How this not only affects New Japan but the change in the marketplace
Okada’s career legacy
Preview of Royal Rumble and Revolution
Full coverage of Battle in the Valley, the return to Chicago, and the next major events
Debut of Matt Riddle and Jack Perry with New Japan
Impact turns into TNA, business notes, full coverage
The PFL vs. Bellator dream card, lineup, how this relates to pro wrestling in the past, and how this show exemplifies the complete economic changes in the fight business
Full coverage of the ratings over the past week, including weekly ratings, competition, comparisons with a year ago and segment-by-segment
Dream rematch shows continue at Arena Mexico
Lots of new tournaments
Takagi vs. Mochizuki
Masa Fuchi main events at the age of 70
Anniversary of the first pro wrestling show in Japanese television
FantasticaMania notes
Wrestling references by Paul Walter Hausen at the Emmys
Demolition of famous arena
Kevin Von Erich is Israel
Update on Iron Claw movie business
Mark Hitchcock show update
New wrestling history book out
Examining WBD press release on AEW
New AEW international deal
Samoa Joe talks current scene
Advance ticket sales to WWE, AEW and UFC events
New AEW signee who will have a new gimmick and details as to why
Overseas programmer talks about AEW setting ratings record
Sean Strickland and sponsors and this isn’t going to be fun for Dana White when Bud Light hears about it
A college working with fighters for courses in fight disciplines
New Cena movie
Drug testing realities
WWE injury updates
WWE, AEW & TNA PPV updates
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
What Canadian ratings mean in comparison to U.S. numbers
Coverage of all the WWE house shows of the past week
Garrett and I did two shows over the weekend. Our Friday show covers Seth Rollins and Kazuchika Okada and the rest of the news in depth. Last night we had Ryan Frederick on and talked UFC 297, plus a lot more on Okada and Rollins, Gable Steveson, Collision, Randy Orton, Sean Strickland and a lot of other topics.
The only update we have regarding Seth Rollins is that he has to make a decision. The treatment he’s going to get for his injury and how it relates to time off, the championship and WrestleMania will all likely be addressed on Raw tomorrow night.
Dana White said that he thought Sean Strickland won the fight over Dricus du Plessis. He also said that he believes you should have to take the title from a champion, but it’s impossible to score fights with the current system and have that mentality. You have to score each round. If you score the fight as a whole you can give the champion the benefit of a very close fight, but once you are scoring rounds, it means the person who you believe actually won isn’t necessarily the person you scored to win because if you thought Strickland won or you through du Plessis didn’t do enough to win, you can’t erase a round you gave to du Plessis to make your card reflect that thought. Most people don’t realize this about current judging. Du Plessis won a split decision to win the middleweight title. White said after that even though he thought Strickland won, there wouldn’t be a rematch. The hope is du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya next for the title. Du Plessis also challenged Adesanya after the win.
Regarding last night’s main event, Judge Derek Clearly had du Plessis winning rounds two, three and four and up 48-47. Judge Eric Colon had the same scores. Judge Sal D’Amato had du Plessis winning two and four and gave Strickland one, three and five and up 48-47. I had it the same as Clearly and Colon but felt round two was the close one that could have gone either way. Most had it the same, a split decision based on how you scored round two. What’s notable is that this fight was more exciting without anyone knowing the scores, although I feel the Japanese system of reading the scores out every round is far superior. Because going into round five people would have known du Plessis had the fight won unless he got a 10-8 round against him and even with Strickland winning five they would know he didn’t win. Legit nobody knew who would get the decision because it was that close. Media scores were 57-43 percent in favor of du Plessis.
In last night’s Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriaut fight, most had it 29-28 for Curtis. But judge Derek Clearly had it 29-28 for Barriault and Eric Colon and Declan Woods had it 30-27 for Curtis. Media scores were 78% for Curtis and 22% for Barriault. Like nobody thought Curtis won all three rounds except two of the judges.
In the Google trends for the past week, the only reference to anything related to boxing, wrestling and MMA was last night’s UFC 297 which was No. 4 yesterday with 1 million searches. All three topics ahead were NFL playoff related.
Frankie Edgar was announced as the first inductee into the 2024 class of the UFC Hall of Fame. Even though that Hall of Fame also isn’t voted on, their inductions at least have more credibility than WWE, although they don’t have Frank Shamrock in.
Sportsbetting.ag has Du Plessis at -105 and Adesanya at -115 if that match happens.
Drake bet and lost $700,000 on Strickland last night.
Adele said that she thought the best movie of the year was “The Iron Claw.”
WWE house show results from last night in Montgomery, AL
Cody Rhodes b Shinsuke Nakamura in a bullrope match
Seth Rollins was originally to headline and was then announced as being replaced by Randy Orton, but Orton wasn’t there either.
We’re looking for your thoughts on New Japan New Beginning in Nagoya from yesterday, you can leave a thumbs up, down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Jackson, MS, with results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
With no football tomorrow, Raw is expected to be way up in the ratings and the top show on cable, and maybe even overall tomorrow. The lineup right now has Cody Rhodes and C.M. Punk face-to-face, Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest, Chad Gable vs. Ivar, Miz vs. Dominik Mysterio and Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla.
There will be an 80s Wrestling Convention Fan Festival on 5/4 in Morristown, NJ at the Mennen Sports Arena. Among those appearing are Stan Hansen, Jake Roberts, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, JJ Dillon, Baby Doll, Demolition, Powers of Pain, Dan Spivey, Boris Zhukov, Slick, Tom Prichard, Tito Santana, Tony Garea, Scott McGhee, and Tony Atlas. Bill Apter will host. There will be a magazine Q&A with Bill Apter and George Napolitano.
Amazing Red vs. Mustafa Ali has been announced for the 4/5 Wrestling Revolver and House of Glory joint show at the Trinity Center for Urban Life in Philadelphia. It will stream on TrillerTV+.
Mace, Mansoor and Jack Victory were backstage at last night’s TNA tapings in Kissimmee, FL.
During the El Chiringuito Inside live broadcast of Real Madrid vs. Almeria, someone in the audience asked a question about the tribal chief. None of the announcers answering questions had a clue what they were talking about and the guy asking said he was WWE champion. They all rolled their seats and wondered what that had to do with anything. (thanks to Leonardo Mendez Toledo)
Today is the 42nd birthday of Go Shiozaki.
Empire State Wrestling on 3/15 in Niagara Falls, NY at the Frontier Fire Hall with an appearance by Demolition, plus Bill Colier vs. Gregory Iron.
There is a Go Fund Me to raise money for a funeral for Frank “Francisco Ciatso,” the longtime Florida-based wrestler who passed away
Big Time Wrestling out of Newark, CA at the Pavilion has the 2024 Kirk White Memorial Battle Royal (where the winner is presented with the original Roy Shire Cow Palace Battle Royal trophy from the 60s) this coming Friday night. Also on the show are Alan Angels, Dave Dustra, Aaron Solo, Brooke Havook and Viva Van.
Jon Moxley vs. Gringo Loco headlines a Wrestling Revolver show on Thursday night that airs on Trlller +. There is also a first time ever match with Steve Maclin vs. Mance Warner plus Jake Something vs. Masha Slamovich, Ace Austin vs. Matthew Palmer and Sami Callihan vs. JT Dunn and the Grizzled Young Veterans.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On ESPN+ 23: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie, emanating from the Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea.
The UFC closes out 2019 by returning to South Korea for the first time since 2015 with an exciting featherweight main event that could be a late addition to Fight Of The Year nominees.
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar will battle “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in a five-round featherweight main event. Edgar took this fight on short notice as a replacement for injured Brian Ortega and is eager to get back into the win column after losing in a title fight to Max Holloway in July. Jung is looking for his second straight win after finishing Renato Moicano in 58 seconds in June.
In the co-main event, it is a big light heavyweight battle as former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir looks to end the 12-fight win streak of Aleksandar Rakic. Also on the main card is the long-awaited return of “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi, who takes on Charles Jourdain. The featured preliminary bout is a heavyweight battle as undefeated prospect Ciryl Gane takes on Tanner Boser.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 2 a.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
ESPN PRELIMS | 2 AM ET/11 PM PT
> Alateng Heili (13-7-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Ryan Benoit (#13 FLW, 10-5, 3-3 UFC) Bantamweights
They trade early on. Benoit with a big body kick. Benoit with a nice leg kick. They trade and clinch up against the fence. Benoit with a knee to the body and they break. Benoit with a left hand followed by a body kick. Benoit with another hard body kick and then a Superman punch. Benoit lands a high kick. Heili lands a right hand and then follows with the jab. Benoit lands a right hook and follows it with a body kick. Heili lands a straight right hand that almost knocked Benoit down. Benoit tries a late takedown but it is stuffed. 10-9 Benoit.
Benoit with a hard body kick. Heili lands a right hand to the body and Benoit counters with a left hand. Benoit with a right hand against the fence. Heili lands a right hand. Benoit with another hard body kick. He lands an inside leg kick. Benoit with a head kick and then lands a flurry. Heili lands a combo. They trade punches. They trade again as both are trying to find openings to capitalize on. Heili lands a right hand that busts Benoit’s nose open and Benoit is retreating. Heili lands a combo against the fence. Benoit with a body kick. Heili with right hands to the body. Benoit with a hard body kick. Heili rocks Benoit with a right hand and lands a late flurry. 10-9 Heili, 19-19.
Heili gets an early takedown and is now working in Benoit’s guard. Heili landing body punches from the top and Benoit is able to scramble out and Heili still has the back standing but Benoit escapes. Heili lands a combo and then gets a brief takedown. They stand and Heili has the back and is trying a slam but Benoit is defending but Heili finally gets a takedown. Heili landing from a top position but they get up. Heili has the back standing. They break and Benoit lands a left hook. Heili grabs the single leg and gets a trip takedown into side control. They get up and Benoit lands a body kick. They trade in the pocket at the end. Benoit landed some hammerfists as Heili had a single leg. 10-9 Heili, 29-28 Heili.
Official Result- Alateng Heili def. Ryan Benoit by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Miranda Granger (7-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Amanda Lemos (6-1-1, 0-1 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Granger took this fight on short notice. Lemos landed a body kick and Granger countered with a right hand. Lemos with a leg kick and then another. Granger counters with her own and they clinch against the fence. Lemos gets a trip takedown into the half-guard. Lemos controlling from the top as Granger is looking to secure an arm from the bottom. Lemos with some punches from the top. Granger now attacking the leg and ankle as Lemos stands. Lemos lands from the top as she takes the back and looks for a choke. She has a choke locked in and Granger goes out cold! She had her arm around Granger’s jaw and just squeezed tight and Granger went limp. Excellent finish by Lemos for the win.
Official Result- Amanda Lemos def. Miranda Granger by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:43 of Round 1
> Raoni Barcelos (14-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (13-1, 2-0 UFC) Bantamweights
Nurmagomedov with an inside leg kick. Barcelos lands a flurry of punches and then a leg kick. Nurmagomedov with a high kick. Nurmagomedov just misses a head kick. Nurmagomedov with a spinning back fist. Nurmagomedov with a leg kick and then another spinning back fist. Barcelos with a leg kick. Nurmagomedov is landing some jabs. Barcelos lands a right hand and they trade low kicks. Barcelos with a body kick. Nurmagomedov with a leg kick. Nurmagomedov lands the jab. They trade power punches. Nurmagomedov tries a spin kick and Barcelos grabs the back and is looking for a takedown. Nurmagomedov is able to escape. Nurmagomedov with a switch high kick. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Barcelos with some leg kicks early on and they are affecting Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov tries a takedown but Barcelos defends. Nurmagomedov with a leg kick and Barcelos lands a heavy right hand. Barcelos is landing some heavy leg kicks. Nurmagomedov with a leg kick and Barcelos lands a counter leg kick. They trade and Nurmagomedov goes for a takedown but Barcelos gets the back in a scramble. Nurmagomedov lands some short elbows but Barcelos lands some heavy punches from the back. Barcelos gets the hooks in standing and is looking for the choke. He lands some elbows to try to find his arm under the chin. He doesn’t have much time left in the round to work. 10-9 Barcelos, 19-19.
They trade early on. Nurmagomedov with a spinning head kick. They trade punches. Barcelos just misses a right hand. He lands one and they trade in close. Nurmagomedov with a couple of leg kicks. They clinch against the fence and Barcelos with a knee. They break and both land some good shots. Barcelos with a leg kick. Nurmagomedov with an overhand right. Nurmagomedov tries a spin kick but Barcelos times it perfectly and gets a takedown from it and gets to side control. He moves to half-guard and is looking to set up an arm-triangle. Barcelos lands some from the top. Barcelos gets the choke locked in but Nurmagomedov escapes though he gives up his back. They scramble to their feet. 10-9 Barcelos, 29-28 Barcelos.
