Rebecca Quin aka Becky Lynch, the biggest genuine women’s pro wrestling star in the U.S. of the modern era, shocked the wrestling world on 5/11 by announcing she was pregnant.
The announcement was made in the opening segment of Raw that night. It had already gotten out that she would make a major announcement about her future and rumors spread of her being pregnant, and that she would vacate the title to Asuka, who had captured the Money in the Bank briefcase the night before.
Raw had been advertised around the idea that Lynch, who had not wrestled since her win over Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania, which was taped on either 3/25 or 3/26, confronting the winner of the Money in the Bank match.
When Asuka came out, Lynch had the briefcase and opened it, and the title belt rather than a contract was in it, and told Asuka, who she called the greatest wrestler to defend the belt while she will be a mom.
The return of major shows in the U.S. and how the different companies are dong them is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at UFC’s plans, how the PBR handled their first event which was the first sports event back, what UFC’s plans are for May 23, lineups for the UFC shows, Dana White, doctors and others talk about UFC going back, the shows AEW and WWE is putting on, how the fighters are preparing differently, how UFC is handling backstage, how all three companies are handling testing, plus comments from other promoters.
The new issue also covers:
Preview Money in the bank, AEW Double or Nothing II, and update New Japan’s plans and cancellations. We also look at the AEW PPV scene, Big Japan needing crowd funding and going through all of the WWE released talent and look at their future prospects.
How COVID-19 has affected the ratings of every show, the variations and what lessons can be learned by the ratings drops.
Risks involving Roman Reigns, FOX airing a special head-to-head with UFC PPV, update on how WWE financials look with new information and stock value, Becky Lynch acting, New WWE TV show, WWE injury updates, wrestler who left the promotion apologizes for behavior, U.K. ratings, Matt Riddle talks heat and his meeting with Vince McMahon, Mike Bennett talks leaving WWE, When WWE tried to work with CMLL, Orlando Colon talks leaving and certain naievete, most watched sports on television, Paul Levesque selling stock, Next week’s TV, and most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network.
Supreme, the Southern California indie star who was one of the top stars of XPW, including looking back at his career, his FMW tag title run, and the famous ECW/XPW brawl at a PPV show.
Maryland commission ruling regarding the Kenny Omega match with Jon Moxley in Baltimore.
What happened to Hiroshi Hase.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Money in the Bank, fallout from UFC 249, and the latest news. You can also send questions for tonight’s show to [email protected]. We also have a show from yesterday with Garrett Gonzalez, basically catching up on a lot of news, including what to learn from Wednesday ratings, the Jacare Souza COVID-19 test positive and have a new show today covering last night’s UFC show.
We’ve got polls for both UFC 249 and WWE Money in the Bank. You can send in a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Tonight is a unique PPV featuring a Money in the Bank movie that was taped four weeks ago at the WWE headquarters in Stamford with both the men’s and women’s MITB matches taking place at the same time. The men’s match has Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, King Corbin, Aleister Black, A.J. Styles and Otis. The women’s match has Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Asuka, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Carmella. The favorites are Styles and Baszler as far as odds that I’ve seen. These mini-movie style matches usually end up as polarizing, but with a month to edit there’s really no excuse for it not to be great.
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE title. Rollins had a great empty arena match at WrestleMania so it should be good. This is not the time for McIntyre to be losing in my opinion.
Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt for the Universal title. This will be tough. The Fiend is all about the special effects and with no fans that could be silly. A tough match.
Bayley vs. Tamina for the Smackdown women’s title. Tamina winning would be a huge upset. I don’t think anyone expects a classic match out of this spot.
New Day vs. Forgotten Sons vs. Miz & Morrison vs. Lucha House Party for the Smackdown tag titles. The match should be great. LHS should shine doing spots. Forgotten Sons are very underrated as workers and Morrison is a super talent, and New Day are always solid. My gut on this would be Miz & Morrison.
Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro – This match comes out of nowhere with no build at all. That said, Cesaro is one of the best empty arena guys in the company so should be good.
MVP vs. R-Truth – I have no idea where this came from. Maybe there’s a reason such as interference or something but when this match was announced, I couldn’t understand it. No build, MVP rarely wrestles and there are so many people who are super talents who could be put in such a slot.
We talked about this on today’s show, but both the fighters and everyone at the show including reporters had to sign documents, one of which is that UFC was not liable for any health issues coming out of the show such as medical costs for a positive test and also that all involved could not disparage how UFC handled that aspect of the show. That’s why everyone was quiet about that. It’s insane that the media was asked to sign it and that they did. The document also stated that fighters who did so would be subject to a loss of their pay. Dana White said it was only if they lied, and that people could say whatever they wanted about how UFC was handling the situation but couldn’t lie. The problem is, that’s always the case. A lot of heavy hitters including the New York Times, Yahoo, Bloomberg and ESPN covered this. The New York Times story can be found here.
For this Wednesday, the UFC show will be on ESPN+ from about 6 p.m. Eastern to midnight. It won’t be on ESPN. Saturday’s show will be on ESPN also from 6 p.m. to midnight. So there will be three shows on Wednesday with AEW, NXT and UFC, but UFC won’t be in a television ratings battle with the other two.
