Tag: Nate Diaz

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano on Netflix live results: Two legends return to the MMA cage

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

For the first time ever, Netflix will hold an MMA event as they continue their relationship with Jake Paul’s MVP promotion.

The headliner features former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returning to action for the first time in nearly a decade against former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gina Carano, fighting for the first time in 17 years. It will likely be the final bout for both women.

The co-main event will see former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou battle former UFC fighter Philipe Lins.

In a high-profile fight between two fan favorites, Nate Diaz returns to the MMA cage against Mike Perry who transitioned from MMA to bare knuckle fighting to raise his profile.

The rest of the main card features Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross at lightweight and former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos against Robelis Despaigne.

Our live coverage kicks off with the main card at 9 pm Eastern.

**********

Former UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is on the analyst desk along with Ariel Helwani. Cain Velasquez is interviewed cageside before the first fight featuring his long time rival Junior Dos Santos and he doesn’t think it will go long. 

Mauro Ranallo and Kenny Florian are the play by play team for this card. 

Junior Dos Santos (21-10) vs Robelis Despaigne (5-2) – Heavyweights

JDS out to “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky. Gets a nice response from the late arriving crowd. JDS comes in on a 5 fight losing streak, having lost won in 2019. Despaigne lost his last two UFC fights before being cut in 2024 and this is his first fight back. Frank Trigg is the referee. 

Despaigne rocks JDS with his first few shots. JDS makes an impact with a hard leg kick. JDS drops him with a leg kick. Despaigne lands a nice punch combo to the head and follows up with an uppercut. Great punch combo and a head kick by Despaigne and JDS is reeling. He’s busted open and bleeding from the mouth. Despaigne knocks him out cold with a beautiful combo. 

Winner – Robelis Despaigne (6-2) by KO at 2:59

Ariel Helwani interviews Despaigne after the fight. Asks if he will stay in MMA now after leaving in 2024 or go back to karate. Calls out Francis N’Gannou but says he’d like to do both. He also wants a bonus for the knockout and Ariel tells him to talk to “Jake” (Paul). 

Salahdine Parnasse (22-2) vs Kenneth Cross (17-4) – Lightweights

Cross is training partners with Gina Carano, who fights later tonight in the main event. Parnasse is a 2 division champion of KSW in Poland and comes in on a 4 fight win streak. Cross has also won 4 straight but lost his only fight for a major promotion, in Bellator, in 2023. Jason Herzog is the official for this fight. 

Parnasse immediately catches a kick and takes Cross down but he gets right up. They fight for control on the cage before Parnasse takes him down again. Cross up fairly easily. Both guys landing wild strikes after they separate. Cross stuffed on a takedown attempt. Parnasse takes him down again and lands some ground and pound. Takes the back and working for a rear naked choke. Parnasse flattens him out with punches. Cross is turtling and the ref warns him to fight back. Cross to his feet but still eating a lot of punches. Parnasse mixing in strikes to the head and body and Cross goes down clutching his liver and the ref stops it. 

WInner – Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) by TKO at 4:18

That was the first knockout loss of Cross’ career. Parnasse interviewed after the fight and talks in both English and French. Says he’d be willing to box or fight MMA and just wants another fight in this company. Was asked if he felt pressure for this fight and he said he didn’t because he feels he’s the best fighter in the world. Is asked who he’d like to fight next and says “anyone, anytime”. Then says Diaz or Perry. 

One of the promoters was interviewed by Helwani. Says he’s pleased with the show so far. Will not commit to doing another show. Asked if he’ll try to convince Ronda to fight again and he says she’ll always have a place with MVP either as a fighter or promoter. 

Francis Ngannou (18-3) vs Philipe Lins (18-5) – Heavyweights

Lins comes in on a 4 fight win streak in UFC, but hasn’t fought since March 2024. Ngannou is being billed as the linneal heavyweight champion, having left UFC as champion in a contract dispute. He is on a 6 fight win streak in MMA. Herb Dean is the referee. 

Ngannou throwing a lot of kicks early. Lins with a takedown attempt and Ngannou takes his neck. Gives the choke up quickly. Both guys having good success with leg kciks. Ngannou sprawls out of a takedown attempt and gets Lins on his back. Lands some ground and pound before Lins ties him up. Lins up but Ngannou stalking him with punches. Lins lands a nice hope shot. Ngannou up 22-3 in strikes landed 3 minutes in. Seems to be tiring already. Ngannou starting to work the body in the clinch. They separate with 45 seconds left. Ngannou knocks him out cold. 

Winner – Francis Ngannou (19-3) by KO at 4:31

Ariel interview Ngannou after the fight. Says he respects Lins, who was tougher than he thought. Says this was a reminder of just who he is. Says he wasn’t worried about cage rust. It’s an instinct that’s always in him. Ariel asks about Robelis Despaigne. Said he had a good knockout. They are both in the running for performance of the night and they are on a collision course. Jon Jones was watching and Ariel points him out at the analyst desk. Says Joes is a great fighter but he has something to learn about business. Said this fight needs to happen before they retire. But it has to be here. Said that Jake Paul is just a blah blah guy and he doesn’t respect him. He’s glad he found someone to run the business side. Says Jones is tied up but Paul isn’t and if he wants him next. Says if he’s grown up, then maybe. Asks Jake about it. Crowd gives him the loudest boos of the night. Says he’ll fight him. They’re here to get fighters paid more and to get them watched more than people in the UFC. Says he’ll box him, doesn’t seem to want to fight him. Ngannou closes saying he’s the best heavyweight in the world, period while Jon Jones smiles from the desk. 

Woodley and Jones talk on the desk. Jones says he’s trying to get out of his UFC contract. Wants to fight Francis and since Dana won’t make the fight it’s got to happen here. Jones says Francis fought a light heavyweight tonight but he looked good. Woodley says that he should get Netflix to pick up the legal tab to get him out of his UFC contract. Jones is asked about the main event. Says that Ronda is the main reason he’s here. He’s close friends with her and think she’ll do amazing tonight. Also says that Gina is the reason Rousey was able to do what she did and puts her over as the most important woman in the history of MMA. Jones closes by saying he’s officially retired. He’s asked about Ronda and Gina coming back after being retired and he says “well they don’t have arthritis and I do”. 

Mike Perry (14-8) vs Nate Diaz (21-13) – Welterweights 

Perry is fighting MMA for the first time since 2021 where he lost his last two fights in UFC. He last won over Mickey Gall in June 2020. Diaz won his last UFC fight in September 2022 over Tony Ferguson and has gone 1-1 in boxing matches since then. He gets the loudest pop of the night so far for his walkout. Mike Beltran is the ref.

Perry all over Diaz early. Diaz trying to clinch up. Diaz takes him down but Perry takes top position. Perry landing ground and pound. Diaz working a sub from his back. He’s got Perry’s legs all tied up. Loud DIAZ chants from the crowd. Perry gets up and forces Nate to follow. Perry starting to work the body. both guys looking tired. Perry lands a knee to the body and Diaz seems to be in real trouble. Diaz covering up his body which opens up the head.  Diaz starting to fight back with 2 minutes left. Diaz is busted open with a cut over his right eye. Diaz firing back with hard jabs. Perry cut open now beside his nose. More DIAZ chants. Diaz takes the back standing but Perry quickly takes control> Elbows to the head to close the round. 10-9 Perry

Mauro brings up that Diaz would like a rubber match with Conor McGregor which is interesting since his return fight for UFC was just announced for July 11. Perry looking really good early in the 2nd, landing a lot of punches standing. Perry mixing in elbows to the head and punches to the body. Diaz still firing back. Perry is definitely looking most tired although Diaz’ face is covered with blood. Perry takes his back standing. Tries for a choke and that allows Diaz to escape. The blood is dripping into Diaz’ eyes, which is bothering him. Perry throws Diaz to the matt and then follows up with punches to the head. Diaz throws up an armbar but Perry escapes easily. Perry backs off, forcing Diaz up. He gets up very slowly. He’s now bleeding from the back of his head as well. The blood is really getting bad and this could be stopped after the round. Diaz needs the cage to hold him up at points. Perry continuing to stalk him. Perry drops him to close the round. 10-8 Perry but this could be over. 

