Curses might not be real, but the UFC’s attempt to put on a big event at Madison Square Garden in a few weeks feels like it has cosmic forces working against it.
In the latest bit of bad news for UFC 230 on Saturday, November 3rd, Luke Rockhold is out of his co-main event rematch with Chris Weidman with an injury according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. He said the promotion is shuffling things around, presumably to keep Weidman, a New York native, for the event. UFC has yet to formally announce any change.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani confirmed the news, adding Rockhold is dealing with a right knee sprain, left shin infection, and a broken nose, but hopes to be ready to return in four weeks. He added the hope is to rebook Weidman against former title challenger Jacare Souza who is set to fight David Branch on the show.
The UFC’s third effort in “The World’s Most Famous Arena” has had a number of setbacks starting with their effort to book a main event. After months of speculation, they originally were going to go with Valentina Shevchenko vs. Sijara Eubanks for the vacant women’s flyweight title, a fight that was roundly panned when first broken.
They then turned to double champion Daniel Cormier, still recovering from a broken finger, against Derrick Lewis, he fresh off a come from behind win several weeks ago at UFC 229.
Fan sentiment was around the creation of a 165-pound title for a main event of previous co-main eventers Dustin Poirier and the returning Nate Diaz. But, Dana White wasn’t interested in that, nor making Diaz-Poirer the main event. Then, Poirier had to drop out of the fight altogether due to an injury.
The 34-year-old Rockhold is coming off a February knockout loss to Yoel Romero while Weidman is coming off a win over Kelvin Gastelum in July 2017.
The UFC’s second PPV effort of the year is here and boy, is it….a card full of people that fight. Your faithful three of Paul Fontaine, Ryan Frederick, and I will pose a few questions about UFC 221 and whether it’s worth your effort and money to watch.
The latest twist to this blaise card is that Yoel Romero missed weight by nearly three pounds so if he wins, he doesn’t get the interim middleweight title. If Luke Rockhold wins, it may just be a done-in-one situation because he wants to move up in weight. BUY THIS SHOW NOW.
First, The Card
Interim Middlweight Championship (for one person): Luke Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero
Mark Hunt vs. Curtis Blaydes
Tai Tuvasa vs. Cyril Asker
Jake Matthews vs. Li Jingliang
Tyson Pedro vs. Saparbek Safarov
Damien Brown vs. “Non Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim
Rob Wilkinson vs. Israel Adesanya
Jeremy Kennedy vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Jussier Formiga vs. Ben Nguyen
Ross Pearson vs. Mizuto Hirota
Teruto Ishihira vs. Jose Alberto Quinonez
Luke Jumeau vs. Daichi Abe
What fight(s) are you most looking forward to?
Ryan: I’m most looking forward to the main event. Say what you want about this being an interim title fight, but it is an excellent matchup. This was going to likely be next if Rockhold had beaten originally scheduled opponent Robert Whittaker and Romero beaten originally scheduled opponent David Branch in Orlando. That some pundits are saying this is the worst interim title fight to date is really a slap in the face to both guys as there have been worse interim title fights. I expect this to deliver. I’m also looking forward to seeing Mark Hunt fight because it’s Mark Hunt and he’s always fun, and the UFC debut of Israel Adesanya. He has future star potential and is a violent and exciting fighter.
Paul: Gotta say the main event as well. I’ve been as down on this as a title fight as much as anyone but taking that aspect away from it, it’s a helluva fight. Combined, they are 14-2 in their last 16 fights and all against top notch competition. The winner here is a worthy #1 contender to Whittaker once he returns, but I’m just not sure they’re a worthy champion. But, it should be a great fight.
Nason: I mean, that Jumeau vs. Abe fight is going to be LIT. (Just kidding. I’m too old to be using lit.) It’s the Rockhold-Romero fight. This is a one-fight show with a few slightly interesting storylines, but that’s about it. I still am impressed they brought back an interim title they just put back in the closet this soon. I was interested to hear both guys wanted this fight on free TV a few times, but now we get to pay $65 for it. Hooray.
Any dark horse fights?
Ryan: I really like the prelim headliner between Damien Brown and Maestro Dong Hyun Kim. They are exciting lightweights, and both have been involved in some of the best fights in the UFC in recent years. They both like to stand and trade, and they have the chance to steal the show. I also like the featherweight bout between Alex Volkanovski and Jeremy Kennedy. They are both undefeated, and while not known much and not known for the most exciting fights, they are definite prospects in a crowded division with a chance to breakout here.
Paul: The flyweight fight on the FS1 prelims between Ben Nguyen and Jussier Formiga should be great. Nguyen, in particular, is an exciting fighter with finishing ability, which is rare for the flyweight division. These are easily the two best contenders to never receive a title shot at Demetrious Johnson and an impressive showing from either guy should put them at the top of the list in my book.
Nason: I’ll go with Tai Tuvasa vs. Cyril Asker. Tuvasa is six-for-six with knockouts in a career that started nearly six years ago. He hasn’t fought a lot, but at 24 years of age, a young heavyweight is badly needed in the UFC. And, if we’re being honest here, I’ve never heard of Cyril Asker before in my life.
What isn’t doing it for you this weekend?
Paul: I get they want to push local guys in the market, but UFC usually saves that stuff for FS1 shows. Tyson Pedro and Saparbek Safarov is not a PPV caliber fight, nor should Tai Tuivasa and Cyril Asker be third from the top…or even on the PPV card, really. But looking down the card, it’s hard to even find a fight you’d replace them with. This show has no depth and at some point in the last six weeks, I feel UFC should have made the decision to move this card to free television. A move like that is not without precedence. UFC simply doesn’t have enough star power at present to justify monthly PPVs without having cards like this come up more regularly. The next few months are not looking much better either.
Ryan: The main card isn’t doing much for me outside of the main event. It is definitely an event made for the market they are in, but it isn’t a pay-per-view caliber event. That’s what happens when you have 24 events in 26 weeks. It’s overkill, and you get left with events like this that suffer. I think there are several prelim fights that are stronger than a couple of main card fights.
Nason: That people are being asked to pay $65 for this is…interesting. This will be a good check of the base as I think this will be the floor for PPV sales. 100,000 buys…maybe?
Does this show matter?
Nason: I’ll answer first. It doesn’t. Rockhold said a move to light heavyweight is “imminent”, so even with a win, we may never see him fight Whittaker. If Romero was to win, we’ll get a rematch of he and Whittaker but that fight wasn’t that great to begin with. The rest of the card is shuffling cards. I like Mark Hunt, but he’s gone from the promotion after he finishes his last few contracted fights.
Ryan: I guess in the long run, you can say yes because it gets a clear next challenger at 185 pounds. It also gives you a good sense of how the UFC fares in a new market. However, outside of Rockhold vs. Romero, it’s not a show that has any immediate bearings on divisions, so it’s a true “meh” type of pay-per-view offering.
Paul: It matters for two reasons. The Romero-Rockhold winner is the clear #1 contender and depending on the recovery time for Whittaker, they could end up even defending that interim title down the road. The other reason is to see just what the UFC’s low-end base for PPV is in 2018. I feel like it’s up a bit since the really down days of 2014 but we’ll likely find out soon enough as this show may be the weakest overall lineup that UFC has presented for a PPV card since UFC 177.
Who wins?
Rockhold vs. Romero
– Rockhold: Nason, Ryan
– Romero: Paul
Hunt vs. Blaydes
– Hunt: Ryan, Paul, Nason
Jake Matthews vs. Li Jingliang
– Matthews: Nason, Ryan, Paul
Keep up with our coverage on Saturday night, starting with the Fight Pass prelims through FS1 through the PPV.
UPDATE: Yoel Romero missed weight again, coming in at 187.7 pounds on the second attempt. Only Luke Rockhold will be able to win the interim middleweight title.
**********
It’s Friday, which means that there will be some sort of a weight-cutting issue for the UFC.
Yoel Romero just weighed in at 188.3 pounds, three-plus pounds over the 185 limit since it’s a championship fight. Right now he’s got under two hours to make weight for his interim middleweight championship fight with Luke Rockhold, which is scheduled to be the main event of UFC 221 in Perth, Western Australia on Saturday.
It he fails to make weight, the fight will still go on. In that situation, if Rockhold wins, he will be the interim champion. If Romero wins, there will be no interim champion. What that will mean for Robert Whittaker in that case becomes less clear. Romero could win and still get a shot at Whittaker, but there are also reasons why they could go to someone else in that situation.
Video of the weigh-ins is available to watch below. Romero and Rockhold have a heated staredown a bit after the 31-minute mark:
As the UFC prepares to offically open up for 2018 business Sunday in St. Louis, they are already dealing with injuries to main events, necessitating the revival of an interim championship they just put in mothballs.
First reported early Saturday morning by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker had to withdraw from his title defense against former champion Luke Rockhold at February’s UFC 221 in Perth, Australia, due to an undisclosed injury.
With an already thin card and a desire to not cancel a PPV, Rockhold will now fight fellow top contender Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title. The irony is that Whittaker was the interim middleweight champion after a win over Romero in the summer of 2017 and had the ‘interim’ dropped when new champion Georges St-Pierre recently announced he would be out for a undisclosed amount of time dealing with colitis.
Whittaker has been out since the Romero fight with injuries.
The UFC was in a tough spot with the Whittaker injury as even by their standards, UFC 221 sported a very thin card with a co-main event of Mark Hunt vs. Curtis Blaydes. PPV-wise in North America, there probably won’t be a depreciable drop with the change with the only real financial impact being felt at the box office as Whittaker returning to his native country was the big draw.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 116: Rockhold vs. Branch, emanating from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The event is headlined by the return to action of former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold, who steps inside the Octagon for the first time since losing the championship in June 2016. He looks to get back into the win column and work back towards a title shot when he takes on David Branch, winner of eleven straight fights, including his return bout in the UFC in May.
In the co-main event, Mike Perry looks to build on his potential as he looks for another knockout when he takes on Alex Reyes, who steps in on just a few days’ notice after Thiago Alves was forced out due to travel issues stemming from Hurricane Irma. Also on the main card is Kamaru Usman looking to score his tenth straight win as he battles Sergio Moraes.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Jason Saggo (12-3, 3-2 UFC) vs. Gilbert Burns (12-2, 4-2 UFC) Lightweights
They traded kicks to start off the action. Saggo landed a high kick but ate a body kick from Burns. Burns landed a left hand and followed with a leg kick. Burns is landing punches as he counters leg kicks from Saggo with them. Burns with a straight right hand and then followed with a leg kick and a knee on a clinch break. Burns landed a body kick but Saggo grabbed the leg and forced Burns to his back. Saggo was attacking from a standing position with kicks. Burns got to his feet and landed a right hand. Burns scored a brief takedown but they got up and then Burns dragged the fight back down. Burns with some heavy right hands on top and had the back as the round ended. 10-9 Burns.
Saggo was attacking with kicks to open the round. Burns shot for a takedown but it was defended. Saggo with a body kick. They exchanged kicks. Saggo was landing more kicks at different areas of Burns’ body. Burns just missed a huge right hand. Burns landed a combo and then scored a huge slam takedown and pushed Saggo against the fence. Saggo was able to use the fence to get to his feet and they broke. Burns lands a right hand. Saggo with a body kick. Burns then landed a huge right hand that knocked Saggo out cold with just under ten seconds to go in the round. It was a huge punch and Burns gets the win by knockout!
Official Result- Gilbert Burns def. Jason Saggo by knockout (punch) at 4:55 of Round 2
> Krzysztof Jotko (#10, 19-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. Uriah Hall (#14, 12-8, 5-6 UFC) Middleweights
Hall tried coming out fast but Jotko was able to push him towards the fence. Jotko landed a combo. Hall is keeping his back against the fence but comes forward with a leg kick. Jotko landed some big punches and has Hall in a lot of trouble. Hall went down but got up and Jotko is landing big punches and came close to finishing. Jotko got a takedown and was landing but that takedown may have been a mistake. Jotko gets the back but pulls Hall back down and is landing big punches and gets into the mount. Hall gives up his back and Jotko is landing more punches. Hall gets up but Jotko is on his back. Jotko looked for the choke but didn’t have it in and went back to the mount. Hall was able to scramble out to his feet. Both men are tired and wobbling on their feet. Hall landed a left hand that stunned Jotko. We are going to the second. 10-8 Jotko.
Jotko landed an uppercut. Hall missed a spinning high kick but then kind of landed one. Hall then took his back to the fence, which almost cost him the fight in the first. Hall fights best when he is coming forward but he’s been going backward most of the fight. He is now starting to come forward and lands a right hand. Hall then dropped Jotko with a right hand and then finished him off. What a comeback from Hall, who looked done in the first as he saves his UFC career for now.
Official Result- Uriah Hall def. Krzysztof Jotko by knockout (punches) at 2:25 of Round 2
> Anthony Hamilton (15-7, 3-5 UFC) vs. Daniel Spitz (5-1, 0-1 UFC) Heavyweights
Hamilton went down after Spitz landed a right hand to the temple and Spitz landed a bunch of more punches and the fight was quickly stopped. It happened fast but the fight could have gone longer as it was a questionable stoppage, though Hamitlon stumbled when getting to his feet. This one went less than 30 seconds. A big knockout win by Spitz for his first UFC victory.
Official Result- Daniel Spitz def. Anthony Hamilton by TKO (punches) at :24 of Round 1
> Tony Martin (12-3, 4-3 UFC) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (9-2, 5-2 UFC) Lightweights
They were feeling each other out early and both landed leg kicks. Aubin-Mercier landed a left hand. Martin landed a right hand and Aubin-Mercier came back with a left hand and a right hook. They traded punches. Aubin-Mercier went for a takedown but it was stuffed by Martin. They were battling for underhooks against the fence. Aubin-Mercier got a takedown with under a minute to go. Martin was able to scramble out to his feet. They traded punches late. Close round. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
Aubin-Mercier lands a leg kick and left hand to start the second. He landed a body kick and went for a takedown but it was stuffed by Martin. Aubin-Mercier got a takedown against the fence. Martin has been planted on the mat but both men are landing short punches on the ground. They get to their feet and Aubin-Mercier takes the back. Aubin-Mercier got a takedown against the fence. Aubin-Mercier is landing from the top and Martin can’t sweep from out under. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier, 20-18 Aubin-Mercier.
Martin lands a combo with a solid right hand to start the third. Aubin-Mercier goes for a takedown but Martin has the neck and had a choke locked in but it was defended by Aubin-Mercier, who popped his head out. Martin has the back and is working for a choke as he lands short punches. Martin is still working for the neck but it is being defended and he is still landing short punches. Martin landing more to end the fight. Martin got the third. Close fight which will come down to how the first round was scored, and that could have gone either way. 10-9 Martin, 29-28 Aubin-Mercier.
Aubin-Mercier got two of the scorecards for a split decision. Not a bad call as it was close.
Official Result- Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Martin by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Justin Ledet (8-0 1 NC, 2-0 UFC) vs. Zu Anyanwu (14-4, 0-0 UFC) Heavyweights
They are feeling each other out in the first minute. Ledet is looking to land the jab while Anyanwu is looking to counter with an overhand right. Ledet with a right hand. Ledet landed a left hook. Ledet with a straight right hand. Anyanwu landed a right hand finally but backed off. They are fighting slow and it is uneventful. Anyanwu with a right hand to the body. 10-9 Ledet.
They are still feeling each other out as Ledet is landing the jab. He is going with the jab followed by a hook. Anyanwu landed a right hand and just missed the uppercut. Anyanwu landed a right hand but Ledet is landing with more volume. The crowd is booing this. Ledet landing the stiff jab. Slow round again. 10-9 Ledet, 20-18 Ledet.
Anyanwu is on the attack looking to land the right hand and he had Ledet running away as he just landed the right. Anyanwu landing some more punches. Ledet keeping him away with the jab but Anyanwu landed a hard right hand. Anyanwu landed another right hand. Ledet with another jab. Anyanwu’s face is a mess with a swollen eye. Anyanwu backs Ledet up with some punches and he lands another right hand. Anyanwu with a late combo. 10-9 Anyanwu, 29-28 Ledet.
Official Result- Justin Ledet def. Zu Anyanwu by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
BREAKING: Mauricio Rua is injured and pulled out of the main event of UFC Fight Night 117 in Saitama, Japan, which takes place on Friday. He was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux. In his place, Yushin Okami has signed to return to the UFC and will face Saint Preux.
Moraes was swinging early. Usman then dropped Moraes with a right hand. Moraes got back up and they were trading punches but Usman was landing a lot more volume. Moraes landed a solid right hand. Usman then knocked Moraes out with a big right hand. Moraes actually did a somersault roll and Usman landed one more right hand on the mat. A big knockout win for Usman, who has now won ten straight fights.
Official Result- Kamaru Usman def. Sergio Moraes by knockout (punch) at 2:48 of Round 1
> Gregor Gillespie (9-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Jason Gonzalez (11-3, 1-1 UFC) Lightweights
Gonzalez came out with two straight head kicks and a left hand and Gillespie clinched. Gonzalez landed a knee in the clinch. Gillespie then landed a left hand that dropped Gonzalez and he swarmed on top and was looking for the finish but went into the guard. They scrambled to the feet and Gillespie was rocking Gonzalez with punches. They are trading heavy punches. This is fun. Gillespie got a big takedown. Gonzalez is bleeding and Gillespie working in the half-guard but transitions to mount. Gillespie with some big punches from the top, They scramble to their feet. Gonzalez with a head kick. Gillespie gets another takedown. They get to their feet. Gillespie lands a big elbow and then landed a big uppercut that rocked Gilespie. Gillespie with another takedown into the mount but he goes to side control. Gillespie lands more from the top. Exciting round. 10-9 Gillespie.
Gonzalez with another head kick. Gillespie starts landing punches to the body and gets a takedown. Gillespie gets into the mount. Gillespie looking to set up an arm-triangle choke. Gillespie with some pressure and he has the choke locked in tight. Gonzalez is defending and he taps out! Gillespie with the submission win in an exciting fight.
Official Result- Gregor Gillespie def. Jason Gonzalez by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:11 of Round 2
> Hector Lombard (34-7-1 2 NC, 3-5 1 NC UFC) vs. Anthony Smith (27-12, 3-2 UFC) Middleweights
Smith with a high kick early. Lombard looking to land the left hand and he is chasing Smith to the fence. Lombard with some punches inside close range. Smith goes to his knees looking for a takedown but Lombard is landing punches. Smith back to his feet. Smith just misses a head kick. Lombard with a couple of leg kicks and then a big body kick. Lombard is landing big punches as Smith retreats towards the fence. Lombard with some leg kicks. Lombard with more big leg kicks and he’s landing with his hands. Smith isn’t showing much defense. 10-9 Lombard.
Lombard with more leg kicks. They clinched for a moment and Lombard landed on the break. Lombard with more leg kicks. Smith can’t get any offense going. Lombard grabs the back and is looking for a takedown. Lombard with some knees to the legs of Smith with the back body locked. They break and Smith lands some elbows. Lombard with a left hand. Smith lands a right hand. Smith lands a right hand and Lombard is stunned and slips to the mat. Lombard grabs Smith and drags him down. 10-9 Lombard, 20-18 Lombard.
They trade inside the first minute of the final round. Lombard with a leg kick and Smith lands to the body. Smith with a right hand that stuns Lombard. They trade kicks. Lombard landing the lefts. Smith then lands a big combo and a right hand knocks Lombard down and Smith finishes him off with a couple more punches on the ground. A big comeback win for Smith as he needed that.
Official Result- Anthony Smith def. Hector Lombard by TKO (punches) at 2:33 of Round 3
> Mike Perry (10-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Alex Reyes (13-2, 0-0 UFC) Welterweights
They were trading early and Reyes was landing some good kicks. Perry was missing his punches and they were running around in the Octagon looking to land. They clinched up and Perry landed a vicious knee right to the jaw that knocked Reyes out cold. Violent finish by Perry as he scores another knockout win. Perry called for a fight against Robbie Lawler in his interview.
Official Result- Mike Perry def. Alex Reyes by knockout (knee) at 1:19 of Round 1
> Luke Rockhold (#3, 15-3, 5-2 UFC) vs. David Branch (#9, 21-3, 3-2 UFC) Middleweights
Branch with a right hand to start and Rockhold lands some body kicks in counters. Branch lands a lot of punches that hurt Rockhold against the fence and Branch gets a takedown but Rockhold right back to his feet. They clinch and Rockhold has Branch against the fence and lands a knee. They break and Rockhold with a leg kick. They clinch again after Branch lands a right hand. Rockhold with a knee to the body as they break. Rockhold with a jumping kick followed by a left hand. They clinch and Rockhold with a knee. Rockhold gets a late takedown despite Branch grabbing the top of the Octagon in an attempt to block. 10-9 Branch.
Rockhold with a body kick. Rockhold lands a left hand. Branch missing his punches. They clinch. Rockhold pushes Branch against the fence and is working for a takedown. Rockhold gets the takedown and has the mount and is landing. He gets the back of Branch and is landing punches. Rockhold working for a finish as he has Branch pinned on the mat and is landing punches. Branch not defending as Rockhold has the back. Rockhold has him flattened out and is landing lots of punches and the referee steps in and stops the fight. Branch actually tapped out due to the punches. Big win for Rockhold is his return as he stamps himself as the possible next title challenger.
Official Result- Luke Rockhold def. David Branch by submission (punches) at 4:05 of Round 2
The UFC has lost a main event as former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold suffered a knee injury and has pulled out of his November 27th rematch against Jacare Souza in Melbourne, Australia.
Rockhold had injured his knee prior to his June title loss to Michael Bisping.
The co-main event of Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson was promoted to main event.
The story by Ariel Helwani quoted Souza’s manager Gilbert Faria who said at this point, he would only be open to facing Bisping for the middleweight championship. What makes that notable is that Bisping was interested in fighting on the December 10th Toronto, Canada, PPV, although he was looking for a big money payday against either Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz.
Souza has won nine of his last ten fights since a 2011 loss to Rockhold where he also lost the Strikeforce middleweight title. His lone UFC loss was to Yoel Romero — a fight that many media and fans had Souza winning or, at worst, ending in a tie.
Chris Weidman and Romero will face each other at the upcoming UFC 205 megacard in NYC where it’s likely the winner wll get the next shot at Bisping.
A key middleweight bout has been announced for the main event of the UFC’s return to Australia in November as former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and long-time top contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza meet in a five-round bout at UFC Fight Night 101.
Rockhold announced the bout on his social media late Sunday night, and it was later confirmed by UFC officials.
Rockhold and Souza have met once before when both were fighting in the Strikeforce promotion. It was for Souza’s Strikeforce Middleweight Championship in September 2011, a bout won by Rockhold via unanimous decision. At the time, it was considered one of the bigger upsets to happen in recent time.
Rockhold is returning to the Octagon for the first time since losing the UFC Middleweight Championship to Michael Bisping by first-round knockout at UFC 199 in June. Rockhold had won the title from Chris Weidman in his previous bout at UFC 194 in December.
UFC officials were trying to get Rockhold to return for the last few weeks, but he had been holding out for a better contract, stating he is making enough from doing modeling that he doesn’t need to fight if the money isn’t right. With this announcement, it seems those issues have now past.
Souza is looking to score his second straight win after beating Vitor Belfort by first-round TKO at UFC 198 in May. Souza bounced back from losing a split decision to Yoel Romero at UFC 194 in December in a key top contenders’ bout, which ended Souza’s eight-fight win streak. Souza is 6-1 since coming to the UFC from Strikeforce, also scoring wins over Gegard Mousasi, Francis Carmont, Yushin Okami, and two wins over Chris Camozzi.
UFC Fight Night 101 takes place on November 27th from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The event airs on Fox Sports 1, and due to the time difference between the United States and Australia, the event is broadcast on November 26th. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, just outside of Los Angeles. The event is headlined by two title fights involving two heated rivalries. UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold makes his first title defense against Michael Bisping, who gets his first title shot after almost ten years of fighting for the UFC after he replaced Chris Weidman in the bout. In the co-main event, it is UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz making his first defense since regaining the championship when he defends against long-time rival Urijah Faber, who looks to finally capture UFC gold. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:15 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
This weekend we’ll be doing polls on this show, as well as Monday and Tuesday’s New Japan show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle and best and worst match to [email protected]
LIGHTWEIGHTS- POLO REYES (5-2, 1-0 UFC) VS. DONG HYUN “MAESTRO” KIM (13-7-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: The place is pretty empty starting out the show. I wonder what the odds are of having two Dong Hyun Kim’s in the same promotion. Both coming out swinging. Kim hurt him. Both landing big shots. Kim now working for a takedown. Torres powered Kim down and now punching on the ground. Hard knee by Torres and he’s landing big punches. Kim up and landed a left. Head kick by Reyes. Reyes dropped him with a left. Mexico chants. Knee by Reyes. Knee by Reyes. Trading punches some more. Knee by Kim. Another knee by Kim. Left by Reyes. Spin kick by Reyes. Kim got a takedown into side control. Reyes back up. Kim with punches and knees. Reyes back. 10-9 Reyes. This was a round of the year candidate. Just incedible.
Second round: Kim landing jabs. Reyes in with punches. Spin kick by Reyes missed. Both back swinging. Both are continuing to land solid shots. Head kick by Reyes. Kim hurt him with a left. Reyes with knees. Both landing big shots. Knee and left by Kim. Reyes landed solid shots. Defense does not exist in this world. Hard left by Kim. Reyes with a big right. Reyes now has him hurt. Kim trying for a takedown and got him down. Kim got his back. Reyes back up. Knee by Reyes. Kim bleeding from the nose and mouth. Reyes bleeding as well. Kim tried for a takedown and pretty much went down almost due to exhaustion and Reyes ended on top. Reyes 20-18.
Third round: The doctor is checking on Kim. Elbow by Reyes. Reyes dropped him and ref Mike Beltran stopped the fight. A right staggered him and a second right as Kim was falling finished it. Beltran jumped in after one more punch on the ground.
Joe Rogan just called this one of the most entertaining fights he’s ever seen in his life. It was incredible.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- KEVIN CASEY (9-4 2 NC, 1-1 2 NC UFC) VS. ELVIS MUTAPCIC (15-4, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Casey’s father-in-law was Muhammad Ali. Body kick by Casey. Mutapcic landing body kicks. Casey with an uppercut. Casey with a body kick. Casey took him down. Casey landing body shots from the top. Casey with more body punches from the top. Casey moved to side control. Casey got behind him in a scramble. Mutapcic back to his feet. Mutapcic with a flying knee. Casey 10-9
Second round: Casey winged a few punches. Hard body kick by Mutapcic. Casey with a takedown but Mutapcic right back up and landed punches and knees. Casey with another takedown into full mount. Elbows by Casey. Mutapcic rolled out of it and back to his feet. Mutapcic throwing elbows. Hard knees by Mutapcic. Mutapcic with a lot of knees. Mutapcic landing knees and threw an elbow late. Close round. 10-9 Casey
Third round: Head kick by Mutapcic and jumping knee and more elbows. Casey with a right. Casey poked him in the eye. Mutapcic kicked him in the jaw. Mutapcic kicked to the body. Knee by Mutapcic. Casey went for a takedown but Mutapcic landed on top in the mount. Mutapcic landing a lot of elbows at the end. Almost a 10-8 round but I’d go 10-9 Mutapcic so 29-28 Casey. But the second round could easily go to Mutapcic and he could take it, or you could go 10-8 and have it a draw.
Scores: 29-28 Mutapcic 29-28 Casey 28-28 draw. You can’t fault the judges on any of those scores.
Mutapcic said he wanted to dedicate the fight to Ali. Casey kind of said the same thing.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- JONATHAN WILSON (7-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. LUIS HENRIQUE DA SILVA (10-0, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Da Silva. Wilson with uppercuts. Trading kicks. Hard body kick by Da Siva. Both landing. Hard knee by Da Silva. Da Silva with an uppercut and a knee. Another uppercut by Da Silva. Body shot by Wilson. Wilson with a left. Another body kick by Da Silva. Elbow by Wilson and a right . Wilson landing hard shots. Wilson now landing hard shots. Knees by Da Silva. Da Silva 10-9
Second round: Da Silva landing knees. Da Silva with knees and a lot punches. Takedown by Wilson. Wilson landing lard lefts and rights and dropped Da Silva with a left. Wilson is on top. Wilson with lefts on the ground. Da Silva reversed to the top into full mount. Da Silva landing hard punches and elbows. Da Silva with a lot of punches. He kept landing punches until ref Mike Beltran waved it off. This was a really good fight.
WELTERWEIGHTS- SEAN STRICKLAND (17-1, 4-1) VS. TOM BREESE (10-0)
First round: Hard body kick by Breese. Another body kick by Breese. They are trading low kicks. Some booing because it’s starting slow. Breese moving forward and landed a left. Body kick by Strickland. Breese with more body kicks. 10-9 Breese
Second round: Body kick by Strickland. Nice right by Strickland. Breese coming back. Low kick by Strickland. Crowd booing and restless. Strickland landing punches. Body kick by Strickland. Strickland’s round 19-19. Crowd booed both guys when the round was over
Third round: Nothing much to this fight. Fans booing loudly now. Takedown by Breese with one minute left but Strickland right back up. He tried another takedown but Strickland blocked it. Strickland got a takedown and landed punches when it was over. I Gave it to Strickland so he won 29-28. Crowd booed this finish heavily.
Scores: 29-28 Breese 29-28 Strickland 29-28 Strickland. Crowd heavily booed the decision but . Strickland apologized for the fight and said Breese kept backing up.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- COLE MILLER (21-9 1 NC, 10-7 1 NC UFC) VS. ALEX CACERES (11-8 1 NC, 6-6 1 NC UFC)
First round: Caceres dropped him with a left right away. Miller right back up. Miller hip tossed him down. Miller dragged him down a second time. Caceres reversed to the top. Caceres let him back up. Body kick by Caceres. Head kick by Caceres. Caceres with punches. Spinning backfist by Caceres. Caceres landed a hard left. Caceres took him down. Caceres let him up. Body kick by Caceres. Punches and a head kick by Caceres. Miller tried a takedown, Caceres ended up on top and let him up. 10-9 Caceres.
Second round: Jumping kick by Caceres. Caceres landing several punches. Miller with a head kick. Caceres hurt him with a left and landed several more punches. Caceres threw him down. Caceres threw him down a second time. Miller back up. Body kick by Caceres. Caceres landing a lot of punches. Caceres threw him down a third time. Caceres continuing to land. He landed a left and a high kick and then a right. Good right by Miller. Caceres 20-18.
Third round: Caceres did a marital arts pose to stat the round which popped the crowd. Cesares back landing punches. Left and a takedown by Caceres. Head kick by Caceres. Miller with a takedown. Miller working for an armbar. Caceres out into side control. Great sequence. Crowd went bananas as he escaped. Leroy chants. Caceres threw him down again. Miller with a left. Knee by Miller. Caceres with punches and took him down again. Miller reversed to the top. Miller now working for a choke with 25 seconds left. Miller punching from back position but Miller needed a finish and didn’t get it. Miller’s round 29-28 Caceres overall.
Scores: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 Caceres. Not sure about that 30-27 because Miller won that third round.
First round: Andade came out strong landing a ton of punches. Andarde in with another flurry. Andrade firing away again. Andade in with another flurry. Adnrade landing a ton of punches and Penne is in a lot of trouble. Penne went down from punches just as the round ended. 10-8 Andrade for sure.
Second round: Andrade landed a ton of punches and Penne went down and Andrade let her back up. Andrade killing her with punches. It’s really time to stop this one. Jason Herzog stopped it.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#10) BENEIL DARIUSH (12-2, 6-2 UFC) VS. JAMES VICK (9-0, 5-0 UFC)
First round: Dariush got poked in the right eye. Vick poked him in the right eye again. Hard body kick by Dariush . Dariush decked him and his pounding him on the ground. Dariush with hard elbows on the ground. Dariush with hard punches but Vick up. Dariush with a right. Vick with a body kick. Dariush landed a right and Vick lost his legs. Dariush with punches and dropped him with a left and it’s over. The place came unglued with that finish.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#12) BRIAN ORTEGA (10-0 1 NC, 2-0 1 NC UFC) VS. CLAY GUIDA (32-16, 12-10 UFC)
First round: Guida dropped him with a left. Guida chants even though Ortega is from Los Angeles. Guida connected with a right. Guida moving forward. Loud Guida chants. Guida landing lefts in a clinch. Both trading now. Guida landing a number of punches. Guida even tried a head kick. Body kick by Ortega. 10-9 Guida.
Second round: Guida went for a takedown but Ortega sprawled. Body kick by Ortega. Left by Ortega. Guida tried a takedown but Ortega blocked it again. Ortega with a right. Spin kick by Ortega. Ortega’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Ortega with a jab. Guida with a right. Ortega landed some. Spin kick by Ortega. Guida can’t get inside to land. Knee by Ortega and another knee. Guida with left. Ortega dropped him with a knee and it’s over.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#11) DUSTIN POIRIER (19-4, 11-3 UFC) VS. (#13) BOBBY GREEN (23-6, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Poirier with some low kicks. Green landed some punches and Poirier came back and decked Green. Body kick by Poirier. Left by Poirier. Poirier landing big punches. Another left landed by Poirier. Poirier with another left. Poirier decked him again with a left and after a few punches on the ground referee Jason Herzog stopped it.
They just aired a wonderful tribute to Muhammad Ali narrated by Dana White. One of the best videos they’ve done, particuarly on such short notice.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#15) DAN HENDERSON (31-14, 8-8 UFC) VS. (#14 WW) HECTOR L
First round: This place will come unglued if Henderson wins. Super loud Hendo chants. Henderson clocked him and Lombard clocked him back and took Henderson down into side control. Lombard went for a straight armbar. Henderson out. Henderson back to his feet and the place exploded. They were trading big shots and Lombard decked him. Lombard is all over him and Henderson back up. This fight is insane. Lombard took him down again and held him there until the end of the round. Lombard 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Lombard. Both landed big shots. Lombard landed a right after Henderson missed. Crowd chanting for Henderson. Henderson landed a head kick and a hard side elbow and Lombard went down hard. After two more elbows on the ground it was over. This place is going insane. This was one of the loudest pops you’ll ever hear. Lombard is still down. 1:27
Lombard is now sitting up. Henderson thanked the fans for their reaction. The place is going so nuts for Henderson it isn’t funny. All of his kids were at ringside for the first time. He said he’s not sure what’s going to happen but that may have been the last fight of his career.
Henderson’s kids were all in the ring with him after along with other family members.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#4) MAX HOLLOWAY (15-3, 11-3 UFC) VS. (#5) RICARDO LAMAS (16-4, 7-2 UFC)
First round: Holloway landing some early. Spin kick by Lamas landed short. Holloway landed some punches. Hollloway all over him with punches and a knee. Lamas went for the takedown and Holloway blocked it. Lamas short on a spin kick. Body kick. Lamas fighting for the takedown and couldn’t get it. Holloway landed several punches and a spin kick. Holloway 10-9.
Second round: Lamas threw a kick that was blocked. Lamas with a low kick. Both landing a lot of punches but Holloway getting the better of it. Lamas now back with hard punches. Lamas went for a takedown. Holloway blocked and on top. Holloway for a split second had a dragon sleeper. Holloway with a body kick as Lamas got up. Lamas shot in and Holloway got a choke. He didn’t have it fully in and let go. Holloway threw punches from back position as the round ended. Holloway 20-18
Third round: Holloway landing punches. Lamas back with a kick. Head kick by Lamas. Holloway landing punches and kicks. Spinning elbow by Lamas. Both threw for all they were worth in the last ten seconds to elicit a standing ovation. 30-27 Holloway although the third round was closer than the first two.
Scores: All three had it 30-27 for Holloway.
Holloway asked for a $50,000 check for best fight. He’s not getting it. He also asked for a title shot.
First round: Cruz booed a lot. Analysts are not getting over with this audience. Faber chants. Faber threw a knee and Cruz took him down. Faber scrambled but Cruz up and got behind him. Cruz took him down and Faber scrambled. As he got up, Cruz hit him. Body kick by Cruz. Faber moved in and slammed Cruz but Cruz reversed to the top immediately. Faber out and landed a left. Faber landed a right. Cruz with a low kick. Cruz went for a takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz landed few shots Cruz 10-9.
Second round: Cruz dropped him with a left. Faber back up. Cruz missed a kick and Faber is in trouble. Knee by Cruz. Cruz landing jabs. The crowd is turning toward Cruz. Cruz with a low kick. Another low kick by Cruz. Back to chants for Faber. Cruz landed a left. Cruz with a left. Low kick by Cruz. Faber missed a big shot. Faber with a right. Head kick by Cruz. Cruz landed a body shot. Cruz 20-18.
Third round: Cruz with a low kick. Cruz slipped and Faber landed a punch but Cruz hurt him with a counter. Cruz landed a good left. Cruz landed more shots. Low kick by Cruz. Left by Cruz. Cruz went for a takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz went for another takedown and didn’t get it. Cruz missing a lot but Faber couldn’t land. Cruz said something to him after the round and Faber shoved him. Cruz 30-27.
Fourth round: Faber missed on punches. Cruz with a left. Faber clipped him with a punch. Cruz with a left. Both are missing a lot now. Cruz dropped him with a left and landed a head kick. Faber back up. Cruz with a right. Now crowd chanting for Cruz. Faber with a right. Both missing more. Cruz 40-36.
Fifth round: Cruz landed two head kicks. Cruz landed punches as Faber moved in. Cruz with lefts. Cruz took him down as Faber went for a big shot. Body kick by Cruz as Faber got up. Cruz with another takedown. He moved into side control. Faber back up. Faber tried the guillotine but he’s not getting that tonight. Cruz 50-45.
They did have a short sorta hug after.
Scores: 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 Cruz
Cruz again said ring rust wasn’t real.
Faber was booed after and said he can’t say anything other then pushing that Cruz had power but nothing like Cody Garbrandt. He priased Cruz’s wrestling. By the time Faber was done fans wer cheering him. He said he wants to be at the top, he wasn’t at the top tonight and talked about supporting Gardbrandt and his guys.
WWE has already starting promoting Lesnar at UFC 200.
UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) LUKE ROCKHOLD (15-2, 5-1 UFC) VS. (#4) MICHAEL BISPING (28-7, 18-7 UFC)
First round: Bisping got a mixed reaction. He doesn’t have that veteran sympathy thing going for him. Rockhold also got a mixed reaction. And he’s from California. Both were mouthing off before it started. Rockhold with a push kick. Bisping landed a punch to the face. Bisping with a low kick. USA chant. Rockhold with a left and Bisping back. Body kick by Rockhold. Bisping with a body kick. Bisping landing more. Low kick by Roickhold. Rockhold landing body kicks now. Bisping dropped him with a left and dropped him a second time with a left and landed two punches on the ground and it was stopped. This was very much like the GSP vs. Serra fight. 3:36
Bisping’s family is in the ring celebrating with him. Bisping said I have to be humble, thanked everyone for being here. I stated fighting when I came out of my mother. Priased his wife and parents. I’m an average guy this is my dream, two weeks notice, two hours two minutes I’ll fight anyone. Thanked people in the UK.
Rockhold was booed. Congratulations to Michael, he caught me. I took it for granted. Admitted he was overconfident. I didn’t fight my fight. He’s a tough guy and he’s a warrior.
Less than 24 hours after losing their title challenger for middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, UFC found someone to fill in — someone that has been fighting his entire professional career to get a title opportunity.
Michael Bisping, the sometimes controversial British star, got the nod Wednesday and will get his first UFC title shot on June 4th, facing Rockhold for the second time in a memorable career in less than three weeks time. Chris Weidman was supposed to face Rockhold in a rematch, but had to pull out with herniated discs in his back.
UFC president Dana White announced the news on ESPN, adding that Jacare Souza was their first option. However, Souza is looking at meniscus surgery after his recent quick victory over Vitor Belfort Saturday in Brazil. Fomer top contender Yoel Romero was also not in consideration as he is still on suspension after testing positive for a banned supplement.
The 37-year-old (28-7) has won three straight and is coming off the most notable win of his career in February, a decision victory over Anderson Silva. He faced Rockhold in November 2014 and lost via second round submission. Just a week ago, he was filming on the set of the new ‘XXX’ action movie, so he hasn’t been in the gym training for a fight. However, given the opportunity, it’s safe to assume he’ll be as ready as possible in a few weeks.
Given the other options, the fight is, ahem, best for business given the vitriol between the two and that Bisping knows how to sell a fight.
When it was announced that Chris Weidman was going to rematch UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at June’s UFC 199, there were many among the MMA fanbase who groaned due to a) the way the first fight ended and b) rematch fatigue.
Haters of the Weidman/Rockhold rematch got their wish Tuesday as the former UFC middleweight champion had to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury — widely speculated on Twitter today and confirmed by both Jeremy Botter and Ariel Helwani a short time ago.
The Los Angeles, CA, show still has plenty of interesting fights (bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz vs. Uriah Faber, Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard, BJ Penn vs. Cole Miller, and more, but you know UFC would love to keep the other California kid on that show.
Two possible replacements: Jacare Souza who ran through Vitor Belfort this past Saturday at UFC 198 in less than a round, and Michael Bisping who already tweeted that he wants the opportunity. Bisping faced Rockhold in November 2014, a fight Rockhold won via second round submission. Bisping is coming off a unanimous decision over Anderson Silva earlier this year.
For a name that casual MMA fans know and for the story of him getting his first-ever UFC title shot, Bisping would be the call but from the sporting aspect, Souza has done more than enough to earn the shot. However, the short turnaround to June 4th might not be in the cards. However, given the ease of his fight last Saturday, he may just be up for it.
*****
Additionally, UFC confirmed that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler’s next title defense will indeed be against Tyron Woodley (he of the long, long layoff) on July 30th in Atlanta.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The biggest UFC event of 2015 is headlined by two title fights, two of the most intriguing fights of the year, and possibly the best main/co-main combination the UFC has ever put together. UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo takes on Interim UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor to unify the titles in the main event, and UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman defends against Luke Rockhold. Follow along with our live coverage beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send us a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and worst fight to Dave Meltzer.
WELTERWEIGHTS- COURT MCGEE (16-4, 5-3 UFC) VS. MARCIO ALEXANDRE JR. (11-2, 0-2 UFC)
First round: Former TUF winner in the first of 13 matches. That’s how you know a show is loaded. Body kick by McGee. Left by Alexandre. Body kick by Alexandre landed. McGee gave him an accidental low blow. That was a kick straight through the uprights. Alexandre grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard. McGee out and threw punches. Close round 10-9 Alexandre.
Second round: Body kick by Alexandre and McGee with a low kick. McGee pushed him into the fence. McGee with a body kick. They were in a clinch against the fence and noting has been happening. McGee throwing knees to the thigh. They were separated with 50 seconds left. Body shot by McGee. High kick by Alexandre blocked. Left by Alexandre. Spin kick by McGee barely grazed him. McGee’s round so 19-19 going into the third.
Third round: McGee took him down. Trading body kicks. McGee trying for a takedown but doesn’t have it. McGee can’t take him down but he’s working for it. McGee finally picked him up low and slammed him and is busy from the top. McGee working the body. McGee pounded him out late in the round. 29-28 McGee. First and second rounds were close however, third was the only decisive round.
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for McGee
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOHN MAKDESSI (13-4, 6-4 UFC) VS. YANCY MEDEIROS (11-3 1 NC, 2-3 1 NC UFC)
First round: Makdessi connecting on low kicks. Medeiros with a solid low kick. Makdessi with a low kick. Left and right by Medeiros. Spin kick by Makdessi. Close round. Makdessi 10-9.
Second round: Makdessi with a body kick. Left uppercut by Medeiros. Head kick by Makdessi. This fight is more like technical sparring than a fight. Nice spin kick by Makdessi just as I wrote that. Left to the body by Makedessi. Low kick,but most blows don’t have a lot of force. Medeiros with a body kick and and a nice right. Side kick by Makedessi. Body shts and side kick by Makedessi. Medeiros went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Spin kick to the body Medeiros. Left by Medeiros. Medeiros with a right. Another close round. Medeiros’ round so 19-19 going into the third.
Third round: Medeiros with aleft. Medeiros landing jabs. Right by Medeiros. Another jab by Medeiros. Makdessi back with a low kick. Medeiros with a right. Spin kick to the body by Makdessi. Body kick by Medeiros but he was momentarily tripped. Low kick by Makdessi. Medeiros landing the jab. Right by Makdessi. Makdessi with a side kick. Big right by Makdessi . Makdessi landing shots but Medeiros knocked him down. Very close, Medeiros was winning the round early, Makdesssi was really coming on late but that knockdown may have been the difference. All three rounds close. Medeiros 29-28.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JOE PROCTOR (11-3, 4-2 UFC) VS. MAGOMED MUSTAFAEV (12-1, 1-0 UFC)
Magomed Mustafaev (12-1) vs. Joe Proctor (11-3), lw
First round: Mustafaev moving forward. Proctor with a low kick. Proctor in with punches. Mustafaev with punches. Body kick by Mustafaev. Body kick and punches by Mustafaev. Hard knees by Mustafaev. Hard knees by Mustafaev and another knee put him down and its’ over. Proctor’s a tough guy so Mustafaev is clearly legit. 1:54
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- LEONARDO SANTOS (14-3-1, 3-0-1 UFC) VS. KEVIN LEE (11-1, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Hard body kick by Alves, Knee to the body by Alves. Covington took him down. Alves grabbed a guillotine, Covington power bombed him, in, but Alves held on and Covington tapped out.
First round: Huge size difference here. Lybarger much taller and larger. Torres landed some punches. Nice combo by Torres. Left to the jaw by Jones. Right by Jones. Torres now landed. Torres trying for a takedown. Torres 10-9.
Second round: Crowd starting to boo as Jones has Torres pressed against the fence. Now Torres reversed the position. Body kick by Jones. She’s again pressing Torres against the fence. Torres landing punches. Joes went for a takedown but Torres landed on top and is throwing punches on the ground. Now she’s landing elbows. Torres landing hard punches from the top late in the round. Crowd gave Torres a big hand. 20-18 Torres.
Third round: Torres landed some punches. Body kick by Jones as she moved in. Nice right hook by Torres. Torres now landing several punches. She’s turning it on. Torres with hard punches. Now Jones landed a solid right. Head kick by Torres. Crowd really liked this fight. They raised each others’ arms when it was over. The crowd took to Torres. Torres 30-27. Pretty much has to be that score unless you do a 10-8 second round which is possible.
First round: Trading low kicks. Faber out fast, landed a right and took him down. Faber tried another takedown but Saenz ended up on top. Faber threw a right but it was blocked. Seanz missed pnches. Faber ducked for a takedown but Saenz out of the way. Faber with a left and low kick. Saenz back with an elbow and Faber with an elbow. Seanz with a low kick. Faber wih a knee. Faber failed on a takedown attempt but back up. Saenz landed good shots. Body kick by Saenz. Faber failed on a takedown attempt. But he hit an elbow. Saenz missed a knee. Body kick by Saenz. Faber 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Faber. Faber landing a ton of elbow and has Saenz in trouble. He’s hurting him with elbows. Saenz surviving some huge right and left elbows. Faber with a hip toss into side control. Saenz reversed to the top. This is a great fight. Crowd gave both a huge hand. Saenz swept his leg and Faber went down. Body kick and punch by Saenz. Saenz with a punch and low kick. Right by Saenz. Low kick by Saenz and another. Faber went for a takedown but Saenz blocked. Faber 20-18 because of the opening flurry but it was Saenz the last half of the round.
Third round: God low kick by Saenz. Body kick by Faber. Body kick by Saenz. Left and right by Faber. Knee by Saenz and another knee. Saenz going for a takedown. Faber blocking. Trading knees from a clinch. Elbow by Faber. Faber with a punch but Saenz fired back. Saenz with a right. Low kick by Saenz. Big right by Faber. Left by Faber. Body kick by Saenz. Faber took him down. Saenz back up. Another takedown by Faber. Crowd gave both a big hand. Really good fight. Close round but I gave it to Saenz, 29-28 Faber.
Scores: 29-28, 29-28 30-27 Faber. Everyone cheered the decision. I thought they’d boo it just because of how much heart Saenz showed.
Faber said he was going after the belt because at the end of the story the good guy wins and that’s me. Rogan said you mean against TJ Dillashaw and Faber said Dillashaw or Dominick Cruz.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#5) MAX HOLLOWAY (14-3, 10-3 UFC) VS. (#8) JEREMY STEPHENS (24-11, 11-10 UFC)
First round: Both missing punches. Super hot crowd anyway. Slow open. Both continue to miss punches. Holloway landed a punch. Stephens with a low kick. Holloway with a body kick. Body kick by Holloway. Stephens with a low kick. Holloway missed a punch and Stephens got behind him momentarily. Very close because little happened. Holloway 10-9.
Second round: Holloway tried a spin kick to the body but Stephens blocked it. Crowd is quiet. Stephens going for a takedown. Body punch and uppercut by Stephens. Low kick by Stephens. Holloway with a right. Stephens landed a right. Right by Holloway. Stephens again working for a takedown and can’t get it. Low kick by Stephens. Very close round again. Stephens, so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Holloway took him down. Holloway got behind him, throwing punches and working for a choke. Stephens out of trouble but Holloway is on top. Holloway with an elbow. He got Stephens’ back again and is working for a choke. Stephens back up. Stephens landed some punches. Low kick by Stephens. Holloway with a left. Stephens landed two punches and went for a takedown . Holloway blocking. Spinning elbow by Holloway. Holloway got the takedown. Stephens swinging wildly but mostly missing. Both threw at the fight ended. Holloway 29-28, but this is another close one.
Scores 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Holloway
Holloway challenged McGregor at Croke Park and challenged Aldo as well.
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#6) DEMIAN MAIA (21-6, 15-6 UFC) VS. (#12) GUNNAR NELSON (14-1-1, 5-1 UFC)
First round: Nelson got the takedown. Maia back up. Everyone wanted a Tokoro match on the ground here. Maia went for a takedown and Nelson tried to get his neck. Nelson now on top after a Maia takedown attempt. Crowd going crazy for Nelson. He trains in Ireland so he’s honorary Irish. Maia has his back. Maia throwing punches. Maia moved to mount and is punching him. Maia got his back. Maia punching hard from back position as the Brazilians chanted “You’re gonna die.” Maia punching from back position. He’s got Nelson is a body triangle. Maia working for an armbar. Nelson escaped and on top. The place went nuts for that reversal. The place is going crazy for a grappling match. It’s awesome. Maia 10-9.
Second round: Both landed punches. Maia with a takedown and Nelson reversed . Maia now behind him. Maia has his back again. Maia is in the piggy back position with a body triangle. Maia throwing punches from that position. Nelson reversed to the top. Maia reversed to the top. Maia landing elbows. Maia 20-18.
Third round: Maia took him down monentarily. Nelson trying for a guillotine. Maia out of it. Maia with punches and elbows from the top. Maia with elbows. Maia is working for a choke but he can’t get the arm under the chin. Maia gave it up to throw punches. Nelson reversed to the top with 15 seconds left. The crowd liked it and the two guys hugged. Maia easily 30-27.
Scores: 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25.
Maia challenged the Lawler vs. Condit winner.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#2) RONALDO SOUZA (22-3 1 NC, 5-0 UFC) VS. (#3) YOEL ROMERO (10-1, 6-0 UFC)
First round: Romero came into the ring and did a roundoff. He’s an athlete at a completely different level from almost anyone in this sport and a lot of others. Traded body kicks. Nice right by Souza. Souza moving forward. Body kick by Souza. Left to the body by Souza. Romero threw a kick but it was checked. Romero landed a hard left. Spinning punch by Romero decked Souza. Romero throwing punches from the top. Romero starting to land good punches on the ground. He’s really weary, however. Romero with punches and elbows. Romero just got out of trouble and more punches. Romero with hard elbows. Souza went for an armbar. Romero got out and got his back and punching. 10-8 Romero
Second round: Body kick by Romero. Left by Romero. Souza went for a takedown. Romero totally holding onto the fence but Souza got him down and Romero reversed. The ref should have called a penalty point for that one. It was too long and too flagrant. Body shot by Souza. Body kick by Romero. Body kick by Souza. Souza landed a right. Romero looks shaky. Body kick by Romero. Body kick by Souza. Body kick by Romero. Souza’s round 19-18 Romero after two.
Third round: Body kick by Souza. Low kick by Souza. Souza missed a kick. Front kick and left by Romero. Souza tried a takedown. He couldn’t get it. Hard left by Romero. Body kick by Souza. Souza landed some good shots. He’s got Romero hurt and took him down. Souza landign punches on the ground. He’s working for ahead and arm choke. Souza with some elbows and punches. Romero back up. Souza’s round so I’ve got 28-28, but if not a 10-8 first then it’s Souza’s fight.
The two hugged after the match and both posed with a “Jesus” flag.
Scores: 29-27 Romero, 29-28 Souza 29-28 Romero. I don’t agree with that decision in the sense Souza won rounds two and three.
UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) CHRIS WEIDMAN (13-0, 9-0 UFC) VS. (#1) LUKE ROCKHOLD (14-2, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Weidman got a huge positive reaction but no boos for Rockhold. Crowd going nuts and stomping before the match even started. Trading low kicks. Chris jumped on his back right away and got in piggy back position. Rockhold tried to throw him off but Weidman staying out of a bad position. Rockhold has him against the cage. Right by Weidman and he got the takedown. Rockhold back up. Loud let’s go Weidman chant. Elbow by Weidman. Another takedown by Weidman. Rockhold had a guillotine. Weidman motioned like he’s got nothing on it. Herb Dean called a standup. Weird to stand up from there. Hard body kick by Rockhold. Weidman took him down. Rockhold reversed and got another guillotine. Close round. Rockhold 10-9.
Second round: Rockhold landing punches. Hard body kick by Rockhold. . Weidman with a body kick. Both missed punches. Hard body kick by Weidmnan. Head kick by Rockhold. Low kick by Rockhold. Weidnan went for a takedown but Rockhold blocked and landed a body kick. Hard body kick by Rockhold. Weidman went for a takedown but Rockhold blocked and landed a body kick hard. Hard body kick by Rockhold. Another body kick by Rockhold. Weidman missed a kick. Rockhold with a right. Left by Weidamn. Hook kick by Rockhold just missed. High kick by Rockhold. Big right by Rockhold. Best punch of the fight. Right by Rockhold. Left by Rockhold. Body shot by Rockhold. Weidman with a right. Body kick by Wiedman. Body kick by Rockhold. Weidman with low kicks. Rockhold slipped a punch and landed a right. Low kick by Rockhold. Body kick by Weidman hurt him. Rockhold with a left. Rockhold 20-18.
Third round: Body kick by Weidman. Body kick by Rockhold. Body kick by Weidman. Weidman wants a takedown. Rockhold blocked him. Two body kick by Weidmann. Hard left by Weidman and he got the takedown. Rockhold back up. Rockhold with a left, a body kick and a low kick. Another left by Rockhold. Body kick by Weidman. Left and right by Rockhold. Body kick by Weidman. Another body kick by Weidman. Both guys are really tired at this point, slower and more measured. Hard kick by Weidman. Weidman missed a wheel kick and Rockhold took him down and got his back. Rockhold has full mount. Rockhold punching and elbows. Rockhold landing a lot of punches now. Weidman is in big trouble. Rockhold dropping a ton of punches and elbows. Rockhold is killing him with punches. It really should have been stopped. Rockhold 10-8 round for sure, I’ve got 30-26. That should have been stopped and I don’t know if Weidman is getting up from that.
Fourth round: Weidman answered the bell. Body kick by Rockhold. He tried for a takedown but Weidman blocked it. Rockhold got him down. Weidman has several cuts. Rockhold landing punches. Rockhold on top throwing punches again. Herb Dean stopped it and Rockhold is the new champion. 3:12
Rogan with Luke Rockhold. “It’s hard to describe. I can’t believe this is real.”
Rogan with Chris: He says this was Luke’s night, at the end of the the day I’ve got a beautiful family, fans love me, I’ll be back. He said the spin kick wasn’t the smartest move, I wanted to give everything I had, all I can do is work hard.
UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – (C) JOSE ALDO (25-1, 7-0 UFC) VS. (IC) CONOR MCGREGOR (18-2, 6-0 UFC)
First round: McGregor landed a left and side kick. McGregor knocked him out in seconds. Aldo went for a left as did McGregor, McGregor landed perfectly on the jaw and Aldo went down. Aldo is in tears. :13
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor weigh-ins from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fighters will hit the scale at 6 PM eastern time. The card airs on Saturday with the main card on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before heading over to FS1 on 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary bouts. This event concludes the biggest week in UFC history.
The event will be headlined by two title bouts, and two of the biggest fights of the year. UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will finally step foot inside the Octagon across from Interim UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor in a bout that has been brewing for over a year. In the co-main event it will be UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman putting the title and his undefeated record on the line against the number one contender, Luke Rockhold. The main card also features a first in UFC history as every fighter on the main card has previously headlined a UFC event.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Jose Aldo (145) vs. Conor McGregor (145) – UFC Featherweight Championship Chris Weidman (185) vs. Luke Rockhold (185) – UFC Middleweight Championship Ronaldo Souza (186) vs. Yoel Romero (185) Demian Maia (170) vs. Gunnar Nelson (170) Max Holloway (146) vs. Jeremy Stephens (145)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Urijah Faber (136) vs. Frankie Saenz (135) Tecia Torres (116) vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (116) Warlley Alves (171) vs. Colby Covington (170) Leonardo Santos (156) vs. Kevin Lee (156)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT): Joe Proctor (155.5) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (155) John Makdessi (156) vs. Yancy Medeiros (155.5) Court McGee (170) vs. Marcio Alexandre Jr. (171)
*Over 9,000 in attendance at the MGM Grand for the weigh-ins. *Loud reaction for Conor McGregor and loud boos for Jose Aldo. Dana White had to keep them apart at the staredown. *Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold had quite a bit of trash talk during their staredown. *Urijah Faber got a huge reaction from the crowd based on coaching opposite of Conor McGregor on the most recent season of TUF.
The biggest show of the year ends the UFC’s biggest year on pay-per-view and marks the end of three straight nights of action in Las Vegas, Nevada, home of the UFC. UFC 194 takes place on Saturday night with two title fights headlining one of the deepest cards in company history. The main card comes your way on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time following preliminary card action starting at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before heading to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time.
The most-anticipated fight in UFC featherweight history finally takes place in the main event as long-time UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo takes on his rival, Interim UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor, in a fight that has been over a year in the making. In the co-main event, we have a second title fight as UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman puts his undefeated record on the line in his title defense against the rightful top contender, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold. Also on the card are numerous ranked fighters including Urijah Faber, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Max Holloway, Gunnar Nelson, Demian Maia, Jeremy Stephens and Yoel Romero. Let’s take a deeper look into this amazing card as we bring you five storylines to keep your eye on at UFC 194 on Saturday night.
1. Can Conor McGregor dethrone Jose Aldo’s reign as the king of the featherweight division?
The fight that has been over a year in the making is finally here after a big false start. The one that all of the fans have been talking about, waiting for, clamoring for. You can argue all you want about whether this is the biggest fight in UFC history, and while it may not be at the very top, it certainly is among the biggest fights in UFC history. It is definitely the biggest fight in the history of the featherweight division, a division that has been dominated since 2009 by UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Many have challenged Aldo, some have taken him to the limit, but 18 straight men have fallen victim to him one way or another. Nine straight of those fallen men have come in challenging him for the gold. Through it all, there has been one man wanting, willing, needing to take that championship away from Aldo for good, and he has gotten there by putting down 14 straight men who have been put in his path for gold. That man is Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
After over a year of hype, these two men will finally step foot inside the Octagon across from each other on Saturday night in the UFC 194 main event. When Herb Dean says “let’s fight”, it will finally be on. They were supposed to meet at UFC 189 in July, but Aldo pulled out of the fight two weeks before due to a rib injury. It wasn’t the rib injury that kept him from actually fighting, but it would have likely prevented Aldo from making weight, thus forcing him to pull out. McGregor used this for more ammunition against Aldo, but he was still put with one final task laid out in front of him in the form of Chad Mendes on that July 11 night. No matter the circumstances surrounding how little preparation Mendes had, he still came to fight and controlled the first eight minutes of the fight. McGregor was in positions he had never been in, but he maintained his composure and still did fine work. Mendes gassed out in the second round, and McGregor felt that and finished him in the second round to win the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship.
McGregor is going to have the size advantage over Aldo, with two inches in height and four inches in reach. Aldo is one of the absolute best fighters in the world and has been for a long, long time. He does only have three wins by finish since winning the championship, and one was due to his opponent blowing out his shoulder. He lands a lot of kicks, and he will look to exploit that against McGregor. McGregor will likely let him kick, allowing Aldo some confidence, all while trying to land a counterpunch. Aldo can get hit with counters, and McGregor has some of the best striking in the division. McGregor lands a lot of punches, but he does tend to eat a lot of punches as well. He has shown he has a chin, eating some big right hands from Mendes. Aldo’s ability to vary his strikes between his hands, kicks and knees will play a big factor. Aldo may also go for a takedown, and McGregor can be taken down. Both are effective on the ground.
There is going to be a lot of emotion in this battle. It has been building for a long time. No matter what each may say, they are in the head of each other. Aldo may shrug it off, but he clearly gets more affected by things than McGregor does. There have been rumors that Aldo may be done after this fight, but he has denied that, though any time those talks creep in, you have to worry about mindset. If we are talking about what is best for business, obviously a McGregor win would be huge. He is a superstar whether you like him or not. Everyone has a differing opinion, but the people react to him like he is somebody. His antics, the mouth, the way he is has gotten him the attention, but his fighting has backed it up. It is his chance to put that gold around his waist for good. To do it, he is going to have to beat the best. As they say, to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.
2. Is this just the first fight in what could be a heated rivalry between Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold?
UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman is undefeated in his career, and he did something that Conor McGregor is attempting to do, and that is beat the long-time king of his division. Weidman scored a stunning knockout over Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013 to become the champion at 185 pounds. He defended the title over Silva in a rematch five months later, had a classic battle in winning a decision over Lyoto Machida in July 2014, and, most recently, scored a convincing stoppage of Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 in May. Injuries have slowed Weidman from being an active champion as this is only his seventh fight since the calendar turned to the year 2012. At 13-0, Weidman is on the way to being an all-time great, and all-time greats often have a defined career rival. Weidman may have found his in Luke Rockhold.
Rockhold has earned his title opportunity on the heels of four straight stoppage wins, scoring wins over Machida, Michael Bisping, Tim Boetsch and Costas Philippou. He is a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and has won 13 of his last 14 fights, with the lone blemish being to a TRT-ridden Belfort. He is the second best fighter at 185 pounds behind Weidman, and may be the man that can turn Weidman’s loss column from zero to one. These two are closely matched and extremely well-rounded. Weidman has a lot of power and can end a fight with one punch, and he has strong wrestling to back it up, with good top position and underrated submissions. Rockhold is a pressure fighter and moves well on his feet, has good takedown defense, and can fight on the ground and off of his back as well. Rockhold has better conditioning of the two.
When it comes to that conditioning, Rockhold is a fighter that cuts a lot of weight. He is a huge middleweight. Weidman is a huge middleweight as well, but he approached this fight differently in being the lightest of his career. He weighed 192 pounds weeks away from the fight, and doesn’t have to do that huge cut he normally does. It should help his conditioning, and that is something that will be needed. Rockhold is going to push the pace with his aggressiveness, and it will be Weidman’s toughest fight to date. It will also be Rockhold’s toughest fight to date. These two men are so evenly matched that if they fought 20 times, they’d probably each win ten. Both have very few weaknesses. In what will likely be the first of many battles, I see Rockhold’s footwork and defense being the key difference in this one. It may get the best of Weidman this time, but they are on their way to being career rivals, and this likely won’t be the last time they fight.
3. Who finds themselves as the next contender at 185 pounds when Ronaldo Souza and Yoel Romero square off?
In a fight that has been brewing for quite some time, middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero will finally fight after seeing prior bookings between the two being cancelled twice due to injuries to both men. Since the two were originally scheduled to meet in February at UFC 184, they have each fought once. Souza scored a submission win over Chris Camozzi in April after Camozzi replaced Romero, who pulled out due to injury. Romero had the bigger win in scoring a super impressive knockout win over Lyoto Machida in June. Both have firmly established themselves as the top two men at 185 pounds behind Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold, and UFC 194 on Saturday night is being set up as a mini-tournament at middleweight, with the winner of both fights likely to square off next barring the need for a rematch between the Weidman and Rockhold winner.
Both men have some age on them, with Souza being 36 and Romero being 38, and this may be the last time either man has the chance to secure a title shot. They both have decorated backgrounds from where they came from. Souza is a world champion in jiu-jitsu, and Romero is an Olympic medalist in wrestling. Both men have muscular frames, though recent pictures have shown Souza has lost a little bit of size, whether it be due to drug testing or to the elimination of IV’s. When it comes to the fight, Romero is more explosive and has better movement on the feet. The grappling battle will probably be negated as both have strengths, but in the event it goes down, the submission game belongs to Souza. This is a big toss-up but I do see Romero’s power, his ability to pressure a fight and win in the clinch, where Souza struggles, being the different in edging a close decision.
4. Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson have an interesting battle in front of them. Who takes it?
A big way to tell how stacked this card is the placement of a welterweight bout between Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson. This could main event a lot of Fight Night cards but is finding itself on the biggest card of the year in what should be a very competitive grappling battle. Maia’s grappling credentials are well-known and he has won three straight fights heading into UFC 194 on Saturday. Nelson is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with a 14-1-1 record, and 13 wins by stoppage, with ten coming by submission. He is an excellent striker with a background in karate and is very adept at closing the distance. Training alongside Conor McGregor has him fully prepared for a striking battle, and his grappling experience has him primed for a ground battle.
This is going to be an interesting battle between two grappling wizards. Maia is the better wrestler of the two, and Nelson is the better striker of the two. Maia works excellently from the top and Nelson works well both on top and bottom. Nelson has better ground-and-pound and is more aggressive than Maia when he has opponents on their backs. Nelson closes well on his feet and has some big power in his hands, but he does leave his hands down and opens himself up for counterstrikes. Maia is not someone who will knockout Nelson, but he will use his boxing to set up the trips and takedowns. This is a tough fight to call and an interesting one to boot. It could turn into a boring and methodical affair, though, and if one makes a mistake, the other will exploit it. I lean toward favoring Nelson due to his striking in what will be a close contest.
5. Is this the best card of all time?
UFC 194 is the card of the year, and it may very well be the best card of all time. All ten of the main card competitors are ranked inside the top 12 of their respective divisions, and we have a handful of ranked fighters competing on the preliminary card. Rounding out the main card is an excellent featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Jeremy Stephens. Holloway has been on quite the rise at 145 pounds, having won seven straight fights to make himself a legitmate title contender. He gets another tough opponent in Stephens, who has vicious knockout power and is coming off a knockout win over Dennis Bermudez in one of the best fights of 2015 at UFC 189 in July.
Urijah Faber headlines the preliminary card, moving back down to 135 pounds and taking on Frankie Saenz, winner of seven straight fights. While not the highest-profile bout for Faber, he has two straight wins at 135 pounds, and finds himself on a collision course for a fight against former teammate T.J. Dillashaw. If Faber and Dillashaw both win their fights, that is expected to be the next title fight at 135 pounds. In women’s strawweight action, undefeated Tecia Torres takes on RFA champion Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, making her UFC debut on short notice as an injury replacement for Michelle Waterson. The card also features three former “TUF” winners. Warlley Alves puts his undefeated record on the line against another undefeated fighter, Colby Covington. Leonardo Santos takes on rising lightweight Kevin Lee, who has won four straight fights. Finally, Court McGee returns from a two-year layoff to take on Marcio Alexandre Jr. This is a deep card with a lot of fun fights on Saturday night.
Full UFC 194 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Featherweight Championship: (C) Jose Aldo vs. (IC) Conor McGregor Betting Odds: Aldo (-105), McGregor (-115) Prediction: McGregor by knockout in round 3
UFC Middleweight Championship: (C) Chris Weidman vs. (#1) Luke Rockhold Betting Odds: Weidman (-135), Rockhold (+115) Prediction: Rockhold by decision
Middleweights: (#2) Ronaldo Souza vs. (#3) Yoel Romero Betting Odds: Souza (-150), Romero (+130) Prediction: Romero by decision
Welterweights: (#6) Demian Maia vs. (#12) Gunnar Nelson Betting Odds: Maia (-115), Nelson (-105) Prediction: Nelson by decision
Featherweights: (#5) Max Holloway vs. (#8) Jeremy Stephens Betting Odds: Holloway (-550), Stephens (+425) Prediction: Holloway by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Bantamweights: (#4) Urijah Faber vs. (#13) Frankie Saenz Betting Odds: Faber (-750), Saena (+525) Prediction: Faber by submission in round 2
Women’s Strawweights: (#5) Tecia Torres vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger Betting Odds: Torres (-300), Jones-Lybarger (+250) Prediction: Torres by decision
Welterweights: Warlley Alves vs. Colby Covington Betting Odds: Alves (+100), Covington (-120) Prediction: Alves by decision
Lightweights: Leonardo Santos vs. Kevin Lee Betting Odds: Santos (+500), Lee (-700) Prediction: Lee by knockout in round 3
UFC 194 is shaping up to be a pretty bad-ass event and the build toward the biggest week in UFC history has officially begun.
On Wednesday, the four combatants on the show were on a media call to help promote the fight and while there weren’t any major fireworks, there were a couple great quotes.
Enjoy an hour with featherweight champion Jose Aldo, interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor, middleweight champion Chris Weidman and #1 contender Luke Rockhold talk about their fights, their challengers, their feelings, inside jokes, training, and more.
Of note, McGregor is claiming he will beat Aldo for the 145-pound title and then will move onto face the winner of the December lightweight title bout with champion Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone to become a two-division champion. There was also a little bit of tension between Weidman and Rockhold, a criminally underappreciated bout between two studs in their prime.