The Washington Post interviewed Andrew Yang about UFC/fighter unionization. He highlights it as an issue he would lobby a Biden administration.
WWE
We will talk about this tonight, but people are raving about the WWE’s Undertaker documentary first part that is on the WWE Network now. Part two will be released a week from today.
The new Shayna Baszler documentary is already up on the WWE Network.
The FOX WWE’s Greatest Ladder matches special which included matches with Rock, Steve Austin, John Cena and others, did 996,000 viewers and a 0.2 in 18-49 on the overnight ratings. That sounds bad, but it beat the 2016 NBA finals head-to-head on ABC and also beat the 2020 Super Bowl replay in the same time slot last Saturday night.
UFC
Expect some good numbers out of last night’s UFC show. It got about 2.65 million Google searches which would be a strong Jon Jones fight level. I expect the rating was strong for the first live major sports event on ESPN in almost two months. PPV has so many unknown factors involved such as no sports bars meaning a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten it may, plus if there’s a group of eight together watching in the past, it’s possible more than one would get it. And with the economy, perhaps the price tag would keep numbers down. What we do know is that the interest level for the show was very high. It was one of the three most searched for topics over the weekend behind Mother’s Day and in the same range with the death of Little Richard. The goal for WWE today would be about 200,000.
Among the individual topics listed were Henry Cejudo due to his retirement announcement (200,000), Greg Hardy (200,000, he always trends), Francis Ngannou (100,000), Donald Cerrone (50,000), Michelle Waterson (50,000) and Joe Rogan (50,000). What wasn’t listed was Jacare Souza.
The reason Joe Rogan did interviews in the cage like usual as opposed to the plans they had announced is because Rogan insisted on doing them the way he always does.
Tony Ferguson suffered a broken orbital bone in last night’s fight.
AEW
Deadspin has a story on AEW. (thanks to Barry Werner)
A lot of talent will be appearing on Dark Tuesday with nine matches involving Fenix, Orange Cassidy, Dr. Luther, Britt Baker, Kris Statlander, Private Party, Colt Cabana, 10 (Preston Vance) and The Jurassic Express.
MISCELLANEOUS
Pitbull Craig Cole, a Melbourne wrestler and promoter of War Zone Wrestling, made a video encouraging people in Melbourne to attend an anti-COVID-lockdown protest today at the Victorian Parliament. He was also arrested and bladed on the scene.
KDOC in Los Angeles last night aired an early 80s episode of The Wally George show which included both John Tolos and Toru Tanaka. (thanks to Mike Lano)
EPW are running a 10 seminar online course May 18th-June 14th run by Damian Slater, Davis Storm and Gavin McGavin.
Wrestlemania 28 played on Australian ESPN on Friday night. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Following a brutal back-and-forth fight that will be among the finalists for the year’s best, Justin Gaethje won the interim lightweight title by fifth round TKO over Tony Ferguson at Saturday’s UFC 249.
The end came when Gaethje landed a powerful left jab that made Ferguson stumble, the culmination of nearly 25 minutes of absorbing damage. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight seconds later after another Gaethje punch.
Both men gave as good as they got with Ferguson standing out for taking Gaethje’s near-legendary punches repeatedly and still walking him down.
Gaethje threw off the title afterward, saying he wanted the real one. That is owned by current divisional kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) who Gaethje is expected to fight by year’s end.
The 31-year-old Gaethje (22-2) came into the fight riding a three-fight win streak with consecutive first round knockout finishes over James Vick, Edson Barboza, and Donald Cerrone.
The 36-year-old Ferguson (25-4) was riding a 12-fight win streak dating back to October 2013 which included one interim lightweight title win in 2017 over Kevin Lee.
The event was held in front of an empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida, due to the pandemic. It was originally slated to take place in April in Brooklyn, NY, with Ferguson facing Nurmagomedov in a fight that was attempted to be put together five times.
After his second round TKO win over Dominick Cruz at Saturday’s UFC 249, bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo announced his retirement in the cage.
Riding a six fight win streak, the 33-year-old said he was happy with his career, that he’s done enough in the sport, wants to enjoy himself, and start a family.
If this is indeed the end, he leaves behind an impressive resume that began to take off with his August 2018 split decision win over Demetrious Johnson to end his record run as UFC flyweight champion.
Cejudo (16-2) followed that up nearly a year later with a dominant third round TKO win over Marlon Moraes to win the vacant bantamweight title, earning the rare designation as double champion. He also successfully defended the flyweight title with a 33 second TKO win over T.J. Dillashaw on the first-ever ESPN+ event in January 2019.
He was stripped of the flyweight title last December but the subsequent vacant title fight between Joe Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo ended without a champion as the winner (Figueiredo) missed weight and was ineligible to win the title.
Cejudo was a standout amateur wrestler, winning a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in freestyle, the youngest American to ever do so at the time.
UFC 249 fighters had to sign a waiver that included a clause they would not disparage or defame the company over the health and safety protocols put in place this week due to COVID-19 or else face losing their fight purse and bonuses.
Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza tweeted about the clause Saturday in replying to a question and Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole confirmed the clause with UFC president Dana White who claimed it is in all company contracts.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi reported that all participants for the event, including fighters and media, had to sign waivers which include the assumption of risk if they test positive for COVID-19, releasing the company from any responsibility. Sources also told him the language is atypical to previous contracts and they are common in legal contracts. It’s unclear how the non-disparagement clause would apply to media members, if at all.
