Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer and myself, guest co-host Garrett Gonzales, is back. We first start with the news of the day including the bulk of Mark Hunt’s lawsuit being dismissed, the unfortunate ending of Matt Mitrione’s fight with Sergei Kharitonov, PAC vs. Ospreay, Ronda Rousey on Total Divas, the Royal Rumble 2020 in Houston, and why some fans aren’t giving All Elite Wrestling credit for their quick sellout.
The second half of the show is a continuation from last night on Dave’s appearance on the Phil Donahue show from 1992. We go over some of the information that we didn’t cover last night including who the plant was, Bruno Sammartino’s and Superstar Billy Graham’s relationship with Hulk Hogan at the time, and why Vince McMahon mentioned Bruno’s son on Larry King Live. We also relate the scandal to what’s going on in the world today.
Timestamps: 1:42 – 7:03: Mark Hunt lawsuit update 7:03 – 9:49: Matt Mitrione fight, Will Ospreay vs. PAC 9:49 – 10:45: Cain Velazquez 10:45 – 13:07: Bella family vs. MMA team on Family Feud 13:07 – 15:54: Ronda Rousey on Total Divas 15:54 – 23:48: Royal Rumble 2020 at Minute Maid Park 23:48 – 35:52: People trying to discredit AEW’s sellout 35:52 – 42:32: Elimination Chamber odds 42:32 – end: More on Dave on Donahue
While it had become expected leading into the announcement, that doesn’t make Kenny Omega joining All Elite Wrestling any less of a vital move for the start-up company.
Omega signing with AEW was confirmed at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party in Las Vegas. Omega signed a four-year deal that allows him to still wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling if he wants to (and if NJPW will have him). And in addition to his in-ring role, Omega will serve alongside Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks as an executive vice president of the promotion.
I don’t expect more than a few more weeks of this format of Observers.
WWE grossed $930,160,000 and turned a $98,719,000 profit in 2018, both company records. Last year the company set a revenue record of $800,959,000 and turned a $32,116,000 profit.
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
NJPW New Beginnings: As a legit shoot, while NJPW almost always sells out Edion Arena for big shows, they comped less and opened up more seats so this number was the highest since the 2015 show headlined by Hiroshi Tanhashi vs. A.J. Styles.
UFC 234 – Chaos erupted the day of UFC 234, the first UFC pay-per-view offering of 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, causing dramatic change unheard of when it comes to UFC pay-per-view events.
It is now official that Kenny has signed with AEW.
Mustafa Ali’s eyeball got busted open and really messed up after a Garvin stomp by Randy Orton on SD Tuesday night.
Dwayne Johnson said he was the first choice to host the Oscars this year. But he said he couldn’t make it work due to the timing of shooting the Jumanji sequel.
Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) will be making an appearance on a Nickelodeon series next month.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Naomi on Twitter following the arrest and release of Jimmy Uso: ”Yes dear we are safe and ok thank you and love y’all.”
Total Divas on 2/24 will cover the backlash Brie Bella recieved after injuring Liv Morgan during Monday Night Raw back in September.
Sgt. Slaughter was on Boomer and Gio on CBS Sports talking about his career and WrestleMania.
Pro Wrestling
Impact tonight on the Pursuit channel and on Twitch will have a fatal four way match for the Impact World title, with Johnny Impact defending against Killer Kross, Moose and Brian Cage. Other matches include Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie, Willie Mack vs. Ethan Page and a eight man tag pitting the AAA team of Psycho Clown, Aerostar, Puma King and Hijo Del Vikingo against the Impact team of Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, Eli Drake and Fallah Bahh.
Joe Hendry wrote on Twitter that he is now a free agent, as he and Impact have parted ways.
Puma King vs. Hijo de LA Park has been added to the MLW Intimidation Games live special on March 2.
All but one of Mark Hunt’s claims against the UFC have been dismissed. Hunt filed a lawsuit back in 2016 saying that the UFC, Brock Lesnar and Dana White knew Lesnar was using performance enhancing drugs prior to the Hunt/Lesnar fight at UFC 200. The only claim on Hunt’s lawsuit that still stands is Hunt’s claim against the UFC for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Cain Velasquez says that if he can’t compete at a high level during this weekend’s UFC event against Francis Ngannou, he will retire.
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~!
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 142: Dos Santos vs. Tuivasa, eminating from the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia.
The Octagon heads to Adelaide for the second time with a pair of heavyweight bouts at the top of the card and action throughout.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos looks to make it two straight wins when he takes on undefeated rising prospect Tai Tuivasa in the main event. Dos Santos is coming off a decision win over Blagoy Ivanov in July, while Tuivasa gets the headline spot in just his fourth Octagon appearance, as he goes for his ninth straight win.
In the co-main event, it is more heavyweight action as Mark Hunt, in what could be his swan song with the UFC, goes up against Justin Willis, winner of seven straight fights. Also on the main card is former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as he takes on Tyson Pedro, and a welterweight bout between Jake Matthews and Tony Martin also highlights the main card.
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.
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
> Alex Gorgees (7-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Damir Ismagulov (16-2, 0-0 UFC) Lightweights
Ismagulov with a leg kick. They trade punches. Ismagulov landing the right hand. He lands a huge right hand as he covers the distance. Ismagulov shoots for a takedown and gets it against the fence. Ismagulov landing from the top but Gorgees grabs the underhook and gets to his feet though he eats a knee on the way up. Ismagulov takes him down right away but lets him up. Ismagulov goes for another takedown but Gorgees defends and lands some elbows. They break and Ismagulov lands a body kick. Ismagulov lands a right hand late. 10-9 Ismagulov.
Ismagulov lands a right hand to start the second and then mixes to the body. Ismagulov lands a body kick and then scores an easy takedown. Ismagulov blocking any attempts from Gorgees to scramble out as he works from the half-guard and lands some punches. Ismagulov rides the round out on top landing as Gorgees can’t get up from the bottom. 10-9 Ismagulov, 20-18 Ismagulov.
Ismagulov landing punches to start the third round. Gorgees needs a finish. Ismagulov gets a takedown near the fence and is in the full guard of Gorgees but stands up and lets Gorgees up. Ismagulov goes for another takedown but eats elbows and lets go of the attempt. Ismagulov then scores another takedown and is working from the half-guard. Ismagulov lands a lot from the top before they stand up. Ismagulov lands a right hand and shoots for a late takedown. 10-9 Ismagulov, 30-27 Ismagulov.
Official Result- Damir Ismagulov def. Alex Gorgees by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
They feel each other out early. Giagos lands a knee in close range. Giagos with a body kick and lands a right hand and then stumbles Hirota with a right hand. Giagos lands a flurry against the fence. They are both throwing. Giagos gets a takedown against the fence. Ground and pound from Giagos. Hirota tries to explode out from the bottom and does. They trade punches and Giagos gets another takedown. Hirota has the neck and looks for a guillotine but Giagos pops his head out. Giagos pushes the fight to the fence as he lands some punches. Giagos gets to his feet but Hirota grabs a leg and pulls him down but they get up. 10-9 Giagos.
Giagos gets a takedown early in the second round. He is landing punches from the top. Giagos trying to advance position as he lands but Hirota defending his guard well. Giagos with big punches from the top. They get to their feet and trade and then Giagos gets Hirota back on his back. Hirota has no answer from the bottom. Giagos with more punches from the top. Giagos continues to land in the guard. They scramble and Giagos grabs the neck. They get up and Giagos lands a knee. Giagos is tired. They trade late. 10-9 Giagos, 20-18 Giagos.
They trade and Giagos shoots for a takedown against the fence. They scramble and Hirota reverses and is on top in side control. Giagos reverses position and ends up in the guard towards the center of the Octagon. They scramble to their feet. Giagos immediately gets another takedown. They scramble up and Hirota grabs the front headlock. They get up and break and clinch against the fence. Giagos working for a takedown as he is tired and Hirota lands a knee. They break. Hirota lands a right hand. Giagos grabs the back. Giagos tries a takedown but Hirota reverses and gets on top and lands punches from the mount as the fight ends. 10-9 Hirota, 29-28 Giagos.
Official Result- Christos Giagos def. Mizuto Hirota by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-28)
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Elias Garcia (5-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Kai Kara-France (17-7 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) Flyweights
Garcia goes right for a single leg and gets the takedown. Kara-France scrambling as Garcia attacks the leg. Kara-France gets in the guard of Garcia. Kara-France landing punches and elbows from the top. They get to their feet. Kara-France lands a combo and a body kick. Kara-France lands two nice left hooks. Garcia drops Kara-France with a punch but he gets up and they trade in close range. Kara-France lands a combo on Garcia as they go to the mat with Kara-France in the guard. Kara-France stands and lands some big punches from the top. Garcia gives up his back. Kara-France has the hooks in. Kara-France with some big punches at the end. 10-9 Kara-France.
They come out trading. Garcia just misses a head kick. Garcia lands a nice left hand. Kara-France rocks Garcia with a counter left hook. Kara-France with a big combo. Garcia gets thrown to the mat and tries to take Kara-France down but he goes in the guard. Garcia looking for a triangle. It is in tight. Kara-France trying to slam his way out. Garcia gets an arm and almost has an armbar in but Kara-France escapes to side control. Garcia gives up his back and Kara-France starts landing punches and a knee. That was a crazy scramble. Kara-France with elbows from the top. More big punches from the top by Kara-France. Kara-France with a big flurry of punches as he is looking for a finish. Kara-France with more big punches as he has the back. Garcia eating a lot of punches. Big final two minutes for Kara-France. 10-8 Kara-France, 20-17 Kara-France.
