The boxing bug has bit two former UFC rivals as Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will do battle for a third time — only this time in the ring vs. the cage.
The news was revealed Sunday night, coming on the same day Silva denied he would be fighting actor Terry Crews. It’s being promoted as the “grand finale” of Silva’s career even though he has declined to answer whether he will retire.
12 days before their first fight is inducted into the UFC hall of fame, Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will meet again, this time in a boxing match. pic.twitter.com/rfuld9Aavh
The two will clash on Saturday, June 15th in Brazil, but the rules are unknown as is whether it will be a pro or exhibition bout. It will come nearly two weeks before their first UFC fight is inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
The 49-year-old Silva (3-2) has boxed professionally three times since retiring from the UFC, picking up wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz before losing to Jake Paul in September 2022. While the 47-year-old Sonnen has trained in boxing before, he has never competed in boxing professionally.
The two fought twice before in the Octagon with Silva picking up both victories.
The legal games involving the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon. The arguments for arbitration, McMahon’s side goes after Janel Grant’s character, why Vince can’t produce the text messages, and WWE and McMahon file new arguments.
AEW going to tape Collisions & ROH leading up to All In, all in Arlington, TX. We look at the good and the bad as well as the significance to this move
The crazy competition the first AEW show in the building wll face
Update on King and Queen of the Ring as well as AEW Double or Nothing. What to look for on both shows.
Full detailed rundown of New Japan Resurgence
The death of inDemand, a company that was a huge part of the wrestling and boxing business for decades
Huge historical feature on the life of Bob Bruggers, as well as the 1972 Verne Gagne training camp that produced five Hall of Fame candidates of its six trainees and background of Ken Patera, Ric Flair, Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell and Iron Sheik
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling and MMA TV shows this past week
The biggest trouble spot AEW faces
The weekly rankings for wrestling, quarter hours, competition for the shows and more
Arena Mexico big show update
AAA doing a feuding authority figure angle
NWA deal with All Japan
Behind the new executive who will be in charge of three different pro wrestling companies at the same time
New Japan Super Juniors coverage
One of the biggest drawing cards of the last 40 years to announce his retirement details this week
Another of the biggest stars of the last 40 years enters sports Hall of Fame
Billy Corgan talks TV deal for NWA
Homicide talks injuries
Death of wrestler and horror stories about warring with Eddie Graham
MLW breaks records and gets its most mainstream media ever
New AEW licensing deals
Konosuke Takeshita talks frustrations in AEW
Advance ticket sales for AEW & WWE shows
More on Dwayne Johnson’s next movie
Details of the most expensive sports ticket I’ve ever heard of
Dana White talks WWE PPVs on Sundays and update
What Las Vegas is expecting as far as tourism for WrestleMania
More behind the departures of two more WWE executives
– Our weekend show with Garrett Gonzalez included an interview with Lucas Charpiot about wrestling media, and then I talked about a different way to approach AEW television, the key to the recent decline and very unique nature of it, and also talked about the Observer article this week about the greatest training camp class in history, the 1972 Verne Gagne camp, the death of Bob Bruggers and how the 1975 plane crash could have changed the entire history of the business. Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about the news.
– Aside from the Oleksander Usyk vs. Tyson Fury heavyweight title match which Usyk won via split decision, handing Fury his first career loss, this was a pretty uneventful week for wrestling, boxing and MMA mainstream. That fight did 1 million Google searches and was the top item for the weekend. Nothing else this week cracked the top 20.
– There was a story going around that Anderson Silva would fight actor Terry Crews, but Silva denied that one and said he would reveal his final opponent later today.
– This is what has been announced for Wednesday’s Dynamite in Bakersfield, CA:
Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne
Jay White & Gunns to appear
Will Ospreay & Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Baretta & Roderick Strong
Matt Sydal vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Toni Storm & Mariah May vs. Saraya & Harley Cameron
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Malakai Black
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hook vs. Bryan Keith for a shot at Chris Jericho’s FTW title
Jon Moxley appearing
Satnam Singh vs. Bryan Danielson in a bounty match.
– Ariane Carnelossi, who beat Piera Rodriguez via DQ at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event after Rodriguez delivered what were determined to be two intentional head-butts, was hospitalized. She said she suffered a broken nose, a cheekbone injury, and the formation of a blood clot in the nose area.
– We’re looking for reports from today’s Fantasticamania shows at York Hall in London as well as the TNA TV tapings last night and tonight in Newport, KY, results, finishes, and highlights, to [email protected].
– Results from the Fantastica Mania shows:
Afternoon results: Stephanie Vaquer b Kanji, Barbaro Cavernario b Robbie X, Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Dulce Gardenia b Kid Lykos I & II & Okumura, Grizzled Young Veterans & Luke Jacobs b Mascara Dorada & Neon & Futuro, Hechicero b Connor Mills, Angel de Oro & Ultim Guerrero b Michael Oku & Zazoya, Gabe Kidd & Magnus & Templario b Mistico & JJ Gale & Ricky Knight Jr.
Evening results: Angel de Oro b Zozaya, Cavenario & Hechicero & Okumura b Gardenia & Robbie X & Futuro, Dorada won three-way over Gabe Kidd and Magnus, Vaquer b Rhio to retain the New Japan Strong women’s title, Neon b Jodon Breaks to win the British cruiserweight title, Grizzled Young Veterans b Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. to retain the British tag title, Mistico b Templario, Michael Oku b Ultimo Guerrero to retain the British heavyweight title
It was also announced Vaquer would return on 8/24 at the Copper Box Arena in London for the RevPro anniversary show the day before All In.
– Khalil Rountree Jr. announced he had tested positive for DHEA, which he said was found in a contaminated supplement, and thus suspended, so he’s out of his 6/29 UFC 303 fight with Jamahal Hill. He said he did not use DHEA intentionally.
– Mike Santana defends the House of Glory title against JT Dunn, plus Mustafa Al vs. Alec Price and Sami Callihan vs. Chales Mason headlined for HOG on 5/25 in Lowell, MA.
– Lucha Va Voom returns to the Mayan Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on 5/29 and 5/30, with Rey Horus and Extreme Tiger. Drew Carey will be hosting the show. You have to be 21 or older to attend.
– Josh Prohibition announced his retirement match against former rival Matt Cross on Friday’s AIW show in Cleveland at Tempe Live.
One of the famous fights in recent UFC history is going into the Hall of Fame.
Announced during Saturday’s UFC 300, the first-ever Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen fight will be part of this year’s class as part of the June 27th ceremony in Las Vegas. It will go in their Fight Wing.
The 2017 bout for Silva’s then-middleweight title was one of the most anticipated at the time due to the immense trash talking and emotional build leading up to it.
The verbose Sonnen was going for his first UFC title off a three-fight win streak and was looking to dethrone Silva, winner of 12 straight with six straight title defenses, and arguably the best fighter in the world at that point.
At UFC 117 in August 2010, the two met and Sonnen dominated Silva for nearly five rounds using his wrestling. It appeared a major upset was in the works.
But with less than two minutes to go, Silva ensnared Sonnen in a triangle armbar submission, getting the challenger to tap — only the second time in UFC history such a submission finished a fight.
From the UFC:
“Silva’s submission came with a -60 significant strike differential and remains the greatest statistical comeback finish in UFC championship history.”
The fight won Fight of the Night and also Fight of the Year by many media outlets. The UFC did dodge a bullet as Sonnen later tested positive for elevated testosterone levels which canceled plans for an immediate rematch.
The two did eventually rematch years at July 2012’s UFC 148 which Silva won via second round TKO.
The fight joins inductions for Wanderlei Silva, Frankie Edgar and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Jake Paul emerged victorious Saturday night, defeating Anderson Silva in a boxing match.
Paul won the fight by unanimous decision, with judges scoring the contest 77-74, 78-73, and 78-73. The two fought a competitive back and forth match, with Silva being knocked down in the eighth and final round.
In the post-fight interview, Paul took the time to call out Nate Diaz, calling him a “bi***”, claiming that Diaz had attempted to enter his locker room before leaving the arena. He told Diaz to fight him. He called out Canelo Alvarez as well, saying if he can beat a legend like Silva, he could beat Canelo.