The fight is indeed stopped between rounds. 

Winner – Mike Perry (15-8) via corner stoppage at 5:00 of Round 2

Ariel Helwani interviews Mike Perry. Says he got tired from hitting Diaz so much. Puts him over as being tough and has no quit in him. Says they did their job. Crowd cheered Diaz and booed him. He’s thankful for the opportunity given by Netflix and MVP. Ariel asks him if he’s disappointed for not winning emphatically, which was kind of a dumb question and Perry says it was emphatic. Couldn’t have been more definitive than that. He calls out Conor McGregor and the fans cheer that. He asks for an MMA fight with Jake Paul and Jake is up for that. Paul beat him in a boxing match. Says cardio wasn’t an issue tonight because he didn’t get to the championship rounds. He’s asked if he’ll stick with MMA now. Says he’s an all around fighter and great in the clinch so seems up to another fight. 

He talks to Diaz as well. Congratulates him on a valiant effort. Says Perry did everything he was expecting. Broke his finger two minutes in. Says he’ll come back and get Perry and even says he’ll take out Paul and Helwani. He congratulates Perry on a good fight and says the stoppage was warranted. Perry seems up for another fight. 

CM Punk was interviewed at cageside. He’s picking Ronda Rousey to win by armbar. Celebrities shown at ringside include James Cameron, David Spade, Tommy Lee and Michael Irvin. 

Main Event – Gina Carano (7-1) vs Ronda Rousey (12-2) – Featherweights

Rousey out to “Bad Reputation” and gets a mixed reaction from the crowd. This is Gina’s first fight since losing to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce in August 2009. Ronda is fighting for the first time since December 2016, having lost her last two UFC fights. Big John McCarthy is the referee. 

Ronda takes her down immediately. Gina with a guillotine attempt. Ronda with an armbar and it’s over. 

Winner – Ronda Rousey 13-2) via armbar submission in 17 seconds

Ariel interviews both ladies in the cage. Compares it to Cat Zingano in this same city. Ronda says Gina brought her in and is the only person who could’ve brought her back. She’s in tears. “You changed my world and we changed the world”. Ronda thanks MVP and Netflix and says the fans in the building and at home give this show value. They’re here to fight for the fans. She says she was hoping it would go like it did. She didn’t want to hurt Gina. Ariel asks if she wanted more time and Ronda says “hell no!”. Thanks her family and coaches and training partners for getting her here. Says that Gina is her hero and thanked her for bringing her home. Ariel asks if we could see more of Ronda in a cage. Ronda says this was the perfect ending and she wants to go have babies now. 

Gina says she wanted it to last longer. She’s never felt that good in the cage. Says that just getting back in the cage was a victory. She is disappointed because she wanted a fight and didn’t really get it. Says she lost 100 lbs and probably added years to her life because of it. Ariel asks if she wants to keep doing this. Being away 17 years and being 44 years old is a lot. She’ll talk about it with her family. Says you never know. Maybe she should’ve matched up against a striker.

Jake Paul says we will definitely see more MVP MMA. Says they’re taking over MMA and Dana White better be prepared. 

 

Daily Update: Nate Diaz, Ronda Rousey, AEW All In

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the topics covered:

  • Preview and business notes on AEW Revolution
  • Updates on WrestleMania, how we got to Rhodes vs. Orton and feuds that are starting
  • A look at the UFC White House show and how we got here
  • Full UFC 326 coverage including the most viewers of a TV UFC show since Paige Van Zant vs. Michelle Waterson
  • A look at the new AEW streaming service
  • NXT Vengeance Day coverage and poll results
  • Odds on upcoming pro wrestling matches
  • Logan Paul’s grandstand challenge to football players gets several takers, including some big names, but nothing can transpire and how it ended
  • Full coverage of the 16 Carat Gold tournament in German featuring many of the best independent wrestlers in the world
  • A complete look at the TV ratings from all the pro wrestling shows over the past week, including breakdowns in various categories, placings, how Raw did on Netflix, competition and more
  • CMLL’s lineup for its No. 2 show of the year next week
  • Full rundown of the CMLL all women’s show onFriday
  • Konnan news
  • Behnid the Nino Hamburguesa firing
  • Rey de Reyes notes
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament news
  • New Japan Cup and anniversary show news
  • Pro wrestler and MMA star looks back at a fixed fight and more comments including the Japanese attempt to get a major WWE star to job in an MMA match to theri guy
  • Notes on a new promotion debuting
  • Attendance updates for future WWE, AEW, TNA and other shows including Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.
  • Giant weekend in Europe including the two big Eve shows and the controversy
  • TNA future direction
  • Notes from the Tony Khan media call
  • Putting recent Collision numbers into perspective
  • How Zuffa boxing’s biggest show did
  • Rousey vs. Carano and Rousey’s promotional tactics as well as responses from other fighters
  • Lots of new UFC fights
  • Jake Paul’s women’s boxing group makes ESPN deal
  • Changes to the WWE writing team
  • ESPN reporting side does exactly what they said they wouldn’t do regarding pro wrestling
  • More vacant WWE titles

This Week’s Back Issue

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Monday Update

AEW logo

— Bryan and I will be back tonight talking more about last night’s Revolution show, Raw, New Japan Cup, CMLL, Ronda vs. TKO and more.

— Mike Perry vs. Nate Diaz has been added to the 5/16 MMA show on Netflix headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano. This Will be a five round fight at 170 pounds. They are listing this fight as part of a triple-headliner with Rousey vs. Carano and Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.

— Rousey wrote about this, “Welcome to the revolution Nate Diaz. It’s fighters vs. establishment — and we’re gunhna win! May 16 only on Netflix. PS Hunter Campbell pissed off the wrong bitch. I’m coming for your job motherf***er.” So I guess it was Campbell who made the call not to guarantee Carano and Rousey what their original idea of what they’d make from PPV was, and led to them not doing the fight in UFC. Exactly how much being anti-TKO led to Rousey showing up last night, I don’t know. Rousey hasn’t said or posted anything. Tony Khan was vague. The impression I have from those who know is that this was not a one-shot, but I can’t even imagine Rousey doing a match until after the Carano fight.

— Raw is tonight in San Antonio with both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on the show, so I expect real news coming out of it. AJ Lee vs. Bayley for the IC title, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE women’s title, Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri and Grande Americano Kaiser vs. Grande Americano Gable are announced. They were sold out with 14,400 tickets out as of this afternoon.

— We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s AEW Revolution show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

— The presale for All In on 8/30 at Wembley starts for those with a link given out for registering early starts tomorrow and there will be another presale for those who have been given a code on Thursday. What Will Ospreay did last night and its proximity to these dates are not coincidental. The All In sale number after they go on sale to the public is one of the most important numbers of the year. It’s AEW’s biggest show by far of 2026 and more will be made of that number, either good or bad, than any attendance number from any promotion this year.

— WWE is honoring today’s date, 3/16, with 31.6 percent off tickets for US events including WrestleMania, but all shows starting Friday in Raleigh through 6/19 in Kansas City. It’s a one-day sale.

— Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Paul Heyman’s WWF debut. It’s not 25 years straight. There was a notable several year break in there.