Official Result- Raoni Barcelos def. Said Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
> Alexandre Pantoja (#4, 21-4, 5-2 UFC) vs. Matt Schnell (#9, 14-4, 4-2 UFC) Flyweights
Pantoja swinging away early and knocks Schnell down for a second. He gets up and they are trading and Schnell tries a takedown but Pantoja defends. They slow down now. Pantoja lands a right hand. He lands another. They trade right hands. Pantoja with a leg kick. Schnell lands two punches. Schnell then rocks Pantoja with a combo. Pantoja with a leg kick. They trade in close range and Pantoja gets a takedown. Schnell landing from the bottom. They scramble to their feet. Schnell with a low kick and Pantoja pushes him to the ground and lands a big standing right hand. Pantoja gets to side control. He lands right hands from the top before they stand. Schnell with a combo. Pantoja then drops Schnell with a right hand. Schnell face plants and Pantoja lands some more punches and the fight is stopped. What an awesome one-round fight, this was a damn war. Great win for Pantoja.
Official Result- Alexandre Pantoja def. Matt Schnell by knockout (punches) at 4:17 of Round 1
> Dong Hyun Ma (16-10-3, 3-4 UFC) vs. Omar Morales (8-0, 0-0 UFC) Lightweights
Morales with a body kick. Morales with a high kick. Ma lands a heavy left cross. Ma tries a head kick but Morales blocks it and grabs the leg and gets a takedown into the guard. Morales with an elbow from the top. Ma trying to set up a kimura from the bottom. Morales landing body punches as Ma keeps strengthening his grip on the kimura. Ma trying to get the hand free but Morales is defending and lands body punches. Ma has to let go. Morales stands and lands some big ground-and-pound. 10-9 Morales.
Morales tries a high kick. Ma misses a left hook. Ma with a low kick. Ma lands a left hand and Morales misses a loaded up counter. Ma lands a left hand. Ma with a low kick. He lands an inside leg kick and Morales counters with a big body kick. Both being very patient in this round. Ma just misses a left hand. Ma lands a counter right hook and follows it with a left hand and then a left to the body. Morales with a spinning head kick. Morales with a right hand. They trade punches. Morales with a body kick. 10-9 Morales, 20-18 Morales.
They trade to start the third. Ma with a switch kick. Ma lands a left hand and Morales counters with a big combo ending with a high kick. Morales throwing hands and just misses a head kick. Ma with a body kick. Morales drops Ma with a spinning back kick that lands right to the jaw. Morales gets to the guard of Ma and was trying to land punches but most were missing. Morales doing enough to stay on top. Morales then lands some big right hands before getting the body lock from the top. Ma threatening with a kimura attempt but Morales is going to make it to the end. Morales gets the back but they get up before the fight ends. 10-9 Morales, 30-27 Morales.
Official Result- Omar Morales def. Dong Hyun Ma by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
Mokhtarian lands a big right hand to start. They trade in close range. Mokhtarian with an inside leg kick. Choi scores a combo and then a front kick. They trade punches. Choi with a high kick and Mokhtarian stumbles. They clinch and Choi lands some good elbows and knees as he pushes the fight against the fence. Choi with some knees to the body against the fence. Choi with some more knees to the body and then an elbow. Choi then has the position taken away after grabbing the fence multiple times. The referee takes a point away from Choi. They get back to action and trade. Choi with a leg kick and he unloads with strikes. Choi with a high kick. Mokhtarian with a right hand and they clinch. Choi with a knee in the clinch. Choi with an elbow as they break. 9-9 due to the point deduction on Choi.
Choi coming out aggressive with kicks but Mokhtarian is landing the right hand. Mokhtarian circling around the fence. Choi with a body kick and then unloads a huge flurry against the fence and Mokhtarian is covering up. Mokhtarian circles away and Choi lands a body kick and Mokhtarian falls down to the ground. Choi is on top and lands some hammerfists as Mokhtarian has the leg. Choi landing some elbows and short punches from the top. They are put in a timeout as Mokhtarian lost his mouthpiece but action is restarted. Choi with some elbows from the top. They stand up. Mokhtarian with a leg kick. Choi lands a late flurry and both land hard kicks. 10-8 Choi, 19-17 Choi.
They trade body kicks to start the third. Choi lands a right hand and a body kick. Mokhtarian lands a right hand and a leg kick. Choi with a combo. Choi with another combo. Choi lands a straight right hand and then gets poked in the eye. They get back to action and are trading and Mokhtarian rocks Choi with a right hand. Mokhtarian lands a follow-up punch. He has Choi in trouble and goes for an ill-fated takedown and Choi reverses it and gets into side control. Choi trying to set up an arm-triangle but just moves to the half-guard. Choi landing from the top. Choi with some elbows from the top. Choi with more elbows and he was going for the finish late but Mokhtarian survives. 10-9 Choi, 29-26 Choi.
Official Result- SeungWoo Choi def. Suman Mokhtarian by unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-25)
Gane with a right hook. Boser switches stances and just misses some big punches. Gane with a front kick. Gane with a leg kick and Boser catches it for a moment. Gane with a right hand. Boser with a leg kick. Gane with a body kick and then lands a body shot that knocks Boser off-balance. Boser lands a right hand. Gane lands a big right hand. Gane with an uppercut. They trade punches. Gane switching stances. They clinch for a moment and Gane with a knee and they break. Gane with a left hand. 10-9 Gane.
Boser throwing punches to start the second. Boser tries a right hand but Gane ducks under and tries a takedown but Boser defends. Gane with a right hand. Gane lands a left hand. Gane with a leg kick. Gane with a right hand. They trade in close and Boser has a cut under his right eye. Gane with the jab. Gane with a front kick. Boser just misses a huge left hook. Gane wobbles Boser with a hard left hand. They trade in close. Gane with a body kick. Boser with an inside leg kick. Gane with a body kick. Gane with a body kick. Boser lands some but Gane lands a lot of counter punches. Gane with an uppercut and follows it with a power left hook. 10-9 Gane, 20-18 Gane.
Both land some punches to start the third. Gane landing some punches and switching but Boser is eating them and coming forward. Boser just misses a huge right hand. Gane with a body kick and Boser grabs it but Gane blocks any takedown attempt. Gane with a left hand then a leg kick and then a knee to the body. Gane lands a combo. Boser with a leg kick. Gane with the jab. Boser tries to land but Gane gets away from them all. Gane lands a combo with a big uppercut. Gane with a step-in knee to the body. They clinch and Gane with a knee to the body. Gane with a snap jab hurts Boser and then a knee to the head. Gane lands another knee to the head. Gane with a big uppercut. Great showing by Gane. 10-9 Gane, 30-27 Gane.
Official Result- Ciryl Gane def. Tanner Boser by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
ESPN+ MAIN CARD | 5 AM ET/2 AM PT
> Kyung Ho Kang (16-8 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC) vs. Liu Pingyuan (15-5, 2-1 UFC) Bantamweights
Pingyuan with some leg kicks early on. Kang gets a takedown and is working in the guard. Kang landing from the top but Pingyuan staying very active from the bottom midway through the first. Pingyuan threatened with a guillotine but Kang escapes and remains on top. They scramble up and Kang is trying for another takedown and gets it against the fence. Pingyuan throwing some elbows from the bottom. Kang trying to extend the guard of Pingyuan while holding him down. Kang stands and lands some punches at the end. 10-9 Kang.
Kang lands a head kick early on and gets a takedown and is working in the guard of Pingyuan. Kang staying on top with heavy pressure as he pushes Pingyuan against the fence. Kang trying to pass the guard as he continues to land from the top. Pingyuan is landing short punches from the bottom. Kang remains on top landing as the round ends. 10-9 Kang, 20-18 Kang.
Pingyuan landing early and lands a nice leg kick. Kang with a low kick. Pingyuan with a combo. Pingyuan with a jumping front kick and they clinch. Kang had clinch control but they separated. Kang shoots for a takedown but Pingyuan defends. Kang tries another takedown and Pingyuan sprawls and has the neck looking to attack. Pingyuan with some knees to the body and they stand. Pingyuan tries a takedown but Kang defends and Pingyuan stumbles to his back and Kang gets on top. Kang gets fully on top. Pingyuan landing some elbows from the bottom and a huge cut is open up on Kang. Kang remains on top but Pingyuan is landing the sharp elbows from the bottom. Kang trying to improve position but Pingyuan is keeing him inside his guard. They trade on the mat as the fight ends. 10-9 Pingyuan, 29-28 Kang.
Official Result- Kyung Ho Kang def. Liu Pingyuan by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
> Jun Yong Park (10-4, 0-1 UFC) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (11-3, 0-2 UFC) Middleweights
They trade early on. Park with some punches. Barriault lands some and Park with a leg kick. Park lands a combo and then another leg kick. Park with a big body kick as Barriault was circling away. Barriault pokes Park in the eye and we have a timeout. Back to action and Park lands an inside left hook. Barriault with a leg kick. Park lands a combo as Barriault was covering up. Park changes levels and takes Barriault down. Barriault scrambles and Park has the sprawl position. They stand and Park has the back. They break. Park lands a left hand. Barriault with a combo. Park with a combo and he is timing his uppercut as it keeps landing. They trade low kicks and Park with a nice right hand. 10-9 Park.
Park was landing early as he got Barriault’s back against the fence. Park landed a high kick and knee and then scored a takedown and has the back of Barriault. Barriault able to escape and they break to the center. Barriault with a leg kick. He lands another. Park circling away but landing counter punches. Barriault applying pressure and landing some leg kicks. They trade and Barriault landing some right hands to the head and body. 10-9 Park, 20-18 Park.
Barriault sprints towards the center. Barriault landing some heavy right hands to start the third. Park looks for a takedown and pushes Barriault against the fence and takes the back. They break. Barriault coming forward but Park landing counter punches. Barriault with a leg kick and they clinch. Park with some knees. Barriault with a leg kick. They continue to trade as Park circles away. Barriault with a leg kick. Barriault is turning up the pressure and the volume. Park grabs the neck against the fence. They break. Barriault with a high kick and then a leg kick. Barriault stalking Park around the Octagon. He lands a right hand. 10-9 Barriault, 29-28 Park.
Official Result- Jun Yong Park def. Marc-Andre Barriault (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
> Da-un Jung (12-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Mike Rodriguez (10-3 1 NC, 1-1 NC UFC) Light Heavyweights
Rodriguez throwing kicks early on. Jung lands a right hand. Rodriguez throwing more kicks. Jung knocks Rodriguez down with a right hand and it is over! Jung with some follow-up punches on Rodriguez seals the finish and he gets the big win.
Official Result- Da-un Jung def. Mike Rodriguez by knockout (punches) at 1:04 of Round 1
> Doo Ho Choi (15-3, 3-2 UFC) vs. Charles Jourdain (9-2, 0-1 UFC) Featherweights
Choi pushing Jourdain against the fence. They clinch and Jourdain with body punches and they break. Choi lands a combo and then an uppercut. Jourdain lands a knee. Choi lands some punches and Jourdain’s nose is busted up. Choi with a leg kick. Jourdain with a flying knee and they clinch. Choi wobbles Jourdain with a counter left hook. Choi with a leg kick and follows with a left hook. Choi with a leg kick and Jourdain falls down and Choi gets in his guard. Choi lands some punches from the top. Choi gets his back as they scramble up. Choi with some left hands and they break. Jourdain with a high kick. Choi lands a combo. Jourdain with a flying knee followed by a left hand that knocks Choi down and he gets on top and lands some. 10-9 Choi.
Choi stalking Jourdain down but Jourdain lands a body kick. Jourdain with a high body kick. Choi with a body kick. Jourdain with another body kick. Choi lands a right hand. Choi lands a combo. Choi with another straight right hand and then lands some more punches and Jourdain circles away. Jourdain now lands some punches. Jourdain with an uppercut. Choi tries a flying knee. Choi with a body kick. Choi with a stiff jab. Jourdain then knocks Choi down with a left hand followed by a right and it is stopped after a couple of ground punches. Big stoppage by Jourdain.
Official Result- Charles Jourdain def. Doo Ho Choi by TKO (punches) at 4:32 of Round 2
> Volkan Oezdemir (#8, 16-4, 4-3 UFC) vs. Aleksandar Rakic (#10, 12-1, 4-0 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Rakic lands a right hand right away and then lands more punches and goes for a flying knee but locks in a guillotine against the fence. Oezdemir pops out. They break the clinch. Oezdemir with a leg kick. Rakic with a body kick. Rakic lands an uppercut. Oezdemir lands a left hand. Rakic with a straight right hand. Oezdemir lands a right hand. They trade punches. Oezdemir with a leg kick. Rakic grabs a single leg and trips Oezdemir down and grabs the back. They get up and Rakic lands some close punches. They trade in close range. They trade leg kicks. Rakic lands a few late punches. 10-9 Rakic.
