Yours truly was down on last weekend’s UFC 228 going into the event, but after a show with that much excitement, news, and finishes, it’s hard to hate on what turned out to be a tremendous event.
Helping me atone for my sins is past guest and friend of the show Aaron Bronsteter of Canadian sports network leader TSN.
Originally scheduled to go 30 minutes, Aaron and I chatted for about 50 minutes in a conversation that went in a ton of different directions. Some of the highlights include:
– Aaron’s rise into “The Dana Whisperer” and his pre-event talks with Dana White that have filled a void in the MMA media landscape
– Some of the key talking points coming out of UFC 228 including Tyron Woodley’s future, the suddenly booming women’s strawwweight title contender picture, and fast rising bantamweight Aljamain Sterling
– A talk about CM Punk’s interview with Ariel Helwani and his comments on whether he wants to fight again
– Some UFC business chatter…and plenty more. If you’re into UFC and MMA talk, listen to this show now.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till, emanating from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The Octagon returns to Dallas with a 13-fight card featuring UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley defending against Darren Till in the main event.
Woodley returns to action for the first time since July 2017, making his fourth title defends against the undefeated Till. Till has had a quick rise up the welterweight rankings, earning a title shot following back-to-back wins over former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone.
The card lost the co-main event on Friday after Nicco Montano was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship title defense against Valentina Shevchenko after being hospitalized due to health concerns. Montano suffered from the effects of a tough weight cut, and has since been stripped of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Also on the main card, Zabit Magomedshapirov looks to extend his 11-fight win streak against late replacement Brandon Davis, women’s strawweight contenders Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz battle for a potential title shot, Jimmie Rivera takes on John Dodson in a bantamweight bout and welterweight sluggers Abdul Razak Alhassan and Niko Price meet in an explosive contest.
Among the fights on the preliminary card, former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza takes on TUF winner Tatiana Suarez, and a bantamweight battle sees Aljamain Sterling take on Cody Stamann. Also among those fight on the prelims include original TUF winner Diego Sanchez and 30-fight UFC veteran Jim Miller.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:15 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
They trade and Brooks lands a right hand. Sanchez lands against the fence and goes for a takedown. They scramble and Brooks grabs the back. Sanchez gets on top and looking for a choke. Brooks is looking for a heel hook and he has a good hold of Sanchez. Sanchez with some hammerfists and elbows from the top. Sanchez with some hard hammerfists from the top. They get to their feet and Sanchez looking for another takedown. They trade punches in the tie-up. 10-9 Sanchez.
Brooks lands a right hand and they exchange close before Brooks rushes out. Sanchez grabs a single leg as he shoots in for a takedown against the cage. Brooks gets the back and lands a couple of knees. Sanchez pulls guard and Brooks lands from the top. Sanchez spins to get his feet against the cage looking to explode from the bottom. Neither man able to do much on the ground as they look to improve position. Sanchez with a late armbar attempt but Brooks escapes. 10-9 Brooks, 19-19.
Brooks with a spinning back fist. Sanchez then tries one but Brooks landed his better. Brooks with an uppercut and grabs the body lock against the fence. They scramble to the floor and Brooks in side control and lands an elbow. Sanchez trying to get out from the bottom but eats some punches from Brooks.They scramble to their feet and Brooks lands a knee. They go to the ground again and Brooks in the guard. Brooks with some big ground and pound on the top at the end to likely seal the round, and fight, for himself. 10-9 Brooks, 29-28 Brooks.
Official Result- Jarred Brooks def. Roberto Sanchez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
They trade jabs early. Aldana with a leg kick but eats a counter jab from Pudilova. Aldana with a leg kick. They go back to jab trading. Pudilova lands a right hand. They trade punches. Aldana lands a hard right hand and then a leg kick. Aldana with another leg kick but eats a combo from Pudilova. Aldana lands a jab. They trade and Pudilova lands a kick. Pudilova lands a couple of kicks and they then trade leg kicks. Pudilova with a flurry late and Aldana is in trouble but saved. 10-9 Pudilova.
They trade early and Pudilova remains aggressive. Pudilova is throwing a lot of volume but Aldana is landing slightly more of her strikes. Pudilova with a high kick. Aldana lands a hard right hand. They trade and Aldana stumbles. Pudilova rushes with Aldana against the fence. Pudilova with some more kick attempts. Aldana with a leg kick. Aldana witha big body kick. Aldana with a cracking jab and tries a takedown. They trade late. 10-9 Aldana, 19-19.