Anderson thanked everyone for coming and said sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. He will continue to train hard as he was born for this and thanked God. He had nothing bad to say about Paul and said he will go back to Brazil to compete in a jiu-jitsu tournament.
Jake’s brother, Logan, signed a WWE contract earlier this year. He is scheduled to face Roman Reigns in a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel next Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The combat sports celebrity boxing trend will continue as former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz will go to battle in a boxing ring.
The fight is expected to be the co-main event for a September 11th Triller event in Los Angeles that will be headlined by Oscar De La Hoya returning to the ring against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort. The news was first reported by MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.
In June, former middleweight champion Silva (above) defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in both his first post-UFC fight and first boxing match since 2005. Ortiz has never boxed professionally. The fight is expected to be held at a 195-pound catchweight.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion has retired from MMA several times and was last seen defeating former WWE star Alberto El Patron in an December 2019 MMA fight. He is coming off an aborted run as a city council member in Huntington Beach, California.
In the latest boxing/MMA crossover fight, MMA legend and former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Mexico Saturday night in Silva’s first boxing match in 23 years.
The 46-year-old Silva won by split decision in an eight-round fight as the co main-event to Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. vs. Hector Camacho Jr. Silva took two cards 77-75 with the other judge giving Chavez Jr. a 77-75 score which those who watched the fight thought was suspect.
This was Silva’s third pro boxing fight as he lost in a 1998 fight and returned in 2005 to pick up a first round knockout, both in Brazil. He was non-committal in wanting to return to boxing again, saying he wanted to focus on his son’s upcoming fight for now.
The win was considered an upset considering the 35-year-old Chavez Jr. has 60 fights on his resume.
Silva was last seen losing to Uriah Hall by fourth round TKO last October in his final UFC fight, his third straight loss and the final defeat in a stretch that saw the great win just once in nine outings over seven years.
Following Silva’s Halloween night loss to Uriah Hall, Dana White aired his frustrations at allowing Silva to fight, saying “it was a big mistake.”
It was believed the fight was to be the 45-year-old Silva’s last, but he showed reluctance during fight week at committing to that.
Speculation is that if Silva was to fight again, Bellator MMA might be an option but Scott Coker told Ariel Helwani Thursday that he has no interest in signing him. Japan remains an option, especially ONE who signed former Silva rival Vitor Belfort to a deal.
Silva rose to prominence in the UFC’s middleweight division during the post-TUF boom period, setting records for the longest title reign (2457 days) in a stretch that also saw “The Spider” win 16 straight fights — also a UFC record.
He started in the company in June 2006 with a 49 second knockout of Chris Leben. What followed was a magnificent run that saw him win the middleweight title convincingly from Rich Franklin in October 2006 with ten subsequent title defenses. It should have been eleven, but his 2007 fight with Travis Lutter was turned into a non-title fight when the challenger missed weight.
He finally lost the title to surprise fashion to Chris Weidman in July 2013 which kicked off a roller coaster decline that included breaking his leg badly in the Weidman rematch. Over a seven year stretch, he won just once in his last nine fights with the sole victory — a February 2017 decision win over Derek Brunson — a controversial one. He had defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision two years earlier but it was overturned to a no contest due to PEDs.
During his middleweight dominance, he flirted with the light heavyweight division with amazing results, knocking out former champion Forrest Griffin, James Irvin, and Stephan Bonnar — all in the first round. Years later, he stepped up on a day’s notice and lost to Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
For years, there were talks of him fighting welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre in a dream fight but it never came to pass.
An in-depth look at WWE finances and the company going forward is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Our lead story not just looks at the investors call this week, but goes through financial details and what they mean from the call, and looks at the landscape as well as things said that were misleading.
The new issue also covers:
TV ratings, streaming, value of the Thunderdome setting, Nick Khan’s debut on the call and his main comments, Vince McMahon talks his new management team, WWE numbers, new programming, plight of furloughed employees, company market value, cutbacks in expenses, Saudi Arabia, costs going up next month, how many people view the free tier of the WWE Network, Vince talks ratings, network subscriptions in the U.S. and abroad, how much money the company makes from television, and unique notes about merchandise sales.
Daniel Bryan’s statements regarding his career, how much longer he wants to do this, what he’s said about his own athletic ability, where he can be valuable and Roman Reigns’ opponens.
Hell in a Cell, a look at Survivor Series, changes from last year, the top of Raw, Money in the Bank, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Khabib Numragomedov’s last fight, Dana White talks if he will retire, Khabib says he will, plus UFC 254 with match-by-match coverage and poll results.
WWE talent and Twitch and comments by Paige, update on Thunderdome location after the end of November and why they have to move, we update the latest COVID outbreak in WWE, why Matt Riddle got a name change, brutal WWE match this past week, where wrestling stands in sports ratings, Canadian and U.K. ratings, donors to Trump and Biden’s campaign,why little was announced ahead of time for Smackdown, new names for lots of WWE talent, what former wrestler is WWE trying to keep from using his WWE name, and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Impact’s Bound for Glory. We look at the situation with Kylie Rae, the injuries, Ken Shamrock in the Hall of Fame and his relationship with Dwayne Johnson, Mick Foley and Bret Hart, Shamrock’s background plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
TripleMania press conference, the matches announced, the unique new promotional tie-in with Marvel and the first show announced with no date and why.
Detailed look at the television business, with ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
We’ve got two new shows up this weekend. I did a show late Friday night with Garrett Gonzalez talking about all the news of the past week including the Vince McMahon documentary, finances, Wednesday ratings and today’s show with Bryan Alvarez talking Smackdown, UFC and the rest of the news.
After last night’s UFC show ended, Israel Adesanya told Megan Olivi that he wanted to fight Jon Jones in 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas when fans can return. He told Olivi it would be the biggest fight in history. He noted that he and Robert Whittaker hold the company’s all-time attendance record of 57,127 fans in Melbourne at UFC 247.
Regarding Anderson Silva, MMA Fighting translated a statement he made regarding retirement that read:
Good morning, my people. Today is a different day for a simple reason, say goodbye to an entire life dedicated to my sport. Yesterday was so special, I went there to do what I love. I didn’t imagine I would be as happy as I am now. Even in defeat, I’m feeling at peace.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, my team, my family, my friends, and everyone who watched the fight, know that it was always a great honor to fight all these years with your support.
I want to thank the God for granting me the gift of the fight! Thank you my people for all understanding, for all your support and for all your amazing moments that we live in this sport together!
I hope I left it in memory and in the heart of each of you a little of who I am, that you can overcome difficulties, every second of uncertainty and to overcome obstacles in your lives!
Never think about giving up, as hard as things get at some point; know that I leave all my love, all my respect for you!
Anderson Silva was the seventh most searched term on Google yesterday with 200,000. Earlier this morning Greg Hardy was No. 14 for today at 20,000. Sean Connery was at 10 million which is a monster number. Nothing from last night’s boxing or anything from WWE or anything else from combat sports registered this week.
More notes from last night’s show. Charles Ontiveros was taken to the hospital after a hard slam in the fight with Kevin Holland. He felt his neck popped and told the ref he was submitting. He was taken out on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. Dana White said they examined him and said he’s okay. He’ll have a stiff neck but he’s healthy.
The lineup for the Best of the Super Juniors tournament will be announced at tomorrow morning’s New Japan show at Korakuen Hall. Keep in mind with the time change, the Korakuen Hall shows now start at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time. The lineup has Yota Tsuji vs. Gabriel Kidd, Kazuchika Okada & Yuya Uemura vs. Will Ospreay & Great O’Khan, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jay White & KENTA & Chase Owens, Tetsuya Naito & Sanada vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi and Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. defend the IWGP tag titles against Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi.
The Ultimate Fighter will be returning as a series on ESPN+. UFC announced yesterday they are taking remote casting applications through 11/13 for male bantamweights and middleweights. The coaches have yet to be announced. They wanted Conor McGregor to coach. ESPN+ has also made a deal where every episode of the previous 28 seasons will be available shortly on the streaming service. Application information is to contact Gary DeFranco at [email protected] The show will begin airing in March.
