening is my answer as it’s really a one-fight main card with no one anyone knows outside of the most hardcore of the hardcore fanbase. Going down the prelims, there are a few more names that are slightly familiar but aside from Maia, no one has ever headlined a card or even been in a featured fight aside from Suarez in the TUF finale the year she made it to the finals.

Frederick: I really don’t think anything is being overlooked due to the lack of overall interest in this card. I know a lot of people are down on Grasso vs. Suarez as a co-main event, but it is an interesting fight. Grasso still has loads of potential despite the stumbling block that was her loss to Felice Herrig, but she could still be a contender down the line. Suarez also could be a contender and she has shown a lot of potential. It’s a very good fight for both at this stage of their careers.

Nason: I think the term “co-main event” really can throw people off. On this show, I’m fine with the placement as there’s really not much else and UFC would love to have one of these two breakout this year. An impressive showing by either puts them in a good spot for their next fight. The undefeated Suarez can take a loss here and will be fine, but I think the weight of this is really on Grasso given the expectations she came in with.

What’s not doing it for you?

Nason: The prelms are pretty meh. The Moreno-Pantoja fight could be a dark horse, but UFC has to hope this is like last week’s Brazil show with lots of fun finishes.

Frederick: I don’t have many expectations for this card. There are some solid, mid-tier fights in certain divisions, but nothing overtly stands out. It’s a night of fights.

Fontaine: The whole card in general. As someone who, for the most part, prides himself in seeing every card the UFC puts out there, it’s a struggle for even me to care in the slightest about this show. I do have family commitments that will make it impossible for me to see it live and, for the first time in awhile, I’m contemplating not even bothering to catch up with the show the next day when I have a chance to.

What’s the intrigue with this show?

Frederick:  It’s whether Maia can pull off the upset over Usman. It’s Maia’s 28th UFC fight and only Michael Bisping and Jim Miller have had more. He’s a hard-nosed veteran who is certainly capable of pulling it out. However, he’s getting up there in age and it’s going to be a tough outing for him. If he’s able to win, it’s the most intriguing thing to me on this card.

Fontaine: I suppose it would be whether or not the three unbeaten fighters on the show can maintain their perfect records. Syuri Kondo (6-0) and Tatiana Suarez (5-0) are early in their careers but in a strawweight division that doesn’t have a ton of depth, they could be title contenders in short time. The other is light heavyweight Dominick Reyes. At 8-0, he’s had first round finishes in each of his first two UFC fights. 205 is a division in turmoil right now and a third straight quick finish will have a lot of people talking about the 28-year-old prospect.  

Nason: I’m also interested in the Reyes-Cannonier outcome, but the intrigue here is whether Usman can put on a show. A finish of Maia would raise his stock considerably. 

What will be people talking about Sunday after the show is done?

Frederick: That Kamaru Usman is a real threat to be the champion at 170 pounds, and that Andrea Lee is going to be a star. Those are the two to watch on this show. Everything else just seems to be filling a card. Chile finally gets an event and I’m sure the fans there are going to show up and be a good crowd.

Fontaine: Whether or not the Celtics can be competitive in the NBA finals with either Golden State or Houston. Certainly not anything from this show. Maybe Andrea Lee if she puts in a good performance and gets some promo time.

Nason: “There was a show?”

Who wins?

Demian Maia vs. Kamaru Usman

Usman: Nason, Frederick
Maia: Fontaine

Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez

Grasso: Frederick, Fontaine
Suarez: Nason

Jared Cannonier vs. Dominick Reyes

Cannonier: Nason
Reyes: Frederick, Fontaine

Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja

Moreno: Nason, Frederick, Fontaine

Follow along with our coverage Saurday night. 

MMA reporter and personality Ariel Helwani joining ESPN

Posted on by Josh Nason

On Thursday, ESPN officially announced that MMA journalist and insider Ariel Helwani will be joining the company in June.

He will have a variety of roles with ESPN as new upper management continues to try to attract younger viewers for its programming:

– He will host “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show”, an ongoing podcast. The frequency and length of the show wasn’t disclosed.

– Along with Chael Sonnen, he will co-host “Ariel & The Bad Guy”, a weekly 30-minute digital show for the ESPN+ platform that will also include some pre and post shows for events. This was specifically highlighted in the news release which indicates their commitment to it.

– He will be a reporter for MMA across ESPN’s TV and digital platforms.

Recently, the UFC announced a deal with ESPN+ to air 15 shows on the upstart OTT network. Helwani has clashed with UFC president Dana White in the past, especially during the days when Helwani was working for UFC broadcast partner Fox Sports. Issues arose over time that resulted in the two sides parting ways, the circumstances of which Helwani discussed on his ‘MMA Hour’ show.

White had Helwani removed from the Showtime broadcast team for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor build-up, so how this relationship will work going forward will be something to watch.

For MMA Fighting, this leaves a big gap in coverage as Helwani gave the company four hours every Monday of interviews on ‘The MMA Hour’, his preview and post-fight shows for select events, anchoring ‘The MMA Beat’ and more. While they still have depth, losing someone of Helwani’s reach and stature will hurt in the short term as things get settled out.

Chuck Liddell announces he will fight again

Posted on by Josh Nason

Chuck Liddell, former UFC light heavyweight champion and one of the few MMA stars to break through in pop culture, announced on Monday’s ‘The MMA Hour’ that he will return to fighting.

The 48-year-old last competed at UFC 115 in June 2010, losing via first round KO to Rich Franklin. He lost five of his last six fights in the UFC, the last three by knockout or technical knockout.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Liddell confirmed that he’s talked to boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya about rekindling his feud with Tito Ortiz in a promotion the boxing champion has recently discussed. He said no movement has been made recently on that front, but that if it’s not Ortiz, he will fight someone either from his past or another veteran.

Ortiz said recently that he’s coming out of retirement specifically for the Liddell fight. Liddell said he hopes the fight would be in California or Las Vegas.

He said that in addition to De La Hoya, he plans on talking to Bellator and that he is interested in a fight with Chael Sonnen. He didn’t rule out the UFC, but doubted that Dana White would be interested given his past comments.

He said he would like to come back for 1-2 fights and then get a shot at Jon Jones. 

Along with Matt Hughes, Liddell was a UFC “ambassador” up until December 2016 when the two were released after WME-IMG bought the company.

Our questions about UFC 224: Can Amanda Nunes sell PPVs?

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: MMA Junkie

It’s a busy Saturday night in combat sports with two MMA shows and a boxing main event that has a lot of people interested. Let’s focus on Saturday’s UFC 224, a well-rounded PPV that has a lot of intrigue for the hardcore MMA crowd but doesn’t appear to be a big draw with anyone else.

Helping me answer a few questions about the show are fellow MMA scribes Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick.

Main Card

  • Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington
  • Jacare Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper (catchweight)
  • John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher
  • Vitor Belfort vs. Lyoto Machida

Undercard

  • Cezar Ferreira vs. Karl Roberson
  • Alexey Oleynik vs. Junior Albini
  • Davi Ramos vs. Nick Hein
  • EZ dos Santos vs. Sean Strickland
  • Warrley Alves vs. Sultan Aliev
  • Thales Leites vs. Jack Hermansson
  • Alberto Mina vs. Ramazan Emeev
  • Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic

What are you most looking forward to?

Ryan: Jacare vs. Gastelum, followed closely by Lineker vs. Kelleher. I feel Jacare and Gastelum is the true main (sorry, Nunes and Pennington), and the winner should be next in line at 185 pounds. It has the potential to be a slugfest with a strong possibility someone goes to sleep. Lineker and Kelleher has war written all over it as Lineker is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, and Kelleher isn’t too shabby in that category either.

Paul: The main event as I love excellence and that’s what Nunes is. She has looked unbeatable since winning the bantamweight title and I don’t care if she’s not a draw; I just love seeing her mow people down. And, she’s a very likeable person to boot, so there’s that.

Nason: Souza vs. Gastelum because a) it’s a compeitive bout and b) there are real stakes involved. I must admit that Dern vs. Cooper has an added element of intrigue given the weight issues Dern ran into and the promo Cooper cut. The whole main card is intriguing, but not in a ‘take my money!’ kinda way.

