Tag: UFC 269

Daily Update: UFC fallout, WWE Saginaw results, Scott McGhee

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

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WON NEWSLETTER: December 13, 2021 Observer Newsletter: Jeff Hardy released by WWE, death of Blackjack Lanza

In this week’s issue: 

  • WWE fires Jeff Hardy
  • The career of Blackjack Lanza
  • Match and performer of the week
  • Triplemania Regia
  • NXT War Games and futures of O’Reilly & Gargano
  • Another WWE star contract expires and what is next
  • Why Reigns vs. Lesnar is on the WWE Day 1 show
  • Movement in ticket sales after Reigns vs. Lesnar was announced
  • WWE NIL program, who are the athletes, their background and what does the program actually entail
  • What WWE’s new signees tell us about what they are looking for regarding men and women headliners 
  • More details on the top stars in WWE and salary structure
  • This past week’s ratings
  • International TV ratings and how WWE & AEW viewership differs by age group in Canada
  • Live attendance, what have AEW & WWE done compared to each other since both went back to touring
  • Holiday time and format changes for WWE & AEW shows
  • Streaming numbers for WWE & AEW
  • Most in-demand tickets right now in pro wrestling
  • Ticket sales for every major upcoming pro wrestling event between now and Royal Rumble
  • The realities of wrestling TV viewing, plus DVR numbers for every major show
  • What young wrestler is getting a megapush due to rumors of them considering leaving
  • All Japan tag team tournament
  • NOAH’s return to Budokan Hall
  • Major announcement at NJPW show Wednesday
  • Update on NJPW Junior heavyweight and tag team tournaments
  • Story behind a 1970s lawsuit that revealed promoter controlled title
  • UFC show, this week’s show, plus business notes
  • UFC star voted into boxing Hall of Fame

Current subscribers click here to read.

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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night after Raw.  We have two weekend shows up, a general news of the week state of the industry show with Garrett Gonzalez as well as a Saturday show covering UFC and ROH with Bryan.

For Google searches for the week, the UFC show last night did 2.7 million which means it should be a very strong number. It was the third most searched item over the weekend behind Mayfield, Kentucky and Vincente Fernandez. Aside from Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira, who would be counted in UFC 269 searches, Julianna Pena had 500,000 searches yesterday, and both Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt had 100,000. The only other search involving wrestling, boxing or MMA was Jeff Hardy, who was No 15 on Thursday with 100,000.

Some notes on fights from last night as far as decisions went. In Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio, Derek Clearly gave all three rounds to Neal, Doug Crosby only gave round three to Neal and Sal D’Amato gave one and three to Neal.  Media scores were 73 percent for  Neal.  In Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige, which was really close, Crosby gave Emmett one and three, D’Amato gave Emmett all three rounds (no way Emmett won round two but he did win one and three was very close) and Ron McCarthy gave Emmett one and three. Media scores were 57 percent for Emmett.

We are looking for your thoughts on both UFC 269 and ROH Final Battle. You can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]  We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house show in Grand Rapids, MI.

Results from last night’s WWE show in Saginaw, MI:  Bianca Belair b Doudrop, Finn Balor b Austin Theory, Queen Zelina & Carmella retained the women’s tag titles over Liv Morgan & Dana Brooke and Rhea Ripley & Nikki ASH,  Drew McIntyre b Madcap Moss, Angelo Dawkins b A.J. Styles via DQ, Charlotte Flair b Sasha Banks to keep the Smackdown women’s title, Big E b Kevin Owens to keep the WWE title. Some notes from the show. McIntyre vs. Moss was reported as the best match with Moss doing really well.  No Montez Ford so Street Profits vs. Styles & Omos was made into a singles match which ended via DQ when Omos interfered as Styles seemed to have the mach won, so more trouble with Styles & Omos.  

After the last two night’s shows, Wednesday’s New Japan show at Sumo Hall will have the junior heavyweight tournament finals with Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yoh and the tag team tournament finals with Hirooki Goto  & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi. The winners will go to the Tokyo Dome and face jr. champion Desperado, and tag champs Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi. I’m not sure who had Yujiro in the tag team tournament finals in 2021 six months ago. Katsuyori Shibata will also be making an announcement at the show.

