Two separate media entities reported Monday that Saturday’s UFC 251 pay-per-view brought in 1.3 million buys, the best for both ESPN+ and the UFC since October 2018’s UFC 229 event headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor.
The kickoff to four straight events on “Fight Island” at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island facility was headlined by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. cult hero and short notice challenger Jorge Masvidal with two other championship bouts on the PPV portion of the card.
Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reported the 1.3 million buy number Monday night, adding that total includes close to 900,000 for ESPN+ alone. Earlier in the day, The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger had reported the same earlier minus the ESPN+ purchase number. Since ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of UFC PPVs in the U.S., it’s assumed the other 400,000 are international buys.
The aforementioned UFC 229 show did a company record 2.4 million buys. The UFC never officially releases PPV numbers and information has been tougher to come by since ESPN became their exclusive provider in March 2019, meaning both sides were very happy with how this show performed.
How COVID-19 has affected UFC and WWE this past week when it comes to show changes and decisions is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We talk about WWE recovering from its outbreak and UFC losing major fights, as well as the details of the Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal fight coming together, the Gilbert Burns positive test and nature of who else tested positive, Burns explanation of his test failure, PPV numbers, more on UFC’s testing and its business deal in Saudi Arabia, WWE & AEW reactions this past week, who still hasn’t returned to television and Ric Flair’s situation being a regular television performer. We also talk about Renee Young and Jon Moxley and WWE rules on masks.
The new issue also covers:
We go through all the details of Fyter Fest and the Great American Bash, positives and the negatives of the ratings, every demo looked at, every quarter hour and match looked at and what it says, Paul Levesque talks the competition, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
WWE schedule over the next two months, certain changes and key reason why and more.
The Rey Mysterio/WWE situation as far as contract, why he was still used while no longer on contract, the deal in place, lots more on the “eye for an eye” stip, plus updating Extreme Rules.
Update the start of wrestling with fans with New Japan, who isn’t there and why, the rules in place for fans plus coverage of the New Japan Cup.
A new documentary about a wrestling icon being worked on, wrestling TV shows listed to Emmy voters and what they say, more on the Saudi Arabia situation, Smackdown’s role on FOX and why it’s valuable, WWE announcement coming, Canadian, U.K. and Sports ratings for the past week, ex-WWE stars sign for major representation, current WWE market value and most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Update on Matt Riddle’s situation with a time line.
New Japan’s Lion’s Break show, the concept and the talent.
Why COVID has slowed down a process that all sports leagues were hoping would change regarding ratings and the problem with the new system that goes into place sometime next year.
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].
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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
We did two weekend shows that are up on the site. Garrett and I did a show covering some Wednesday fallout and spoke to Dr. Alex Patel. Today’s show with Bryan covered the Japan shows and UFC 251 as well as other news. We’re taking polls the next few days on the New Japan Cup final yesterday, UFC 251 yesterday and New Japan Dominion today. Please leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
Deiveson Figueiredo has been cleared to travel to Abu Dhabi. If he passes the rest of his tests, his flyweight title fight for the vacant title with Joseph Benavidez will take place on 7/18. Figueiredo had suffered from COVID-19 in May. He tested positive in an antibodies test this past week but he and his management claimed it was due to already having the disease in the past. He passed another test where he got the results today and has been cleared to travel.
UFC star Santiago Ponzinibbio noted that he tested positive for COVID-19 in late June.
Regarding last night’s UFC judging in the Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski title fight, it’s another example of the ten point must weakness. Holloway won the fight overall. Few argue that. However, media scores were 68% for Holloway, meaning there were enough people the other way to where you have to say it’s reasonable under ten point must to go either way. I had Holloway and could go 49-46 but I think any score from 49-46 Holloway to 48-47 Volkanovski is a reasonable score. However, it is not reasonable to say Holloway didn’t win the overall fight. It’s the issue we’ve talked about for 20 years and ten point must on occasion creates these situations. Using either half points or a different usage of ten point must (10-9, only close round, 10-8 normal round, 10-7 decisive, 10-6 dominant) will wield better scoring but there are a lot of ways to improve scoring that won’t be done due to the nature of the commission overseeing process that doesn’t want change. Last night Dana White blamed the judges.
In scoring, Mark Collett gave Volkanovski rounds three, four and five. Judge David Lethaby gave him three and four, but not five, which is weird since five was the only decisive round Volkanovski won. Clemens Werner also gave Volkanovski three through five. Holloway clearly won one and two. Volkanovski clearly won five. Three and four were close.
Dana White said the show was trending ahead of any show except McGregor vs. Khabib. Google trends indicate differently. The show did 2.7 million searches, the biggest thing on the Internet yesterday by a wide margin. But that’s nowhere near record levels. UFC 251, which would include searches for Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman, did 2 million plus. Other major searches were Paige VanZant, Max Holloway, Jose Aldo and Rose Namajunas, all top ten. The only other top 20 for the past week among boxing, wrestling and UFC was Mike Perry at No. 8 on Wednesday.
Even though Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade was a split decision, MMA Decisions website listed 100 percent scores for Namajunas.
WWE
WWE will be promoting a Women’s Evolution week on all of its shows this week with the idea that they pioneered women’s wrestling starting on July 13, 2015 and tomorrow is the five-year anniversary..
The San Diego Comic Con will exist in a streaming virtual setup. There will be a 7/23 panel discussion with Mattel & WWE with Sam Roberts, Bill Miekina and Steve Ozer of Mattel and WWE’s Edge, Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Ricochet and Rhea Ripley. There will also be a Lucha Libre panel on 7/25 at 5 p.m. with Salvador Lutteroth (head of CMLL) and the original Rey Misterio (uncle of the WWE version).
Dwayne Johnson is on the cover of today’s Parade Magazine dealing with famous people’s first jobs (thanks to Brian Henke
UFC
There was a $200,000 bet taken out for Jorge Masvidal last night.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dr. Alex Patel sent us this regarding herd immunity which just come out today.
Scheduled for Tuesday’s Impact:
Jordynne Grace/Deonna Purrazzo contract signing
Moose & ? vs. Tommy Dreamer & Crazzy Steve
Taya & Rosemary & Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz & Kimber Lee vs. Havok & Neveah & Susie & Kylie Rae & Alisha Edwards
SHWA from last night in Western Australia: Toro Blanco b Chris Target, Gavin McGavin b Great George, Pegasus b Stella Nyx, Jarrad Slate b Jules Cannon & Ryan in a handicap match, Chadwick Jackson b Ryan Allen, Bruno Nitro b James Hartness, Del Cano b Axxum to keep the SHWA Pride title. This was their first show since 2/12. EPW in Western Australia is running 7/25 although they may need to enforce social distancing (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Episodes of Dark Side of the Ring will air on TSN 2 the next two Saturdays right after Impact.