— TNA and iHeartMedia announced a multi-platform collaboration where IHeartMedia will be promoted on all TNA platforms while iHeartMedia will promote TNA and will sponsor all of its PPV shows for the remainder of 2026. iHeart will promote TNA’s PPV shows and live shows with the partnership launching for the 4/11 Rebellion show in Cleveland.

— In the New Japan Cup, tomorrow in Fukushima it’s Shota Umino vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman. The Two winners go to the semifinals on Friday night. The other semifinal on Friday is Oleg Boltin vs. Yuya Uemura.

— As noted yesterday, NXT will be out of its normal time slot in Chicago tomorrow. It will be on tomorrow night but not until election coverage is over.

— TNA Impact on Thursday did 259,000 viewers and an 0.04 in 18-49. It was its best viewer number to date on AMC.

— CMLL tonight in Puebla was the third sellout in four days, and Mistico was not even on any of those shows. This is El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas week so Puebla tonight and Guadalajara tomorrow night both should be sold out, just like Friday at Arena Mexico one would think is a lock for a sellout. Friday has Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hechicero for the CMLL heavyweight title and Mistico’s return, teaming with Mascara Dorada & Neon against Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia for the CMLL trios tiites plus the retirement of El Satanico should be an easy sellout. Tonight’s show is Atlantis Jr. & Templario vs. Soberano Jr. & Voador Jr. plus Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja defend the CMLL tag titles against Dorrada & Neon and Xelhua & Stigma vs. Yutani & Okumura.

— With his trios title win last night, I believe Mistico will become the first person to be trios champion in two different major promotions at the same time.

— Pandemonium Pro Wrestling had to pull Soberano Jr. off its WrestleMania week show. The SlamFest shows at the Palms ended up getting an exclusive for CMLL talent over Mania week.

— They are building up a Penta vs. El Hijo del Vikingo IC title match in AAA.

— Chris Jericho will be playing the lead villain on Sunday’s episode of Tracker on CBS at 9 p.m. Eastern. Last Sunday’s episode did 8,339,000 viewers and an 0.69, so as far as viewers, more people watch that show than just about any actual televison show.

— Impact on Thursday has The Nemeths vs. The Righteous, Brian Myers vs. Moose, Xia Brookside & Lei Ying Lee vs. Dani Luna & Arianna Grace, Mr. Elegance vs. 76 year old Mike Jackson and Jada Stone vs. Eleyna Black.

— Alex Hammerstone suffered a knee injury at the MLW tapings in Atlanta.

— Among those celebrating birthday today are Hall of Famer Mark Lewin (89), Mike McGuirk (71), Kenny Bolin (66), Henry Godwinn/Mark Canterbury (61), Steve Armstorng (61) and Kenn Doane (40). Today is also the birthday of Don Owen, the Hall of Fame promoter born on this day in 1912, Rudy Kay, born in 1914, Hall of Fame announcer Lance Russell (born in 1926) and Lorenzo Parente (born in 1935). Gary Hart was 66 when he died on this date 18 years ago.

Nate Diaz return added to Netflix’s Rousey vs. Carano card

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Former UFC star Nate Diaz is returning on the card for Netflix’s first-ever live MMA special.

It was announced today that Diaz vs. Mike Perry will take place on the undercard of Netflix’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event on May 16. The show is being held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and will stream live for Netflix subscribers at no additional cost.

Diaz vs. Perry will be contested at 170 pounds. It’s Diaz’s first MMA fight since 2022 and Perry’s first since 2021. Both are former UFC fighters who have tried their hand at boxing in recent years. Perry has also competed for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Netflix hyped up Diaz as a “combat sports icon” whose rivalry with Conor McGregor was the biggest box-office feud in MMA history.

“The bout adds another explosive matchup to a blockbuster triple-headliner that already includes a heavyweight clash between Francis Ngannou and Philippe Lins and a historic women’s main event between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano,” the streaming platform wrote in a press release.

MVP Promotions — owned by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian — is the promoter of this event. Diaz and Perry have each worked with Paul before, losing to him in boxing matches.

Bidarian thanked Netflix for believing in MVP’s and said he believes the future of MMA is bright with them working together.

“Nate Diaz is the Real BMF, and Mike Perry is the King of Violence — this will be a war from the first press conference all the way to the end when one of them has their hand raised,” Bidarian said. “It’s an absolutely massive night of fights in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 16th, as we continue building some of the biggest global events in combat sports. Thank you to Netflix for believing in our vision. The future of MMA is bright.”

To help promote the MMA card, Rousey showed up at AEW Revolution on Sunday night after her friend Marina Shafir lost to “Timeless” Toni Storm.

Daily Update: Nate Diaz, John Cena, HBO Max

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Notes from the new issue which apparently has been the talk of the social media wrestling world:
*Seth Rollins injury and how this will lead to numerous changes in  booking plans, including what was scheduled short and long-term for Rollins through Mania and after.
*Full coverage of Crown Jewel, business notes and match coverage
*The Media Ratings Council has questions about the new numbers
*Just how far Smackdown has dropped with younger viewers based on the new sampling and NXT isn’t much  different, nor is AEW
*Konosuke Takeshita beats Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP title, a look at King of Prm Wrestling, WrestleKingdom, first thoughts on Aaron Wolf, and the angles on the show
*WrestleDream preview, business notes, as well as Saturday Night’s Main Event in Salt Lake City needs the entire show revamped
*Odds for upcoming big matches
*TNA Bound for Glory notes
*A detailed story on WWE cuts focusing on Ridge Holland and WEs Lee
*Pro  Wrestling NOAH at Sumo Hall
*A huge story on the 2025 Hall of Fame U.S. & Canada candidates
*What the awards voting over the last 45 years says about those who fare better not  in than those who are in.  
*The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling shows of the past week
*It women’s month at Arena Mexico but one person is still the star, a look at  the recent main events
*A look at two PPV shows from Arena Mexico coming
*Who is the obvious choice for tag team of the year that nobody is talking about
*Best of the Super Juniors tournament
*Japanese referee dies in bear attack
*Update on Smashing Machine business
*They named a bridge after Stu Hart and more notes
*NFL star copying Ric Flair
*Fantastica Mania UK
*The Andrade situation
*Lots of background details on similar stories
*Kota Ibushi update
*Notes on Chris Jericho and Britt Baker
*Darby Allin talks about the cancers that used to be in AEW
*Update on  a training camp for AEW in Asheville, NC
*Rematch of a match of the year candidate coming to AEW show in Edinburg, TX
*Updates on YouTube numbers for September
*Debate over the new and old Ali Act
*Details on Zuffa Boxing deals
*How much UFC makes in profit per Saturday show
*New UFC fights
*Sad BJ Penn story
*Stories on fighters getting screwed by promoters
*Ticket demand for John Cena’s ast show
*New WWE hire, usage of AI for wrestling storylines and some are worried about their jobs
*AJ Styles talks retiring
*WWE injury updates

This Week’s Back Issue

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Tuesday Update

 WWE

AEW & Other Wrestling

  • HBO Max plans have increased in price effective immediately. Basic with Ads is now $10.99 a month, Standard is $18.49 a month, and Premium is $22.99 a month.
  • Andrade is being advertised for a Big Time Wrestling event in Augusta, Maine for November 1.
  • TNA is debuting its Bound for Glory: Fade to Black documentary that will air this Wednesday. 
  • In an interview with Daily Star, Indi Hartwell said that she is joining Bayley’s upcoming seminar and encourages others to do the same: “I would say take advantage of these opportunities that come up, because you don’t know when they’re going to come around again. To work with someone like Bayley, I’m going to sign up for the seminar. Hopefully she accepts me. Do whatever you can, get in front of different eyes, get as much exposure as you can. You never know when you’re going to be in a position or at a show when the right person is there to get you the next opportunity or get you your big break. Just say yes to all the opportunities that come your way.”
  • A GoFundMe has been launched to keep open the WWA4 training school in Atlanta that is run by AR Fox. Notable names that have come from the school include Austin Theory, Apollo Crews, Myron Reed, and Lee Johnson.
  • Another fundraiser is up to cover funeral expenses for Sir Mo, who passed away on Sunday.