Here are the winners of Friday night’s World MMA Awards from the event in Las Vegas:

  • Charles Mask Lewis Male Fighter of the Year – Kamaru Usman
  • Female Fighter of the Year – Rose Namajunas
  • Breakthrough Fighter of the Year – Brandon  Moreno
  • International Fighter of the Year – Israel Adesanya
  • Fight of the Year – Brandon Moreno vs.Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256
  • Knockout of the Year – Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay
  • Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year – Trevor Wittman
  • Trainer of the Year – Phil Daru
  • Gym of the Year – American Top Team (Dan Lambert’s Gym)
  • Referee of the Year – Herb Dean
  • Ringcard Girl of the Year – Brittney Palmer
  • Leading Man – Dana White
  • Promotion of the Year – UFC
  • Personality of the Year – Daniel Cormier
  • Analyst of the Year – Michael Bisping
  • Best MMA Programming – Morning Kombat
  • Media Source of the Year – ESPN
  • Journalist of the Year – Ariel Helwani
  • Fighting Spirit of the Year – Brandon Moreno
  • Lifetime Achievement Award – Matt Hughes

Bronwyne Billington noted that Gary Portz, who many of you would know as Scotty McGhee from the 80s, was hospitalized for six weeks due to COVID and suffered loss of memory of that time. He also suffered a collapsed lung. He had a tube that was keeping his lung drained but there was blood and fluid leaking and they had to take it out is he is having trouble breathing without it.  He is in Scotland as he was there to sort out the estate of his mother, and is not allowed to fly home commercial and would have to fly via air ambulance at a cost of $80,000 according to wife Angela Portz. Billington started a GoFundMe for him.

Odds for Day One from www.BetOnline.ag:

  • Roman Reigns -250 vs. Brock Lesnar +170
  • Big E -200 vs. Seth Rollins +200 vs. Kevin Owens +600
  • Usos -250 vs. New Day +170
  • Edge -700 vs. Miz +400

The news regarding Ian Riccobani announcing the next New Japan Strong tapings in Seattle is because Kevin Kelly will be in Japan from late January (I believe he must got there to quarantine 10 days before the first Tokyo Dome show) until the end of the New Japan Cup in March.

WWE

  • Tickets have picked up for Day One with the announcement of the key matches on the card.  They have topped 8,000 for the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.  A pro wrestling sellout for a PPV legit would be 15,000 so that is extremely unlikely to happen, but the Lesnar-Reigns announcement last week did start moving tickets at a faster clip.
  • They are offering a buy three and get one free ticket discount for both nights of WrestleMania using the promo code PEACOCK.
  • There are more than 4,600 tickets out in St. Paul for Raw tomorrow.

AEW

  • Regarding the Wednesday night rating, both Challenge and Survivor have season finales on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (thanks to Scott Yager)  
  • They’ve added new seating with production moving in and there were 362 tickets left yesterday for Wednesday’s Winter is Coming show.  They have already topped the most tickets sold in the Curtis Culwell Center which they had sold out earlier this year.  They came back so soon because the NFL owners meetings are in Dallas this week.

UFC

  • The Apex in Las Vegas on Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern and 6 p.m. local time will be having its first non-UFC event called UFC Fight Pass Invitational, which will be a four-team grappling tournament using the old All Japan Survival Series rules (team sport, and the loser in each match gets eliminated). There will be four teams in the one-night tournament, with an LFA team, a CFFC team (they are two promotions that air on Fight Pass), a Fury FC deal and James Krause’s Fighting Alliance Championship team. Each team has four members with a UFC star or former star as team captain with the winning team splitting a $25,000 prize. Fight Pass also has a 16-ma featherweight tournament in grappling on 12/19 featuring Donald Cerrone and o 12/30 Fury Pro Grappling will be on Fight Pass featuring Rose Namajunas.