WWE
There was no meeting on Friday regarding the situation with talent and Twitch.
With the signing of Rampage Brown for the U.K. division, the company has taken out a trademark for his name.
The worked injury story on Daniel Bryan from the Friday attack by Jey Uso is bruised kidneys and strains and contusions throughout his thoracic and lumbar regions.
Felipe Colares, who was scheduled to face Gustavo Lopez on this coming Saturday’s show in Las Vegas, tested positive for COVID. Colares said he had no symptoms. UFC is looking for a new opponent for Lopez.
AEW
At last night’s show, UFC announced Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos as the main event of the 11/14 show. Dos Anjos is returning to lightweight. This fight was scheduled for 10/24 but dos Anjos tested positive for COVID and it was moved back.
There’s no word how the lockdown in the U.K. affects the status of PAC, who will be appearing in some form on Wednesday’s television show.
Billy Gunn, who wrestles on Wednesday’s Dynamite, turned 57 today.
As of right now, the “Get In” price for Saturday’s Full Gear show on Stubhub is $90.
Lei’d Tapa, who was pushed years back in Impact, debuts on Dark Tuesday but it’s against KiLynn King so unless most debuts and tryouts where the person coming in gets to put over an AEW wrestler, she looks to be winning. Tapa was in Impact 2013-2015 and worked one match in NXT in 2017. She also is 2-0 as a boxer and 0-2 as an MMA fighter, both in Japan, including appearing on the New Year’s Eve Rizin show losing to Gabby Garcia.
Dave Dutra, a longtime top Northern California indie guy, like Will Hobbs, debuts against Ricky Starks.
MISCELLANEOUS
A couple of notes on different pro wrestling related books that I’ve seen. Randy Hales has a new book out called “Living the Dream: Memphis Wrestling” talking about his life from childhood being around Jarrett Promotions and the characters there, including as the company’s General Manager, as well as his experience in running Power Pro Wrestling after the USA folded. Rock Rims has a new book called “Legends and Icons: A History of the Olympic Auditorium and Southern California Professional Wrestling” which is a great piece on the history of Southern California wrestling from 1900 to the closing of the LeBell NWA office in 1982. James Romero has a book called “Dwayne The Rock Johnson: The People’s Champion – from WWE to Hollywood” that will be released on 11/29. My own new book The 1997 Wrestling Observer Yearbook, covering one of the most important years in the history of pro wrestling is also available, a book that covers in detail every major news story from the year, and there were a lot of them, including all the politics in a year that changed the face of both pro wrestling and MMA. All of these books are at amazon.com in the U.S.
Impact announced Turning Point, an Impact Plus exclusive, for 11/14. They will likely start promoting the show this Tuesday.
JR Kratos will debut with New Japan Pro Wrestling this coming Friday teaming with Rust Taylor vs; Jeff Cobb & Rocky Romero on the show from California. Kratos and Cobb have worked together in Northern California for years and are best friends..
There is advertising for 30 spots available to be in a movie with Rob Van Dam and Effy which may be called “Fist Combat.” They are looking for people to be in the audience for the main event wrestling scene in a wrestling movie. Ten of the 30 will get a line in the movie. It will be filmed on 11/9 in downtown San Diego. The cost is $100 per person and there are 18 spots said to be left and with it you get to meet the cast on set and get photos with them, an autographed movie poster and two tickets to the premiere in the spring. For more info you can go to venmo.com/fistcombattv Besides Van Dam and Taylor Gibson (Effy), other names listed in the cast are MMA Roasted Host Adam Hunter, Matt Sydal, Mariachi Loco, Katie Forbes, Sabu and the famous Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.
wXw aired a very touching tribute to Karsten Beck on its YouTube channel. A lot of the talent and office members talked about him and their experiences with him along with his battle with cancer. Tassilo Jung talked about how he met Beck for dinner in August and the cancer was advanced and he was in rough shape. People talked about his sense of humor, his hard work mentality, going from being an overweight teenage fan with no athletic talent to becoming the face of the company and how Vince Russo talked wXw from what was planned as a short world title run into a much longer run. They are also releasing a tribute T-shirt with proceeds going to German cancer aid (thanks to Markus Gronemann)
Innovate Wrestling returns on 11/7 at the SOM Studios in Chuckey, TN.
One of our best correspondents, Markus Gronemann, has had a personal tragedy with the death of his grandmother and is looking to raise money to help pay for the funeral via Go Fund Me.
A Go Fund Me for funeral costs for Tracy Smothers has been set up.
In what is expected to be his final fight in the UFC, Anderson Silva was defeated by Uriah Hall via fourth round TKO Saturday in Las Vegas, NV.
After a solid effort in the first half of the fight, Silva got sloppy and walked into a Hall right hand at the end of the third round that dropped him. The 36-year-old Hall landed some ground and pound, but the round ended early, perhaps saving Silva from imminent defeat. In the fourth, Silva made the same mistake and Hall made him pay for it, dropping him after another right hook and landing some strikes while standing for the stoppage at 1:28 of the round.
Both men embraced and paid respect to each other post-fight with both getting very emotional in the cage.
The no. 10 ranked Hall (16-9) has now won three straight and four of his last five.
Going into this week, this was believed to be the 45-year-old Silva’s final fight ever until he mentioned in an interview with Ariel Helwani that this simply might be his final UFC fight. There is some question about whether he has one remaining fight on his UFC deal. but that is yet to be determined. Even in his post-fight interview, he didn’t say it was his last fight, saying he would go talk to his family and “we’ll see.”
In the post-event press conference, an agitated Dana White said he didn’t feel good about letting Silva fight Saturday and that Hall didn’t have any output, “one of the most gun-shy fighters in the UFC.” White said he made a big mistake and shouldn’t have let him fight, adding he should never fight again.
White said Silva has one fight left with the UFC, but that he will never fight again in the Octagon.
If this is Silva’s last Octagon appearance, he leaves behind an incredible legacy as one of the most dominant and popular champions in the boom era of the sport. A former UFC middleweight champion, he holds records for consecutive victories (16) and longest title reign in days (2457). He also fought four times at light heavyweight with T/KO wins over former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, James Irvin, and Stephan Bonnar with the one blemish a last second fill-in appearance against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
Silva fought 25 times in the UFC, starting in June 2008 with a 49 second knockout of Chris Leben. He won the middleweight title one fight later with a three minute knockout of Rich Franklin, a reign that continued through July 2013 when Chris Weidman stunned the MMA world with a knockout win after Silva was clowning around.
That began a decline, one that followed in a rematch with Weidman that resulted in one of the most gruesome leg injuries ever in the UFC. After such dominance in his early UFC run, he won just one time (a controversial decision over Derek Brunson) with seven losses and one no contest in his last nine fights.
Coming off of an underwhelming first quarter financial report and a week of record-low ratings, this Monday’s Raw offered WWE the chance to show they understand how to fix the problem.
WWE did acknowledge that the problem exists. Hoping to help out the ratings and counter two NBA playoff games, WWE hyped that SmackDown’s Roman Reigns would be appearing on Raw. His appearance was made apparent but not actually officially announced in advance, with WWE playing up that Reigns was defying a statement they put out claiming that he couldn’t be on the show due to his obligations as a SmackDown wrestler.
An update on AEW distribution, PPV, television and streaming, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the full distribution around the world for Double or Nothing, as well as updating where things stand when it comes to television.
Look at pricing, preshow, who is carrying it, how strong ITV 4 is, how this compares with WWE’s distribution and probable viewership, where things stand with U.K. television, details on Casino Battle Royale plans, the main championship, updating the show and lots of new signings.
Go in-depth on not just the XFL television deal and finances, but the lessons of the deal and how the deal is a 180 from the UFC deal.
Also look at the changes in Raw and Smackdown this past week, why they were made, where NBC Universal and FOX stand, WWE star power, how the European tour affected this week’s television, how it affects touring, plus updates on the Money In The Bank show.
Also look at the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, including what matches to watch out for, the schedule, the positioning of Will Ospreay, and the schedule.
