Tag: henry cejudo

UFC on ESPN+ 110 live results: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

The Octagon is back in Seattle for the first time in over a decade as UFC on ESPN+ 110 takes place inside the Climate Pledge Arena.

In the main event, former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo looks to get back into the title picture when he squares off against Song Yadong. Both men are coming off layoffs of around a year as Cejudo is coming off a loss to Merab Dvalishvili last February while Song is returning from a loss at the hands of Petr Yan last March.

In the co-main event, it’s a battle of middleweight contenders looking to get into the title picture as Brendan Allen, coming off a loss, against Anthony Hernandez, winner of six straight.

Also on the main card is a catchweight bout between Rob Font and undefeated Jean Matsumoto; a featherweight bout between Jean Silva and Melsik Baghdasaryan; and a light heavyweight bout pitting Alonzo Menifield against the debuting Julius Walker.

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT

> Light Heavyweights- Modestas Bukauskas (16-6, 4-4 UFC) vs. Rafael Cerqueira (11-1, 0-1 UFC)

Bukauskas lands a left hook to the body and they trade punches. Cerqueira with a leg kick but then eats a combo from Bukauskas. Cerqueira lands a heavy inside leg kick. Cerqueira lands a body kick. Bukauskas with a calf kick. Bukauskas lands a one-two combination. Cerqueira connects with a straight right hand. He lands another. He lands with one again. Bukauskas wobbles Cerqueira with some big punches and then drops him with a right hand and Cerqueira is out and done! What a finish from Bukauskas!

Official Result- Modestas Bukauskas def. Rafael Cerqueira by knockout (punches) at 2:12 of Round 1

> Middleweights- Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2, 2-1 UFC) vs. Eric McConico (9-2-1, 0-0 UFC)

McConico lands a leg kick. They’re feeling each other out with no action happening. Ruziboev misses with a right hand. Ruziboev connects as McConico was throwing a kick, and Ruziboev also lands a knee. Ruziboev with a short leg kick. Ruziboev lands and then forces McConico to the fence in a clinch. Not much happens before they separate. Ruziboev lands a right hand and then another. He lands another and then another right hand. Ruziboev with a body kick. 10-9 Ruziboev.

They’re trading punches to start the second. Ruziboev lands and then lands and McConico falls to the mat. Ruziboev starts taking advantage and is teeing off as McConico stands and Ruziboev keeps landing as he is swarming on McConico. McConico goes down again and it is all over! What a finish from Ruziboev!

Official Result- Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico by TKO (punches) at :33 of Round 2

> 175-pound Catchweights- Nikolay Veretennikov (12-5, 0-1 UFC) vs. Austin Vanderford (12-2, 0-0 UFC)

Veretennikov with a pair of inside leg kicks. They trade jabs. Veretennikov lands a right hand as Vanderford lands a leg kick. Vanderford scores a takedown. They trade punches on the mat as Vanderford is inside the guard. Vanderford landing punches and elbows from the top and Veretennikov is cut open. Vanderford controlling from the top. Vanderford attacking for the arm-triangle choke but Veretennikov gets out. He attacks it again but ends up on the back but has it locked back in tight. Veretennikov is fighting it. Vanderford lets go as he gets back to mount. 10-9 Vanderford.

Veretennikov with an inside leg kick. Vanderford lands a kick. Veretennikov connects and Vanderford looks for a takedown as he has the back against the fence. Vanderford scores the takedown and lands from the top. Vanderford landing elbows from the top and goes back to landing left hands. Vanderford landing to the body from the top and goes back to landing to the head. Vanderford landing lots of punches as Veretennikov is having trouble defending and it is stopped. Vanderford with a dominant win in his debut.

Official Result- Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov by TKO (punches) at 4:13 of Round 2

> Bantamweights- Ricky Simon (20-6, 8-5 UFC) vs. Javid Basharat (14-1 1 NC, 3-1 1 NC UFC)

Basharat lands a jab. Simon grabs the back and gets a big takedown but Basharat explodes to his feet. Simon still has control but they break apart. They trade punches. Simon with a leg kick and shoots for a takedown but Basharat defends as they go to the fence. They trade left hands. Simon looks for a takedown as he pushes it to the fence but they quickly separate. Basharat lands a counter left hand and then a body kick. Basharat lands to the body. Simon with a jab. Simon then lands a big right hand and Basharat goes down out cold. An absolutely brutal knockout by Simon to pick up the win.

Official Result- Ricky Simon def. Javid Basharat by knockout (punch) at 3:58 of Round 1

> Middleweights- Mansur Abdul-Malik (7-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Nick Klein (6-1, 0-0 UFC)

Klein with an inside leg kick. He shoots for a takedown but Abdul-Malik defends and they stand. Abdul-Malik pushing the action around as Klein lands a couple of short leg kicks. Klein looks for the leg but lets go. Abdul-Malik lands a pair of jabs. Klein lands a spinning elbow and Abdul-Malik is hurt. Klein rushes in and scores a takedown. They scramble up and Klein lands some left hands. Klein has back control. Klein with some short knees. Klein trying to get it down but Abdul-Malik is keeping it upright. Klein with some punches to the thighs of Abdul-Malik. They separate. 10-9 Klein.

They trade and Klein looks for a takedown against the fence. Klein still working for the takedown against the fence but they separate. Abdul-Malik lands a jab. Klein with a pair of inside leg kicks. Abdul-Malik lands as Klein is still looking for a takedown. Abdul-Malik lands and throws Klein to the mat. Abdul-Malik teeing off with tons of punches and he connects with the jaw and is continuing to swarm with punches. Abdul-Malik with big punches and a knee and continues to land until it is stopped. Big finish by Abdul-Malik to pick up the win.

Official Result- Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein by TKO (strikes) at 3:24 of Round 2

> Featherweights- Andre Fili (24-11 1 NC, 12-10 1 NC UFC) vs. Melquizael Costa (21-7, 2-2 UFC)

Costa with a body kick. He lands another. Costa with some leg kicks as Fili is trying to work the jab. Costa lands a left hand and then a body kick. They trade high kicks. Fili gets the better of a quick exchange. Costa with a quick combo and then a pair of body kicks. Costa lands a left hand. Costa with a body kick. Costa with a body kick and Fili just misses a head kick. They trade head kicks. They trade body kicks. Fili scores a takedown. Costa is attacking for a guillotine choke. It is in tight and Fili taps! A finish out of nowhere from Costa.

Official Result- Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:30 of Round 1

> Light Heavyweights- Ion Cutelaba (18-10-1 1 NC, 7-9-1 UFC) vs. Ibo Aslan (14-1, 2-0 UFC)

Cutelaba with some front kicks to the body. They both swing and miss and then connect simultaneously on some leg kicks. Aslan rocks Cutelaba with a counter right hand and Cutelaba was covering up. They trade big punches in the pocket. Cutelaba shoots for a takedown but Aslan defends. Cutelaba with a right hand. Aslan lands an uppercut. Cutelaba has the back and drags it down. They get up and separate. Cutelaba lands a right hand and Aslan briefly goes down. Cutelaba gets a slam takedown into side control. Cutelaba gets the back but moves back to mount and has the arm-triangle locked in and Aslan taps! What a finish from Cutelaba!

Official Result- Ion Cutelaba def. Ibo Aslan by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:51 of Round 1

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> Light Heavyweights- #15 Alonzo Menifield (15-5-1, 8-5-1 UFC) vs. Julius Walker (6-0, 0-0 UFC)

Walker immediately pushes Menifield against the fence. Walker lands a pair of knees to the body against the fence. They separate and Walker hurts Menifield with a punch and they clinch back up against the fence. They break apart. Walker slips on a kick and Menifield almost clinches but backs away. Walker shoots for a takedown against the fence. Walker lands an elbow and Menifield lands a hard left hand. Walker tries for a takedown against the fence. They separate and Menifield lands a few big punches. Menifield lands a right hand as Walker lands an elbow. Menifield with an uppercut and lands a right hand. Walker lands a big knee but Menifield connects with a big left hand. Menifield landing shots. Menifield grabs the body. Walker lands a knee. Walker lands a head kick and Menifield connects late. 10-9 Walker.

Menifield lands a right hand and then the jab as Walker connects. Walker lands a right hand and shoots for a takedown. Walker has the body lock. Walker with some knees. They separate and Walker lands a leg kick and goes back for the takedown. Walker with a knee and an uppercut and they trade against the fence. They break to the middle. They trade left hands. Walker lands a left hand and they clinch again. Walker backs away and lands a jab. Menifield lands a combo. Walker with a leg kick as Menifield lands a jab. Menifield lands a right hand. Menifield lands a leg kick and then another. Menifield lands a combination. Menifield lands a big right hand. Walker gets a late takedown but Menifield pops right up as he lands a pair of elbows. 10-9 Menifield, 19-19.

Walker lands a left hook. They trade big shots inside the pocket. They trade and Walker lands a groin strike and timeout is called. They get back to action. Menifield lands a right hand. Menifield with a combination. Walker with an inside leg kick then lands two body kicks. Menifield with an uppercut and Walker looks for a takedown against the fence. Walker is trying hard to get it down. Walker with some knees. They separate as Menifield lands a jab. They trade as Walker lands a knee and Menifield lands over the top. Menifield lands a big combination. Menifield landing more late. Close fight. 10-9 Menifield, 29-28 Menifield.

Official Result- Alonzo Menifield def. Julius Walker by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

> Featherweights- Jean Silva (14-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2, 3-1 UFC)

Silva lands a body kick. Silva with a head kick that Baghdasaryan is barely able to block. Silva with a body kick as Baghdasaryan lands a right hook. They both land right hands at the same time. Silva lands a body kick. Silva lands a left hand. They trade punches. Baghdasaryan with a high kick. Baghdasaryan slaps Silva and Silva starts taunting him. Silva drops Baghdasaryan with a right hand and starts teeing off with shots from the top and it is all over! What a finish from Silva!

Official Result- Jean Silva def. Melsik Baghdasaryan by TKO (strikes) at 4:15 of Round 1

> 140-pound Catchweights- #9 BW Rob Font (21-8, 11-7 UFC) vs. Jean Matsumoto (16-0, 2-0 UFC)

Font lands a combo and then they are trading against the fence right away and Matsumoto looks for a takedown. Both are battling for position against the fence. Matsumoto still working to get it down as Font is defending. They separate and Font lands a combination. Font with a nice right hand. Matsumoto lands a right hand and Font is backing up. Matsumoto is able to score a takedown. Font is attacking the arm looking for a kimura from the bottom. Font tries to scramble up but Matsumoto grabs the neck to keep Font down. Font gets his neck out but Matsumoto stays on top. Matsumoto with some right hands and they stand. Matsumoto with a big slam takedown. 10-9 Matsumoto.

Matsumoto with some leg kicks early as Font lands a combination. Matsumoto shoots for a takedown and Font grabs the neck for a guillotine choke, but Matsumoto pops his head out. Matsumoto controls from the top but they scramble up. Matsumoto with a pair of leg kicks. Font lands to the body. Font working the jab as Matsumoto lands some kicks. Font with a big combo to the body. Matsumoto with a head kick. Font lands a right hand and then another. Matsumoto gets a takedown but Font gets right up, though Matsumoto takes it right back down. They get up. Matsumoto gets another big slam takedown. Font attacking the arm as Matsumoto is in side control. They scramble up and separate. Font lands a right hand. They trade against the fence. Matsumoto with a head kick. 10-9 Matsumoto, 20-18 Matsumoto.

Font lands a right hand. Matsumoto with a high kick. Matsumoto lands a leg kick and then another. Matsumoto lands an uppercut then a leg kick and a head kick. Matsumoto with a leg kick. Font lands a looping right hand. Font lands and Matsumoto is cut open. Matsumoto pushes it to the fence and Font lands a knee. Matsumoto with an elbow as they break. They trade and Font pushes it against the fence and lands as he separates. Font with an uppercut. Matsumoto with a pair of leg kicks. Font with a combination. Font lands an elbow in the clinch. Font with a knee as he’s controlling the clinch and having nonstop output. Font lands against the fence. They scramble down but pop right up and Font lands against the fence before they separate. Font with a combo. They are trading late and Font lands a big right hand. What a fight. 10-9 Font, 29-28 Matsumoto.

Official Result- Rob Font def. Jean Matsumoto by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> Middleweights- #9 Brendan Allen (24-6, 12-3 UFC) vs. #12 Anthony Hernandez (13-2 1 NC, 7-2 UFC)

Allen with some leg kicks early. Allen lands a right hand. Allen lands a head kick and jumps on the back as they scramble to the mat and Hernandez is inside the guard of Allen. They scramble and Hernandez has the back of Allen. They get to their feet. Hernandez gets it down and is in side control and lands a pair of elbows. Hernandez gets the back and looks to roll for a guillotine but keeps back control. Allen is able to roll to side control and lands some elbows. He’s looking to set up an arm-triangle but Hernandez gets out of it. Allen looks for a kimura but lets go and has the back of Hernandez. Allen landing right hands from the back. Allen almost had a choke locked in but Hernandez was able to slip out. Allen with two big elbows from the top. 10-9 Allen.

Hernandez gets it down early and is working for a guillotine choke. Allen pops his head out. Hernandez working from the top and almost had another choke locked in. Allen with a back elbow as Hernandez has his back. They almost scramble up as Hernandez sprawls. Hernandez with a knee to the body from side control. Allen gives up his back. Allen is able to reverse and now has the back of Hernandez. Allen looks for a choke but gets the mount. Hernandez stands with Allen on his back, but he is able to shake Allen off and Hernandez is back on top. Hernandez lands from the back. Hernandez lands elbows from the top. Hernandez lands to end the round. 10-9 Hernandez, 19-19.

Hernandez lands a right hand and timeout is called as Allen may have been poked in the eye. It was a knuckle and they continue. Allen hurts Hernandez with a right hand. Hernandez looks for a takedown and Allen grabs the neck and rolls and they scramble up. Hernandez with a double jab. Hernandez ducks under and grabs the back against the fence. Hernandez dragging it down and they scramble up and Hernandez keeps back control. Hernandez with some knees. Hernandez attacks the neck. Hernandez with a knee. Hernandez still has back control as Allen is doing nothing to escape. Hernandez looks for a choke but Allen fights it off. Allen slips off and is on top for a moment but Hernandez scrambles to the top and starts landing. 10-9 Hernandez, 29-28 Hernandez.

Official Result- Anthony Hernandez def. Brendan Allen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Bantamweights- #7 Henry Cejudo (16-4, 10-4 UFC) vs. #8 Song Yadong (21-8-1 1 NC, 10-3-1 UFC)

Song with a leg kick. He lands another and Cejudo backs Song up with some punches thrown. Song with another leg kick. Cejudo lands a body kick. Cejudo lands a leg kick. Song with a jab to the body and a leg kick. Cejudo lands a leg kick. Song lands a right hand and a leg kick. Song lands a leg kick and Cejudo lands a left hook as he rushes in. Cejudo with two leg kicks. He lands another. Cejudo looks for a takedown but Song shakes it off. Cejudo lands a right hand. Cejudo with a body kick and Song lands a combination. They trade. 10-9 Song.

Cejudo with some leg kicks. Cejudo lands as he comes forward and Song lands some counter punches. Song with a leg kick. Cejudo lands a leg kick and then another. Song with a double jab. Song lands a right hand. Song mixes to the head and body. Song lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. They trade punches then trade leg kicks again. Song lands a leg kick. Song with an inside leg kick. Song with a body kick and he slips, which allows Cejudo to land a combo. Cejudo lands a stiff jab that stuns Song for a moment. Song with a pair of body kicks. They trade inside the pocket. Cejudo lands a right hand and then another. Song lands an uppercut. Song with a hard left hook, but Cejudo fires back with a stiff combo. 10-9 Song, 20-18 Song.

Song lands to the body. Cejudo lands a left hand and then lands another. They both land inside the pocket. Song lands a combination. Cejudo works the jab. They trade in close range. Cejudo lands a left hand. Song with a body kick. They trade and Song lands a kick below the belt and timeout is called. They get back going and trade inside the pocket. Cejudo lands a stiff jab and a left hand. Song with a big knee but Cejudo did block it. They trade. Song with a leg kick. Cejudo with a solid right hand. Timeout is called again as Cejudo was poked in the eye by Song. Cejudo took the full five minutes to recover and they get back to action. Song lands a right hand. Song with a left hand to the body. Song with a body kick. 10-9 Song, 30-27 Song.

Cejudo is saying he can’t see and the doctor comes in. It’s now an official fight and if it gets stopped, they go to the scorecards. They’re going to start the fourth and immediately stop it and go to the scorecards since Cejudo can’t continue.

Official Result- Song Yadong def. Henry Cejudo by technical unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

UFC 298 live results: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria featherweight title bout

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

The Octagon returns to Southern California for UFC 298 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California — a venue the company is guaranteed to return to multiple times over the next four years.

In the highly anticipated main event, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski looks to continue his long reign at the top of the division as he defends against Ilia Topuria. This will be Volkanovski’s sixth title defense as he looks to remain undefeated as a featherweight while Topuria enters his first title shot undefeated overall in his career with 14 straight wins.

The co-main event is a big one at middleweight as former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker takes on Paulo Costa. Also on the main card: Geoff Neal takes on undefeated Ian Garry in another important welterweight matchup; Merab Dvalishvili takes on former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo in a potential bantamweight title eliminator; and Anthony Hernandez battles Roman Kopylov in a middleweight bout.

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> Women’s Flyweights- #15 Andrea Lee (13-8, 5-6 UFC) vs. Miranda Maverick (12-5, 5-3 UFC)

Maverick lands a leg kick. She lands another. Maverick initiates a clinch off a left hand and is looking for the takedown. They go to the mat and Lee is able to get into side control. Maverick scrambles to her feet and Lee has the back and gets a big takedown. They get to their feet and Lee still has the back. She lands an elbow and they break. Maverick lands a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Maverick lands a left hand to the body as Lee lands a body kick. Maverick with a pair of left hands. Maverick lands an overhand left. Maverick lands a combo as Lee lands a body kick. Maverick with a body kick. They trade leg kicks. Maverick looks for a takedown and Lee has the neck. Maverick gets the takedown and lands some from the top, ending the round there. Close round. 10-9 Maverick.