What is being overlooked?

Ryan: I don’t know that it is being overlooked, but more love and attention needs to be going to the fight between Belfort and Machida. It is supposedly Belfort’s last fight (although he says he’s not retiring but it is his last fight) in only a way that he can explain and justify. Machida is a good final opponent as hey are both stars, former champions, and future hall-of-famers. They deserve a better spotlight than opening the main card.

Paul: There’s a couple of real good welterweights fighting way down the card in Alberto Mina (13-0) and former middleweight Ramazan Emeev (16-3). These are the kinds of fighters that could be players in the division in a very short period of time.

Nason: The Lineker-Kelleher fight is hurt a bit because Kelleher isn’t really a well-known name although he’s 3-1 in the UFC with his most recent win coming over Renan Barao.

What’s not doing it for you?

Ryan: I’m not really excited for the main event, but that speaks to the overall depth of the women’s bantamweight division. Pennington is on a win streak and is the best contender in the division at the moment, but she just doesn’t feel spectacular. It just doesn’t seem like she’s a threat to Nunes, especially coming off of her major injury. Perhaps I’m overlooking her, and there were times we never would have imagined that Robbie Lawler or Rafael Dos Anjos would become UFC champions, and Pennington has a chance. I just don’t think it happens, and I don’t think the fight will be compelling at all.

Paul: Dern did not seem ready for UFC in her debut and they’ve already got her fighting on a PPV main card. Her opponent, Amanda Cooper, has a 3-3 record and probably doesn’t even belong in the UFC at all. Dern came into the UFC with superstar potential and she had better show something here or the company may have squandered another potential star.

Nason: To speak to Ryan’s comment above with Machida-Belfort being overlooked, I guess I don’t hold those guys in as much reverence. I think the placement is fine given where both guys are at, but honestly, Belfort should have retired years ago and Eryk Anders should have got the judges’ decision over Machida. They are what they are.

What’s the big intrigue with this show?

Ryan: I think the big intrigue is whether Nunes can pull a decent buyrate. She headlined two big events, but those really didn’t have a lot to do with her. Let’s just be honest: the one time she had a chance to headline a pay-per-view without it being UFC 200 or against Ronda Rousey, it failed badly. This is a second chance, probably the last one, and she doesn’t have a marquee opponent. This is tough to sell.

Paul: It’s whether Amanda Nunes is any kind of a draw. The show she headlined last summer vs. Valentina Shevchenko did the worst PPV numbers of the year, just barely hitting 100,000 buys. That followed two shows that did 1 million plus buys and she was KO’ing her opponents in the main event. I think she’s somewhere in between those two extremes and almost certainly closer to the bottom. The question is whether this show can do 250,000 or more buys with a fairly deep lineup or if the show does very poorly again and she’s established at the same level of non-draw that Demetrious Johnson is.

Nason: I don’t think there is any intrigue. I don’t really care about the buys because we already know the answer. Pennington hasn’t fought in nearly two years, so there’s nothing there for me. Souza-Gastelum is intriguing, but not enough to make me pay $60. The card is good, but it’s the type of show that I hope transitions off PPV next year onto ESPN+ or the broadcast partner. I think a show like this would do pretty well on either platform, but because it’s a PPV, it’s held to a standard that will do more harm than good.

At the end of the year, what will make this show matter looking back at it?

Ryan: It will be notable if it is the last fight for Belfort, the possible last fight for Machida, whether we have a new title challenger at 185 pounds, and whether an upset is pulled in the main event. I think a lot rides on Dern’s performance and whether she shows improvement. She has a new camp after being asked to leave her previous camp, and with new coaches, she is primed to be upset. If she can win, they’ll keep moving along her hype train. That’s probably the most watched storyline on this card.

Paul: This show exists to fill the UFC’s PPV quota and that’s pretty much it. Nunes vs. Pennington is not really a PPV main event so they’ve stacked the card with four other fights that look like a Fox main card. There is no reason to believe that Pennington won’t be just another name to add to Nunes’ resume and the real test for her seems to be moving up to face Cris Cyborg at 145.

Nason: If Pennington pulls off the big upset, that’s your story. Otherwise, it’s a main card filled up with ladder movers and a prelims card that is meh at best.

Who wins?

Nunes vs. Pennington

– Nunes: Paul, Ryan, Nason

Machida vs. Belfort

– Machida: Ryan, Nason
– Belfort: Paul

Jacare vs. Gastelum

– Jacare: Nason, Paul, Ryan

Keep up with our live coverage tonight.

UFC, ESPN+ to air 15 events starting in January 2019

Posted on by Josh Nason

The UFC isn’t yet at their reported $400 million a year goal for their TV rights, but they got a bit closer on Tuesday morning as the promotion announced they have entered into an agreement with ESPN to air 15 Fight Night events on ESPN’s new OTT service, ESPN+, beginning in January 2019.

The five-year deal is for $150 million annually. according to the Sports Business Journal who had the story first. Additionally, they added this kills any chance another streaming provider could get in the mix as it’s an exclusive deal.

Each show will have the usual 12 fights and will be available exclusively on the platform, which currently costs $4.99/mo or $49.99 for a year-long subscription.

Additional ESPN+ content

Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series will also move exclusively to ESPN+ in the summer of June 2019, a show originally exclusive to UFC Fight Pass. 

Additionally, ESPN will produce exclusive pre and post fight shows for the 15 events and a “new original, all-access series” produced by IMG Original content. Interestingly, the press release also states that ESPN+ subscribers will get “non-exclusive access to UFC’s full archive of programming, including historic events, classic bouts, and original programming” and “additional UFC-branded content, including “UFC Countdown” shows, press conferences, weigh-ins, and pre-and post-shows”, diminishing one of the selling points of Fight Pass.

ESPN+ subscribers will also be able to buy PPVs and Fight Pass subscriptions.

What about “big” ESPN?

In the release, ESPN said they will air exclusive preview shows for PPVs, “hundreds of hours of UFC library programming” and “re-airs of current UFC PPVs” but nothing about live events. This is a play to give people a reason to pay for their relatively new OTT service, hence the heavy price tag for just 15 shows a year.

What about Fox?

As anyone that follows UFC knows, they run a lot more than 15 shows a year, so a broadcast partner is still needed. SBJ said no broadcast deal was imminent, but as a Variety report from mid-April speculated, ESPN and Fox Sports were proposing to team up for a deal that would cover all the bases.

With 15 events off the table, one would assume a broadcast deal would include 15-20 shows depending on the company’s plans for both PPV and Fight Pass and assuming they want to keep running at the current shows per year level they have in recent years. 

UFC Fight Night 128 live results: Barboza vs. Lee, Edgar vs. Swanson 2

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 128: Barboza vs. Lee, emanating from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The Octagon returns to New Jersey for the first time since 2014 with a fight card that has a lot of depth and a lot of intrigue.

The event is headlined by two men looking to get back into the title picture as Edson Barboza takes on Kevin Lee. Both men saw their win streaks ended in their previous bouts, and a return to the win column for either one keeps them in the hunt in the crowded lightweight picture. Lee comes into the fight having missed weight by one pound, and that could play a key different.

In the co-main event, former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar makes a questionable quick return to action, taking on Cub Swanson, in a rematch of a November 2014 bout won by Edgar. Also among the main card fights is undefeated bantamweight Brett Johns battling Aljamain Sterling, and long-time exciting UFC veteran Jim Miller fights in his home state against Dan Hooker.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.

UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

> Tony Martin (12-4, 4-4 UFC) vs. Keita Nakamura (33-8-2 1 NC, 4-5 UFC)
Welterweights

Both miss head kicks early. Nakamura lands a left hand. They trade jabs. Head kick from Martin glances, but he follows with a right hand and then drops Nakamura for a moment with another right hand. Martin lands another right hand. Martin with a left hook and then follows with a right hand. Nakamura just misses a left hand but lands a body kick. Martin then rocks Nakamura with another right hand. Nakamura scores a takedown but Martin has the neck. They ride out the round on the mat. 10-9 Martin.