OTHER NOTES

  • For those who live in the Seattle area, the store Sir Lonebuck’s House of Comics & Geekery offers about 30 different pro wrestling books including the Observer Yearbooks, Death of WCW, Mox, Eggshells (Chris Charlton’s New Japan history book), Wrestling at the Chase and Orange Crush Magazine.
  • Some acting clips of Mike Mazurki, who has a major pro wrestling award name after him as one of they founders of the Cauliflower Alley Club.
  • When Mazurki founded the club the idea was to unite pro wrestling, boxing and acting stars in Los Angeles.  In time, it ended up being almost exclusively a pro wrestling organization.   (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
  • Championship Wrestling from Memphis Awards from last night:
    Best Moment of the year – Bret Michaels beat Alan Steel to win the Heritage title
    TV match of the year – Bret Michaels vs. Mike Anthony street fight
    Tag team of the year – Yung Goats, Aaron Robertson & Zay Washington
    Woman of the year- Nikki Lane
    Man of the year – Bret Michaels
  • They had a banquet last night and a VIP Q&A hosted by Rollin into Mempho podcast hosts Brian Tramel and RYUNOJB
  • Kurt Angle will be a playable wrestler in the upcoming card and dice game called All-Time Wrestling.
  • Stardom results from today in Takadanobaba: Mai Sakurai won three-way over Ruaka and Rina, Maika & Lady C b Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama, Momo Watanabe & AZM b Himeka & Natsupoi, Hazuki d Konami 15:00, Mayu Iwatani & Koguma b Starlight Kid & Saki Kashima, Utami Hayashishita & Tam Nakano b Syuri & Saya Kamitani.  
  • The main event of Stardom’s 12/29 show at Sumo Hall with Hayashishita vs. Syuri has no time limit with Hayashishita putting up the World of Stardom title and Syuri putting up the SWF title.  Giulia also makes her return after an injury.    
  • Ember Moon and Ricardo Rodriguez worked as agents last night for Thunder Rosa’s Mission Pro Wrestling show in San Antonio which drew just over 200 fans.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWF Armageddon 1999

CONTACT INFORMATION

Julianna Pena pulls off upset, Charles Oliveira retains title at UFC 269

Posted on by Josh Nason

A large betting underdog going into her UFC 269 co-main event challenge of two-division champion Amanda Nunes, Julianna Pena pulled off the upset, submitting Nunes in the second round to win the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

After Nunes looked the part of dominant champion in the first frame, Pena came on strong in the second round, hurting Nunes on the feet in a firefight. She got a takedown with under two minutes to go and then took Nunes’ back for a rear naked choke that elicited a quick tap even though it didn’t appear to be fully sunk in.

The win gives the 32-year-old Pena (11-4) her first taste of UFC gold. She came into the fight winning two of her last four, evidence of a division that Nunes has dominated for years.

The loss snaps an 11-fight win streak for Nunes that dates back to March 2015. She had held the bantamweight title since July 2016 with five defenses to her credit. She still holds the women’s featherweight title, but has no clear challengers. After the fight, she gave Pena credit and indicated she wants to return, likely meaning a rematch will be next for both women.

In the night’s main event, Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier in the third round to retain the UFC lightweight title. 

Poirier had a great first round, hurting the champion with punches and showing power in doing so. However, Oliveira (32-8-0-1) came on in the second, grounding Poirier and keeping him there. He got Poirier’s back while standing in the third round, working for a rear naked choke that got the tap at 1:02 of the round.

This was Oliveira’s first defense of the title he won in May by defeating Michael Chandler for the then-vacant belt. While Poirier held the interim version of the belt, he is 0-2 when going for the undisputed title.

UFC 269 live results: Oliveira vs. Poirier, Nunes vs. Pena

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier, emanating from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The UFC holds their final pay-per-view event of the year in their home arena, the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, bringing a stacked card featuring two title fights and lots of exciting match-ups all throughout the line-up.

In the main event, UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira makes his first title defense against the top contender, former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier. Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May to win the vacant title, while Poirier is looking to go 3-0 in 2021 after scoring two wins over Conor McGregor, one in January and the other in July.

In the co-main event, UFC Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes defends the bantamweight crown for the first time in two years as Julianna Pena looks to score the upset. Nunes is on a 12-fight win streak, and comes in off a defense of the featherweight title against Megan Anderson at UFC 259 in March. Pena comes in off a win over Sara McMann in January.

Also on the main card is a welterweight slugfest between Geoff Neal and Santiago Ponzinibbio, a flyweight bout as Kai Kara-France battles former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt in his divisional debut, and a bantamweight fight pitting Raulian Paiva against Sean O’Malley.