MCPW from last night in Kalkaska, MI: Jack Price b TJ Meyer, Christopher Saint b Mitch Hewitt, Max Morrison b Sean Tyler, Tommy Vendetta b Matthew Justice, Jason Page & Eli Shelton b Conrad Loucks & Neil Gerard, Jumal King b Trey Miguel (thanks to Leonard Brand)
XICW from last night in Pontiac, MI: Adam Wick b Mysterious Movado, Jay Maynard & Billy Ray Daniels b Grey Wolves, El Ridiculoso b Willie Watts, Dre Jacobs b Papa Dave Dingo, Kongo Kong b Mongo, DBA & Jaimy Coxxx b Soul Shooters to keep tag titles, Malcolm Monroe III b Dread King Logan to keep the Midwest title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Bill Apter runs The Greatest Wrestler Ever Tournament. Also TJ Wilson & Saxon Huxley run The Greatest WWE match tournament. Here are the links.
SlamWrestling.net has a longer story talking to Pat Rose about his journey in wrestling, and then into competitive fishing, where he is now a radio host talking about fishing:
A story on Les Thatcher celebrating 60 years in wrestling. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk).
A story on the release of Ashley Massaro’s PSA on suicide done before she herself committed suicide. (thanks to Barry Werrner)
Recorded live Saturday night from our mighty Twitch channel, the highly tuned New Japan Lions Break athlete “Filthy” Tom Lawlor joined me for our extra professional UFC 251 post-show that says ‘Yas’ to the island life.
Counter-programmed by New Japan Pro Wrestling and due to the pay-per-view going VERY long, we analyze the entire show and I attempt to get Tom’s thoughts on UFC 100 plus his match next weekend against Calvin Tankman. It’s a fun show, as always, so check it out~!
FYI: Here’s all the details on how you can watch Wrestling Observer Live and other shows every day free on our Twitch stream.
Two months after the UFC bantamweight title was vacated when Henry Cejudo retired, it now has a new home as Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo by fifth round TKO at Saturday’s UFC 251 to take the belt.
While Aldo was game, Yan was in attack mode all night, hurting Aldo at the end of several rounds and taking full control in the fifth stanza. He battered and bloodied the former featherweight champion with unanswered ground and pound to the point the fight could, and probably should, have been stopped.
Yan (15-1) landed 62 significant strikes to Aldo’s one in the final round, and Yan’s 192 significant strikes over the course of the bout set a new UFC/WEC record. The 33-year-old Also has lost three straight and five of his last seven.
The 27-year-old has won in all seven of his trips to the Octagon with four stoppages. He now awaits the challenge of Aljamain Sterling who recently defeated Cory Sandhagen to earn the opportunity.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal, emanating from UFC Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The UFC heads to Fight Island for the first of four events over the span of two weeks, with the annual big July pay-per-view kicking off the action in Abu Dhabi, headlined by three title fights including arguably the most anticipated fight of the year.
UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman looks to made another successful title defense when he defends against the BMF of the UFC, Jorge Masvidal, in the main event. Usman is coming off a late finish of Colby Covington in December in his first title defense. Masvidal looks to add to his BMF Title by winning UFC gold, and he takes the fight on just six days’ notice after Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkanovski defends the UFC Featherweight Championship for the first time against the man he defeated for it in December, Max Holloway. Holloway, arguably the greatest 145-pounder of all-time, is looking to regain the title while Volkanovski is out to stamp his claim as the best featherweight in the world.
In the third title fight on the card, the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship is on the line as Petr Yan takes on former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. The title became vacant after Henry Cejudo’s sudden retirement in May, and Yan looks to score his tenth straight win and gain a UFC title. Aldo looks to join the ranks of being a fighter to win titles in two different UFC weight divisions.
Filling out the main card is a rematch in the women’s strawweight division as former champions Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas run it back from their title fight in May 2019, and the main card opener sees Amanda Ribas taking on Paige VanZant in what is likely to be VanZant’s final UFC appearance. A deep prelim card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout as Volkan Oezdemir welcomes former RIZIN champion Jiri Prochazka, winner of ten straight fights, to the UFC.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6 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 | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT
> Martin Day (9-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Davey Grant (11-4, 2-3 UFC) Bantamweights
Grant right away with a couple of leg kicks. Grant with a right hand to the body. Grant landing more inside the first two minutes. Day misses a spin kick. Day then knocks Grant down with a right hand as he was coming in and Day gets into his guard. They get to their feet. Grant with a head kick that is mostly blocked. Grant gets a takedown and is landing from the top. They stand before the round ends. 10-9 Day.
They trade kicks to start the second. Grant starting to land his punches and now Day fires back. Grant with some body punches and then lands a right hand. Grant with a combo and then lands a flying knee. Grant lands a nice combo and Day is retreating. Day circling around and Grant lands an elbow and then some knees and a right hand. Grant with some body punches and then lands a flush left hook. Grant landing against the fence and then gets a takedown into side control. Grant grabs the neck looking for a choke but lets go. Grant gets back into side control. Grant goes for an armbar but Day is able to spin out and goes into Grant’s guard. They scramble up and Day lands a side kick and Grant stumbles down as the round ends. 10-9 Grant, 19-19.
They trade to start the third. Day lands a nice right hand and then a body kick. Day pressing forward and throwing as Grant is circling away. Grant shoots for a takedown but Day defends. Grant lands a combo. Day now lands a combo. Grant with a tomahawk elbow and then lands a combo to the body. They are trading punches as both are trying to secure the last round. Grant then lands a huge left hand and Day goes out cold. What a finish by Grant.
Official Result- Davey Grant def. Martin Day by knockout (punch) at 2:38 of Round 3
> Karol Rosa (12-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Vanessa Melo (10-7, 0-2 UFC) Women’s Bantamweights* (Melo missed weight by 5 pounds)
Rosa landing punches and kicks early on. Rosa with some kicks and then a combo. Melo with a left hand. Rosa lands a flush right hand. Melo lands a right hand. Rosa lands a combo. Rosa with an inside leg kick as Melo lands a right hand. Rosa landing the jab and slips to the mat for the second time but gets right up. Rosa gets a takedown and works from the top. She finishes the round on top. 10-9 Rosa.
Rosa landing to start the second and Melo lands a right hand. Rosa clinches and pushes Melo against the fence. Rosa gets Melo to the ground and is in side control and landing elbows. Melo landing lots of punches as she has Melo pinned down. Melo not doing much to defend but she survives the round. Big round for Rosa. 10-8 Rosa, 20-17 Rosa.
Rosa landing to start the third and lands a running knee to the body. They trade leg kicks. Rosa lands a jab. Rosa lands an inside elbow. Melo with a leg kick. Rosa shoots for a takedown but Melo defends and lands a knee followed by a left hook as they stand. Rosa still landing more as we get inside of two minutes left. They clinch against the fence and Rosa lands some short knees. They trade knees against the fence. They stay clinched as the fight ends. 10-9 Rosa, 30-26 Rosa.