They trade leg kicks. Rakic lands a right hand. Oezdemir with some leg kicks. Oezdemir lands some short left hooks. Rakic with a big body kick. Oezdemir with a leg kick and Rakic tries a takedown but Oezdemir defends and they clinch against the fence. Rakic with some knees and Oezdemir lands some elbows. Rakic lands an elbow as they break. Oezdemir with a leg kick and Rakic catches it and tries a takedown but Oezdemir defends. They trade leg kicks. Oezdemir lands late. 10-9 Rakic, 20-18 Rakic.
They trade early on and clinch and Rakic has the underhooks. They break and both men swing for the fences as they move to the center. Rakic with a short uppercut. Both men are missing their punches and Oezdemir is having to defend takedown attempts. Oezdemir applying the most pressure. Oezdemir lands a left hook. Rakic with a combo. They clinch against the fence. Rakic lands a combo as they break but Oezdemir lands a right hand. Oezdemir lands a head kick that is mostly blocked. Rakic shoots for a takedown but it is defended. Oezdemir landing elbows as Rakic is trying to lift him up for a takedown. Oezdemir defends as the fight ends. Close fight. 10-9 Oezdemir, 29-28 Rakic.
Official Result- Volkan Oezdemir def. Aleksandar Rakic by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Frankie Edgar (#4, 23-7-1, 17-7-1 UFC) vs. Chan Sung Jung (#6, 16-5, 5-2 UFC) Featherweights
Edgar already mixing his punches and kicks. Jung lands a right hand. Edgar goes for a takedown but Jung defends and lands a leg kick. Jung hurts Edgar with a right hand. Jung lands big punches and drops Edgar. Jung going for the finish and has the back. The crowd going crazy. Jung flattens Edgar out. Jung landing punches from the back. Edgar surviving for now but Jung has pressure on. Jung flattens him back out and is landing. Edgar being warned to get out if he wants the fight to go on. Jung still landing as Edgar gets to his knees. Edgar gets out and they are on their feet. Jung drops Edgar again and it is stopped. The crowd is going crazy. This was an absolutely incredible performance from Jung who may get a title fight off of this.
Official Result- Chan Sung Jung def. Frankie Edgar by TKO (punches) at 3:18 of Round 1
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar, emanating from the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Octagon heads to Edmonton for the second time with a long-awaited featherweight title fight in the main event between two of the UFC’s all-time great fighters.
UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway defends his championship against former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar in the main event. This fight has been almost two years in the making as it had been canceled two prior times due to injury to both men, but is now finally happening. Holloway actually lost his last fight, coming up short in an interim lightweight title fight against Dustin Poirier, but he has won 13 straight fights at 145 pounds. Edgar hasn’t fought since an April 2018 win over Cub Swanson.
In the co-main event, it is former UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg, in what could be her final UFC fight as it is the last fight on her contract, taking on the undefeated Felicia Spencer. Also on the main card is what should be a fireworks bout in the welterweight division as Geoff Neal takes on Niko Price.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 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].
ESPN+/UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
> Erik Koch (15-6, 4-5 UFC) vs. Kyle Stewart (11-2, 0-1 UFC) Welterweights
The opening five minutes were fairly tentative, particularly the striking. Stewart tried for several takedowns, but all he managed to do was turn them into clinches along the cage. Both men traded control with those clinches, but neither was able to translate the control into much damage. 10-9 Stewart (but a very close round).
Each man’s striking was crisper in the second round, particularly a right early on that seemed to daze Koch. There was more clinching along the cage with Stewart getting the best of it. Koch gained control with a heel trip along the fence and dropped Stewart. Stewart managed to get to his feet, but did eat some strikes on his way up. 10-9 Koch, 19-19.
The third round featured more clinching. Koch got a takedown along the fence but was too tired to turn it into anything. After a bit of a scramble on the mat, Koch took down Stewart again. Koch tried to finish Stewart on the ground with strikes and an attempted choke, but Stewart managed to survive to the final horn. 10-9 Koch, 29-28 Koch.
Official Result: Erik Koch def. Kyle Stewart by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
> Gillian Robertson (6-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1, 0-1 UFC) Women’s Flyweights
The opening round was a showcase for Frota’s defensive jiu-jitsu, as she was taken down by Robertson early but managed to avoid a lot of damage – and even locked on an inverted triangle on Robertson from the bottom – due to her skills on the ground. That said, she spent the majority of the round on her back and Robertson escaped Frota’s inverted triangle and opened up a cut by Frota’s eye with a short elbow strike. Robertson took down Frota near the end of the round, but the horn sounded before she was able to do much damage. Robertson 10-9.
Robertson took Frota down to open the second round and managed to keep leaning forward, avoiding Frota’s first round tendency to grab her torso with her legs to escape dangerous situations. Instead, Robertson kept leaning forward, battered Frota with more elbow strikes and eventually referee Marc Goddard had to jump in to stop things.
Official Result: Gillian Robertson def. Sarah Frota by technical knockout (elbows) at 4:13 of the second round
Figueiredo controlled the middle of the cage early. He ducked under a Pantoja punch and took him down but Pantoja defended well and got back up to his feet. Figueiredo hit a couple nice punches and was fast enough to get out of the pocket before Pantoja could counter. Figueiredo got the better of a couple striking exchanges, but Pantoja ducked under a strike and got control of Figueiredo’s back but Figueiredo managed to escape. Energetic first round with both fighters looking good, but Figueiredo got the better of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Figueiredo.
The second round was punctuated by a series of scrambly striking exchanges. While his speed allowed him to escape counter-strikes in the first round, Figueiredo got tagged quite a few times as Pantoja adjusted. He knocked down Figueiredo when he was shooting in for a strike, though Figueiredo popped back up. Pantoja managed a takedown, but Figueiredo battled back to his feet. Figueiredo dropped Pantoja with a right hand late in the round, then tried to finish him with strikes but Pantoja was saved by the horn. 10-9 Figueiredo, 20-18 Figueiredo.
Figueiredo got the better of the striking exchanges early, including a jab that caught Pantoja flush and opened up a cut by his eye and an uppercut that dazed him. Figueiredo took down Pantoja twice, though neither led to any damage. Pantoja tried to close the gap with Figueiredo as the round wore on, but seemed too tired to really make anything of his attempts. Both fighters exchanged strikes before the end of the round. 10-9 Figueiredo, 30-27 Figueiredo.
After a tentative early striking exchange, Tucker took Choi down, stacked him up and then grabbed control of his back. He battled for position, but couldn’t translate back control into anything damaging. Both men toppled over off a leg trip, with Choi gaining control of Tucker’s neck but Tucker managing to escape. Neither man took control of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Tucker.
Tucker got an early takedown off a striking exchange and gained back control. Choi strambled to his feet but Tucker pressed him against the cage. Choi got free, though. The two had a brief striking exchanging, ending when a Choi spinning backfist missed and Tucker took him down. Tucker was doing some damage with short strikes, but was docked a point by referee Marc Goddard for a knee to the head of a downed opponent (Choi). Tucker continued to get the better of the striking exchanges for the rest of the round. 9-9 Tucker, 19-18 Tucker.
Tucker and Choi battled for position along the cage early in the third. Tucker tended to get the better of these exchanges. Choi got a takedown, but Tucker managed to get back to his feet fairly quickly. Tucker took control of Choi’s back and locked on a rear naked choke, switching hands midway through, for the submission victory. (Because of Choi’s position, Goddard had to keep switching sides to see if he was conscious or not.)
Official Result: Gavin Tucker def. Seungwoo Choi via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:17 of the third round
Dawodu landed a few kicks to the body and legs of Horie, but they didn’t appear to do a ton of damage. Twice during the first round, Horie went for a takedown as Dawodu was swinging for a strike. Both times, Horie dropped an off-balance Dawodu. But also both times, Dawodu popped back to his feet. Late in the round, Horie took Dawodu down with a double leg, but both men popped back to their feet and Dawodu landed a couple punches. Horie got the better of the striking exchanges in the round, particularly using Dawodu’s posture to put him on the mat. 10-9 Horie.
Horie spent the first chunk of the second round circling Dawodu and trying to be elusive with his footwork. Dawodu seemed to adjust and closed the distance several times, opting for short-range strikes after losing the medium-range battle in the opening round. Dawodu got the better of the striking exchanges and stuffed a takedown attempt late in the round. Horie spent much of the round backing up, with Dawodu stalking him and dictating the offense. 10-9 Dawodu, 19-19.
Horie was more aggressive to open the third round. During an exchange, Dawodu blocked a kick and landed a couple knees to Horie’s body in the clinch. After narrowly missing on a head kick, Dawodu swarmed Horie on the fence with strikes. Horie escaped, but Dawodu grabbed control of him on the other side of the Octagon and continued his assault with punches and kicks. While Horie kept escaping, Dawodu kept swarming him along the fence with strikes. He dropped Horie with a headkick and referee Kyle Cardinal called off the fight before Dawodu could do any additional damage.
Official Result: Hakeem Dawodu def. Yoshinori Horie via technical knockout (headkick) at 4:09 of the third round
> Alexis Davis (#7, 19-9, 6-4 UFC) vs. Viviane Araujo (#15 WBW, 7-1, 1-0 UFC) Women’s Flyweights
Araujo stuffed a Davis takedown attempt early in the round. She got the better of the early striking exchangs, including catching a Davis kick and landing a nice strike afterwards. Araujo took down Davis but wouldn’t dive into her guard, so Yves Lavigne stood them up. The pace slowed down later in round, with the striking exchanges from both sides more strategic than frenzied. 10-9 Araujo.
The strategic nature of the striking continued in the second round, with each fighter trying to land big shots rather than a lot of shots. Araujo got slighter better and cleaner strikes in, visibly reddening Davis’ face during the round. Midway through the round Araujo took Davis down, but Davis wriggled free and ended up in Araujo’s guard. In the scramble on the mat, it appeared that Davis’ nose was blooded. Davis connected with several body shots from inside Araujo’s guard, but also managed to sneak in some nice elbows from the top before the round was up. 10-9 Davis, 19-19.
The striking exchanges continued in the third round, with Araujo connecting with some clean shots to Davis’ face. Davis landed a few good body-kick, spinning elbow combos. Araujo began to gain momentum with some striking combos, making Davis’ nose leak once again. Davis went for another takedown but Araujo ended up on top. As in the first round, Davis tried to bait her into her guard but Araujo didn’t bite and Lavigne stood them up. Araujo connected on some strikes so Davis pressed her against the fence to relieve the pressure. Araujo 10-9, Araujo 29-28.
Official Result: Viviane Araujo def. Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Marc-Andre Barriault (11-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (20-4, 7-4 UFC) Middleweights
The opening round featured a lot of clinching along the fence, with the two fighters alternating who was pressing the other against the cage. The striking exchanges were pretty even, though Barriault used them to back Jotko into the fence. Jotko reversed a takedown and tried his own, but Barriault blocked it. Barriault eventually did toss Jotko to the mat, but wasn’t able to follow up. 10-9 Barriault.
Barriault continued to maintain a territorial advantage in the second round, though Jotko initiated more of the striking exchanges. Neither man got a big advantage on their feeet. Barriault got a takedown along the cage late in the round, but Jotko ended up on top – the round ended before Jotko could take advantage. 10-9 Barriault based on the takedown, but this round was a toss-up. 20-19 Barriault, marginally.
The third round was fairly dull. There was a lot of circling and some sloppy striking exchanges. There were occasional clashes against the fence and flurries of strikes. There was more circling. 10-9 Jotko based on slightly better striking, but another toss-up round. 29-28 Barriault, but 29-28 Jotko wouldn’t be shocking. The crowd didn’t enjoy this fight.
Official Result: Krzysztof Jotko def. Marc-Andre Barriault by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For the second straight bout, there were three rounds featuring a lot of clinching and some tentative striking. The opening round saw Tsarukyan and Aubin-Mercier exchange attempted takedowns but not really execute particularly well. Tsarukyan had slightly more control of the proceedings and did more damage. 10-9 Tsarukyan.
The second round saw Aubin-Mercier take advantage of some Tsarukyan miscues and press a little bit, but his primarily advantage was delivering a bit more damage via striking. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier. 19-19.
The third round saw neither fighter really press the pace or assert themselves offensively. Tsarukyan had more control of their striking exchanges and had Aubin-Mercier backing up quit a bit. 10-9 Tsarukyan, 29-28 Tsarukyan overall.