White told Iole that there wouldn’t be any issue if a fighter’s negative comments were true:
“It’s called an anti-disparagement clause and if I know what that is, that scumbag (Espinoza) is a lawyer and you would think he should know what that is.”
“If a fighter says something that isn’t true — if he says we didn’t test anyone for this — that would [violate the agreement],” he said. “But if he said something that was true, his opinion, then that is different.”
“The Participant shall not, and shall cause its affiliates, agents and representatives not to, defame or disparage any of the Released Parties in any medium whatsoever in connection with the Activities. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Participant will not suggest or communicate to any person or entity that the Activities have been or will be held without appropriate health, safety or other precautions, whether relating to COVID-19 or otherwise.
If the Participant is a Fighter, the Participant hereby acknowledges and agrees that in the event that the Participant breaches this Paragraph 7, the Company may revoke all or any part of any prize monies or awards won by the Participant in connection with the Activities, including, but not limited to, purses, win bonuses, other fight-related bonuses and event-based merchandise royalties.”
Espinoza later tweeted that it’s “a COVID clause. Hasn’t been around long before COVID” and “If that is in every UFC contract, as some claim, then someone over there can foretell the future.”
The New York Times asked for comment and were referred to the Iole story. The Times also noted nothing in the clause indicates that only untrue statements can be punished.
It’s unknown whether fighters competing this Wednesday and next Saturday also have the clauses in their contracts.
The UFC had one fighter (Jacare Souza) and two of his cornermen test positive for COVID-19 after Souza told officials upon arriving Wednesday that a close relative of his had the virus. The team’s positive tests were made known Friday after Souza had weighed in at which point he was pulled from the card.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje, emanating from the Vystar Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The UFC returns to action after nearly two months off during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning with a stacked card that features two title fights and lots of former champions and title challengers sprinkled throughout the deep lineup.
In the main event, the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship is on the line as Tony Ferguson looks to become a two-time interim champion when he takes on Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was originally going to have his long-awaited fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but when Nurmagomedov returned to Russia during the pandemic, in stepped Gaethje to get a title shot he’s been chasing since signing with the UFC. Ferguson has won his last twelve fights while Gaethje is on a three-fight win streak, with all of those wins coming by first-round knockout.
In the co-main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo defends the title for the first time against former champion Dominick Cruz, who returns from being out of action for over three years due to various injuries. Cruz is considered the best bantamweight of all-time, a title that Cejudo would like to take from him, and Cruz is looking to become the first fighter to be a three-time champion at 135 pounds.
Also on the main card is a heavyweight top contender fight as sluggers Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik collide. Exciting featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar will do battle, and the main card opens with another heavyweight bout as Greg Hardy takes on Yorgan De Castro.
A stacked preliminary card is topped off with Donald Cerrone taking on former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis in a rematch of a 2013 bout won by Pettis. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum returns from a two-year suspension layoff to take on Aleksei Oleinik. The first-ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza will battle Michelle Waterson, as well as a welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Niko Price.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
ESPN PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT
> Ryan Spann (17-5, 3-0 UFC) vs. Sam Alvey (33-13 1 NC, 10-8 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Alvey was acknowledging the non-existent crowd. Spann gets an early takedown. Alvey works to his feet but Spann has a standing arm-triangle locked in. Alvey with some body punches. It is in deep and Alvey is turning red. Spann lets go and then lands a knee. They are trading and Alvey lands the right hook. Spann lands a right hand and a knee and is looking for a takedown. Alvey with a knee to the body. 10-9 Spann.
Spann with a head kick to start the second. Spann with a combo as he shoots in for a takedown. They break. Alvey lands a right hook and Spann counters with a right hand. Spann lands a right hand. Spann pressing the action and lands a body kick. Alvey lands a left hand followed by a right hand. Spann with a right hand. Alvey with some low kicks. Spann lands a left hand. 10-9 Spann, 20-18 Spann.
They quickly clinch as Spann pishes Alvey against the fence. They break and Spann lands a high kick and starts unloading punches on Alvey but Alvey is able to circle away. Alvey lands a short uppercut that stuns Spann. Spann lands a combo and then a hard right hand. Spann with a right hand and Alvey counters with a right hook. Alvey with a high kick. Alvey stuns Spann with a right hook and Spann tries for a takedown. Alvey grabs the neck and is looking for a choke but doesn’t have it in. Spann gets to his feet and they are clinched. They break and Spann is exhausted. Alvey with a left hand and then a right hand and hurts Spann again. Alvey with a strong end to the fight. 10-9 Alvey, 29-28 Spann.
Official Result- Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Bryce Mitchell (12-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Charles Rosa (12-3, 3-3 UFC) Featherweights
Mitchell gets an early takedown against the fence. Mitchell gets the back and now gets on top and has an arm-triangle locked in deep. Rosa is breathing heavy. Rosa escapes and Mitchell has the back. Mitchell landing from the back and he is now going for another twister. He has it locked in but not in good position and lets go and moves to full mount. Mitchell landing big punches and now gets another arm-triangle choke locked in deep. Rosa gets out and has Mitchell in his guard. Rosa survives the round. Dominant from Mitchell. 10-8 Mitchell.