Look at the two New Japan Dontaku events, what the events say about both Japan and U.S. popularity, the story behind Okada vs. Sanada, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
Additional notes by Joseph Currier
WWE
SmackDown tonight is a taped show from the O2 London in England. A fatal four-way match between Finn Balor, Ali, Randy Orton and Andrade is the featured match. Kevin Owens has also invited Kofi Kingston to be part of the Kevin Owens Show and the team of Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose will take on Asuka and Kairi Sane.
205 Live will see the cruiserweights collide with the NXT UK brand. Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese will face Ligero in a non-title match, while Jack Gallagher, Humberto Carrillo, Mark Andrews and James Drake will face one another in a fatal four-way match.
Vince McMahon, along with other key WWE executives, talked to Variety for a cover story about WWE’s move to FOX this fall, the Last Week Tonight segment on WWE, and their momentum. McMahon said wrestlers can get time off without repercussions: “Anybody who wants time off can get time off. That’s easy. In addition to that, it’s easy to weave a talent in and out of a storyline. If they get injured, you’re not expecting that. Or if they have a family matter. Our characters are real people with real problems. It’s a revolving situation where this talent will work these dates, that talent will work those dates.”
Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle are being advertised for next month’s’ Download Festival.
WALTER retained the WWE United Kingdom Championship against R-Truth at yesterday’s SmackDown house show in Bournemouth, England.
The WrestleMania main event between Ronda Rousey, Charlotte and Becky Lynch has been nominated for a MTV Movie/TV award for Best Fight. Roman Reigns is nominated for Best Real-Life Hero.
Tony Khan spoke to ITV about Double or Nothing and the partnership between AEW and ITV.
UFC/MMA
Anderson Silva did not suffer any serious leg injury after his loss this weekend to Jared Cannonier. No ligaments were damaged but will need physical therapy before getting back to training.
Silva also commented on the loss, saying (translation by MMAJunkie): “Until the limit. Pain is your friend. It shows you are not dead yet. They say that great symbols become great targets, perhaps. But the most important thing is to not victimize yourself. If you fell, get up. If it’s broken, fix it. No giving up or thinking that you can’t because you lost a battle. There is one saying, I will go until the end and the more they pressure me, the more I will want to go until the end. There’s nothing wild that feels sorry for itself. An old lion surrounded by hungry [hyenas], crazy to devour him and he still fights to the death without ever feeling sorry for himself. And it won’t be different with me. Strength and honor.”
Neil Magny is out of UFC Rochester on May 18, where he was supposed to face Vicente Luque. He wrote on Instagram: On Saturday, May 11, 2019, I [received] an email from USADA stating that I have failed an “out of competition drug test” due to the banned substance “Di-Hydroxy-LGD-4033”. I am fully cooperating with USADA to determine how this substance was found in the sample I provided them on May 5, 2019. I have always been an advocate for the strict drug testing in the UFC, even to the extent of opting for my collected samples to be used for research purposes by USADA. I know without a doubt that I have done everything according to the standards set by USADA. I have faith in USADA that this situation will resolved in a timely manner and that I will be cleared of any [wrongdoing]. To all of my fans and supporters, thank you. I assure you that I have not let you down.
Frankie Edgar talked to MMA Fighting about his next fight against Max Holloway. He also said that Volkanovski, who is on a 17 fight winning streak, will get his time.
The UFC 237 prelims averaged 813k on ESPN this past Saturday.
Johnny Walker told TMZ Sports that he feels great after shoulder surgery and wants to face Jon Jones.
Cody Garbrandt’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie that he turned down a UFC on ESPN+ 13 fight to let him recover more from a knockout loss a few months ago. He also wants the two TJ Dillashaw wins vacated following Dillashaw’s suspension.
According to Brett Okamoto, Kron Gracie is looking to fight at UFC 241 in Anaheim.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade, emanating from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Octagon heads back to Brazil for the second time in 2019, this time for a pay-per-view event with a title fight on top and a card filled with past champions and both future and current members of the UFC Hall Of Fame.
In the main event, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas heads into enemy territory to defend her title for the first time in 13 months when she takes on top contender Jessica Andrade. Namajunas is coming off back-to-back wins over former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but has been out of action since April 2018. Meanwhile, Andrade gets her second crack at winning UFC gold, riding a three-fight win streak over Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
In other main card action, former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva returns to Brazil looking to get back in the win column when he takes on rising contender Jared Cannonier. Also, former two-time UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo goes for three straight wins as he looks to derail the rise of Alexander Volkanovski, winner of 16 straight fights.
In preliminary card action, light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira looks to get his second straight win when he battles Ryan Spann, and former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight Champion and UFC Hall Of Famer BJ Penn looks to get his first win since 2010 when he takes on long-time UFC veteran and fan favorite Clay Guida.
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.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
Araujo took this fight earlier this week and normally fights at 115 pounds. They trade kicks. Araujo with a right hand that backs Bernardo up. Araujo with a body kick. Araujo with a leg kick. Bernardo misses her punches and Araujo counters with a right. Bernardo with a left hook to the body. Araujo definitely quicker. They trade right hands. Araujo with a right hand. Bernardo tries a body kick but Araujo catches the leg and throws her to the mat but lets her up. Bernardo with a high kick followed by a right hand. Bernardo tries a takedown but it gets stuffed and Araujo ends up on top in the half-guard. Araujo switches to the back and lands some punches but time runs out. 10-9 Araujo.
Araujo starts with a leg kick. They trade punches and Bernardo lands the right hand. Bernardo with a leg kick but eats a counter right from Araujo. Araujo lands a hard right hand and just misses a second one. Araujo with a right hand but Bernardo lands a counter right hand as well. Araujo with a right hand. Bernardo with a leg kick and shoots for a takedown but Araujo defends. Bernardo working hard against the fence but gave up her back and Araujo escapes. Araujo now gets a takedown on Bernardo after Bernardo lands some punches. Araujo with some punches from the top before Bernardo pushes her off. They stand up. Bernardo lands some heavy punches at the end. 10-9 Araujo, 20-18 Araujo.
Bernardo lands a flurry of punches to start the third. Araujo then lands a hard right hand. They trade in the picket and Araujo then lands a massive right hand that knocks Bernardo out. One punch and Bernardo was done. Impressive finish and performance by Araujo.
Official Result- Viviane Araujo def. Talita Bernardo by knockout (punch) at :48 of Round 3
> Raoni Barcelos (13-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Carlos Huachin (10-3-1, 0-0 UFC) Bantamweights
Both firing away right at the start. Barcelos with a leg kick. Huachin lands a left hand. They trade in very close range. Huachin with a left hand. Huachin looking for the knockout punch. Huachin with a left hand. They trade punches. Barcelos with a leg kick. They continue to trade punches. Huachin with a leg kick. Huachin lands another left hand. They trade again at the end. 10-9 Huachin.
They continue to trade punches and kicks to start the second. Huachin is landing the better punches. Barcelos drops Hauchin with a right hand and Barcelos scrambles to his guard and is landing from the top. Barcelos teeing off with big punches from the top. Huachin is moving around trying to escape but Barcelos has him pinned down. Barcelos gets the back and is landing punches but slides back to the top and has a no-arm guillotine in. Barcelos lets go and is back on top. Barcelos gets to the mount and is looking to set up a choke as he has hooks in. Barcelos still landing from the top now landing elbows and the fight is stopped. Big finish by Barcelos there.
Official Result- Raoni Barcelos def. Carlos Huachin by TKO (strikes) at 4:49 of Round 2
Carolina with a huge knee to the body. Cachoeira lands a right hand. They clinch. Carolina with a couple of knees to the body then they break. They trade punches. Carolina with a leg kick. Carolina with a left hand and then a knee. Carolina lands a couple of elbows. They trade kicks. Cachoeira with a right hand and she chases Carolina around the Octagon. Carolina with some knees. Carolina with a head kick and Cachoeira with some right hands. Carolina cut under her eye. Cachoeira chasing her around and eating punches and kicks as she does so. They clinch and trade knees. 10-9 Carolina.