Official Result: Arman Tsarukyan def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Geoff Neal (11-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. Niko Price (13-2 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC) Welterweights
The early moments featured both fighters trying to get a feel for their opponent. Neal got a takedown. Price scrambled to his feet, but Neal stayed on him. Price connected with some strikes. Neal connected with a stiff punch after hesitating on an approach (and throwing Price’s timing off). A striking exchange saw Price throw a pair of high kicks, then drop Neal with a left hand. He swarmed Neal but Neal defended well, survived, and scrambled back to his feet. Neal took Price down late and got his back, but didn’t have enough time left on the clock to attempt a finish. 10-9 Price.
The early second round featured a flurry of stirkes. Price kicked Neal in the leg, leading to a wild back-and-forth exchange. After a scramble, Price attempted a guillotine choke but couldn’t lock it on, leaving Neal in Price’s guard. Neal worked for position, worked some strikes in to wear Price’s defenses down, then unleashed a flurry of strikes that led referee Dan Miragliatta to stop the bout.
Official Result: Geoff Neal def. Niko Price via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:39 of the second round
Cyborg looked scary early. Spencer tried for a takedown, got stopped and punched in the face. They had a few flurries of strikes early on, and Spencer busted Cyborg’s nose up with an elbow. Cyborg got the better of the early exchanges and Spencer presser her into the cage. Cyborg eventually wriggled free and they exchanged more strikes. Cyborg dropped her with a leg kick, but Spencer popped back up. Cyborg threw some punches along the fence, but Spencer circled away. Cyborg got the better of a striking exchange along fence, but Spencer pressed her into the cage again. 10-9 Cyborg, as she got the better of their striking exchanges.
Spencer pressed Cyborg against the cage. They battled for position and Cyborg got the upper hand after tripping her along the cage. Spencer defended well from the bottom, trapping Cyborg’s arm between her legs and eventually getting back to her feet. Back on their feet, Cyborg caught a Spencer kick but couldn’t turn it into any offense. They traded on their feet, with Cyborg getting the better of it. Cyborg landed a clean Superman punch, but it didn’t seem to faze Spencer. Cyborg continued to get the better of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Cyborg, 20-18 Cyborg.
Spencer missed a Superman punch and they had a brief exchange of strikes. Spencer tried to drive Cyborg into the fence, but ate a couple knees to the face on her way in. Spencer went for a takedown, Cyborg blocked it, and so Spencer just drove her back into the fence. They fought for control along the fence, with Cyborg getting the upper hand and landing some strikes that hurt Spencer a bit. Cyborg continued to get the better of their striking exchanges in the middle of the cage. Spencer ate a lot of shots in this fight, but aside from a brief moment along the fence in the third round she was never really ever in trouble. 10-9 Cyborg, 30-27 Cyborg.
Official Decision: Cris Cyborg def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Max Holloway (C, 20-4, 16-4 UFC) vs. Frankie Edgar (#4, 23-6-1, 17-6-1 UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship
There was a feeling-out process early. Edgar was initating more striking and trying to maintain control of the center of the Octagon. Holloway caught Edgar with a punch on an attempted takedown, but it didn’t seem to phase Edgar. Edgar was more effective at rattling off striking combinations. Edgar initiated more striking exchanges and used leg kicks well, but Holloway was more effective at counter-punching. Very close round. 10-9 Edgar, based on territorial control and movement.
The striking exchanges in the second round were much more structured than in the opening round. Edgar continued to initiate, but Holloway seemed more patient and more able to feint and counter-punch than early on. He defended an Edgar takedown attempt early in the round and wriggled free of an Edgar attempt to clinch. Holloway caught Edgar with a shot that sent him stumbling before the end of the round. 10-9 Holloway. 19-19.
An Edgar takedown attempt was blocked early. Holloway continued to use his reach and size to assert his control. Edgar initated more exchanges, but Holloway was very effective at using his jab to keep Edgar circling. Edgar went for a single leg takedown but Holloway blocked the attempt. Holloway caught Edgar with an uppercut. Edgar tried for a takedown, but Holloway shrugged it off and tried for a couple more punches. Edgar avoided the punches and managed to take down an off-balance Holloway. Edgar jockeyed for position on top, but Holloway managed tog et to his feet. Holloway caught Edgar with a knee before the end of the round. 10-9 Holloway. 29-28 Holloway.
Holloway initiated more exchanges beginning with the fourth round. Edgar tried another single leg takedown but Holloway shrugged him off. Edgar was bleeding from the nose after the two traded punches midway through the round. Late in the round Holoway gained some momentum after getting the better of a striking exchange and blocking an Edgar takedown attempt, but Edgar slowed things down by pressing Holloway into the cage. Holloway hit Edgar in the mid-section with a spinning back-kick before the round ended. 10-9 Holloway. 39-37 Holloway
Edgar pressed early, initating several exchanges and throwing a mixture of punches and head-kicks, though Holloway managed to counter. Edgar attempted a takedown and pressed Holloway against the cage, but Holloway wriggled free. Edgar kept pressing, but Holloway ably used his size advantage to defend. Holloway almost got control of Edgar’s neck, but Edgar scrambled to his feet. Holloway connected with a couple nice punching combinations, particularly a couple jabs that landed flush on Edgar’s face. Edgar kept pressing, but couldn’t connect with anything substantial. 10-9 Edgar based on urgency and control of the round. But 48-47 Holloway overall.
Official Result: Max Holloway def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47) to retain UFC World Featherweight Championship
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and former UFC lighweight champion Frankie Edgar will do battle at July’s UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
This will be the third time Holloway and Edgar have been scheduled for a fight. The first was at UFC 218 in December 2017, but an Edgar injury scrapped that. They were then scheduled for UFC 222 in March 2018, but Holloway had to pull out due to a leg injury.
The 27-year-old Holloway saw his 13-fight win streak snapped at April’s UFC 236 as he moved up in weight to face Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title. He will be looking for the third defense of his featherweight belt. This will be his sixth straight fight with either an undisputed or interim title involved.
The 37-year-old Edgar has been on the shelf since defeating Cub Swanson by decision in April 2018, his first fight after a first round knockout loss to Brian Ortega. He has fought sparingly in the last few years due to injury but has gone 3-1 since losing a decision to Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight belt at UFC 200 in July 2016.
One wrinkle is that arguably, the top challenger is Alexander Volkanovski who defeated Aldo by decision this past Saturday at UFC 237 for his 17th straight win, seven of those in the Octagon. However, he has fought twice in less than five months and with UFC apparently wanting the division to start moving forward in just a few month and needing a main event for the show, they went back to the Edgar well.
The UFC’s year of shuffling around main events continued Friday as the promotion learned former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar tore his left biceps, forcing him to withdraw from the company’s 25th anniversary show in Denver, CO, on November 10th.
Stepping in for Edgar to face the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung on the FS1 show is Yair Rodriguez.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported the news. His colleague Ariel Helwani reported that Edgar will not require surgery and wants to return early next year.
The 26-year old Rodriguez (10-2) was briefly cut by the organization this year due to issues with management, but resolved his problems with the promotion a few weeks later. He has been inactive since May 2017 when he lost a one-sided fight to Edgar and was supposed to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov in September but had to withdraw due to injury.
Jung (14-4) has been out since February 2017 after a near four-year layoff. Once a big fan favorite for his fighting style, he suffered a major knee injury as well as military service that kept him relatively inactive over the past five years.
The rest of the card features Donald Cerrone vs. Mike Perry, Raquel Pennington vs. Germaine de Randamie, Joe Benavidez vs. Ray Borg, and more.
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)
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.
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
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
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported Saturday afternoon that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is injured and is pulling out of his March title defense against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 in Las Vegas, NV.
Once confirmed by the organization, this will be the second time the fight has fallen apart due to injury. The two were originally supposed to clash in December, but Edgar hurt his hand. The Holloway injury was undisclosed.
The promotion will need to find a suitable headliner as the secondary headliner is Andrei Arlovski vs. Stefan Struve, not exactly something to main event a pay-per-view with. One problem is the UFC’s current schedule which will see them do nine shows in the first quarter with three more already scheduled for April. As most of those cards are relatively thin, they will have their work cut out for them in pulling something together. The alernative: demote the show from PPV status and make it an FS1 show instead.
This is the second PPV show this year that UFC has had to find a new main event for. Next week’s UFC 221 show in Perth, Australia, was supposed to be headlined by middleweight champion Robert Whittaker vs. Luke Rockhold, but an internal staph infection knocked Whittaker out of that fight. UFC responded by reviving the interim middleweight crown and making Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero as the main event instead.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor, eminating from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
This is the much anticipated debut of the UFC in New York, and they are bringing the most stacked card in company history for the Octagon’s first visit to famed Madison Square Garden, capping off a night of action with the biggest draw in company history looking to make history.
In the main event, UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor looks to become the first fighter to hold championships in two divisions at the same time as he challenges Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship. McGregor is coming off two high-profile fights with Nate Diaz while Alvarez makes his first title defense after knocking out Rafael Dos Anjos in July.
In addition, there are two other championship bouts. UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley makes his first title defense against top contender, Stephen Thompson, winner of seven straight fights. Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler to win the title at UFC 201 in July, while Thompson is getting his title shot on the heels of a dominant win over Rory MacDonald.
UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk makes her fourth title defense against fellow Polish strawweight, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, in the third title fight on the card. Jedrzejczyk last fought in July, successfully defending against Claudia Gadelha, while Kowalkiewicz is coming off a decision win over Rose Namajunas in July. Both women are undefeated in their professional careers, but Jedrzejczyk holds a win over Kowalkiewicz in an amateur bout.
The main card also has a middleweight bout as former champion Chris Weidman takes on Yoel Romero, and Miesha Tate battles Raquel Pennington in women’s bantamweight action. The most stacked prelims of all-time includes featherweights Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens doing battle as well as top lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Michael Johnson.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbe in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
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 the event so leave your thumbs up, thumbs in the middle, or thumbs down along with a best and worst fight to [email protected].
The place is fairly empty at this point. More than a Las Vegas crowd but not like a lot of first-time markets. Carmouche is ripped, more than most of the guys.
First round: Carmouche with low kicks. Chookagian landed a right., Carmouche back with a right. Carmouche with a low kick and a right and a takedown. Carmouche is in side control Chookagian back up with minimal damage. Carmouche trying for another takedown. Carmouche has her against the fence. High slam by Carmouche with 1:05 left. Carmouche is just holding her down. Fans chanting Ole for no reason. Carmouche with some short elbows. Carmouche 10-9
Second round: Carmouche has her and trying to throw her. Both landed knees. Chookagian broke the clinch. Chookagian with a low kick. Carmouche took her down with a back suplex. She moved to side control. Carmouche with short elbows. Chookagian regained guard and wants a triangle. Carmouche with some short punches. The crowd is starting to boo them. Carmouche is staying busy but they could stand them up. Chookagaian up. Knee by Chookagian. Left by Chookagian. Chookagian whiffed on a combo. Right by Chookagian landed. Low kick by Chookagian. Carmouche’s round 20-18.
Third round: Chookagian dropped her with a great head kick. Carmouche back up. The crowd exploded. Knee by Chookagian. Carmouche going for a takedown. Chookagian momentarily got behind her but Carmouche turned her into the fence. Knee by Carmouche. Chookagian landed a combo. Big right by Chokagian. Chookagian landed solid punches now. Carmouche is bleeding from the nose. Carmouche took her down which drew a groan from the crowd. Carmouche is holding her down. Chookagian up and Carmouche threw a knee. Chookagian broke free. Head kick by Chookagian. Low kick by Carmouche. Chookagian in with punches. Low kick by Carmouche. Good right by Chookagian. Carmouche shot for a takedown but doesn’t have it. But she’s taking seconds off the clock. Chookagian’s round but Carmouche should win 29-28.
> Jim Miller (27-8 1 NC, 16-7 1 NC UFC) vs. Thiago Alves (21-10, 13-6 UFC)
Catch weight of 162.5
Alves missed weight by 6.5 pounds.
First round: Knee by Alves. Miller with a left. Miller in with an uppercut. Miller landed a punch and took Alves down off a kick. Miller is working to get his back. Alves scrambled up. Left kick to the body by Miller. Both landing now with Alves landing a good knee. Right by Alves and head kick by Alves. Alves came on strong at the end but 10-9 Miller.
Second round: Body kick by Alves. Body kick by Alves. He tried another and Miller tried to take him down off it. Alves defended the takedown. Miller with a blast double leg takedown. Miller cradled him on the ground. Miller is keeping him down. There was a USA chant. Miller landed a few punches as Alves got up. Miller with a left. Alves with a right. Body kick by Alves. Punch and knee by Alves. Alves missed a spinning backfist. Alves landed the backfist. Miller is bleeding. Close round. 20-18 Miller.
Third round: Body kick by Alves. Mller slipped. Alves landing punches and a body kick. Both swinging. Miller hit the blast double again. That could clinch him the fight. Alves back up. Alves with a body kcik. Miller got another takedown. Miller got his back. Alves almost got up but Miller wrestled him back down. Miller tried a guillotine and Alves slipped out and on top. Alves landed some elbows and punches from the top as the round ended. Another close round. Miller 30-27.