Daily Update: WWE European tour, Nate Diaz, AEW-WBD

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

F4W/WON Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Observer is up on the site now

  • What is the future of Vince McMahon and will he try to get back into wrestling after selling his TKO stock
  • Lots of aspects of the story to talk about
  • How much of the current success is Vince responsible vs. Paul Levesque responsible
  • The story behind the WrestleMania 39 finish
  • How many people watched WrestleMania streaming and on PPV and how that compares to other weekly television shows
  • The story behind Rossy Ogawa’s Marigold promotion, the roster, the WWE connection and more
  • Full story of UFC 300, one of the biggest nights in UFC history and the business notes on the show along with what is next for the star fighters
  • AEW Dynasty, previewing the show and what to look for on the show and why from a business standpoint this is so important
  • Hall of Famer gets major accusations against him on a national news show
  • Rhea Ripley injury update
  • Full coverage of Windy City Riot
  • Forbes valuation of combat sports entities and my thoughts regarding them
  • A look back at the Silva-Sonnen fight that was announced for the UFC Hall of Fame and back story
  • Sue Aitchison, the former Warrior Award winner and her work behind the scenes in WWE
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the national shows, comparisons with last year and nightly and weekly placings
  • Next Stardom PPV show
  • Champion Carnival opens
  • Who is now Vice President of two different wrestling promotions
  • Bloodsport in Japan
  • The life and career of Tony Jones
  • Updated PPV numbers from AEW & TNA
  • International TV ratings
  • Lots of comments from Tony Khan
  • More on the Nyla Rose situation in Oklahoma
  • More on WrestleMania 41
  • Drew Gulak update
  • Most watched videos from WrestleMania

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Friday Update

  • Garrett and I just finished a long show talking about all kinds of topics from Steve Austin’s innate perception of how to do promos and angles, to AEW Dynasty, to the original WWF expansion with Brad Balukjian and talking Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, as well as what will be the biggest news story for the rest of 2024. Bryan and I will be back Sunday talking Smackdown and eight hours of AEW programming.
  • WWE drew what may have been its biggest house show crowd in years with a packed O2 Arena in London today:
  • Jey Uso b Drew McIntyre with a spear. McIntyre then invited Wayne Rooney to Clash of the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland
  • Natalya b Shayna Baszler with a roll-up
  • Ricochet b JD McDonagh with a 450. One of the UK Gladiators was there with Ricochet,
  • Damien Priest b Xaiver Woods to keep the world title. McDonagh interfered Priest mostly sold Priest was cheered by most of the crowd and there were “Undertaker” chants. He worked as the heel, was cheered, and did a babyface promo.
  • Tegan Nox won a three-way over Piper Niven and Zoey Stark by pinning Stark, who was the most impressive of the three.
  • Sami Zayn won a four-way over Gunther, Finn Balor and Chad Gable to keep the IC title. Gunther was booked strong. Great finish with Zayn pinning Balor after the helluva kick. Excellent bout.
  • Cody Rhodes b Shinsuke Nakamura to keep the WWE title. Ref bump and Nakamura threw powder. Rhodes won with Cross Rhodes(Thanks to Alex Dudley)
  • Rodney Petersen, who was involved in a street fight in New Orleans with Nate Diaz one year ago, filed suit in District Court in Louisiana. He alleged he suffered injuries to the head, neck and brain, mental anguish, psychological distress, medical expenses, lost income, loss of consortium with his wife among other things. In the fight, Diaz got a guillotine on Petersen and landed a knee to the body and dropped Peterson on the ground. Peterson claimed he suffered a serious concussion and needed eight staples in his head. The New Orleans Parish D.A.’s office didn’t press charges against Diaz at the time saying there was insufficient evidence. Diaz had claimed self defense.
  • The U.S. Olympic team trials in wrestling are airing tonight until 10 p.m. or so Eastern. The finals are tomorrow night from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern.
  • Another story to look out for regarding AEW rights renewals are that WBD has reportedly had interest in the WNBA, which most expect to increase greatly in the ratings due to Caitlin Clark. It’s hard to say how this would affect AEW past that if TBS or TNT gets that, it is more money from the budget and less time on the prime time schedule.
  • We’re looking for reports on these shows:
  • WWE from last night in Cardiff, Wales
  • WWE tonight in Pittsburgh, PA (dark matches only)
  • NXT tonight in Davenport, FL
  • AEW Collision in Peoria, IL (only stuff that doesn’t air on the three hour live show)
  • WWE tomorrow in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • NXT tomorrow in Orlando, FL
  • TNA tomorrow in Las Vegas
  • WWE tomorrow in Erie, PA
  • GCW tomorrow night in Los Angeles
  • WWE Sunday in Fort Wayne, IN
  • TNA TV tapings Sunday in Las Vegas
  • GCW Sunday in Albuquerque, NM
  • We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
  • Announced for tomorrow night’s AEW show in Peoria, IL:
  • Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher in a bunkhouse brawl
  • Kazuchika Okada & Young Bucks vs. FTR & Pac
  • Acclaimed vs Gunn Brothers
  • Adam Copeland & Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight
  • Rob Van Dam vs. Komander vs. Isaiah Kassidy vs. Lee Johnson
  • Emi Sakura vs. Yuka Sakazaki
  • Kyle O’Reilly & Rocky Romero & Matt Menard vs. Roderick Strong & Matt Taven & Mike Bennett
  • The show is three hours, with Collision from 8-10 p.m. and Rampage from 10-11 p.m.
  • Due to the NHL playoffs, Raw & Smackdown next week in Canada are being moved from SportsNet 360 to OLN. NXT will also be off SportsNet 360 and only available for streaming on Sportsnet Plus.
  • Tonight’s Arena Mexico main event is Mistico vs Mascara Dorada vs. Atlantis Jr., in week three of the Universal Champion of Champions tournament. It’s a battle of the historical middleweight, welterweight and light heavyweight champions.r
  • Cody Rhodes was on Good Morning Britain this week.
  • The Dos Caras version of the story is that he tried to break up with Diana Mondragon and she flipped out and made claims against him. He claimed that she has been harassing his family for the past three months and filed a criminal complaint against her. He said he’s already talked with police and told them her version of the story is made up and defamatory and offered to show proof he was innocent. 
  • Eve Fall Grrrls on 5/3 in Walthamstow, London at the Big Penny Social for a 14th anniversary show with Nina Samuels vs. Su Yung as the main event as well as a War Games match. The show is sold out of seats but they are still selling standing room.
  • Eve also announced the Jetta & Charlie Morgan retirement show for 6/7 at the Big Penny Social in Walthamstow.
  • GCW runs tomorrow night in Los Angeles wiht 2 Cold Scorpio vs Joey Janela as the main event at the Ukrainian Cultural Center They also run Sunday in Albuquerque, NM.
  • MLW has a two hour special at 10 p.m. tomorrow night on Bein Sports and the MLW YouTube channel with Akira & Raven & Jimmy Lloyd & Jake Crist vs. Rickey Shane Page & Sami Callihan & Cannonball & Dr Cornwallis, Saotshi Kojima vs. Bad Dude Tito for the MLW title, Matt Riddle vs Timothy Thatcher, Tom Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr,. defend the tag titles against Mr .Thomas & Alex Kane, Star Jr. vs. Virus and more.
  • Lex Luger was in the Wednesday New York Times crossword puzzle. The clue was “Pro Wrestler **** Luger.” (thanks to Bob Nowak)
  • Action Wrestling has its 6th anniversary show on 4/26 on IWTV with Mustafa Ali appearing.
  • Sergio Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi was announced for the 6/9 Rizin show in Tokyo. Another Bellator fighter, Juan Archuleta, will face Kleber Koike. Pettis knocked out Horiguchi in 2021 in a fight where Horiguchi won the first three rounds and was then knocked out in the fourth.
  • Rush vs LA Park headlines the return of Elite Lucha Libre Sunday in Mexico City. The show also has Komander vs Draistico vs. Metalik.