They trade punches and Martin lands a right hand. There isn’t a whole lot of action going on in this fight. Martin lands a counter combo after Nakamura misses a left hand. Martin lands another right hand to the chin. They trade punches. Martin lands a jab. Nakamura can’t land anything. Martin with another right hand. They trade kicks and Martin cracks Nakamura with another right hand and then a head kick. Nakamura gets a late takedown but Martin has a guillotine locked in as the round ends. 10-9 Martin, 20-18 Martin.

Martin coming out after Nakamura with some right hands. Nakamura gets a takedown but Martin grabs the arm. They scramble on the mat and get to their feet. Martin lands another right hand. Martin lands a couple of left hooks. Martin with another right hand. Nakamura doing a whole lot of nothing. Nakamura gets a takedown but Martin reverses to the top and grabs the arm looking for a late submission but is unable to get it. 10-9 Martin, 30-27 Martin.

Official Result- Tony Martin def. Keita Nakamura by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Corey Anderson (#10, 9-4, 6-4 UFC) vs. Patrick Cummins (#11, 10-4, 6-4 UFC)
Light Heavyweights

Anderson landing the jab early. Cummins works for a takedown against the fence. They trade punches. Anderson lands a right hand and has Cummins in trouble. Anderson with a knee. They are trading against the fence. Cummins is bleeding already. Cummins shoots in and eats a knee. Anderson with a big elbow and then an uppercut. Anderson lands a left. Cummins in a lot of trouble. Anderson lands a combo and grabs the leg of Cummins and gets a takedown. They get to their feet and break. Anderson with some body kicks. Anderson gets another takedown and has the back and is landing punches. They get to their feet. 10-9 Anderson.

They trade early. Cummins looking a lot stronger in the first minute but Anderson is still landing. They clinch and Anderson with some diry boxing before they break. Anderson lands a right hand. Anderson gets a big takedown. Anderson has the back but Cummins is able to get to his feet and shakes Anderson off. Anderson with a leg kick. Anderson with a left hand. Cummins is hanging on but Anderson firmly in control as he gets another takedown. Anderson gets the back. They get to their feet but Anderson with one last big takedown to end the round. 10-9 Anderson, 20-18 Anderson.

Anderson lands a left hand. Anderson gets another takedown and has the back again. They get to their feet but Anderson has a hold of Cummins and gets him back down. Anderson has back control again. They get to their feet for a moment before Anderson takes it back down. Anderson has the back and working for a choke but lets it go. They get to their feet but Anderson gets yet another takedown. He’s cruising to victory. Anderson with punches from the back. Anderson with a dominant win. 10-8 Anderson, 30-26 Anderson.

Official Result- Corey Anderson def. Patrick Cummins by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

> Siyar Bahadurzada (23-6-1, 3-2 UFC) vs. Luan Chagas (15-2-1, 1-1-1 UFC)
Welterweights

Bahadurzada with a leg kick. Chagas just misses a flying knee. They trade and Chagas goes for a kick but Bahadurzada grabs the leg and takes Chagas down. Bahadurzada in the full guard of Chagas and landing some punches from the top. Chagas is able to transition and take the back of Bahadurzada and is working for a choke. Chagas still working for it while looking for wrist control. They get to their feet but Chagas still has the back and drags the fight back down. Chagas has the back to end the round. 10-9 Chagas.

They trade punches to start the second round. Bahadurzada lands a hard uppercut. Chagas just misses a head kick. Bahadurzada landing with more volume in this round and he is hurting Chagas with body shots. Chagas is firing back. Bahadurzada then lands a vicious liver kick that sends Chagas to the ground and lands an uppercut as he’s going down and this fight is stopped. That was a vicious finish by Bahadurzada.

Official Result- Siyar Bahadurzada def. Luan Chagas by knockout (kick & punch) at 2:40 of Round 2

> Merab Dvalishvili (7-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Ricky Simon (12-1, 0-0 UFC)
Bantamweights

Dvalishvili with a spinning back kick and then a body punch followed by a right hand. He goes for another spin kick but misses and Simon grabs him but they break. They go to the mat but scramble to their feet. Dvalishvili with a head kick but Simon counters with a right hand. Dvalishvili with a quick combo. Dvalishvili then drops Simon with a big right hand. They get to their feet but Simon still in trouble. Dvalishvili chasing him around the Octagon and throwing punches. Simon is surviving. Dvalishvili grabs the back but unable to get a takedown as they break. They trade late. 10-9 Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili lands a couple of punches. Simon misses a spinning back fist. Both are throwing punches but missing them. Dvalishvili grabs the single leg and gets Simon down for a moment but they get up as Simon shakes him off. Dvalishvili lands a left hand. Simon gets a takedown and is in the full guard and lands a couple of elbows. Simon gets the back but they scramble to their feet and break. Dvalishvili grabs the back and gets a brief takedown. They get to their feet and at the fence. Dvalishvili gets a brief late takedown. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 20-18 Dvalishvili.

Simon grabs the back of Dvalishvili and is working for a takedown against the fence. Dvalishvili spins out and they break. Dvalishvili lands a big right hand. Dvalishvili with a leg kick. Simon shoots for a takedown and gets it and is in half-guard. They scramble back to their feet. Dvalishvili continues to press the action and lands some punches. Dvalishvili with a combo and a head kick. Dvalishvili with a big takedown less than a minute left. Simon grabs the neck and has a guillotine locked in and has Dvalishvili in a lot of trouble. It is tight. Holy crap Dvalishvili survived almost a full minute in a deep guillotine and looked out at times. That was a crazy sequence. 10-9 Simon, 29-28 Dvalishvili.

Ok, this decision doesn’t make sense. The referee determined that Dvalishvili was out at the end of the fight and awarded the fight to Simon by TKO. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Official Result- Ricky Simon def. Merab Dvalishvili by TKO at 5:00 of Round 3

> Ryan LaFlare (13-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Alex Garcia (15-4, 5-3 UFC)
Welterweights

LaFlare with a body kick. Garcia just misses a big right hand. Garcia with a body kick. They are feeling each other out. They clinch against the fence. LaFlare gets a brief takedown. LaFlare with some knees to the body. They break. LaFlare with a body kick and they clinch again but Garcia escapes. Garcia with the double right hand. LaFlare trips Garcia up with an inside leg kick. Not much to the round. 10-9 LaFlare.

LaFlare gets a takedown inside the first minute of the round. Garcia able to scramble to the top but they get to their feet. Garcia gets a takedown but LaFlare has the neck. Garcia gets the back and lands a couple of punches. LaFlare is able to scramble out to his feet. Garcia gets another takedown but LaFlare ends up in the half-guard after a scramble. LaFlare looking to set up a choke but he’s not doing much else. LaFlare with some body punches from top. 10-9 LaFlare, 20-18 LaFlare.

Garcia lands a couple of punches. LaFlare tries a body kick but Garcia able to counter it into a takedown. Not much happens on the mat and the referee stands them up. LaFlare with a body kick. Garcia blocks a head kick from LaFlare. Garcia goes for a takedown but it is defended. They go to the mat and LaFlare has the back but nothing happening and they are stood up again. They trade late. Dull fight. 10-9 LaFlare, 30-27 LaFlare.

Official Result- Ryan LaFlare def. Alex Garcia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT

> Jim Miller (28-11 1 NC, 17-10 1 NC UFC) vs. Dan Hooker (15-7, 5-3 UFC)
Lightweights

They trade kicks. Hooker with some more kicks and lands a right hand. Miller with a leg kick. Miller lands a left hand. Hooker lands the jab. They trade big punches. Hooker with a leg kick. Miller grabs the leg of Hooker off a kick and gets a takedown. Miller working in Hooker’s full guard. They get to their feet. Hooker lands a right hand and then drops Miller with a big knee right to the jaw and finishes him off with one more punch on the mat. Big knockout win for Hooker as Miller was out.