They trade kicks. Carolina lands another head kick but Cachoeira fires back with some right hands. Carolina with a combo and she resets. They trade and Carolina with a body kick and Cachoeira with a right hand. They clinch against the fence. Carolina drops Cachoeira with a head kick and goes for a finish but Cachoeira grabs her and takes her down. Carolina now looking for a submission as she has an arm and a reverse triangle. Carolina had the armbar but Cachoeira escapes. They scramble up and Carolina lands a knee to the face as they were getting up and it looked illegal. They get back to action and clinch and Carolina lands elbows and knees. Carolina with more head kicks and punches. Carolina grabs the neck and jumps to guard but Cachoeira defends. Carolina locks in a reverse triangle but Cachoeira escapes to her feet. They trade at the end. 10-8 Carolina, 20-17 Carolina.
Carolina landing kicks and punches as she circles around. Carolina with a spinning back fist. Cachoeira trying to catch her but she has slowed down. Cachoeira with a big right hand. Carolina with a knee to the body as she circles away to reset. Carolina still landing punches and Cachoeira has eaten some big shots. Cachoeira has zero striking defense as she is just eating punches. Carolina with another head kick followed by a knee. They trade and Cachoeira with a big left hand. 10-9 Carolina, 30-26 Carolina.
Official Result- Luana Carolina def. Priscila Cachoeira by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
ESPN PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> BJ Penn (16-13-2, 12-12-2 UFC) vs. Clay Guida (34-18, 14-12 UFC) Lightweights
Penn landing left hands but Guida coming out aggressive. Penn with a combo. Penn with a left hook. Penn with the jab. Guida lands a left hand. Guida with a leg kick and then a head kick. Guida with a leg kick. They trade punches. They trade again. Penn hasn’t found himself in trouble yet. Guida with the left hook. Penn lands a right hand. They trade punches and Penn lands an uppercut. Penn with the jab at the end. 10-9 Penn.
Guida with a leg kick. Guida lands a left hand. Penn slowing down a little. Penn with a left hook. They trade low kicks. Penn with a right hand to the body. They trade and Guida with a leg kick. Penn with the jab and another jab. Guida with a head kick. Guida now shoots for a takedown against the fence. Penn defends but eats a combo from Guida against the cage. Guida with an elbow. Guida with body punches. They break and Penn lands the jab. Guida with a leg kick. Guida hurts Penn with a high kick and then lands punches in the clinch. Guida with a takedown late in the round and finishes on top. 10-9 Guida, 19-19.
Guida hurting Penn with punches and lands a big uppercut. Guida landing punches and they clinch against the fence. Guida with body punches and lands an elbow over the top. Guida dropping down and looking for a takedown. They break and Guida knocks Penn down with a right hand. Penn gets right back up and Guida back looking for the takedown. They break and Guida landing punches. Penn does land an uppercut. Penn is tired. Guida with big punches in dirty boxing range. They trade hard punches and Guida drops back down looking for the takedown. They break. Guida with a head kick. 10-9 Guida, 29-28 Guida.
Official Result- Clay Guida def. BJ Penn by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Alves with a couple of leg kicks. Alves with a high kick. Alves with another leg kick. Moraes tries a kick but Alves grabs it but lets go. Alves circling around and lands another leg kick. Moraes lands an uppercut and a right hand. Alves back with another leg kick. Moraes with a right hand. Alves with more leg kicks. Alves with an eye poke and a brief timeout. Moraes with a low kick. Alves tries a flying knee but misses. 10-9 Alves.
They are trading kicks and Moraes’ leg is swollen. Alves with more leg kicks and then goes high with a head kick. Alves with more leg kicks. Alves with a combo and then back to a leg kick and Moraes finally partially checks the kick. Alves with a left hand but Moraes lands a harder counter left hook. Alves just misses a right hand but lands a body kick. Alves with a right hand. Alves with another leg kick. Alves with a body kick and a right hand to the body. 10-9 Alves, 20-18 Alves.
Moraes bringing pressure to start the third. Moraes lands a left hand but eats a counter combo from Alves. Alves with a left hand to the body and hurts Moraes. Alves with a combo. Alves with an uppercut. Alves with the jab and then a right hand against the fence. Alves with another right. Alves with another combo. Alves with a spin kick. Alves with a body kick. Moraes is tired. Alves then lands a flying knee and knocks him out with a vicious uppercut. What a finish by Alves as he looked really good tonight.
Official Result- Warlley Alves def. Sergio Moraes by knockout (punch) at 4:13 of Round 3
> Thiago Moises (11-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (17-6 1 NC, 0-3 UFC) Lightweights
Moises landing kicks and Holobaugh is firing back with punches against the fence and looks for a single leg. Holobaugh lets go and they get back to the center. They trade punches and Holobaugh back looking for a takedown against the fence. Moises then scores on a takedown and is in the half-guard. Holobaugh looking for a kimura from the bottom but can’t find it. Moises with an elbow from the top and then another. Moises gets into the full guard of Holobaugh and lands some punches. Moises controls to end the round. 10-9 Moises.
They trade kicks and Moises with a right hand. Moises lands a head kick and Holobaugh walks right through it and pushes Moises against the fence. Holobaugh with a knee to the body as they switch positions. Moises gets a takedown and into the guard of Holobaugh. Moises grabs the neck as Holobaugh works to his feet. They break to the center. Holobaugh pushes Moises up against the fence. Moises with an elbow after they break. Holobaugh with some punches and he gets Moises against the fence. Moises with a couple of elbows but Holobaugh fires back an uppercut. Holobaugh with body punches. Holobaugh with a flurry late. 10-9 Holobaugh, 19-19.
Holobaugh with a right hand. Moises just misses a front kick. Moises with a spin kick and both land punches. Moises with a leg kick that drops Holobaugh and Moises quickly gets into the half-guard. Moises trying to get the hook in but Holobaugh able to scramble to his feet and lands a punch. Moises then gets another takedown and is in the guard. Moises with an elbow. Moises then gets the back and has a choke locked in tight but Holobaugh somehow escapes as he chases the leg. Holobaugh finishes the takedown as he eats elbows from Moises. Moises gets to his feet and gets a big takedown. Moises finishes on top. 10-9 Moises, 29-28 Moises.
Official Result- Thiago Moises def. Kurt Holobaugh by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
BREAKING: UFC President Dana White has announced that Nate Diaz will face Anthony Pettis in the co-main event of UFC 241 on August 17 in Anaheim, California. The fight will be at 170 pounds.
> Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-8, 6-5 UFC) vs. Ryan Spann (15-5, 1-0 UFC) Light Heavyweights
They are trading early. Spann gets a takedown and passes to side control but Spann gets into the mount and has an arm-triangle locked in tight. Nogueira defending well off his back. Spann lets go and lands an elbow and they scramble up. Nogueira lands a left hand. Spann then lands a straight right hand and drops Nogueira with a huge left hand and finishes it with one more punch on the ground. Great knockout win by Spann.
Official Result- Ryan Spann def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by knockout (punch) at 2:07 of Round 1
Correia missed weight by a lot. They feel each other out early on. Correia misses a right hand but lands one. Both women being patient. Aldana lands a right hand. Correia lands a counter punch. Aldana lands the jab. Correia with a leg kick but misses a spinning back fist. Aldana with a combo. Correia with a left hand. Correia lands a right hand. Aldana with a combo. Aldana lands the jab. Correia with a left hook. Aldana with a right hand and then another as she tags Correia at the end. 10-9 Aldana.
Aldana lands a left hand. Aldana with a right hand to the body. Correia lands a right hand. Aldana with a combo. Correia with a right hand and a kick and then an overhand right. Correia with another right hand. They trade in close range. Aldana has been throwing the same combos and Correia has adjusted. They are throwing more now. Correia lands a combo after Aldana lands a left to the body. Correia lands a hard right hand. Correia with a right hand. Correia lands more and then Aldana lands at the end. 10-9 Correia, 19-19.