They trade as Maverick lands a body kick. Lee returns with a body kick. Lee with another body kick. Maverick fakes a left hand and shoots for a takedown against the fence. Maverick gets it to the mat and lands from the half-guard. Lee gets Maverick into her full guard. Lee is able to escape to her feet. Maverick lands a left hand then a high kick. Maverick lands a leg kick. Maverick lands a left hook. Maverick lands the jab then a left hand. Maverick lands a pair of leg kicks. Lee gets a brief takedown as Maverick reverses it and lands from the top to end the round. 10-9 Maverick, 20-18 Maverick.

Maverick lands a step-in elbow then a big body kick. Maverick lands a combo ending with a leg kick. They trade and Maverick lands a body kick. They tie up for a moment and Maverick lands as they break. They trade in close range. Lee lands a body kick. Maverick pressing forward and finding a home with the left hand. Maverick shoots for a takedown and lands a combo as they break. Maverick lands a head kick then a big body kick. Maverick gets a takedown. Lee has a high guard but Maverick is defending from the top. Lee is looking for a triangle choke and is landing elbows. Lee lands some punches as time expires. 10-9 Lee, 29-28 Maverick.

Official Result- Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

> Welterweights- Oban Elliott (9-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Val Woodburn (7-1, 0-1 UFC)

Elliott lands a leg kick as Woodburn closes the distance. They clinch and Elliott lands an elbow then a knee to the body as they break. Elliott lands a head kick but then Woodburn rocks him with a flurry. Elliott goes to the mat for a moment but gets up and Woodburn keeps landing. Elliott is able to get a takedown. Elliott gets the back and flattens Woodburn out. Elliott lands some punches. Elliott still on the back landing punches as he’s trying to set up a choke. Elliott with more punches. Elliott now gets the mount and lands some big punches. Woodburn gives up his back and Elliott flattens him out and lands. They make it to the end of the round. 10-9 Elliott.

Woodburn lands a body kick. Elliott lands a right hand and they trade wild punches inside the pocket. Elliott with some body kicks as he’s pressuring. Woodburn lands a body kick. Elliott with a body kick and Woodburn lands a right hand. Woodburn gets the back of Elliott on the feet. Elliott gets a takedown and has the back of Woodburn. Elliott with some punches from the back. Elliott ends the round on the back. 10-9 Elliott, 20-18 Elliott.

They clinch up but quickly separate. Elliott lands a jab then a right hand. Elliott with some more jabs. Elliott lands a combo. Woodburn lands a right hand. Elliott shoots for a takedown and Woodburn sprawls, but Elliott is able to complete the takedown. Elliott is able to work his way to the full mount. Elliott with some punches and a couple of elbows from the top. Woodburn is able to escape and has the back as they stand. Woodburn is trying to get it down but he needs a finish. They separate and trade at the end. 10-9 Elliott, 30-27 Elliott.

Official Result- Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

> Welterweights- Josh Quinlan (6-1 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) vs. Danny Barlow (7-0, 0-0 UFC)

Barlow lands a left hand. They trade big punches. Barlow pawing with the jab. Quinlan lands a body kick. Barlow lands a leg kick then a body kick. Quinlan lands a body kick. Barlow with a double jab and follows it with a straight left hand. Barlow lands a right hand. Quinlan lands a nice left hand then a right hand. Barlow lands a left hand. Quinlan with a leg kick. We have a timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and Quinlan lands a right hand. Barlow lands a left hand. Barlow lands late. 10-9 Barlow.

Quinlan comes forward and lands a right hook. Barlow lands a combo and they exchange body kicks. Barlow with a body kick then Quinlan lands a leg kick. Quinlan lands a left hand. Barlow with a double jab. Barlow landing with more volume in close range. Barlow lands a left hand then a jumping knee. Barlow with a left hand. We have a timeout for a groin strike. They get back to action. Barlow lands a nice combination and follows it with another left hand. Quinlan shoots for the takedown but Barlow stuffs it. Barlow lands another jumping knee. Barlow lands a big left hand. 10-9 Barlow, 20-18 Barlow.

Quinlan lands a body kick. Barlow with a left hand then a body kick. Barlow with another flying knee. Quinlan lands a right hook. Quinlan lands a combo but then Barlow drops him with a left hand and lands big hammerfists. Quinlan gets to his feet and stumbles down and Barlow lands. Quinlan goes down again but gets up and Barlow lands more punches and it is stopped. What a finish from Barlow!

Official Result- Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan by TKO (punches) at 1:18 of Round 3

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> Light Heavyweights- Zhang Mingyang (16-6, 0-0 UFC) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (15-5, 0-0 UFC)

Mingyang with a leg kick to start. Mingyang with a big body kick. Ribeiro lands a stiff jab then follows with a big right hand. Ribeiro with a hard jab. They trade big shots in the pocket. Ribeiro lands a right hand. Mingyang drops Ribeiro with a big left hand and some follow-up shots get the stoppage as Ribeiro was out. What a knockout from Mingyang!

Official Result- Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro by knockout (punches) at 1:41 of Round 1

> Bantamweights- Rinya Nakamura (8-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Carlos Vera (11-3, 0-0 UFC)

Nakamura lands a leg kick. Vera lands a spin kick to the thigh and Nakamura grabs him and they go to the mat. Vera looks for a leg lock. Nakamura spins out and has the back. Nakamura lands some left hands from the top. Vera trying to grab the leg again. Nakamura scrambles out and is in the guard of Vera. Vera lands an upkick. Nakamura with some left hands from the top. Nakamura working from the top as he steps over to half-guard. Vera being active on the bottom. Nakamura gets the back and lands before standing. 10-9 Nakamura.

Nakamura lands a leg kick. Vera lands a body kick and Nakamura gets a takedown. Nakamura working from the top. Nakamura lands some punches from the top. Vera lands an upkick. Nakamura gets the back and looked for a choke. Vera rolls and escapes. Nakamura still has the back and lands some left hands. They roll on the mat and Nakamura looks for an arm-triangle choke but Vera rolls out. Nakamura gets it back down and is on the back. Nakamura ends the round on top. 10-9 Nakamura, 20-18 Nakamura.

Vera with a jumping head kick that Nakamura blocks. Nakamura lands a left hand. Nakamura with a right hook. Vera attempts a spin attack and falls to the mat. Nakamura gets on top and has the back. They get to their feet as Nakamura has back control and he lands a knee. Nakamura lands a right hand from the top. Vera looks for a triangle choke. Vera looked for a leg lock but Nakamura gets his leg out. Nakamura has the back as they stand. Vera rolls but Nakamura stays on top. Nakamura lands from the back. 10-9 Nakamura, 30-27 Nakamura.

Official Result- Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Heavyweights- #15 Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1, 10-7 UFC) vs. Junior Tafa (5-1, 1-1 UFC)

de Lima with a leg kick. He lands another. He lands a third one and then a fourth. They trade punches. de Lima with a leg kick. He lands a right hand. de Lima with a leg kick and Tafa is hurt. They clinch. They separate. de Lima lands a big leg kick then another. de Lima with a big combination against the fence. de Lima gets a takedown. de Lima with some left hands from the top. de Lima lands more from the top. de Lima ends the round on top. 10-9 de Lima.

de Lima lands a big leg kick. They clinch and de Lima pushes it against the fence. They break. Tafa lands a right hand. de Lima with a leg kick and Tafa falls down. de Lima lands from the top and it is stopped. Big finish from de Lima.

Official Result- Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Junior Tafa by TKO (leg kick) at 1:14 of Round 2

> Women’s Strawweights- #3 Amanda Lemos (13-3-1, 7-3 UFC) vs. #7 Mackenzie Dern (13-4, 8-4 UFC)

Lemos lands a leg kick. Lemos with a hard body kick. Lemos lands a combo. Lemos with a high body kick. Lemos with a leg kick. Lemos lands a right hand then a high kick. Lemos lands a calf kick. Lemos with a body kick. Dern keeps missing her punches. Dern ducks under a right hand and gets a takedown. Dern with some left hands from the top. Dern ends the round landing from the top. 10-9 Lemos.

Lemos with a body kick. Dern lands a jab. Lemos with a hard leg kick. Lemos hurts Dern with a right hand as she was rushing in and follows it with a flurry. Lemos drops Dern with a right hand and is landing big shots from the back. Dern is able to survive for now as Lemos is on top. Dern is working for a leg. Lemos stands. Dern is ordered to her feet. Dern lands a right hand. Lemos with a high kick and then a hard leg kick. Lemos with a combo. Lemos with a leg kick and Dern lands a right hand. Lemos gets a takedown. Dern reverses from the top and lands. 10-9 Lemos, 20-18 Lemos.

Dern lands a big right hand and Lemos goes down briefly but gets up and scores a takedown. Dern had the arm but Lemos gets it free. Lemos with right hands from the top. Dern is looking for a leg. Dern is able to get to the top in the half-guard. Dern lands a couple of elbows from the top. They get to their feet and Dern is pressuring against the fence. They scramble to the mat and Dern is looking for a leg. Lemos lands a couple of punches. 10-9 Dern, 29-28 Lemos.

Official Result- Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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> Middleweights- #15 Anthony Hernandez (11-2 1 NC, 5-2 UFC) vs. Roman Kopylov (12-2, 4-2 UFC)

Hernandez lands a right hand. Kopylov lands some leg kicks. Kopylov lands a left hand. Kopylov with a body kick and Hernandez tried a takedown but he escaped. Hernandez landed a right hand. Kopylov lands a left hand. Hernandez with a right hand. Kopylov with a nice left hand followed by a body kick. Hernandez with a series of right hands and he goes for a takedown against the fence. They separate and Hernandez lands before going for another takedown. Kopylov is defending but Hernandez is pressuring big time. Hernandez with some knees. 10-9 Hernandez.

Hernandez lands a right hand. They trade kicks. Kopylov lands a left hand to the body. They are both landing in close range. Kopylov hurts Hernandez with some punches and lands a body kick. Hernandez lands a couple of uppercuts. Hernandez pressing forward and eats a body kick from Kopylov. Hernandez gets the back of Kopylov against the fence. Hernandez gets the takedown. He has the back and is looking for a choke. He has the back and almost has the choke in but it’s around the chin. Kopylov somehow survives but Hernandez gets it locked in in a better position and Kopylov taps! What a finish from Hernandez!

Official Result- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:23 of Round 2

> Bantamweights- #2 Merab Dvalishvili (16-4, 9-2 UFC) vs. #3 Henry Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC)

They trade leg kicks after Dvalishvili lands some right hands. Dvalishvili with an inside leg kick. Cejudo rocks Dvalishvili with a left hand. Cejudo with a leg kick. Dvalishvili lands a leg kick. Dvalishvili gets a takedown after grabbing a single leg and getting a trip. They get to their feet and separate. Dvalishvili lands a right hook as they separated. Dvalishvili lands and they scramble to the mat with Cejudo getting on top. Cejudo with some right hands. They scramble and Cejudo has the back. They get to their feet and go to the fence. Cejudo with some knees to the legs and thighs. They both land in the clinch. Cejudo lands a knee to the body. 10-9 Cejudo.

Dvalishvili lands a leg kick and Cejudo fires back with a hard leg kick. Cejudo gets the back and they briefly were on the mat but separate. Cejudo lands a combo. Dvalishvili with a leg kick. Dvalishvili lands a right hand. Dvalishvili lands a combo. Cejudo with a left hand. Dvalishvili lands a hard combination. Dvalishvili gets a takedown. They get up but Dvalishvili gets it back down and lands. They get to their feet and break as Dvalishvili lands a body kick. Cejudo looks for a takedown and Dvalishvili grabs the neck and lands a pair of knees. Dvalishvili with some left hands as he has neck control. Dvalishvili has a guillotine choke locked in but Cejudo survives to the end. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 19-19.

Cejudo lands a combo. Cejudo with a leg kick. Dvalishvili lands a body kick. They trade and Dvalishvili grabs the body and lands some knees against the fence. They break and Dvalishvili lands a leg kick. Cejudo lands a hard leg kick. Dvalishvili lands a right hand. Dvalishvili picks Cejudo up and carries him across the Octagon before slamming him down. Dvalishvili lands from the top. They separate. Cejudo lands a leg kick and tries for a takedown but Dvalishvili defends by landing to the body. Dvalishvili taunts Cejudo at the end. 10-9 Dvalishvili, 29-28 Dvalishvili.

Official Result- Merab Dvalishvili def. Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Welterweights- #8 Geoff Neal (15-5, 7-3 UFC) vs. #10 Ian Garry (13-0, 6-0 UFC)

Neal with a leg kick. Garry lands a front kick. Garry lands a front kick to the thigh then a high kick. Garry with an inside leg kick. Neal lands a body kick. Neal with another inside leg kick. Garry lands a knee. Neal lands a left hand as they tie up. They separate as Neal lands a left hand. Garry lands a body kick then a knee to the body. Garry with some high kicks. Garry lands a left hand. Garry with a body kick then a front kick. Neal lands a left hand and then another one at the end. Close round. 10-9 Neal.

Garry lands a combination to start the second. They clinch against the fence. They separate and Garry lands a right hand then a knee to the body then lands another right hand. Neal lands a leg kick. Neal with a leg kick then a right hand and they clinch. They break apart. Neal lands a left hand. Garry with a front kick. Garry lands a body kick then a knee to the body. Neal lands a combo. Neal with a high kick. They trade punches and clinch against the fence. Another close round. 10-9 Garry, 19-19.

They clinch against the fence after Neal misses a punch. They separate and Garry with a high kick. Garry with a body kick and Neal lands to the body then the chin. Garry lands a jab then a combo as Neal lands a leg kick. Garry with a knee to the body. Garry lands a body kick. Neal lands a punch then they clinch. They separate. Neal lands a left hand. Garry lands an elbow then a jab. Neal lands a combo. Garry with the jab. Garry with a left hand. Garry with an elbow. 10-9 Garry, 29-28 Garry.

Official Result- Ian Garry def. Geoff Neal by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

> Middleweights- #3 Robert Whittaker (24-7, 15-5 UFC) vs. #6 Paulo Costa (14-2, 6-2 UFC)

Whittaker with a leg kick. He lands another. He lands another. Costa with a leg kick then a head kick. Whittaker with another leg kick. Costa with another head kick. They trade left hands. Costa lands the jab. Whittaker with a leg kick. Whittaker with an overhand right. Whittaker lands a jab. Costa with a left hand then a leg kick. Whittaker lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. Whittaker lands a left hook then a leg kick. Whittaker lands the jab. Costa with a snap jab. Whittaker lands a combo. Whittaker with a leg kick. Costa with a spin kick that connects and hurts Whittaker and he follows it up with some punches but time runs out. 10-9 Costa.

Costa with a leg kick. Whittaker lands a double jab. Costa with a head kick. Costa lands a jab. Whittaker with a high kick then a leg kick. Whittaker with a calf kick. Costa lands a jab. We have a timeout for an eye poke by Costa. Whittaker lands a left hand. Whittaker with a leg kick then a left hand. Whittaker lands again. Costa with a head kick. Whittaker with a hard leg kick. Whittaker lands a big combination. Whittaker with another leg kick. Whittaker with some hard left hands. Costa lands a leg kick. Costa with a high kick. Whittaker lands a leg kick. Whittaker with a leg kick then a right hand. Costa with a leg kick. Whittaker lands a leg kick. 10-9 Whittaker, 19-19.

Costa lands a right hand. Whittaker with a leg kick. Whittaker lands a left hand. Whittaker lands a hard leg kick. Whittaker with a combination and lands a leg kick. Whittaker with a hard leg kick after Costa taunts him. Costa with a body kick. Costa with a jab. Costa with the jab. Whittaker lands a jab. Costa just misses the spin kick. Whittaker lands a right hand. He lands a jab. Whittaker lands a leg kick. Whittaker with a left hand. Whittaker with a leg kick. Whittaker with a jab. Whittaker with a left hand. 10-9 Whittaker, 29-28 Whittaker.

Official Result- Robert Whittaker def. Paulo Costa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> UFC Featherweight Championship- C Alexander Volkanovski (26-3, 13-2 UFC) vs. #3 Ilia Topuria (14-0, 6-0 UFC)

Volkanovski with a leg kick then a body kick then another leg kick. Topuria just barely lands a right hand. Volkanovski with a body kick then a leg kick then back to the body. Topuria with a heavy leg kick. Topuria with a jab as Volkanovski lands a leg kick. Volkanovski with a body kick. Volkanovski with a leg kick. Topuria lands a big right hand. Volkanovski with a body kick then a jab then an inside leg kick. They trade kicks and Volkanovski lands a few knees in a brief clinch. Volkanovski with a high kick. Close round. 10-9 Volkanovski.

Volkanovski with a high kick. Topuria lands a right hand. Volkanovski with a body kick. Topuria lands a nice combo. Topuria lands to the body in a brief clinch. Volkanovski lands some more kicks. Topuria with a right hand. Volkanovski lands a pair of jabs then some kicks. Volkanovski with a pair of jabs and Topuria lands a right hand. Volkanovski with another jab as Topuria lands a right hand. Topuria blitzes forward and lands a massive right hand that puts Volkanovski out cold. Wow! What a knockout by Topuria to win the title.

Official Result- Ilia Topuria def. Alexander Volkanovski by knockout (punch) at 3:32 of Round 2 to win the UFC Featherweight Championship

UFC 288 live results: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

The Octagon is back in Newark, New Jersey, for the first time since August 2019 with tonight’s UFC 288 — a show that features a title fight on top and a card filled with several exciting matchups.

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defends the title against former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo in the main event.

Sterling will be making his third title defense and is looking to extend an eight-fight win streak. Cejudo is returning from a retirement and is on a quest to regain a title he never lost. He last fought in May 2020, defending the bantamweight title in a fight against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

In the co-main event, it will be another five-round bout with a potential title shot in the welterweight division on the line as Belal Muhammad takes on Gilbert Burns. Muhammad is riding a nine-fight unbeaten streak, while Burns fought just one month ago, scoring a win over Jorge Masvidal.