Among the fights on a stacked preliminary card include a featherweight battle between Josh Emmett and Dan Ige, a bantamweight bout that sees Pedro Munhoz take on former UFC and WEC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz, a heavyweight fight between Augusto Sakai and the popular Tai Tuivasa, and a clash of women’s flyweight prospects as Miranda Maverick squares off with Erin Blanchfield.

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

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

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6 PM ET/3 PM PT

> Gillian Robertson (9-6, 6-4 UFC) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (10-3, 2-3 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights* (Cachoeira missed weight by 3 pounds)

Cachoeira missed weight by three pounds. Robertson with a leg kick and shoots for a takedown but Cachoeira slips away. Robertson closes the distance as they clinch against the fence. They break. They trade right hands. Robertson with a leg kick and Cachoeira with a right hand. Robertson with a right hand and then scores a takedown. Robertson steps over as she remains on top and looks to take the back. Robertson ends up back in side control and lands a big elbow. She moves to the mount and lands a big right hand. Robertson with some elbows. Robertson looking to set up an armbar. Robertson with more elbows and then some big punches. Robertson tried for the arm but gets the back and has a rear-naked choke locked in and Cachoeira gouged Robertson’s eyes to defend but ends up tapping. What a finish by Robertson!

Official Result- Gillian Robertson def. Priscila Cachoeira by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:59 of Round 1

> Randy Costa (6-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Tony Kelley (7-2, 1-1 UFC)
Bantamweights

Kelley coming forward right away. Kelley with a leg kick. Kelley pushing forward and landing early. Costa lands an uppercut. They clinch against the fence and Costa landing some body punches and a few knees. They trade knees before breaking. Costa lands some before they clinch again. Kelley lands some knees. They break. They clinch back up and Kelley with some more knees. Kelley lands some punches to the body and more knees. 10-9 Kelley.

Kelley lands some kicks early. They clinch again with neither doing much before they break. Kelley lands some kicks. Costa lands a left hand as he backs up. Costa lands a body kick then a right hand and they clinch and Costa with a knee to the body. Kelley lands some knees and Costa tries for a takedown but Kelley ends up on top. Kelley lands some elbows from the half-guard. Kelley with big elbows to the head and body as Costa is covering up and this is stopped. What a finish by Kelley.

Official Result- Tony Kelley def. Randy Costa by TKO (elbows) at 4:15 of Round 2

> Ryan Hall (8-2, 4-1 UFC) vs. Darrick Minner (26-12, 2-2 UFC)
Featherweights

Minner lands some leg kicks early. Hall scrambles and rolls for a leg and has a leg lock locked in. Minner escapes and they stand and Hall gets it down again and has the leg but lets go and now looks to set up a triangle choke. Minner scrambles to avoid but is in a bad position. They get up and Minner lands an uppercut and Hall fakes him into landing and tries a takedown but they stand. Minner lands more punches and they go to the mat. Hall rolls for the leg and looks for a kneebar but they scramble and Hall is on top. Hall lands some short punches. Hall with more punches as he ends the first on top. 10-9 Hall.

Minner lands some right hands to start the second. Minner pushes Hall against the fence and Hall rolls for a leg. Minner laying on top as Hall is throwing little kicks to the body from the back as he’s looking for openings. Hall is looking for the armbar but Minner picked him up and slammed him to break it. Hall looking for a triangle choke and an armbar as he lands some punches and elbows. Hall with more punches. 10-9 Hall, 20-18 Hall.

Hall with a body kick. Hall barely lands a spin kick to the body. Minner lands a punch but Hall tricks him to get it to the mat and Hall goes for the triangle choke. Minner on top in the guard but Hall is working from the bottom and goes for the leg. Hall sweeps to the top and is in the full guard and is trying to work for an arm-triangle choke. Hall with just relentless pressure from the top and is landing body punches. Hall still trying for it as he continues to land to the body. Hall ends the fight in that position. 10-9 Hall, 30-27 Hall.

Official Result- Ryan Hall def. Darrick Minner by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)

> Miranda Maverick (9-3, 2-1 UFC) vs. Erin Blanchfield (7-1, 1-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

They trade early with Maverick landing kicks and Blanchfield landing punches. Blanchfield gets a takedown. Blanchfield has the back and then moves to the top. Blanchfield is in the full guard. Maverick is landing short punches as Blanchfield remains on top and looking to transition. They get up and stay tied up and Blanchfield gets another takedown. She works from the top and they get up late. 10-9 Blanchfield.