Logan Paul attends Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz following WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Ian Carey

Logan Paul made it to Dallas just in time to be in his brother’s corner on Saturday.

After defeating Ricochet in the first match on WWE SummerSlam from Detroit last night, Logan appeared hours later in the American Airlines Center to see Jake Paul defeat Nate Diaz via unanimous decision in a 10-round boxing match. 

Evidently, Logan didn’t even have time to change or could do so on the plane, as he arrived in Dallas while wearing his wrestling gear. 

“I’m not changing, I’m not getting a medical check, I’m going right to the f—ing jet,” Logan told Marc Raimondi prior to SummerSlam. “No shower, no nothing. Immediate from A to B to C. … I’ve never missed a Jake Paul fight, and I don’t plan on missing a Jake Paul fight. He’s my little brother, and I want to support him in the biggest moments of his life.”

Logan arrived at a chaotic scene inside the arena. Footage of a ringside brawl in the crowd during the bout has circulated on social media and Logan can be seen amongst the nearby fans. 

Logan needed a pair of brass knuckles to defeat Ricochet at SummerSlam. It was his first singles victory in WWE since beating The Miz at SummerSlam last year. Logan also has an upcoming boxing fight scheduled. It was announced recently that Logan will fight on October 14 in Manchester, although his opponent has yet to be announced. 

Nate Diaz: WWE wanted to be involved in potential Logan Paul fight

Posted on by Josh Nason

Ahead of his boxing debut against crossover star Jake Paul this Saturday, former UFC fighter Nate Diaz said WWE’s desire to be involved with a potential fight with Logan Paul prevented it from happening.

In an interview with ESPN, it was reported that Diaz’s management that there was “a very interesting and attractive offer” for a Diaz-Logan Paul fight. However, WWE wanting to be in the mix turned Diaz off.

“The WWE came in and then they wanted to take over the whole thing,” Diaz told ESPN. “And I’m like, ‘I just got out of the UFC, why am I going to sign with WWE?’ I fight for real. I’m not gonna be doing a real fight on a WWE card or no funny sh*t like that.”

Logan said he heard that was one of Diaz’s reasons for not being interested any longer, calling it a “weak cop-out.”

The idea for Logan Paul vs. Diaz came after Jake Paul lost to Tommy Fury earlier this year, giving him his first defeat. That was believed to have killed a long-discussed Jake Paul vs. Diaz fight, hence why Logan Paul was being discussed for Diaz’s boxing debut.

Logan Paul is under contract to WWE and it’s unknown if there is specific language in his contract that prevents him from boxing unless approved by WWE. He will take on Ricochet at this Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam in Detroit, Michigan, that will go head-to-head with Jake Paul vs. Diaz.

WWE did not provide a comment to ESPN for the story.

Logan Paul has requested to go on first at WWE SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Logan Paul may be opening the night at WWE SummerSlam.

On the latest episode of his Impaulsive podcast, Paul revealed that he has requested for his match to go on first at SummerSlam. Paul’s brother, Jake Paul, is facing Nate Diaz in a boxing match that same night. Paul said he’s planning to take a private jet from Detroit to Dallas so that he can walk to the ring with his brother for the fight.

Paul said the timing will be tight and it’s “barely possible” for him to make it to Dallas in time. Paul isn’t sure if he’ll be able to make it for the start of the fight.

“After SummerSlam, my brother who is fighting on the same night in Dallas, as soon as my match ends, I’m going to hop on a PJ [private jet], fly to Dallas in my gear, walk in  the ring with my brother for his fight against Nate Diaz. I’m going to try to. I don’t know if I’m going to make it, but I think if I do, it’ll be minutes. Like, I walk into the venue, round one Jake Paul/Nate Diaz starts.”

Seth Rollins, who was the guest on Impaulsive, noted that Paul will have to open the show at SummerSlam.

“I requested first match,” Paul responded. “We did the math, it’s barely doable.”

Paul’s match for SummerSlam hasn’t been officially announced, but WWE’s plans are for him to face Ricochet at the event. That match may become official when Paul appears on Raw next Monday.

SummerSlam is being held at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 5.

The full Impaulsive episode is available to watch below:

Nate Diaz arrest warrant issued after brawl with Logan Paul lookalike

Posted on by Josh Nason

New Orleans police have issued an arrest warrant for former UFC star Nate Diaz following an incident over the weekend captured on social media.

Diaz is under suspicion of second degree battery, but is not in custody as of this writing. He has not made a statement as of now.

In the video seen below, Diaz appears to choke out Rodney Peterson, a Logan Paul lookalike, as part of a Saturday night brawl at 2:10 AM on Bourbon Street. Diaz was in town to corner a boxer for an event where he also got into an altercation earlier in the evening.

Police issued the warrant after seeing additional videos of the incident. Peterson suffered a gash on his head after falling on the ground after being choked out. Peterson has one pro boxing fight on his record and has also competed in amateur MMA several times.

Diaz will fight Jake Paul in August in Diaz’s boxing debut. He became a free agent last fall after the final fight on his UFC contract.

Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing PPV set for August

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former UFC fighter Nate Diaz will fight Jake Paul in a boxing pay-per-view that has been teased and built for years and will possibly lead to an MMA rematch.

Announced on Wednesday, the event is set for Saturday, August 5th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, and air on DAZN’s PPV arm. It will be an eight-round fight at 185 pounds.

Diaz’s UFC contract expired last fall following his win over Tony Ferguson who was a last-minute replacement for Khamzat Chimaev in a strange shuffling of three fights due to missed weight.

This will be Diaz’s boxing debut while Paul (4-1) will be looking to rebound from his first loss in his young career, dropping a February decision to Tommy Fury. The YouTube star has built a career off defeating former MMA stars like Anderson Silva, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley (twice).

Diaz has been in attendance for several of the fights and verbally sparred with Paul when doing so. He was notably ejected after a light brawl backstage during the Paul vs. Silva fight.

This will open up speculation that the two will follow this up with an MMA fight as Paul signed on to the PFL’s Super Fight division and immediately challenged Diaz to a series. Paul has said he would like to make his MMA debut in early-2024.

Nate Diaz submits Tony Ferguson at UFC 279

Posted on by Josh Nason

In a fight that wasn’t previously scheduled two days before, Nate Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson in the fourth round in what is expected to be his final UFC fight.

The fight was the headliner of Saturday’s UFC 279 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and one of three fights that were changed around due to original Diaz opponent Khamzat Chimaev missing weight by nearly eight pounds on Friday.

The end came when Ferguson went for a takedown as Diaz was punching him. Diaz countered with a guillotine choke and finished it in quick order.

This was Diaz’s final fight on his UFC deal, giving him the contractual freedom he has desired for years. It’s expected he will not re-sign with the UFC and will go into boxing with a Jake Paul fight likely in 2023.

During his post-fight comments, Diaz did say that he’s had a love/hate relationship with the UFC but loves the UFC, Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Hunter Campbell. He said he is going to go into another sport and show people how it’s done.

Ferguson was originally slated to face Li Jingliang in a welterweight co-main event. Jingliang instead faced Daniel Rodriguez after his opponent, Kevin Holland, was moved up to face Chimaev instead.