Official Result- Karol Rosa def. Vanessa Melo by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
> Raulian Paiva (#14, 19-3, 1-2 UFC) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-3, 0-0 UFC) Flyweights* (Paiva missed weight by 3 pounds)
Paiva with a high kick to start. Paiva with another high kick. Zhumagulov switching up his stances as he lands. Paiva lands a short uppercut and then with a body kick. Zhumagulov with a body punch and Paiva ripping away with some kicks. Paiva with some more body kicks. Paiva with another body kick. Zhumagulov with another kick. Zhumagulov gets a late takedown but Paiva gets to his feet. Close round. 10-9 Paiva.
They trade to start the second but a slow pace in the first minute of the second. Zhumagulov with a leg kick. Zhumagulov with a left hand to the body and then another. Paiva with a body kick and Zhumagulov fires back with a leg kick. Paiva misses a head kick. They clinch against the fence. Paiva looking like he’s getting tired as he has slowed down. Paiva with a body kick. Zhumagulov with more left hands to the body. Zhumagulov gets a late takedown and lands some elbows as the round ends. 10-9 Zhumagulov, 19-19.
Paiva with some leg kicks to start the third. Zhumagulov with some more left hands to the body and Paiva with some more leg kicks. Zhumagulov with a right hook. Zhumagulov scores a takedown but Paiva able to get to his feet. They trade as Paiva pushes Zhumagulov against the fence. Paiva with a right hand. Paiva with a low kick to the groin of Zhumagulov and we have a timeout. Zhumagulov is in a lot of pain and this could be called off. Zhumagulov able to continue and going right after Paiva and gets a quick takedown but they get right up. Paiva with another groin strike right as the fight ends. Close fight. 10-9 Zhumagulov, 29-28 Zhumagulov.
Official Result- Raulian Paiva def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Marcin Tybura (18-6, 5-5 UFC) vs. Maxim Grishin (30-7-2, 0-0 UFC) Heavyweights
Grishin landing to the body to start and Tybura landing some leg kicks. Grishin with a heavy leg kick. Tybura lands a left hand and they clinch. They break. They clinch and Tybura looking for a takedown against the fence. Grishin has double underhooks and lands an elbow and they break. Tybura with a leg kick. They clinch again. Tybura trying for the single leg takedown and they fall to the mat. Uneventful round. 10-9 Tybura.
Tybura with a body kick. He lands another but it actually went low and we have a timeout. They get back to action and Tybura misses a left hand as they clinch. Tybura with some knees and then lands another shot to the groin. Actually it was Grishin that landed a groin shot but we get back to action in the clinch. Tybura with an elbow. Tybura with more work in the clinch and gets a late takedown. 10-9 Tybura, 20-18 Tybura.
They clinch up to start the third and Tybura is trying hard for the takedown. Tybura lands some knees. Tybura finally gets the takedown and is in the guard of Grishin. Tybura gets the back of Grishin and is looking to flatten him. Tybura lands some punches. Tybura has the body triangle and is landing punches. Tybura with more punches as the fight ends. Boring fight. 10-9 Tybura, 30-27 Tybura.
Official Result- Marcin Tybura def. Maxim Grishin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
> Leonardo Santos (17-3-1, 6-0-1 UFC) vs. Roman Bogatov (10-0, 0-0 UFC) Lightweights
Bogatov slips and Santos tries to land some punches but Bogatov gets up. Santos with some leg kicks. Bogatov then pokes Santos in the eye and we have a timeout. Santos with a body kick. Bogatov tries a spin kick and Santos grabs the back and tries to take it down. Santos with a hammerfist. He lets Bogatov go. They trade and Santos lands a knee. Santos with a hard leg kick. Bogatov with a body kick. Bogatov tries a takedown but Santos spins out and Bogatov lands a body kick. They go to the mat and Santos has the back as the round ends. 10-9 Santos.
Both looking to land to start the second and Santos with a body kick. Bogatov going for a takedown against the fence. They break and Bogatov with the jab. Santos then starts landing some right hands and Bogatov is in trouble. Santos with more right hands and some big knees and then lands another massive right hand. Bogatov looks about out on his feet. Bogatov tries a takedown but Santos defends and is landing some punches. Santos landed a head kick in the flurry as well. Santos with more punches from the back. Some of the punches were to the back of the head. Santos might have punched himself out here. Bogatov able to get into the guard of Santos and is now landing punches. Bogatov with a late flurry from the top. 10-9 Santos, 20-18 Santos.
Bogatov with a jab and is looking for a takedown and gets it but they get right back up. Bogatov lands a groin strike and Santos falls to the mat and is in lots of pain. He was down for a long time but continued on. Bogatov tries for a takedown. Bogatov has the single leg but Santos defending well. Santos still defending the takedown attempts. Bogatov landed another groin strike and Santos is hurting again. We get back to action with no points being taken away. Bogatov gets a takedown but Santos gets to his knees. Santos is landing short punches as Bogatov tries to flatten him out. Bogatov then knees Santos in the head as Santos is on the ground and we have another timeout. Marc Goddard took two points away from Bogatov and Santos continues. Bogatov going for a finish but time runs out. 9-8 Santos with the point deductions, 29-26 Santos.
Official Result- Leonardo Santos def. Roman Bogatov by unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
> Makwan Amirkhani (15-4, 5-2 UFC) vs. Danny Henry (12-3, 2-1 UFC) Featherweights
Henry with a body kick as Amirkhani is looking to find his range. Henry with a jumping switch kick. Amirkhani with a flying knee to the body and he gets the body lock and scores the takedown. Amirkhani looking for a guillotine and switches to the anaconda choke. He has it in deep and Henry goes out cold! Big submission win for Amirkhani.
Official Result- Makwan Amirkhani def. Danny Henry by submission (anaconda choke) at 3:15 of Round 1
> Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (22-6, 8-2 UFC) vs. Muslim Salikhov (15-2, 3-1 UFC) Welterweights
Zaleski with a body kick. They trade kicks. Salikhov with a leg kick. Salikhov just misses a spin kick. Zaleski with a body kick and just misses a big right hand. Salikhov lands a nice left hook. They clinch for a moment but break with nothing happening. Zaleski with a right hand and Salikhov was hurt and turns into a takedown but Zaleski ends up on top and lands some big punches as the round ends. 10-9 Zaleski.
Zaleski with a huge kick that hurts Salikhov. They stand and trade. Zaleski tries a spin kick but Salikhov sees it coming and just throws Zaleski to the mat. Salikhov lands some punches from the top and they stand. Salikov with a kick and then lands an uppercut and Zaleski just eats it. Zaleski with a front kick. Close round. 10-9 Salikhov, 19-19.