Official Result- Dan Hooker def. Jim Miller by knockout (knee) at 3:00 of Round 1

They announced Matt Serra as the Pioneer Wing inductee into the 2018 UFC Hall Of Fame.

> Aljamain Sterling (#8, 14-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Brett Johns (#14, 15-0, 3-0 UFC)
Bantamweights

Sterling trying for some side kicks early. Sterling with a body kick. Johns lands a combo. Sterling with a leg kick. Sterling with an inside leg kick and they clinch. Sterling gets a takedown but they scramble and reverse and Sterling ends up on top against the fence. They get to their feet and Sterling with some knees to the body. They break the clinch. Sterling with a body kick. Sterling with another body kick. Johns gets a late takedown and Sterling has the neck as the round ends. 10-9 Sterling.

They trade kicks. Sterling lands a right hand. Johns lands a right hand. Johns lands a flying knee to the body. Johns working for a takedown. Sterling sprawls on the takedown and both look for an advantage on the mat. Sterling with a knee to the body. They break and Sterling lands a combo to the head and body. Sterling lands a lot of punches. Johns lands a punch as well. Johns with a left hand to the body. Sterling lands a combo and then scores a takedown. Sterling with body punches on the mat. They get back to their feet. They are broken up from the clinch. Sterling lands a left hand. Johns misses a spin kick. 10-9 Sterling, 20-18 Sterling.

Sterling with a body kick. Johns tries to land some punches but Sterling ducks under them all. Sterling with a couple of leg kicks. They are clinched with Sterling in control and he lands a knee to the body. Sterling takes the back. Johns reverses. Sterling still in control of the clinch. Sterling with some knees to the body. They are broken up by the referee. Sterling misses a spinning elbow and Johns misses a flying knee. Sterling grabs the single leg and works for a takedown but now controls the clinch. They break and Sterling grabs the back and gets a big takedown. Sterling works for the hooks. Big punches from the back by Sterling and this should wrap it up for him. 10-9 Sterling, 30-27 Sterling.

Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Brett Johns by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> David Branch (#8, 21-4, 3-3 UFC) vs. Thiago Santos (#12, 17-5, 9-4 UFC)
Middleweights

Santos with a body kick. They trade punches. Santos with a leg kick. They trade kicks. Santos with another leg kick. Santos lands a left hand. Branch drops Santos with a right hand out of nowhere and then finishes him off with a couple of hammerfists on the mat. Big knockout win by Branch as the right hand connected clean.

Official Result- David Branch def. Thiago Santos by knockout (punches) at 2:30 of Round 1

> Justin Willis (6-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Chase Sherman (11-4, 2-3 UFC)
Heavyweights

They trade punches early. Sherman with a body kick and Willis counters with an uppercut. Willis lands a big left hand. Willis rocks Sherman with another left hand. Sherman catches his legs and lands a high kick. Sherman with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Willis is hurting Sherman when he lands. Willis drops Sherman with a big left hand and gets on top and lands some more punches looking to finish. Sherman ties him up on the mat. They get to their feet. Both men firing. Sherman with some leg kicks. They clinch and Willis lands an uppercut. They survive the round. 10-9 Willis.

Sherman with a body kick. Willis lands a right hand. Willis lands another big left hand. Sherman pokes Willis in the eye and we have a break. They get back to action. Willis lands another big left hand but Sherman is taking them well. Sherman with a front kick to the body and then a high kick. Sherman with a head kick but Willis pushes him to the mat in the process. Willis gets in the guard. Willis landing some punches from the top as Sherman is unable to get out from the bottom. Willis rides the round out on top. 10-9 Willis, 20-18 Willis.

They trade a little early before clinching. Sherman lands a knee followed by an elbow. Sherman lands a combo ending with a body kick. They clinch with Sherman in control against the fence. Sherman with an elbow. This fight has gotten ugly. They break. Willis lands a left hand. They clinch again and Willis in control. They break with thirty seconds left. Willis lands a combo. Sherman with a body kick. Sherman with an elbow late. 10-9 Sherman, 29-28 Willis.

Official Result- Justin Willis def. Chase Sherman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Frankie Edgar (#3, 22-6-1, 16-6-1 UFC) vs. Cub Swanson (#4, 24-8, 9-4 UFC)
Featherweights

They feel each other out early. They trade punches. Edgar misses a high kick. Edgar with a body kick. Swanson lands a left hand. Edgar with the double jab. Edgar lands a right hand. Edgar with a leg kick. Swanson lands a right hand. Edgar hurts Swanson with a right hand and goes for a takedown but it is defended. Edgar lands a left hook as they break. Edgar with a leg kick. Swanson lands a left hand. Edgar slips on a kick. They trade punches. Swanson with a leg kick followed by a spin kick. Close round. 10-9 Edgar.

They trade punches and Swanson lands a left hook. Edgar lands a right hand. Edgar with a combo ending with a right hand. Swanson with a left hand and Edgar fires back with a leg kick. Edgar with an inside leg kick followed by a head kick. Edgar with a right hand followed by a leg kick. Edgar goes for a takedown but it is defended. Edgar with a leg kick. Swanson lands a left hand. Edgar with a nice combo. They trade punches. Swanson lands a big right hand. Edgar is cut under his right eye. 10-9 Edgar, 20-18 Edgar.

They trade early. Edgar with a body kick. Swanson with a left hand. Edgar lands a left hand after breaking a brief clinch. Swanson lands a right hand. Edgar lands one of his own. Edgar lands another right hand. Swanson lands some body punches. Swanson with a right hand and just misses a head kick. Swanson defends a takedown attempt from Edgar. Swanson lands an elbow as Edgar comes in and follows with a left hook. Swanson lands a combo. Edgar fires back with a right hand. Swanson with a body kick. It goes the distance. 10-9 Swanson, 29-28 Edgar.

Official Result- Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Edson Barboza (#5, 19-5, 13-5 UFC) vs. Kevin Lee (#6, 16-3, 9-3 UFC)
157-pound Catchweights (*Lee missed weight by 1 pound)

They feel each other out and Lee scores a takedown against the fence. Lee gets into side control and now into the mount and lands some hammerfists. Lee back into the full guard of Barboza. Lee mounts Barboza again and lands a lot of big punches and Barboza is in trouble as they are against the fence. Lee with some big elbows. Barboza has a big welt under his right eye. Lee with more punches and elbows from the mount. Lee back into the half-guard. Hammerfists from the top by Lee. Barboza gets his guard back but still eating punches from Lee. Lee back into the mount and lands some big elbows. Lee with more punches to end the round. Dominant round by Lee. 10-8 Lee.

Lee with a head kick. Barboza shot for a takedown but missed it by a mile. They clinch but break. Lee lands a big body kick. Lee gets a big takedown against the fence. Lee in the full guard of Barboza. He lands a big right hand and then lands a few more. Lee back into the half-guard. He gets to the mount and lands some more big punches. Lee now takes the back for a moment. He lands some huge elbows. Right hands and hammerfists from Lee. This isn’t even competitive. Lee with more big elbows. This fight could be stopped at any time. Another dominant round for Lee. 10-8 Lee, 20-16 Lee.

Barboza with a body kick. Lee with a head kick. Lee shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Barboza with a spinnign wheel kick and Lee is in a lot of trouble as it connects and Lee looked out on his feet. Holy cow that was close. Lee recovered and cleared himself and got a takedown and is now on top. Lee lands a few punches but they get back to their feet. Barboza with a leg kick. Lee lands a couple of right hands that rock Barboza. Barboza with a front kick to the body. Lee with a huge body kick and Barboza returns with a leg kick. Barboza with a body kick. Lee with a head kick followed by a right hand. 10-9 Barboza, 29-26 Lee.

Lee with a right hand but Barboza fires back with a body kick and a huge left hand. Lee gets a takedown against the fence. It was getting crazy on the feet for a moment. The fans are booing this because they want to see them fight on the feet but Lee did what he needed to do because he is getting in trouble on the feet. Lee working in the guard of Barboza and is landing punches and elbows. Barboza has been unable to get up from the bottom. Lee gets in the full mount and is landing hammerfists. Lee with more punches from the top. Lee ends the round strong. 10-8 Lee, 39-34 Lee.