Pudilova lands a combo early. Aldana with some leg kicks and Pudilova with a high kick before Aldana circles away. Pudilova with some body kicks. Aldana lands a hard right hand. They trade. Aldana lands a good combo. She’s taking over the fight. Pudilova is throwing but not landing and Aldana is landing. Pudilova bleeding pretty good right now. They trade and Aldana lands better. Pudilova lands a nice left hand. Aldana with a front kick. Pudilova with a flurry. Aldana lands a knee in the clinch. They trade against the fence. Pudilova with a hard right hand late. Fun fight, close one. 10-9 Aldana, 29-28 Aldana.
Official Result- Irene Aldana def. Lucie Pudilova by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Jim Miller (28-12 1 NC, 17-11 1 NC UFC) vs. Alex White (12-4, 3-4 UFC) Lightweights
They trade and Miller with a leg kick. Miller with another leg kick. Miller lands a straight left hand and then another. Miller lands and White goes stumbling down and Miller gets on top and is landing lots of punches. He’s close to finishing it but grabs the back and gets a rear-naked choke and White taps! Miller with a huge win in his 30th UFC fight.
Official Result- Jim Miller def. Alex White by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:29 of Round 1
> Diego Sanchez (27-11, 16-11 UFC) vs. Craig White (14-8, 0-1 UFC) Welterweights
Sanchez runs right forward looking to land and goes for a takedown. Sanchez with a big slam. White going for a triangle. White with an upkick. Sanchez remains on top and is landing. Sanchez with more elbows from the top. Sanchez with big right hands from the top but White eating them well. Sanchez in side control looking for an arm. Sanchez postures up and lands more punches. More lands as the round ends. 10-8 Sanchez.
Sanchez again comes forward. He eats a knee from White but turns that into another takedown. White lands another upkick. Sanchez with more control from the top and he is landing punches. White has no ground defense and can’t get out from the bottom. Sanchez with more punches from the top. Sanchez in solid control in side control. He ends the round on top. 10-9 Sanchez, 20-17 Sanchez.
Sanchez fires some lefts but White with a body kick and then drops Sanchez with a hard punch. Sanchez recovers and gets White down and Sanchez is in his guard. White almost landed another upkick. Sanchez with an elbow. Sanchez with more punches from the top and White is trying to scramble out from the bottom but can’t do much. White trying to use the fence to help get from the bottom but Sanchez recognizes it. Sanchez back in the full guard and lands some elbows. White with more upkick attempts but Sanchez avoids them. Sanchez should cruise to the win here. 10-9 Sanchez, 30-26 Sanchez.
Official Result- Diego Sanchez def. Craig White by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
FX PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
> Charles Byrd (10-4, 1-0 UFC) vs. Darren Stewart (8-3 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC) Middleweights
They are throwing punches early. Both land and Byrd gets a clinch. Stewart pushes Byrd against the fence but Byrd reverses position. They break and Byrd with a leg kick. Byrd lands a right hand and they clinch. Brief scramble to the ground before they tie up against the fence. They break and Byrd with a high kick before clinching back up. A lot of clinching in this one. Byrd with a nice elbow. They trade elbows on a break and Stewart lands a right hand. 10-9 Byrd.
Byrd with a leg kick. Stewart lands some body punches before they clinch. Stewart lands a left and then an overhand right. Byrd with an elbow off a clinch break. Byrd with some right hands and he is pouring it on Stewart. Stewart then rocks Byrd with a right hand. They trade right hands. Stewart is landing some big punches and then knocks Byrd down with a right hand and the referee stops it! Big stoppage by Stewart as he gets the win.
Official Result- Darren Stewart def. Charles Byrd by TKO (strikes) at 2:17 of Round 2
> Geoff Neal (9-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Frank Camacho (21-6, 1-2 UFC) Welterweights
Neal with a fast combination. Neal lands another left hand. Neal with a head kick and Camacho fires back a combo. Neal lands a left hand. They trade in close range. Neal with another head kick but didn’t land as clean. Neal lands another hard left hand. Camacho is eating them clean. Neal lands another left hand. Neal is landing clean punches but Camacho is returning fire. They trade in close range. Neal drops Camacho late and looks for the finish by unloading punches but time runs out. 10-9 Neal.
Camacho goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Neal then unloads with a left hand followed by a series of punches. Neal is unloadking more and lands a flying knee but Camacho is eating it all and coming forward. Neal then lands a head kick that knocks Camacho out cold. Wow. That is for the highlight reel.