They were trading to start the second and Blanchfield gets the takedown and they scramble to the feet. Blanchfield then gets another takedown and is in the half-guard. Blanchfield gets the crucifix position and is landing elbows and punches. Maverick clears the crucifix but Blanchfield is still on top in a dominant position. She gets to north-south position and is looking to step over for the kimura. Blanchfield looks to go for the armbar but Maverick uses her legs to trap Blanchfield at the end. 10-9 Blanchfield, 20-18 Blanchfield.

Maverick lands a combo to start the third. They trade punches and Maverick is getting the better of it. Maverick lands a left hand. Blanchfield lands a combo. Maverick with a high kick and left hand and then they clinch against the fence. Blanchfield gets the single leg and scores the takedown. Blanchfield takes the back and is working for a rear-naked choke. Blanchfield then switches back to being in the guard of Maverick, then passes to side control. Blanchfield with some punches from side control. Blanchfield moves to the mount and Maverick quickly gives up her back. Blanchfield with some punches from the back. 10-9 Blanchfield, 30-27 Blanchfield.

Official Result- Erin Blanchfield def. Miranda Maverick by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Andre Muniz (21-4, 3-0 UFC) vs. Eryk Anders (14-5 1 NC, 6-5 1 NC UFC)
Middleweights

Anders lands first with the left hand. Muniz with a leg kick. Muniz gets a big takedown and passes to the half-guard. He moves to side control and is looking to set up a choke. Muniz takes the back but they get to their feet and Muniz still has the back. Muniz trips Anders down for a second but they stand. Muniz drags it back down and has the back on the mat. Muniz gets the armbar and Anders taps! Big finish by Muniz to get the win.

Official Result- Andre Muniz def. Eryk Anders by submission (armbar) at 3:13 of Round 1

ESPN2 PRELIMS | 8 PM ET/5 PM PT

> Jordan Wright (12-1 1 NC, 2-1 UFC) vs. Bruno Silva (21-6, 2-0 UFC)
Middleweights

They trade kicks to start. Wright lands a big body kick and then a couple of head kicks. Wright lands a combo as Silva was rushing in and they’re teeing off on each other. They clinch and Wright with a couple of knees. He lands more knees to the body. Silva lands a huge combo and then rocks Wright with more punches and drops him and more punches ends it. What a finish by Silva!

Official Result- Bruno Silva def. Jordan Wright by TKO (punches) at 1:28 of Round 1

> Augusto Sakai (#11, 15-3-1, 4-2 UFC) vs. Tai Tuivasa (12-3, 6-3 UFC)
Heavyweights

Tuivasa lands a left hand as Sakai landed a leg kick. Tuivasa lands in close range and then lands to the body against the fence. They’re clinched against the fence with both battling for underhooks. Tuivasa with some right hands to the body and then one to the head as they switch positions. They break. Tuivasa lands an uppercut then a right hand against the fence as they clinch again. Sakai with some knees to the body. Tuivasa lands an elbow and then some punches. Tuivasa lands some punches as they break and then lands some more but Sakai lands a knee as they clinch. Close round. 10-9 Tuivasa.

Tuivasa with a leg kick. Tuivasa lands a left hook and Sakai is backing up. Tuivasa starts landing big punches and lands a right hand through the middle and Sakai goes down and is out cold. What a finish by Tuivasa, and then he does the Shoey. Four in a row for Tuivasa.

Official Result- Tai Tuivasa def. Augusto Sakai by knockout (punches) at :26 of Round 2

> Pedro Munhoz (#8, 19-6 1 NC, 9-6 1 NC) vs. Dominick Cruz (#10, 23-3, 6-2 UFC)
Bantamweights

Munhoz with a leg kick. Cruz lands a nice left hand and then Munhoz lands a body kick. Cruz with a leg kick then a right hand. Munhoz lands a big right hand and Cruz stumbles down and is in trouble. Munhoz jumps on and is landing big punches as Cruz is trying to recover and Munhoz now has the back and is trying to trap an arm. Cruz escapes and they get back to their feet. Munhoz lands a double jab then a right hand. Cruz comes forward throwing a combo. Cruz lands and gets a brief takedown and grabs the neck, lands a knee to the body as they stand. Cruz with a nice combination. Cruz with a big combination late and they trade late in a big flurry. 10-9 Munhoz.