Also on the main card: former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan; undefeated Movsar Evloev vs. the debuting Diego Lopes, and the return of Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain. 

A nice prelim card is capped off by an exciting lightweight matchup between Drew Dober and Matt Frevola.

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> Middleweights*- Joseph Holmes (8-3, 1-2 UFC) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (10-3, 0-1 UFC)

*Holmes missed weight by three pounds

Holmes with some leg kicks. They clinch against the fence. Holmes reverses position. Holmes with some knees to the legs and body. They remain tied up against the fence. They separate. Ribeiro lands a calf kick. Ribeiro with a big combo and Holmes backs to the fence. Ribeiro gets a takedown. Holmes is controlling trying to get to his feet. Ribeiro gets him back on his back. Ribeiro with some big shots from the top and he almost got the finish before the round ended. 10-9 Ribeiro.

Ribeiro lands a leg kick followed by a right hand before they clinch against the fence. Holmes reverses position. Ribeiro reverses and they break. Ribeiro lands a big inside leg kick. Holmes lands the jab. Holmes lands a leg kick but eats a counter left from Ribeiro. Ribeiro then lands a big right hand and they clinch. Ribeiro drops Holmes with a knee and is on top and lands some. Ribeiro with some more punches from the top and it is stopped! What a showing from Ribeiro.

Official Result- Claudio Ribeiro def. Joseph Holmes by TKO (punches) at 3:21 of Round 2

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> Middleweights- Phil Hawes (12-4, 4-2 UFC) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (13-1, 0-0 UFC)

Hawes lands some leg kicks and the jab. Aliskerov lands a leg kick. Hawes scores a leg kick then a body kick. He lands another. Hawes with a right hook then a body kick. Hawes hurts Aliskerov with a right hand. Hawes lands another hard body kick. They trade inside the pocket. Aliskerov lands after slipping and landed a head kick. Aliskerov  then knocks Hawes out with a clean right hand. What a finish from Aliskerov!

Official Result- Ikram Aliskerov def. Phil Hawes by knockout (punch) at 2:10 of Round 1

> Heavyweights- Braxton Smith (5-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Parker Porter (13-8, 3-3 UFC)

Smith lands a body kick. They throw big shots and Porter clips Smith with a left hand. They trade big punches in close range. Both land more big punches. Porter drags Smith to the mat and Smith is already tired. Porter with lots of punches from the top and it is stopped! Just a thrashing from Porter.

Official Result- Parker Porter def. Braxton Smith by TKO (punches) at 2:10 of Round 1

> Women’s Strawweights- #5 Marina Rodriguez (16-2-2, 6-2-2 UFC) vs. #9 Virna Jandiroba (18-3, 4-3 UFC)

They both look for openings. Rodriguez lands a leg kick and a few punches before Jandiroba scores the takedown. Jandiroba is on top and gets to the mount and is keeping pressure looking to set up a choke. Jandiroba lets go and lands a short elbow as she’s working from the top. Jandiroba looks for a kimura. She lets go and lands some punches from the top. Jandiroba gets on her feet. Jandiroba lands an elbow as she gets back on top. 10-9 Jandiroba.

Both swinging and missing to start the second. Jandiroba looks for the takedown but Rodriguez defends. Jandiroba shoots for the leg and Rodriguez grabs the fence to defend. Jandiroba is able to get the body and drags it down for a moment. Jandiroba looks for a leg lock and Rodriguez lands from the bottom, but Jandiroba remains on top. She ends the round controlling from the top. 10-9 Jandiroba, 20-18 Jandiroba.

Rodriguez lands a combo on the feet after Jandiroba misses some spinning back fist attempts. Rodriguez lands another combo and lands a flying knee. Jandiroba shoots for the single leg and pushes it against the fence and this crowd is not happy. Jandiroba gets Rodriguez down for a brief moment. She ends up getting Rodriguez fully down. Jandiroba fully on top and looking for the arm-triangle choke. She lets go and lands some elbows. Jandiroba stands and Rodriguez is throwing a lot of upkicks and some are landing. Jandiroba gets back on top and Rodriguez lands from the bottom. 10-9 Jandiroba, 30-27 Jandiroba.

Official Result- Virna Jandiroba def. Marina Rodriguez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Welterweights- Khaos Williams (13-3, 4-2 UFC) vs. Rolando Bedoya (14-1, 0-0 UFC)

Bedoya lands a leg kick. Williams lands to the body. Williams lands a body kick. They trade in close range. Bedoya lands a right hand. They clinch. They separate and trade leg kicks. Bedoya lands a leg kick. Williams with a couple of big punches and lands another big right hand. They clinch and Bedoya with a knee. Williams lands a knee as they break. They trade leg kicks. Bedoya lands a right hand. They trade short leg kicks. Williams lands some big punches. They clinch at the end. 10-9 Williams.

They trade leg kicks. They trade them again. They continue to trade leg kicks early in the second before they start landing punches. Williams with a right hand. Bedoya lands a jab. Williams lands some kicks and Bedoya lands some punches. Bedoya with a heavy leg kick and they clinch. They separate and Williams lands a combo. Bedoya lands a couple of leg kicks. Williams scores with a left hook. They trade in close range. Williams lands a right hand and then a body kick. They trade low kicks. Bedoya scores with a right hand as Williams was coming forward. Williams lands a big right hand. Close round. 10-9 Williams, 20-18 Williams.

They trade leg kicks then Williams scores with a combo before they clinch. They separate and Bedoya lands a left hand. Williams lands in response. They trade and Williams with a leg kick. Bedoya lands a step-in elbow. They trade inside the pocket. Williams with a knee to the body and Bedoya lands a combo. Bedoya lands a combo and they trade inside the pocket. They clinch as Bedoya pushes it against the fence but they separate. Williams lands a big right hand. They trade leg kicks. Williams lands a combo after Bedoya lands a leg kick. Williams lands a jab. Bedoya with a big right hand. 10-9 Bedoya, 29-28 Williams.

Official Result- Khaos Williams def. Rolando Bedoya by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

> Light Heavyweights- Kennedy Nzechukwu (11-3, 5-3 UFC) vs. Devin Clark (14-7, 8-7 UFC)

Clark lands a couple of leg kicks. Clark shoots for the takedown and has the body lock against the fence. They remain tied up and Clark has advantage and lands some short shots before Nzechukwu switches positions. Nzechukwu lands some elbows before they separate. Clark rocks Nzechukwu with a right hand. Clark tries to take advantage and is landing against the fence as Nzechukwu covers up. Clark mixing standing punches and elbows. Nzechukwu ties him up and lands a knee. Nzechukwu lands some hard shots. Nzechukwu lands a right hand. Nzechukwu with some big elbows against the fence and Clark is now in trouble. Nzechukwu with a couple more elbows. Nzechukwu with a knee and a few more elbows. 10-9 Nzechukwu.

Nzechukwu lands some hard shots before they clinch. Nzechukwu lands some big shots and they break and both land big shots. Nzechukwu grabs the neck and looks for a standing guillotine choke. He has it in and Clark taps and Nzechukwu drops him and Clark is out cold! What a finish from Nzechukwu!

Official Result- Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Devin Clark by submission (standing guillotine choke) at 2:28 of Round 2

> Lightweights- #14 Drew Dober (26-11 1 NC, 12-7 1 NC UFC) vs. Matt Frevola (10-3-1, 4-3-1 UFC)

Frevola lands a body kick. Frevola with a right hand then another body kick. Frevola lands a clean right hand. Dober lands a left hand. They trade and Frevola lands a body kick. Frevola with a knee to the body and Dober lands a left hand. Dober lands to the body. Frevola lands a left hand. Dober lands a combo. Dober with a left hand to the body. They both land some big punches. Frevola lands a head kick. Dober lands a few left hands and Frevola counters with a Superman punch. They trade in close. Frevola drops Dober with a right hand and gets on top and is landing a flurry and gets the finish! What a finish from Frevola!

Official Result- Matt Frevola def. Drew Dober by TKO (punches) at 4:08 of Round 1

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> Featherweights- Kron Gracie (5-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Charles Jourdain (13-6-1, 4-5-1 UFC)

Jourdain lands a big combination. They clinch for a moment and Jourdain lands. They break and Jourdain lands a combo as Gracie lands some leg kicks. Gracie lands and they go to the mat. Jourdain working from the top as Gracie is looking to throw his legs up for a triangle choke. Jourdain escapes to his feet and Gracie is crawling on the mat trying to get Jourdain back down, but Gracie stands. They clinch against the fence and both land to the body before they separate. Jourdain lands some punches. 10-9 Jourdain.

They trade before clinching against the fence. Gracie pulls guard and they go to the mat. Both are landing on the mat. Jourdain working from the top and staying more active but both are landing, though not a lot is happening and the crowd is booing. Jourdain escapes to his feet and Gracie stands. Jourdain lands a knee to the body. Jourdain lands and Gracie pulls guard once again. Gracie lands from the bottom. 10-9 Jourdain, 20-18 Jourdain.

Jourdain landing more to start the third as he’s easily finding homes for his combos. Jourdain lands some big punches. Gracie tries to pull guard but Jourdain defends and pushes him off. Jourdain lands a knee. Jourdain scores with an uppercut. Jourdain lands a right hand to the body. Gracie lands and pulls guard once again. Jourdain landing from the top and Gracie is throwing punches but there really isn’t much happening. Jourdain gets to his feet. Gracie stays on the mat and Jourdain lands some leg kicks. Gracie is butt scooting and throwing kicks before being ordered up. Jourdain with a combo to the body. They clinch and Jourdain with a knee to the body. Jourdain lands some kicks late. 10-9 Jourdain, 30-27 Jourdain.

Official Result- Charles Jourdain def. Kron Gracie by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Featherweights- #10 Movsar Evloev (16-0, 6-0 UFC) vs. Diego Lopes (21-5, 0-0 UFC)

Evloev lands with some leg kicks. Lopes lands a big right hand and a leg kick. Evloev lands a right hand. They trade in close range and Lopes tags Evloev and Evloev retreats. Evloev lands a right hand and gets Lopes down. Lopes looks for a leg lock. Evloev escapes and gets into Lopes’ guard and is landing some right hands. Lopes is trying to throw his legs up and find a triangle choke. Evloev with some hammerfists from the top. Lopes looks for the armbar and has it locked in. Evloev somehow escapes as Lopes lets it go and Evloev is back on top. Evloev landing lots of punches from the top. Lopes looks for the leg but Evloev is punching him. Lopes looks for a triangle late. 10-9 Evloev.

Evloev lands a right hand. Lopes lands a nice left hook. Evloev lands another hard right hand. Lopes lands a combo. Evloev lands a hard right hand. Evloev with a pair of right hands. Evloev lands a combo but Lopes did land in the exchange. Evloev lands a combo and Lopes lands a left hand. Evloev scores the takedown. Evloev working in the guard and lands some right hands to the body. Evloev working to the head and body with right hands. Evloev with heavy pressure from the top as he lands. 10-9 Evloev, 20-18 Evloev.

Evloev lands a right hand. He lands another and follows with a combo. Lopes lands to the body. Evloev with a high kick. Evloev lands a combo but eats a counter right hand from Lopes. They clinch against the fence. Evloev lands a big elbow against the fence. Evloev gets an easy takedown and lands some right hands from the top. Lopes gets to his feet. Evloev grabs the back and drags it down but they get back up. Evloev has the back and is landing leg kicks from the back. Lopes looks for the kimura as they drop to the mat. He gets on top with it and Evloev might be in trouble. Evloev escapes and they stand. Evloev has back control. They go back down and Lopes was looking for the arm but Evloev got out and Lopes is looking for the leg. He is looking for a kneebar. Evloev gets out but Lopes gets it locked back in, though time runs out. 10-9 Evloev, 30-27 Evloev.

Official Result- Movsar Evloev def. Diego Lopes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Women’s Strawweights- #4 Jessica Andrade (24-10, 15-8 UFC) vs. #6 Yan Xiaonan (16-3 1 NC, 7-2 UFC)

Xiaonan with some leg kicks. Xiaonan then lands punches to the head and body. Andrade lands some leg kicks. Xiaonan with the jab to the body then a leg kick. They trade inside the pocket and both land good shots. Xiaonan lading some hard shots. Andrade with a flurry then Xiaonan drops her with a right hand and some other punches ends it. What a finish from Xiaonan!

Official Result- Yan Xiaonan def. Jessica Andrade by TKO (punches) at 2:20 of Round 1

> Welterweights- #4 Belal Muhammad (22-3 1 NC, 13-3 1 NC UFC) vs. #5 Gilbert Burns (22-5, 15-5 UFC)

Burns lands a leg kick. Muhammad lands a high kick. Muhammad with a left hand. Burns scores with a jab but Muhammad counters with a straight left hand. Burns lands a body kick but Muhammad lands a right hand at the same time. Burns then lands two right hands. Muhammad lands a body kick and then another. Burns gets a takedown but they get right up. Muhammad lands two body kicks. Burns lands a body kick then Muhammad lands a left hand that stumbles Burns. He recovers and lands a right hand. Muhammad with a body kick that makes Burns stumble. 10-9 Muhammad.

Muhammad with a body kick and they trade punches. Burns connects with a right hand. Muhammad scores with another body kick. Burns scores with another right hand. Muhammad lands a jab. They trade and Burns lands a right hand. They trade in close range. Muhammad lands a right hand. Burns lands a leg kick. Muhammad lands a right hand. 10-9 Muhammad, 20-18 Muhammad.

Burns lands a body kick. Muhammad lands the jab as he’s pressing forward. The pace has slowed. Burns lands a leg kick. Muhammad with a high kick. He lands another. Burns scores with the right hand. Muhammad with a hard body kick. Burns lands a knee to the body. Muhammad lands a combo ending with a body kick. Burns lands a body kick. Muhammad with a body kick. Muhammad lands a head kick then follows with a jab. Muhammad with another body kick. 10-9 Muhammad, 30-27 Muhammad.

Muhammad with a hard body kick. Muhammad lands the double jab. Burns lands a couple of right hands. Muhammad scores a body kick. They trade kicks. Burns lands a jumping kick but Muhammad blocked most of it. Muhammad lands a combo. Burns lands a body kick and hurts Muhammad with a right hand. Burns lands a body kick. Burns with a leg kick. Muhammad lands a body kick and Burns shows he’s hurt. Muhammad then lands with some punches and another high kick. Muhammad lands some kicks as he’s pressuring. Burns lands a right hand. Muhammad lands a right hand. 10-9 Muhammad, 40-36 Muhammad.

Burns lands a body kick and looks for a takedown but Muhammad gets away. Muhammad lands a combo. Muhammad with another hard body kick. Muhammad with a combo after Burns lands a leg kick. Burns lands a body kick. Muhammad lands a counter right hand and is pressuring. Burns with a leg kick and Muhammad lands a combo. They trade leg kicks. Muhammad lands the jab and an uppercut. Muhammad with a body kick. Burns lands a right hand. They trade kicks. 10-9 Muhammad, 50-45 Muhammad.

Official Result- Belal Muhammad def. Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

> UFC Bantamweight Championship- C Aljamain Sterling (22-3, 14-3 UFC) vs. Henry Cejudo (16-2, 10-2 UFC)

They trade leg kicks and Sterling lands a body kick. Sterling lands a leg kick. Cejudo with a leg kick. They tie up and Cejudo scores a takedown. Sterling trying to scramble out but Cejudo has the neck. They get up and trade. Sterling lands a body kick. They tie up against the fence. Sterling tries a takedown but Cejudo defends. They get to their feet. Sterling gets Cejudo down and lands some knees as Cejudo is grabbing the fence. They get to their feet but Sterling gets it back down and has the back. Sterling tries to get the hooks in and lands some punches and some knees. 10-9 Sterling.

Sterling with some body kicks. He lands a leg kick. Cejudo with a right hand and a leg kick. Sterling lands a left hand to the body. Cejudo just barely lands a head kick. They trade body kicks. Sterling lands a knee. Sterling with a series of kicks. Sterling lands the left hand. Cejudo scores with a leg kick. He lands another then Sterling lands a combo. Sterling lands a low kick. They trade punches. Cejudo lands a high kick. Sterling lands a hard body kick. They trade low kicks and Cejudo lands a right hand. They scramble late. 10-9 Sterling, 20-18 Sterling.

They trade and Cejudo grabs the neck as Sterling was shooting for the takedown. They get to their feet and Sterling lands. Sterling with some leg kicks. Cejudo lands a knee to the body and Sterling lands a leg kick. They clinch against the fence. Sterling gets Cejudo down to a knee. They stand and Sterling with a hard knee to the body. They separate. Sterling shoots for the takedown but Cejudo sprawls and lands some right hands. They get to their feet. They trade body kicks. Sterling lands a combo. Cejudo gets a late trip takedown. 10-9 Sterling, 30-27 Sterling.

Sterling lands some body kicks. They’re trading kicks as Cejudo is landing to the legs and Sterling to the body. Cejudo lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence and Cejudo has the edge. They separate. Sterling lands the calf kick. Sterling tries for the takedown and they trade knees in the clinch. Cejudo lands a body kick. Sterling tries a body kick but Cejudo grabs the leg and they clinch against the fence. Sterling tries to get it down but Cejudo defends and has the neck. They’re on the feet and Sterling gets it down. They get to their feet and Sterling lands a combo. 10-9 Sterling, 40-36 Sterling.

Cejudo lands a body kick. Sterling with some leg kicks. Cejudo lands a body kick and is pressuring. Sterling with a spin kick to the body. They trade leg kicks. Cejudo grabs the single leg. Cejudo lands a leg kick. Cejudo lands a right hand. Sterling lands a left hand. Cejudo lands a couple of knees to the body. They clinch and Sterling lands a knee before they separate. Cejudo lands a right hand. Cejudo gets a takedown and has the back as they get to the feet. They battle in the clinch at the end. 10-9 Cejudo, 49-46 Sterling.

Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Henry Cejudo by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the UFC Bantamweight Championship

UFC officially strips Henry Cejudo of bantamweight title

Posted on by Josh Nason

The UFC bantamweight title is officially vacant.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin reported Monday morning that UFC officials confirmed the news following now former champion Henry Cejudo’s absence from the company’s weekly rankings. 

Cejudo retired after his UFC 249 victory over Dominick Cruz which many felt was simply a move to get more money from the UFC. If he does return, it will be without a title.

There has been no formal plan announced for what happens next, but there are some possibilities. Dana White had previously said that top contender Petr Yan would be involved in any title fight scenario. However, he would have to compete on the mysterious “Fight Island” as he doesn’t live in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen will face off at June’s UFC 250, potentially setting up Yan’s opponent in an vacant title bout. However, the top ranked contender — Marlon Moraes — is without an opponent so he could be paired up with Yan as well.

Several days ago, MMA Junkie reported that they will rematch Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez this July for the vacant flyweight title. With them in need of main events and restricted by pandemic-related travel issues around the world, having active champions is a major need in the current environment.

Henry Cejudo retires following UFC 249 title defense

Posted on by Josh Nason

After his second round TKO win over Dominick Cruz at Saturday’s UFC 249, bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo announced his retirement in the cage.

Riding a six fight win streak, the 33-year-old said he was happy with his career, that he’s done enough in the sport, wants to enjoy himself, and start a family.

After defending his UFC bantamweight title, @HenryCejudo unexpectedly announced his retirement from the sport of MMA #UFC249pic.twitter.com/5jIhrp4LsC

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 10, 2020

If this is indeed the end, he leaves behind an impressive resume that began to take off with his August 2018 split decision win over Demetrious Johnson to end his record run as UFC flyweight champion.

Cejudo (16-2) followed that up nearly a year later with a dominant third round TKO win over Marlon Moraes to win the vacant bantamweight title, earning the rare designation as double champion. He also successfully defended the flyweight title with a 33 second TKO win over T.J. Dillashaw on the first-ever ESPN+ event in January 2019.

He was stripped of the flyweight title last December but the subsequent vacant title fight between Joe Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo ended without a champion as the winner (Figueiredo) missed weight and was ineligible to win the title.

Cejudo was a standout amateur wrestler, winning a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in freestyle, the youngest American to ever do so at the time.

UFC 249 live results: Ferguson vs. Gaethje, Cejudo vs. Cruz

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje, emanating from the Vystar Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

The UFC returns to action after nearly two months off during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning with a stacked card that features two title fights and lots of former champions and title challengers sprinkled throughout the deep lineup.

In the main event, the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship is on the line as Tony Ferguson looks to become a two-time interim champion when he takes on Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was originally going to have his long-awaited fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but when Nurmagomedov returned to Russia during the pandemic, in stepped Gaethje to get a title shot he’s been chasing since signing with the UFC. Ferguson has won his last twelve fights while Gaethje is on a three-fight win streak, with all of those wins coming by first-round knockout.

In the co-main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo defends the title for the first time against former champion Dominick Cruz, who returns from being out of action for over three years due to various injuries. Cruz is considered the best bantamweight of all-time, a title that Cejudo would like to take from him, and Cruz is looking to become the first fighter to be a three-time champion at 135 pounds.

Also on the main card is a heavyweight top contender fight as sluggers Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik collide. Exciting featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar will do battle, and the main card opens with another heavyweight bout as Greg Hardy takes on Yorgan De Castro.

A stacked preliminary card is topped off with Donald Cerrone taking on former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis in a rematch of a 2013 bout won by Pettis. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum returns from a two-year suspension layoff to take on Aleksei Oleinik. The first-ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza will battle Michelle Waterson, as well as a welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and 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 PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT

> Ryan Spann (17-5, 3-0 UFC) vs. Sam Alvey (33-13 1 NC, 10-8 UFC)
Light Heavyweights

Alvey was acknowledging the non-existent crowd. Spann gets an early takedown. Alvey works to his feet but Spann has a standing arm-triangle locked in. Alvey with some body punches. It is in deep and Alvey is turning red. Spann lets go and then lands a knee. They are trading and Alvey lands the right hook. Spann lands a right hand and a knee and is looking for a takedown. Alvey with a knee to the body. 10-9 Spann.

Spann with a head kick to start the second. Spann with a combo as he shoots in for a takedown. They break. Alvey lands a right hook and Spann counters with a right hand. Spann lands a right hand. Spann pressing the action and lands a body kick. Alvey lands a left hand followed by a right hand. Spann with a right hand. Alvey with some low kicks. Spann lands a left hand. 10-9 Spann, 20-18 Spann.

They quickly clinch as Spann pishes Alvey against the fence. They break and Spann lands a high kick and starts unloading punches on Alvey but Alvey is able to circle away. Alvey lands a short uppercut that stuns Spann. Spann lands a combo and then a hard right hand. Spann with a right hand and Alvey counters with a right hook. Alvey with a high kick. Alvey stuns Spann with a right hook and Spann tries for a takedown. Alvey grabs the neck and is looking for a choke but doesn’t have it in. Spann gets to his feet and they are clinched. They break and Spann is exhausted. Alvey with a left hand and then a right hand and hurts Spann again. Alvey with a strong end to the fight. 10-9 Alvey, 29-28 Spann.

Official Result- Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

> Bryce Mitchell (12-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Charles Rosa (12-3, 3-3 UFC)
Featherweights

Mitchell gets an early takedown against the fence. Mitchell gets the back and now gets on top and has an arm-triangle locked in deep. Rosa is breathing heavy. Rosa escapes and Mitchell has the back. Mitchell landing from the back and he is now going for another twister. He has it locked in but not in good position and lets go and moves to full mount. Mitchell landing big punches and now gets another arm-triangle choke locked in deep. Rosa gets out and has Mitchell in his guard. Rosa survives the round. Dominant from Mitchell. 10-8 Mitchell.

Mitchell gets another takedown to start the second and is working for another arm-triangle choke. He has full mount and is still working hard to find chokes. Mitchell has the mount and lands a big elbow and now some punches from the mount. Mitchell trying to transition as Rosa is grabbing a leg and Mitchell now going for the arm-triangle again. He has it in pretty good here. Mitchell with some body punches. Mitchell going for the twister again and lands some big elbows to the body. He had it but the round ended. 10-8 Mitchell, 20-16 Mitchell.

Mitchell gets a quick takedown to start the third and is going for the twister again. Rosa escapes and Mitchell moves to side control. Rosa tries to get to his feet but Mitchell retains side control. Mitchell now gets the back and moves to the mount. Mitchell working for the arm-triangle again. Mitchell scrambling every time Rosa tries to defend the position. Mitchell with an elbow. Rosa told him to stand and Mitchell stood for a split-second and got back on top. Mitchell with the crucifix position. They stand late. 10-8 Mitchell, 30-24 Mitchell.

Official Result- Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)

> Vicente Luque (#13, 17-7-1, 10-3 UFC) vs. Niko Price (14-3 1 NC, 6-3 1 NC UFC)
Welterweights

They trade early and Luque landing some leg kicks. Luque with a leg kick and Price lands a right hand. They trade punches. They trade combos. Luque with some punches and body kicks. Price with a leg kick and follows with a right hand. Luque with a right hand. They trade kicks and Luque with a right hand. They trade right hands. Price with a hook to the body. Luque with a right hand and Price counters with a right. Luque with a combo. Price with a front kick and follows it with a right hand. Price throwing some big punches and then gets a takedown. Price goes for a D’arce choke but Luque escapes to his feet. Luque with a left hook and ends with a hard right hand. Wild round. 10-9 Luque.

Price with a leg kick and Luque lands a leg kick. Price with a right hand. We have a low blow and a timeout. Back to action and Luque lands a hard combo. They trade leg kicks. Price with a crescent kick and Luque counters with a right hand. They trade kicks and punches. Price with a combo and elbow against the fence and a knee to the body. Price swinging wildly and then Luque drops him to his knees with a punch. Price gets up and they separate and Price is wobbly. They clinch against the fence. They break and Luque with a snapping jab. Price with a front kick to the body and they trade punches. Price with a right hand and Luque returns a hard leg kick. They trade at the end. 10-9 Luque, 20-18 Luque.

Luque with some big leg kicks as the third starts. Price is throwing leg kicks as well. Luque lands some good punches and Price lands some counters. Price’s face is a mess. They are trading in the pocket. Luque landing some hard punches. Luque with an uppercut and Price fires back with a right hand. Luque with a big left hand and Price falls to the ground. Luque goes down into his guard. Price tries for a triangle and lands some elbows. They stand. A timeout is called to check on the cuts on Price’s face and the fight is stopped. This was a great fight.

Official Result- Vicente Luque def. Niko Price by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 3:37 of Round 3

> Carla Esparza (#7, 15-6, 6-4 UFC) vs. Michelle Waterson (#8, 17-7, 5-3 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

A lot of feeling out each other in the first minute. Waterson with some leg kicks and Esparza isn’t doing much in the way of offense. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza tries to rush in and close the distance but Waterson escapes. Esparza with a right hand. Waterson with a leg kick. Waterson with a body kick. Waterson with a leg kick followed by a quick round kick. Esparza having trouble closing the distance. Esparza able to get a takedown. Waterson showing good defense on the ground. 10-9 Waterson.

They are feeling each other out to start the second. Waterson with some body kicks. They trade punches and Esparza not doing a lot of offense. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza goes for a takedown but Waterson defends and they break and Waterson with a knee to the body. Esparza shoots in again but Waterson defends and lands another knee to the body. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza lands a combo as Waterson circles away. Waterson with a high kick. 10-9 Waterson, 20-18 Waterson.

Waterson with a high kick to start the third. Esparza tries a takedown but Waterson easily defends. Esparza with a right hand but doesn’t follow up on it. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza lands a leg kick. Esparza attempts a takedown but Waterson changes levels and defends but Esparza lands a few knees to the body. Waterson with some leg kicks. Waterson with a leg kick and Esparza grabs it and tries a takedown against the fence but Waterson defends. Waterson with a body kick as Esparza rushes in. Big right hand from Esparza. Esparza tries a takedown but Waterson defends with a knee to the body. Esparza rushes in with a combo. Waterson with a roundhouse kick and Esparza tees off with a combo but separates. 10-9 Waterson, 30-27 Waterson.

Official Result- Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)

> Aleksei Oleinik (#12, 58-13-1, 7-4 UFC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1, 11-5 UFC)
Heavyweights

Werdum returns from a USADA suspension. Oleinik with a right hand. Werdum lands a right hand. Oleinik throws a combo but Werdum is covering up. Werdum with a step-in knee to the body. Oleinik with a right hand. Oleinik is just teeing off on Werdum. Oleinik with some hard right hands that are hurting Werdum. Werdum with a right hand and a knee. They are tied up and trading. Oleinik with a jab. They are tied up and Oleinik is landing body shots. They break. Oleinik with some body punches. Oleinik with a left hand. Oleinik with an overhand right. Oleinik grabs the back at the end. 10-9 Oleinik.

Oleinik with a right hand and they clinch. Werdum grabs the neck and looking for a standing guillotine. They break. They trade and both land some punches. Werdum with some knees to the body. They trade right hands. Werdum with a leg kick. Oleinik with a right hand. Werdum with a head kick that lands. Oleinik breathing heavy. Werdum gets a takedown and is in side control. Werdum lands from side control and then takes the back but was high and Oleinik got out from under and they stand. They both throw winging punches and Werdum lands a knee. Oleinik lands a right hand. 10-9 Werdum, 19-19.

Werdum with a leg kick. Werdum gets a sloppy takedown and is in the half-guard. Oleinik is able to sweep to the top and is in the closed guard of Werdum. Werdum looking for the arm trying to find the kimura from the bottom. He pops the arm out and rolls to the top and Werdum had a straight armbar but lets that go. Werdum is now in full mount and looks to take the back. Werdum looks for an armbar. He lets go but goes back to mount. They slip to their feet. They quickly clinch. Werdum with a knee to the body. Oleinik lands some good punches. Werdum with a big knee. Werdum gets a late takedown. Oleinik has a cut open and Werdum goes for a late guillotine but time runs out. 10-9 Werdum, 29-28 Werdum.

Official Result- Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

> Donald Cerrone (#6 LW, 36-14 1 NC, 23-11 UFC) vs. Anthony Pettis (#15, 22-10, 9-9 UFC)
Welterweights

Cerrone with a front kick to the body. Cerrone lands a left hand. Pettis with a right hand to the body. Cerrone with a right hand and then a leg kick. Cerrone with a right hand and then grabs the back standing. Pettis with a right hand. Cerrone with a combo. Pettis with a jump kick and Cerrone turns it into a takedown and is in side control. They get to their feet. Cerrone with a good combo and Pettis lands a left hand. Cerrone with a combo and Pettis lands a cracking right hand counter. Cerrone with a left hand. 10-9 Cerrone.

Pettis with a right hand to start the second. Pettis with a leg kick. They both throw kicks as the same time. Cerrone with a left hand. Pettis stuns Cerrone with a left hand. Cerrone with a leg kick and Pettis almost caught him with a spinning back fist. Cerrone with a leg kick. Pettis with a jumping switch kick. Pettis with a good combo ending with a left hand. They trade in close range. They trade and Cerrone scores a takedown. Pettis with short punches from the bottom and they stand and Cerrone lands a knee to the body. Cerrone with a body kick. 10-9 Pettis, 19-19.

Cerrone with a body kick. Pettis lands a left hand. Cerrone with a high kick and then lands a nice combo. Cerrone with a body kick. Cerrone grabs the leg but lets go. Cerrone with a combo ending with a body kick. Pettis with a big body kick and Cerrone grabs it and they clinch against the fence. Cerrone lands a knee to the body on the break. Pettis with a high kick. Cerrone with a low kick. They trade and Cerrone complains he got poked in the eye but the ref says it was a punch and Pettis teed off for a moment. Pettis just barely misses a high kick. Cerrone with a big high kick that lands clean and Pettis somehow takes it. Pettis with a left hand. Pettis with a big body kick. A wild exchange to end the fight. Close fight. 10-9 Cerrone, 29-28 Cerrone.

Official Result- Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT

> Greg Hardy (5-2 1 NC, 2-2 1 NC UFC) vs. Yorgan De Castro (6-0, 1-0 UFC)
Heavyweights

De Castro coming out firing. He lands a low kick. De Castro with a left hook. Hardy with a left hand. De Castro with a combo. Hardy with a high kick. De Castro landing when Hardy comes in close. Hardy with a leg kick. De Castro stuns Hardy with a right hand. De Castro with a leg kick. They trade kicks and punches in close range and both stun the other. Hardy with a high kick as De Castro is backed up against the fence. 10-9 De Castro.

De Castro with a leg kick. Hardy lands a leg kick of his own. De Castro rushes in with a nice combo. De Castro with more leg kicks. De Castro lands another leg kick and Hardy checks it and De Castro may have hurt his foot. Hardy with a leg kick followed by a jab. Hardy with another leg kick. De Castro is doing nothing. 10-9 Hardy, 19-19.

Hardy with a big right hand to start the third. De Castro with a body kick. Hardy with an inside leg kick. Hardy with a hard leg kick. Hardy is landing more as not much is going on and De Castro has slowed down considerably. This fight wasn’t good. 10-9 Hardy, 29-28 Hardy.

Official Result- Greg Hardy def. Yorgan De Castro by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Jeremy Stephens (#7, 28-17 1 NC, 15-16 1 NC UFC) vs. Calvin Kattar (#9, 20-4, 4-2 UFC)
Featherweights* (Stephens missed weight by 4.5 pounds)

Stephens with a quick combo and a body kick. Stephens with some leg kicks. Stephens with a body punch followed by a leg kick. Kattar with a body punch. Kattar with a leg kick. They trade in close range. Stephens with a body kick followed by a leg kick. Kattar with a leg kick. Stephens with some leg kicks. Stephens with a quick combo and is still attacking with leg kicks. They trade leg kicks. Stephens with a right hand. Stephens with a couple of body kicks. Stephens with a hard leg kick and Kattar’s leg is hurting. Stephens with a jab and Kattar fires back with a massive right hand. They trade late. Stephens with a hard body punch. 10-9 Stephens.

Stephens with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Kattar lands a right hand and then lands a low kick. Stephens with a body kick. They trade punches in close range. Stephens with a right hand. They are trading in close range. Kattar with a good combo. Kattar pouring it on. Kattar lands another combo and Stephens tries for a takedown and lands an elbow as they break. Kattar then lands a huge elbow that knocks Stephens down and then Kattar lands a huge elbow on the ground that cuts Stephens open and the fight is stopped. What a finish by Kattar and a huge win.

Official Result- Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens by knockout (elbows) at 2:42 of Round 2

> Francis Ngannou (#2, 14-3, 9-2 UFC) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (#6, 10-0, 4-0 UFC)
Heavyweights

Rozenstruik with an early inside leg kick. Ngannou then throws a combo and lands a left hook that knocks Rozenstruik out cold. It went less than twenty seconds. Ngannou is ridiculous.

Official Result- Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by knockout (punches) at :20 of Round 1

> Henry Cejudo (C, 15-2, 9-2 UFC) vs. Dominick Cruz (22-2, 5-1 UFC)
UFC Bantamweight Championship

Cejudo with a heavy leg kick. Cejudo with another. Cejudo lands another. Cruz using his movement but Cejudo is landing the leg kicks. Cejudo lands another and they scramble for a moment. Cruz with a knee and Cejudo gets a takedown but they get right back up. Cejudo with another leg kick. Cruz with a short uppercut to the body. Cejudo lands a combo. Cejudo with more leg kicks. Cruz lands a nice shot at the end. 10-9 Cejudo.

Cejudo with more leg kicks to start the second. Cruz lands a leg kick. Cejudo with another leg kick. They exchange punches in close range. Cejudo with another leg kick. Cruz lands a nice right hand. Cruz lands a nice combo in close. They trade in close range. Cejudo lands a nice right hand. Cejudo with a body kick and follows it with a right hand. Cruz with a nice inside kick that caught Cejudo’s attention. There was a clash of heads and a cut is open on Cejudo’s head. We have a timeout. We get back to action. Cejudo then lands a knee right to the jaw and Cruz stumbles to the mat and Cejudo starts to land punches and was landing a lot and it is stopped as Cruz was working to his feet. It was a close, questionable stoppage but Cejudo gets the win and remains the champion.