Aldana lands to start the third. Aldana lands a right hand. Aldana with another right hand that lands clean. They are both landing and Correia backs Aldana up with a right hand and then lands some more. Correia with a combo but Aldana blocks the right hand. Aldana with a right hand. Aldana lands a punch. Correia goes for a takedown but misses it and they go to the mat and Aldana gets the back and locks in an armbar and Correia taps! Great finish by Aldana in a very close fight to take the judges out of it.
Official Result- Irene Aldana def. Bethe Correia by submission (armbar) at 3:24 of Round 3
Staropoli with a jump kick. Staropoli with another kick. Staropoli with a high kick then a leg kick. Alves with a leg kick but Staropoli with a counter high kick. Staropoli with a spin kick. Alves is cut open on the hairline. Staropoli lands a combo but Alves with a leg kick. Staropoli with a leg kick but misses a spin kick. Alves being really patient and not doing a whole lot. Staropoli misses a flying knee against the fence. Alves with a body kick and then a leg kick and lands a hard right hand at the end. 10-9 Staropoli.
They trade kicks. Staropoli now throwing different shots. Alves with a right hand and a leg kick. Alves with a body kick. Staropoli with a right hand and Alves stumbles down but gets up. Staropoli gets his back and takes the fight back to the mat. They get up and break away. Staropoli with a combo. Staropoli with a couple of body shots. He lands a right hand. Alves with a right. Alves with a body kick. 10-9 Staropoli, 20-18 Staropoli.
They both come out swinging and Alves takes Staropoli down. They get up and break. Staropoli with a body punch. He lands a combo but Alves counters with a leg kick. Staropoli now landing to the body and then throws a kick to the head. Staropoli with a combo. Alves with an inside leg kick and then lands an uppercut. Alves with a leg kick. Staropoli with a right hand. Alves with a body kick. Alves hurts Staropoli with a knee to the face and Staropoli is on the retreat. Alves with a leg kick. Alves with the left hook and then a leg kick. Alves turning it up at the end. Alves lands a knee. Alves with a huge punch at the end. Close fight. 10-9 Alves, 29-28 Staropoli.
Official Result- Laureano Staropoli def. Thiago Alves by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Jose Aldo (#1, 28-4, 10-3 UFC) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (#4, 19-1, 6-0 UFC) Featherweights
Volkanovski with some low kicks to start. Volkanovski with more low kicks as neither man is doing much in the first two minutes. Volkanovski with more leg kicks. Aldo with some body punches. They trade leg kicks. Volkanovski with some more kicks. Aldo with the double jab. Aldo with a hard right hand. Aldo with a low kick. Volkanovski lands a right hand. They trade and clinch. Aldo with a jumping knee. Volkanovski with a body kick and with a left hand at the end. 10-9 Volkanovski.
They trade to start the second. Volkanovski with a leg kick. Aldo with a combo. Aldo with the jab and Volkanovski stumbles a little. Aldo with a knee to the body. Aldo with a looping left hand. Volkanovski with a left hand. Time out as Aldo got poked in the eye. Back to action and Aldo is landing more. They clinch as Volkanovski was eating some punches. Volkanovski with some knees against the fence. They remain clinched but break. Aldo with a left hand. They trade in close range. Aldo with a knee to the body. 10-9 Volkanovski, 20-18 Volkanovski.
They trade to start the final round. Volkanovski lands a right hand. Volkanovski clinches and pushes Aldo against the fence and gets away with grabbing the fence. They break. Volkanovski with a body kick. Volkanovski working and landing punches as Aldo is looking for a knockout shot. Volkanovski with a combo. They clinch against the fence again. Volkanovski staying busy landing knees to the legs of Aldo. They ride it out there. 10-9 Volkanovski, 30-27 Volkanovski.
Official Result- Alexander Volkanovski def. Jose Aldo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Jared Cannonier (#10, 11-4, 4-4 UFC) vs. Anderson Silva (#14, 34-9 1 NC, 17-5 1 NC UFC) Middleweights
Cannonier stalking Silva around the Octagon. Cannonier with some leg kicks. Silva with a hard body kick. Cannonier just misses a right hand. Cannonier with a leg kick. Silva with a leg kick and then a jumping switch kick. Cannonier lands a few right hands and they clinch. Silva with a slicing elbow. Cannonier lands a combo as they break. They trade kicks. Silva with a body kick. They trade leg kicks. Cannonier lands a right hand and then ducks under a right hand from Silva. Silva with a left hand and then a high kick. Cannonier then lands a leg kick and Silva goes down in pain and Herb Dean quickly stops the fight. Silva is hurt bad and screaming out in pain and Cannonier gets the win. Biggest win of the career for Cannonier. Silva might have blown out his knee.
Official Result- Jared Cannonier def. Anderson Silva by TKO (kick) at 4:47 of Round 1
> Rose Namajunas (C, 8-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Jessica Andrade (#1, 19-6, 10-4 UFC) UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Namajunas with quick punches to start as she moves in and out. Namajunas with a right hand. She is light on her feet. Namajunas landing punches and Andrade is cut open. Andrade lands a punch that stuns her. Namajunas with a fast jab. She lands a combo. Namajunas is tagging Andrade. Andrade gets a slam but Namajunas has the arm looking for an armbar. Andrade slammed her right into the armbar but Andrade escapes and they break. Namajunas with a brief takedown. Namajunas back to the jab. Andrade with a couple of leg kicks. Namajunas with a combo. Namajunas drops Andrade with a knee and Namajunas gets into her guard. They get up and Namajunas had the neck but they break. Andrade lands a right hand. Namajunas lands a combo. They are both firing. 10-9 Namajunas.
Andrade with some leg kicks to start the second. They are both swinging. Andrade now landing punches but Namajunas lands a counter left. Namajunas is landing the jab and Andrade is trying to land a power right hand. Andrade with a leg kick and she’s opening up more. Namajunas lands a left hand. Andrade with a flurry out of range but lands a knee as they clinch. Andrade with a big slam that knocks Namajunas out cold! What a crazy finish. Andrade picked Namajunas up and dropped her right on her head and Namajunas went out. We have a new strawweight champion.
Official Result- Jessica Andrade def. Rose Namajunas by knockout (slam) at 2:58 of Round 2, Andrade wins the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
On a Presidents Day weekend edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, old friend Brian Martin, deputy sports editor of the SoCal News Group, returns to talk about Tunney, White, Washington, Lincoln, Obama, and Trump.
With a weekend featuring shows Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, yours truly and Brian go through several different topics looking at this weekend and even a little bit from last Saturday’s UFC even in Australia.
What do we make of the UFC’s strange middleweight division and who do we want to see the big players match up against next?
What do we make of Kelvin Gastelum’s Saturday walking around with a UFC belt and proclaiming himself champion?
Sunday features the return of “Sea Level” Cain Velasquez to the UFC following a two year layoff. What do we expect?
What are most looking forward to for Sunday’s ESPN debut show?
Why is Bellator’s biggest blood feud on DAZN instead of Paramount Network and why is the promotion running back to back events?
Hear all that and get some thoughts on why you should stay in for Valentine’s Day next year on the latest JNPO.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva, which is emanating from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
The UFC heads back to Melbourne for their first pay-per-view event of 2019, and the first of the ESPN era with prelims airing on ESPN, with an event that has been marred by chaos on fight day.
This event was supposed to be headlined by UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker defending against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event. However, Whittaker has been forced out of the fight on the day of the event due to a hernia and emergency surgery, causing a huge shift in the fight card.
Gastelum has been pulled from the event, and now a middleweight bout between Israel Adesanya and former UFC Middleweight Champion and one of the greatest of all-time, Anderson Silva, has been put into the main event slot. Due to the late change, it will remain as a three-round fight.