They’re trading to start out the second. Cruz lands a combination. Cruz lands a combo and Munhoz misses his punches. Munhoz with a leg kick. Munhoz shoots for a takedown but Cruz easily stuffs it. They trade in close range as Cruz lands a left hand. Cruz lands a quick combo. Munhoz has a cut open. Cruz lands a combo and then Munhoz lands a leg kick. Cruz with a combo then a knee and then tees off in the pocket. Cruz with a leg kick then a combo. Cruz with an uppercut and a left hand. Munhoz with a leg kick. 10-9 Cruz, 19-19.

Cruz lands a couple of uppercuts to start the third. Munhoz comes forward throwing but Cruz eludes and then lands a body kick and left hand. Cruz with a combo. Cruz with more leg kicks. Cruz lands a good combination. Cruz with more nice combinations as Munhoz isn’t landing as much. Munhoz lands a leg kick but misses his punches. They trade inside the pocket. Cruz with a combination. Munhoz lands a left hand late. Good fight. 10-9 Cruz, 29-28 Cruz.

Official Result- Dominick Cruz def. Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Josh Emmett (#7, 16-2, 7-2 UFC) vs. Dan Ige (#9, 15-4, 7-3 UFC)
Featherweights

Emmett with a big right hand and Ige goes down. Emmett gets on top and lands some body punches. They get up and Emmett lands a knee and then Ige takes it down. They scramble and Ige ends up getting Emmett back down. Emmett reverses and is in the half-guard against the fence. They stand and Emmett with a hard right hand. Ige lands a left hand. They trade in close range. Ige lands a right hand and then a jab. Both are really looking for the right opening. Emmett with a combo. Ige with a late leg kick. 10-9 Emmett.

Ige with a combination. Ige with a combo to the body. They trade in close range then Ige lands the jab. Emmett with a right hand to the body. Ige lands a left hook that stuns Emmett. Ige with a right hand and he shoots for a takedown but Emmett defends. Emmett with an elbow before they break. Ige with the jab. He lands another jab. Ige with a hard right hand and then a leg kick. Ige with a left hand then the jab. Emmett with a right hand. They trade right hands. Ige with a quick uppercut. Emmett with a combo. Ige with a jab and right hand late. 10-9 Ige, 19-19.

Ige lands a right hand. Emmett lands a right hand and a left hook after he lands to the body. Ige lands the jab. Ige with a leg kick. Ige with a right hand to the body. Emmett with a big combo that stuns Ige. Ige with the jab. Ige with a right hand and Emmett counters with a combination. Emmett with a left hook. Emmett with a right hand. Ige tries for a takedown but Emmett defends and they break. Ige fakes a takedown and lands a body kick. Ige lands an uppercut. Emmett with a right hand. Emmett lands a left hand. Super close fight. 10-9 Ige, 29-28 Ige.

Official Decision- Josh Emmett def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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

> Raulian Paiva (21-3, 3-2 UFC) vs. Sean O’Malley (14-1, 6-1 UFC)
Bantamweights

O’Malley with a body kick. O’Malley lands the jab. He lands again and then ands a low kick for a timeout. We get back to action and Paiva with a body kick. Paiva lands a right hand. O’Malley with a left hand. Paiva lands a right hand. Paiva with a body kick. O’Malley with a combo. They trade kicks. O’Malley with a jab then a right hand. He lands the jab twice more. O’Malley lands the jab and Paiva with a right hand. O’Malley with a big right hand that rocks Paiva. O’Malley teeing off on Paiva and landing big punches and another right hand stumbles Paiva and then he tees off more and it is stopped. What a finish by O’Malley.

Official Result- Sean O’Malley def. Raulian Paiva by TKO (punches) at 4:42 of Round 1

> Kai Kara-France (#6, 22-9 1 NC, 5-2 UFC) vs. Cody Garbrandt (#7 BW, 12-4, 7-4 UFC)
Flyweights

Garbrandt with a leg kick. They trade jabs. Garbrandt with a leg kick. Kara-France with a leg kick. Garbrandt just misses a right hand. Kara-France lands a jab. Kara-France with a leg kick and Garbrandt lands a right hand. Kara-France drops Garbrandt with a right hand. Garbrandt gets up and Kara-France is after him as they run around and then Garbrandt gets a takedown but they get up. Kara-France with the jab. Garbrandt with an uppercut. Kara-France with a combo and he has Garbrandt in trouble and Garbrandt falls down and it is over. What a win by Kara-France!