Barboza lands a right hand. They are trading on their feet. Lee with a combo and Barboza is cut open under his right eye. Barboza lands a left hook. Lee lands a right hand and goes for a takedown but it is defended. Lee pushes Barboza up against the fence. They break and we have a timeout for the doctor to check the huge cut on the eye of Barboza. The doctor has called off the fight due to the cut. It goes down as a TKO win for Lee in a fight he dominated for a huge portion of.

Official Result- Kevin Lee def. Edson Barboza by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 2:18 of Round 5

Our questions about UFC Atlantic City: Lee vs. Barboza

Posted on by Josh Nason

April is apparently UFC Lightweights Month as we get our third straight show headlined by the 155-pound division, this time by a former title challenger and an opponent that is looking to pick up the pieces after a one-sided beatdown in his last outing.

Helping me examine the show a bit more is the usual suspects in fellow MMA scribes Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick.

Note that the Lee/Barboza fight is now a catchweight affair as Lee missed weight, Aspen Ladd missed weight for her fight with Leslie Smith so that fight is off, and Magomed Bibulatov injured his back so his fight with Ulka Sasaki is off the show.

First, The Card

  • Kevin Lee vs. Edson Barboza (catchweight)
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson II
  • Chase Sherman vs. Justin Willis
  • David Branch vs. Thiago Santos
  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Brett Johns
  • Jim Miller vs. Dan Hooker
  • Ryan LaFlare vs. Alex Garcia
  • Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Luan Chagas
  • Corey Anderson vs. Patrick Cummins
  • Merab Dvashilli vs. Ricky Simon
  • Tony Martin vs. Keita Nakamura

What are you most looking forward to?

Nason: That co-main really stands out although we’ll find out pretty quick if it was too soon to re-book Edgar after his brutal KO loss at the fists of Brian Ortega. The main event has some intrigue for me as well, but I’m also not a big Lee fan. Overall, this is a quality show, especially on free TV.

Ryan: I actually like this card a whole lot as it has some very good depth on it. Barboza against Lee is a high-quality main event, and both are looking to keep themselves in the title hunt. I like the fact that Edgar and Swanson are rematching, but as I’ll get into later, I hate the circumstances. Branch vs. Santos is quality matchmaking and Santos is on a good win streak. Johns is undefeated and has a tough test against Sterling, who has the ability to contend for a championship. Miller always has good fights as does Hooker. We also have some solid prelims with Bahadurzada on them as well as a very solid fight between Anderson and Cummins. Overall, this is a very good card with a lot of depth.

Paul: This is a great free TV card with pretty much all FS1 televised fights having recognizable names in them. In addition to the fights Ryan mentioned, I’m also curious to see ifJohns can keep his unbeaten record going. He hasn’t lost in 18 fights going back to his amateur career and he’s a helluva promo as well, so an impressive showing here could get him a real big fight his next time out.

What is being overlooked?

Ryan: I’m not sure anything is being overlooked, but I don’t think the main event has been getting a lot of extra attention that is deserving. Barboza is one of the most dangerous strikers at 155 pounds, but as Nurmagomedov showed, he still can have issues getting up from the mat if taken down. Lee is a strong wrestler with good submissions. It is such a great matchup that isn’t getting the recognition it deserves.

Paul: Cummins vs. Anderson kicking off the prelims seems like odd match placement for two guys bordering on the top 10 who have both had high profile fights in the past. Johns, who I mentioned before, has the quietest 15-0 record you’ll ever see. 

Nason: Sterling vs. Johns should be a bit higher up the card as I’m not sure why Sherman-Willis is third from the top. Branch vs. Santos might also a banger too depending on which Branch shows up.

What’s not doing it for you?

Paul: Edgar being put back into the Octagon definitely rubs me the wrong way so quickly after his brutal knockout loss just last month. The heavyweight bout between Willis and Sherman has two great characters, but they could have a really bad fight and doesn’t belong anywhere near the main card, especially with a deep lineup such as this. And on the flip side, while Jim Miller is at least on the main card, it seems like a slap in the face that the tough vet is in the opener in his home state. He really should be pushed as one of the big stars on the show.

Ryan: It is the entire Edgar situation and the fight against Swanson. I’m glad that Swanson and the UFC agreed to a new contract as he deserves to remain in the UFC and is still an elite featherweight. He gets his crack at trying to avenge a loss to Edgar, but the circumstances surrounding it aren’t pleasing. Edgar was just knocked out cold seven weeks to the day on Saturday, and this is rushing him back. I get the likely story: he probably wanted back in as soon as possible to shake off the loss, and with this event being in his home state of New Jersey, it might be his last chance to fight in front of his friends and family. I wish they would have slowed down his return to at least July, but here we are. I like the fact we are getting this rematch, but I don’t like the fact it’s happening this weekend.

Nason: Anderson vs. Cummins and Sherman vs. Willis could be snoozers, but perhaps there’s a reason why UFC placed them as they did.

What’s the big intrigue with this show?

Nason: For me, it’s Lee and Edgar. I still don’t know if Lee is an elite talent at lightweight or someone that talked himself up so much that he finds himself in that spot. I still don’t buy the win over Chiesa and this is now two straight fights in which there’s been weight and/or health issues. He’s a fun personality, but this fight should tell how much of that is smoke and mirrors. For Edgar, a win should give him a title shot against the winner of Max Holloway vs. Ortega unless if Holloway loses. In that case, expect a rematch.

Ryan: It’s whether some fighters can break out of the pack, and whether some  veterans have anything left in the tank. The winner of Barboza and Lee remains in the talk of the crowded lightweight picture, but they have long roads ahead. This could be the official beginning of the end for two Jersey veterans in Edgar and Miller. Santos could continue to climb up the 185-pound rankings. There are lots intriguing on this card.

Paul: It’s the amazing run Santos is on as four straight wins via KO is not something you see all the time. A fifth straight will make people notice. In fact, eight of his nine UFC wins have been by knockout, a ratio usually only seen in the heavyweight division. I think it’s also intriguing how Edgar does and, should he lose, where does he go from here?

At the end of the year, what will make this show matter looking back at it?

Ryan: It’s another in a string of several events over several weeks, but this one has some good name value on it. It likely won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, unless this is truly the beginning of the end for future Hall of Famer Edgar. It still should be a good fight card.

Paul: I really don’t think the show in general matters all that much but there are guys on this show that are a couple steps away from title contention and this could be one more rung up that ladder. But, it’s a fun night of fights and it’s free so this is a great treat for the hardcore UFC fans.

Nason: I doubt this will have long-term impact, but like Ryan and Paul alluded to, we could get two interesting names in title contention after the night is through. Whether they get those shots with a win, however, is another set of questions entirely.

Who wins?

Lee vs. Barboza

Barboza: Paul, Ryan
Lee: Nason

Edgar vs. Swanson

Edgar: Nason
Swanson: Ryan, Paul

Branch vs. Santos

Santos: Nason, Paul, Ryan

Anderson vs. Cummins

Cummins: Ryan, Paul, Nason

Follow along with our coverage on Saturday night.

Report: ESPN, Fox proposing to team up for new UFC TV deal

Posted on by Josh Nason

Variety reported Tuesday that ESPN and Fox have proposed a multi-network approach to televise the UFC once the organization’s existing deal with Fox runs out.

According to the report, ESPN’s contribution would be between $120-$180 million a year while Fox would increase its yearly commit to just over $200 million, coming somewhat closer to the reported $400 million a year owners Endeavor were looking for when they purchased the organization for more than $4 billion.

What’s in it for ESPN?

While much maligned in the media due to the rise in cord cutting over the past few years, the Disney-owned sports entity is betting big on the future of their OTT service, ESPN+. The service launched last week for $4.99 a month and the deal would bring up to 15 live events to the platform, according to the report.

What’s in it for Fox?

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of UFC on both Fox Sports One and Fox Sports Two, both in live event programming, replays, and hours upon hours of “shoulder” programming. While the report says their overall amount of shows would decline, they certainly wouldn’t be paying $200 million a year to have the amount of shows decline by that much.

All of this comes at an interesting time for both companies considering their recent deal in which many Fox-owned properties were sold to Disney. The two share co-ownership rights on several college football properties int addition to Major League Soccer.

So, what about PPV?

The piece didn’t mention how any of this would affect the company’s PPV future. Fans know that the company’s offerings last year and this year have waned in value, outside a few big exceptions, due to injuries, missed weight cuts, and light card depth. If two companies were involved in the rights, one would have to think some of those borderline PPVs would change to live events instead with an emphasis on bigger PPVs with the company’s bigger draws.

So, what about Fight Pass?

The company has taken a much different attitude toward Fight Pass than when they hired former Rivals.com head Eric Winter several years ago. (He left shortly after the Endeavor purchase.) While they still air a few exclusive shows and a few fights on fight nights, it’s essentially just access to a tape library and live events from regional promotions. Endeavor recently purchased streaming provider Neulion for $250 million, leading to speculation the company might just move everything onto their own OTT platform. If the ESPN/Fox alliance comes through, fans can at least hope for better quality streaming than they are accustomed to now, especially with the archived footage.

So, what about WWE?

The other factor is all of this is WWE who has reportedly been courted by Fox. This potential move doesn’t necessarily kill that as the “new” Fox is moving quickly toward more live event/sports programming on their remaining properties. It might affect the money offered in a deal, but with new Disney cash, that still might be another big splash they want to make. 

UFC on FOX 29 draws disappointing fast nationals ratings number

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The promise of a potential fight of the year did not lead to strong ratings last night for UFC.

Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje, on paper, was as close to a sure thing for an outstanding fight as UFC has presented since, well, the last time Gaethje fought. The fight delivered, making Gaethje three-for-three in match of the year contenders, but only 1-2 as far as his UFC record goes, since Poirier won via fourth round stoppage.

Based on the fast nationals, which wouldn’t have included most of the main event, the show did 1,780,000 viewers. That would be the fourth lowest in the nearly seven year history of the series. FOX also would have finished fourth among the four networks last night, although it did finish second to the Toronto vs. Boston NHL playoff game in the key demos, 18-34 and 18-49. The NHL game did 2,180,000 on the fast nationals.

The final number, which comes out Tuesday, will be higher, probably by a good margin. The fast nationals only measures FOX stations from 8-10 p.m.. Eastern, 7-9 p.m. Central, 6-8 p.m. Mountain, and 8-10 p.m. Pacific. So for the West Coast, which the show aired from 5-7:30 p.m., it counted local programming and not the show.

In addition, the four round main event started at 10 p.m. Eastern, meaning that none of the main event figured into the rating, and the match going four rounds, and being such an exciting fight, meant it had a lot of time to build the number.

UFC on FOX 29 live results: Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On FOX 29: Poirier vs. Gaethje, emanating from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The Octagon heads to Glendale with an exciting main event that has the potential to live up to the hype as an early contender for fight of the year.

Lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will square off in the five-round headline bout. Poirier is looking to score his second straight win and cement himself as next in line at 155 pounds while Gaethje is looking to rebound from his first career loss. Both men have reputations as being two of the most exciting fighters in the sport.

In the co-main event, former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit looks to end a three-fight losing skid as he takes on Alex Oliveira in another bout that has fireworks written on it. Also on the main card is exciting undefeated middleweight prospect Israel Adesayna, who fights Marvin Vettori, and women’s strawweights Michelle Waterson and Cortney Casey open the main show.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.

UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 3:30 PM ET/12:30 PM PT

> Luke Sanders (11-2, 1-2 UFC) vs. Patrick Williams (8-5, 1-2 UFC)
Bantamweights

Becky Lynch was front row ringside and identified by Daniel Cormer as a former champion wrestler who was there to root on her boyfriend. Dolph Ziggler was also there and mentioned by Cormier, calling both of them “two of the biggest stars in WWE”

Sanders looked really good on the feet in round 1, landing a lot of nice punch combos and even some nasty elbows that opened a cut on Williams’ forehead. Williams got a couple of flash takedowns but couldn’t keep Sanders down. Sanders was clinching up a lot at the end of the round. Easy 10-9 Sanders

Williams looked very tired coming out for the 2nd but never stopped fighting. Sanders again had the advantage in the striking through most of the round but Williams did land some nice shots and opened up a huge cut under Sanders’ left eye. Williams landed a huge overhand right that rocked Sanders with about 30 seconds left and got a takedown at the end the round. 10-9 Williams, 19-19 overall

Close final round. Sanders pressed the action the whole way but barely even threw a strike for the first half of the round. Williams was landing leg kicks and the occasional punch but nothing sustained. Sanders got off a nice punch combo halfway through the round and picked up the striking a bit after that. 10-9 Sanders, 29-28 overall

Official result – Luke Sanders (12-2) by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2; 29-28)

Dolph Ziggler was at ringside with Becky after the fight, cheering on Sanders. 

> Matthew Lopez (10-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Alejandro Perez (19-6-1, 5-1-1 UFC)
Bantamweights

Perez landing a lot of leg kicks early, which could have more of an effect later in the fight. Lopez got a couple takedowns and was able to take the back. On the first, he secured a rear naked choke that looked tight but Perez punched out of it and eventually reversed position. On the second, Lopez was able to again take the back and held Perez down for over a minute to end the round. 10-9 Lopez

Perez looked very off coming out for the second. Perez was landing occasional shots and Lopez was pushing the action but not even throwing strikes, let alone landing them. He went for a takedown that Perez stuffed and then Perez landed some knees to the body that hurt him. Perez all over him with punches and Lopez just basically stopped fighting back. Ref stepped in and stopped it before Lopez even went down.

Official result – Alejandro Perez (20-6-1) by TKO (punches) at 3:42 of the 2nd round

> Arjan Bhullar (7-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Adam Wieczorek (9-1, 1-0 UFC)
Heavyweights

Bhullar got a takedown almost immediately. He wasn’t terribly active on the ground but did land some punches to the head and body. Wieczorek threw some futile elbows from his back. Ref stood them up with about 45 seconds left without even warning, probably because the crowd was booing. Easy 10-9 for Bhullar

Bhullar rocked Wieczorek with punches early and then got a takedown. He was looking to do the same as the first when, from out of nowhere, Wieczorek was able to reverse and secure an Oma Plata for the submission, just the second time in UFC that someone won with that move. 

Official result – Adam Wieczorek (10-1) by submission (Oma Plata) at 1:59 of the 2nd round

> Dhiego Lima (12-6, 1-4 UFC) vs. Yushin Okami (34-11, 13-6 UFC)
Welterweights

Okami got an early takedown and basically held Lima down for the rest of the round.Okami did just enough to avoid a standup…maybe not enough honestly as a lot of refs would’ve stood this up but this was a relatively new official named Nic Jones. 10-9 Okami

It took a little longer for Okami to get him down this round but once he did, he basically held Lima there. Lima did get up at one point but Okami maintained control of his body and eventually took the back standing. Another 10-9 Okami, and 20-18 overall

Okami took him down 30 seconds in and, while Lima was able to briefly get up a few times, he basically held him down the entire round. Okami was a little more active this round, especially toward the end, and probably did enough to get a 10-8 and 30-26 overall

Official result – Yushin Okami (35-11) by decision (30-26 x 3)

> Shana Dobson (3-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Lauren Mueller (4-0, 0-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

First round entirely on the feet. Mueller was more active and seemed to do more damage as well although Dobson did land a lot of nice shots. Dobson was stuffed on the only takedown attempt of the round. Mueller did have some swelling around her nose as the round ended. 10-9 Mueller

Another round that was exclusively on the feet. Mueller pressed the action the whole way but Dobson was landing far more strikes. Mueller did come on at the end of the round to make it closer but not enough to steal the round. 10-9 Dobson, 19-19 overall

Mueller did some damage with punches early and Dobson landed a takedown in desparation. She wasn’t able to do much on the ground and Mueller was able to get to her feet. Mueller got a knockdown and spent some time in guard but didn’t do a lot. Dobson got back up and Mueller got a takedown after that. Dobson was up quickly and hurt Mueller with shots to the body in the last minute. Very close but I gave the third round to Mueller 10-9 and 29-28 overall for Mueller

Official result – Lauren Mueller (5-0) by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

> Gilbert Burns (13-2, 5-2 UFC) vs. Dan Moret (13-3, 0-0 UFC)
Lightweights

Burns was throwing a lot of power shots early but Moret was more effective iwth combinations. With about 2 minutes left, Moret had Burns in trouble with a flurry of punches and Burns got a desparation takedown. He gathered his wits and held Moret down for most of the rest of the round and did a lot of ground and pound late to cinch it. 10-9 Burns

Burns hurt Moret with a punch combo that backed him up and just did let up. A beautiful uppercut/straight cross combo dropped Moret as his legs buckled underneath him and Burns just stopped punching before the ref even stepped in.

Official result – Gilbert Burns (14-2) by KO (punches) at 59 seconds of the 2nd round

FOX PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT

> Krzysztof Jotko (#13, 19-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Brad Tavares (#15, 16-4, 11-4 UFC)
Middleweights

Kind of a boring first round. Neither guy threw much of anything for the first 90 seconds. Tavares was more active after that but with about 2 minutes left, Jotko started to find his range. Each tried a takedown and Tavares did get one with about 15 seconds left but Jotko got right up. You could almost flip a coin. 10-9 Jotko although you could easily say 10-10

Tavares landed a flying knee followed by a punch combo early that rocked Jotko. After that they were clinched up on the cage for most of the round doing nothing and the ref never even threatend to break them up. They finally separated on their own in the last minute. Tavares landing another nice knee but that was pretty much it. Boring fight. 10-9 Tavares, 19-19

Jotko was looking better in the third, landing a couple of high kicks. Then Tavares dropped him with a punch out of nowhere and then pounced on him with a flurry of punches on the ground to get the stoppage. 

Official result – Brad Tavares (17-4) by TKO (punches) at 2:16 of the 3rd round

That was the first stoppage win for Tavares since Phil Baroni in 2011. He should go into the top 10 with his 4th straight win and he called out Michael Bisping at UFC 226, which is on July 7th, so the same card as the previous callout. Seems awfully conveninent. I can’t see Bisping taking that fight for a variety of reasons. 

> Wilson Reis (#6, 22-8, 6-4 UFC) vs. John Moraga (#10, 18-6, 7-5 UFC)
Flyweights

Fun first round. Moraga had the better striking early. Reis missed a couple of takedown attempts and on the third, Moraga grabbed a front choke. Reis ended up completing it but Moraga held onto the choke. By the time he let it go, Reis was in side control. They eventually got back to the feet and then Reis got another takedown. Moraga reversed into top position, Reis worked to his feet and then got another takedown, finishing the round in mount. 10-9 Reis

Reis got an early takedown but didn’t do much with it. Moraga landed a flying knee and followed up with a punch combo but Reis took him down again. Reis wasn’t doing a ton on the ground but was working for a submission in the last minute. Moraga reversed into top position and ended the round on top, landing punches. 10-9 Reis, 20-18 overall but round 2 was close

Third round was all Reis. He took Moraga down at least 3 times and did more damage on the ground than he had in either of the first two round. He was working submissions in the last minutes in addition to landing punches to the head. Round 2 was close but he should take the fight easily. 10-9 Reis, 30-27 overall

Offical result – John Moraga (19-6) by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

> Muslim Salikhov (12-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Ricky Rainey (13-4, 0-0 UFC)
Welterweights

Close first round that was entirely standup. Salikhov was trying all kinds of spinning moves and did land a couple but didn’t do a ton of damage. Both had takedown attempts. Rainey landed the best punch of the fight but didn’t follow up on it. 10-9 Salikhov but very close

Rainey was looking a little better, pressing the action for the whole round. He wasn’t landing much though. Then Salikhov dropped him face first with what looked like a glancing blow and finished him with two hard shots right to the face on the ground. It looked like an early stoppage on first viewing but on the replay you could see he was clearly out and not defending. 

Official result – Muslim Salikhov (13-2) by KO (punch) at 4:12 of the 2nd round

> Tim Boetsch (21-11, 12-10 UFC) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior (9-2 1 NC, 6-2 1 NC UFC)
Middleweights

Carlos Junior looked great here. He was landing all kinds of shots on the feet and then took down the All-American wrestler Boetsch. He wasted no time in taking the back and landing some punches to the head to set up a rear naked choke. Once he secured it, Boetsch tapped quickly and Carlos Junior picked up his fifth straight win. 

Official result – Antonio Carlos Junior (10-2) by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:28

Junior should get a top 10 opponent next and can’t be more than 1 or 2 wins away from a title shot. This was, by far, the biggest win of his career and Boetsch came in having won 3 of his last 4 so he’s no pushover. 

FOX MAIN CARD | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Michelle Waterson (#7, 14-6, 2-2 UFC) vs. Cortney Casey (#10, 7-5, 3-4 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

Casey was getting the better of the standup, landing several really nice combinations. Waterson’s main weapon was leg kicks but she didn’t land enough of them. Waterson managed a takedown with a minute left but Casey was active from her back, getting close on a triangle attempt. Waterson did some ground and pound but not enough to steal the round. 10-9 Casey 

Waterson got the takedown much earlier and held Casey down almost the entire round. Casey was going for submission and at one point had both a triangle and an armbar but Waterson escaped everything. They won’t close enough to make up for the fact that Casey spend so much time on her back though. Waterson stood up on her own with 30 seconds left and Casey followed her. Waterson dropped her with a front kick right before the bell. 10-9 Waterson, 19-19 after 2

Great round and a great fight. Waterson got a takedown 2 minutes in. Casey was again going for submissions, getting real close a couple of times. Waterson stood up on her own and Waterson followed. Both were landing good shots on the feet. Casey stuffed a takedown with a minute left and ended up taking the back. She got close with a rear naked choke and then secured a tight armbar just before the fight ended. 15 seconds more and Waterson probably has to tap. 10-9 Casey, 29-28 overall

Official result – Michelle Waterson (15-6) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)

> Israel Adesanya (12-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Marvin Vettori (12-3-1, 2-1-1 UFC)
Middleweights

Vettori was advancing most of the round and did land a lot of shots but he missed even more. Adesanya was very measured, maybe too much so, as he seemed to be willing to take shots just to figure out the timing of Vettori. It was close but I thought Vettori did more and took the round. 10-9 Vettori

Adesanya landed a lot more in the 2nd round and Vettori looked very confused at times. A body punch combo really seemed to hurt Vettori at one point but he stayed in there. Adesanya seemed to enjoy just making Vettori miss him and seemed to be showboating at times but easily took the second. 10-9 Adesanya, 19-19 overall

Vettori managed an early takedown and held Adesanya down the majority of the round. He did some ground and pound but not a lot. Ref Herb Dean warned them to work at least 5 times but never separated them until after Adesanya had stood them up and they were clinched on the cage. Standup was fairly even after that as Vettori never stopped throwing, even though he was clearly dog-tired. 10-9 Vettori, 29-28 overall

Official result – Israel Adesanya (13-0) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)

Adesanya has a definite hole in his game that he needs to patch up. He said he wasn’t happy with the win in his post-fight promo. He asked for another fight soon and he promised to be better next time. 

> Carlos Condit (#12, 30-11, 7-7 UFC) vs. Alex Oliveira (18-4-1 2 NC, 7-3 1 NC UFC)
Welterweights

Oliveira was getting the better of the standup and then he got a takedown midway through the round. He didn’t do a lot on the ground although he was trying to advance. Condit got to his feet and got a takedown of his own with a minute left. Condit took the back and was working for a rear naked choke, getting very close to a finish. Oliveira fought it off and Condit was landing punches as the round ended. 10-9 Condit

Oliveira gets a takedown 15 seconds in. Oliveira stands up at 45 seconds and eats some upkicks from Condit before backing off and letting him up. Oliveira takes him down again at 1:00. Condit trying to get to his feet and eating elbows but he makes it and then takes Oliveira right down. Condit bleeding badly from the elbows . Condit landing elbows and punches but Oliveira tying him up with a body lock. Condit stands up at 2:30 but Oliveira stays on his back. Oliveira to his feet and grabs a standing guillotine at 2:45. Oliveira drags him down to the canvas at 3:00 and Condit eventually taps.