Chimaev dispatched Holland easily, submitting him in the first round. Rodriguez, carrying a notable weight advantage against Jingliang, picked up a unanimous decision win.

Diaz and Ferguson had a competitive fight with Diaz showing his prowess on the feet by battering Ferguson while also throwing in some leg kicks for good measure. One Diaz checked kick bloodied up Ferguson’s shin in the first round.

Ferguson, however, was able to do damage on Diaz’s lead leg using his own kicks.

The fight featured the usual theatrics he and brother Nick have been known for. At one point in the third, Diaz took a quick break and rested his arm on the top of the cage which got a hero’s reaction from the crowd.

The 37-year-old Diaz now has his first win since August 2019 and snapped a two-fight losing streak in the process. 

The 38-year-old Ferguson has now lost five straight fights dating back to May 2020. Tonight was just his second fight since June 2021.

UFC 279 live results: Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson, emanating from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It has been a crazy week in Las Vegas as the Octagon is back home with a fight card that saw numerous changes just 24 hours before the event, ending up with a welterweight headliner featuring one of the most popular fighters in UFC history in perhaps his final UFC fight.

Nate Diaz steps inside the Octagon for perhaps the final time when he takes on Tony Ferguson in the five-round headliner after a crazy series of events saw this fight made on Friday. Diaz was originally slated to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but Chimaev missed weight by seven-and-a-half pounds and Diaz refused to fight him, so Ferguson was moved into the headline slot.

Chimaev will remain on the card, but he will now fight Kevin Holland in the co-main event, which will also be five rounds. Holland was scheduled to fight Daniel Rodriguez in a 180-pound catchweight fight, but was shifted to fight Chimaev after the two had a heated exchange that nearly led to blows backstage at the UFC 279 press conference on Thursday, and because they weighed within a pound of each other as well.

Two fighters impacted by those changes, Li Jingliang and Daniel Rodriguez, will now fight each other after agreeing despite an eight-and-a-half-pound weigh-in difference between the two. Also on the main card is a women’s catchweight bout pitting Irene Aldana against Macy Chiasson, and an exciting light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Ion Cutelaba.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT

> Welterweights- Darian Weeks (5-2, 0-2 UFC) vs. Yohan Lainesse (8-1, 0-1 UFC)

They’re trading to start and Lainesse lands some leg kicks then Weeks lands some leg kicks. Weeks grabs the neck and is looking for something but Lainesse escapes. They’re trading and Lainesse works the jab but Weeks is landing more. Weeks with some kicks as he’s chasing Lainesse around. Close round. 10-9 Weeks.

They trade to start the second and both are landing looping shots. Weeks lands a left hand. Lainesse with a leg kick. Weeks pushes it against the fence looking for a takedown and scores a brief takedown but they’re right up and they break. Weeks continues to land more as the round ends. 10-9 Weeks, 20-18 Weeks.

They’re both looking for openings in the third but neither really landing much. Weeks is looking for takedowns but is unable to score them, but he pushes Lainesse against the fence looking to score one. Lainesse lands a leg kick. Lainesse with the jab but Weeks is the one pressuring and pushing the pace. Lainesse with a body kick and Weeks returns with a right hand. They trade and Lainesse grabs the neck late and looks for a guillotine. Lainesse with a flying knee late. Close fight. 10-9 Lainesse, 29-28 Weeks.

Official Result- Yohan Lainesse def. Darian Weeks by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> Women’s Strawweights- Melissa Martinez (7-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Elise Reed (5-2, 1-2 UFC)

Martinez throwing some side kicks to start out her UFC debut. Reed attacks the lead leg with a kick and Martinez lands a right hand. Martinez lands a check left hook. Reed lands a right hand and Martinez briefly goes down but gets up and they trade. Martinez grabs the body and pushes it against the fence and is looking for the takedown. They break and Reed with a high kick. They clinch late. 10-9 Reed.

They trade punches to start the second. Martinez lands a leg kick and Reed lands a high kick. Martinez with a body kick. She lands a leg kick. Reed with a leg kick. They clinch against the fence and Reed has the advantage and they break. Martinez with a leg kick that Reed checks. They trade at the end. 10-9 Martinez, 19-19.

Reed lands a right hand that slowed Martinez down. Reed is pressuring Martinez down and lands a leg kick and Martinez scores a takedown. Martinez stands and lands a leg kick before Reed gets to her feet. They clinch against the fence and Reed lands a knee. Reed gets a takedown and has the mount at first but transitions to the back as they work their way up. Reed gets it back down but they get right back up. Reed with some knees at the end. 10-9 Reed, 29-28 Reed.

Official Result- Elise Reed def. Melissa Martinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Bantamweights- Chad Anheliger (12-5, 1-0 UFC) vs. Alatengheili (15-8-2, 3-1-1 UFC)

Heili with a leg kick as both are looking to land the right hand. Anheliger with a leg kick. Heili lands a heavy right hand that pushes Anheliger back against the fence and he lands a combo. Heili lands a right hand that hurts Anheliger again and Heili with a leg kick. Anheliger is still running away as Heili hurts him again. Anheliger with a counter punch as he’s busted open and Heili with a leg kick. Heili with some shots late. 10-9 Heili.

Heili landing more to start the second as he is landing and circling around. Anheliger lands a right hand and Heili lands a left hand. Heili lands a left hand. Heili is pressuring and lands a combo. Heili lands a right hand. Heili with a combination. Anheliger with a body kick. Heili with a combo and Anheliger lands an uppercut. 10-9 Heili, 20-18 Heili.

Heili gets an early takedown and lands before standing and Anheliger is throwing kicks from the back but is ordered up. Anheliger with a leg kick. Anheliger landing slightly more in this round. Anheliger with an uppercut with the left hand. Heili gets a takedown and lands from the top and lands some hammerfists late as he gets the back. 10-9 Heili, 30-27 Heili.

Official Result- Alatengheili def. Chad Anheliger by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Women’s Featherweights- #15 WBW Norma Dumont (7-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Danyelle Wolf (1-0, 0-0 UFC)

Dumont landing some leg kicks early on. Wolf lands a combo. Wolf lands a nice right hand. She lands another. She then lands a left hand and then a combo. Wolf lands a left hand and then a jab. Dumont lands a right hand. Wolf with a left hand then Dumont lands a right hand and a jab. 10-9 Dumont.

Dumont with a leg kick. She lands another. Dumont with another leg kick. Wolf lands a right hand and they clinch and Dumont is able to get the takedown. They get to their feet and break. Dumont lands a right hand that hurts Wolf badly but then decides to clinch instead of taking advantage. They break. Dumont drops Wolf with a right hand and gets into the guard as the round ends. 10-9 Dumont, 20-18 Dumont.

Wolf lands a left hand and Dumont gets a big takedown. Dumont with some shots from the top and she lands some right hands before standing. Dumont with a big left hand from the top and she moves into side control. Dumont landing and she moves to the mount. Dumont in the half-guard and lands as she looks to set up a choke. Dumont with more punches from the top. She lands more from the top at the end. 10-8 Dumont, 30-26 Dumont.

Official Result- Norma Dumont def. Danyelle Wolf by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

ESPN NEWS PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Heavyweights*- Jake Collier (13-7, 5-6 UFC) vs. Chris Barnett (22-8, 1-2 UFC)

(*Barnett missed weight by 1.5 pounds)

They have a little bit of a slugfest to start before Barnett circles away. Collier with a body kick then drops Barnett with a punch. Barnett gets up and both are throwing and Collier lands a head kick. They are having a war right now. They clinch but break. Barnett’s left eye is closed. Barnett with a leg kick. Barnett lands a nice combo. Collier lands a left hand. Barnett with a leg kick. Collier with a leg kick. Barnett with a combo. Collier gets a takedown right into mount. Collier gets the back and has Barnett flattened out and is landing punches. Collier gets the neck and looks for the choke. It’s not under the chin and Barnett gives a thumbs up. Barnett gets to his feet and they break. Collier with a left hand. Wild round. 10-9 Collier.