Official Result- Henry Cejudo def. Dominick Cruz by TKO (strikes) at 4:58 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Bantamweight Championship

> Tony Ferguson (#1, 25-3, 15-1 UFC) vs. Justin Gaethje (#4, 21-2, 4-2 UFC)
Interim UFC Lightweight Championship

Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson lands a kick followed by a punch. Ferguson with a combo. They trade punches. Ferguson lands a leg kick as Gaethje lands a left hand. Ferguson with a leg kick after Gaethje lands some punches. Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson with a high kick followed by a jab. They trade punches but neither one really landed. Gaethje lands a combo. Gaethje lands a right hand as Ferguson was coming in. They both land left hooks at the same time. Gaethje lands another left hook. 10-9 Gaethje.

Gaethje with a right hand to start the second. They both throw and Gaethje lands the left hook. Gaethje lands a left hand. Ferguson’s chin is something else. Gaethje with a couple of leg kicks. Gaethje landing way more right now. Ferguson lands a right hand. Gaethje lands a right hand. Gaethje with a left hook. Ferguson not getting a lot of offense. Ferguson lands a high kick. Gaethje lands some more hard punches and Ferguson is just eating them. Ferguson lands a few leg kicks. Gaethje missing more punches right now but then lands a left hook. Ferguson lands a combo. Ferguson lands an uppercut that drops Gaethje right at the end. 10-9 Gaethje, 20-18 Gaethje.

Ferguson coming out strong to start the third. Gaethje lands a right hand. Ferguson lands a combo but Gaethje land a left hook. Ferguson is cut around both of his eyes. Ferguson with a short uppercut. Gaethje stuns him with a right hand. Ferguson lands a right hand and then a left hook. Gaethje with another right hand and then lands a hard combo. Gaethje keeps spitting blood onto the Octagon mat. Ferguson’s face is a mess. Ferguson with a sweeping leg kick. They trade in close range. 10-9 Gaethje, 30-27 Gaethje.

They trade leg kicks to start the third. Gaethje lands a right hand. Gaethje lands a left hook. Gaethje lands some good shots in close. Ferguson with a leg kick and Gaethje lands a counter left hand. They trade in close range. Gaethje hurts Ferguson with a right hand. Gaethje lands a hard right hand. A groin strike from Ferguson and we have a timeout. Ferguson with a jab and then a left hook. Gaethje with a leg kick. They trade in close range. They trade high kicks at the end. 10-9 Gaethje, 40-36 Gaethje.

Gaethje lands a right hand and then lands a combination. Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson is limping. Gaethje lands the jab and then a huge left hook that hurts Ferguson. Gaethje with the jab. Ferguson with a leg kick. They trade and Gaethje lands some huge punches. Gaethje with the jab that sends Ferguson to one knee for a brief second. Gaethje with a big combo. Gaethje lands a punch that hurts Ferguson and he is hurt standing and Herb Dean stops the fight. An unreal showing from Gaethje as he ends Ferguson’s win streak and wins UFC gold.

Official Result- Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson by TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of Round 5 to win the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship

Daily Update: Raw notes, Cejudo vs. Aldo, XFL ratings

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

WON NEWSLETTER: February 24, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Coronavirus affects Japanese wrestling, WrestleMania update STARDOM and NJPW events affected by coronavirus, a look ahead at WrestleMania weekend, and more.

We’ve got a WrestleMania update with new matches, an updated card, details on the women’s aspect of the show with new bouts and stars from the past who are scheduled and who are not scheduled.

Also covered in the new issue:

Ticket sales for all the WWE shows that week, as well as how the secondary market is doing right now for the WWE & AEW major events. 

More on both the Super Showdown and Elimination Chamber shows.

How the Coronavirus has affected some major shows that were scheduled.  We look at the Stardom cancellations, the empty arena show on YouTube, another promotion with a worldwide audience doing an empty arena show, as well a how New Japan is handling the situation.

Complete coverage of NXT Takeover Portland, with business notes, update on Matt Riddle, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.

Update WWE talks regarding how WrestleMania will be broadcast this year, what AEW should be looking for, XFL ratings and analysis, NXT Japan update, Tito Ortiz training with WWE, Bill Goldberg’s dates, former WWE star tells story about Trump, new WWE documentary, Matt Hardy update, Injury updates, foreign ratings, return of John Cena, WWE bans former star from getting talent for their podcast and why, debut of former top star in Mexico, update on MSG, stock price update, most-watched shows on the WWE Network as well as a look at all the NXT and WWE arena events held over the past week.

Complete coverage of the UFC show from Rio Rancho, NM this past week, with business notes.

Update on the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.

A note on the biggest Wednesday night ratings movers.

Revolution Pro High Stakes headlined by Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and how Ospreay’s in-ring style has changed so much over the past year. We look at how pro wrestling handles weight classes as compared to real sports, why going back in time may provide a more updated view than what we have now about weight classes and pro wrestling.

2019 stats on WWE performers including who won this year’s Iron Man award, a well as wins and losses.

Our 2019 Awards ballot.

Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker. 

Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.

In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering Raw, UFC, BTE and taking your email questions that you can send to [email protected]. We’re looking for reports on Main Event and dark matches from Winnipeg’s Raw tonight to [email protected].

As has been expected for some time, Henry Cejudo will defend the UFC bantamweight title against Jose Aldo on the UFC 250 PPV on 5/19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Cejudo has been recovering from a shoulder injury and as we’ll note tonight, this match, for all the right reasons, has been heavily criticized since Aldo is 0-1 as a bantamweight and there are legit contenders out there like Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling.

For nostalgia, Dory Funk Jr. has announced a first time ever pairing in the main event of his Saturday night main event at Belleview High School in Belleview, FL at the gym with Dory teaming with Rick & Scott Steiner against Jake Logan & Shane Chung & Blain Rage.

We have some XFL market ratings. On Saturday, the ABC game, Houston vs Tampa Bay, did a 0.7 in New York, 1.3 in Los Angeles, 1.3 in Chicago, 1.2 in Philadelphia, 2.3 in Dallas, 1.0 in San Francisco, 1.1 in DC, 3.5 in Houston and 1.7 in Atlanta.  the FOX game, Dallas vs. Seattle, did a 0.7 in New York, 1.3 in Los Angeles, 1.4 in Chicago, 1.5 in Philadelphia, 3.1 in Dallas, 0.8 in San Francisco, 2.1 in DC, 2.0 in Houston and 2.2 in Atlanta. The ESPN ratings on Sunday were much lower, with the early game doing nothing above a 1.0 and the later game with nothing above an 0.8.

Kevin Iole reported that Deontay Wilder today said he was not happy with corner man Mark Breland for throwing in the towel. I get that, but the corner has to look out for their fighters career. He said his poor performance was because the 45 pound costume he wore to the ring blew up his legs and they were gone once the fight started, and he will exercise the automatic rematch clause in his contract ad will be making the necessary changes. He also blamed referee Kenny Bayless for allowing Fury to punch him to the back of the head after telling Wilder he would DQ him for the exact same thing in the dressing room before the fight.

WWE

  • The expectation with how rare Winnipeg gets television tapings and that Winnipeg is usually a very hot house show crowd, that the crowd will be great reacting tonight.  The crowd prediction is 11,800, which would be a sellout or close, based on what a Raw taping can seat.
  • There is some concern from WWE about chants or posters for Chris Jericho at tonights’ show.
  • Brock Lesnar is on the show which means Paul Heyman as a television character. Angel Garza vs. Humberto Carrillo and a rematch from last week with Aleister Black vs. Erick Rowan have been announced.
  • Andrade is in Winnipeg but since his suspension isn’t up for a few more days, he won’t be on the show. But he will be flying to Saudi Arabia immediately after the show as all the talent going to Saudi Arabia is being chartered out from Winnipeg tonight .
  • Charlotte Flair is not on tonight’s show as her grandfather on her mother’s side passed away over the last few days. That’s also why she wasn’t at last night’s show in Brandon, Manitoba after doing promotional work for the show.
  • It was a very bad day for the stock market in general due to a number of concerns. Due to that, a lot of Friday’s WWE stock gains were overturned as the stock closed today at $48.72 per share, down $1.51 per share.
  • The company announced dates for its August tour of Australia and New Zealand. They will be running 8/6 in Melbourne, 8/7 in Sydney and 8/8 in Auckland, New Zealand.
  • WWE is pushing this week as the 10th anniversary of NXT.  It’s actually the 10th anniversary of the first season of the reality show called NXT on Syfy that replaced ECW on the station. NXT as a promotion started in the summer of 2012.
  • Nikki and Brie Bella along with Daniel Bryan will be guests tomorrow night on WWE Backstage on FS1.
  • The NXT U.K. show will be airing at 10 a.m. Eastern Thursday morning because of the Saudi Arabia show being in its regular time slot.
  • Arab News has a story on the Bayley vs. Naomi match on Thursday in Saudi Arabia.

AEW

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Notes on the NWA Crockett Cup show.
  • CWE has announced Savio Vega appearing on shows 5/26 to 5/29 including 5/27 in Winnipeg and 5/29 in Saskatoon.
  • Premier Championship Wrestling from Winnipeg on Saturday night:  Moses Luke b Tony Novak, Antonio Scorpio b EZ Ryder, Jay Walker b ATM, London Bro’s b American Psychos-DQ, Jason Geiger b Sammy Peppers, Travis Cole & Bobby Schink & Kylie Morgan b Adam Knight & Sydney Steele & Angelica. The next show is the company’s 18th anniversary show on 3/28 at Doubles Bar in Winnipeg.
  • World Series Wrestling out of Australia, which brings tours of U.S. stars, has announced shows for 6/13 and 6/14 in Melbourne and 6/15 in Sydney. The first night they are going head-to-head with Melbourne City Wrestling’s biggest show of the year, Ballroom Brawl. Most of the top Australian talent is working the MCW show and they booked the date back in October.
  • Newcastle (Australia) Pro Wrestling on 3/28 featuring Robbie Eagles. (thanks to Kevin Chiar)
  • Combate Americas has announced a 3/27 date in San Antonio at the Freeman Coliseum on AXS TV and Univision with Andre Barquero (7-2) vs. Victor Madrigal (8-3) for their interim bantamweight title. Also announced is Angel Cruz (6-4) vs. Raymond Guzman (0-0).
  • Shark Boy has been announced for the 4/3 Impact nostalgia show at the Ritz in Ybor City, FL.
  • Pro Wrestling Phoenix on 2/27 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WCW WrestleWar 1991

CONTACT INFORMATION

Henry Cejudo to be stripped of UFC 125-pound title

Posted on by Josh Nason

UFC will soon be down to one champ-champ as MMA Junkie reported Thursday night that Henry Cejudo will be stripped of the flyweight title.

While UFC has yet to formally announce the news or talk to Cejudo, the plan is for top contenders Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo to face off for the vacant belt on an ESPN+ show on February 29th in Norfolk, VA. That was first reported by BJPenn.com.

Cejudo, also the bantamweight champion, has been on the shelf for six months following shoulder surgery. The flyweight title was last defended in January when Cejudo finished T.J. Dillashaw in 32 seconds. He then beat Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title by third round TKO in June. It’s assumed he will not be stripped of that title.

The 35-year-old Benavidez is riding a three fight win streak and has been angling for a rematch against Cejudo who he beat by split decision in December 2016. Benavidez has lost just once since 2014, a stretch of 10 fights.

The 31-year-old Figueiredo has won two straight and is 17-1 in his career. He has been in the UFC since 2017 and is 6-1 since then with his lone loss coming to Jussier Formiga. Formiga was defeated by Benavidez earlier this year.

The remaining double champion is Amanda Nunes who holds the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.

UFC 238 live results: Two title fights, Ferguson vs. Cerrone

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes, emanating from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

The Octagon heads back to the Windy City with a stacked fight card featuring two title fights, a lightweight fight that is eagerly anticipated which could produce one of the best fights of the year, and nine total fights pitting ranked fighters against each other.

In the main event, the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship is up for grabs as UFC Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo looks to become a two-division champion when he takes on Marlon Moraes. Cejudo beat TJ Dillashaw in a flyweight title fight in January, and was expected to challenge Dillashaw for the 135-pound title until Dillashaw was stripped of the title due to a failed drug test. In steps Moraes to challenge for the championship, and he comes in riding a four-fight win streak in which he has finished his last three fights in the first round.

In the co-main event, the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship is on the line as champion Valentina Shevchenko defends against challenger Jessica Eye. Shevchenko defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the title in December and makes her first title defense against Eye, who has won three straight fights since dropping back down to 125 pounds last year.

Also on the main card, in the most-anticipated fight of the night, Tony Ferguson looks to extend his 11-fight win streak when he takes on Donald Cerrone, fresh off a win over Al Iaquinta a little over a month ago. The winner of this fight would likely be next in line to challenge for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Other fights on the main card include a bantamweight bout between Jimmie Rivera and Petr Yan, and a heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa and Blagoy Ivanov.

The preliminary card is also stacked with ranked fighters, capped off with a potential title eliminator bout in the women’s strawweight division as Tatiana Suarez puts her undefeated record up against Nina Ansaroff. Also, bantamweights Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz look to show their next in line at 135 pounds when they square off, and former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz looks to get back in the win column against Alexa Grasso in women’s strawweight action.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:15 PM 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 | 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT

> Katlyn Chookagian (#2, 11-2, 4-2 UFC) vs. Joanne Calderwood (#6, 13-3, 5-3 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

Calderwood starting off with leg kicks. Chookagian goes high with a kick. They trade kicks. Calderwood with a right hand followed by a body kick. Calderwood just misses a big overhand right. Calderwood with more leg kicks. Chookagian lands a right hand followed by a body kick. Calderwood lands a grazing head kick. Chookagian with a hard left hand and follows with a leg kick. They trade kicks. They trade in close range. Calderwood with a body kick. They trade leg kicks. They keep trading kicks. Calderwood with a right hand. They each land in a late flurry. 10-9 Calderwood.

Chookagian with a leg kick. Her lead leg is bright red. Chookagian with a high kick followed by a right hand. Calderwood takes Chookagian down following a right hand. Chookagian looks for an arm but scrambles up and Calderwood lands an elbow on the way up. Calderwood has the clinch advantage. They break. Calderwood attacking the lead leg again. Chookagian with a nice combo but Calderwood fires back with a body kick. Chookagian with an overhand right. Chookagian lands a combo. Calderwood tries to shoot but Chookagian defends. Chookagian tries a front kick but Calderwood catches it and dumps her to the mat. Calderwood goes into her guard. Both working on the mat but Calderwood maintains top position as the round ends. 10-9 Calderwood, 20-18 Calderwood.

Chookagian with a leg kick and they both land punches. Calderwood with a leg kick. Calderwood lands a right hand. They trade strikes. Calderwood with some leg kicks. Chookagian lands an overhand right. Chookagian lands a combo. Calderwood gets another takedown off a kick attempt from Chookagian. Calderwood with a right hand standing and they get to their feet. Chookagian with a kick. They trade leg kicks and Chookagian lands a left hook. Chookagian with a combo and a leg kick. Calderwood with an inside leg kick. They trade leg kicks. They begin to taunt each other. They trade late. Close fight. 10-9 Chookagian, 29-28 Calderwood.

Official Result- Katlyn Chookagian def. Joanne Calderwood by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

> Eddie Wineland (23-13-1, 5-7 UFC) vs. Grigory Popov (14-2, 0-0 UFC)
Bantamweights

Wineland coming out firing. Popov with a front kick to the jaw. They trade kicks. Crowd chants for Wineland. Wineland lands a right hand and then another. Wineland with a combo. Wineland with a hard left hand. Popov with a leg kick. Wineland lands a right hand. They trade punches. Wineland lands a right hand. Wineland stuns Popov with a right hand. Popov lands a knee. Wineland looking for a big punch. Wineland with two right hands followed by a body kick. 10-9 Wineland.

They trade right hands. Popov lands a right that causes Wineland to drop to a knee. Wineland lands a right hand. Wineland tries a takedown but Popov defends though he stumbles a bit. Wineland lands a combo. Popov just misses a head kick. Wineland with a leg kick. They trade punches. Popov with a body kick but eats a right hand counter from Wineland. Popov with a leg kick. Wineland gets a brief takedown but they roll right up. Wineland with a body kick. Wineland lands some right hands that drop Popov and he’s going for the finish on the mat. They get up but Popov still hurt. Wineland lands another big right hand. Wineland lands a right hand that drops Popov again and finishes him off as the referee stops it. Big win for Wineland in front of the home crowd.

Official Result- Eddie Wineland def. Grigory Popov by knockout (punches) at 4:47 of Round 2

> Bevon Lewis (6-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Darren Stewart (9-4 1 NC, 2-4 1 NC UFC)
Middleweights

Stewart with a hard leg kick. He trips Lewis up with another leg kick. Lewis gets up and they clinch. They remain tied up as both look for wrist control. Stewart lands a knee. Lewis with a knee to the body but Stewart lands body punches. They break and Stewart lands a right hand and they clinch. Lewis with a knee. Stewart lands a combo as they break. He rushes in and Lewis tries a takedown but they clinch. They break. They trade kicks. Stewart with a leg kick that trips Lewis up. Lewis lands a punch that may have been thrown after the horn. 10-9 Stewart.

Stewart with a leg kick. Stewart with another leg kick and just barely lands a spinning back fist. Stewart with another leg kick. They trade punches and Lewis ducks under and gets the back but Stewart reverses and they break. They each land a punch. They trade punches and Stewart gets the better of the exchange and is controlling the Octagon. Stewart with a right hand. The crowd beginning to boo the relative lack of action. They trade late. 10-9 Stewart, 20-18 Stewart.

Neither man landing to start the third. They clinch and trade positions. They break. Stewart with a leg kick. Stewart with another. The crowd is booing this one. Lewis tries a takedown and gets the back of Stewart. Lewis with some knees. Stewart is able to reverse position. They remain tied up. They continue to battle in the clinch. Both landing short knees. Boring fight. 10-9 Lewis, 29-28 Stewart.