Zaleski with a body kick. Salikhov lands a right hand. Zaleski with a body kick and just misses a wheel kick. Salikhov lands a right hand as Zaleski was ducking under. They trade and Salikhov lands a nice right hand. Not a lot of output in the third. Salikhov just lands a spin kick and then lands a right hand. Zaleski landing slightly more in the round. Close fight. 10-9 Zaleski, 29-28 Zaleski.
Official Result- Muslim Salikhov def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Oezdemir with an early left hand. Oezdemir with another left hand. Prochzaka with a jab and follows it with a combo. Oezdemir with a left hand. Oezdemir with a leg kick and then lands a combo and Prochazka is retreating. Prochazka with a jab and then lands a combo. Oezdemir with a leg kick. Prochazka with a right hand. Prochazka with a body kick and Oezdemir counters with a left hand. Oezdemir with a leg kick. Oezdemir with a combo. Both men are landing. Oezdemir tries a takedown but Prochazka defends against the fence. 10-9 Oezdemir.
Prochazaka with a high kick and then lands a right hand. Oezdemir was stunned and Prochazka starts throwing. Prochazka with a big right hand that lands and Oezdemir goes down out cold. What an incredible finish by Prochazka.
Official Result- Jiri Prochazka def. Volkan Oezdemir by knockout (punch) at :49 of Round 2
Ribas with a quick inside leg kick. Ribas with a body kick. Ribas with a left hand and then lands a couple of knees to the body. They stay clinched and Ribas gets VanZant to the ground. VanZant is cut open. Ribas has a tight squeeze of the neck from side control. Ribas tries to take the back and then now looks for an armbar from the bottom. She has it locked in and VanZant taps! Ribas gets the big win in what is likely VanZant’s final UFC bout.
Official Result- Amanda Ribas def. Paige VanZant by submission (armbar) at 2:21 of Round 1
> Jessica Andrade (#1, 20-7, 11-5 UFC) vs. Rose Namajunas (#2, 8-4, 6-3 UFC) Women’s Strawweights
Andrade with lots of head movement early on. Andrade landing some leg kicks as Namajunas is trying to land some punches. Namajunas lands a right hand as Andrade lands a leg kick. Namajunas lands some punches as she circles away. They trade leg kicks. Andrade with a left hook to the body. Namajunas lands a big right hand. Andrade lands a right hand. Namajunas lands a right hand and they clinch. Namajunas with a knee and Andrade lands a right hand as they break. They trade late. 10-9 Namajunas.
Namajunas with a high kick as Andrade is still moving her head around something fierce. Andrade with a couple of leg kicks. They trade punches. Namajunas just misses a flying knee. Andrade with a leg kick but eats a snapping jab from Namajunas. Namajunas lands a combo. Andrade with a body punch. Andrade lands a right hand. They trade punches. Namajunas tries a flying knee and misses and falls to the ground but is able to get up quickly. Namajunas with the jab. Namajunas with a right hand. They trade kicks. Andrade tries a takedown but Namajunas defends. Andrade lands some good late. 10-9 Namajunas, 20-18 Namajunas.
They are trading to start the third and Namajunas is landing more. Namajunas is bleeding out of her nose. Andrade landing some good punches. They trade and Andrade throws Namajunas to the mat and Andrade gets in the guard. Namajunas able to kick Andrade off and they stand. Namajunas lands a good combo. Andrade with a right hand. They continue to trade as the blood is pouring more out of Namajunas’ nose. Namajunas gets a takedown but Andrade is able to scramble up. Namajunas lands a big jab. They trade at the end. Great fight. 10-9 Andrade, 29-28 Namajunas.
Official Result- Rose Namajunas def. Jessica Andrade by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Petr Yan (#3, 14-1, 6-0 UFC) vs. Jose Aldo (#6, 28-6, 10-5 UFC) UFC Bantamweight Championship
Aldo is looking for leg kicks early. Yan landing some early punches. Yan lands a big right hand. Aldo with a big leg kick and Yan trips to the mat but gets up. Aldo with a body punch and then a jab. Yan with a combo to the body that partially lands. Yan with a right hand. Aldo with a heavy leg kick. Aldo with another leg kick and Aldo goes to the mat and Yan is on top. Yan lands a big body punch that hurt Aldo and Aldo was turtling up. Yan lands a barrage of punches looking for the finish but Aldo survives. Yan gets the round on that late ground flurry. 10-9 Yan.
Both looking for openings to start the second. Yan with a high kick that Aldo blocks. Aldo with an inside leg kick. Aldo lands a combo. Aldo with another leg kick. Aldo with another hard leg kick. Yan lands a left hand. Yan with another left hand. Aldo with a right hand. Yan with a leg kick. Aldo with a leg kick followed by a jab and then a body kick. Yan lands a left hand. Yan switches stances. They trade late. Close round. 10-9 Aldo, 19-19.
Aldo with a body kick and then a knee to the body. Aldo with a right hand to the body. Yan lands a left hand. Yan with a left hand. Yan with the jab and he’s being warned about his fingers again. Aldo with a left hand to the body and then a short uppercut. Yan with an inside leg kick. Aldo with a flurry and then lands a knee against the fence.Yan just misses a big right hand. Yan with the jab. Aldo continues to work the body. Yan misses a flurry as Aldo was ducking under. Aldo with a body punch and Yan lands a combo in return. Aldo with an uppercut. They clinch and Yan lands an elbow as they break. Yan with a body kick. Yan lands a right hand late. Another close round. 10-9 Yan, 29-28 Yan.
Aldo with a body kick. Yan with a body kick and some leg kicks. Aldo with a couple of right hands. Aldo with some body shots and Yan fires back and lands a clean left hand. Aldo with a knee to the body. Yan lands a flurry. Aldo with a short uppercut. Yan goes for a takedown but Aldo defends. Yan with a left hand followed by a body kick. Aldo slowing down a little. Yan with a combo against the fence. Yan with a flurry and lands a hard right hand. Yan gets Aldo down and Yan landing punches from the top. Yan gets into Aldo’s guard and lands a couple of big punches. Yan with more big punches and he puts a stamp on this round. 10-9 Yan, 39-37 Yan.
Yan with a big combo that rocks Aldo. Yan knocks Aldo down with a left hand and is landing punches from the top looking to finish. Yan goes into Aldo’s half-guard. Yan landing big punches from the half-guard. Aldo looking to survive. Yan isolating the arm and landing big punches. Yan with more big punches as he gets the back of Aldo. Aldo is bleeding all over the place. Yan with big hammerfists. Lots of shots taken by Aldo there and it could have been stopped. Yan with a knee to the body and then more punches. Aldo taking too much punishment but it isn’t being stopped. He continues to land punches and it is finally stopped. Yan is the new 135-pound title holder. Impressive win.