Also on the main card is a bantamweight battle between Rani Yahya, winner of three straight, and Ricky Simon, who has won seven straight, and a light heavyweight battle between undefeated Jimmy Crute and fan favorite Sam Alvey, who fights on a numbered UFC event for the first time in his 17th UFC bout. The prelims will air on ESPN headlined by an exciting lightweight battle between Devonte Smith and Dong Hyun Ma.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
> Wuliji Buren (11-6, 0-2 UFC) vs. Jonathan Martinez (9-2, 0-1 UFC) Bantamweights
Martinez right away with some kicks. They trade kicks. Martinez throwing high kicks. Buren with a combo ending with a kick and he shoots for a takedown and finishes it after an inside trip. Buren looking for a guillotine from the half-guard but Martinez defends as he gets to his feet but Buren still has the neck. Martinez defending from the side mount as he escapes and takes the back of Buren. Martinez throws some elbows from the back control. They scramble to their feet and Martinez lands some knees and a big left hand. Martinez lands a knee as they break. They trade kicks and Martinez slips to the mat. Buren goes into his guard. Martinez with an elbow from the bottom. Buren with a hammerfists and more punches at the end. Close round. 10-9 Martinez.
Martinez right away with a leg kick. Buren with a step-in knee and follows with a kick to the body. Martinez comes back with a body kick. Martinez with a leg kick. Buren lands a left hand. Martinez landing some kicks. Buren shot for a takedown, Martinez grabbed the neck to defend, but Buren completed the takedown and is working in the half-guard. Martinez reveresed to the top but Buren swept from the bottom and got back to the top. They are working to stay on the mat. Martinez gives up his back but they scramble to their feet. Martinez grabs the back of Buren. Martinez looking for a choke against the fence. Martinez with a hard knee to the back and then another. Buren defended well at the end. 10-9 Martinez, 20-18 Martinez.
They trade and Buren grabs the body and gets a trip takedown straight into mount. Buren grabbed the arm and had an armbar locked in deep but Martinez able to scramble out and gets the back of Buren and is landing big punches. Martinez got both hooks in against the fence. Martinez gets the mount for a moment but Buren gives his back up. Martinez looking to get his arm under the chin but Buren gives up mount and then his back again. Martinez with some big punches from the back. Buren able to scramble to the guard of Martinez. Martinez looked for a kimura for a second. Buren with a right hand but Martinez pushes him off. Buren goes back down and grabs the neck and works for an anacond choke. He loses it and they scramble. Martinez has the neck and goes to the guard of Buren and lands some punches. Should be a win for Martinez here. 10-9 Martinez, 30-27 Martinez.
Official Result- Jonathan Martinez def. Wuliji Buren by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Callan Potter (17-7, 0-0 UFC) vs. Jalin Turner (7-4, 0-1 UFC) Lightweights
Potter with a leg kick and goes right for a takedown but pulls guard. Turner escapes back to his feet. Turner lands some right hands and then drops him after a left hook and a body kick and then finishes him off with some punches on top. Impressive win by Turner as he showed some quick hands there. It went less than a minute.
Official Result- Jalin Turner def. Callan Potter by knockout (strikes) at :53 of Round 1
ESPN PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Teruto Ishihara (10-6-2, 3-4-1 UFC) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (14-8 1 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC) Bantamweights
They trade kick attempts to start. Kang lands a right hand. They trade kicks. Ishihara lands a right hand and follows with a left. Kang hurts Ishihara with a right and rushes in and Ishihara rocks Kang with a right hand. Kang recovers. Kang lands a right and follows with a knee. Kang with another right hand. Kang lands a knee that drops Ishihara to one knee. He gets up and Kang lands more big right hands. Kang with big uppercuts in the clinch. They are just throwing back-and-forth. Kang is landing bigger. They are swinging. Kang gets a takedown and takes the back. He’s too high on the back. Kang has hooks in and has the choke but Ishihara grabs the fence. Kang gets the choke in deeper and Ishihara goes out cold! Wow. What a great one-round fight as Kang gets the win.
Official Result- Kyung Ho Kang def. Teruto Ishihara by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:59 of Round 1
> Kai Kara-France (18-7 1 NC, 1-0 UFC) vs. Raulian Paiva (18-1, 0-0 UFC) Flyweights
They trade leg kicks. Kara-France rocked Paiva with an overhand right. Paiva went to his knees for a second. Kara-France with another right hand. Paiva shoots for a takedown against the fence after eating some right hands. Kara-France defends and they get back to the center. Kara-France lands an uppercut followed by a left hook. Paiva with a high kick. They trade punches. Paiva with a leg kick. Paiva lands a right hand and goes for a takedown but Kara-France scrambles away. Paiva lands a combo. Paiva with a high kick. 10-9 Kara-France.
Kara-France goes for a takedown but Paiva defends and ends up on top. Paiva passes to side control. Paiva with some punches from the top. Kara-France scrambles to his feet and lands a right hand on the break and then he lands another. They break to the center and both are landing. Kara-France has slowed his boxing. Paiva lands and then lands a knee to the body. Kara-France tries another takedown but Paiva defends and is on top and lands. Paiva stands and lands punches on a downed Kara-France who was throwing upkicks. Kara-France lands a hard right hand after he stands. Paiva lands an uppercut. Paiva with a right hand. Kara-France lands the jab but Paiva is landing leg kicks. They trade in close range. They both land right hands. Kara-France with a right hand. Paiva lands a right hand and tries a late guillotine but time ran out. 10-9 Paiva, 19-19.
Kara-France with some short leg kicks. They trade punches in close range. Paiva landing some combos. Kara-France lands a right hand. Paiva with a combo. They trade. Kara-France with a leg kick and Paiva lands a big kick right to the cup and we have a timeout. We get back to action and both men are throwing hard punches in the pocket. Paiva lands a right hand. Paiva is landing combos and hurts Kara-France for a moment. Paiva grabs the neck and it allows Kara-France to get a takedown. They get back to their feet. Kara-France lands a right hand. Kara-France lands another. They are trading in the pocket. Kara-France lands a left hook. Paiva counters with a combo. Kara-France is landing harder while Paiva is landing with more volume. Kara-France gets a late takedown. Close fight. 10-9 Kara-France, 29-28 Kara-France.
Official Result- Kai Kara-France def. Raulian Paiva by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Shane Young (11-4, 1-1 UFC) vs. Austin Arnett (16-5, 1-2 UFC) Featherweights
Young looking to land the jab early. Young landing the combos in close range. Arnett is eating them well. Arnett lands a left hand in close range. Young with a leg kick. Arnett with a left hand. Young lands a short right hand. Young with a leg kick as he looks to get inside the reach of Arnett, who lands two left hands. Arnett constantly switching stances. Arnett lands the jab. Arnett is just landing with more volume. Young can’t get inside the reach. Arnett with a body kick. Young with a body kick in return. Young lands a big combo late that hurts Arnett. 10-9 Young.
Young with a body kick. Young with a leg kick. He is still trying to get in the reach of Arnett. Young with a body kick. Arnett with the jab. Arnett lands a left hand but he isn’t following up on them. Arnett lands another left. Young is eating them well. Young with a left but Arnett counters with a right. Young with a right hand. Young with a body kick. Arnett with the double jab. Arnett with a right hand and Young fires back with some punches. Young with a body kick. Young with a right hand. Young landing some big punches late here. Arnett retreating around the Octagon. Young with a combo and tries a takedown attempt but lets go. Arnett lands a left on the break. Young fires back with a right hand. They trade late. Flurry to end the round. 10-9 Young, 20-18 Young.
They are trading to start the third. Arnett trying the double jab but Young firing back. Arnett lands a right hand as he grabs the leg of Young. Young with a combo and lands a right hand. Young with a leg kick. They are trading in close range. Young with a combo as Arnett was backing up. Young with another combo. Arnett with the double jab. They are trading. Arnett with a high kick. Young is landing with more volume and lands an uppercut. Young coming on strong late. Arnett lands a right hand. Young with a leg kick. Arnett with a hook and then an elbow. They throw down late and Young drops Arnett right at the end. Wild finish. 10-9 Young, 30-27 Young.
Official Result- Shane Young def. Austin Arnett by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Devonte Smith (9-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Dong Hyun Ma (16-8-3, 3-2 UFC) Lightweights
Smith landing early. Smith with some leg kicks. Ma is unable to get anything going on his feet in the first two minutes. Smith back with some more calf kicks. Ma starting to throw now but not landing. Smith with a right hand. Smith now landing some combos and hurts Ma. Smith drops Ma with a right hand. More big right hands on the ground from Smith and Herb Dean stops the fight. Wow. Violent finish from Smith. He has tons of potential at 155 pounds.