Official Result- Kai Kara-France def. Cody Garbrandt by TKO (punches) at 3:21 of Round 1

> Geoff Neal (#12, 13-4, 5-2 UFC) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (#14, 28-4, 10-3 UFC)
Welterweights

Neal with a leg kick. He lands another. Ponzinibbio throws a right hand and lands an inside leg kick. Neal lands a leg kick and Ponzinibbio counters with a leg kick. Neal with a high kick. Ponzinibbio has been warned twice to watch the fingers. Neal with a body kick. Ponzinibbio with a right hand. Ponzinibbio with a right hand. Neal with the jab then a high kick. Ponzinibbio with a combo. Neal with a high kick. We have a timeout for a groin strike. They get back to action and trade late. 10-9 Neal.

Ponzinibbio with a quick combo. Ponzinibbio with a leg kick. Ponzinibbio with a leg kick and Neal checks it. Neal with a right hand. Neal with a high kick. They trade and Ponzinibbio looks for a takedown against the fence. Neal is defending but Ponzinibbio is able to complete it. They get back to their feet and exchange punches. Ponzinibbio with a combo. Ponzinibbio with an inside leg kick. They trade and Neal lands a solid combination. Neal lands a left hand. Ponzinibbio is claiming there was an eye poke but they fight on. They trade in close range. Ponzinibbio with a right hand and an inside leg kick. 10-9 Ponzinibbio, 19-19.

They trade to start the third with Neal landing a body kick. Neal tags Ponzinibbio with a combo and had him in trouble for a moment. Ponzinibbio then lands a right hand. Ponzinibbio with a leg kick. Ponzinibbio lands a combo. Neal with a high kick after rushing forward. Neal with a left hand. They trade in close range. Neal lands a left hand. Ponzinibbio lands a right hand. Neal with a left hand and Ponzinibbio lands a right hand. Neal with a left hand. Neal with a right hand and Ponzinibbio stumbles. They both land hard shots. Neal with a right hand and Ponzinibbio is backing up. Neal with a left hand then a cracking combination. Neal lands a right hand. Neal with a left hand. Neal with some straight left hands. Ponzinibbio with a right hand. Neal with a left hand. Close fight. 10-9 Neal, 29-28 Neal.

Official Result- Geoff Neal def. Santiago Ponzinibbio by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

> Amanda Nunes (C, 21-4, 14-1 UFC) vs. Julianna Pena (#3, 10-4, 6-2 UFC)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Pena throws and Nunes lands a calf kick at the same time and Pena slips to the mat but gets up. Nunes with another leg kick. Pena lands a right hand. Nunes with a right hand. Nunes lands a right hand and Pena falls to the mat. Nunes enters the guard landing a right hand. Pena scrambles and looks for the takedown against the fence as they’re clinched. Nunes trips it to the mat. Nunes gets the back and is looking for a choke. Nunes with some short right hands. Nunes lets go and Pena turns back in and Nunes has the half-guard. Pena is holding on to a kimura but Nunes is fighting it easily. Nunes ends the first on top. 10-9 Nunes.

Pena trying to land but backing up as she throws. Nunes lands a leg kick. Pena with the jab and Nunes with an inside leg kick. Pena lands a combo. Pena lands a good combination and has Nunes in trouble and then Nunes lands a right hand and a big left. Nunes with a leg kick. Nunes with a combo. Pena lands a combination and both are landing in close range. Nunes with a leg kick. Nunes with a right hand. They’re still trading in close range. Pena lands a left hand. Pena with a right hand. They’re trading jabs. Pena with a right hand. Pena has Nunes in trouble as they clinch. Pena gets Nunes down and has the back and locks in a rear-naked choke and Nunes taps! WOW! That is the biggest upset in UFC history as Julianna Pena submits Amanda Nunes to win the championship. Holy cow.