Mitchell gets another takedown to start the second and is working for another arm-triangle choke. He has full mount and is still working hard to find chokes. Mitchell has the mount and lands a big elbow and now some punches from the mount. Mitchell trying to transition as Rosa is grabbing a leg and Mitchell now going for the arm-triangle again. He has it in pretty good here. Mitchell with some body punches. Mitchell going for the twister again and lands some big elbows to the body. He had it but the round ended. 10-8 Mitchell, 20-16 Mitchell.
Mitchell gets a quick takedown to start the third and is going for the twister again. Rosa escapes and Mitchell moves to side control. Rosa tries to get to his feet but Mitchell retains side control. Mitchell now gets the back and moves to the mount. Mitchell working for the arm-triangle again. Mitchell scrambling every time Rosa tries to defend the position. Mitchell with an elbow. Rosa told him to stand and Mitchell stood for a split-second and got back on top. Mitchell with the crucifix position. They stand late. 10-8 Mitchell, 30-24 Mitchell.
Official Result- Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
> Vicente Luque (#13, 17-7-1, 10-3 UFC) vs. Niko Price (14-3 1 NC, 6-3 1 NC UFC) Welterweights
They trade early and Luque landing some leg kicks. Luque with a leg kick and Price lands a right hand. They trade punches. They trade combos. Luque with some punches and body kicks. Price with a leg kick and follows with a right hand. Luque with a right hand. They trade kicks and Luque with a right hand. They trade right hands. Price with a hook to the body. Luque with a right hand and Price counters with a right. Luque with a combo. Price with a front kick and follows it with a right hand. Price throwing some big punches and then gets a takedown. Price goes for a D’arce choke but Luque escapes to his feet. Luque with a left hook and ends with a hard right hand. Wild round. 10-9 Luque.
Price with a leg kick and Luque lands a leg kick. Price with a right hand. We have a low blow and a timeout. Back to action and Luque lands a hard combo. They trade leg kicks. Price with a crescent kick and Luque counters with a right hand. They trade kicks and punches. Price with a combo and elbow against the fence and a knee to the body. Price swinging wildly and then Luque drops him to his knees with a punch. Price gets up and they separate and Price is wobbly. They clinch against the fence. They break and Luque with a snapping jab. Price with a front kick to the body and they trade punches. Price with a right hand and Luque returns a hard leg kick. They trade at the end. 10-9 Luque, 20-18 Luque.
Luque with some big leg kicks as the third starts. Price is throwing leg kicks as well. Luque lands some good punches and Price lands some counters. Price’s face is a mess. They are trading in the pocket. Luque landing some hard punches. Luque with an uppercut and Price fires back with a right hand. Luque with a big left hand and Price falls to the ground. Luque goes down into his guard. Price tries for a triangle and lands some elbows. They stand. A timeout is called to check on the cuts on Price’s face and the fight is stopped. This was a great fight.
Official Result- Vicente Luque def. Niko Price by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 3:37 of Round 3
A lot of feeling out each other in the first minute. Waterson with some leg kicks and Esparza isn’t doing much in the way of offense. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza tries to rush in and close the distance but Waterson escapes. Esparza with a right hand. Waterson with a leg kick. Waterson with a body kick. Waterson with a leg kick followed by a quick round kick. Esparza having trouble closing the distance. Esparza able to get a takedown. Waterson showing good defense on the ground. 10-9 Waterson.
They are feeling each other out to start the second. Waterson with some body kicks. They trade punches and Esparza not doing a lot of offense. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza goes for a takedown but Waterson defends and they break and Waterson with a knee to the body. Esparza shoots in again but Waterson defends and lands another knee to the body. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza lands a combo as Waterson circles away. Waterson with a high kick. 10-9 Waterson, 20-18 Waterson.
Waterson with a high kick to start the third. Esparza tries a takedown but Waterson easily defends. Esparza with a right hand but doesn’t follow up on it. Waterson with a leg kick. Esparza lands a leg kick. Esparza attempts a takedown but Waterson changes levels and defends but Esparza lands a few knees to the body. Waterson with some leg kicks. Waterson with a leg kick and Esparza grabs it and tries a takedown against the fence but Waterson defends. Waterson with a body kick as Esparza rushes in. Big right hand from Esparza. Esparza tries a takedown but Waterson defends with a knee to the body. Esparza rushes in with a combo. Waterson with a roundhouse kick and Esparza tees off with a combo but separates. 10-9 Waterson, 30-27 Waterson.
Official Result- Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)
> Aleksei Oleinik (#12, 58-13-1, 7-4 UFC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1, 11-5 UFC) Heavyweights
Werdum returns from a USADA suspension. Oleinik with a right hand. Werdum lands a right hand. Oleinik throws a combo but Werdum is covering up. Werdum with a step-in knee to the body. Oleinik with a right hand. Oleinik is just teeing off on Werdum. Oleinik with some hard right hands that are hurting Werdum. Werdum with a right hand and a knee. They are tied up and trading. Oleinik with a jab. They are tied up and Oleinik is landing body shots. They break. Oleinik with some body punches. Oleinik with a left hand. Oleinik with an overhand right. Oleinik grabs the back at the end. 10-9 Oleinik.