Official Result- Devonte Smith def. Dong Hyun Ma by TKO (punches) at 3:53 of Round 1
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> Jimmy Crute (9-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Sam Alvey (33-11 1 NC, 10-6 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Crute with a leg kick. They trade punches. Crute with a high kick but blocked by Alvey. Crute just misses a high kick but lands a leg kick. Crute with a body kick. Alvey lands a left hand. Crute then drops Alvey with a right hand. Crute tried to walk off but the fight wasn’t stopped. Alvey recovered and got to his feet but Alvey hurt him again and Alvey was on the mat and Crute lands a lot of punches and the fight was stopped. Alvey is very upset at Marc Goddard about the stoppage and complaining a lot but Alvey wasn’t defending himself well and the stoppage was good.
Official Result- Jimmy Crute def. Sam Alvey by TKO (punches) at 2:49 of Round 1
> Montana De La Rosa (#14, 9-4, 2-0 UFC) vs. Nadia Kassem (5-0, 1-0 UFC) Women’s Flyweights
De La Rosa landing right away as they get to the fence. De La Rosa gets Kassem to the mat and goes into her guard. De La Rosa with some punches from the top. Kassem remains on the bottom and looking to throw her legs up. De La Rosa works in the guard. De La Rosa continues to land punches from the top. De La Rosa still landing. Kassem keeping her in her half-guard but not attacking. De La Rosa looking for an armbar and then kimura late but time runs out. 10-8 De La Rosa.
De La Rosa with a combo as she backs Kassem up against the fence and then scores a takedown. De La Rosa gets to side control and lands some punches and elbows. Kassem has no answer for having her back on the mat. De La Rosa gets to the mount and has a triangle locked in and lands elbows. De La Roa transitions to the armbar but Kassem trying to roll out. It is in deep but Kassem not tapping. Kassem gets out of it but still in the triangle. De La Rosa with a mounted triangle and landing elbows. She goes for the armbar again and Kassem taps! Big finish by De La Rosa.
Official Result- Montana De La Rosa def. Nadia Kassem by submission (armbar) at 2:37 of Round 2
> Rani Yahya (#15, 26-9 1 NC, 11-3 1 NC UFC) vs. Ricky Simon (14-1, 2-0 UFC) Bantamweights
Yahya with a high kick and Simon counters with a left hand. They trade and Simon lands a big uppercut. Simon coming forward. Yahya with a combo. Yahya with the jab but eats a counter right from Simon. Yahya shoots Simon stands clear. Yahya with a body kick and hurts Simon with a right but Simon drops Yahya with a right hand. Simon goes to the mat for a moment but they get back to the feet. Yahya gets dropped again by Simon but gets up. Yahya lands a right hand but is still hurt. Simon showing great fight IQ by not going to the ground with Yahya. Simon gets a takedown off a timed-right hand from Yahya. Yahya wants Simon on the ground but Simon having none of it. Simon with a head kick. 10-9 Simon.
Yahya with a leg kick. Yahya with a front kick and then lands a right hand. Simon lands a right hand. They continue to trade and Simon has a cut over his right eye. Yahya shot for a takedown but Simon defends. Simon gets a brief takedown and Yahya gets up. They trade right hands. Yahya hurts Simon with a right hand. Simon sprinting around the Octagon. Yahya chasing him down. Yahya lands two more right hands and then a left hook. Simon drops Yahya with a shoulder bump. Yahya gets back up. Simon with a takedown and he goes to the mat with Yahya. Yahya landed an illegal kick but didn’t get called by the ref. 10-9 Simon, 20-18 Simon.
Yahya with a high kick and is able to pull guard. Yahya tries for a triangle but Simon escapes to his feet. Yahya gets up. Yahya with a high kick. Yahya stuns Simon with a punch. The strikes are close. Yahya with a high kick and Simon counters with a right. Yahya tries hard for a takedown but Simon sprawls away. Both men are cut open and it was a headbutt that cut Yahya open. Yahya shoots again but can’t complete it. Yahya with a high kick but Simon counters with punches and Yahya is eating a lot of damage. Simon with the jab. Simon gets a takedown and in the guard of Yahya. Simon rides it out on top. 10-9 Simon, 30-27 Simon.
Official Result- Ricky Simon def. Rani Yahya by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
> Lando Vannata (9-3-2, 1-3-2 UFC) vs. Marcos Mariano (6-4, 0-0 UFC) Lightweights
Mariano with a high kick. Vannata misses a right hand. Mariano with another high kick and then they trade leg kicks. Vannata gets a body lock and scores an easy takedown. Vannata in the half-guard. Vannata with some elbows from the top. Vannata gets inside the closed guard of Mariano. Vannata with more punches from the top. Mariano doesn’t have an answer from the bottom. Vannata with more and more punches and elbows from the top. Vannata clearly the superior fighter. Vannata with more ground strikes as he postures up. Vannata grabs the arm for a kimura and he gets Mariano to submit with seconds left in the round. Easy work for Vannata.
Official Result- Lando Vannata def. Marcos Mariano by submission (kimura) at 4:55 of Round 1
> Israel Adesanya (#6, 15-0, 4-0 UFC) vs. Anderson Silva (#15, 34-8 1 NC, 17-4 1 NC UFC) Middleweights
Both looking for openings inside the first minute. Neither seem to want to take a huge risk. Adesanya lands a leg kick. Silva counters with his own. Adesanya tries a hook kick but Silva grabbed the leg. Adesanya tries a kick but misses and Silva chases him. Adesanya hurts Silva with a right hand. Adesanya lands an elbow and a knee. Silva holding his hands low. Adesanya with an inside leg kick. Silva chases Adesanya around. They trade body kicks. Silva lands a right hand. Adesanya lands a right hand. Adesanya with a leg kick. Adesanya lands a left but just barely misses a head kick. Silva misses a spin kick. Adesanya lands a left hand. Adesanya with a taunt at the end. 10-9 Adesanya.
Silva just misses a hook kick but the heel did land. Silva with a right hook. Adesanya with a leg kick. Silva with a body kick. Adesanya with a body kick. Adesanya with a combo and Silva eats it. Adesanya misses a head kick and Silva lands a counter right hand. Silva lands a combo and they clinch and Silva lands on the break. Adesanya with a leg kick. Adesanya with a low kick. Silva lands the jab and then another. They clinch and Silva with a body punch. Adesanya with a leg kick. Silva with a leg kick and then lands a left hand. Silva chases Adesanya around the cage and lands an uppercut and body kick. 10-9 Adesanya, 20-18 Adesanya.
Adesanya with a leg kick and it hurt Silva. Adesanya tries a kick and Silva grabs it and Adesanya goes down for a moment and Silva misses a huge flying knee. Silva has his back against the fence. Silva telling Adesanya to come after him. Silva with a side kick. Silva’s right eye is closing from what may have been an eye poke. Adesanya with a leg kick and then another. Silva with a leg kick. Adesanya lands a left hand. Silva with a body kick. They trade left hands. Adesanya with a high kick followed by a right hand. Silva lands a right hand. They both miss spinning attacks. Really wish this was five rounds. Fun fight. 10-9 Adesanya, 30-27 Adesanya.
Official Result- Israel Adesanya def. Anderson Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
One of the UFC greatest fighters against one of the promotion’s fastest rising prospects is set for February’s UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is set to face Israel Adesanya, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
After a year away, Silva is coming off his second USADA suspension after taking tainted supplements. He’s just 1-4-0-1 in his last five dating back to July 2013 and hasn’t been in the cage since earning a unanimious decision win over Derek Brunson in February 2017.
Following an extensive kickboxing career, the 29-year-old Adesanya is undefeated (15-0) in MMA and is 4-0 in the UFC. He is coming off a first round win over Brunson at November’s UFC 230.
The show features a main event of middleweight champion and Australia native Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. One would assume that if Gastelum suffers an injury, the New Zealand native Adesanya will be given the opportunity.