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27 for Miller
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> Vicente Luque (10-5-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Belal Muhammad (10-1, 1-1 UFC) Welterweights
First round: Luque dropped him with a left hook and landed a few brutal shots on the ground before it was stopped. 1:19′
Luque said he dropped 30 pounds for the fight.
> Rafael Natal (#14, 21-7-1, 9-5-1 UFC) vs. Tim Boetsch (19-10, 10-9 UFC) Middleweights
First round: Boetsch landed a right as Natal went for a takedown. Boetsch is the one moving forward. Natal missed a spinning backfist. Trading punches and Boetsch got the better of it. Body kick by Natal. Boetsch dropped him with a right hook that knocked Natal flying and finished him on the ground. It was weird. It was like Natal wasn’t himself at all. 3:22
Boetsch credited the win to the Irish Hand Grenade Marcus Davis for the win. Joe Rogan and Boetch said the first punch early shook up Natal and he was tentative from there.
> Khabib Nurmagomedov (#2, 23-0, 7-0 UFC) vs. Michael Johnson (#6, 17-10, 9-6 UFC) Lightweights
First round: Johnson throwing early. He landed a nice left. He’s landing good punches on Khabib. He’s got Khabib hurt now. Johnson landed a hard left. Johnson blocked the takedown attempt. But Khabib powered him down into side control USA chants Khabib with lefts. Now he’s dropping elbows and throwing hard punches on the ground. Khabib dropping more elbows. Big punches by Khabib. He’s got his back and throwing more punches. Khabib 10-9. The crowd went nuts giving both a standing ovation after the round.
Second round: Johnson landed a left. Left to the body by Johnson. Khabib landing punches now and tied him up. Johnson got away from the takedown attempt. Johnson blocked another takedown,. Knee and punch and Johnson sprawled. Johnson going for a guillotine but Khabib popped out and is on top. Khabib immediately passed to side control and throwing punches. He’s got a crucifox position on Johnson and punching. More punches by Khabib. Khabib with hard lefts from the top. Now Khabib has back position and is throwing a ton of punches. More punches from side position. Now he’s throwing hard rights. 10-8 Khabib’s round so 20-17 after two.
Third round: USA chant to start the round. Both throwing punches. Khabib took him down again. The crowd booed. Khabib is landing punches again from that position. Khabib is trying for a finish with punches but Johnson can take his shots. Johnson tried to kick off the cage to reverse. Now Khabib is working for a Kimura and got the tap. Very interesting because his win was more dominant than Ferguson but Ferguson is a more entertaining fighter 2:31
Khabib said I want to stay humble but I have to talk. I show the crazy power the UFC PR is. He cut a promo on Conor and the crowd stared to boo him. He wanted to face the Irish chicken, said
Irish only six million, Russia 150 million. He then talked Russian. He got great heat. The crowd hated him. He said Joe Rogan knows MMA for 20 years and asked Rogan if he desreved a title shot. Rogan said he deserved it which the crowd didh’t like.
> Frankie Edgar (#2, 20-5-1, 14-5-1 UFC) vs. Jeremy Stephens (#7, 25-12, 12-11 UFC) Featherweights
First round: Edgar got the biggest pop so far. The place is pretty packed now, I’d say 90-95%. Stephens looks 15 pounds heavier in the cage. Edgar tried a takedown and Stephens sprawled. Low kick by Stephens. Edgar moved in for a takedown but Stephens disengaged. Body kick by Edgar. Knee by Stephens. Low kick by Stephens. Edgar with a two punch combo. Let’s Go Frankie chant pretty loud. Edgar with a front headlock and throwing knees. He’s working for the takedown and not getting it. Edgar slammed him but Stephens right baacck up. Edgar slammed him again but Stephens up. Stephens poked Edgar in the eye and a time out was called. Stephens with punches. Edgar 10-9 but closer than you’d think.
Second round: Stephens complained of a low blow. Edgar with a right. Jumping kick by Stephens. Body kick by Edgar. Low kick by Edgar. Edgar got a momentary takedown . He got a back slam takedown. Stephens right back up again. Edgar in with punches. Good right by Edgar. Edgar with punches. Stephens with a great kick to the chin and Edgar went down. Edgar is hurt. Stephens with a right. Stephens going for the finish. Another right by Stephens. Stephens with a left. Hard left by Stephens. Let’s go Frankie chants. Stephens with a right. Edgar back with a combo, and got the takedown and got a guillotine. Stephens out of it. What a great round. Edgar on top. Loud Frankie chants. He’s going for the guillotine again. Edgar landed punches from the top late. 10-9 Stephens for 19-19 after two. Standing ovation for the round.
Third round: Let’s go Frankie chants. Stephens threw a kick and Edgar used it to take him down. Stephens working for a Kimura but Edgar out of trouble. Edgar elbowing the ribs. Edgar staying on top. Edgar trying to work for a choke. Edgar with a back suplex slam. Edgar is behind him working for a choke again. Stephens up with 2:13 left. Big right by Stephens. Edgar went for a takedown and couldn’t get it. Edgar with a left. Edgar with a right. Uppercut by Stephens. Both throwing and Stephens landed some good shots and Edgar back as the fight ended. Edgar 29-28. The crowd gave them a standing ovation again.
First round: Tate didn’t get nearly the reaction she usually gets. Tate with a right. Pennnington landing jabs. Pennington hurting her with punches. Rocky chant. Tate landing punches to the body and head and working for a takedown. Pennington lifted Tate up with a guollotone. It was crazy. Tate tried to kick off the cage. Tate finally go the takedown. Pennington back up. Pennington looks like she wants to do the old pump handle move. That’s a pro wrestling joke. Nothing much happening and crowd starting to get restless. Tate had her back. Tate did control the positioning but Pennington did more damage. Hard to score, 10-9 Pennington.
Second round: Pennington with a nice right. Left by Pennington. Anohter left by Pennington. Penningotn landed solid shots. Tate with lefts. Knee by Tate from the clinch. Tate trying for the takedown. Knee by Tate. Both throwing punches. Pennington got behind Tate. Tate throwing elbows. Crowd is bored by this fight. Pennington landing punches from the clinch. Tate with knees and Pennington with body shots as they’re in the clinch. Body shots by Pennington. Both landed punches as the round ended. Pennington 20-18.
Third round: Both the rounds were close so it’s anyone’s fight. Tate tried to pull guard to get it to the ground. She almost got an armbar. Pennington landing punches from the top. Tate again working for an armbar. Pennington landing punches from the top. Tate now trying for a triangle but doesn’t have it. Tate now going for a leglock. She tried a heel hook but didn’t get it. They’re in a clinch and Pennington is landing some short punches. Pennington took her down and is throwing more punches. Rare boring fight from Tate. Pennington landing a lot of punches late. Pennington 30-27.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Pennington. Bad time for a loss for Tate.
Tate announced her retirement after. She said it’s not her time anymore and she’s been around for a long time and she couldn’t pull it off.
> Chris Weidman (#2, 13-1, 9-1 UFC) vs. Yoel Romero (#4, 12-1, 7-0 UFC) Middleweights
First round: This is a really big fight because a strong Weidman win can make him a New York superstar. Not to mention he’ll probably get a title match with a win. Romero is a freak athlete, but he’s also 39 years old. They showed Bisping watching the fight. USA chant to start. Hard body kick by Romero. Weidman tried a takedown but not hard, more diversion. Body kick by Weidman. Ole chants. Weidman took him down once but Romero back up. Body kick by Weidman. Body kicks by Weidman. Another takedown by Weidman and Romero back up. Low kick by Weidman. Left by Romero. Romero with lefts. Body kick by Romnero. Weidman took him down and got his back. Weidman 10-9.
Second round: The referee wiped Vaseline off Romero’s back at the start of the round. Left by Romero. Left by Romero. Body kick by Weidman. Knee by Weidman. Romero claimed an eye poke after the knee. Weidman in on the single but gave it up to land a head kick. Romero took Weidman down and got his back after Weidman got up. Romero with another takedown. Weidman escaped and Romero took him down again. Romero has his back on the ground. Romero’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Boyd kick by Weidman. Romero killed him with a flying knee that nailed Weidman in the left eye and and pounded on him and finished him. That’s not a good thing for UFC. Romero is strutting around the ring like he’s a foreign military soldier saluting the crowd. The crowd didn’t even boo him. They were just stunned. The two hugged. :24 The crowd was eerily quiet when this ended.
Romero said he wanted the belt. Joe Rogan said that Romero will be challenging for the title next. Michael Bisping said he wouldn’t face Romero. Bisping gave Romero the thumbs down and then flipped him off with both hands. Romero kept saying “I love you Mike, see you soon, boy.” Romero said you see now the real champion.
First round: Joanna with low kicks. Ole chants. Joanna with a combo. Both landing. Nice combo by Joanna. Karolina landed some punches. The Irish are singing to entertain themselves. Joanna with another combo. Joanna 10-9
Second round: Karloline pushed her against the fence and went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Joanna with a flurry. Karolina working for a takedown. Joanna has her against the fence and threw a knee. Front kick by Joanna. Spijnning backfist by Joanna. Joanna 20-18.
Third round: Joanna with a knee and punches. Joanna outlandig her. Arolian landed a right. The crowd is so quiet for this fight except a few chants having nothing to do with the fight. It’s like this is Raw from last Monday. Body kick by Karolina. Karolina with a floury. Joannan back and landed a body kick and knee. Elbow and punches by Joanna. Trading punches. Joanna 30-27. Some boos at the end. I can’t tell you how little the people care about this fight.
Fourth round: Joanna with a few kicks and they are back against the fence. Karolina with elbows. Spinning backfist by Karolina. Karolina hurt her bad with a right to the nose. Both are trading. Both trading some more. Karolina landed a big right. Karolina is landing big rights. Joanna took her down but Karolina back up. Joanna looking at the clock. Karolina with more punches from close range. Joanna landed aan elbow. Karolina landed a good right. Trading punches. Joanna seems recovered now. Backfist by Karolina. Joanna tried the same. Joanna with a combo. Both traded punches. Hard knee by Joanna. Joanna got good shots In late in the round. The crowd completely turned and gave both a huge ovation. Karolina’s round 39-37 Joanna.
Fifth round: Good combo by Joanna. Karolina with punches and Joanna with an elbow. Joanna using her kicks to keep Karolina at a distance by Karolina got in and landed a punch. Front kick by Joanna. Joanna landing more punches. Joanna with a left. Karolina back with punches. Joanna with solid punches now. The crowd came alive. Karolina with a spinning punch and Joanna back with punches. Joanna landed punches and elbows. Knee by Joanna. Body kick by Joanna. Joanna 49-46. After all that, the whole place is standing. The fourth round turned the crowd around.
Scores: All three had it 49-46 for Joanna.
Joanna was charming, said she wasn’t hurt in the fourth round. The crowd cheered Karolina a lot after the fight. Karolina said Joanna was the best in the world. She said she’s proud she gave a good fight and the crowd cheered big.
> Tyron Woodley (C, 16-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Stephen Thompson (#2, 13-1, 8-1 UFC) UFC Welterweight Championship
First round: Body kick by Thonpson. Thompson threw a kick, Woodley countered with a right and took him down. Woodley with body shots. Woodley with a lot of short punches on the ground to smother him . He land hard body shots late, bloodied him with elbows and landed a hard shot at the horn. 10-9 Woodley, almost a 10-8.
Second round: Thompson landed some punches and Woodley tied him up. Thompson turned him around and then Woodley turned him back around. Spin kick to the body by Thompson. Left by Thompson. Right by Thompson. Thompson with punches. Thompson landing more. Woodley with a nice right. Body shot by Thompson. Another body shot by Thompson. Woodley with a nice right. Thompson’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Side kick by Thompson. Woodley moved forward with punches. Woodley moved forward and landed again. Ole chants. Head kick by Woodley. Low kick by Thompson. Thompson moved in with punches. Good right by Thompson. Left by Woodley. Left by Thompson and landed more punches. Woodley moved in but didn’t connect. Thompson landed a few. Woodley with two nice rights late in the round. Close round. Thompson’s so 29-28 Thompson after three.
Fourth round: Thompson in with a few punches. Woodley dropped him with hard right. Woodley throwing punches. Woodley dropped him again with a right and throwing punches on the ground. Thompson is in trouble. Woodley is landing shot after shot. Knees by Woodley and punches. Woodley going for a guillotine. Thompson out of it but he’s hurt. Woodley went for a guillotine again and it’s tight. Thompson is surviving so far. Thompson punching back. The crowd went nuts seeing Thompson punch back. He popped out for the biggest pop so far this show. Wonderboy chants. Thompson landing big punches late. This place is now really alive. 10-8 but that comeback could keep it 10-9, but I’ve got 38-37 Woodley after four. This is going to be very interesting how it’s judged.