Official Result- Petr Yan def. Jose Aldo by TKO (punches) at 3:24 of Round 5 to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship
> Alexander Volkanovski (C, 21-1, 8-0 UFC) vs. Max Holloway (#1, 21-5, 17-5 UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship
Volkanovski with an overhand right. Holloway looking to find his range. Holloway with a body kick. Volkanovski with a leg kick. Holloway with a combo to the body. Holloway with another body kick after Volkanovski lands a leg kick. Holloway landing with more volume in the first half. Holloway with an uppercut. They trade leg kicks. Volkanovski with a combo. Holloway lands a straight right hand. Holloway with a leg kick. Holloway with a leg kick and then lands a spinning back kick and a head kick sends Volkanovski to the mat. 10-9 Holloway.
Holloway landing some punches and kicks and Volkanovski is trying to figure things out in the second. Holloway with more leg kicks. Holloway with some more leg kicks. Volkanovski lands some good punches. Volkanovski switches stances for a moment and they trade leg kicks. Holloway with a knee to the body. Volkanovski with a left hook. Holloway tries a head kick but blocked by Volkanovski. Volkanovski with a body kick. Holloway with another high kick that just missed. Holloway drops Volkanovski with an uppercut late. 10-9 Holloway, 20-18 Holloway.
Volkanovski with a hard leg kick. Holloway attacking the leg as Volkanovski circles around. Volkanovski is pressing forward now and Holloway lands a flying knee. They trade leg kicks. Volkanovski shoots for a takedown against the fence but Holloway defends and they are clinched against the fence. Holloway pressing forward and lands a jumping switch kick. Holloway just misses an uppercut. Volkanovski with an inside leg kick. They trade late. Close round. 10-9 Volkanovski, 29-28 Holloway.
They trade to start the fourth. Both men landing some good shots but they are both searching for openings. Volkanovski with a couple of leg kicks and Holloway fires back with leg kicks. Holloway lands a good combo after eating a leg kick from Volkanovski. Holloway with a spin kick to the body. Volkanovski lands a jab. Volkanovski gets a takedown near the fence but Holloway is able to work to his feet quickly. They break to the center of the Octagon. Volkanovski tries another takedown but Holloway defends with some uppercuts and Volkanovski lets go. Volkanovski with a good combo. Holloway with a flurry and lands a nice right hand late. 10-9 Holloway, 39-37 Holloway.
Holloway with a body kick. Holloway with a good combo and a nice left hand. They trade kicks and Holloway landed a good high kick. They trade in a clinch and Volkanovski lands a good left hand. Volkanovski with a left hand. Volkanovski with a high kick that is blocked by Holloway and then Holloway throws a head kick. Volkanovski with a left hand. Holloway with an uppercut. Volkanovski with a leg kick. Holloway landing slightly more. Holloway with a combo and the right hand lands right on the chin. Volkanovski shoots for a takedown but Holloway defends though Volkanovski finishes a takedown. Holloway quickly works to his feet. They break and Volkanovski lands a left on the break. Volkanovski with a combo. Volkanovski tries for another takedown but Holloway defends. Volkanovski with a leg kick. Both men are swinging for the fences. Volkanovski with a late takedown. 10-9 Volkanovski, 48-47 Holloway.
Official Result- Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the UFC Featherweight Championship
Masvidal with a leg kick. Masvidal lands more kicks. Usman gets a takedown off a kick and he’s in Masvidal’s guard. Usman with an elbow. Masvidal lands some punches from the bottom. Usman stands and Masvidal tries to scramble up. Usman still has his arms locked around Masvidal but they break. Usman with a body punch. Masvidal with a leg kick. Masvidal with a knee to the body and lands some punches as they break. Usman goes for a takedown against the fence but Masvidal defends. Masvidal lands an elbow. They break. Masvidal with a body kick and a straight left hand. Masvidal lands a quick combo after Usman lands a jab. Masvidal with a right hand. 10-9 Masvidal.
Masvidal with a body kick. Usman tries to grab a single leg but Masvidal slips away. They are clinched against the fence and not much is going on other than Usman just holding on. Masvidal with some knees as Usman lands a couple of body punches. Masvidal lands an elbow. Usman lands a left hand. Masvidal just misses a right hand and they clinch again. Usman with a foot stomp. Usman with more foot stomps and shoulder strikes. Masvidal with some body punches. Usman with some body punches. They break. Masvidal with a body kick. Masvidal lands a combo. Usman with a body punch. Masvidal lands a right hand. 10-9 Usman, 19-19.
Masvidal with a leg kick. Masvidal with a body kick. They fight in close range against the fence and then clinch and Usman with more foot stomps. Usman with some body punches and they break. Usman lands a right hand. Masvidal with a body kick. Usman in deep for a takedown but Masvidal defends. Usman landed a punch right to the groin. Back to action and Masvidal with a body kick. Masvidal with a leg kick. Usman gets a takedown. Masvidal gets to his feet but Usman takes him right back down. Usman working in side control. Masvidal trying to spin out but Usman ends up in his guard. Usman with a couple of elbows from the top. 10-9 Usman, 29-28 Usman.
Usman with a big body kick. Usman goes for a takedown but Masvidal defends against the fence and they are clinched. Usman with some foot stomps and body punches. Masvidal lands a knee as they break. Usman gets a takedown. They get to their feet and are clinched. Usman with body punches and more foot stomps. Usman lands a left hand. Masvidal lands a flurry before they break. Masvidal with a body kick. Usman lands a left hook after missing a takedown attempt. Usman lands another left hand and they clinch again. They end the round clinched against the fence. 10-9 Usman, 39-37 Usman.
Usman lands a left hand. They trade punches and Usman gets a takedown against the fence. Usman working from the top and landing some elbows. Usman working in side control. Masvidal able to scramble but Usman keeping him down. Usman gets the neck and is keeping Masvidal down. Usman lands a knee to the body. They get to their feet. They trade knees and break. Masvidal with a left hand. Masvidal with a body kick. They trade late. 10-9 Usman, 49-46 Usman.
Official Result- Kamaru Usman def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) to retain the UFC Welterweight Championship
COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc through wrestling/MMA plus tons of news.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be doing a show tonight with Dr .Alex Patel talking about opening up of sports, pro wrestling, how the different companies have handled live shows and more.
We’re doing three weekend polls, for both New Japan shows in Osaka as well as for UFC 251. Thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
UFC 251 weigh-in results for tomorrow’s show:
Prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ at 6 p.m. Eastern
Davey Grant (136) vs. Martin Day (136)
Karol Rosa (136) vs. Vanessa Melo (141)
Raulin Paiva (129) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (126)
Marcin Tybura (252) vs. Maxim Grishin (223)
Leonardo Santos (156) vs. Roman Bogatov (155.5)
Makwan Amirkhani (146) vs. Danny Henry (146)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (171) vs. Muslim Salikhov (171)
Volkan Oezdemir (205.5) vs. Jiri Prochazka (205)
PPV at 10 p.m. on ESPN+ PPV
Amanda Ribas (126) vs. Paige VanZant (126)
Jessica Andrade (115) vs. Rose Namajunas (116)
Petr Yan (135) vs. Jose Aldo (135) for bantamweight title
Alexander Volkanovski (145) vs. Max Holloway (145) for featherweight title
Kamaru Usman (170) vs. Jorge Masvidal (170) for welterweight title
Melo and Paiva both missed weight and will be fined.