Official Result- Geoff Neal def. Frank Camacho by knockout (head kick) at 1:23 of Round 2
Sterling with a couple of head kicks followed by right hands. Stamann tries a head kick. Sterling tries for a takedown but Stamann defends it. Sterling with a leg kick. He tries a head kick but it is blocked. Sterling shoots for a takedown but Stamann defends it against the fence. They trade and Stamann grabs the back. Sterling rolls out to escape but Stamann gets a body lock takedown. Sterling goes for a triangle but Stamann defending and escapes. They get to their feet. Stamann with a late takedown. 10-9 Sterling.
Sterling landing some punches and mixing up well. He lands a kick and Stamann tries to pull guard and Sterling on top. Stamann gives up his back and Sterling looking to take advantage. He does for a moment but Stamann gets up and wrestles him to the mat. They get to their feet. Sterling gets the back and gets Stamann to the ground. Sterling in side control and moves to mount. Stamann gives up his back. Sterling with right hands and flattens him out. Sterling looking for the choke but has Stamann’s arms trapped and lands punches. Sterling then gets Stamann to tap out after he grabs a leg in a weird position and has a kneebar locked in.. Wow. Sterling gets the impressive win.
Official Result- Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Stamann by submission (kneebar) at 3:42 of Round 2
Suarez gets a takedown after searching for it for the opening thirty seconds. Suarez with punches from the top. Suarez with some sharp elbows. Suarez postures up and lands some punches. Esparza looking for an arm but lets go. Suarez just holding Esparza down and doing great work. They get up and Suarez with a slam and lands some punches. Suarez just too much for Esparza right now. Suarez with some knees to the body. Suarez with more punches. Esparza tries to find an opening to get up but Suarez keeps her down. Dominant round by Suarez. 10-8 Suarez.
Suarez opens round two with another takedown. Esparza gets up but Suarez has the body lock against the fence. Suarez with a big takedown into side control and looking to pass over. Suarez in the full guard and lands some elbows. They get to their feet but Suarez with a trip takedown back into side control. Suarez with some elbows but Esparza escapes and Suarez takes her right back down. Esparza up and escapes back to punching range. Suarez with a high kick and then gets another takedown. Suarez ends with an elbow in side control. All her fight. 10-9 Suarez, 20-17 Suarez.
Esparza looks for a takedown but Suarez blocks it and then goes for one of her own against the fence and gets it. Suarez in firm control as she has top position. She’s going to cruise to a win unless she makes a huge mistake. Suarez trying to pass to mount but Esparza blocking it and Suarez goes back into full guard. Suarez with elbows from the top. Suarez gets the mount for a moment but loses it and gets it again. Suarez with heavy punches from the top and now some elbows. The fight is finally stopped by the referee and Suarez gets the win. Impressive showing.
Official Result- Tatiana Suarez def. Carla Esparza by TKO (strikes) at 4:33 of Round 3
PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Abdul Razak Alhassan (9-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Niko Price (12-1 1 NC, 4-1 1 NC UFC) Welterweights
Alhassan with a leg kick and Price counters with a right hand. They are swinging for the fences early. Alhassan with some hard right hands and he is teeing off on Price. Alhassan loading on his punches and then he knocks Price out with a vicious series of punches. My god what a brutal finish. Impressive by Alhassan.
Official Result- Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Niko Price by knockout (punches) at :43 of Round 1
> Jimmie Rivera (#5, 21-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. John Dodson (#7, 20-9, 9-4 UFC) Bantamweights
Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera with another and Dodson counters by throwing some left hands that don’t quite connect. Rivera with a body kick and they tie up for a moment. Dodson with a big head kick and Rivera eats it. Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera grabs the back and tries to pick up Dodson for a slam but Dodson able to block it. Not a lot happening and we gets some boos. They trade. Dodson hurts Rivera for a moment with a left hand. They trade late. Dodson with a body kick. Not much to it. 10-9 Rivera.
Dodson tries to land the left hand but Rivera ducking under. Rivera with more inside leg kicks. They are exchanging in close range. Dodson with a high kick. Rivera lands a right hand. This is technically good albeit not as fast-paced as other fights tonight. Dodson with a body kick. Dodson is trying to find counters but isn’t throwing with much volume when there’s openings. We have a low blow now on Dodson. They trade getting back to action and Dodson with a late high kick that is checked. 10-9 Rivera, 20-18 Rivera.
Rivera tags Dodson with a left hand and Dodson stumbles back for a second. Rivera lands a right hand. Dodson lands a counter left. Rivera with a leg kick. Rivera with some right hands to the body. The crowd is booing some more. They’ve been treated to a lot of violence tonight. They continue to exchange in close range. With a minute left there isn’t going to be a finish here it seems. They trade body punches in the clinch at the end. 10-9 Rivera, 30-27 Rivera.