Official result – ALEX OLIVEIRA (19-5-1) by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:17 of the 2nd round

> Dustin Poirier (#5, 22-5 1 NC, 14-4 1 NC UFC) vs. Justin Gaethje (#6, 18-1, 1-1 UFC)
Lightweights

Outstanding first round. Both guys throwing at an incredible pace. Poirier landed all kinds of combo, mixing in body punches with head strikes and Gaethje threw a ton of leg kicks that were really bothering Poirier. Gaethje had a cut under his left eye bleeding pretty badly and Poirier was cut on his right temple. 10-9 Poirier

Not quite the pace of the first but not far off. At one point the significant strikes count was 121-61 for Poirier and he’d landed 65% of his strikes thrown. He had to switch stances because of the legs kick landed and between rounds, the leg was hurting a lot. Gaethje closed the round with a crazy wheelbarrow kick and the crowd was loving every second of this. 10-9 Poirier, 20-18 overall

Gaethje come out stronger for round 3. The standup was more even except for the leg kicks, which Gaethje was landing at will, up to 37 by the end of the round. The big story of the round was that Gaethje was deducted a point for an eye poke, his 2nd of the fight. Poirier had an eye poke of his own at the end of hte round. 9-9 with the poiont deduction and 29-27 Poirier after 3

Poirier came out firing and was all over Gaethje. Gaethje was not even defending but wouldn’t go down. Poirier wouldn’t let up, landing all kinds of shots and eventually Gaethje dropped. Herb Dean let it go on as long as he could and it was a perfect stoppage. 

Official result – Dustin Poirier (23-5) by TKO (punches) at 33 seconds of the 4th round

Poirier asks the crowd to cheer him and Gaethje even though they were booing him the whole fight and they obliged. Poirier asks for a title shot with Khabib Nurmagomedov and he’s never had one and has definitely earned one with his 10th stoppage win since 2011, tied for 2nd in any weight class. 

Our questions about UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje

Posted on by Josh Nason

The card has already started by the time you’re reading this, so let’s get right into it, courtesy of me, Paul Fontaine, and Ryan Frederick.

First, The Card

  • Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje
  • Carlos Condit vs. Alex Oliveira
  • Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Michelle Waterson vs. Cortney Casey
  • Tim Boetsch vs. Antônio Carlos Júnior
  • Muslim Salikhov vs. Ricky Rainey
  • Wilson Reis vs. John Moraga
  • Krzysztof Jotko vs. Brad Tavares
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Dan Moret
  • Shana Dobson vs. Lauren Mueller
  • Dhiego Lima vs. Yushin Okami
  • Arjan Bhullar vs. Adam Wieczorek
  • Matthew Lopez vs. Alejandro Pérez
  • Luke Sanders vs. Patrick Williams

What are you most looking forward to?

Ryan: The top three fights all have my interest, especially the fight of the night candidate between Poirier and Gaethje. That has fireworks written all over it as both men are known for exciting styles and brutal wars over the years. Condit and Oliveira could also be the fight of the night and Condit has long been one of my favorite fighters to watch. I like his chances to get back on track. Adesanya has tons of potential and Vettori is a step up for him, but he’s got a style unlike anyone and is fun to watch.

Paul: The main event, of course. This is as close to a guarantee for FON as you’ll ever see and by all rights, it could be a fight of the year candidate. Hardcore MMA fans have been looking forward to this fight since it was signed, and both guys are the MMA version of a “Best Bout Machine” (™ Kenny Omega). Other than that, this is just a really solid card with familiar names right down to the opening Fight Pass prelim fight.

Nason: Without a doubt, it’s Poirier vs. Gaethje. This is the (potential) five round fight on free TV that we deserve after all of the bullshit that happened earlier this month when we had Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson yanked from us yet again.

What is being overlooked?

Ryan: I’m not sure if anything is being overlooked on this card, but a fighter on the come-up is Brad Tavares. He’s got the first Fox televised prelim, and while he has been in the UFC for a long time, he seems to be hitting the prime of his career with his recent win streak. A solid win over Jotko could earn him a spot in the top ten and a bigger fight in the future.

Paul: Wilson Reis vs. John Moraga is kind of buried early in the prelims, but it’s two former title challengers who are both still top 10 fighters. Really, these guys are in the same position in their division as the two main eventers are in theirs, but they’re small and the flyweight division doesn’t draw…flies…pardon the pun. It could be a really good fight though as both guys have shown finishing ability, which is rare for the division.

Nason: Quite simply, the man from Maine, Tim Boestch. I only say that because I am also from Maine and am equally as devastating in the cage and with good looks. In all seriousness, the focus in this show is where it’s supposed to be. Nothing is being overlooked.

What’s not doing it for you?

Ryan: If there isn’t anything doing it for me on this card, it’s the sheer amount of fights. It is the first card to have 14 fights in modern UFC history, and with shows already going long as it is, this one will go even longer. It is going to be a long event, especially if at least half the fights go the distance.

Paul: I’m looking at Okami vs. Lima and Tavares vs Jotko as two fights that could potentially really suck. Tavares’ path to victory is to grind out a decision and Jotko isn’t much of a finisher. I just see these two guys playing the clinch game all night. Okami’s best days are a decade behind him and Lima has never really impressed me.

Nason: To Ryan’s point, there are too many fights on this show. What’s the point of having a 14 fight show in 2018 if you’re not a regional trying to sell tickets to family and friends? I’ll take an impactful 10 UFC fights over a 14 fight ‘meh’ show anyday.

What’s the big intrigue with this show?

Ryan: The main event has the big intrigue, mainly because everyone is expecting a war. I hope it lives up to the hype as I’m looking forward to it. Also, a big intrigue is how Condit bounces back and if he has anything left in the tank, if Adesanya can continue his rise, and if Waterson can get back into the win column.

Paul: For me, it’s Adesanya. This is the highest profile of his career and at 12-0, people that don’t know about him already will really start to take notice. I’m hoping that the UFC don’t make the same mistake they did with Francis Ngannou and Volkan Oezdemir and rush him into a big fight that he’s not ready for. He could be a future big-time player but as Daniel Cormier likes to say, there are levels to this and he needs to make sure he doesn’t skip one or two.

Nason: Agreed with my guys above. Outside the main event, it’s all I.A. who already gets a shot at big Fox to make a big impression. I always worry that in this era, these guys get the push too quick but I’m hoping Adesanya is the exception here. We need more fun, must-see fighters, don’t we?

At the end of the year, what will make this show matter looking back at it?

Ryan: If we can get a winner in the main event that gets a lot of momentum to challenge for the UFC lightweight title, that makes the main event matter. Overall, we could have some fights and an event that has placement in year-end awards voting, so that is a plus. Other than that, it’s just another event in a logjam of events.

Nason: Pretty simple: how good the main event is and how Adesanya does. Outside that, this card has some interesting names (Condit, Waterson, etc) but not a lot when it comes to stakes.

Paul: It could have a potential fight of the year in the main event. More importantly than that, though, is the rating. UFC is still trying to reach a new TV deal and this is another show that, while full of potentially entertaining fights, has no big needle movers on it. As was the case with the last few Fox shows, this will struggle to break two million viewers. A big number could entice Fox to sweeten the pot on a new contract, but aother mediocre one could go the other way.

Who wins?

Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje

  • Poirier: Nason, Ryan
  • Gaethje: Paul

Carlos Condit vs. Alex Oliveira

  • Condit: Ryan
  • Cowboy: Nason, Paul

Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori

  • Adesanya: Ryan, Nason, Paul

Wilson Reis vs. John Moraga

  • Moraga: Ryan, Nason
  • Reis: Paul