New Japan from Osaka Jo Hall at 4 a.m. Eastern and 1 a.m. Pacific tonight:
Kazuchika Okada vs. Evil for the New Japan Cup championship
New Japan then at 2 a.m. Eastern late Saturday night or about an hour after UFC ends:
Naito vs. Okada-Evil winner for IWGP and IC titles
Tanahashi & Ibushi vs. Sabre & Taichi for IWGP tag titles
Takagi vs. Sho for Never open weight title
Lion’s Gate Collision on New Japan World at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight
TJP vs. Danny Limelight
Rust Taylor vs. DKC
Baseball in Japan started today allowing 5,000 fans at the games. They had been playing with no fans. The plan is to allow stadiums at 50 percent capacity on 8/1, depending on how well COVID-19 is contained. Japan lists about 1,000 deaths total as compared to more than 130,000 in the U.S.
MLW on Saturday on Bein Sports will have an episode from 17 years ago with Vampiro vs. Christopher Daniels, L.A. Park vs. Jerry Lynn and Taiyo Kea vs. Malice. The show was taped in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena.
WWE
Smackdown tonight is a big test as far as whether last week’s rating was a fluke due to the holiday weekend. The prevailing belief is that last week’s record low was a holiday rating and that it shouldn’t be taken seriously. In fact, AEW with competition, beat Smackdown without competition and available on a far stronger station in 25+ million more homes in both 18-34 men and women this past week. Scheduled for the show is New Day defending the tag titles against Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss non-title and Miz TV with Jeff Hardy. They will also replay the Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt match for the Money in the Bank show. 205 Live has Santos Escobar vs. Oney Lorcan and Tehuti Miles vs. Mansoor. This was all taped on 7/2.
Cannonball on USA debuted to 770,000 viewers and a 0.20 in 18-49 last night.
Drew McIntyre spoke with TalkSPORT and noted that he had to convince Heath Slater to do Monday’s show. He said Slater was a little bit against doing it and he called him to convince him to do it.;
The movie “Money Plane” which stars Adam Copeland (Edge), Denise Richards and Kelsy Grammar will be released on various digital platforms today.
The WWE Network will debut R-Truth’s game show on Tuesday. It will be WWE stars answering questions and completing tasks over videoconferencing.
UFC
Frankie Saenz vs. Jonathan Martinez has been added to the 8/1 show in Las Vegas.
Khamzat Chimaev (6-0) replaces Darko Todorovic, who tested positive for COVID-19, in facing John Phillips (22-9, 1 no contest) for Wednesday’s UFC show.
Also on 7/15, a fight with Jorge Gonzalez (16-4) vs. Kenneth Bergh (8-0) has been added to the show.
Malcolm Gordon vs. Amir Albzi was added to 7/18 in replacement of Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Oleksandr Doskalchuk. Ulanbekov withdrew due to the death of coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and Dosakalchuk withdrew for medical reasons.
Niklas Stolze vs. Ramazan Emeev has been added to 7/25. Stolza replaces Shavkat Rakhmonov, who pulled out due to injury.
Emily Whitmire vs. Plyana Viana has been added to the 8/29 show according to Combate.
AEW
TSN in Canada on Wednesday didn’t do any picture-in-picture when TNT did. (thanks to Jeff Zinger)
Keith Elliot Greenberg’s book “Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution is scheduled for a 9/1 release.
KSW returns tomorrow with Norman Parke (28-6-1) vs. Mateusz Gamnrot (15-0) for the lightweight title. Gamrot won a close decision before 58,000 fans and a rematch in Dublin ended in a no contest. Parke is interim champion while Gamrot holds both the featherweight and lightweight titles. The show will be from a studio in Warsaw, Poland and air on www.KSWTV.com
Two years after its publication, “NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner’s WCW” is available on audible books.
Combate Americas has announced Desiree “Dirty Dez” Yanez (5-2) vs. Criszaida Adames (2-0) for an 8/28 show at their new home location in a Miami studio. This will air live on Univision and AXS as well as Televisa Ch. 5 in Mexico. The main event will determine their first flyweight champion with Juan Puerta (18-6) vs. David Duran (8-6).
NFC returns to action on 7/18 at 4 p.m. in Conyers, GA outside at Falcons Fury Harley Davidson. There will be temperature checks and social distancing in place for fans. There will be both MMA and boxing matches.
Innovate Wrestling on 8/8 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium with Jordan Kage defending his U.S. title against three opponents that must first win undercard matches to qualify.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has canceled tomorrow’s scheduled Fight Night Live boxing show that was scheduled as a PPV citing a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. The show was to take place in Houston.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, OK will be reopening on Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. following safety guidelines.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix has its first show back, its 15th anniversary card on 7/30 in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge. Masks are required and tables will be spaced out.
CWE tonight in Winnipeg at Rookies Sports Bar at 8 p.m.with a Lethal Lottery show. Matches will be drawn and nobody knows who will face who, and then there will be a random draw of all the winners continuing in a tag team elimination series of matches.
A wide variety of stories are featured in this week’s double sized issue of the Observer.
Our lead story looks at how WWE and AEW have handled COVID-19, including notes on the WWE outbreak, how its TV shows changed, Jon Moxley & Renee Young, handling of masks by both companies, how WWE’s policy changed, what AEW did this past week, who missed this week’s WWE television and reasons why in many cases, WWE responds to questions about how they’ve handled things and more.
The new issue also covers:
WWE firings and suspensions based on Speaking Out, Sammy Guevara, responses by a number of people who claims against them and how different companies have reacted.
More on the suicide death of Hana Kimura, her mother speaks, what she said to a friend and what was and wasn’t staged about her role on Terrace House which led to her depression.
Motions filed by Jerry McDevitt on the Saudi Arabia situation, as well as a response by Hugo Savinovich, and what is and isn’t relevant to the lawsuit itself.
Wednesday night competition, with the ratings in all the key demos for both shows, the ratings pattern, how every quarter and match did, what lessons are learned, what’s up for next week, as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
New Japan Cup with notes on local television, the storylines leading to the final four, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings of the last four shows.