Official Result- Darren Stewart def. Bevon Lewis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Yan Xioanan (10-1 1 NC, 3-0 UFC) vs. Angela Hill (9-6, 4-6 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

They trade leg kicks early. Xiaonan with a leg kick but Hill lands a punch. They each land punches and Hill lands a knee to the body. Xiaonan with a leg kick. Hill with a Superwoman punch and then gets a takedown and is in the guard. They scramble to their feet. They trade punches and Hill tries a takedown but loses position and gets Xiaonan in her guard. Hill looking for a triangle and may have it locked in but Xiaonan defends. Hill had it locked in but time runs out. 10-9 Hill.

Xiaonan hurts Hill with a body kick and Hill goes to her butt but gets up. Xiaonan with a leg kick. Xiaonan with a body kick. They trade punches. They trade again and Xiaonan lands a harder shot. They trade again in close range. Hill tries a takedown but it is defended by Xiaonan. Xiaonan with a leg kick. Hill with a body kick. Xiaonan with a combo. Hill lands a right hand. Xiaonan gets a takedown but Hill scrambles right up into the clinch. Hill with a knee and misses a spinning elbow. 10-9 Xiaonan, 19-19.

They both look to land punches. Hill tries a kick but is blocked as Xionan lands a combo. Hill lands a right hand. They continue to trade. Xiaonan with a side kick. They trade and clinch and Hill lands a right hand on the break. Xiaonan with a leg kick. Xiaonan with a right hand. Xiaonan with a leg kick. Hill with a leg kick and follows with a right hand. Hill with a right hand and lands a knee to the body. They trade and Hill with a body kick. Hill with a right hand. Hill lands a late right. 10-9 Hill, 29-28 Hill.

Official Result- Yan Xiaonan def. Angela Hill by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

ESPN PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Ricardo Lamas (#10, 19-7, 10-5 UFC) vs. Calvin Kattar (#15, 19-3, 3-1 UFC)
Featherweights

Lamas with a leg kick. Lamas with another leg kick. Lamas keeps attacking the leg as Kattar is looking for an opening. Lamas tries to shoot but Kattar too far away. Kattar with a combo to the body. Lamas with a body kick. Kattar with a high body kick. Kattar stuns Lamas with a left hand. Kattar lands an uppercut. Lamas with a high kick that is blocked. They trade. Lamas with a body kick. Kattar drops Lamas with a right hand and then swarms on him on the mat and then finishes him off on the ground with more punches. Huge finish by Kattar!

Official Result- Calvin Kattar def. Ricardo Lamas by knockout (punches) at 4:06 of Round 1

> Karolina Kowalkiewicz (#10, 12-4, 5-4 UFC) vs. Alexa Grasso (#13, 10-2, 2-2 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

Grasso coming out firing first and lands a right hand. They both land punches. Grasso lands a right hand. They trade in close range and Kowalkiewicz with a knee. Grasso with a right hand. They trade punches and Grasso circles away. They kick at the same time. Kowalkiewicz with a body kick. Grasso lands a right hand and then the jab and then a hard right. Grasso definitely the faster fighter. Grasso with the jab and a leg kick. Grasso with a combo and lands a head kick. They trade body kicks. They tie up and Grasso lands to the body. They each land punches at the end. 10-9 Grasso.

Grasso starts off the round with two body kicks. They both trade and Kowalkiewicz lands a body kick. Grasso with a high kick. Grasso with a body kick. She is still much quicker than Kowalkiewicz. Grasso with a right hand. Grasso with a combo. They continue to trade but Grasso is just much quicker. They clinch and Kowalkiewicz has the advantage. Grasso with a knee to the body. Grasso starting to slow down a little. They both land punches. They both land again against the fence. Grasso with a combo. Kowalkiewicz lands a combo at the end. 10-9 Grasso, 20-18 Grasso.

Grasso with a head kick early on in the third. Grasso with a body kick. They trade in close range. Grasso with some knees in the clinch and Kowalkiewicz is able to escape. Grasso with a leg kick. Kowalkiewicz has been unable to find many openings. Grasso with a spin kick. Grasso with a combo. Grasso with a body kick. They clinch and Grasso with more knees to the body. Kowalkiewicz still coming forward. Grasso with the jab and follows it with a combo and leg kick. Grasso with a quick combo. Grasso stuns Kowalkiewicz with a left hand. Grasso with another combo. They trade punches in close. Grasso throwing all kinds of strikes. Both ladies swinging hard at the end. Grasso with a standing guillotine as the fight ends. Fun fight, great performance from Grasso. 10-9 Grasso, 30-27 Grasso.

Official Result- Alexa Grasso def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Aljamain Sterling (#3, 17-3, 9-3 UFC) vs. Pedro Munhoz (#4, 18-3 1 NC, 8-3 1 NC)
Bantamweights

Sterling firing kicks right away but Munhoz lands a left. Sterling still throwing kicks. Sterling with a left hand followed by a body kick. Sterling landing punches. Sterling with a body kick. Both land punches. Sterling with a left to the body but Munhoz fires back some kicks. Sterling with some kicks and lands a right hand after a taunt. Munhoz lands a punch. Munhoz lands a body kick. Sterling with a body kick followed by a short right hand. Sterling lands two right hands. Sterling fakes a takedown attempt and just misses landing a knee. Munhoz with a body kick. Lots of output going on here. Sterling still landing punches but eats a hard body kick from Munhoz. 10-9 Sterling.

Munhoz tries a kick but Sterling grabs the leg but eventually lets go. Munhoz chasing Sterling around now and lands some kicks. Sterling with some kicks now. Sterling tries a unique takedown but Munhoz slips away. Sterling lands a left hand. Sterling with a right hand. Sterling lands some strikes. Still lots of output from both men. Sterling with a right hand followed by a body kick. Munhoz lands a high kick but eats a counter right from Sterling. Sterling lands a few more punches as Munhoz is a little stunned. Sterling landing lots to the head of Munhoz. They each land a right hand. Munhoz with a leg kick that trips Sterling up and he drops down for a guillotine but Sterling rolls out. Sterling with a spin kick to the body. Sterling with two right hands and then a left. Sterling landing more punches to Munhoz’ head and cracks him with a left hand. 10-9 Sterling, 20-18 Sterling.

Both throwing hard shots. Munhoz backing Sterling up against the fence. They trade leg kicks. Sterling with a left hand that trips Munhoz up. Sterling witha  combo. They trade body kicks. Sterling landing big punches to the head of Munhoz. They trade punches and short body kicks. Munhoz just misses a head kick. Sterling with the double jab. Sterling landing with more volume. Sterling with a high body kick. Sterling with a combo and Munhoz lands a couple of punches. Munhoz with a high kick. They trade leg kicks. Sterling lands a couple of punches. They continue to trade strikes. Sterling land leg kicks. Sterling witha  right hand. They trade at the end. Real good fight. 10-9 Sterling, 30-27 Sterling.

Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Tatiana Suarez (#2, 7-0, 4-0 UFC) vs. Nina Ansaroff (#3, 10-5, 4-2 UFC)
Women’s Strawweights

Suarez with a leg kick. Suarez going for the takedown but Ansaroff defending against the fence. Suarez gets her down though. Suarez gets in her guard. Suarez now grabs the neck to retain position but they get to their feet. Suarez gets another takedown against the fence. Suarez just dominant from the top but not doing much to get herself into better position. Suarez stands to improve but Ansaroff is throwing upkicks. Suarez gets back in her guard. Suarez has the neck late. 10-9 Suarez.

They trade dual leg kicks. Suarez lands a left hand. Suarez shoots from a mile away and Ansaroff defends but Suarez still has the legs looking for the takedown. Suarez completes it but Ansaroff scrambles out from the bottom. Suarez now has control of the back. Suarez gets her back down. Suarez working in the guard of Ansaroff now. Suarez with a hammerfist. Suarez still in complete control from the top as she stands. Ansaroff tries to stand but Suarez grabs her against the fence. Suarez trying a takedown but Ansaroff defending. Suarez lands a knee below the belt and we have a timeout. Ansaroff with a body kick. Suarez with a side kick. 10-9 Suarez, 20-18 Suarez.

Ansaroff with a body kick and Suarez drops down for a takedown but it is defended. Ansaroff lands a right hand. Suarez with a high kick. Suarez with some leg kicks. Suarez with a left hand. Suarez with a body kick and then goes for a takedown but Ansaroff defends. Suarez with a high kick. Suarez goes for a takedown and has the body lock against the fence but Ansaroff scrambles away. Ansaroff with a spin kick that lands. Suarez with a body kick. Ansaroff with a head kick but Suarez still pushing forward. Suarez with a leg kick. Ansaroff with a body kick followed by a right hand. Ansaroff lands late punches. 10-9 Ansaroff, 29-28 Suarez.

Official Result- Tatiana Suarez def. Nina Ansaroff by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT

> Tai Tuivasa (#11, 8-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (#13, 17-2 1 NC, 1-1 UFC)
Heavyweights

Ivanov with a right hand. Tuivasa with a leg kick. They trade punches. Tuivasa with a right hand. They clinch against the fence. They break and Ivanov hurts Tuivasa with a punch and they go to the mat for a moment but get up and clinch. Tuivasa with a hard elbow as they reverse position. Ivanov grabs the neck and switches. They break. Tuivasa with a left hand as they break. Tuivasa with a right hand. Tuivasa with a leg kick but eats a right hand from Ivanov. Tuivasa lands a combo. Ivanov with a short right hand. Ivanov lands a left hand and another at the end. 10-9 Ivanov.

Tuivasa with a leg kick. He lands another. Ivanov lands a left hand. They clinch for a second and Tuivasa lands an uppercut on the rbeak. Tuivasa stuns Ivanov with a right hand. Tuivasa now with an elbow against the fence as they clinch. They each land as they break. Ivanov with the jab. Tuivasa lands a right hand. Tuivasa lands a couple of jabs. Ivanov lands a combo. Tuivasa misses a right hand but lands a leg kick. Tuivasa with a right hand followed by a leg kick. They both land close punches. Ivanov with a short right hand. Ivanov with a combo. Tuivasa with a leg kick. They clinch and Ivanov has the eck as the round ends. 10-9 Tuivasa, 19-19.

Tuivasa with a short left hand. They trade in close. They trade leg kicks. Tuivasa with some more leg kicks. Tuivasa with a hard right hand. Ivanov now gets Tuivasa down for a second but they get up and Ivanov has clinch position. They both are hugging each other against the fence. Tuivasa reverses. Ivanov grabs the neck and lands some knees. They break and Tuivasa with a leg kick. Ivanov lands a left hand. Tuivasa with a right hand. They both land a hard punch. Tuivasa with a leg kick. They trade punches. Tuivasa with a leg kick but Ivanov counters with a combo. Ivanov with a left hand. Tuivasa with another leg kick. They trade at the end. 10-9 Ivanov, 29-28 Ivanov.

Official Result- Blagoy Ivanov def. Tai Tuivasa by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

> Jimmie Rivera (#7, 22-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Petr Yan (#9, 12-1, 4-0 UFC)
Bantamweights

Yan with a heavy leg kick. Yan lands a right hand. Rivera with a leg kick. Yan misses a right hand and Rivera ties up with him but they break and Yan just misses a punch. Yan misses a right and Rivera lands a counter punch. They clinch and Rivera lands a knee as they break. They trade in the clinch. Yan with the jab. Yan just misses an uppercut. Rivera with a leg kick. Yan lands a right hand. Rivera with a leg kick. Yan goes for a takedown but Rivera defends. Yan then drops Rivera with a left hand and tries to finish but runs out of time. 10-9 Yan.

Both landing to start the second and Rivera lands a nice left hand. Yan with a right hand. Rivera with a hard leg kick that hurts Yan a little. Yan with a left hand to the body. Yan with a hard body kick. Yan with another hard body kick. They trade punches. Yan misses a right hand. They trade inside the pocket. Yan with a head kick that cracks Rivera but Rivera grabs the leg and pulls Yan against the fence. Rivera tries a takedown but they break. They trade punches. Yan drops Rivera again at the end of the round but runs out of time going for the finish. 10-9 Yan, 20-18 Yan.

Yan backs Rivera up with a punch and Rivera drops to his butt but gets up. Yan with a head kick and Rivera searching for a takedown but Yan defends it with ease. Rivera with a body kick. Rivera with a high kick. Yan with a couple of body kicks. Yan with a body kick. Rivera lands a right hand. Yan with a head kick. They each land punches inside the pocket. Rivera lands a right hand but Yan counters with a left hook. RIvera with a combo. Rivera pokes Yan in the eye and with have a timeout. Back to action and Rivera looking to turn up the pressure. They clinch and Yan with short knees. Rivera lands a hard left hook. Yan tries a late takedown and sort of gets it. 10-9 Rivera, 29-28 Yan.

Official Result- Petr Yan def. Jimmie Rivera by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Tony Ferguson (#2, 24-3, 14-1 UFC) vs. Donald Cerrone (#4, 35-11 1 NC, 23-8 UFC)
Lightweights

Cerrone with a leg kick. He then goes high. Ferguson with a high kick. Cerrone with a left hand. They trade punches. Loud chants for both men. Ferguson with a left hand then a leg kick. They trade punches. Ferguson lands a combo. Cerrone lands a combo. Both men landing punches. Ferguson with a leg kick and Cerrone fires back a leg kick. Cerrone lands a left hand and Ferguson fires back with one. Cerrone with a head kick. They continue to trade. Cerrone with a left hand. They continue to trade punches. Ferguson is cut somewhere as there is blood on his face. Cerrone with a left hand to the body. Ferguson moving around nicely and it’s frustrating Cerrone. Cerrone lands a left hand and a body kick. They exchange wild punches at the end. Close round. 10-9 Cerrone.

The crowd is big time into this. Cerrone with a body kick. Ferguson stuns him with a jab. Ferguson with a body kick. Ferguson with another body kick and then a sharp left hook. Ferguson with a running leg kick. Cerrone lands a right hand. Ferguson with the jab and a head kick. They are throwing punches in the center. Both men land nice punches. Ferguson misses a spinning back fist. Cerrone with a head kick. Ferguson comes back with a running leg kick and lands a spinning elbow. Cerrone bleeding from the nose. Ferguson with a spinning back fist as Cerrone rushes in. Cerrone gets the back and takes Ferguson down but they scramble up. Ferguson with a body kick. Cerrone with a leg kick. Cerrone with a head kick. Ferguson with a right hand. They continue to trade and Ferguson with a short elbow. Cerrone with some kicks late. Ferguson landed a right hand after the horn and the crowd loudly boos. This is fantastic. 10-9 Ferguson, 19-19.

The fight is stopped in between rounds. Cerrone’s eye swelled up between rounds and the doctors waved it off. Cerrone wanted to go on. The crowd is not happy. Ferguson is going to be the winner.

Official Result- Tony Ferguson def. Donald Cerrone by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2

> Valentina Shevchenko (C, 16-3, 5-2 UFC) vs. Jessica Eye (#1, 14-6 1 NC, 4-5 1 NC UFC)
UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Eye firing right away. Shevchenko with a body kick. They trade kicks. Shevchenko ducks under a punch and gets a takedown. Shevchenko not doing much from the top. Shevchenko moves to side control and looking for the mount but not doing much of anything else. Eye with body punches from the bottom. The crowd is booing the lack of action. Not much going on. Shevchenko lands a couple of punches. Eye looking to sweep and now has Shevchenko in her full guard. They scramble up. Shevchenko has the clinch and gets a trip takedown. Shevchenko in side control but again not doing much. Eye with backwards knees to the body. Shevchenko gets the crucifix position but Eye reverses to the top to end the round. 10-9 Shevchenko.

They trade kicks. Shevchenko with a hard leg kick. Shevchenko then knocks Eye out cold with a head kick. Brutal finish.

Official Result- Valentina Shevchenko def. Jessica Eye by knockout (head kick) at :26 of Round 2, retains UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

> Henry Cejudo (FLW C, 14-2, 8-2 UFC) vs. Marlon Moraes (#1, 22-5-1, 4-1 UFC)
UFC Bantamweight Championship

Moraes goes for a head kick but Cejudo checks it. Moraes with a leg kick. Moraes with a leg kick and they trade punches. Moraes with a hard leg kick. Moraes with a leg kick and Cejudo grabs it trying to take him down but Moraes escapes. Cejudo with a high kick and Moraes fires back a combo. Moraes with a leg kick. Moraes with a leg kick and then another. They trade in close range. Moraes with a leg kick. Moraes with another leg kick. 10-9 Moraes.

Moraes misses a high kick. Moraes with another inside leg kick. They trade punches and Moraes stumbles a little. Moraes with a head kick as Cejudo throws a right hand. Moraes just misses a spinning head kick. Moraes with a punishing leg kick. Cejudo with a leg kick. Moraes trips Cejudo up with another leg kick. They trade punches and Cejudo lands an uppercut. They are both firing punches. Cejudo lands some right hands and Moraes with an uppercut. They trade again. Cejudo turning it on right now. Cejudo with some knees in the clinch that hurt Moraes. He lands another big one followed by a right hand. Moraes tries a takedown but Cejudo easily blocks it. Cejudo with another knee. They trade late. Big end to the round for Cejudo. 10-9 Cejudo, 19-19.

They are throwing and Cejudo clinches up with Moraes. They continue to trade and Cejudo lands a knee. Timeout after Cejudo pokes Moraes in the eye. Cejudo tries a takedown but Moraes quickly gets up. They are both landing big punches. Cejudo lands a knee. Moraes with a right hand and they clinch. Cejudo grabs the neck and they go to the mat and Cejudo is looking for an anaconda choke. Moraes gets out but eats a knee to the body from Cejudo. Cejudo now on top and is landing punches and Moraes grabs him down into the half-guard. Cejudo with some big shots from the top. Cejudo with elbows from the top and is trying to finish and he does! Cejudo with the big win and he becomes the two-division champion. Wow, what a performance.

Official Result- Henry Cejudo def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (strikes) at 4:51 of Round 3, wins UFC Bantamweight Championship

Title fights set for UFC 238 and 239 this summer

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three UFC title fights are set to take place this summer.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported Wednesday that Jon Jones will defend the UFC light heavyweight championship against Thiago Santos at July’s UFC 239 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

Jones won the vacant title back in December by defeating Alexander Gustafsson. He then defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decison to retain the title in early-March.

Santos is on a four fight winning streak, most recently defeating Jan Blachowicz by KO in February.

Meanwhile, champ-champ Amanda Nunes will defend her bantamweight belt against Holly Holm in the co-main event. Nunes defeated Cris Cyborg in an upset to win the women’s featherweight title, while Holm defeated Megan Anderson in her last outing. Holm was originally set to face Aspen Ladd earlier this month, but the fight was scrapped as Holm was re-negotiating her contract.

UFC also confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Henry Cejudo will fight Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title in the main event of June’s UFC 238 in Chicago, IL. The previous champion, TJ Dillashaw, vacated the title after he recently failed a New York State drug test. Cejudo defeated Dillashaw in a champion vs. champion fight in January to retain his flyweight championship while Moraes is on a four fight winning streak.

Daily Update: Moraes/Cejudo, Tanahashi/Sabre, Jerry Lawler

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: #KofiMania

A combination of timing, fan support, and strong performances have come together to make Kofi Kingston the unlikely star of WrestleMania season.

It was only a few weeks ago where this seemed completely implausible. Kingston wasn’t even originally supposed to be in the WWE Championship match at Elimination Chamber. He was on the outside looking in, with Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Mustafa Ali, and Jeff Hardy set to take part in the match.

WON NEWSLETTER: March 25, 2019 Observer Newsletter: UFC PPVs to ESPN+, Wrestlemania 35 preview

A look at the details and ramifications of the new UFC PPV deal with ESPN+ is the lead story in the new double issue of the Observer. Look at the winners and loses of the deal, the economics of the deal, how it affects fans, what fans are going to be left behind, the role of Dana White, and the negotiations that led to UFC looking outside of TV for PPV.

This issue has a complete rundown of the WrestleMania card as it stands, as well as notes on matches not yet announced. Also look at the secondary market for the big shows over Mania weekend, as well as All In. 

Also look at the details of WWE’s planned move, update on Gallows & Anderson, Dana Warrior, a planned WWE match that fell through, why WWE stock is up, Sue Aitchison in the Hall of Fame, update on WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Matt Hardy future, and several new WWE signings.

Read a major feature on the career of The Destroyer. Look at Dick Beyer’s transition from Syracuse line coach to The Destroyer, who came up with the gimmick, how it transpired, and the role of Fred Blassie and Jules Strongbow in the story.

Read full coverage of ROH’s 17th anniversary show, the ROH/NJPW Madison Square Garden show, and match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

Also look at the suspension of T.J. Dillashaw and his vacating the UFC welterweight title, update the New Japan Cup, cover AAA Rey de Reyes and CMLL El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Our weekend Observer radio show is up covering the New Japan Cup, UFC, and the latest business news of the past week. We also have a second show that will be up later today which is a very interesting look at the making of the Kenny Omega documentary that debuts on TSN in Canada on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.

After last night’s UFC show, Dana White said they are looking at Marlon Moraes vs. flyweight champion Henry Cejudo for the vacant bantamweight title next. The title was vacated when T.J. Dillashaw failed a drug test.

Fighting with My Family was estimated at No. 17 at the movie box office this weekend at $509,000, with a total domestic gross as of today of $21.9 million. It’s been out for six weeks.

It’s been noted to us that the upcoming British heavyweight title match with Zack Sabre Jr. defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi is unlikely to be in the U.K.. and Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki are defending the tag title on the May Revolution Pro show and that’s the only major RevPro event until the end of August. So it looks like either Nagoya on 4/20 or MSG for that match. (thanks to Will Cooling)

Nothing from the combat sports world got the public’s attention to a great degree this weekend. The only thing that was among the top searches was Anthony Pettis, who was No. 18 yesterday with 50,000 searches. 

WWE

  • The current prediction for the crowd at Raw tomorrow in Boston is 10,500 to 11,000. We still haven’t had a major arena Raw sellout for Mania season, and I can’t recall that ever being the case in the modern era. Chicago was thought Monday to be one for sure and that didn’t happen. 
  • A story on WWE recruiting amateur wrestlers.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • A note regarding last night’s Observer Radio show. I made mention of the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg for a possible major Mania week show next year since Mania is in Tampa. However, that would be impossible since that arena was torn down years ago (thanks to David Kaplan and others).
  • During the CBS coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament earlier today, Wally Sczerbiak’s appearance on Nitro in 1999 was shown and there was a clip of him being given a poster by Bill Goldberg, as well a clips of Gene Okerlund, Charles Barkley and there were name drops of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. (thanks to Brian Henke)
  • Julia Budd defends the Belllator fetherweight title aginst Olga Rubino (6-0) on 7/12 in Thackerville, OK.
  • The Memphis Grizzlies had another pro wrestling night last night built around Jerry Lawler. Lawler has had an ongoing feud with Buff Bagwell at the wrestling theme night games, with tonight being no different, with Buff bringing in rick and Scott Steiner to wrestle Jerry and a partner for the newly created tag team titles (Lawler is currently the Grizzlies Heavyweight Champion). During the commercial breaks they have promo’s. First w/ Lawler, then Buff and the Steiners. It’s all pretty generic wrestling promo fare. For the 3rd break they announce Rikishi as Lawler’s partner, who comes out and cuts a promo about teaming with Brian Lawler in the past and how he is going to be “Too Cool” with the King tonight in their tag match. Rikishi then holds up one of Brian’s GMS vests. Here’s the match. It was a short, 5 minute basic match that ended with the King pinning Steiner. Notably Rikishi wrestled in a track suit and did not do the stink face spot: A little while later during the game is the Grizzly Dancers performance, after which Rikishi and the King come out and do the Too Cool dance break with them. (thanks to Aaron Craig)
  • A very cool feature on The Destroyer Park Golf course.
  • IWTW announced streaming eight shows over Mania week starting 4/3 with Beyond Wrestling’s Uncharted Territory plus Game Changer Wrestling’s Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or whatever, Who Knows ?? on 4/6 at Noon from the Collective in Jersey City, NJ. 
  • Beyond Wrestling has Masato Tanaka vs. David Starr on 4/3 at 8 p.m. plus Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. LAX & Chris Dickinson, plus Orange Cassidy, Jordynne Grace and MJF.
  • IWTW on 4/4 at Noon: Orange Cassidy v. Jonathan Gresham for the IWTV independent title, Inter Species Wrestling on 4/4 at 7:30 p.m. with a fans bring the weapons death match with Addy Starr vs. Matt Tremont vs. Nick Gage vs. Jeff Cannonball. CHIKARA on 4/5 at Noon with a ladder match with Dasher Hatfield vs. Mr. Touchdown. Black Label Pro on 4/5 at 3:30 p.m. with Ethan Page vs. Kobe Durst for the BLP title, Nick Gage vs. Swoggle, Masato Yoshino vs. Gresham, Bryan Alvarez vs. Orange Cassidy, plus Sammy Guevera, Shazza McKenzie, Robbie Eagles, Kylie Rae, Nicole Savoy, Shotzi Blackheart, and even 80s star Manny Fernandez. Game Changer Wrestling on Noon on 4/6 has Shinjiro Otani vs. Gresham, Chuckie T vs. Trent Baretta in a one minute time limit match, Nick Gage vs.Ultramtis Black plus Teddy Hart. IWS at 4 p.m. on 4/6 has Matt Tremont vs. Nick Gage vs. Green Phantom. For new subscribers, you can use the code MANIAWEEK and get 20 days free.
  • CWE on 4/4 in Springbrook/Red Deer, AB at the Springbook Multiplex with Psicosis & Jude Dawkins vs. A.J. Sanchez & Shaun Martens in the main event. 4/5 in Grande Prairie, Alberta at the Jackpot Grill Events Center.
  • Tarryn Terrell is in a new Motley Crue bio “The Dirt,” playing a bikini clad mud wrestler.
  • PWA from Saturday night in Sydney, Australia before a sellout crowd: Mick Moretti b Marcus Kool, Jax Jordan won four-way over Adam Hoffman, Michael Spencer and Tyler Payne, Mat Rogers b Mat Diamond, Steph De Lander b Indi Hartwell, Jack Bonza & Jessica Troy b Robbie Eagles & Shazza McKenzie, Unsocial Jordan b Ricky South,Tree Hugger Luchi b Big Fudge, Caveman Ugg b Matty Wahlberg to keep heavyweight title. Millie McKenzie and Session Moth Martina are on the next show.
  • World Series Wrestling’s next Australia shows are 6/21 and 6/22 in Melbourne and 6/23 in Sydney. 
  • Nicole Savoy is coming to Perth, Western Australia for shows on 5/24 an 5/25.
  • BCW in Sydney on 4/28 has Drago vs. Aero Star vs. Bee Boy for the AAA Latin American championship. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
  • Stardom results from today at Shinkiba First Ring: Kagetsu b Hanan, Starlight Kid & Xia Brookside won three-way over Kaori Yoneyama & Leo Onozaki and Hina & Rina, Utami Hayashishita & Konami & AZM b Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora & Saya Iida, Momo Watanabe & Bea Priestley & Viper b Hazuki & Natsu Sumire & Andras Miyagi, Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano & Saki Kashima kept the Artist of Stardom trios titles over Goya Kong & Hana Kmura & Rebel Kel. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and Wrestlingwithdemons.net)
  • Northeast Wrestling from last night in Bethany, CT: Jimmy Preston & Ron Zombie b Dexter Loux & Mike Gamble, Brian Anthony b Keith Youngblood, JT Dunn b Chris Battle, Private Party b The Graysons, Wrecking Ball Legursky b Chuck O’Neil, Austin Theory b AR Fox, Inzanely Rude b Daniel Evans & Anthony Battle, Brad Hollister won three-way over Christian Casanova and Jake Manning. (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
  • Hoosier Pro Wrestling on 4/6 in Columbus, IN at the 4-H Fairgrounds.
  • PWA from last night in Edmonton before 300 fans for the group’s 18th anniversary: The Titan b Kenny Anthony, Shaum Moore won six-way over Mo Jabari, Maxton Flexwell, Nightmare #4, Spaceman BeruiGraysona and El Asesino, The League won three-way to keep Canadian tag titles over Above Average Joes and BodyBreak, Reid Martthews b Colton Kelly for the Mayhem title in a last man standing match, Jeff Cobb b Gabriel to keep the ROH TV title,Sheik Shabaz kept PWA title in a four-way TLC match over Brandon Von Danielson, Marky Mark and Michael Richard Blais. (thanks to Ross Hart)
  • A story on Bill DeMott talking about drunk driving and his daughter being hit by a drunk driver.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWF WrestleMania VII

Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Event:

  • Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Daily Update: WWE notes, Lucha Bros, Henry Cejudo

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch win Royal Rumbles

For the second straight year, WWE went with two fan-pleasing choices as their Royal Rumble winners. WWE followed up on Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka’s wins from last year by having Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch win their respective Rumble matches on Sunday night. The results were entirely predictable, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t the right choices. While there are other stories that WWE can tell, top babyfaces beginning their road to WrestleMania by winning the Royal Rumble will pretty much always work. 

WON NEWSLETTER: January 28, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Future of Ronda Rousey, Royal Rumble preview, more

A quick note that the format of this issue is different due to the fact I messed up my left hand in a bicycle crash on 1/24 making typing extremely difficult.

This issue has complete Royal Rumble and NXT results with eliminations, stats, and facts, plus Dave’s comments. It also includes star ratings, NXT awards, and notes on the post show angle.

Roman Reigns is going to be in the Rock’s new movie. There were some photos of Roman Reigns last week from where he’s been filming the new sequel of the Fast and the Furious franchise, which had been kept kind of quiet. Reigns is playing Rock’s character Hobbs’ brother…

AEW released a short video with Cody Rhodes talking about signing Jungle Boy and the announcement that on February 7th, there is a Ticket Announcement Party at the MGM from Las Vegas. Brandi teased announcing more women at that event. There is a lot of talent expected at that event. CIMA is likely going to be there…

NJPW is very confident that it will not be an issue by the time the MSG G1 Supercard show comes up, with it being several months away…

From reports of the Dallas, TX Road to G1 Supercard show, Shibata’s students, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks, and Alex Coughlin are all seemed as really good in the technical aspect, with all their basics down, as they’re being trained with the Japanese New Japan Dojo mentality. Shibata, who is the lead trainer in the US Dojo, has interpreters with him at all time during training…

Matt Sydal’s contract with Impact Wrestling ended January 1st. He should be ready in a couple of months from a minor knee surgery he got last week…

ORDERING INFO:  Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered  via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Raw tonight will take place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The key segment being pushed is Stephanie McMahon inviting Becky Lynch to Raw after choosing Ronda Rousey over Asuka for a WrestleMania title match. Other matches include Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental title, Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox and Nikki Cross in a Elimination Chamber qualifying match and Jeff Jarrett vs. Elias. Kurt Angle will also be on the show to address his future.
  • PWInsider reported that Paige is scheduled to be at this week’s Raw and SmackDown, noting that it’s likely to promote this month’s release of “Fighting with My Family.”
  • WWE uploaded a “Day Of” video from behind the scenes at the Royal Rumble.
  • The latest #205Life episode features Hideo Itami as he prepared to depart WWE and return to Japan.
  • Triple H posted a picture of the custom title belt that WWE is sending the New England Patriots for winning this year’s Super Bowl.

Pro Wrestling

  • MLW’s Court Bauer tweeted about Pentagon Jr. and Fenix: “I want to thank @PENTAELZEROM @ReyFenixMx for an extraordinary 7+ months as the @MLW World Tag Team Champions. Mas chingons! MLW will always embrace you as family as you helped build this house. Wherever you go next always know you both are 1000000000% leyendas de Lucha Libre!”
  • Jay Lethal, at 646 days, has surpassed Samoa Joe as having the most total combined days as ROH champion.
  • New Japan World added a two part documentary that looked at the match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
  • The Great Sasuke announced that he is taking a year-long hiatus after his 50th birthday on 7/18. Citing multiple injuries in recent years, he wants to take time to heal.
  • Kris Wolf on her blog says that following her current tour, she is retiring.
  • The NWA launched a video series on National Champion Willie Mack.
  • Flip Gordon has started physical training following a torn MCL in his right knee.

UFC/MMA

  • Henry Cejudo is now open to the idea of having a rematch against TJ Dillashaw at 125 after Dillashaw made remarks calling his win a fluke. “If T.J. wants to run it back at 125 we can,” he told MMAJunkie. “If he still feels like he can beat me at ’25, let’s just run it again. To go to ’35 would be for the legacy, but I’m not opposed to him coming down to ’25 again. I’m not opposed to it.”
  • He also told MMAJunkie that the UFC has cut flyweight Dustin Ortiz.
  • Marlon Moraes says he has one fight left in his contract. He wants new contract and guaranteed title shot, and isn’t interested in anything else.
  • Rafael dos Anjos called out Conor McGregor on Twitter: “We have unfinished business, we got close to get it done twice. You pick the weightclass #RDA #Brasil #JesusFirst”
  • Aspen Ladd, who was removed from a UFC 235 bout against Holly Holm, wants UFC to give her a fight.
  • The first Embedded episode ahead of UFC 234 is now up.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Sabu & The Tazmaniac win ECW Tag Team titles

Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):

  • Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
  • Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!

CONTACT INFORMATION

UFC on ESPN+ 1 live results: Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On ESPN+ 1: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw, emanating from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The Octagon heads back to Brooklyn for the dawn of a new era as the UFC premieres with its new broadcast partner, ESPN, in a much-hyped event headlined by a title fight with yet another world champion looking to become a two-division champion.

UFC Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo makes his first title defense as he defends against UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw in the main event. Cejudo became champion in scoring an all-time upset of Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in August, while Dillashaw makes the drop down to 125 pounds looking to become the fourth double champion in UFC history. Dillashaw is a two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion and was last seen defending his 135-pound title in knocking out Cody Garbrandt at that same UFC 227 event in August.

The main card for this event airs on ESPN+, the first UFC fights on their new streaming service, and will feature a heavyweight bout between the debuting Greg Hardy, a former NFL player with lots of controversy, and Allen Crowder. Also on that portion is a lightweight bout between Gregor Gillespie and Yancy Medeiros, a flyweight bout pitting Joseph Benavidez against Dustin Ortiz, and a women’s flyweight bout featuring the return of Paige VanZant as she takes on Rachael Ostovich.

ESPN will air their first UFC fights in company history with a four-fight preliminary card headlined by a lightweight bout between Alexander Hernandez and Donald Cerrone, who made UFC history in his last win to become the all-time UFC win leader. Also on that portion of the card is an exciting women’s flyweight match-up that sees Joanne Calderwood welcome Ariane Lipski to the UFC.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT

> Kyle Stewart (11-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Chance Rencountre (12-3, 0-1 UFC)
Welterweights

They trade right off the bat. Stewart with a low kick that hits the groin and we have a quick timeout. We get back to action. Rencountre gets a takedown and Stewart scrambles to the fence and gets to his feet. Rencountre has the back against the fence. He drags Stewart to the mat. Rencountre looking to set up a choke. Rencountre has the choke locked in now and Stewart taps! Big opening round win for Rencountre.

Official Result- Chance Rencountre def. Kyle Stewart by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 1

> Belal Muhammad (14-2, 5-2 UFC) vs. Geoff Neal (10-2, 2-0 UFC)
Welterweights

Neal pressing forward early and switching his footwork. Both men being patient a minute in. Muhammad with some leg kicks but eats a left hand from Neal. Neal with a body kick followed by a leg kick. They trade in close range. Muhammad shoots for a takedown but doesn’t complete it as Neal posted up and broke away. Neal with a left hand. Neal with a body kick against the fence. Neal lands an uppercut. They trade and Muhammad lands a kick. Neal with a high kick and lands a straight left hand. Muhammad with a flying knee that partially lands. Muhammad shoots but Neal defends the takedown. They clinch up to end the round. Close round. 10-9 Neal.

Neal pressing forward and lands a left hand. Muhammad with a body kick but eats a left hand from Neal. Neal lands a series of hard punches on Muhammad. Muhammad lands a right hand. Neal lands a hard straight left hand. Muhammad shoots and gets a brief takedown but Neal scrambles to his feet. They trade in close range. Muhammad lands a left hand. Neal lands the jab but eats a punch from Muhammad. They are both landing good punches. Muhammad shoots again but Neal defends it. Neal lands a good combo. Neal with an uppercut followed by a left hand. Muhammad with a hard body kick and then a body punch. Neal lands some hard punches at the end that had Muhammad in trouble. 10-9 Muhammad, 19-19.

Both men are throwing to start the third round. Neal lands a left hand. Muhammad shoots again but Neal stuffs it again. Muhammad hasn’t been able to complete a takedown. Muhammad again shoots but Neal lands some left hands and then drops Muhammad with a left hand. Neal on top and lands some ground and pound. They get to their feet. Muhammad with a body kick. Neal lands a hard left hand. Muhammad is busted up on his face. Neal with a head kick that Muhammad checks. Neal with a massive head kick that stumbles up Muhammad. Muhammad gets back to his feet and throws punches. They trade hard punches. Muhammad has a chin on him. Neal with another high kick. Muhammad with a body kick. Great fight. 10-9 Neal, 29-28 Neal.

Official Result- Geoff Neal def. Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

> Dennis Bermudez (16-9, 9-7 UFC) vs. Te Edwards (6-2, 0-1 UFC)
Lightweights

Edwards with a leg kick and Bermudez lands one of his own. Bermudez clinches Edwards against the fence. Edwards lands a knee in the clinch. Edwards lands a head kick on the break and then lands a knee. Bermudez with a leg kick but Edwards hurts him with a punch and Bermudez goes down but recovers quickly. Bermudez with a sloppy takedown attempt that Edwards defends but Bermudez lands an elbow. Bermudez shoots again but Edwards defends. Bermudez lands a knee as they get in close. Bermudez continuing for a takedown but Edwards is defending. Bermudez lands a combo and shoots again and completes it. Bermudez with some elbows and punches from the top as he finishes the round strong. 10-9 Bermudez.

Bermudez with a body kick and gets a takedown and is in the half-guard. Bermudez passes to side control and is attacking with a kimura attempt. Bermudez working hard for it as he has full side control now. He lets go of the attempt. Edwards gets to sprawl position and Bermudez has the neck. They get to their feet. Edwards with a couple of elbows as they break. Bermudez with a leg kick. Edwards lands a left hand. Bermudez gets a takedown. Edwards is doing nothing from the bottom as Bermudez lands a couple of punches. 10-8 Bermudez, 20-17 Bermudez.

Bermudez with some leg kicks. Bermudez with an easy takedown and he lands a couple of hammerfists. Edwards gets himself locked into a guillotine choke and Bermudez has it in deep. Edwards trying to fight out as he keeps turning and is defending well. Bermudez gets to the full mount and is landing punches. Bermudez with a big elbow from the top and then some more elbows and punches. Edwards has nothing from the bottom. Edwards rolls into finding himself having to defend an armbar. Edwards steps out and they get to their feet. Bermudez goes right back for the takedown and finishes it. Bermudez on top but Edwards escapes and lands a couple of punches as the fight ends. 10-8 Bermudez, 30-25 Bermudez.

Official Result- Dennis Bermudez def. Te Edwards by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Dennis Bermudez announced his retirement in his post-fight interview.

ESPN PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Cory Sandhagen (9-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Mario Bautista (6-0, 0-0 UFC)
Bantamweights

Sandhagen with a high kick. They trade leg kicks. Bautista with a body kick. Sandhagen with more leg kicks. Bautista catches a leg and lands a right hand. Sandhagen with a combo to the body. Sandhagen drops Bautista with a huge flying knee. Sandhagen on top and lands some punches but Bautista grabs the body and gets to his feet and has the back of Sandhagen and slams him to the mat. Sandhagen locked Bautista into a triangle choke on the takedown and it is in deep. Sandhagen switches to the armbar and has it locked in and Bautista taps! Nice submission win for Sandhagen.

Official Result- Cory Sandhagen def. Mario Bautista by submission (armbar) at 3:31 of Round 1

> Alonzo Menifield (7-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Vinicius Moreira (9-1, 0-0 UFC)
Light Heavyweights

Menifield with some big punches early as Moreira goes to the mat and eats more punches but they get back to their feet. Moreira with a spinning body kick. Menifield lands a combo. Menifield lands a right hand and then a combo. Menifield throwing some big punches. Moreira moves very slow on his feet. Moreira with blatant fence grabs. Moreira working for a takedown in the clinch. Menifield drops Moreira with a huge right hand and then finishes him off after some more punches on the ground. He has lots of potential at 205 pounds.

Official Result- Alonzo Menifield def. Vinicius Moreira by TKO (punches) at 3:56 of Round 1

> Joanne Calderwood (#10, 12-3, 4-3 UFC) vs. Ariane Lipski (11-3, 0-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

Lipski with big punches early on and Calderwood grabs the clinch. They battle for underhooks against the fence. Lipski with some short knees. They break. Calderwood ducks under and gets a takedown. Calderwood with an elbow from the top. Calderwood passes to side control and transitions to the back. Calderwood looking for a choke but Lipski escapes. Calderwood on top and lands some short elbows. Calderwood now with punches from the top. Calderwood looking for an arm-triangle and almost had it locked in but Lipski escapes and gives up her back. Calderwood looking for a choke again. Calderwood looking for an armbar now. Lipski survives the round. 10-9 Calderwood.

They trade strikes to start the second round. They trade leg kicks. They each land a right hand. Lipski with a body kick. Lipski with a body kick. Calderwood lands a right hand. They continue to trade in close range. Lipski lands a combo and Calderwood counters with a right hand. Lipski with an overhand right. They trade kicks. They trade hard punches. Both ladies are tired as the second round ends. Calderwood with a late body kick. 10-9 Calderwood, 20-18 Calderwood.

Calderwood with some kicks to start the third round. They trade punches. Lipski lands a good combination. Calderwood with some kicks. Calderwood with a right hand but eats some punches from Lipski. Calderwood with some strikes in the clinch and Lipski is able to get a takedown into side control. Lipski working in the guard and now Calderwood attacking for the armbar. Calderwood almost had it locked in but Lipski defending well and spinning over. Lipski gets back into the guard of Calderwood. Lipski with short body punches but not going for the finish. Calderwood almost had an armbar in late. 10-9 Calderwood, 30-27 Calderwood.

Official Result- Joanne Calderwood def. Ariane Lipski by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

> Alexander Hernandez (#11, 10-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Donald Cerrone (#13 WW, 33-11 1 NC, 21-8 UFC)
Lightweights

They trade punches to start. Hernandez lands a hard punch. They trade kicks and Cerrone gets a takedown. Hernandez trying to scramble but Cerrone keeps him down but Hernandez does get to his feet. Cerrone with a right hand. Hernandez lands the jab. They clinch and trade knees. Cerrone lands a right hand. Cerrone lands another. They trade punches. Cerrone lands a hard right hand. Hernandez with a body kick. Cerrone fires back with a combo. Cerrone with a head kick. Hernandez with some knees in the clinch. Cerrone with a combo. Cerrone lands a big knee followed by a right hand. Hernandez is bleeding. Cerrone with a big combo. Cerrone lighting Hernandez up on the feet. Hernandez is bleeding badly over his left eye. Cerrone with a body kick. Great round for Cerrone. 10-9 Cerrone.

Hernandez with a front body kick. Cerrone misses a knee. They clinch and Hernandez looking for a takedown from a body lock. Cerrone with a leg kick. Cerrone with a combo. Cerrone with a big combo and Hernandez is hurt again. Cerrone with a big body kick. Hernandez is retreating. They clinch and Hernandez lands some punches but eats big knees from Cerrone. Cerrone with a big elbow. Cerrone with a combo. Cerrone drops Hernandez with a big head kick and goes into the guard. Cerrone with big right hands on the ground and he finishes Hernandez! Fantastic performance by Cerrone in this one.

Official Result- Donald Cerrone def. Alexander Hernandez by TKO (kick & punches) at 3:43 of Round 2

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> Glover Teixeira (#12, 27-7, 10-5 UFC) vs. Karl Roberson (7-1, 2-1 UFC)
Light Heavyweights

Roberson with a body kick. Teixeira looking for a takedown and eats some big elbows and falls to the mat. Roberson on top landing big punches and elbows. Roberson gets to the mount and lands some big punches. Teixeira able to scramble out and looks for a takedown as they get to their feet. He finishes it off and gets right to the mount. Teixeira landing some punches from the top and is working for an arm-triangle. Roberson able to get out. Teixeira back in the guard and lands more punches. He went right back for the arm-triangle and has it locked in and Roberson taps! Nice comeback from Teixeira has he was in a lot of trouble early in the fight.

Official Result- Glover Teixeira def. Karl Roberson by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:21 of Round 1

> Paige VanZant (7-4, 4-3 UFC) vs. Rachael Ostovich (4-4, 1-1 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

They clinch early and VanZant gets a brief trip takedown but they get up and Ostovich gets a takedown and is in the half-guard. VanZant just holding on from the bottom and Ostovich not doing anything and they are stood up. Ostovich lands a right hand and gets a takedown and is in side control. Ostovich has the neck of VanZant and is looking to pass the guard. Ostovich lets go of the neck. VanZant grabs the leg looking for an ankle lock but Ostovich rolls out. VanZant still has the leg and looking for a heel hook. Ostovich gets out and they get to their feet. Ostovich gets VanZant right back to the mat. 10-9 Ostovich.

VanZant with a leg kick. Ostovich lands a right hand. Ostovich with another right hand and gets a takedown right off of it. Ostovich gets the back but VanZant scrambles out and gets the back of Ostovich. VanZant with back mount and landing big punches. Ostovich turns for a moment. VanZant still landing from the back. Somewhere Ostovich tapped out as the fight suddenly stopped from the back mount. VanZant got an armbar from the back as Ostovich was trying to slide out but the armbar was in deep and she tapped. Big win for VanZant.

Official Result- Paige VanZant def. Rachael Ostovich by submission (armbar) at 1:50 of Round 2

> Joseph Benavidez (#2, 26-5, 13-3 UFC) vs. Dustin Ortiz (#8, 19-7, 8-5 UFC)
Flyweights

Benavidez with a body kick and then a leg kick but eats a combo from Ortiz. Benavidez with a left hand. Ortiz hurts Benavidez with a punch and goes for a takedown against the fence. Benavidez grabs the neck and Ortiz lands some short punches as they break apart. Ortiz with a high kick. Benavidez with a leg kick and Ortiz lands a counter right. Benavidez with a takedown. They scramble to their feet and clinch against the fence. Benavidez gets a takedown. They get to their feet. Ortiz lands a knee as they break. Ortiz with a kick but then gets dropped with a big left hand from Benavidez. Benavidez gets into the guard. Ortiz gives up his back but the round ends. 10-9 Benavidez.

They trade punches and scramble to start the second round. Benavidez gets a brief takedown but Ortiz grabs the neck. They break. They trade and Ortiz lands a solid left hook. Ortiz coming forward more and lands a body kick. Benavidez working for another takedown and Ortiz landing some body punches to defend. Ortiz tries a takedown but it is defended. Ortiz gets the back. Ortiz gets a takedown and has the back. Benavidez is trying to circle out. They get to their feet. Benavidez lands a good left hand. Ortiz gets a takedown and has the back of Benavidez as they scramble and Ortiz gets a slam takedown and has the back and looks for a choke. He doesn’t have it under the chin and time runs out on the round. 10-9 Ortiz, 19-19.

Ortiz lands a solid right hand. Benavidez changes levels and gets a takedown. Benavidez moves to the back and they scramble and Ortiz reverses to the top and then takes the back of Benavidez. They continue to scramble and get to their feet and Benavidez has the back as they scramble back to the ground. Benavidez has the body triangle. Benavidez working for a choke but Ortiz is defending well and trying to explode from position and does. They get to their feet and Benavidez drags it back down. They continue to scramble as they get to their feet. Benavidez tries an ankle pick but eats body punches from Ortiz. Ortiz has the back and Benavidez lands punches. They get to their feet. Some fun grappling in this one. 10-9 Benavidez, 29-28 Benavidez.

Official Result- Joseph Benavidez def. Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Gregor Gillespie (#15, 12-0, 5-0 UFC) vs. Yancy Medeiros (15-5 1 NC, 6-5 1 NC UFC)
Lightweights

Gillespie goes right for the leg and gets a takedown as he gets back control. Medeiros popping back up to his feet. They scramble around and Gillespie still has the back. Gillespie landing knees to the body and head as he has body control against the fence. They scramble and Medeiros now has the back but Gillespie able to reverse. Gillespie gets a brief takedown. Gillespie gets another and Medeiros keeps being able to get up. Gillespie gets another takedown. Medeiros is able to get up but Gillespie keeps grinding and is all over Medeiros. Gillespie with more knees. 10-9 Gillespie.

They trade punches to start the second. Gillespie lands a right hand. Gillespie shoots and Medeiros defends against the fence. Gillespie with a brief trip takedown and now has the back. Gillespie gets to the top and has the mount and is working for a possible choke. Gillespie with an elbow and starts to land punches. Medeiros trying to turn out. Medeiros gives up his back and Gillespie landing punches. Big punches from Gillespie. They get to their feet. Gillespie gets the back and is landing big punches and the fight is stopped with seconds left in the second round. Wow. Big finish by Gillespie in a dominant showing.

Official Result- Gregor Gillespie def. Yancy Medeiros by TKO (punches) at 4:59 of Round 2

> Greg Hardy (3-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Allen Crowder (9-3 1 NC, 0-1 UFC)
Heavyweights

Hardy landing big punches early. Crowder went right after him. Hardy landing more punches. Crowder clinches. They break. Hardy with a left hand. Hardy with a leg kick. Hardy slowing down as this is now his longest career fight. Hardy with a knee but Crowder reverses it into a takedown. They start to get up but Crowder plants Hardy back down and gets into side control. Crowder into the crucifix position. Hardy scrambles to his feet. Crowder leaning on Hardy and attacks with a guillotine and slips down and Hardy now in the guard. Hardy with some hammerfists. Crowder with an elbow from the bottom. They get to their feet and Hardy lands a big right hand at the end. 10-9 Crowder.

Both men are tired. They trade punches. Crowder lands a right hand. Both throwing at the air right now. Crowder taunting Hardy and lands some punches. That seemed to faze Hardy though Hardy lands an elbow. Crowder tries a takedown but Hardy defends. Hardy then landed an illegal knee on Crowder and Hardy even landed a punch after the referee stepped in. It was a blatant illegal knee. This fight is over and Hardy is being disqualified. Crowder’s knee was clearly down as Hardy was holding him down. Hard to say if it was intentional but it did look malicious after it came after the taunting from Crowder and a bad chant from the fans directed at Hardy. Crowder is getting the win here.

Official Result- Allen Crowder def. Greg Hardy by disqualification (illegal knee) at 2:28 of Round 2

> Henry Cejudo (C, 13-2, 7-2 UFC) vs. TJ Dillashaw (C BW, 16-3, 12-3 UFC)
UFC Flyweight Championship

Dillsahaw tries something quick but Cejudo hurts him with a right hand. Cejudo has Dillashaw in a ton of trouble. Cejudo has Dillashaw in a lot of trouble and drops him again with another punch and lands more punches and the fight is stopped. Wow. Cejudo finishes Dillashaw in less than a minute. Cejudo remains the champion. What a finish by Cejudo.

Official Result- Henry Cejudo def. TJ Dillashaw by TKO (punches) at :32 of Round 1, Cejudo retains the UFC Flyweight Championship

Report: UFC to move Henry Cejudo-TJ Dillashaw to ESPN+ debut

Posted on by Josh Nason

After another situation in which they couldn’t put together the right main event, the UFC decided to simply move a main event from one show to their January ESPN+ debut show instead.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday night that sources tell him the January UFC 226 main event between flyweight champion Henry Cejudo (seen above) vs. bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is being moved up a week to January 19th, the promotion’s debut on ESPN+ in Brooklyn, NY, leaving the Anaheim, CA, PPV without a main event.

But, there’s more.

Helwani said UFC tried to book welterweight champion Tyron Woodley vs. former interim champion Colby Covington for the Anaheim show, but Woodley is recovering from hand surgery. They then looked to book Covington vs. Kamaru Usman as the co-main event for Brooklyn, but Covington has yet to agree while Usman has agreed.

Originally, Helwani said, UFC tried to move up the Ben Askren-Robbie Lawler fight from Anaheim to Brooklyn and make that the main event, but Lawler declined.

Helwani said they will look to book a title fight for the Anaheim show, but given recent title fights and other scheduled ones, that only leaves two options: a strawweight title defense by Rose Namajunas or moving the Cris Cyborg-Amanda Nunes featherweight title fight scheduled for late-December (co-main on the Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson show) to Anaheim instead.

Report: Dillashaw-Cejudo to clash in January for UFC flyweight title

Posted on by Josh Nason

It appears that, at least for one more night, the UFC flyweight title will live.

An early Friday morning report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has the UFC looking to finally sign a long-discussed fight between flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for January’s UFC 233 in Los Angeles.

However, the fight would not be for Dillashaw’s 135-pound title but for Cejudo’s strap instead, a surprise considering FloCombat’s report this week that the UFC is abandoning the division sooner than later. Okamoto could not confirm whether the fight would be the final one for the division.

If Dillashaw was to win, he would become the company’s fifth two-division champion (Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier).

Cejudo won the title from long reigning champion Demetrious Johnson earlier this year. Johnson’s contract was “traded” to ONE Fighting Championship for the contract of Ben Askren. This week, Askren vs. Robbie Lawler was signed for the January show as well.