Fifth round: Jumping kick by Thompson. Body kick by Thompson. Low kick by Thompson. Loud Wonderboy chants. Right and a head kick by Thompson. Body kick by Thompson. Spin kick to the head by Thompson. Left and right by Thompson. Right by Thompson. Left and right by Thompson. Body kick by Woodley. Left by Thompson. Low kick by Thompson. Woodley landed a right. Body shot by Thompson. Left and right by Thompson. Thompson with a left. Two lefts by Thompson. Thompson with a good right. Thompson’s round, I’ve got it 47-47 all. This could go either way depending on a 10-8 in the first or fourth rounds.
Scores: Derek Cleary scored it 47-47, Doug Crosby scored it 47-47, Glenn Trowbridge 48-47 Woodley. That’s a screw-up, as that’s a majority draw but Woodley would still retain on the draw. Bruce Buffer later corrected himself a majority draw. The problem is Trowbridge looks to have given 3 rounds to Woodley and Thompson won three rounds and it came down to 10-8s in round one or four. Either way, Woodley retains on the draw.
> Eddie Alvarez (C, 28-4, 3-1 UFC) vs. Conor McGregor (C FW, 20-3, 8-1 UFC) UFC Lightweight Championship
This crowd is now totally electric. They’re booing the hell out of Alvarez. Not the number of Irish flags as Vegas but a totally pro-McGregor crowd. Alvarez is called The Underground King. I wonder if he knows Sami Zayn.
First round: McGregor landed and stumbled. Low kick by Alvarez. Body kick by McGregor. McGregor dropped him with a left and Alvarez back up. Head kick by Alvarez. The crowd is really loud. Alvarez shot for a takedown. McGregor with a body kick. Alvarez landed punches and then slipped. Head kick by McGregor. McGregor dropped him with a left . McGregor with punches on the ground. Now he’s dropping elbows on him. Alvarez back up. Loud Conor chants. Alvarez shot in and McGregor evaded and landed an elbow. McGregor with a left. Body kick by McGregor. Right by McGregor. Alvarez with body shots. Alvarez with a body kick. Alvarez landed a good left. Body kick by Alvarez. McGregor 10-8.
Second round: Big left by McGregor hurt him. Alvarez shot for a takedown and it was easily stuffed. McGregor put his arms behind his back and dared Alvarez a free shot. Alvarez didn’t do anything. Body kick by McGregor. Right and left by McGregor. Alvarez with a right. He missed a left and McGregor put him down with a left. Alvarez working for a takedown. Alvarez pushing hard and couldn’t get the takedown. Push kick by Alvarez. McGregor with a series of punches put Alvarez down and ref John McCarthy waved it off. McGregor is the first two division champion in UFC history. It was a left hook, a right, a left and another right that put Alvarez down. A great combo, all four shots landed hard and McCarthy waved it after two punches on the ground. 3:04
McGregor wanted his second belt. McGregor said they’re not on my level, you need size and reach to beat him. He kept saying he wants that second belt. He I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster, and I’d like to apologize to absolutely nobody. The place erupted on that one. Then he had both belts. He made no big announcement or anything.
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 200 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, — the conclusion of UFC’s International Fight Week and the biggest card in UFC history with two title fights, the return of a huge star, and an icon coming in on short notice.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate defends her title for the first time against challenger Amanda Nunes in the main event, leading many to speculate that Ronda Rousey may be floating around the venue to challenge the winner tonight. In the co-main event, it is the return of WWE superstar and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar as he takes on hard hittin’ Mark Hunt.
In other action, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, originally scheduled to headline against Jon Jones, now faces Anderson Silva, who took this fight on two days notice, in a non-title bout. Also, former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo takes on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in a rematch of their UFC 156 battle from February 2013 with the interim UFC featherweight champion on the line.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
– JIM MILLER (25-8 1 NC, 14-7 1 NC UFC) VS. TAKANORI GOMI (35-11 1 NC, 4-6 UFC) | Lightweights
First round: Miller connected with a left. Gomi went for a kick. Miller took him down off the kick and immediately got his back. He’s working for a choke. Miller has a body triangle. Miller now throwing hard punches from back position over and over and it’s over. 2:18
First round: Head kick by Mousasi. Mousasi with a left jab. Low kick by Mousasi and Santos back with a low kick. Mousasi with a jab. Mousasi got the jump on him and landed a lot of punches, took him down and got his back. Mousasi working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Mousasi took him down again. Mousasi in side control. Mousasi landing punches. Santos up, Mousasi nailed him with a hard right and a hard left that put him down and it was over. 4:32
– DIEGO SANCHEZ (26-8, 15-8 UFC) VS. JOE LAUZON (25-11, 12-8 UFC) | Lightweights
First round: Body kick by Sanchez. Sanchez with a flurry. Low kick by Sanchez. Lauzon knocked Sanchez down twice and Sanchez is back up. Lauzon is just killing him with punches. Sanchez was stunned and was taking several hard flush shots and it was stopped. Lauzon’s boxing was just on point. 1:26
First round: Northcutt fighting karate style. He threw a high kick. Marin landed a right. Nice high kick by Northcutt. Marin had him pinned against the fence. Marin took him down. Northcutt went for a kneebar. Northcutt reversed to the top. Northcutt has his back. He’s working for a choke. Marin turned. Marin got Northcutt’s back. He flipped him off and is on top. Northcutt with a few hard punches. Marin back on top. 10-9 Northcutt.
Second round: Northcutt with a right. They traded punches. Northcutt took him down but Marin reversed and got to the top. Marin in side control. Northcutt working for an armbar. Marin sat on his face and working for an armbar. Northcutt is in the armbar. He escaped out of it. Marin sitting on his face again trying to set up a Kimura. Northcutt is in trouble again. Northcutt reversed to the top out of it. Norrthcutt dropped elbows at the end of the round. Marin so 19-19. The crowd loved this round.
Third round: Both trading punches dtraidng punches. Marin took him down again. Nothing is happening against the fence. Marin is working for a takedown. Norhcutt blocked and is going for a choke. Marin out of it. Marin just took him down. Marin got his back. Northcutt threw him off and now he’s on top. Close round, win or lose a bad showing for Northcutt. I did have Northcutt winning 29-28 but third could go either way,.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 Northcutt. Most fans cheered the decision, I thought they’d boo just because Marin was such an underdog.
– (#1) T.J. DILLASHAW (12-3, 8-3 UFC) VS. (#3) RAPHAEL ASSUNCAO (23-4, 7-1 UFC) | Bantamweights
First round: Not much happening here. Dillashaw tried a kick but Asscuncao caught the leg. Assuncao landed a punch. Head kick by Dillashaw. Another head kick by Dillashaw. Assuncao with head kick. Dillashaw 10-9
Second round: Low kick by Assuncao. Dillashaw tried a takedown but it was stopped by Assuncao. Assuncao may have a broken nose. Spin kick by Assuncao landed short. Dillashaw with a body kick. Assuncao with a takedown but Dillashaw right back up. They’re stopping the fight to look at Assuncao’s nose. The doctor let him continue. Dillashaw dropped him with a right and went for a guillotine but Assuncao got right out. Right by Dillahsaw. Dillashaw 20-18.
Third round: Body kick by Dillashaw. Crowd has been quiet this entire fight. Front kick by Assuncao. Right by Dillashaw. Dillashaw went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Body kick by Dillashaw. Assuncao’s kicks are being blocked and Dillashaw missed a kick. Assuncao tried tried a takedown but Dillashaw easily evaded it. Body kick by Assuncao. Dillashaw with a nice right counter. Dillashaw got the takedown. Dillashaw 30-27. He won but didn’t look very impressive in doing so.
First round: Hendricks missed weight by ¼ pound. Physically he doesn’t look close to the same guy as fought GSP. Gastelum landed a left. Gastelum with a low kick. Gastelum landing all kinds of low kicks. Gastelum with a left. Right by Gastelum. Left by Gastelum. Hendricks landed a few. Low kick by Gastelum. Gastelum landing all kinds of punches. Hendricks is a different guy. Gastelum is just nailing him. Gastelum landed a hard punch but Hendricks back with some good punches. Body kick by Hendricks. Gastelum 10-9.
Second round: Hendricks with some counter shots and went for a takedown. Hendricks behind him but Gastelum escaped. Hendricks pushed him into the fence. Gastelum landed a good left. Spin kick by Gastelum. Knee by Hendricsk. Gastelum with a knee to the head and punches. Hendricks dancing away. Hendricks landed the left. Gastelum landed the left. Both traded punches. Gastelum 20-18.
Third round: Gastelum is chasing Hendircks throwing punches. Knee by Hendricks. Gastelum chasing him around the cage. Hendricks back throwing. Gastelum moving forward and mostly missing. Gastelum landed a nice left. Body kick by Gastelum Body kick by Hendricks. Hendricks got the takedown but Gastelum right back up. Gastelum with elbows. Hendricks couldn’t get a takedown. Gastelum tried for a takedown and couldn’t get it. Big exchange late that lit up the crowd. Gastelum 30-27.
First round: Zingano pushed her into the fence and took her right down. Pena back up. Another takedown by Zingano. Pena back up. Pena got a takedown. Zingano reversed to the top. Zingano dropped an elbow. Pena up and landed some punches. 10-9 Zingano.
Second round: Zingano with a body kick and a hip toss takedown. Beautiful belly-to-belly by Zingano. Pena reversed to the top in side control. Pena with a crossface. Pena got her back. Pena is working for a choke. Pena is holding her in back position with a body triangle. Pena’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Nice trip takedown by Pena. Pena stayed on top. Pena worked for a choke but didn’t have it. Pena with a body triangle. Pena with a few punches fro back position. She’s landing more punches now. Zingano reversed with nine seconds left. Pena 29-28, no other score possible
First round: Velasquez got a big pop. Browne landed a right . Velasaquez with low kicks. More low kicks by Velasquez. Knee by Bowne. Velasquez couldn’t take him down but has him against the fence. Velasquez moving forward. Velasquez moved in with punches. Spin kick by Velasquez and he’s pounding on him. Velasquez dropped him with a right. Velasquez landing punches on the ground. Vealasquez working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Velasquez throwing punches while having back control. Browne back up. Trading punches. Velasquez with more punches and a knee. Velasquez took him down and pounding on him. Velasquez threw punches on the ground and it was stopped. Fantastic performance by Velaquez here. 4:57
Velasquez didn’t say much in his interview. He should have challenged directly for the title after that win.
– INTERIM UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (#1) JOSE ALDO (25-2, 7-1 UFC) VS. (#2) FRANKIE EDGAR (20-4-1, 14-4-1 UFC)
First round: Edgar the more popular of the two. This is a heavy American crowd instead of Brazilian crowd. Nice right by Aldo. Left by Aldol Big let’s go Frankie cdhant. Low kicks by Edgar. Edgar in with punches and a low kick. Aldo with a right. Both traded. Edgar almost took him down. Edgar with a body kick. Edgar with a right. Both tried spin kicks at the same time. Aldlo cracked him with a right. Knee by Aldo. Wild finish with both missing shots. Great round. Very close. Aldo 10-9.
Second round: Aldo with a right and Edgar with a body kick. Left by Aldo. Aldo with a knee, Edgar tried a takedown but Aldo nearly threw him down. Right by Edgar. Edgar bleeding from the right eye. Head kick by Edgar blocked. Edgar with a right. Edgar tried a takedown but didn’t get it. Edgar tried another takedown and didn’t get it. Left by Edgar. Left and right by Aldo. Big right by Edgar staggered him. Best punch of the fight. Left by Edgar. Edgar 19-19
Third round: Edgar with a left. Low kick by Edgar. Right and left by Aldo. Both trading punches. Edgar tried a takedown but didmn’t get it and punched on the exit. Edgar pushed him to the fence. Edgar with knees to the thigh. Edgar hurt him with two rights. Aldo with a hard right. Edga back with a hard right. Hard knee by Aldo. Edgar’s right eye is looking bad. Edgar fighting for a takedown and can’t get it. Edgar got two punches in on the exit. Right by Edgar. Left by Aldo. Knee by Aldo. Edgar 29-28
Fourth round: Edgar is still the aggressor. Right by Aldo. Slower round than the first three. Low kick by Edgar. Right and head kick by Edgar. Right by Aldo. Aldo with another. Aldo landing good shots. Edgar bleeding bad from the right eye now. Aldo with a left jab. Aldo dropped him momentarily with a left and hit a knee. Aldo’s round 38-38 going into the fifth.