Oleinik with a right hand and they clinch. Werdum grabs the neck and looking for a standing guillotine. They break. They trade and both land some punches. Werdum with some knees to the body. They trade right hands. Werdum with a leg kick. Oleinik with a right hand. Werdum with a head kick that lands. Oleinik breathing heavy. Werdum gets a takedown and is in side control. Werdum lands from side control and then takes the back but was high and Oleinik got out from under and they stand. They both throw winging punches and Werdum lands a knee. Oleinik lands a right hand. 10-9 Werdum, 19-19.
Werdum with a leg kick. Werdum gets a sloppy takedown and is in the half-guard. Oleinik is able to sweep to the top and is in the closed guard of Werdum. Werdum looking for the arm trying to find the kimura from the bottom. He pops the arm out and rolls to the top and Werdum had a straight armbar but lets that go. Werdum is now in full mount and looks to take the back. Werdum looks for an armbar. He lets go but goes back to mount. They slip to their feet. They quickly clinch. Werdum with a knee to the body. Oleinik lands some good punches. Werdum with a big knee. Werdum gets a late takedown. Oleinik has a cut open and Werdum goes for a late guillotine but time runs out. 10-9 Werdum, 29-28 Werdum.
Official Result- Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
> Donald Cerrone (#6 LW, 36-14 1 NC, 23-11 UFC) vs. Anthony Pettis (#15, 22-10, 9-9 UFC) Welterweights
Cerrone with a front kick to the body. Cerrone lands a left hand. Pettis with a right hand to the body. Cerrone with a right hand and then a leg kick. Cerrone with a right hand and then grabs the back standing. Pettis with a right hand. Cerrone with a combo. Pettis with a jump kick and Cerrone turns it into a takedown and is in side control. They get to their feet. Cerrone with a good combo and Pettis lands a left hand. Cerrone with a combo and Pettis lands a cracking right hand counter. Cerrone with a left hand. 10-9 Cerrone.
Pettis with a right hand to start the second. Pettis with a leg kick. They both throw kicks as the same time. Cerrone with a left hand. Pettis stuns Cerrone with a left hand. Cerrone with a leg kick and Pettis almost caught him with a spinning back fist. Cerrone with a leg kick. Pettis with a jumping switch kick. Pettis with a good combo ending with a left hand. They trade in close range. They trade and Cerrone scores a takedown. Pettis with short punches from the bottom and they stand and Cerrone lands a knee to the body. Cerrone with a body kick. 10-9 Pettis, 19-19.
Cerrone with a body kick. Pettis lands a left hand. Cerrone with a high kick and then lands a nice combo. Cerrone with a body kick. Cerrone grabs the leg but lets go. Cerrone with a combo ending with a body kick. Pettis with a big body kick and Cerrone grabs it and they clinch against the fence. Cerrone lands a knee to the body on the break. Pettis with a high kick. Cerrone with a low kick. They trade and Cerrone complains he got poked in the eye but the ref says it was a punch and Pettis teed off for a moment. Pettis just barely misses a high kick. Cerrone with a big high kick that lands clean and Pettis somehow takes it. Pettis with a left hand. Pettis with a big body kick. A wild exchange to end the fight. Close fight. 10-9 Cerrone, 29-28 Cerrone.
Official Result- Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
> Greg Hardy (5-2 1 NC, 2-2 1 NC UFC) vs. Yorgan De Castro (6-0, 1-0 UFC) Heavyweights
De Castro coming out firing. He lands a low kick. De Castro with a left hook. Hardy with a left hand. De Castro with a combo. Hardy with a high kick. De Castro landing when Hardy comes in close. Hardy with a leg kick. De Castro stuns Hardy with a right hand. De Castro with a leg kick. They trade kicks and punches in close range and both stun the other. Hardy with a high kick as De Castro is backed up against the fence. 10-9 De Castro.
De Castro with a leg kick. Hardy lands a leg kick of his own. De Castro rushes in with a nice combo. De Castro with more leg kicks. De Castro lands another leg kick and Hardy checks it and De Castro may have hurt his foot. Hardy with a leg kick followed by a jab. Hardy with another leg kick. De Castro is doing nothing. 10-9 Hardy, 19-19.
Hardy with a big right hand to start the third. De Castro with a body kick. Hardy with an inside leg kick. Hardy with a hard leg kick. Hardy is landing more as not much is going on and De Castro has slowed down considerably. This fight wasn’t good. 10-9 Hardy, 29-28 Hardy.
Official Result- Greg Hardy def. Yorgan De Castro by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
> Jeremy Stephens (#7, 28-17 1 NC, 15-16 1 NC UFC) vs. Calvin Kattar (#9, 20-4, 4-2 UFC) Featherweights* (Stephens missed weight by 4.5 pounds)
Stephens with a quick combo and a body kick. Stephens with some leg kicks. Stephens with a body punch followed by a leg kick. Kattar with a body punch. Kattar with a leg kick. They trade in close range. Stephens with a body kick followed by a leg kick. Kattar with a leg kick. Stephens with some leg kicks. Stephens with a quick combo and is still attacking with leg kicks. They trade leg kicks. Stephens with a right hand. Stephens with a couple of body kicks. Stephens with a hard leg kick and Kattar’s leg is hurting. Stephens with a jab and Kattar fires back with a massive right hand. They trade late. Stephens with a hard body punch. 10-9 Stephens.
Stephens with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Kattar lands a right hand and then lands a low kick. Stephens with a body kick. They trade punches in close range. Stephens with a right hand. They are trading in close range. Kattar with a good combo. Kattar pouring it on. Kattar lands another combo and Stephens tries for a takedown and lands an elbow as they break. Kattar then lands a huge elbow that knocks Stephens down and then Kattar lands a huge elbow on the ground that cuts Stephens open and the fight is stopped. What a finish by Kattar and a huge win.
Official Result- Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens by knockout (elbows) at 2:42 of Round 2
> Francis Ngannou (#2, 14-3, 9-2 UFC) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (#6, 10-0, 4-0 UFC) Heavyweights
Rozenstruik with an early inside leg kick. Ngannou then throws a combo and lands a left hook that knocks Rozenstruik out cold. It went less than twenty seconds. Ngannou is ridiculous.
Official Result- Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by knockout (punches) at :20 of Round 1
> Henry Cejudo (C, 15-2, 9-2 UFC) vs. Dominick Cruz (22-2, 5-1 UFC) UFC Bantamweight Championship
Cejudo with a heavy leg kick. Cejudo with another. Cejudo lands another. Cruz using his movement but Cejudo is landing the leg kicks. Cejudo lands another and they scramble for a moment. Cruz with a knee and Cejudo gets a takedown but they get right back up. Cejudo with another leg kick. Cruz with a short uppercut to the body. Cejudo lands a combo. Cejudo with more leg kicks. Cruz lands a nice shot at the end. 10-9 Cejudo.
Cejudo with more leg kicks to start the second. Cruz lands a leg kick. Cejudo with another leg kick. They exchange punches in close range. Cejudo with another leg kick. Cruz lands a nice right hand. Cruz lands a nice combo in close. They trade in close range. Cejudo lands a nice right hand. Cejudo with a body kick and follows it with a right hand. Cruz with a nice inside kick that caught Cejudo’s attention. There was a clash of heads and a cut is open on Cejudo’s head. We have a timeout. We get back to action. Cejudo then lands a knee right to the jaw and Cruz stumbles to the mat and Cejudo starts to land punches and was landing a lot and it is stopped as Cruz was working to his feet. It was a close, questionable stoppage but Cejudo gets the win and remains the champion.
Official Result- Henry Cejudo def. Dominick Cruz by TKO (strikes) at 4:58 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Bantamweight Championship
> Tony Ferguson (#1, 25-3, 15-1 UFC) vs. Justin Gaethje (#4, 21-2, 4-2 UFC) Interim UFC Lightweight Championship
Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson lands a kick followed by a punch. Ferguson with a combo. They trade punches. Ferguson lands a leg kick as Gaethje lands a left hand. Ferguson with a leg kick after Gaethje lands some punches. Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson with a high kick followed by a jab. They trade punches but neither one really landed. Gaethje lands a combo. Gaethje lands a right hand as Ferguson was coming in. They both land left hooks at the same time. Gaethje lands another left hook. 10-9 Gaethje.
Gaethje with a right hand to start the second. They both throw and Gaethje lands the left hook. Gaethje lands a left hand. Ferguson’s chin is something else. Gaethje with a couple of leg kicks. Gaethje landing way more right now. Ferguson lands a right hand. Gaethje lands a right hand. Gaethje with a left hook. Ferguson not getting a lot of offense. Ferguson lands a high kick. Gaethje lands some more hard punches and Ferguson is just eating them. Ferguson lands a few leg kicks. Gaethje missing more punches right now but then lands a left hook. Ferguson lands a combo. Ferguson lands an uppercut that drops Gaethje right at the end. 10-9 Gaethje, 20-18 Gaethje.
Ferguson coming out strong to start the third. Gaethje lands a right hand. Ferguson lands a combo but Gaethje land a left hook. Ferguson is cut around both of his eyes. Ferguson with a short uppercut. Gaethje stuns him with a right hand. Ferguson lands a right hand and then a left hook. Gaethje with another right hand and then lands a hard combo. Gaethje keeps spitting blood onto the Octagon mat. Ferguson’s face is a mess. Ferguson with a sweeping leg kick. They trade in close range. 10-9 Gaethje, 30-27 Gaethje.
They trade leg kicks to start the third. Gaethje lands a right hand. Gaethje lands a left hook. Gaethje lands some good shots in close. Ferguson with a leg kick and Gaethje lands a counter left hand. They trade in close range. Gaethje hurts Ferguson with a right hand. Gaethje lands a hard right hand. A groin strike from Ferguson and we have a timeout. Ferguson with a jab and then a left hook. Gaethje with a leg kick. They trade in close range. They trade high kicks at the end. 10-9 Gaethje, 40-36 Gaethje.
Gaethje lands a right hand and then lands a combination. Gaethje with a leg kick. Ferguson is limping. Gaethje lands the jab and then a huge left hook that hurts Ferguson. Gaethje with the jab. Ferguson with a leg kick. They trade and Gaethje lands some huge punches. Gaethje with the jab that sends Ferguson to one knee for a brief second. Gaethje with a big combo. Gaethje lands a punch that hurts Ferguson and he is hurt standing and Herb Dean stops the fight. An unreal showing from Gaethje as he ends Ferguson’s win streak and wins UFC gold.
Official Result- Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson by TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of Round 5 to win the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship
On the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live, we hit on several topics on a suddenly busy weekend in wrestling and MMA:
We preview Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank event, potential surprises in the various ladder matches, and the role The Hacker might play on Sunday.
Jacare Souza is off tonight’s UFC 249 after he and two cornermen tested positive for coronavirus. I talk about some of the financial pressures facing UFC’s parent company that are the driving force behind running three events in eight days.
I answer some questions about Herb Abrams’ UWF and some reasons why I think it failed that weren’t discussed in this past weekend’s Dark Side of the Ring episode.
Finally, I have a caller who is a very casual wrestling fan who just saw someone dive off of a cage onto an opponent who was laying on a stack of tables. He has a lot of questions, so we talk about pro wrestling injuries and the real risks involved.
Earlier Friday, Dana White spoke confidently about his team’s ability to hold Saturday’s UFC 249 successfully, pointing to the amount of COVID-19 testing everyone involved in the show had to undergo.
Friday night, that testing proved more than useful as news broke that Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza tested positive and is out of his fight against Uriah Hall. Additionally, two of his cornermen also tested positive according to the UFC.
Despite the positive test, UFC 249 is still moving on as planned after the organization conferred with Florida athletic commission officials. According to one commission official who spoke with the Las Vegas Review Journal, “the system worked.” The UFC in their statement said, “The response to this development is indicative of the effectiveness of the health and safety measures UFC has put in place for this event.”
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani tweeted that all other fighters on the show tested negative. Souza and the cornermen are no longer at the host hotel and “and will be self-isolating off premises, where UFC’s medical team will monitor their conditions remotely and will provide assistance with any necessary treatment,” according to the UFC.
During Friday’s weigh-ins, Souza wore both gloves and a medical mask (seen above) and stood a good distance away from Hall at the faceoffs. UFC’s Hunter Campbell revealed the news to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that the positive test came back shortly after that faceoff.
According to ESPN, the middleweight contender arrived in Jacksonville on Wednesday and told officials that a family member had tested positive. He was isolated and tested as he was asymptomatic, but the Friday result showed he was positive.
The questions now surround who Souza may have come in contact with during the three days he was in town and what being “isolated” truly meant in this scenario. There are also questions about why the positive test took two days to come back and whether other personnel involved in Saturday’s show are also asymptomatic.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi laid out a detailed plan of how fighters and personnel were to be treated through the week including COVID-19 testing and antibody tests and later how in the in-arena experience would be different for everyone involved.
There are three UFC events scheduled for seven days in Jacksonville: Saturday’s UFC 249 ppv and two ESPN events on Wednesday and the following Saturday.
Despite all of the uncertainty the coronavirus pandemic created in the lead-up to the show, only one fighter has missed weight for UFC 249.
Jeremy Stephens weighed in at 150.5 pounds for his fight against Calvin Kattar, which is 4.5 pounds above the featherweight limit. The fight will still take place, but Stephens will forfeit 30 percent of his purse to Kattar.
Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje both weighed in at 155 pounds for their main event interim lightweight title fight, while bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz both weighed in at 135 pounds for the semi-main event.
MMA Junkie wrote about the social distancing guidelines that were observed during the weigh-ins: “Staff members in close proximity with the fighters wore face masks, and the fighters stepped onto a sanitized scale. Media members and UFC staff members were situated in an appropriately distanced arrangement to allow for space between workers at the event.”
UFC 249 is taking place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida tomorrow (May 9) with no fans in attendance. Early prelims will start at 6 p.m. Eastern time, the regular prelims are starting at 8 p.m. Eastern, and the pay-per-view main card begins at 10 p.m.
Here are the full weigh-in results:
PPV (ESPN+) —
Interim lightweight title fight Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (155)
Bantamweight title fight: Henry Cejudo (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135)
Francis Ngannou (261.5) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (260)
Eight days away from their first pay-per-view since March 7th, the UFC announced their full cards for two additional events that will round out a seven day, three event stretch — all at Jacksonville, Florida’s VyStar Memorial Arena.
Following Saturday’s UFC 249, the world’s top MMA organization will hold shows the following Wednesday and Saturday on ESPN+ and expected to be simulcast on ESPN.
The Wednesday, May 13th lineup, main evented by by light heavyweight contenders Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira will also feature:
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ben Rothwell
Alex Hernandez vs. Drew Dober
Ricky Simon vs. Ray Borg
Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori
Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins
Michael Johnson vs. Thiago Moises
Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Hunter Azure vs. Brian Kelleher
The Saturday, May 16th lineup, main evented by heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris will also feature:
Claudia Gadelha vs. Carla Esparza
Dan Ige vs. Edson Barboza
Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Song Yadong vs. Marlon Vera
Anthony Hernandez vs. Kevin Holland
Mike Davis vs. Giga Chikadze
Cortney Casey vs. Mara Romero Borella
Darren Elkins vs. Nate Landwehr
Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
The UFC has yet to announce any shows past the triple dip in Jacksonville, but it has been their desire to get back to a full time schedule of events, preferably at their APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, once cleared to do so.