Official Result- Jimmie Rivera def. John Dodson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Zabit Magomedshapirov (#15, 15-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Brandon Davis (9-5, 1-2 UFC) Featherweights
Davis starts with a leg kick. Davis with some more and Magomedsharipov is switching stances. They trade punches. Magomedsharipov with a spinning back fist. Magomedsharipov tries a trip but Davis blocks it and wags his finger at him. Davis with a right hand. Magomedsharipov has his back against the fence and that might be trouble. They trade and Davis lands a nice uppercut. Magomedsharipov with a jumping switch kick. Magomedsharipov gets the back and looks for a takedown. Magomedsharipov with a slam but Davis props up. Davis landed a lot more in the round. 10-9 Davis.
Davis with some kicks but Magomedsharipov gets a takedown and has the back against the fence as they get to their feet. Magomedsharipov has the back and Davis is trying to crawl away. The boos are beginning to return. Magomedsharipov gets a big takedown but Davis gets back to his feet. Magomedsharipov still has the back. Magomedsharipov gets a takedown and has the back and is working for a choke. He has one almost locked in. Davis gets out. Magomedsharipov going for it again. Magomedsharipov has a kneebar locked in and Davis taps out. Impressive showing by Magomedsharipov.
Official Result- Zabit Magomedshapirov def. Brandon Davis by submission (kneebar) at 3:46 of Round 2
Andrade with a arrage of punches early and Kowalkiewicz is already in trouble. Kowalkiewicz circling away but Andrade landing more. Kowalkiewicz now throwing. Kowalkiewicz lands some punches. Andrade with another barrage. Andrade lands a hard right. Kowalkiewicz tags her but Andrade fires back with huge punches. Already crazy ninety seconds in. Andrade then knocks Kowalkiewicz out with a vicious right hand. One punch ended it. You rarely see that in the strawweight division. Andrade lines up for a fight with Rose Namajunas now.
Official Result- Jessica Andrade def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by knockout (punch) at 1:58 of Round 1
> Tyron Woodley (C, 18-3-1, 8-2-1 UFC) vs. Darren Till (#2, 17-0-1, 5-0-1 UFC) UFC Welterweight Championship
Woodley with a hard right. They clinch and Till lands a knee and Woodley going for the takedown. Woodley has the body lock against the fence. They are broken up. That was quick. Woodley lands a right hand. Till with the jab. Woodley with a head kick. Till trying to find an opening. Woodley shoots but is stuffed. Woodley has the clinch against the fence. They are broken up again. Till lands a left hand. Till with a body kick. 10-9 Woodley.
Woodley drops Till with a right hand and is looking for a finish. He is landing big punches from the top but Till is surviving. Woodley with more punches from the top. Till looking to hold him in the guard. Woodley postures up as Till has weathered the storm. Woodley steps to half-guard. Woodley with some elbows. Till trying to scramble out. Woodley with more elbows. Woodley with more shots from the top. Till is hanging on. Woodley working for a choke and he gets Till to tap out! Tyron Woodley remains the champion as he finishes Darren Till.
Official Result- Tyron Woodley def. Darren Till by submission (D’arce choke) at 4:19 of Round 2 to remain the UFC Welterweight Champion
UFC 228 returns to PPV tonight for what can best be described as “a show” from Dallas, TX.
Without any fanfare, let’s bring you a look at the card courtesy of yours truly, Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick.
The Card
Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewiecz
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis
Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Abdul Razak Hassan vs. Niko Price
Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White
Jim Miller vs. Alex White
Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova
Jarred Brooks vs. Roberto Sanchez
What are you most looking forward to?
Paul: There’s a lot on this show, really. However, it would have been Nicco Montano finally defending her flyweight title and potentially seeing Valentina Shevchenko capturing UFC gold.
Ryan: I’m looking forward to the main event. People like to downplay Tyron Woodley as champion, but he is a smart fighter. However, Till has the edge in this fight in my eyes. He’s going to have the size advantage and with him making weight rather easily on Friday, I think that plays into Woodley’s head just a little bit. I feel like Woodley was fully expecting Till to miss weight. It’s an intriguing welterweight title fight.
Josh: Honestly, nothing. Gun to my head, I’d say Till-Woodley but I don’t like how this fight got made. Overall, there’s some names on this show, but I won’t be hitting the ‘Buy’ button for UFC 228.
Anything being slept on?
Paul: The two bantamweight fights on the FX prelims. Until recently, Jimmie Rivera was on a 20 fight win streak, the 29-year-old Aljamain Sterling was once thought to be the future of the division, former flyweight title challenger John Dodson has a win over current champ TJ Dillashaw, and the least known of the four bantamweights, Cody Stamann, has the quietest 17-1 record you’ll ever see. Sterling meets Stamann and Rivera faces Dodson and the winners of those fights could potentially have a title eliminator fight down the road. It’s notable that Rivera, in the middle of his long win streak, lost an exhibition fight to get on The Ultimate Fighter 14th seasons. The winner of that season? His opponent tonight, Dodson.
Ryan: I see the two bantamweight fights on the card being overlooked. They feature top-ten ranked fighters in Rivera, Dodson, Sterling and Stamann in what has become one of the deepest divisions in the UFC. The winners of the two fights could end up fighting next, and they are both solid fights. Also, the main card opener is a great fight between Alhassan and Price should be explosive.
Josh: Dodson-Rivera for the reasons Paul laid out. It’s easy to forget Rivera had a fight lined up with Dominick Cruz before injury put it on the sidelines. He’s right there in the title match mix and a win here should either get him that shot or perhaps even Cody Garbrandt or Raphael Assuncao depending on how the cards play out with Dillashaw.
Anything not doing it for you?
Paul: I’ll say it: the main event. Woodley bores me and Till should be fighting at middleweight. And why bother having Colby Covington fight for an interim title a couple months back if he was just going to be stripped for not making this show? The welterweight division has kind of been a mess since GSP vacated the title in 2013 and I couldn’t care less who wins this fight.
Ryan: The fight, to me, that had the least intrigue ended up falling off the card when Montano was forced out of the Shevchenko fight. I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Shevchenko was going to win the fight easily. It’s a shame the fight was taken off the card, but it wasn’t doing much for me.
Josh: As I mentioned before, the whole show. Not to be too negative, some of these fights could be better used other places. This feels like a quota show, not a can’t miss event.
What’s the intrigue with the show?
Paul: Despite me not personally caring about the result of the main event, it has to be who emerges from that fight. Another thing for those of us who follow the business of MMA is just how this show will do on PPV. With college football just getting going, a big boxing show airing opposite the event, and a month out of the biggest MMA show of the year with Conor vs. Khabib, a lot of casual PPV buyers may choose to skip this one.
Ryan: It’s what happens in the main event. It feels like it might be time for someone new to reign at 170 pounds, and it will see where Woodley needs to be when discussing the great fighters in the sport.
Josh: Whether size matters and whether Till is ready for this opportunity. I cringe a bit at the thought of another boring Woodley fight and the post-fight reaction if that happens.
What will be people talking about most after the show is done?
Paul: I fully expect Colby Covington to make some sort of appearance and challenge the Woodley-Till winner so there could be some buzz around that. Also, Tatiana Suarez is unbeaten and has the featured FX prelim fight. Another win for her could have people talking about a potential title shot at Rose Namajunas.
Ryan: I’m not sure anyone is going to be talking about much when this show is over. It’s going to be whoever wins the main event. I do see that we will have the next challenger for Rose Namajunas being determined, and I’m picking it to be Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Outside of that, not a whole lot will be talking points come next week.
Josh: That Woodley is better than given credit for, that Till is heading to middleweight, that Rivera is ready for bigger names, and that Suarez could be Namajunas’ biggest challenge to date.
UFC president Dana White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter Friday that UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano will be stripped of the title and that top contender Valentina Shevchenko will be competing for the vacant strap.
On the FS1 weigh-in show later, White told Megan Olivi that Shevchenko will compete for the title by the end of the year.
The 30-year-old Montano was hospitalized earlier Friday morning due to kidney issues related to her weight cut and her UFC 228 co-main event fight with Shevchenko was cancelled. Her management team said that the UFC medical team was called in and said she needed to see further medical attention for her kidneys.
She hasn’t defended the inaugural title she won in December 2017 at the TUF finale.
Dana White announces that the UFC women’s flyweight title is now vacant.
First reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the co-main event between women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko at Saturday’s UFC 228 was canceled due to Montano’s hospitalization Friday morning.
No reason has been given for Montano’s condition. Shevchenko made weight Friday morning in Dallas, but ESPN’s Ariel Helwani said that she will not fight another opponent on Saturday.
From the UFC: “As a precautionary measure, UFC flyweight Nicco Montano was transported to a medical facility Friday morning due to health concerns.”
Montano has yet to defend the inaugural title she won after defeating Roxanne Modaferri on a TUF finale show in December 2017. Helwani pointed out this is the second time Shevchenko has had a title fight fall through at the last minute as her UFC 213 clash against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was canceled due to Nunes’ sinusitis.
On a positive note, welterweight title challenger Darren Till successfully made weight Friday morning in Dallas as did champion Tyron Woodley. There were doubts about Till due to him missing weight for his last fight against Stephen Thompson.