Fifth round: Low kick by Aldo. Aldo with a left. Left by Aldo. Aldo with a nice kick. Left by Edgar. Right by Aldo. Right by Aldo. Edgar with a low kick. Edgar hurt him with a right. Aldo with a right. Very close round. Aldo landed the better stuff but he was backpedaling a lot late and that could cost him. Aldo 48-47.
Scores: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 Aldo. Lots of loud booing the decision.
– DANIEL CORMIER (17-1, 6-1 UFC) VS. (#5 MW) ANDERSON SILVA (33-7 1 NC, 16-3 1 NC UFC) | Light Heavyweights
First round: Silva got a huge reaction, much more than Cormier. Body kick by Cormier. Cormier took him right down. Cormier with some body and head punches. Elbow and punches by Cormier. Cormier with body punches. Elbow by Cormier. Another elbow by Cormier. Cormier with more punches and elbows. 10-8 Cormier.
Second round: Sivla with a jumping body kick. Cormier with a nice right. Head kick by Silva. Takedown by Cormeir. He landed in side control. Cormier is back on top. Cormier landing punches. Clormeir landing a lot of punches form the toip. Cormier with short elbows. Cormier landing punches. John McCarthy stood them up. That was a bad call because Cormier was hurting him on the ground but the crowd was brutal to the ground, very much like the Lesnar vs. Mir II fight reaction. Cormier with a right. Hard knee by Silva. Left by Silva. Body kick by Cormier. Body kick and low kicki by Silva. The crowd is booing like crazy whenever Cormier neutralizes Silva. Cormier 20-18
Third round: Low kick by Silva. Body kick by Silva. Big right by Cormier. Cormier with a takedown. The crowd is ridiculous. Crowd booing like crazy. Cormier busy with punches from the top. Cormier with body shots. Loud stand them up chants. Cormier busy landing all kinds of punches McCarthy ordered a standup with 2:00 left. Low kick by Cormier. Silva with a low kick and a body kick. Cormier 30-26.
Scores: All three had it 30-26 Cormier. Fans booed the decision bad but it was clear.
The crowd booed Cormier’s interview heavily. He said how difficult it was, he trained for someone else, praised Silva for being the greatest ever and still pretty much booed. The crowd cheered Silva.
– BROCK LESNAR (5-3, 4-3 UFC) VS. (#8) MARK HUNT (12-10-1, 7-4-1 UFC) | Heavyweights
First round: Lensar shot for a takedown. Hunt back up. Lesnar took him down a second time. Lesnar in side control. Lesnar with punches. Knee to the body and punches by Lesnar. Lesanr hurt with punches. Lesnar took him down again into mount and more punches. 10-9 Lesanar.
Second round: Hunt with a right. Humt blocked the takedown. Lesnar tried another takedown but Hunt escaped. Hunt with an uppercut. Hunt with a right. Hunt with another right. Hunt missed a right. Lesnar with a left. Lesnar going for a takedown. Hunt punching the body. Close round for Hunt 19-19.
Third round: Hunt landed a hard right. Lesnar took him down. Lesnar landing punches on the ground. Lesnar landing lefts on the ground. Fans boooing. Lesnar landing hard lefts from the top. Lesnar now in full mount. Lesnar landing a lot of punches. 10-8 round for Lesnar, should win 29-27.
Scores: All three had it 29-27 for Lesanr. Everyone cheered Lesnar.
He said it took him a while to get acclimated, he thanked the fans. He thanked the Armed Forces and told people of all nationalities to stand together.
First round: Tate got a nice reaction, not nearly as big as Silva. Nunes with a low kick.
Tate took he down but Nunes back up. Nunes with punches. Tate went for a takedown, got reversed and Nunes landed a knee. Nunes conneciting with great punches. Nunes is destroying her standing. Nunes pouded away, landed a hard kick. Tate is all busted up. Nunes got her back and landing punches. Nunes got a choke and Tate tapped out. Tate got destroyed here. 3:16
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale: Edgar vs. Mendes from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a big fight in the UFC’s featherweight division as former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar takes on former title challenger Chad Mendes in a bout that could determine the next title challenger at 145 pounds. In the co-main event, it is the finals of this season of “TUF” as Artem Lobov takes on Ryan Hall. Also on the card is a pivotal lightweight bout as Tony Ferguson puts his six-fight win streak on the line against Edson Barboza. Follow along with our live coverage beginning at 8 PM eastern time with the preliminary card bouts before heading to the main card at 10 PM eastern time.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- CHRIS GRUETZEMACHER (12-1, 0-0 UFC) VS. ABNER LLOVERAS (19-7-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hard body kicks back and forth. Lloveras landed a right. Chris moved in and went for an elbow. Chris moved into the clinch. Knee by Lloveras. Hard body kick by Lloveras. Another hard body kick by Lloveras. Body kick by Lloveras. Chris landed punches and a low kick. Another hard body kick by Lloveras. They traded knees. Takedown by Lloveras. Chris up. Lloveras has him back down. Lloveras 10-9.
Second round: Trading kicks. Chris landed some punches a low kick and more punches. Lloveras got behind him working for a choke but Chris shook him off. Chris is bleeding from the mouth. Low kick by Chris. Lloveras with a right. Low kick by Lloveras. Lloveas with a hard snapping body kick. Close round. Lloveras 20-18.
Third round: Lloveras took him down right away and got his back. Chris got up and slammed him. Chris now throwing more. Body kick by Lloveras. Chris throwing knees to the thigh. Lloveras trying for a takedown and got it. Lloveras landed a right. Chris with a low kick. Loveras back with a low kick. Another close round. Lloveras 30-27.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 for Gruetezmacher. Rounds two and three were close, surprised but not shocked.
First round: Knee by Herrera. Sanchez dancing. High kick by Herrera. Spin kick by Sanchez but Herrera used it to take him down. Herrera 10-9 close.
Second round: Herrera landed a right. Another hard right by Herrera. Nice right by Sanchez. Sanchez with a body shot. Both started opening up. Herrera cut Sanchez near the left eye. Sanches landing a ton of shots. Knees by Herrera. Herrera tried a flying knee but didn’t land. Good uppercut by Sanchez. Herrera dropped him with a left hook and finished him with a few punches on the ground.
WELTERWEIGHTS- RYAN LAFLARE (11-1, 4-1 UFC) VS. MIKE PIERCE (17-6, 9-4 UFC)
First round: Body kick by LaFlare. Another body kick. Right by LaFlare. Pierce with a high kick. Pierce moved in to try a takedown. LaFlare threw a kick and Pierce is trying to take him down after catching the leg. Pierce tried a high kick but LaFlare grabbed the leg and threw him down as the round ended. 10-9 LaFlare.
Second round: LaFlare with a body kick. Another body kick by LaFlare. Low kick by LaFlare. Body kick by LaFlare. Another body kick by LaFlare. Left by LaFlare. Piece moved in for a takedown attempt. LaFlare blocked the takedown. Body kick by LaFlare. LaFlare with a body kick. Pierce landed a right. LaFlare 20-18.
Third round: Pierce with an elbow. Body kick by LaFlare. Pierce landed some punches. Pierce bleeding from the nose. LaFlare landed a left. Another left, almost a Superman punch by LaFlare. Body kick by LaFlare. LaFlare with a body kick. Left by LaFlare while both missed punches. Hard body kick by LaFlare. Pierce unloading with punches and knees. He landed big left. Great finish. Pierce could take this round with the late flurry, but LaFlare dominated most of the round. 30-27 LaFlare.
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for LaFlare. Some loud boos but LaFlare clearly won the fight.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- GABRIEL GONZAGA (16-10, 11-9 UFC) VS. KONSTANTIN EROKHIN (9-2, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Crowd booing as nothing is happening. Gonzaga threw a punch about 2:45 into the round. Then he went for a takedown that was blocked. Right and left by Erokhin. Gonzaga with a body kick . Gonzaga took him down at the end of the round. 10-9 Gonzaga.
Second round: Gonzaga landed a right. Crowd booing again. And nothing is happening again. This is a seriously horrible round. Gonzaga threw a high kick at 3:20. He didn’t land it, though. Body kick by Gonzaga. Gonzaga almost got a takedown. Knee by Gonzaga from close range. 20-18 Gonzaga.
Third round: Gonzaga took him down to start the round. Gonzaga landed punches from the top. Erokhim scrambled up with about 1:40 left in the round. This fight seriously sucks. Crowd booing as nothing is happening again. Crowd booing loud now that the fight is over. 30-27 Gonzaga.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-28 for Gonzaga. Crowd booed he decision. They’d have booed it no matter who won.
MAIN CARD (FS1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JULIAN EROSA (14-2, 0-0 UFC) VS. MARCIN WRZOSEK (10-2, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Already more action than in the last fight. Wrzosek hurt him with a punch. Big right by Wrzosek. They are in a clinch against the fence. Erosa has a guillotine but it‘s not tight. Now Erosa is working for a D’arce choke. He gave up on it. Wrzosek 10-9.
Second round: Wrzosek hurt him with a right which almost spun him around. Elbow by Erosa. Wrzosek with a takedown. Wrzosek with another takedown. Wrzosek 20-18.
Third round: Erosa with a takedown. Erosa with another takedown. Crowd is way behind Erosa. He’s trying a choke but doesn’t have it. Wrzosek landed punches late in the round. Erosa’s round so I’ve got 29-28 for Wrzosek.
Scores: 29-28 Wrzosek 29-28 Erosa 29-28 Erosa. A lot of people booing that decision.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#13) TATSUYA KAWAJIRI (34-8-2, 2-1 UFC) VS. JASON KNIGHT (15-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Takedown by Kawajiri right away. Knight working for a triangle. He’s throwing elbows to Kawajiri’s head. Kawajiri escaped. Kawajiir was using the trunks for a cradle. Kawajiri did enough from the top that Knight is all bloody. Knight has two nice sized cuts, one near left eye and one in the forehead. 10-9 Kawajiri.
Second round: Kawajiri took him right down again. This fight is really boring. Nothing like the Gonzaga fight. But it’s quiet enough here that the most noise is an argument about whether Tyson Fury’s promos are a work. Which, by the way, they are. John McCarthy ordered a stand up. So Kawajiri just took him down again. And he kept him there the entire round. Somebody let Crusher know there isn’t a worst fight bonus. 20-18 Kawajiri.
Third round: Spin kick to the body by Kawajiri Another kick to the body. Knight tried a kick and Kawajiri used it to take him down. Another takedown by Kawajiri. John McCarthy had enough and ordered a standup. They traded punches and Kawajri got him down again. Kawajiri 30-27. No other score possible.
Scores: All three have it 30-27 for Kawajiri
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOE LAUZON (25-10, 12-7 UFC) VS. EVAN DUNHAM (16-6, 9-6 UFC)
First round: Dunham landed several punches. Lauzon landed a nice left. Dunham landing all kinds of punches including a good uppercut. Now Lauzon back. Trading knees. Crowd is super dead though. Lauzon almost got a takedown. Dunham took him down as the round ended. 10-9 Dunham.
Second round: Dunham with a body kick. Nice low kick by Lauzon. Front kck by Dunham but Lauzon back with a punch. Dunham with punches and knees. Dunahm bleeding from the right eye. Dunham 20-18.
Third round: Dunham in with punches. Punches and low kicks by Dunham. Dunham with a body kick and punches. Nice right by Dunham. More punches by Dunham. More punches and finishing with a low kick by Dunham. Punches and a high kick by Dunham. This was a very different Lauzon tonight. Sad to see. 30-27 Dunham, has to be that score.
Scores: 30-26, 30-27 and 30-26 for Dunham
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#6) EDSON BARBOZA (16-3, 10-3 UFC) VS. (#7) TONY FERGUSON (19-3, 9-1 UFC)
First round: Both out fast. Barboza landing. Ferguson dove in looking for a heel hook. Both guys on the ground throwing punches. Ferguson kicked him hard in the head on the ground which is so illegal. John McCarthy is pissed. McCarthy called in the doctor. He said Barboza was okay. McCarthy took a point away from Ferguson. He really had to. Both trading punches. Hard kick by Barboza. Nice body shot by Ferguson. Had left by Barboza. Ferguson dove in again looking for something. Barboza with a takedown off a kick. Barboza nailed him with a punch and spin kick. Ferguson landed a big shot. Ferguson again diving for an ankle. Spin kick to the body by Barboza. Hard kick by Barboza. Spin kick to the calf by Barboza. Huge ovation for both. More action than the rest of the show put together. 10-8 Barboza due to the foul point.
Second round: Barboza landed a right. Hard kick by Barboza. Trading low kicks. Hard right by Barboza. Ferguson bleeding from the left eye. Barboza bleeding form the right eye. Barboza took him down with a leg sweep. Barboza bleeding like crazy. Barboza missed a crazy spin kick. Ferguson with a side kick. Barboza went for a takedown. Ferguson sprawled and is working on a D’arce choke and Barboza tapped. Super fight. 2:54
TUF 22 LIGHTWEIGHT FINALS- ARTEM LOBOV (11-10-1 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) VS. RYAN HALL (4-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hall immediately going for a leglock. He moved to a choke. But he didn’t have it. Crowd went crazy at Lobov getting out of it. USA chants. Hall has him in a body triangle. Loud USA chant. He’s back to looking for the choke. Hall 10-9.