The television industry and sports and how this affects WWE and AEW. We look at WWE buying Evolve, Kane’s political stance on masks,.Roman Reigns talks why he’s not appearing for WWE right now, Update on the Oliver Luck lawsuit against Vince McMahon, Extreme Rules update, Kairi Sane’s future, Edge talks injury, Canadian and U.K. TV ratings, how wrestling stands in sports ratings, Becky Lynch’s push for her booking that WWE didn’t do as far as losing the title, WWE star fears another surgery, Gail Kim talks traumatic WWE matches, Mike Chiods talks his departure, The Nexxus return, WWE stock value and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
A major piece on the life and career of Killer Tim Brooks. We go from the start of his career, how he got into wrestling through his family, his first match, how he got his first break and became a main eventer, his biggest runs, his early successes in Japan, the forerunner of one of WWE’s most famous angles, his career title history, his friendship with Bruiser Brody, and his running a promotion himself.
This past weekend’s UFC show with the Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker fight of the year candidate, match-by-match coverage, plus business notes.
A feature on an all-time great pro wrestler who had a recent murder charge dropped due to dementia.
Titus O’Neil up for nomination this past year for the Muhammad Ali award.
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.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
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 UFC 251, the New Japan Cup, Smackdown, Wednesday ratings and other news for Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]
So this is the latest on UFC 251. With Gilbert Burns out, UFC worked on a deal for Jorge Masvidal to replace him in a welterweight title fight with Kamaru Usman. Masvidal had turned down prior money offers to face Usman. So as long as neither test positive for COVID before the fight or another complication takes place, that will be the main event this coming Saturday, Usman vs. Masvidal for the welterweight title. While people are super excited about it, and it is a big fight, you have Masvidal coming into the five round fight with no training. Essentially, since Usman is known for cardio, Masvidal may have to get Usman out of there early. Because of that, Usman is a fairly heavy favorite to retain.
As far as trending stuff over the past week with no shows, it was quiet. UFC 251, regarding the reports of the welterweight title change, was No. 11 yesterday with 100,000 searches. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was No. 9 on Friday with 100,000 searches
Sarah Dobson Rowe, formerly Sarah Logan, has said that she will make an announcement tomorrow regarding future plans. She had talked in the past of doing MMA.
The Cauliflower Alley Club website yesterday made a listing of some wrestling movies from the past, some of which are trailers only, others the entire movie:
All the Marbles (trailer only): The wrestling sequences in the final match of this movie were far above the standard of pro wrestling at the time. This is where a lot of people realized how talented the women of the All Japan Women’s group were.
Mad Bull starring Alex Karras, I loved this the first time I saw it, not so much the second time.
Wrestling Queen, a documentary on Vivian Vachon, who was the most talented and charismatic woman of the early 70s, but for obvious reasons was not allowed to be the ace of women’s wrestling.
The One and Only starring Henry Winkler, this was directed by Carl Reiner and was originally to be a movie about Gorgeous George but instead they went with a scripted movie very loosely based on George’s gimmick.
I Like to Hurt People, a movie based on late 70s Detroit wrestling when it was dying under The Sheik after having a huge glory period, Capt. Ed George in the movie is The Sheik’s son which explains his push. But cool stuff with Dusty Rhodes, Andre and The Funks.
The Wrestler, based on 1973 AWA and the Verne Gagne vs. Billy Robinson feud, really everyone needs to see this movie once,as you get clips of Superstar Billy Graham, Nick Bockwinkel, Ray Stevens, Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch, Bruiser & Crusher.
If you are looking to watch a wrestling movie, the Mickey Rourke version of “The Wrestler” and the English subtitled “My Dad is a Heel Wrestler” which is available on New Japan World are the best bets.
Les Thatcher this weekend celebrated 60 years in pro wrestling. starting at the age of 19 in a match in Blue Hills, ME.
WWE
Pete Dunne, Trent Steven and Tyler Bate have raised $45,000 from sales of Black Lives Matter shirts.
UFC
Aaron Phillips vs. Jack Share has been added to the 7/15 show.
Luke Sanders vs; Chris Gutierrez has been added to the 8/1 show.
Modestas Bukauskas, a former Cage Warriors champion, debuts against Andreas Michailidis in a light heavyweight fight on 7/15.
The Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez fight that was scheduled for 7/15, but canceled because one of Rodriguez’s cornermen tested positive for COVID, has been moved to 7/25.
Luke Sanchez vs. Chris Gutierrez is slated to take place on 8/1 according to MMA Junkie.
AEW
Chris Jericho posted that his match that airs Wednesday with Orange Cassidy was one of his favorite and best matches in AEW.
Brian Pillman Jr. debuts for AEW on Dark this week against Shawn Spears. Another debut is NorCal wrestler Will Hobbs, who faces Orange Cassidy. As noted previously, Pillman’s MLW contract allows for him to wrestle for AEW.
MISCELLANEOUS
A Nathan’s Hot Dog commercial that aired yesterday had a quick Andre the Giant cameo.
MLW has premiered on both the Brazilian and German versions of DAZN.
EPW from last night in Perth, Western Australia: Kiel Steria b Zenith, Joel Hagan b Dizzy Videl, Del Cano b Bruno Nitro, Plague b Tyler Jacobs & Stella Nyx & Chadwick Jackson, Damian Slater b Jesse Lambert, Michael Morleone b Julian Ward. This was the first show in Australia since 3/20, in front of a limited audience at their training center. They will return on 7/25 with no seating restrictions with Morleone & Ward vs. Slater & Marcius Pitt (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
To mark the passing of Dave “Bearman” McKigney on July 4, 1988, Marshall Ward talked with his stepson, Conrad Gargus, who made a ton of those iconic Bearman posters that were in shop windows across Ontario and beyond.
Despite losing title challenger Gilbert Burns due to a positive COVID-19 test over the weekend, the UFC is looking at one of their original hopeful challengers to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to fill the pay-per-view void.
According to published reports, Jorge Masvidal has taken his place and barring negative COVID tests from either he or Usman, the fight is expected to headline this Saturday’s UFC 251. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani said both men have agreed to the fight.
Helwani reported that both men will be on their way to Las Vegas shortly where they will need to take another test, pass, fly to Abu Dhabi, take another test, pass, and then another test on Friday, similar to what other fighters on these Fight Island shows are having to do.
The UFC has yet to make an official announcement about any of this, even Burns being out of the fight, until both men pass their tests and the fight can officially be signed.
He and Usman were initially targeted over several months and had a notable verbal altercation while doing interviews on Radio Row during Super Bowl week. After a failure to come to a deal on the fight, Masvidal became increasingly vocal both about pay and of the promotion, choosing to sit out despite Dana White saying he had signed a new contract. Burns, coming off a recent win over former champion Tyron Woodley, became an easy, and less expensive, option.
Masvidal’s last fight was his win over Nate Diaz in November 2019 for the “BMF” title while Usman cruised to a win over Colby Covington last December.
The kickoff to four Fight Island events has already taken a hit as UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns is off next Saturday’s UFC 251.
The reason: Burns, his brother, and another cornerman tested positive for COVID-19, first reported by MMA Junkie. A teammate of Burns that doesn’t fight in the UFC also recently tested positive.