Barnett lands a jab then a follow-up right hand. Barnett with a right hand. Both are landing punches inside the pocket. They clinch and Collier with a knee. Barnett lands and they go to the ground and Barnett gets the mount and is landing lots of big punches. Collier is in trouble as Barnett keeps landing lots of punches. Barnett landing more and it is stopped. What a fight! Great finish by Barnett.

Official Result- Chris Barnett def. Jake Collier by TKO (punches) at 2:24 of Round 2

> Middleweights- Denis Tiuliulin (10-6, 0-1 UFC) vs. Jamie Pickett (13-7, 2-3 UFC)

Pickett with a side kick to the body. Pickett with a combo. They trade punches. Pickett with a body kick. Pickett grabs the body and tries for a takedown against the fence. Tiuliulin escapes and they break. Tiuliulin with a right hand. They trade punches. Tiuliulin lands a right hand then a flurry to the body. Tiuliulin with a pair of right hands then lands a combo. Pickett with a body kick. We have a timeout for a groin strike on Pickett. They get back to action and trade and Tiuliulin with a right hand and a leg kick. 10-9 Pickett.

They trade to start the second and Tiuliulin with some body kicks. Tiuliulin landing with more volume as he’s pushing the pace. Tiuliulin throws a kick and the knee lands to the groin and we have a timeout. A point is taken away from Tiuliulin. Tiuliulin comes out firing and is landing more. Tiuliulin with an elbow. They go to the mat after Tiuliulin lands some shots and Tiuliulin is in side control and lands some elbows and they stand. Tiuliulin with some standing elbows. Tiuliulin lands a knee and Pickett goes down and Tiuliulin is landing punches and it is stopped. Big finish from Tiuliulin.

Official Result- Denis Tiuliulin def. Jamie Pickett by TKO (strikes) at 4:52 of Round 2

> 220-pound Catchweights- Jailton Almeida (16-2, 2-0 UFC) vs. Anton Turkalj (8-0, 0-0 UFC)

Almeida immediately gets the takedown. He gets the back and Turkalj is trying to scramble out. They get up for a moment but Almeida slams it back down. Almeida lands from the top as he remains on top. Almeida gets some right hands thru. Almeida still landing big shots as he passes to the mount and looks for the arm-triangle choke. He lets go and is landing big shots. He gets the back and locks in a rear-naked choke and Turkalj taps! This was just an absolute mauling.

Official Result- Jailton Almeida def. Anton Turkalj by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:27 of Round 1

> Featherweights*- Hakeem Dawodu (13-2-1, 6-2 UFC) vs. Julian Erosa (27-9, 5-5 UFC)

(Dawodu missed weight by 3.5 pounds)

Dawodu lands some leg kicks early on. They trade and Erosa lands a spinning back fist. Dawodu with a body kick and Erosa grabs the leg but Dawodu is able to escape. Dawodu with a leg kick. Erosa with a body kick then a leg kick. Dawodu with the jab. Erosa lands a combo and then an uppercut. Erosa lands a big right hand and Dawodu is hurt. They clinch and Erosa with some knees before they break. Dawodu lands a right hand. Erosa lands a right hand then a couple of uppercuts. Dawodu with an elbow. Dawodu with a head kick. Erosa with a knee then rocks Dawodu again with a right hand and lands a flying knee. 10-9 Erosa.

Dawodu with a right hand and Erosa lands a knee. Dawodu with the jab. Dawodu with a right hand. They clinch for a moment and Dawodu lands a big elbow as they break. Dawodu lands the jab and Erosa with a counter left hand. Erosa gets a takedown. He gets the back and Dawodu stands with Erosa on his back. Erosa has the body triangle locked in standing. They go to the mat with Erosa landing from the back. Erosa working for a choke. They stand and Erosa still has the back but Dawodu escapes. Erosa lands some knees to the body. 10-9 Erosa, 20-18 Erosa.

Erosa with a right hand. Dawodu with the jab and Erosa with a right hand. They trade kicks and Erosa with a right hand. Erosa lands a couple of uppercuts. Dawodu lands a body shot and Erosa lands a combo. Dawodu with the jab. Erosa with a right hand. Erosa with a knee up the middle. Erosa gets the takedown and gets the back and locks in the body triangle. Erosa landing from the back. Dawodu able to spin into the guard of Erosa and lands some right hands but they stand at the end. 10-9 Erosa, 30-27 Erosa.

Official Result- Julian Erosa def. Hakeem Dawodu by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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

> Light Heavyweights- #13 Johnny Walker (18-7, 4-4 UFC) vs. Ion Cutelaba (16-7-1 1 NC, 5-6-1 UFC)

Cutelaba with a leg kick and Walker lands a high kick. Cutelaba grabs the leg and gets the takedown. Walker has grabbed the fence a couple of times from the bottom. Cutelaba stands but works back into the guard of Walker. Cutelaba looks for an armbar but Walker escapes, gets the takedown and gets the back and is looking for a rear-naked choke but Cutelaba gets out. Walker gets the choke locked in and he has it in deep and Cutelaba taps! Big win for Walker as he gets the submission.

Official Result- Johnny Walker def. Ion Cutelaba by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:37 of Round 1

> 140-pound Women’s Catchweights- #4 WBW Irene Aldana (13-6, 6-4 UFC) vs. #10 WBW Macy Chiasson (8-2, 6-2 UFC)

Aldana with a left hook. Chiasson with a body kick. They trade punches and leg kicks and Chiasson shoots for a takedown but Aldana defends against the fence. They break and Chiasson with a left hand to the body. Aldana with the jab and then a right hand. Aldana with a leg kick. Aldana lands a right hand. Chiasson lands a right hand. Chiasson tries a takedown but Aldana is able to grab the arm and lock in an armbar but Chiasson gets out and Aldana gets the mount and lands punches and locks the armbar back in but loses it. Aldana gets side control and lands some big punches. Strong close to the first. 10-9 Aldana.

Chiasson with a combo and Aldana lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. Chiasson gets a takedown and Aldana gets the leg and goes for a leg lock. Chiasson is looking to take the back. Aldana with some back elbows. They scramble to the feet and Chiasson drags it back down. Chiasson has the back and looks to get the hooks in. Chiasson with some elbows. Chiasson has the body triangle in from the back. Chiasson gets the mount and lands some punches. Chiasson with some right hands. 10-9 Chiasson, 19-19.

Chiasson with a leg kick. Aldana lands a couple of jabs. Chiasson shoots for a takedown but Aldana slips away. Aldana lands a right hand and Chiasson fires back with a left hand. Chiasson lands a nice left hand. Chiasson gets a takedown. Chiasson stands and all of a sudden goes down in pain holding her body and the fight is stopped. It appears that Aldana landed an upkick to the liver that shut Chiasson off and it is all over. That is a first. What a finish and win for Aldana.

Official Result- Irene Aldana def. Macy Chiasson by TKO (kick) at 2:21 of Round 3

> 180-pound Catchweights- #14 WW Li Jingliang (19-7, 11-5 UFC) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (16-2, 6-1 UFC)

Jingliang with a leg kick and Rodriguez lands a left hand. Rodriguez lands a body kick. Jingliang with a leg kick. Jingliang with a body kick. Jingliang with some leg kicks and Rodriguez lands the jab. Jingliang with a left hand and then lands a body kick. Rodriguez with a body kick. Jingliang with a right hand. Rodriguez with a high kick. Jingliang lands a left hand. Rodriguez lands a left hand. Jingliang with a low kick and then lands another leg kick and a right hand. 10-9 Jingliang.