Official Result- Julianna Pena def. Amanda Nunes by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:22 of Round 2 to win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

> Charles Oliveira (C, 31-8 1 NC, 19-8 1 NC UFC) vs. Dustin Poirier (#1, 28-6 1 NC, 20-5 1 NC UFC)
UFC Lightweight Championship

They trade to start. Poirier lands a right hand and Oliveira drops to the mat for a second. Poirier with a left hand. They trade in the clinch as Oliveira lands a right hand and Poirier with an uppercut. Poirier with a left hand. Oliveira lands a knee to the body then a front kick. Oliveira with a knee to the body. Poirier with a left hand and Oliveira with an uppercut. Oliveira pushes it against the fence. They roll to the mat for a sceond and Oliveira with a knee to the body before they break. Oliveira with a right hand. Poirier with a left hand. Poirier with a left hand and follows it with a right hook. Poirier with a flurry against the fence and Oliveira lands a knee to the body. He lands another. Poirier with a left hand. Oliveira with an uppercut. Poirier with a combo and Oliveira gets dropped. Poirier gets on top and then stands and Oliveira gets up. Poirier with a left hand. Poirier with a combo. Oliveira with a combination. Poirier with a combo. Poirier with another left hand. Oliveira lands a right hand. Oliveira with a front kick. What a round! 10-9 Poirier.

Oliveira with a right hand and lands a knee and they clinch against the fence. Oliveira with a knee to the face that just misses as he tries to get Poirier down. Oliveira tries to take the back standing but Poirier pushes him off and lands from the top. Oliveira was grabbing the glove of Poirier and Poirier had to roll to get out and now Oliveira is in the guard of Poirier. Oliveira lands some elbows from the top. Oliveira was holding onto Poirier’s glove illegally and got away with it. Oliveira still on top and lands some more elbows. Oliveira with more elbows as Poirier is stuck on the bottom. Oliveira stands and lands a right hand at the end. 10-9 Oliveira, 19-19.

Oliveira grabs the back of Poirier early standing. Oliveira jumps on the back and looks for the rear-naked choke. He has it locked in and Poirier taps! Oliveira retains the title with another record-setting submission win.

Official Result- Charles Oliveira def. Dustin Poirier by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:02 of Round 3 to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship

WOR: Jeff Hardy, Gargano/O’Reilly, UFC 269

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio talking all of the latest in pro wrestling and MMA.

We discuss a ton of topics including the following:

  • Jeff Hardy being released by WWE
  • The latest on Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly
  • AEW Dynamite ratings
  • Adam Page as champ
  • New ROH main event
  • Pat McAfee
  • UFC 269

We also talk about Dave’s new Wrestling Observer Yearbook (referral link) on 1999.

Click below to listen.

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ATT’s Jorge Masvidal out of UFC 269 fight with Leon Edwards

Posted on by Josh Nason

Jorge Masvidal pulled out of his fight with Leon Edwards at December 11th’s UFC 269, taking one of the company’s better pay-per-view draws off the show.

Masvidal cited an “undisclosed injury” for his withdrawal. Edwards said he was disappointed but “honestly I knew this fraud didn’t want to fight me anyway.”

Edwards and Masvidal first interacted two years ago after a UFC London event when Masvidal punched Edwards backstage, later delivering his famous “three piece and a soda” line. Edwards has been trying to get the fight ever since.

Several fighters have offered to take the spot against Edwards, a top contender for a welterweight title shot who is riding a ten-fight unbeaten streak.

Among them includes Khamzat Chimaev, a popular prospect who returned to action recently after a long bout with COVID-19 and picked up a dominant stoppage win. Belal Muhammad also threw his hat into the ring after his March fight with Edwards was stopped in the second round due to an accidental eye poke. Former title challenger Gilbert Burns also showed interest.

It’s unknown if UFC wants to keep Edwards on the card as it’s already co-headlined by lightweight champion Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier and women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes against Julianna Pena.

Masvidal’s teammates at American Top Team will be busy this Saturday in pro wrestling as they take part in a street fight match opposite Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction at AEW Full Gear.

Masvidal has been part of the angle between the two sides, knocking out Jericho with a running knee strike at the company’s Grand Slam event in Queens, New York. It’s unknown if Masvidal will appear Saturday and, given the injury, whether he could get physical if the situation arose.