Burns (pictured above) remained positive about the situation in a tweet while Usman has yet to acknowledge the situation on social media.
The team had flown from Florida to Las Vegas where UFC has set up a testing hub before flying people to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It’s expected the Usman-Burns fight will take place on another show, which is why they didn’t look for a last minute replacement to fight Usman.
As of this writing, UFC nor ESPN haven’t announced the fight is off the show.
The UFC 251 main card features two other title fights: featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway in a rematch and Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant men’s bantamweight title in addition to Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2 and the return of Paige VanZant.
The PPV is the first of four July events in Yas Island, the other three airing on ESPN and ESPN+.
We have a feature on systemic prejudice in the U.S. as the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Also in this issue:
The Dana White/Jon Jones story, explaning the economic realities, the economic fallacies and where things stand with both men’s arguments. We look at what does and doesn’t make sense economically, why Jones and Conor McGregor and all the top draws have lost value to UFC, plus exactly what both men have said about each other and where things stand.
The economics of what Jones has drawn in the past, and the numbers of recent UFC show.
The unwritten WWE rule about not criticizing other talent in a public forum outside of storyline-related reasons, why it was broken this past week, what was said, as well as looking at the ties beween the ownerships of the different wrestling companies with Donald Trump, statements released, and the key things no talent can say.
New WWE Network updates.
Upcoming guidelines for WWE shows, Paul Levesque talks COVID testing, notes on more WWE cuts, Vince McMahon sends out memo, original Gronkowski plans and why they changed and why now.
Upcoming Backlash and Takeover shows, an update on the XFL bankruptcy, how WWE is involved and more.
Update the Kairi Sane injury, Vince McMahon bio, Drake Maverick angle, people talked about for main roster, WWE hires new man t head the Middle East business, Kurt Angle talks why he’s not returning at this point to WWE, plus we look at the current market value of WWE and poll results, as well as WWE’s own track record.
Coverage of Saturday’s UFC show with the storylines and the business news, plus match-by-match coverage.
A large feature on the retirement of Stu Saks and the westling magazine era, the life and times and the glory years of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the death of the magazine business, how VinceMcMahon tried to kill it early, and the different stages of the magazine era.
A feature on the wrestling career, and life of Danny Havoc from many of the people who knew him best in the industry.
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.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
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.
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
This week’s episode of the Bump features The Street Profits, Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Drave Maverick, and NXT ring announcer Alicia Taylor.
A special episode of The Bump will air this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time prior to the Backlash PPV event. Guests will include The Miz, John Morrison, Jinder Mahal, MVP and Paige.
WWE Backstage scored 112,000 viewers this week, down from last week’s 121,000 viewers.
WWE uploaded full video of this week’s New Day: Feel The Power podcast, which features a conversation about racial injustice with Andreas Hale.
Wrestling Inc reported that the same team behind the AJ Styles vs. Undertaker match — Michael Hayes, Triple H, and Jeremy Borash — also produced the Backlot Brawl from TakeOver.
John Cena has matched BTS’ $1 million dollar donation to the Black Lives Matter foundation.
FS1 will air the 2008 Royal Rumble on June 23. The 1996 Survivor Series, featuring the debut of The Rock, will air this coming Tuesday prior to WWE Backstage.
Other Wrestling
Justin Roberts, who has largely been absent from AEW television since the COVID-19 outbreak, returns tonight on Dynamite.
According to a tweet from Michinoku Pro Wrestling, Korakuen Hall will only be open for 497 people when they re-open for fans.
Dustin Rhodes wrote on Instagram that he is planning on opening a wrestling school.
On today’s episode of Talk is Jericho, The Inner Circle discussed the making of of their Stadium Stampede match against The Elite & Matt Hardy at Double or Nothing.
The latest Inside the NWA focuses on the legacy of Harley Race.
Fight Island is officially real as the UFC announced the location of the venue and four July shows on Tuesday including a deep pay-per-view card that kicks everything off.
The location is indeed the rumored Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, home of several UFC events in the past. The arrangement is part of a multi-year deal with the country’s department of culture and tourism.
July 11’s UFC 251 will start the four-event month, followed by Fight Night events on Wednesday, July 15th; Saturday, July 18th; and Saturday, July 25th. The July PPV is typically held in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week, but without fans to attend the show and events due to the pandemic, that wasn’t in the cards for this year.
Per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the show will air in the U.S. in its traditional time slots and the main card will start at 6 AM local time. That means prelim fighters will be competing in the middle of the night.
UFC didn’t announce full cards for each show yet, but on ESPN’s First Take, Dana White revealed the main card for UFC 251 and revealed that the Octagon will indeed be on the beach:
Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns: This is Usman’s first fight since his successful title defense against Colby Covington last December while Burns rose to prominence with his recent dominant win over former champion Tyron Woodley. However, it was believed the streaking Leon Edwards would get the shot instead once efforts to pair Usman up with Jorge Masvidal fell through. However, Helwani said that while the UFC did reach out to Edwards, the UK travel lockdown was too much of an issue to overcome.
Featherweight Champion Alex Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway II: This is a rematch from last December when the Australian gave Holloway his first loss in the division since August 2013, a run of 14 wins and three successful title defenses.
Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title: The 14-1 Yan has won all six of his UFC fights and faces the former featherweight champion Aldo who has yet to win a fight at bantamweight.
Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2: This is the second attempt to make this clash of former strawweight champions as the first was pushed back due to two of Namajunas’ relatives coming down with COVID-19.
Paige VanZant vs. Amanda Ribas: This is the final fight on the current contract for the oft-injured VanZant and the second attempt to make the fight as she fractured her right arm in March.
In the release for the shows, UFC said that “DCT Abu Dhabi will create a safety zone within the nearly ten square mile Yas Island that will include an arena, hotel, training facilities, and dining establishments. This safety zone will only be open to UFC athletes and their coaches; UFC staff and other event personnel; and Yas Island employees who are necessary to ensure the operation of the facilities.”
Valentina Shevchenko will look for the fourth defense of her women’s flyweight title at June 6th’s yet-to-be-announced UFC 251.
Her challenger will be Joanne Calderwood (14-4), who is coming off a win over Andrea Lee last September and has won three of her last four.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report the news, adding the fight has been agreed to by both sides but isn’t officially signed. It’s expected to be in Australia, but that is also unofficial.
Shevchenko (19-3) has ripped through the flyweight division and has won five straight overall. She has finishes in three of those fights with two decisions (Liz Carmouche, Joanna Jędrzejczyk). She is coming off a third round TKO win over Kaitlyn Chookagian at February’s UFC 247 which led to questions about who she could face next given the lack of a contender queue.
If the show is indeed in Australia, it should be expected that men’s featherweight champion and native son Alexander Volkanovski will be in the main event, either in a rematch against longtime champion Max Holloway or the surging “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.