Second round: Lobov dropped him with a punch. Hall went low for a leglock but Lobov got away. Hall pulled guard. Hall went for a leg lock but Lobov got up. Hall tried to get him down again. Hall shot in but Lobov is on top. Hall again going for a leglock. It will be interesting how this round is scored. Hall was on his back, but except or he early punch, he had the key offense. 20-18 Hall.
Third round: Hall dropped and looking for a leglock again. He’s also punching form his back. Loov go away. Hall took him down. Hall pulled him down. Lobov up and Hall jumped on his back. He locked him up in a body triangle. Hall is staying behind him in the piggy back position. Hall 30-27.
Scores: 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26 for Hall
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#2) FRANKIE EDGAR (19-4-1, 13-4-1 UFC) VS. (#3) CHAD MENDES (17-3, 8-3 UFC)
First round: Mendes is smaller then before. Hard low kick by Mendes. Edgar landed a right. Hard low kick by Mendes. Uppercut by Mendes. Edgar with a combo. Another hard low kick by Mendes. Both swinging. Edgar dropped him with a left hook and Mendes face planted and it’s over.
It is night number two of UFC action in the biggest UFC fight week in history in Las Vegas. Friday night brings the next edition of the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter”. It will be The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale taking place at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire card will air on FS1 as preliminary card action takes place at 8 PM eastern time leading into the main card at 10 PM eastern time.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the featherweight division in what could be the fight of the weekend as former UFC Lightweight Champion and former featherweight title challenger Frankie Edgar takes on former title challenger Chad Mendes. In the finals of TUF 22, it will be Team McGregor’s Artem Lobov taking on Team Faber’s Ryan Hall. Also on the card is an elite lightweight bout as Edson Barboza looks for his second straight win when he takes on Tony Ferguson, winner of six straight fights. Let’s take a closer look at the action and bring you five storylines to keep an eye on during The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale on Friday night.
1. Will Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes have the best fight of the week?
The main event of The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale is a featherweight bout that could end up being the best fight of the weekend when former featherweight title challengers Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes meet in a high-level contest that could produce the next title challenger. Edgar is a former champion at 155 pounds who has moved down to 145 pounds. He has fought for the title once at featherweight, dropping a decision to Jose Aldo, but he has since won four straight fights. Mendes has fought for the gold three times, coming up short each time. He has two losses to Aldo, one by knockout and one by decision in one of the best fights of 2014, and a loss in an interim title fight to Conor McGregor at UFC 189 in July. These two are clearly two of the top four fighters in the division alongside Aldo and McGregor, and this is a fight that fans have been looking forward to happening ever since Edgar made the move down.
We have two very similar fighters as both have excellent wrestling credentials and solid striking abilities. Mendes is a better pure wrestler though Edgar may have the better wrestling MMA-wise. Both men are explosive with takedowns. When it comes to the striking, Edgar has some of the best pure boxing in the sport. Mendes is a power puncher and his striking got better while Duane Ludwig was coaching Team Alpha Male. He has better movement on his feet than in the past, but Edgar’s footwork is elite. Edgar has underrated power in his hands, and his kicks are fast and clean. The biggest thing Edgar does is he can leave himself open just enough to get hit, and if Mendes lands a clean right hand, we could see Edgar go into retreat mode like he did in his fights against Gray Maynard.
The thing about those bouts with Maynard was that it showed Edgar come overcome adversity in a fight. Mendes may be the featherweight Maynard to Edgar. Mendes will likely be the one to initiate the takedowns but getting Edgar down will be challenging, and keeping him there will be tougher. Both men have the conditioning to go 25 minutes and have, but Edgar’s gas tank is on another level in MMA. He is arguably the best conditioned fighter in the sport. That may be the key in this bout. Mendes has solid conditioning, barring taking the McGregor fight on short notice, but he likely won’t be able to match Edgar’s pace. That will be the difference maker in a fight that likely goes the distance. I see Edgar winning a very close decision based on winning the latter rounds.
2. Who takes the crown of this season’s “The Ultimate Fighter”?
The most recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter” had a good dynamic between the coaches, Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber, that carried out through the season. The fights on the show were solid battles, and it led to an interesting final. It will be Artem Lobov and Ryan Hall squaring off for the six-figure contract, and it will be the first time that two fighters who were eliminated at one point during the show meet in the finals. Lobov was eliminated in the fights to get into the house, but was selected by McGregor to return to the show in a new wrinkle put forth by Dana White this year. Hall replaces Saul Rogers, the man who eliminated him from the show en route to the finals. Rogers was unable to secure a visa to come to the US to compete in the finals.
It leads to an interesting fight between Lobov and Hall. Hall has excellent grappling credentials and is 4-1 since making the transition to MMA in 2012. Lobov has a spotty record at 11-10-1 with 1 no contest, and he is the main training partner to McGregor. He won his three bouts by knockout after returning to the competition, so he did earn his spot here. He has knockout power and underrated submissions. Hall is a legitmate prospect coming off the show whereas Lobov may not have much to offer in the UFC outside of being someone to put on a card in Ireland. We know Hall will be looking to take the fight down to the mat so it is up to Lobov to show he can keep the fight upright. Lobov has to try to land the big punches, but I see Hall’s grappling being too much for him.
3. Can Tony Ferguson make it seven straight wins against Edson Barboza?
Tony Ferguson is flying under the radar in the UFC’s lightweight division, but he has amassed a six-fight win streak heading into Friday night’s bout against Edson Barboza. Ferguson was originally scheduled to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at this event, but another injury kept Nurmagomedov from returning to action. Barboza is a high-level replacement who is creeping up on top five status himself. Ferguson is right behind him and looking to leap frog Barboza with a win. Ferguson has posted wins over the likes of Josh Thomson, Gleison Tibau, Abel Trujillo and Danny Castillo during his win streak, and four of those six wins have come by stoppage. Ferguson may be the most underrated “TUF” winner of all-time as he has gone 9-1 in his UFC career. Barboza is 10-3 in his UFC career but remains just on the cusp of title contention after an impressive win over Paul Felder in his last bout.
For all of the great fights going on this weekend, this match-up is one of the best. Barboza has amazing kickboxing skills and great takedown defense. Ferguson is very creative on his feet and is a pressure fighter. He is the type of opponent that Barboza has had trouble with in the past. He also outputs a lot of volume and isn’t afraid to get inside the range of an opponent. Barboza is flashy and will come out with spinning kicks and he doesn’t get hit a lot. Ferguson may look to utilize a clinch and wrestling game to keep Barboza from unleashing his striking. Ferguson can be suffocating and is solid with his submission game. Ferguson is also a pace setter and that is going to make the difference in this fight. Barboza isn’t neccessarily a fighter who will push the pace, and that will allow Ferguson to control the action in the fight. It should be a great fight, but Ferguson has the tools to take home a decisive decision win.
4. Will Joe Lauzon add another bonus to his UFC record?
Joe Lauzon is the UFC bonus king as he has won thirteen post-fight bonus awards during his UFC career, with six “Fight Of The Night”, six “Submission Of The Night” and one “Knockout Of The Night” awards. He will be looking to add to that on Friday night when he takes on Evan Dunham, a man who is also familiar with post-fight bonus awards, having won four during his career. They enter the fight in an interesting position in their careers as both have been firmly established as lightweight gatekeepers. Each were on the cusp of entering the title picture before setbacks have knocked them out of the rankings, but they both will be employed for a long time due to their ability to put on the best fight on any card they are featured on. Both men can still deliver great winning performances as well.
Lauzon is an aggressive fighter who looks to put his opponent on the mat so he can start showing off his high-level submission game. Dunham is an excellent wrestler and he is difficult to put on the mat. Dunham has high-level striking with a lot of output and he is a grinding fighter in the clinch. Lauzon will likely have trouble taking Dunham to the ground, but if it goes down, Lauzon has excellent transitions on the mat. He has some vicious ground-and-pound that he uses to set up the submissions as 17 of his 25 wins have come by submission. Dunham showed real improvement in his recent win over Ross Pearson with his striking and overall game. If he continues to show that, he has the clear path to winning on the feet. It will likely be a close fight but one that should lead to Dunham winning. With this match-up, win or lose, Lauzon has a very good chance at adding to his bonus record.
5. What else is there to look out for on the card?
Outside of three solid match-ups, this middle event of the three-fight week is likely the weakest of the three events. It’s main event keeps this event from being dismissed and there are some showcase bouts to keep an eye on. Tatsuya Kawajiri looks to add another win to his record when he takes on Jason Knight. Knight is a late replacement for Mirsad Bektic, and while he sports a 15-1 record, he has never fought a fighter like Kawajiri. This is Kawajiri’s fight to lose. Another fight that was changed on short notice is a flyweight bout between Joby Sanchez and Geane Herrera. Herrera is a replacement for Justin Scoggins. Neither man may be truly UFC ready at this stage, but Sanchez is more ready than Herrera and should take the win here.
In a welterweight bout, Ryan LaFlare will be looking to rebound from his first career loss when he takes on Mike Pierce. Pierce has been out of action since a submission loss to Rousimar Palhares in October 2013. It was that fight that led to Palhares getting cut from the UFC as he kept holding onto Pierce’s leg for too long after Pierce tapped, and the UFC had enough with his antics. Pierce suffered knee and ankle injuries due to that, but a broken hand was what has kept him out of action for 26 months. He had won four straight prior to the loss to Palhares. Also on the preliminary card is a heavyweight bout between former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga and Konstantin Erokhin. Gonzaga has lost three straight fights and could be fighting for his UFC career while Erokhin is looking to rebound from a loss in his UFC debut.
Full The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (FS1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
Featherweights: (#2) Frankie Edgar vs. (#3) Chad Mendes Betting Odds: Edgar (-130), Mendes (+110) Prediction: Edgar by decision
TUF 22 Lightweight Finals: Artem Lobov vs. Ryan Hall Betting Odds: Lobov (-175), Hall (+145) Prediction: Hall by submission in round 2
Lightweights: (#6) Edson Barboza vs. (#7) Tony Ferguson Betting Odds: Barboza (+175), Ferguson (-190) Prediction: Ferguson by decision
Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Evan Dunham Betting Odds: Lauzon (+170), Dunham (-200) Prediction: Dunham by decision
Featherweights: (#13) Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Jason Knight Betting Odds: Kawajiri (-240), Knight (+220) Prediction: Kawajiri by submission in round 1
Lightweights: Julian Erosa vs. Marcin Wrzosek Betting Odds: Erosa (-140), Wrzosek (+110) Prediction: Erosa by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Heavyweights: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Konstantin Erokhin Betting Odds: Gonzaga (-105), Erokhin (-105) Prediction: Erokhin by knockout in round 1
Welterweights: Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce Betting Odds: LaFlare (-225), Pierce (+205) Prediction: LaFlare by decision
Flyweights: Joby Sanchez vs. Geane Herrera Betting Odds: Sanchez (-110), Herrera (-110) Prediction: Sanchez by decision
Lightweights: Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Abner Lloveras Betting Odds: Gruetzemacher (-185), Lloveras (+155) Prediction: Gruetzemacher by decision
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale: Edgar vs. Mendes weigh-ins from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Friday on FS1 at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. This continues the biggest week in UFC history in Las Vegas and the conclusion of the 22nd US version of the reality show.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC featherweight division as former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar takes on former title challenger Chad Mendes in a highly anticipated bout that could determine the next challenger. The event also features the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 22 as Artem Lobov takes on replacement Ryan Hall, who fills in for Saul Rogers, who was forced out due to visa issues. Also on the card is a pivotal bout in the lightweight division as Edson Barboza takes on Tony Ferguson, winner of six straight fights.
MAIN CARD (FS1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Frankie Edgar (145.5) vs. Chad Mendes (146) Artem Lobov (155) vs. Ryan Hall (155) – TUF 22 Lightweight Finale Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Tony Ferguson (156) Joe Lauzon (155.5) vs. Evan Dunham (156) Tatsuya Kawajiri (146) vs. Jason Knight (145) Julian Erosa (155) vs. Marcin Wrzosek (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Gabriel Gonzaga (263) vs. Konstantin Erokhin (230) Ryan LaFlare (171) vs. Mike Pierce (170.5) Joby Sanchez (126) vs. Geane Herrera (125) Chris Gruetzemacher (156) vs. Abner Lloveras (155)
*No one had any issues making weight and everything was very cordial when it came to the staredowns.