All of the Jacksonville events will be in front of an empty arena due to coronavirus pandemic regulations.
It was a newsworthy day for the UFC Friday as Dana White gave some information about upcoming shows and the infamous Fight Island on an Instagram live chat with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
They have filed for a trademark on the Fight Island term and White said the organization should be able to run events there starting in June. He re-iterated the importance of the island’s existence so international fighters that aren’t allowed in the U.S. due to pandemic related travel bans can still compete. It’s unclear how they will travel to the island and then back to their home country, but White has played his cards close to the vest with details on everything as of late. He added that once they are able to run shows like they used to, the island wouldn’t be of use to them.
It appears that Jacksonville, Florida’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena will not only host UFC 249 on May 9th as first reported by this website, but two other shows that same week as the organization hold three events there in seven days — aggressive even by their usual busy standards.
Saying that Governor Ron DeSantis has signed off, Wednesday, May 13, and Saturday, May 16 will also see UFC events. According to Damon Martin, the 13th event will reportedly be headlined by Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira in a battle of light heavyweight title contenders while the 16th will see Alistair Overeem take on Walt Harris in a heavyweight clash.
Finally, the organization announced the full lineup for the aforementioned UFC 249 PPV:
PPV: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for UFC interim lightweight title; UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz; Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik; Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar; Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
ESPN prelims: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis; Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksei Oleinik; Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson; Jacare Souza vs. Uriah Hall; Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price; Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa; Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey
On Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, our Dave Meltzer reported that a source has told him that UFC 249 will be held at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Earlier this week, it was reported by MMA Fighting that the UFC was heading to Florida for the May 9th pay-per-view and booking flights for fighters into Jacksonville with travel to an undisclosed location.
The building has been around since 2003 and hosts a variety of sports events and concerts with a seating capacity of 15,000. The latter would be irrelevant for this event as no fans will be allowed in attendance.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently updated an executive order that added professional sports to the list of essential businesses allowed to remain open as long as fans are not in attendance. Any MMA event would be overseen by the Florida State Boxing Commission.
The UFC has been unable to host shows at their APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to the pandemic, and their “Fight Island” international location has not been completed. To date, they have had to postpone or cancel six events.
When Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently declared that pro sports were essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, it felt inevitable that the UFC would head to the Sunshine State at some point as they searched to find a home, any home, to stage an event.
On Tuesday, MMA Fighting reported that May 9th’s UFC 249 will take place in Florida with the exact location still unknown. UFC has yet to publicly give the location or the official card for the show. Citing sources close to the situation who chose to remain anonymous, fighters will be flying into Jacksonville and then heading to wherever the event will be.
Florida has hosted one MMA empty arena show during the pandemic and their athletic commission told MMA Fighting they are prepared to do so again.
This will be the company’s third attempt at staging the event, first scheduled for Brooklyn, NY, on April 18th, and then moved to Lemoore, CA’s Tachi Palace. In the case of the latter, California governor Gavin Newsom reportedly intervened, contacting upper Disney/ESPN management as the show would have fallen outside federal guidelines as it sits on tribal land.
The pay-per-view is set to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje and a bantamweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Dominic Cruz. Women’s dual champion Amanda Nunes said on Monday that she will not participate in the show despite her name being initially added to the show.
The UFC’s unofficially planned May 9th pay-per-view officially lost one of its top three fights Monday as women’s dual-weight champion Amanda Nunes said she won’t be on the show.
In an interview with CBS Sports Monday, the reigning bantamweight and featherweight champion said that she would rather have a full training camp to prepare for top contender Felicia Spencer.
She said that wants to “let this coronavirus pass a little bit” so she can have a full camp. She mentioned June as a possibility, but wanted to wait to see what the health situation is before committing. She reiterated that she does want to fight Spencer in a defense of the featherweight title she won by knocking out Cris Cyborg in December 2018.
The 31-year-old has won ten fights in a row and is regarded by many as the best women’s fighter ever with wins over Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Cyborg, and Valentina Shevchenko twice. Spencer (8-1) was victorious in her last outing and is 2-1 in her UFC career, the next fighter up for a title shot in a very shallow division.
The UFC has yet to formally announce a full card or name for the May 9th event, much less a location. Dana White said recently that Justin Gaethje vs. Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title and Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz for the men’s bantamweight title were planned for the event.
Dana White’s plan to run shows out of the UFC’s Las Vegas-based APEX facility is alive once again as the UFC president told Variety Tuesday night that they will begin running events there starting in May.
“We built the APEX facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic. Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future,” he said in an email statement to the entertainment publication.
The reason that could happen is an expectation that Nevada will ease their non-essential business restrictions that extend through April 30th which would allow the company to run shows in front of empty seats. The state did not respond to Variety’s request for comment.
White has had to cancel four shows thus far due to the coronavirus pandemic, including this Saturday’s UFC 249 as California governor Gavin Newsom reportedly intervened with Disney executives on not running a show on tribal land in Lemoore, CA. White said last Thursday that he had another state, governor, and commission on board even if Lemoore fell through, but was told not to move forward.
On Tuesday, White was named by President Donald Trump as one of the sports figureheads involved in a long list of business executives tasked with how to restart the country’s economy amid the pandemic.