Kara-France with a big leg kick. Garcia shoots for a single leg and gets a weak takedown. Garcia has Kara-France on his back but he reverses and they get to their feet. Kara-France with a leg kick. They are trading and Kara-France lands a right hand and then drops Garcia with a huge right hand. Garcia grabbing the leg. They get to their feet. Kara-France lands another big right hand. Garcia shoots for a takedown but Kara-France slips away and starts landing big punches as Garcia gives up his back. They get to their feet. Garcia grabs the leg as they scramble back to the mat. Kara-France landing punches. Kara-France with a big flurry as the fight ends. Fun fight. 10-9 Kara-France, 30-26 Kara-France.
Official Result- Kai Kara-France def. Elias Garcia by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
Nakamura lands a right hand. Touahri with a right hand to the body and then a hard leg kick. They trade in close range. Not much going on so far. Nakamura with a leg kick. Touahri with a big right hand to the body. Nakamura with a left hand. Nakamura shoots for a takedown but it is stuffed. Nakamura with a jab. Tough round to score as neither did much. 10-9 Touahri.
They trade. Nakamura hurts Touahri with a punch. They clinch against the fence and both land knees to the body. Elbow on the break by Nakamura. Nakamura with a leg kick but eats a couple punches from Nakamura. They trade and Touahri lands a combo. Nakamura with a leg kick and he’s controlling the center of the Octagon. Touahri lands a right hand. Nakamura stalks him at the end. 10-9 Nakamura, 19-19.
Nakamura with a couple of body kicks. They trade punches. Nakamura lands a left hand and a leg kick followed by a right hook. Nakamura looking to land as Touahri circles away. Nakamura lands a right jab. They clinch and Nakamura lands a couple of elbows on the break. They continue to trade but not a lot of volume. Nakamura controlling the Octagon. Nakamura with a head kick. Nakamura lands a jab. Touahri misses a right hand. Not an exciting fight to say the least. 10-9 Nakamura, 29-28 Nakamura.
Official Result- Keita Nakamura def. Salim Touahri by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
> Wilson Reis (#8, 22-9, 6-5 UFC) vs. Ben Nguyen (#10, 18-7, 4-2 UFC) Flyweights
Nguyen with a high kick. Nguyen tries a kick but Reis grabs the leg and pushes up against the fence. Reis gets a takedown against the fence but Nguyen fighting to get to his feet. They get to their feet but Reis has the body locked. They break. Reis with a high kick. Reis with a right hook. They trade punches. Reis with a leg kick. Nguyen with a leg kick. Nguyen lands a combo. Reis gets a takedown against the fence. Reis grabs the back as they get to their feet. They grapple against the fence and Reis gets a single-leg takedown at the end. 10-9 Reis.
Reis gets a takedown and has the back of Nguyen against the fence. They get to their feet. They are clinched against the fence but break. Reis with a head kick. They clinch for a moment again but break. Reis with a leg kick but eats a combo from Nguyen. Reis with a head kick and then a combo. Nguyen lands a right hand and Reis lands a left. Reis goes for a takedown but Nguyen attempts a kimura and they break. Nguyen lands a knee. Reis with a combo as he goes for a takedown. Reis gets a takedown against the fence. Nguyen gets to his feet. They trade late. 10-9 Reis, 20-18 Reis.
They trade in a flurry to start the third. They trade in close range. Reis is landing more punches. Reis tries a takedown but Nguyen slips away. Nguyen lands a right hand. Reis shoots for a takedown against the fence but Nguyen defending well. Reis finally gets it after a reset. Nguyen bleeding from his mouth. They get to their feet and Reis going right back for the takedown. They break. Both trying to land but nothing connecting. Reis gets a brief takedown. Nguyen with a high body kick. 10-9 Reis, 30-27 Reis.
Official Result- Wilson Reis def. Ben Nguyen by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
They feel each other out early. Kunchenko with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Kunchenko with a leg kick. Okami shoots for a long takedown but it is defended. Kunchenko with a right hand. They trade punches. Kunchenko with an inside leg kick. Okami lands a right hand. They clinch for a moment but are quickly broken up. Kunchenko with a body kick followed up by a combo. 10-9 Kunchenko.
Kunchenko starts the round with a leg kick. Okami goes for a takedown but it is stuffed and he eats a knee as they break. Okami goes for another takedown but Kunchenko sprawls. They stand and break. Kunchenko lands a right hand. They clinch for a moment as Kunchenko defends a takedown attempt from Okami. Okami constantly going for takedowns but he can’t score on any of them. Okami shoots again and ends up on his back. Kunchenko staying on his feet. Kunchenko with a body kick. Okami with a step-in knee. Okami goes for a takedown again but it is defended. Kunchenko has stuffed all of Okami’s takedown attempts. Kunchenko drops Okami at the end with a left hand. 10-9 Kunchenko, 20-18 Kunchenko.
Kunchenko with a high kick and then follows with a leg kick and a right hand that hurts Okami. Okami shoots again but it is stuffed. They are clinched against the fence. Okami trying hard to get the takedown but can’t get it. Kunchenko lands an elbow on the break and follows with a body kick. He lands another body kick and then another, and then another. Okami goes for a takedown again, and stuffed again. Kunchenko takes the back and lands some punches. Kunchenko stuffs another takedown and lands a big kick. Okami dives in again but didn’t get a takedown the entire fight. Really bad fight. 10-9 Kunchenko, 30-27 Kunchenko.
Official Result- Alexey Kunchenko def. Yushin Okami by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Jim Crute (8-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Paul Craig (10-2, 2-2 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Craig with a spinning wheel kick. Craig with a body kick. Craig shoots for a takedown and gets it. Crute trying to explode out from the bottom but Craig remains in the half-guard. Crute able to reverse to the top and in half-guard. Crute with a body punch and they get to their feet. Crute scrambles for a takedown and Craig looking for a triangle. Crute escapes and moves to the mount. Crute looking for an arm-triangle and has it locked in, trying to squeeze. It is in deep now but Crute lets go as Craig isn’t tapping. Crute with a hard right hand as he stands. They get to their feet and Craig with a back kick right to the chin of Crute. They scramble to the mat and Crute has side control. Crute with some punches from the top at the end. 10-9 Crute.
Craig with a high kick. Craig gets a takedown. Craig maintaining top position as he grinds and lands punches from the top. Crute trying to reverse. They get to their feet and trade and Craig gets another takedown. Crute trying to use the fence to get to his feet but Craig maintaining top control. Craig with body punches from the top. Crute scrambles out from the bottom and they get to their feet. Craigh misses a spin kick and almost gets a takedown but Crute reverses into the half-guard. Craig reverses the position as Crute attempts an armbar at the end. 10-9 Craig, 19-19.
They trade and Crute gets a takedown and is in the half-guard landing punches. Crute moves to the mount. Craig trying to roll out and Crute looking to set up an arm-triangle. Craig trying to defend and the fence is in the way and helping. Crute has it locked in. Craig in deep trouble. Craig defending it well. Crute back to mount and lets go of the choke and lands a couple of punches. Crute with punches from the top. Craig is stuck on the bottom. Crute now lands some elbows. Big flurry of punches from Crute on top. Crute grabs an arm looking for a kimura and has it locked in and Craig taps! Big win late in the fight by Crute.
Official Result- Jimmy Crute def. Paul Craig by submission (kimura) at 4:51 of Round 3
Mokhtarian with a body kick. Yusuff throwing big punches early on. They clinch and Yusuff lands some knees to the body and legs. They trade knees. They break and Yusuff lands some big punches. They trade hard punches and Yusuff is teeing off on Mokhtarian. Yusuff with some big punches to the body and head against the fence and the referee stops the fight. Those were some big and brutal punches from Yusuff. Mokhtarian was complaining about the stoppage but he was eating lots of punches.
Official Result- Sodiq Yusuff def. Suman Mokhtarian by TKO (punches) at 2:14 of Round 1
> Jake Matthews (13-3, 7-3 UFC) vs. Tony Martin (14-4, 6-4 UFC) Welterweights
They are in a feeling out process. Martin looking to land the jab. Matthews rushes in with a combo. Matthews lands a right hand. Martin lands a clean right hand. Martin with a strong leg kick. Matthews fires back with a hard leg kick. Matthews with a straight right hand to the body. Martin with a low kick. Matthews lands a lead left hand and follows it with a combo and then unloads a right hand. They are throwing down and Matthews drops Martin with a right hand and then grabs the neck for a guillotine. Martin scrambles out. Matthews still has the neck but Martin gets out. Matthews reverses to the top position and lands some body punches. Martin goes for a kimura but runs out of time. 10-9 Matthews.
They don’t do much in the first minute of the second round as Matthews looks to be landing a big punch and Martin wants to avoid it. Matthews closes the distance with a right hand. Matthews lands an overhand right and follows it with a flying knee. Martin with a high kick. Martin with the jab. Martin with a couple of leg kicks. Matthews lands a right hand as he slips from Martin’s attack. Martin with a leg kick. Matthews with a left hand. Matthews with an inside knee and they both land a punch on the break. 10-9 Matthews, 20-18 Matthews.
They trade early. Martin with a leg kick. Matthews goes for a takedown but it is defended and Martin jumps on his back. Martin looking for a D’arce choke and Matthews goes out! Wow. Martin chokes Matthews out cold. That came out of nowhere as Martin picks up a huge win.
Official Result- Anthony Rocco Martin def. Jake Matthews by submission (anaconda choke) at 1:19 of Round 3
> Mark Hunt (#10, 13-13-1 1 NC, 8-7-1 1 NC UFC) vs. Justin Willis (#15, 7-1, 3-0 UFC) Heavyweights
Willis with a high kick. Hunt with a big leg kick. Willis with a leg kick. Hunt with a leg kick. Hunt with a body kick and Willis counters with a left hand. Hunt with more big leg and body kicks. Hunt with a leg kick and Willis misses on his punches. Willis with a left hand. Hunt with a right hand to the body. Hunt lands a right hand. Willis with a body kick. Hunt with another body kick. Willis with the jab. Hunt lands a right hand. 10-9 Hunt.
Willis with a leg kick. Hunt ducks under a power left from Willis. Hunt looking to land a big right hand. Willis with a leg kick. Willis with the jab and follows it with a straight left hand. Hunt just pacing around but not doing much. Hunt just misses a right hand. Willis with the jab. Willis with some short leg kicks. Hunt slips out from under the jab of Willis. Hunt still not doing much. Willis lands a left hand. Willis with a snapping jab. 10-9 Willis, 19-19.
Both looking to land a big punch. Hunt has really slowed down and is flat on his feet. Willis with the jab and follows it with a head kick. Hunt has a high kick blocked. Willis lands a punch that knocks Hunt off-balance. Willis with the jab. Willis with an uppercut. Willis with another uppercut. Hunt just misses a big right hand. Willis with a knee. Willis with a right hand. Willis with some short punches. Hunt just walking around but not doing much. Hunt with a body kick. Willis lands a left hand. 10-9 Willis, 29-28 Willis.
Official Result- Justin Willis def. Mark Hunt by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Mauricio Rua (#13, 25-11, 9-9 UFC) vs. Tyson Pedro (#14, 7-2, 3-2 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Pedro lands a right hand the drops Shogun for a moment. He gets up and they clinch against the fence before breaking. Pedro with a high kick and a right hand. Rua counters with a right hand. They trade punches. Rua with a leg kick. Rua lands a right hand. Pedro with a front kick followed by a right. Pedro then rocks Rua with a big knee. Pedro has Rua against the fence and is landing lots of punches. Pedro clinches which may have been a mistake. Pedro breaks and lands a body kick. Pedro with a body kick and then an uppercut. Pedro with a knee to the body. They clinch. Rua’s face is a mess. Rua tries a takedown but they pop right up. Rua with a takedown but Pedro has the arm. Rua finishes the round in side control. 10-9 Pedro.
Both mens’ faces are busted up. Rua stumbles Pedro with an overhand right. They clinch and Rua has the body lock. Rua has the back. Rua gets the takedown and Pedro tried to grab the fence on the way down. Pedro looking for a kimura. Pedro tries a kimura sweep but Rua blocks it and gains side control. Rua with some elbows and punches as he keeps top control. Pedro able to get to his feet but Rua still has his back. Rua with some knees. Rua gets the fight back to the mat and is landing punches from the back. Rua now in side control. Big round for Shogun. 10-9 Rua, 19-19.
Rua drops Pedro with a right hand and is landing big punches from the top. Pedro has an ankle injury. More punches from Rua and the referee stops the fight. Wow. Shogun Rua gets the comeback win in a fight where he was almost finished. It was actually the injury that had more to do with Pedro going down. Big win for Shogun.
Official Result- Mauricio Rua def. Tyson Pedro by TKO (punches) at :43 of Round 3
> Junior Dos Santos (#7, 19-5, 13-4 UFC) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#11, 8-0, 3-0 UFC) Heavyweights
Tuivasa with a leg kick. Dos Santos lands a right hand. Tuivasa chasing after Dos Santos. Tuivasa with a leg kick. Dos Santos with a high kick. Tuivasa lands a short right hand and they clinch. They break. Dos Santos with a spin kick to the body. Dos Santos with the jab. Dos Santos lands a right hand. Tuivasa lands an elbow. Dos Santos just misses a wheel kick. Tuivasa slips on a knee attempt. Dos Santos with a leg kick. Dos Santos with an uppercut. Tuivasa hurts Dos Santos with a leg kick. They clinch and Tuivasa with some body punches and an uppercut on the break. Tuivasa with a right hand at the end. 10-9 Tuivasa.
Tuivasa lands a right hand and they clinch for a moment. Tuivasa with a left hand and then an overhand right. Dos Santos against the fence but slips away. Dos Santos with a leg kick. Tuivasa with a body punch as they clinch. Dos Santos lands a right hand and Tuivasa counters with one. Dos Santos then drops Tuivasa with a right hand and lands some punches as he gains side control. Dos Santos with some short elbows. Dos Santos gets the mount and is landing big punches. Hammerfists from Dos Santos and this fight is stopped! Wow. Junior Dos Santos stops Tai Tuivasa big time in the second round. Tuivasa wasn’t happy with the stoppage but it was justified.
Official Result- Junior Dos Santos def. Tai Tuivasa by TKO (punches) at 2:30 of Round 2
Mark Hunt today filed a lawsuit in Nevada District Court against the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported the story earlier tonight. It’s a landmark case because Hunt is claiming that the defendants “affirmatively circumvented and obstructed fair competition for their own benefit.”
Hunt had been threatening legal action, feeling that his career has been harmed by facing people who have cheated. Hunt was upset because he felt Lesnar was not punished enough for a failed drug test before their fight took place, and that he went into the cage without knowledge that Lesnar had already failed a test, as the result of a June 28th test didn’t come back until after the July 9th fight.
The tough aspect of this case is that Lesnar failed for Hydroxy Clomiphene, and not for steroids or another PED. So while there are two failed tests, on June 28th and July 9th, there is no evidence that specifically ties Lesnar to PED usage for the Hunt fight.
Lesnar is currently serving a one-year suspension from UFC competition as well as within commission states that license pro fighters and wrestlers due to the positive tests.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, Mark Hunt passionately vented his frustrations about Brock Lesnar and fighters who cheat, but seemed more frustrated with the UFC for not doing enough to combat doping.
“F*ck that company. They’re sh*t. They’re f*cking worthless scum,” Hunt said. “F*ck the UFC. You’re sh*t. You motherf*ckers don’t look after nobody.”
Hunt lost to Lesnar by decision at UFC 200, but it was later revealed that Lesnar was flagged by USADA for an out-of-competition doping violation taken before the fight, and that Lesnar also failed his drug test taken the night of the fight. Both failures were reportedly for the estrogen blocker clomiphene, which is regularly used when cycling off of steroids.
Lesnar has not yet been officially suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and retains the right to due process. His only public statement was vowing to get to the bottom of the initial flagging.
Hunt said that he hasn’t been contacted by anyone in the UFC after either of Lesnar’s test failures were announced.
Hunt’s primary argument was that the UFC doesn’t do enough to combat cheating. And he repeatedly harped on the company for not getting rid of the incentives that cheating brings. The UFC has been seemingly inundated with test failures since turning their anti-doping policy over to USADA, but Hunt said that the testing doesn’t matter if the penalties aren’t harsh enough.
Notably, Hunt once again called for fighters to unionize after initially doing so immediately after Lesnar’s first failure was announced. And Hunt wanted all of the fighters in the UFC who were listening to get behind his unionization efforts.
Hunt claimed that these companies make nothing without fighters and that the main reason people watch is the fights, not people making their money off of fighters.
He said that the reason why he is so upset is that this is the third time he has fought someone who had failed a drug test.
Hunt repeatedly called for fighters who are caught doping to be fined their entire purse, and for opponents that face confirmed cheaters to be able to sue them in court. Hunt also said that the maximum suspension for taking performance-enhancing drugs should be raised from the current two-year ban to requiring cheaters to be out of action for five to 10 years.
Hunt said that he wasn’t complaining, he just wants something done about it. He said that inaction was telling the whole world that their sport is a pack of cheater and liars, and telling aspiring fighters to stick a needle in their butts if they want to make it.
“If I do fight again and get put in a coma or die what happens to me?” Hunt said. And he brought up the dangers that facing a cheating fighter could bring several times.
Hunt said that he assumed before the fight that Lesnar was cheating, but it’s different now that he has actually failed two tests. Hunt framed the problem as not specific to Lesnar, and said Lesnar was “sticking needles in his a*s like the rest of these cheaters.”
He said there is nothing special about Lesnar since he couldn’t even finish him while allegedly cheating. Hunt said that if he was on what Lesnar was reportedly on, Lesnar’s head would have come off.
After not being contacted by the UFC in the wake of Lesnar’s failures, Hunt said that he doesn’t want to be a part of the company unless they do something about this, and said that it seems like the whole roster is cheating.
He also wondered if either the UFC or USADA knew about Lesnar being flagged before the fight. And he seemed especially concerned that Lesnar was given an exemption that allowed him to forego the standard four months of testing before a fight.
The full interview is available to watch below and starts at 3:20:09:
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 200 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, — the conclusion of UFC’s International Fight Week and the biggest card in UFC history with two title fights, the return of a huge star, and an icon coming in on short notice.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate defends her title for the first time against challenger Amanda Nunes in the main event, leading many to speculate that Ronda Rousey may be floating around the venue to challenge the winner tonight. In the co-main event, it is the return of WWE superstar and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar as he takes on hard hittin’ Mark Hunt.
In other action, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, originally scheduled to headline against Jon Jones, now faces Anderson Silva, who took this fight on two days notice, in a non-title bout. Also, former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo takes on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in a rematch of their UFC 156 battle from February 2013 with the interim UFC featherweight champion on the line.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
– JIM MILLER (25-8 1 NC, 14-7 1 NC UFC) VS. TAKANORI GOMI (35-11 1 NC, 4-6 UFC) | Lightweights
First round: Miller connected with a left. Gomi went for a kick. Miller took him down off the kick and immediately got his back. He’s working for a choke. Miller has a body triangle. Miller now throwing hard punches from back position over and over and it’s over. 2:18
First round: Head kick by Mousasi. Mousasi with a left jab. Low kick by Mousasi and Santos back with a low kick. Mousasi with a jab. Mousasi got the jump on him and landed a lot of punches, took him down and got his back. Mousasi working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Mousasi took him down again. Mousasi in side control. Mousasi landing punches. Santos up, Mousasi nailed him with a hard right and a hard left that put him down and it was over. 4:32
– DIEGO SANCHEZ (26-8, 15-8 UFC) VS. JOE LAUZON (25-11, 12-8 UFC) | Lightweights
First round: Body kick by Sanchez. Sanchez with a flurry. Low kick by Sanchez. Lauzon knocked Sanchez down twice and Sanchez is back up. Lauzon is just killing him with punches. Sanchez was stunned and was taking several hard flush shots and it was stopped. Lauzon’s boxing was just on point. 1:26
First round: Northcutt fighting karate style. He threw a high kick. Marin landed a right. Nice high kick by Northcutt. Marin had him pinned against the fence. Marin took him down. Northcutt went for a kneebar. Northcutt reversed to the top. Northcutt has his back. He’s working for a choke. Marin turned. Marin got Northcutt’s back. He flipped him off and is on top. Northcutt with a few hard punches. Marin back on top. 10-9 Northcutt.
Second round: Northcutt with a right. They traded punches. Northcutt took him down but Marin reversed and got to the top. Marin in side control. Northcutt working for an armbar. Marin sat on his face and working for an armbar. Northcutt is in the armbar. He escaped out of it. Marin sitting on his face again trying to set up a Kimura. Northcutt is in trouble again. Northcutt reversed to the top out of it. Norrthcutt dropped elbows at the end of the round. Marin so 19-19. The crowd loved this round.
Third round: Both trading punches dtraidng punches. Marin took him down again. Nothing is happening against the fence. Marin is working for a takedown. Norhcutt blocked and is going for a choke. Marin out of it. Marin just took him down. Marin got his back. Northcutt threw him off and now he’s on top. Close round, win or lose a bad showing for Northcutt. I did have Northcutt winning 29-28 but third could go either way,.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 Northcutt. Most fans cheered the decision, I thought they’d boo just because Marin was such an underdog.
– (#1) T.J. DILLASHAW (12-3, 8-3 UFC) VS. (#3) RAPHAEL ASSUNCAO (23-4, 7-1 UFC) | Bantamweights
First round: Not much happening here. Dillashaw tried a kick but Asscuncao caught the leg. Assuncao landed a punch. Head kick by Dillashaw. Another head kick by Dillashaw. Assuncao with head kick. Dillashaw 10-9
Second round: Low kick by Assuncao. Dillashaw tried a takedown but it was stopped by Assuncao. Assuncao may have a broken nose. Spin kick by Assuncao landed short. Dillashaw with a body kick. Assuncao with a takedown but Dillashaw right back up. They’re stopping the fight to look at Assuncao’s nose. The doctor let him continue. Dillashaw dropped him with a right and went for a guillotine but Assuncao got right out. Right by Dillahsaw. Dillashaw 20-18.
Third round: Body kick by Dillashaw. Crowd has been quiet this entire fight. Front kick by Assuncao. Right by Dillashaw. Dillashaw went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Body kick by Dillashaw. Assuncao’s kicks are being blocked and Dillashaw missed a kick. Assuncao tried tried a takedown but Dillashaw easily evaded it. Body kick by Assuncao. Dillashaw with a nice right counter. Dillashaw got the takedown. Dillashaw 30-27. He won but didn’t look very impressive in doing so.
First round: Hendricks missed weight by ¼ pound. Physically he doesn’t look close to the same guy as fought GSP. Gastelum landed a left. Gastelum with a low kick. Gastelum landing all kinds of low kicks. Gastelum with a left. Right by Gastelum. Left by Gastelum. Hendricks landed a few. Low kick by Gastelum. Gastelum landing all kinds of punches. Hendricks is a different guy. Gastelum is just nailing him. Gastelum landed a hard punch but Hendricks back with some good punches. Body kick by Hendricks. Gastelum 10-9.
Second round: Hendricks with some counter shots and went for a takedown. Hendricks behind him but Gastelum escaped. Hendricks pushed him into the fence. Gastelum landed a good left. Spin kick by Gastelum. Knee by Hendricsk. Gastelum with a knee to the head and punches. Hendricks dancing away. Hendricks landed the left. Gastelum landed the left. Both traded punches. Gastelum 20-18.
Third round: Gastelum is chasing Hendircks throwing punches. Knee by Hendricks. Gastelum chasing him around the cage. Hendricks back throwing. Gastelum moving forward and mostly missing. Gastelum landed a nice left. Body kick by Gastelum Body kick by Hendricks. Hendricks got the takedown but Gastelum right back up. Gastelum with elbows. Hendricks couldn’t get a takedown. Gastelum tried for a takedown and couldn’t get it. Big exchange late that lit up the crowd. Gastelum 30-27.
First round: Zingano pushed her into the fence and took her right down. Pena back up. Another takedown by Zingano. Pena back up. Pena got a takedown. Zingano reversed to the top. Zingano dropped an elbow. Pena up and landed some punches. 10-9 Zingano.
Second round: Zingano with a body kick and a hip toss takedown. Beautiful belly-to-belly by Zingano. Pena reversed to the top in side control. Pena with a crossface. Pena got her back. Pena is working for a choke. Pena is holding her in back position with a body triangle. Pena’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Nice trip takedown by Pena. Pena stayed on top. Pena worked for a choke but didn’t have it. Pena with a body triangle. Pena with a few punches fro back position. She’s landing more punches now. Zingano reversed with nine seconds left. Pena 29-28, no other score possible
First round: Velasquez got a big pop. Browne landed a right . Velasaquez with low kicks. More low kicks by Velasquez. Knee by Bowne. Velasquez couldn’t take him down but has him against the fence. Velasquez moving forward. Velasquez moved in with punches. Spin kick by Velasquez and he’s pounding on him. Velasquez dropped him with a right. Velasquez landing punches on the ground. Vealasquez working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Velasquez throwing punches while having back control. Browne back up. Trading punches. Velasquez with more punches and a knee. Velasquez took him down and pounding on him. Velasquez threw punches on the ground and it was stopped. Fantastic performance by Velaquez here. 4:57
Velasquez didn’t say much in his interview. He should have challenged directly for the title after that win.
– INTERIM UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (#1) JOSE ALDO (25-2, 7-1 UFC) VS. (#2) FRANKIE EDGAR (20-4-1, 14-4-1 UFC)
First round: Edgar the more popular of the two. This is a heavy American crowd instead of Brazilian crowd. Nice right by Aldo. Left by Aldol Big let’s go Frankie cdhant. Low kicks by Edgar. Edgar in with punches and a low kick. Aldo with a right. Both traded. Edgar almost took him down. Edgar with a body kick. Edgar with a right. Both tried spin kicks at the same time. Aldlo cracked him with a right. Knee by Aldo. Wild finish with both missing shots. Great round. Very close. Aldo 10-9.
Second round: Aldo with a right and Edgar with a body kick. Left by Aldo. Aldo with a knee, Edgar tried a takedown but Aldo nearly threw him down. Right by Edgar. Edgar bleeding from the right eye. Head kick by Edgar blocked. Edgar with a right. Edgar tried a takedown but didn’t get it. Edgar tried another takedown and didn’t get it. Left by Edgar. Left and right by Aldo. Big right by Edgar staggered him. Best punch of the fight. Left by Edgar. Edgar 19-19
Third round: Edgar with a left. Low kick by Edgar. Right and left by Aldo. Both trading punches. Edgar tried a takedown but didmn’t get it and punched on the exit. Edgar pushed him to the fence. Edgar with knees to the thigh. Edgar hurt him with two rights. Aldo with a hard right. Edga back with a hard right. Hard knee by Aldo. Edgar’s right eye is looking bad. Edgar fighting for a takedown and can’t get it. Edgar got two punches in on the exit. Right by Edgar. Left by Aldo. Knee by Aldo. Edgar 29-28
Fourth round: Edgar is still the aggressor. Right by Aldo. Slower round than the first three. Low kick by Edgar. Right and head kick by Edgar. Right by Aldo. Aldo with another. Aldo landing good shots. Edgar bleeding bad from the right eye now. Aldo with a left jab. Aldo dropped him momentarily with a left and hit a knee. Aldo’s round 38-38 going into the fifth.
Fifth round: Low kick by Aldo. Aldo with a left. Left by Aldo. Aldo with a nice kick. Left by Edgar. Right by Aldo. Right by Aldo. Edgar with a low kick. Edgar hurt him with a right. Aldo with a right. Very close round. Aldo landed the better stuff but he was backpedaling a lot late and that could cost him. Aldo 48-47.
Scores: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 Aldo. Lots of loud booing the decision.
– DANIEL CORMIER (17-1, 6-1 UFC) VS. (#5 MW) ANDERSON SILVA (33-7 1 NC, 16-3 1 NC UFC) | Light Heavyweights
First round: Silva got a huge reaction, much more than Cormier. Body kick by Cormier. Cormier took him right down. Cormier with some body and head punches. Elbow and punches by Cormier. Cormier with body punches. Elbow by Cormier. Another elbow by Cormier. Cormier with more punches and elbows. 10-8 Cormier.
Second round: Sivla with a jumping body kick. Cormier with a nice right. Head kick by Silva. Takedown by Cormeir. He landed in side control. Cormier is back on top. Cormier landing punches. Clormeir landing a lot of punches form the toip. Cormier with short elbows. Cormier landing punches. John McCarthy stood them up. That was a bad call because Cormier was hurting him on the ground but the crowd was brutal to the ground, very much like the Lesnar vs. Mir II fight reaction. Cormier with a right. Hard knee by Silva. Left by Silva. Body kick by Cormier. Body kick and low kicki by Silva. The crowd is booing like crazy whenever Cormier neutralizes Silva. Cormier 20-18
Third round: Low kick by Silva. Body kick by Silva. Big right by Cormier. Cormier with a takedown. The crowd is ridiculous. Crowd booing like crazy. Cormier busy with punches from the top. Cormier with body shots. Loud stand them up chants. Cormier busy landing all kinds of punches McCarthy ordered a standup with 2:00 left. Low kick by Cormier. Silva with a low kick and a body kick. Cormier 30-26.
Scores: All three had it 30-26 Cormier. Fans booed the decision bad but it was clear.
The crowd booed Cormier’s interview heavily. He said how difficult it was, he trained for someone else, praised Silva for being the greatest ever and still pretty much booed. The crowd cheered Silva.
– BROCK LESNAR (5-3, 4-3 UFC) VS. (#8) MARK HUNT (12-10-1, 7-4-1 UFC) | Heavyweights
First round: Lensar shot for a takedown. Hunt back up. Lesnar took him down a second time. Lesnar in side control. Lesnar with punches. Knee to the body and punches by Lesnar. Lesanr hurt with punches. Lesnar took him down again into mount and more punches. 10-9 Lesanar.
Second round: Hunt with a right. Humt blocked the takedown. Lesnar tried another takedown but Hunt escaped. Hunt with an uppercut. Hunt with a right. Hunt with another right. Hunt missed a right. Lesnar with a left. Lesnar going for a takedown. Hunt punching the body. Close round for Hunt 19-19.
Third round: Hunt landed a hard right. Lesnar took him down. Lesnar landing punches on the ground. Lesnar landing lefts on the ground. Fans boooing. Lesnar landing hard lefts from the top. Lesnar now in full mount. Lesnar landing a lot of punches. 10-8 round for Lesnar, should win 29-27.
Scores: All three had it 29-27 for Lesanr. Everyone cheered Lesnar.
He said it took him a while to get acclimated, he thanked the fans. He thanked the Armed Forces and told people of all nationalities to stand together.
First round: Tate got a nice reaction, not nearly as big as Silva. Nunes with a low kick.
Tate took he down but Nunes back up. Nunes with punches. Tate went for a takedown, got reversed and Nunes landed a knee. Nunes conneciting with great punches. Nunes is destroying her standing. Nunes pouded away, landed a hard kick. Tate is all busted up. Nunes got her back and landing punches. Nunes got a choke and Tate tapped out. Tate got destroyed here. 3:16
Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes, Cain Velasquez, and Travis Browne will address the MMA media this afternoon at 3 PM EST.
The press conference is in anticipation of this Sunday’s UFC 200 event that the promotion is hoping will be the biggest show in company history.
On the show, Lesnar will make his return to mixed martial arts after an almost five-year layoff against Hunt. Lesnar last fought at UFC 141 in a loss against Alistair Overeem.
Jones is challenging Cormier in a light heavyweight championship unification bout as Jones was forced to vacate his title after a string of personal issues kept him out of the sport for a year. He won the interim version of the belt earlier this year in a unanimous decision win over Ovince Saint Preux.
Tate will defend her championship against Nunes with the winner likely to face either Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm later this year if the cards falls right.
Also on the show, Aldo faces Edgar for the interim featherweight championship, and Velasquez vs. Browne opens the PPV portion of the card.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 85: Hunt vs. Mir from the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the heavyweight division as former title challenger Mark Hunt takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. In the co-main event, it is a battle of welterweights looking to get closer to a title shot as Neil Magny takes on Hector Lombard. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ALAN PATRICK (12-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. DAMIEN BROWN (15-8, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Brown is a late replacement from Brisbane. It’s 9 a.m. in Brisbane as this show starts. Patrick took him down right away. Patrick has a guillotine but gave it up. Patrick with some elbows from the top. Brown reversed to the top and landed punches. This picked the crowd up. Patrick escaped and up. Brown took him down into side control and is riding him Patrick backup. Brown with a left hook but Patrick took him down and has his back. Brown working for a Kimura. Crowd liked the round. 10-9 Patrick but close..
Second round: Patrick took him down. Brown with elbows from the bottom. Not much happening this round. Patrick landing some punches Brown again tried or a Kimura from the bottom. Patrick’s round so 20-18 after two.
Third round: Patrick took him down immediately off a kick. Patrick trying for a choke but isn’t close. Now he’s trying an arm triangle but Brown out of trouble. Patrick moved to side control. Patrick now has his back. Patrick with some punches, but he’s more controlling him on the ground. Fans are booing. Brown got up. Patrick took him down again. Patrick 30-27 but could be 29-28, but Patrick has to win.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for Patrick.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ROSS PEARSON (18-10 1 NC, 10-7 1 NC UFC) VS. CHAD LAPRISE (10-1, 3-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise missed a high kick. Slow round. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson and Laprise back with a low kick. Laprise’s left thigh looks bad. Laprise landed a left and right. Body kick by Pearson. Body shot by Laprise. Action picked up late in the round. Pearson 10-9.
Second round: Another low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Laprise. Body kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Pearson with another low kick. Head kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson, Laprise with a left. Pearson with a right. Laprise with high kick. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with a left. Laprise with some punches. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Spin kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Pearson’s left leg is giving him trouble. Laprise with two kicks. Another close round, very good round. Laprise barely so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Low kick by Pearson. Right by Pearson. Pearson is the guy moving forward. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise landed a series including a body kick. Laprise with a left. Head kick by Laprise. Another high kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with an elbow. Pearson went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Left by Pearson. Both throwing like crazy late. Laprise’s round close. 29-28 Laprise. First two rounds were close enough to where this could go either way.
Scores: 30-28 Laprise, 30-27 Pearson 29-28 Pearson. The 30-27 score for Pearson was bad as Laprise won the third.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (9-3, 2-2 UFC) VS. VISCARDI ANDRADE (18-6, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Andrade knocked Walsh down, although some of that was as much a slip. Andrade landing more punches. Walsh landed. Andrade trying for a takedown but Walsh defending well. Andrade got him down. Andrade landing some punches. The ref warning Andrade about not being busy enough from the top. The ref stood them up. Right by Andrade. Andrade 10-9.
Second round: Big right by Walsh knocked him down. Walsh landing punches on the ground. Walslh brought him up against the cage. Walsh landing elbows. Andrade back to his feet. Knee and punches by Walsh. Left by Walsh. Andrade with a right. Andrade with a takedown but Walsh right back up. Walsh landing punches. Elbow by Walsh. Knee by Andrade. Andrade looks tired. Andrade took him down. Andrade working for a choke. Walsh survived the round. The choke made it close but Walsh’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Walsh landing punches early. Andrade took him down. Walsh took him down. Andrade got another takedown. Andrade throwing punches from the top. Andrade 29-28.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 for Andrade.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- LESLIE SMITH (7-6-1, 1-2 UFC) VS. RIN NAKAI (16-1-1, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Smith landing punches. Smith landing more. Nakai couldn’t get the takedown when she tried a hip throw. Crowd is pretty dead at this point. Smith landing more punches. Nakai got the takedown right as the round ended. 10-9 Smith.
Second round: Smith landing some punches. Nakai got the takedown. Nakai keeping her down but doing no damage. Nakai is in side control. Smith working for a triangle but Nakai got out. Nakai working for a head and arm choke. She doesn’t have it. Smith escaped with 1:16 left. Smith landing a hard uppercut. Smith kicked her in the face and Nakai got another takedown. Nakai landing punches from the top. Close round. Smith 20-18.
Third round: Smith landing punches. Nakai has the clinch. Knee and uppercuts by Nakai. Smith landing several punches. Sloppy but the crowd is enjoying this. Right to the body by Smith. Left uppercut by Smith. Nakai working for a takedown but didn’t get it. Nakai got the hip toss into side control. Nakai is trying to get her back. Smith 30-27 but I could see round two and perhaps three going to Nakai because of the ground control. .
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Smith.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DAN HOOKER (12-6, 2-2 UFC) VS. MARK EDDIVA (6-2, 1-2 UFC)
First round: Hooker is fighting at 145. He has fought as a heavyewight before which is crazy. Hooker going for a guillotine. He’s squeezing. Eddiva tapped. Finally a finish.
WELTERWEIGHTS- BRENDAN O’REILLY (6-1 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) VS. ALAN JOUBAN (12-4, 3-2 UFC)
First round: O’Reilly with a foot sweep and got his back. Jouban right back up. Jouban with knees and and elbows. Now Jouban landing all kinds of punches and kicks. O’Reilly also throwing. This was tremendous. Knees and elbows by Jouban. A couple of elbows put him down and it was stopped after punches on the ground. Short explosive great action fight.
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- BEC RAWLINGS (6-4, 1-1 UFC) VS. SEOHEE HAM (16-6, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Han is undersized for this weight class but a good fighter. Han landed a couple of punches. Both landing punches. Crowd is into this one. Han landing more. Big size difference. Rawlings with a nice right and hurt her with another right. Both trading punches. Rawlings landing harder punches. Han landing more again. Good right by Rawlings. Nice left by Rawlings Han 10-9
Second round: Both landing punches. Both landing a lot of punches. Rawlings stating to land but Han right back and landed a good body kick. Rawlings took her down off a punch. Han tried a triangle but Rawlings got her back and is working for a choke. Rawlings with an armbar. Han landing nice punches and a body kick. Rawlings so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Rawlings took her down and Han trying for a triangle. Rawlings throwing knees to the back. Rawlings escaped and on top. Rawlings landed a good punch but Han back up and landed a punch. Han landing a lot of punches. Knee by Rawlings. Knee and punches by Han. Rawlings with a knee to the body. Nice right by Rawlings. Han 29-28. Good fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Rawlings. Please.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAMES TE HUNA (16-8, 5-4 UFC) VS. STEVE BOSSE (10-2, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Te Huna from Australia, Bosse was a cult favorite in Montreal as a former hockey enforcer years back. In other words, if they were on skates, Bosse would have a great advantage. Bosse knoked him out in seconds. He threw some solid shots and Te Huna went down hard. He stopped fighting immediately before Marc Goddard stopped it. Bosse should be getting a bonus. It was a short right that did the job. :52
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (10-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR (5-1 1 NC, 2-1 1 NC UFC)
First round: Carlos with a takedown and has his back. Now he’s got the body triangle. He tried a neck crank. Carlos warned for hitting to the back of the head. Carlos throwing punches from that position. Carlos landing more punches from back position. Carlos working for an armbar as time ran out. 10-8 Carlos.
Second round: Carlos with low kicks. Carlos tried a takedown but Kelly stopped it. Kelly with an uppercut. Kelly bleeding from the nose. Jumping knee by Carlos. Kelly with lefts. Carlos shot and Kelly caught him and landed a knee. Right by Carlos. Left by Kelly. Carlos landed a few shots back. Carlos shot in and Kelly sprawled. Kelly got his back. Kelly landing punches from that position and a knee to the butt. Kelly landing a lot of punches. Carlos got up. Takedown by Carlos. Carlos has his back now. Carlos dropped down but he ref ordered him to stand up. Carlos landing punches. Kelly’s round so 19-18 Carlos.
Third round: Knee and punch by Carlos. Carlos with a low blow and Kelly went down hard. A time out was called. Kelly almost threw him and landed a knee. Kelly took him down, got his back and is pounding on him. Kelly is hurting him now. Kelly throwing tons of of punches and it’s over. Great come from behind win by Kelly.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JAKE MATTHEWS (9-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. JOHNNY CASE (22-4, 4-0 UFC)
First round: Matthews in with punches. Case with a body kick. Case landed a nice punch. Matthews caught a kick but couldn’t get the takedown. Low kick by Case. Both landing big shots. Matthews tried for a takedown but Case ended up on top. Case with a knee. Matthews landed a right. Big left by Matthews. Matthews with a kick to the butt. Left by Case hurt him. Matthews 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Matthews. Case went for a takedown. Case on top but Matthews working for a triangle. Case out and on top and landed some punches. Case landing punches . Knee to the body by Case. Matthews hurt him with a body shot but Case took him down into side control. Case’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Body kick by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Knee by Matthews. Body kick by Matthews. Matthews with a hard left. Trading knees form the clinch. Case going for a takedown but blocked. Left by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Now they are in a clinch against the fence. Knee by Matthews. Matthews has his back. Matthews throwing punches from back position and working for a choke. Case escaped. Matthews is in mount. Matthews has his back again. Matthews got the choke and Case tapped. Good third round.
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#13) HECTOR LOMBARD (34-4-1 2 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC) VS. (#9) NEIL MAGNY (17-4, 10-3 UFC)
First round: Still the same body. Lombard landed hard punches up close. Lombard pounding him on the ground. Lombard with hard punches and elbows. Lombad throwing hard punches from back position. Magny back up and thrown down and Lombard is landing more punches. Lombard in side control. Lombard with an elbow. Hard elbow by Lombard. Magny back up. Magny with a jumping knee and punches but Lombard landed a hard shot. Lombard looks tired. Magny tried a takedown, which was a bad idea as Lombard landed on top. Magny up and started to land. Left by Magny. 10-8 Lombard.
Second round: Magny starting to land. Low kick by Magny. Low kick by Lombard. Knee by Magny. Good right by Magny. Magny landing jabs. Lombard working for a takedown but Magny blocked. Lombard dropped him with a left. Lombard on top. Lombard went for a leglock which wasn’t smart. That allowed Magny to get on top and could cost him the round. Magny moved to mount and is working for a triangle. Magny holding the triangle and punching from the bottom. Magny also working for an armbar. Lombard escaped. Magny now in mount and pounding him. Lombard gave up his back and Magny is throwing a lot of punches. Now Lombard is in real trouble. Lombard is taking a lot of punches. Ref Steve Percival is letting this go way too long. Magny landing a ton of punches, and now elbows. This was ridiculous that it wasn’t stopped. The fans were booing like crazy in the closing seconds because it wasn’t stopped . 10-8 Magny.’
Third round: Lombard is bad shape. Magny landing punches and Lombard is exhausted. Knees and elbow by Magny. Magny with an elbow took him down into the mount. Lombard is bleeding. Magny with more punches and it was stopped. :46
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#9) MARK HUNT (11-10-1, 6-4-1 UFC) VS. (#10) FRANK MIR (18-10, 16-10 UFC)
First round: Mir looks heavy. He weighed in at 260. Hunt is soft like usual but smaller than usual. Hunt landed punches and blocked a takedown. Big right by Hunt. Antoher right by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and walked away and it was over.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm from the Ethiad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The event is headlined by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey putting her championship, and status as the most dominant female fighter on the planet, on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. In the co-main event, it is a second womens’ title fight as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends against Valerie Letourneau. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:15 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off at 10 PM eastern time on pay-per-view. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to [email protected].
FLYWEIGHTS- BEN NGUYEN (13-5, 1-0 UFC) VS. RYAN BENOIT (8-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: This isn’t an early arriving crowd at all. Real noticeable in such a huge stadium. Nguyen is from Australia so he’s the crowd favorite. Nguyen hurt him with a left and right and took him down. Now he’s in full mount. Benoit gave up his back. He’s got him flattened out near the cage. He’s now working for a choke. Benoit is protecting his neck. Nguyen landing punches now. He flattened him out again and working for a choke Benoit tapped out.
WELTERWEIGHTS- JAMES MOONTASRI (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ANTON ZAFIR (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hard body kick by Moontasri. Good right by Zafir. He went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Takedown by Zafir. Zafir with punches and a knee to the body. Moontasri back up. Moontasri briefly tried a guillotine. Moontasri moved away. High kick by Moontasri. Front kick by Zafir Spinning backfist by Moontasri put Zafir down and finished him with punches on the ground. It was a spinning back kick to the ribs and then the spinning backfist. Zafir said his ribs were broken.
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. STEVE KENNEDY (22-7, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Walsh from Sydney is the big babyface here. Walsh with low kicks. Kennedy’s leg is about to give out. Walsh landing a lot of punches. Kennedy’s left leg is all bruised up. Kennedy got a takedown and got his back. Walsh back up. Kennedy took him down again. Kennedy is working for a choke. Kennedy now working for a Kimura. Hard round to score 10-9 Walsh.
Second round: Crowd super hot at the start of round two. Walsh landing punches. Kennedy went for a takedown but Walsh landed on top after sprawling. Walsh backed off and wanted him to stand. Good right by Walsh. Kennedy failed another takedown. Kennedy tried a triangle but lost him. Walsh blocked another takedown and Walsh on top landing punches. Walsh landing a lot of punches from the top. Walsh backed off and Kennedy had to get up. Takedown by Kennedy. He’s staying on top. 20-18 Walsh but first round could go the other way.
Third round: Body kick by Kennedy. Walsh with a left. Walsh landing punches and on top. Walsh has his back. Walsh let him up and landed a punch. Kennedy staying on his back. The ref ordered Kennedy to stand. Nice uppercut by Kennedy. Kennedy laid on his back again. Walsh punching and kicking the the left leg Walsh landing punches. Walsh landed a right on the ground. Walsh with a few more punches on the ground. Walsh 30-27, although 29-28 would be okay, but Walsh easily took this
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Walsh.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. STEVE MONTGOMERY (8-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Kelly the hometown hero but he’s 38 years old. Nice left by Kelly. Knee by Montgomery to the body. Body kick by Montgomeruy. Big left by Kelly. Kelly landing a lot of punches from close range. Judo takedown by Kelly and he’s landing elbows. Kelly landing punches on the ground. Montgomery back up. Another judo hip toss by Kelly. Kelly landing more punches on the ground. Kelly thinkng a choke. Elbow on the ground by Kelly. Another takedown by Kelly. Kelly 10-9.
Second round: Montgomery landing punches but Kelly got a clinch. Kelly didn’t get the takedown and an elbow by Montgomery. Good left by Montgomery. Both trading punches. Knees by Montgomery from close range. Left by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery from the clinch. Judo whip by Kelly. Kelly working for a guillotine. Now he’s looking for a D’arce choke. Montgomery back up. Left by Kelly. Another left by Kelly. High kick by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Montgomery landing punches. Uppercut by Montgomery. Kelly is clearly tired. Punches by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Kelly missed a throw. Another knee by Montgomery. Montgomery’s round so 19-19 going into the thrid.
Third round: Knee by Montgomery. Accidental low knee by Montgomery. Left by Montgomery. Montgomery landing all kinds of jabs. Kelly got a clinch. Kelly went for a takedown but Montgomery blocked it. Montgomery landing but Kelly with a good left. Body kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Kelly got a clinch but Montgomery escaped. Montgomery with jabs. Kelly with a left. Body kick by Montgomery and more punches. Big left by Kelly, Good low kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Big left by Kelly. Knees by Kelly. Kelly threw him down That may have won him the fight. Kelly has his back. Kelly working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Kelly bleeding. Kelly spun to side mount and into full mount. Kelly landing punches from the top and Kennedy moved. Kelly working for a head and arm choke. He doesn’t have it. Time is running out. But that won him the fight. Good fight. Kelly 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Kelly
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- RICHIE VACULIK (10-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. DANNY MARTINEZ (16-7, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Martinez throwing punches. Vaculik fought at 155 on TUF and is now fighting at 125. Takedown by Martinez. Elbow by Martinez. Both swinging. Martinez landing punches. Vaculik with a takedown. Martinez escaped. Martinez 10-9.
Second round: Martinez landing punches early. Takedown by Maritnez. Martinez has him against the fence. Martinez dropped him He landed a knee and hard punches. Hard left by Martinez. Takedown by Vaculik and he’s got his back. Martinez reversed to the top. Takedown by Martinez. Martinez landing some punches from the top. 20-18 Martinez.
Third round: Takedown by Vaculik. Takedown by Martinez. Knee by Martinez as Vaculik got up. Vaculik started landking but Martinez took him out again. Another takedown by Martinez. Martinez with punches. Martinez with punches on the ground. Vaculik got up.
Scores: 30-27 across the board for Martinez.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- ANTHONY PEROSH (15-9, 5-6 UFC) VS. GIAN VILLANTE (13-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Villante hurt him with a right. High kick by Villante. Villante is a lot more patient than in the past after the Tom Lawlor fight. Villante with right. Good uppercut by Villante. Perosh is wobbly. Body kick by Villante. Left by Villante. Perosh with a right. Villante knocked him out with a right to the jaw.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (21-7-1, 5-3 UFC) VS. PETER SOBOTTA (15-4-1, 2-3 UFC)
First round: Noke is from Australia, one of their veteran stars. Sobotta landing punches. Noke landed a great kick to the body and Sobotta collapsed. That was a perfect sick kick. Noke is landing punches on the ground. And it’s over. It was a front kick right to the ribs.
First round: Left by Arreola. Right by Arreola. Left by Arreola. Matthews with punches in the clinch. Arreola tripped him up and landed a good left. Arreola hurt him. He dropped him with a head kick and now has his back He’s working for a choke. More punches by Arreola and he’s again working for a choke. He’s again working for a choke. Matthew escaped and got on top and Mathew pouding the hell out of him Matthews with elbows. Hard round to judge. 10-9 Arreola
Second round: Matthews with a body kick. Takedown by Matthews. Matthews with elbows from the top. Matthews with more elbows and Arreola bleeding. Matthew swith a hard punches and elbows. Now body shots by Matthews. 10-8 round for Matthews so up 19-18.
Third round: The doctor stopped the fight because the cut so Matthews won. The cut over the right eye was pretty deep and was swelling really badly. Arreola was really upset by it.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#14) STEFAN STRUVE (26-7, 10-5 UFC) VS. JARED ROSHOLT (13-2, 5-1 UFC)
First round: Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt with a low kick. Fans booing the lack of action. Rosholt got the takedown. He’s in side control. Fans booing. Rosholt back on top. He moved to side control. Struve kicked him off but Rosholt back on top. Rosholt 10-9. Crowd booing.
Second round: Struve’s s left leg is all bruised up. Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt moved in to try and takedown. Rosholt got the takedown. He got up but Rosholt dragged him down. Rosholt in side control. Struve throwing nasty elbows late in the round with both on their back. Rosholt 20-18.
Third round: Low kick by Struve. Struve landed a left. Right by Struve. Another right by Struve. Low kick by Struve. Rosholt tried for a takedown but Struve blocked it. Rosholt moved in for another takedown. Head kick by Struve. Front kick by Struve. Right and left by Struve. Struve landed a few punches but Rosholt took him down and moved into side control. Struve up and Rosholt shoved him into the fence. Rosholt running away. Struve took him down. Struve landed elbows. Crowd booing. Struve won the round but Rosholt should have it 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Rosholt
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#10) URIAH HALL (12-5, 5-3 UFC) VS. (#14) ROBERT WHITTAKER (14-4, 5-2 UFC)
First round: Whittaker came out aggressive. Hard right by Whittaker. High kick by Hall. Body kick and left by Hall. Low kick by Whittaker. Hall went for some Ricochet double spin kick and Whittaker took him down. Left and right from the top by Whittaker. Whittaker got mount but Hall kicked him off. Whittaker landing punches from the top. Whittaker has his back. Hall reversed to the top. 10-9 Whittaker.
Second round: Whittaker rocked him with a right. Whittaker got behind him and stomped his foot. Hall got lucky. He got punched in the eye but the ref called it an eye poke so he got off the hook. Right by Whtitaker. Whittaker bleeding from the nose. Whittaker landed a nice left. Whittaker 20-18.
Third round: Hall out aggressively but Whittaker landing punches that hurt Hall. Whittaker stomping his foot. Hall landed a head kick. Flying knee and another head kick by Hall. Hall with knees the body. Hall coming back. Whittaker just trying to tie him up. Great front kick and head kick by Hall. Whittaker landed a left. Left by Whittaker. Nice right by Whittaker. Hall with a right. Whttaker with a body kick and punch. Whittaker got behind him. Whattaker took him down. Hall’s round so Whittaker 29-28. Really fun fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 Whittaker
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#8) MARK HUNT (10-10-1, 5-4-1 UFC) VS. (#11) ANTONIO SILVA (19-7-1, 3-4-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Hunt. They exchanged punches. Hunt with a low kick. Hard body kick by Hunt. Knee by Silva. Another low kick by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and it’s over.
First round: Letourneau punched her and got her down and punching on the ground. Joanna back up. Both throwing knees. Great kick to the face by Joanna which turned Letourneau around. Exchanging punches. Letourneou with high kick. Letourneau 10-9.
Second round: Both exchanging punches. Low kick by Joanna. Joanna threw a kick but Letrouneau caught the leg. Letourneau pushed her against the cage. Elbows by Joanna. Exchanges. Letourneau landed the best shot. Letourneua landed a few. Joanna with a right. Joanna with a series of punches. Joanna’s round close 19-19.
Third round: Nice front kick by Joanna. Joanna with a low kick. Joanna now landing a lot. Letourneau looks tired now. Joanna landing a lot now. Letourneau’s face is all bruised up. Joanna’s round she’s up 29-28.
Fourth round: Good right by Joanna. Front kick by Joanna. She went for another one but Letourneau caught the leg. Both trading shots. Joanna busting her up now. Joanna landing kicks and punches. The crowd is starting to boo now. Letourneau landed some punches. Front kick by Joanna. Joanna landed a lot of punches late in the round. 39-37 Joanna.
Fifth round: Joanna has thrown more than 200 strikes. Body kick by Letourneau. Joanna is too quick at this point. Low kicks by Joanna. Letourneau’s left leg is all red. Low kick and rihg by Joanna. Joanna landing a lot of punches. Letourneau back with a punch. Joanna messed up her left eye and left leg. Very good fight. 49-46 Joanna. Joanna landed 258 total strikes in the fight.
First round: Ronda wouldn’t touch gloves. Holm landed a left. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda landed with a right. Ronda locked up with her. It’s turning into a kickboxing match. Right by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda locked her up. Rousey got her down. Holm escaped the armbar. Holm kicking the knee and dancing away. Left by Holm. Big left by Holm. Hard left by Holm. Anothrer left by Holm Ronda with a left. Holm took her down. Crazy. Back in a clich. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Ronda is tired and her nose is all bloody. More lefts by Holm. Side kick by Holm. Rousey missed a punch and fell down. Left head kick by Holm knocked Rousey down and she’s in trouble. Punches on the ground and it’s over. Wow. :59
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm weigh-ins from the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. This will be the UFC’s third stadium show and the first visit to Melbourne, Australia.
The event is headlined by two title fights in each of the UFC’s womens’ divisions topped by dominant champions. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey looks to continue her reign as the best female fighter in the world as she puts her 12-0 record and title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to continue her dominance of the 115-pound division as she puts her title and undefeated record on the line against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout that is a rematch of an all-time classic fight as Mark Hunt takes on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Ronda Rousey (134) vs. Holly Holm (134) – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk (114) vs. Valerie Letourneau (115) – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship Mark Hunt (265) vs. Antonio Silva (263) Uriah Hall (185) vs. Robert Whittaker (185) Stefan Struve (265) vs. Jared Rosholt (239)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Jake Matthews (155) vs. Akbarh Arreola (155) Kyle Noke (169) vs. Peter Sobotta (169) Anthony Perosh (205) vs. Gian Villante (205) Richie Vaculik (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT): Dan Kelly (185) vs. Steve Montgomery (185) Richard Walsh (170) vs. Steve Kennedy (169) James Moontasri (170) vs. Anton Zafir (170) Ben Nguyen (126) vs. Ryan Benoit (125)
*Ronda calling Holly’s niceness all fake, and Ronda can see through her. Ronda is ready!
*Ronda gets right in her face. Holly didn’t back down. Awesome!
*Joanna pre-stared her down before even getting on the scale, Dana stepped in. Joanna said, “Her lucky day was yesterday…”
The UFC heads back to Australia this weekend for the third stadium show in company history, headlined by the two most dominant women in the UFC today each defending their championships in front of a potential record-setting crowd. UFC 193 takes place on Saturday night on pay-per-view with the main card airing at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before heading on over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time for more prelim action.
The most dominant woman in MMA today, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, defends her title in the main event against undefeated challenger, Holly Holm, in a fight that could end up being the toughest test to date for Rousey. In the co-main event, the most dominant woman at 115 pounds, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, defends her title against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who meet in a rematch of their epic encounter from December 2013. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on at UFC 193 on Saturday night.
1. Can Holly Holm be the woman to dethrone Ronda Rousey?
Ronda Rousey has been, arguably, the most dominant champion in UFC history, or at the very least, of the last couple of years. She is undefeated in her career at 12-0, and she has only been out of the first round once in her career. She has scored eight wins in less than a minute, three wins by knockout, and nine wins by submission, with all nine coming by her signature move- the armbar. She has amassed just under 26 minutes of total fight time in her twelve career fights. Everything about her fighting has been dominant. She has become a mainstream star unheard of in the sport, due not just to the attention she has received from being a fighter, but also due to her new-found status in Hollywood. She may not be long for the sport at this rate, but every time she steps foot inside the Octagon, you get the feeling you are about to see something special yet again.
Holly Holm is 9-0 since moving over to MMA from boxing, where she won 19 world titles in her career while putting together a 33-2-3 career record. She also has some professional kickboxing experience. She was impressive early in her MMA career, winning six of her first seven fights by knockout, leading to negotiations with the UFC. It was a long process, but she finally signed in July 2014. Injuries kept her from debuting for a while, but she was coming into the UFC with a lot of hype. She also works with one of the best fight camps in the world, the Greg Jackson camp in New Mexico, and under a lot of great coaches and with some of the best training partners in the world. She has been somewhat underwhelming in her two UFC bouts, scoring solid, yet overall unimpressive, wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. She was selected as Rousey’s next opponent, likely before she was fully ready, because it was what Rousey wanted. Holm now has the chance to show she is the one that can dethrone the champion.
Holm’s two UFC bouts have almost been like walk throughs in anticipation of a chess match with Rousey. Holm moves around a lot on her feet, and she picks her attacks rather nicely. She throws a lot, but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She’s methodical in her approach. Rousey is much the same. Rousey doesn’t make mistakes, and she is much better on her feet than she has gotten credit for. She is also a master of gameplans. Holm’s coach, Greg Jackson, is also a gameplan master. Holm has shown good takedown defense, and it is going to need to be on point against Rousey. Both women fight very smart and Holm isn’t going to rush in right after Rousey. This fight may be different than any Rousey fight we have seen to this date, but it is hard to envision the outcome being any different. It’s not a matter of if Rousey will win, but how long will it take. We are in store for another special moment on Saturday, but Holm will be a very tough test for Rousey to pass.
2. Does Valerie Letourneau have a chance against Joanna Jedrzejczyk?
Valerie Letourneau enters UFC 193 on Saturday night challenging Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. She is doing it on the heels of four straight wins and is coming off a win over Maryna Moroz in August. She has been declared an undeserving challenger by most, but at the same time, they needed someone to challenge Jedrzejczyk, and she was likely the best option available at the time due to injuries and bookings to others. She enters as the biggest underdog in a title fight in history, and a simple $100 bet on her would win you $1,335 if she were to pull off the upset. Quite frankly, she is being counted out before the two women even step foot inside the Octagon. The big question is does she even stand a chance against Jedrzejczyk?
Letourneau has some solid striking and comes from a good camp in the American Top Team camp. The only losses in her career have come to Alexis Davis, Sarah Kaufman and Claudia Gadelha. Two of those have won and fought for titles, and the other, Gadelha, is next in line when she returns from the injured list. Jedrzejczyk is a different beast, though. She is undefeated in ten career fights, and she is likely the best striker in women’s fighting, no matter the weight class. She tees off on opponents, and her dominant win over Jessica Penne in her first title defense in June shows how great her attack is. She has overwhelmed both Penne and Carla Esparza in their title fight, and Gadelha has been the only one to give her a tough fight. Gadelha arugably beat Jedrzejczyk. Letourneau is going to need to be on the offensive and use her reach advantage. She won’t be able to outstrike Jedrzejczyk, so she should mix in some grappling. However, the champion is strong there. This is all set up for a showcase win for Jedrzejczyk, and it’s only a matter of how long it takes the champion to win.
3. Can Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva recapture the magic of their first fight?
Depending on who you ask and when you ask them, Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva were involved in the greatest fight in UFC history when they met each other in December 2013. It was an amazing heavyweight battle that surprisingly went 25 minutes, with over 320 strikes landed between the two of them. They were bloodied and battered, and when all was said and done, the fight ended without a winner. It ended in a draw, in one of those rare occurences where a draw is determined without a point deduction to factor in. It was a magical moment on that December night in Australia, and the two big heavyweights will step back into the Octagon again on Saturday night in Australia looking to recapture the magic of their first encounter. More importantly, after a draw, they, and fans alike, want a definitive winner.
When you are involved in one of the best fights in history, if you try it again with the same components, rarely does it ever live up to the first fight. Both men are different since that war. Hunt is coming off two straight losses, one of which was a brutal beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic. Silva lost his next two fights in bad fashion, but is coming off a big win over Soa Palelei. At this stage in their careers, it is unsure if either man has much left to give to the top contenders. Both still have that power that can make a difference in the heavyweight division, but their days of challenging for titles are likely long gone. That is why this is a perfect moment for a rematch. Hunt has the biggest difference maker in his right hand, but the beating he took at the hands of Miocic may be the beginning of the end for him. Silva’s chin can hardly take a punch these days, as his last five losses have all been first-round knockout losses. They are only going three rounds this time, and I sense a different outcome this time, with a winner truly decided. Who will that be? I like Hunt getting a knockout win.
4. Will Uriah Hall continue his surge up the UFC’s middleweight rankings?
Uriah Hall steps into the Octagon for fifth time on Saturday night, and he does so for the second straight time on short notice against a dangerous opponent. Last time it was Gegard Mousasi, and most thought Hall was headed to Japan to collect a paycheck and a beating. In the first round of their bout, it was looking like it was going to be a long night for Hall. However, in the second round, Hall pulled off a highlight-reel finish that he became known for during his time on “The Ultimate Fighter”. A spinning back kick landed to Mousasi’s face, then a flying knee, and before you know it, Hall finished Mousasi in a stunning upset to collect a performance bonus, a huge win, and the number ten ranking in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. It finally looked like Hall was going to start to live up to his potential as he has now won five of his last six fights.
He gets another tough foe on Saturday night as he steps in to fight Robert Whittaker, who has been looking great himself since moving up to 185 pounds. Whittaker is a former TUF winner, but after winning his first two UFC bouts, he dropped his next two. He has since won three straight, including two straight knockout wins after deciding to make the move up from 170 pounds. He has established himself as a formidable threat in the middleweight division, and he has moved to number 14 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He has a lot of power in his hands and can finish fights quickly with his punches. He doesn’t have the overall striking prowess of Hall, and when Whittaker faced a similiar striker when he took on Stephen Thompson, it was Thompson finishing Whittaker. Hall has a lot of momentum, and with taking another short notice fight, while it’ll be his third fight in three months, he has a lot of confidence after the win over Mousasi. It’ll likely be a highlight-reel win in either direction, but Hall gets the job done here.
5. What else on the card is there to look out for?
The UFC 193 main card on pay-per-view rounds out with a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Jared Rosholt. It will be Struve’s 16th appearance inside the Octagon, and after a long list of setbacks, he got back into the win column in scoring a decision win at UFC 190 in August over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which will be notable in history as the last fight in the legendary career for Nogueira. For Rosholt, it will be the first pay-per-view appearance for him as he looks to extend his two-fight win streak and move into the heavyweight rankings. He is 5-1 during his stint in the UFC, but it hasn’t been an overly impressive five wins as four of them have come by decision, and in not-so-pretty fashion. If there is one thing about Struve, it is that he can be finished, as all five of his UFC losses have come by knockout. It is the chance for Rosholt to score an impressive win, or for Struve to pick up his 11th triumph inside the Octagon.
In preliminary card action, each fight will feature a fighter hailing from Australia. It is not the most-stacked preliminary card in terms of name value, but features some solid fighters. One of the big names to watch is Jake Matthews, a 21-year-old lightweight looking to bounce back from the first loss in his career. He has been impressive in his short career, scoring seven of his eight wins by stoppage, but he gets a durable opponent in Akbarh Arreola, who has 22 wins by stoppage. In welterweight action, Kyle Noke looks for his second straight win against Peter Sobotta, holder of a seven-fight win streak. UFC veterans Anthony Perosh and Gian Villante will meet in a light heavyweight bout as both men look to rebound from setbacks in their previous bouts. A fight on the UFC Fight Pass portion to keep an eye on is the night’s opening bout, a flyweight contest between Ben Nguyen and Ryan Benoit. Nguyen has won seven straight fights, while Benoit is coming off an impressive second-round TKO win over Sergio Pettis at UFC 185 in March.
Full UFC 193 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. (#7) Holly Holm Betting Odds: Rousey (-1900), Holm (+1200) Prediction: Rousey by submission in round 1
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: (C) Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. (#8) Valerie Letourneau Betting Odds: Jedrzejczyk (-2150), Letourneau (+1300) Prediction: Jedrzejczyk by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#8) Mark Hunt vs. (#11) Antonio Silva Betting Odds: Hunt (-265), Silva (+225) Prediction: Hunt by knockout in round 1
Middleweights: (#10) Uriah Hall vs. (#14) Robert Whittaker Betting Odds: Hall (-130), Whittaker (+110) Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#14) Stefan Struve vs. Jared Rosholt Betting Odds: Struve (-125), Rosholt (+105) Prediction: Struve by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Lightweights: Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola Betting Odds: Matthews (-900), Arreola (+600) Prediction: Matthews by submission in round 1
Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta Betting Odds: Noke (+145), Sobotta (-165) Prediction: Noke by decision
Light Heavyweights: Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante Betting Odds: Perosh (+325), Villante (-400) Prediction: Villante by knockout in round 1
Flyweights: Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez Betting Odds: Vaculik (-105), Martinez (-115) Prediction: Vaculik by decision