They trade to start the second. Both land leg kicks. Rodriguez lands a left hand. Jingliang with a leg kick. Rodriguez lands the jab. Jingliang with a right hand. Jingliang with an inside leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Rodriguez with a leg kick as Jingliang lands a left hook. They trade punches. Rodriguez with a leg kick. Rodriguez with a high kick and Jingliang with a leg kick. Jingliang with a leg kick and lands a right hand. Jingliang lands a left hand then hurts Rodriguez with a right hand. Jingliang then lands some kicks. Rodriguez with the jab. Rodriguez with a head kick and Jingliang gets a late takedown. 10-9 Jingliang, 20-18 Jingliang.

Both looking for openings to start the third and Jingliang with some leg kicks. Rodriguez starting to land more in the third but the pace is slowing a little. Rodriguez with some left hands. Jingliang with a leg kick. Rodriguez is landing the jab. Lots of booing from the crowd but they shouldn’t. Rodriguez pressuring and Jingliang is looking tired. Rodriguez lands more at the end. 10-9 Rodriguez, 29-28 Jingliang.

Official Result- Daniel Rodriguez def. Li Jingliang by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> 180-pound Catchweights- #3 WW Khamzat Chimaev (11-0, 5-0 UFC) vs. Kevin Holland (23-7 1 NC, 10-4 1 NC UFC)

Chimaev gets an immediate takedown and Holland scrambles up. Chimaev gets it back down. They get up and Chimaev gets it right back down and looks for the D’Arce choke. Holland trying to slip out but Chimaev still has control of the neck. He has it locked in, though, and he gets Holland to tap! That was quick and dominant.

Official Result- Khamzat Chimaev def. Kevin Holland by submission (D’Arce choke) at 2:13 of Round 1

> Welterweights- Nate Diaz (20-13, 15-11 UFC) vs. #11 LW Tony Ferguson (25-7, 15-5 UFC)

Ferguson just misses a spinning elbow and then trips Diaz to the mat. Ferguson with a leg kick. Diaz pressing forward. Diaz with a leg kick. Ferguson is bleeding from his shin. Ferguson misses an elbow. Diaz lands a left hand. Ferguson is landing with more volume here. Diaz lands a right hand and a kick and Ferguson lands a left hand. Diaz lands a nice right hand. Ferguson with a leg kick. Ferguson misses a spinning back fist. Diaz with a left hand. 10-9 Diaz.

Diaz lands a leg kick early in the second. Ferguson with a left hand then a right hand. Diaz lands a combo. Ferguson lands a nice combination. They trade in close range. Ferguson with a leg kick. Diaz with a combo ending with a leg kick. Diaz lands a combo. Diaz with a combo and he tags Ferguson with a left hand. Diaz with a left hand. Ferguson with an inside low kick. Diaz with a right hand. 10-9 Diaz, 20-18 Diaz.

Diaz with a right hand. Ferguson throwing kicks and some are getting checked or blocked. Ferguson lands a solid leg kick. Diaz started circling the cage like he didn’t want to fight but then started and Ferguson lands some big leg kicks. Ferguson with a right hand. Diaz lands a flurry then puts his hand on top of the cage and takes a break. Ferguson continues to land the leg kicks and Diaz’ leg is getting beaten up. Ferguson lands some kicks and a right hand. Diaz chases Ferguson down and lands some punches. Diaz with a body kick then a combination. He lands a flurry against the fence. Ferguson lands the jab. Ferguson with a leg kick. Diaz with a left hand. 10-9 Diaz, 30-27 Diaz.

Diaz lands some body kicks. Ferguson with a left hand and an inside leg kick. Ferguson with a short uppercut. Diaz with a left hand and lands again. Diaz with a combination and then lands a big body shot. Ferguson with a leg kick. Diaz with a combo to the body. Ferguson with a body punch on Diaz. Diaz lands to the body then grabs the neck and locks in a guillotine choke and Ferguson taps! What a fitting end to what could be the final UFC fight for Diaz.

Official Result- Nate Diaz def. Tony Ferguson by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:52 of Round 4

Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson set for UFC 279 after Khamzat Chimaev misses weight

Posted on by Josh Nason

Due to main eventer Khamzat Chimaev missing weight by 7.5 pounds Friday, the card for Saturday’s UFC 279 has changed drastically.

Nate Diaz will remain in the main event but will now fight former interim UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson instead at 170 pounds. The fight will be five rounds.

Diaz was set to face rising star Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but Chimaev missing the welterweight limit so badly prevented that from happening. As of this writing, it’s unclear why he missed so badly. This was to be his first-ever pay-per-view main event.

Ariel Helwani reported that former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier was asked by the UFC to fight Diaz and accepted with a pilot/jet on standby. However, they chose to go another route.

Chimaev will remain on the card and will face Kevin Holland instead in another five round fight. Holland and Chimaev have been building up a rivalry on social media in recent months and got into a skirmish Thursday — one of two that resulted in media day being canceled.

Ferguson was set to face Li Jingliang in a welterweight co-main event. Jingliang will now face Daniel Rodriguez who was set to face Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight.

This is the final fight on Diaz’s UFC contract. Had he chosen not to fight, there was speculation the “sunset clause” on his deal would given him his contractual freedom anyway.

UFC 279 press conference canceled due to backstage fights

Posted on by Josh Nason

In a departure from the week-long news cycle surrounding the AEW All Out post-event press conference fight, the UFC had their own issues Thursday which resulted in their UFC 279 press conference being canceled.

Saturday’s pay-per-view is headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev in the final fight on Diaz’s contract. Typically, any press event that features Nate or brother Nick is must-see in terms of promotion.

The issues started with Kevin Holland, who is fighting on the card, and Chimaev after they had been chirping at each other on social media for some time. Chimaev walked up to Holland which led to a skirmish with Chimaev landing a front kick. 

MMA agent Tiki Ghosn was one of the people who helped separate the two, but that caused its own issues. Members of Diaz’s team thought Ghosn was aligned with Chimaev and began yelling at him with some throwing water bottles at both Ghosn and Chimaev’s team. The agent, also a former fighter, was also apparently slapped and kicked during the exchange.

UFC president Dana White attempted to salvage the media event by bringing out six fighters in pairs, but decided to cancel after just one set (Holland and Daniel Rodriguez) came out.

White said afterward that “it was a complete sh*tshow,” later promising the organization will take measures to ensure something like that never happens again.

Unlike the aforementioned AEW press conference, no fighters will be suspended or require any medical attention.

Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev in the works for UFC 279 main event

Posted on by Josh Nason

With Nate Diaz’s contract status continuing to be a major storyline within the UFC, the cult hero has been calling for headline-worthy fights for months.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that he appears to have got his wish in rising welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev for the main event of September 10th’s UFC 279 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Ariel Helwani first reported the news. It’s unknown if the fight will be the only five-round bout on the card or if they will co-headline with a title fight. 

The fight is the last on Diaz’s contract and will clear the Stockton, California, fighter to pursue a much-discussed boxing pay-per-view fight with Jake Paul. Speaking to Helwani recently, Diaz said he turned down several UFC contract offers that would have paid him more.

Diaz had a date of October 19th in which to be booked for a fight or else his contract would have ended.

The 37-year-old has fought just once since November 2019, a June 2021 unanimous decision loss to current title contender Leon Edwards. The 28-year-old Chimaev is undefeated at 11-0 (5-0 UFC) and returned after a long battle with COVID-19 in October 2021 with a first round submission win over Li Jingliang and a April 2022 unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns.