Tag: UFC 282

Daily Update: FTR vs. The Briscoes, UFC 282 judging, more UFC notes

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • Notes on the backgrounds of everyone voted in
  • Huge historical stories on the two promoters voted in talking about wrestling history all over the world
  • Notes on a lot of the people who were not voted in and their candidacy
  • Performer and match of the week
  • Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
  • Cain Velasquez returns to pro wrestling as AAA comes to the U.S., background, future, attendance, audience drawn and more
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, looking at the whys, what can be learned, segment by segment of the main shows, competition and more
  • Major mask loss in a cage show coming on January 1 to Arena Mexico
  • A look at the finals of the Stardom tag team tournament as well as the big show at the end of the year
  • What Hall of Fame candidate returns to Dragon Gate on Christmas
  • Several stars leaving All Japan
  • First IWGP women’s title defense to be held in the U.S.
  • New Japan tag team tournaments notes
  • Battle of Los Angeles news
  • Another major movie being produced on a 90s star and his unique story
  • Impact has one of its best matches of the year
  • A detailed look at Tony Khan’s explanation of William Regal’s departure and why he allowed him to go
  • Khan talks about Rampage going forward
  • Dustin Rhodes talks retirement
  • Notes on ROH PPV show
  • Notes on WWE going to new markets and ticket advances
  • International TV ratings
  • AEW & WWE streaming numbers
  • More news on the Pro Slap league TV deal and time
  • Dana White talks Jiri Prochazka’s injury
  • Shawn Michaels talks NXT
  • Lots of WWE injury updates
  • Cena’s schedule for the next few months
  • Lots of WrestleMania news

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Sunday Update

We have two weekend shows up on the site. We have a really strong Hall of Fame show with Garrett Gonzales and John Muse from Friday night and last night’s show with Bryan covers all the big events from yesterday including the ROH Honor Club revival and Sasha Banks/NJPW story in detail. 

The Hall of Fame issue, which is actually our largest issue ever, is up on the site. People have been amazed at the story on new inductee Lou Daro and the beginnings of major league pro wrestling in Los Angeles. Also put up on the site today is a back issue from 2005 with one of my favorite bios ever, the story of Reggie “The Crusher” Lisowski, a regional cult hero who is very much a cultural icon in several Midwestern cities.

If you are voting for match of the year this year, you have to watch the Briscoes vs. FTR chain match yesterday at ROH Final Battle. The match was incredible. Now if you don’t like blood, don’t watch it, but otherwise I can’t imagine anyone thinking seeing that match wouldn’t be worth $40.

Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov went off on Dana White after last night’s show claiming that Magomed Ankalaev was denied the UFC title due to politics and demanded they change the result of the fight with Jan Blachowicz. That isn’t going to happen. White doesn’t pick the judges. Ankalev after the fight said he wa so mad about the result he was thinking about leaving UFC, again blaming them for the judging. Since then he’s said he didn’t mean that.

Most of the talk after the show wa about the two top bouts and the judging. The problem, as we’ve only noted for the last 23 years, is that judging with ten point must does not mean the person the judge thinks wins the fight wins it on his card. Now I would say the Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon fight was bad judging, because Douglas Crosby and Ron McCarthy gave Pimblett round one, which Gordon clearly won. I thought Gordon clearly won the first round and Pimblett won the second. The third could have gone either way. I had Gordon but it was close enough I wasn’t sure he was winning it. Two judges gave that round to Gordon and one to Pimblett. Media scores were 96 percent for Gordon but all three judges gave it to Pimblett. Pimblett got by far the biggest reactions with lots of fans wearing blond wigs. He claimed he won the first two rounds easily, so that got people mad. The reality is that Pimblett has that charisma that some guys have and most don’t, but in UFC, to stay a top star you have to be able to beat the top guys. Pimblett did not seem like someone who could get into the top 15 last night, let alone be a championship contender.

In the Anakalev vs. Blachwoicz light heavyweight title fight, which was ruled a draw, I felt Blachowicz won rounds two and three solidly and Ankalaev won round four and I gave him a 10-8 in round five and also gave Ankalaev round one to end 48-46 for him But round one to me was very close and could have gone the other way, so a 47-47 draw was very possible. It’s wasn’t my score but a draw was not a bad score. All three judges gave the close round one to Blachowicz.

Judge Michael Bell gave Blachowicz the first three rounds, which is plausible, and had him winning 48-47. Judge Derek Clearly gave Ankalaev rounds three, four and five and gave five a 10-8 so he had a 48-46 score for Ankalaev. No way Ankalaev won round three. Sal D’Amato had a draw at 47-47 giving Blachowicz rounds one through three but giving Ankalaev a 10-8 third. 92 percent of media scores were for Ankalaev and not won had it a draw. Ankalaev had a 19-14 edge in significant strikes in round one.

The crazy thing after, which I can’t explain logically, is that after the draw in a title match, White said that he hated the fight and zoned out after the third round. When asked who he thought won, he said, “I don’t even know. I started to zone out after like f***ing three rounds.” Ankalaev’s leg was injured from all the low kicks so he’ll be out for a while. So he announced that Glover Teixeira will face Jamahal Hill, two completely different fighters, for the light heavyweight title, on 1/21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Last night’s title fight made no sense since Teixeira should have been in a title fight and was willing to fight on 1/21. I guess by that logic doing a title fight with him does make sense, but in theory a draw in a title fight should necessitate a rematch of those two for the title. It just keeps making the title look more like a prop than a valid championship.

More UFC notes. Darren Till said he believes he will continue fighting even though he’s lost five of his last six. 

Anthony Smith was under contract to face Hill, and literally while working on the post-game show found out about Hill getting the match with Teixeira for the title meaning he was out of his fight. He literally found out on the air when White said what was next.

The New Japan tag team tournament finals are Wednesday morning from Sendai at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time. The heavyweight final is Aussie Open vs. Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi, with the winners facing FTR for the titles at the Tokyo Dome. The junior finals are Chris Bey & Ace Austin vs. Lio Rush & Yoh. Most likely the winners will face TJP & Francesco Akira at the Tokyo Dome show, but that’s not a lock. That’s the show with Karl Anderson vs. Hikuleo for the Never title.

Jamie Noble’s potential last match will take place at the WWE show tonight in Charleston, WV. It’s billed locally as his retirement match. He’s a producer with WWE and actually retired years ago but was being given this as a farewell match.

Last night’s UFC 282 did 650,000 Google searches which is very low for a PPV show. Not a surprise because from a marquee value situation, this was one of the weakest shows, and then putting the light heavyweight title up with Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev when people saw Jiri Prochazka (injured) and Glover Teixeira as the top fighters didn’t help much. Boxer Terrence Crawford was No. 3 last night, Darren Till was No,. 4, Ilio Topuria was No. 8 and Raul Rojas was No. 13, all at 50,000. 

WWE results from last night in Saginaw, MI:

      • Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & Mia Yim b Damien Priest & Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley with a magic killer on Mysterio
      • Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai b Asuka & Alexa Bliss to keep the tag titles when Sky pinned Asuka
      • Dexter Lumis b The Miz with the head -and-arm choke
      • Bobby Lashley b Omos via DQ for using a chair
      • Johnny Gargano & Kevin Owens b Chad Gale & Otis when Gargano pinned Gable
      • Bianca Belair b Bayley for the KOD to keep the Raw women’s title
      • Austin Theory b Seth Rollins with a low blow and A Town Down to keep the U.S. title. Rollins laid him out after the match with the curb stomp

We’re looking for your thoughts this weekend on the ROH, NXT and UFC 282 shows. You can leave 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 these weekend shows:
*WWE last night in Wheeling, WV
*WWE tonight in Charleston, WV
*WWE tonight in Kalamazoo, MI
*New Japan tonight at the Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles
We’re looking for results, finishes, thoughts and highlights on the event to [email protected]

Other Notes

Smash Wrestling has announced Drago & Aerostar vs. Terbnak de Team for 1/28 at the Toronto Rec Room for a 4 p.m. show. Taylor Wilde vs. Jody Threat was also announced as well as Jake Something. They will also be airing the Royal Rumble on the big screens immediately after the show for all ticket buyers.

Winnipeg Pro Wrestling from Friday night in Winnipeg: Rylie Jackson b Warhorse, Technical Difficulties b Red Hot Summer, Free Range Kara b Laynie Luck, AJ Sanchez b Kody Lane to keep the WPW title, Tommy Lee Curtis b Devon Monroe, James Roth won three-way over Kevin O’Doyle and Josh Holliday, Bobby Schink b Chad Daniels, Jody Threat b Blair Onyx to win the WPW title. Show was sold out with a hot crowd (thanks to Blair Pacheco)

Mission Pro Wrestling from last night in San Antonio, TX: Diego Renay b Joey Hyder, Emmy Camacho b Jade, Casey Blackrose b Devin Carter to keep the Mission Pro Cup, Tiffany Nieves b Mysti Marks, Madi Wrenkowski & Rache Chanel b Dannni Bee & Charity King in a candy cane street fight match to keep the tag titles, Branden Vice & Zakai Living & Jesse James b Don Juan & David Kidd & Jett Black, Jazmin Allure b MJ Santana, JP Harlow b Simon Miller, Jennacide b Janai Kai to keep the MPW title (thanks to Shannon Walsh and No Prima Donna)

XPW from last night in Pomona, CA: Bo Cooper won three-way over Terex and Judge Joe Dred, Juventud Guerrera b Willie Mack-DQ, Original Psicosis won over Vinnie Massaro and Damian 666, Matt Cross b Bestia 666, Kat Martini b Biggie Biggs to keep the TV title, Maga Butcher (formerly Necro Butcher) b The Body, Shlak b Ciclope to keep the King of he Death match title, Ludark Shaitan won a three-way elimination match to win the women’s title over champion Taya Valkyrie and Lindsay Snow, Masada b Drake Younger to keep the XPW title.

There was an interview segment with Guerrera who ranted about CM Punk wasting all his opportunities while he never gets any opportunities.
(thanks to Shannon Walsh and No Prime Donna).

UFC 282 live results: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev, Paddy Pimblett’s PPV debut

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev, emanating from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It is the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2022, and the Octagon is back inside the T-Mobile Arena where, following a major shuffling of the main event, a brand new champion will be crowned in one of the premier divisions in the sport.

The vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the main event as former champion Jan Blachowicz looks to become a two-time champion against Magomed Ankalaev. The title became vacant after Jiri Prochazka opted to vacate it following suffering a major shoulder surgery a couple of weeks ago, which forced him out of the original main event of this card, a defense against Glover Teixeira. Teixeira was offered to stay in the title fight against Ankalaev, but turned it down due to the short notice. Blachowicz and Ankalaev were already scheduled to fight in the co-main event, so they get the bump up.

In the new co-main event, Paddy Pimblett looks to become the big breakout star they hope as he fights on pay-per-view for the first time when he takes on Jared Gordon. Also on the main card is a catchweight bout between Santiago Ponzinibbio and Alex Morono, a middleweight bout pitting Darren Till against Dricus Du Plessis, and a battle of undefeated rising featherweight contenders as Bryce Mitchell battles Ilia Topuria.

The prelims are stacked for this show, capped off by a battle of top-eleven heavyweights as Jairzinho Rozenstruik takes on Chris Daukaus, plus the debut of Raul Rosas Jr., the youngest fighter on the UFC roster who earned a contract as a 17-year-old on this past season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 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 | 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT

> Bantamweights- Cameron Saaiman (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Steven Koslow (6-0, 0-0 UFC)

Saaiman throwing kicks to start things off. Saaiman lands a left hand. Saaiman with a leg kick. Koslow grabs the body lock and gets a takedown and looks to pass guard. Koslow gets to the half-guard and Saaiman lands from the bottom. Koslow tries to get mount but Saaiman reverses and is in the guard of Koslow. They’re scrambling and Saaiman grabs the neck looking for a guillotine choke. Saaiman moves to the back but might be too high on the back. Saaiman slides off and Koslow is on top and lands some punches. Koslow gets the mount near the end but Saaiman reverses to the top. 10-9 Koslow.

Koslow goes right for the takedown and pushes Saaiman against the fence. They go to the mat and Koslow locks in a guillotine choke but Saaiman is able to escape. Koslow continues to attack the neck but they stand. Saaiman lands a couple of knees as Koslow is working for the takedown and Koslow gets it down. Saaiman is able to get the back and is trying to get the hooks in. They get to their feet and clinch and Saaiman lands an illegal knee to Koslow’s head as both of his knees were on the mat. Saaiman gets a point taken away. They get back to action and trade punches. Koslow grabs the single leg but Saaiman defends. Saaiman has the neck and lands a knee. Koslow lands a high kick as they break. 9-9 due to Saaiman getting a point taken away, 19-18 Koslow.

Saaiman lands a spin kick. Koslow shoots for the takedown and pushes it against the fence. Koslow gets it down and has the back. Saaiman reverses and gets on top. Saaiman gets the back and has the hooks in but he is high. Saaiman trying to set up a choke. They get to their feet and Koslow gets it back down. Saaiman reverses and lands from the top. Saaiman landing punches on top as he has the back. Saaiman with some big shots on the top. Saaiman stands and is landing punches and lets Koslow get up. Saaiman lands some knees and punches. He’s teeing off on Koslow and Koslow is hurt. Saaiman continues to land and gets the finish! What a sequence to finish it for Saaiman as he wins his UFC debut.

Official Result- Cameron Saaiman def. Steven Koslow by TKO (strikes) at 4:13 of Round 3

ESPN2 PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT

> Featherweights- TJ Brown (16-9, 2-3 UFC) vs. Erik Silva (9-1, 0-0 UFC)

Brown lands a big right hand right off the bat and Silva almost went down. Brown gets it down but they scramble and Silva has the neck as they stand. Brown gets it back down and is in the guard of Silva. They scramble and Silva looking to get on top. Brown lands some punches as they stand and Silva gets a takedown. Brown tries to attack the leg and uses it to create a scramble to the feet. Brown lands an elbow. They break and trade right hands. Silva gets a late takedown. They get up and trade right hands at the end. Close round. 10-9 Brown.

Silva lands a right hand early in the second. Brown lands a right hand. Silva lands a jab. Silva lands a leg kick and both are landing. Silva scores a takedown. They scramble up and Brown gets a takedown and looks to get the back near the fence. Brown landing some left hands. Brown trying to get his arm under Silva’s neck. Silva tries for a kimura but Brown ends up fully on top. Brown gets the back. Brown tries for the choke again. Brown has the back as the round ends. 10-9 Brown, 20-18 Brown.

Silva goes for a takedown as Brown lands a right hand and a knee. Silva lands a knee and they go down with Brown in the guard of Silva. Brown trying to transition but gets back to the guard of Silva. Brown still controlling from the top as he’s trying to find an arm-triangle choke. Brown lands some left hands and an elbow. He gets the arm-triangle choke locked in and Silva taps! Brown gets his first UFC finish with the submission here.

Official Result- TJ Brown def. Erik Silva by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:41 of Round 3

> Featherweights- Billy Quarantillo (16-4, 4-2 UFC) vs. Alexander Hernandez (13-5, 5-4 UFC)

Hernandez with a leg kick. Hernandez lands some punches and they trade kicks. Quarantillo grabs a leg but lets go. They trade jabs. Quarantillo with a body kick and Hernandez lands some counter right hands. Hernandez with a body shot and Quarantillo counters with one. Hernandez gets a takedown. They get to their feet and Hernandez pushes it against the fence. They break. Hernandez lands a combo. Quarantillo with a body kick. Hernandez gets a takedown right into an arm-triangle but he doesn’t have it fully locked in. Quarantillo with some body shots and Hernandez lets go but lands an elbow that opens a big cut on Quarantillo. They get up late and trade. 10-9 Hernandez.

They trade high kicks to start the second. Quarantillo tries a takedown but Hernandez grabs the back and lands some punches. They stand and clinch before breaking. They clinch against the fence and Quarantillo lands some knees. They break and Hernandez lands some punches. Hernandez slips and Quarantillo grabs the neck but they stand and Quarantillo tries for a takedown against the fence. They break and both land punches. They’re both landing. Quarantillo landing more right now as he lands some right hands. Quarantillo gets a takedown. Quarantillo with some punches from the back. They stand. Quarantillo drags it back down and lands some punches as they stand. They separate. They trade against the fence. Both men are bleeding. Quarantillo with some punches and knees and it is stopped. Big rally from Quarantillo to get the finish in the second.

Official Result- Billy Quarantillo def. Alexander Hernandez by TKO (strikes) at 4:30 of Round 2

> Middleweights- #15 Chris Curtis (29-9, 3-1 UFC) vs. Joaquin Buckley (15-5, 5-3 UFC)

Buckley with a combo. Curtis lands a jab then a leg kick. Buckley with a leg kick. Curtis lands a left hand. Buckley with a leg kick. Curtis lands a nice left hand. They trade and we have a timeout as Curtis lands a kick to the groin. They get back to action. Buckley with a high kick but Curtis blocks it. They trade punches. Curtis lands the jab. Buckley with some body shots. Buckley lands a left hand. Buckley with some body shots late. 10-9 Buckley.

Buckley landing more to start the second. Buckley with a high kick. Curtis lands a combo. Buckley lands a combo. Buckley with another combination. Curtis lands a high kick. Curtis drops Buckley with a big left hand and gets on top and lands some shots and Buckley goes out. What a finish by Curtis!

Official Result- Chris Curtis def. Joaquin Buckley by knockout (punches) at 2:49 of Round 2

> Middleweights- Edmen Shahbazyan (11-3, 4-3 UFC) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (11-5, 2-4 UFC)

Shahbazyan landing punches and kicks to the body early on. Shahbazyan with more body shots. They trade leg kicks. Lungiambula with a big body kick. Shahbazyan lands some body kicks. They clinch against the fence. They break after both land a couple of body shots. Shahbazyan lands a body kick. Shahbazyan with a right hand. 10-9 Shahbazyan.

They trade to start the second. Both land punches and Lungiambula lands a low blow and we have a timeout. They get back to action and Lungiambula with a leg kick. Shahbazyan with a left hand. Lungiambula with a body kick. Shahbazyan with a body kick. Lungiambula with a left hand. They trade body kicks. They trade punches. Shahbazyan just misses a head kick. Shahbazyan with a jumping knee and Lungiambula is hurt. Shahbazyan with a flurry and he’s teeing off as Lungiambula is hurt against the fence. They go to the mat and Shahbazyan is landing from the top. Lots of shots from Shahbazyan and it is stopped. Big bounce back win for Shahbazyan.

Official Result- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dalcha Lungiambula by TKO (strikes) at 4:41 of Round 2

> Heavyweights- #9 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-4, 6-4 UFC) vs. #11 Chris Daukaus (12-5, 4-2 UFC)

Rozenstruik rocks Daukaus with a left hand immediately and is landing big punches against the fence. Daukaus trying to get away and Rozenstruik drops him with a big punch and it is all over. What a finish from Rozenstruik!

Official Result- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Chris Daukaus by knockout (punches) at :23 of Round 1

> Bantamweights- Raul Rosas Jr. (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Jay Perrin (10-6, 0-2 UFC)

They’re trading to start. Rosas gets a couple of takedowns and is on the back. Rosas flattens Perrin out and is looking for a choke. Rosas with some punches from the back. He almost had the choke locked in but Perrin fought it off. Rosas has the body triangle as they stand. They go back down and Rosas still working for the choke and has it locked in and Perrin taps!

Official Result- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Jay Perrin by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:44 of Round 1

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

> Featherweights- #9 Bryce Mitchell (15-0, 6-0 UFC) vs. #14 Ilia Topuria (12-0, 4-0 UFC)

Mitchell throwing kicks to start. Topuria with a heavy calf kick. Topuria lands a heavy jab. Topuria lands a right hand. Topuria with a combo. Topuria lands another right hand. Mitchell with a high kick and then shoots for a takedown but Topuria stuffs it. Mitchell with a body kick. Mitchell grabs a single leg and pushes it against the fence. Mitchell gets it down for a moment. They break. Topuria with a right hand then another. Mitchell gets a takedown. Mitchell gets into the full guard of Topuria and lands some shots. Mitchell does end the first on top. 10-9 Topuria.

Mitchell moving forward to start round two and both land. Topuria lands a right hand. Mitchell attempts a takedown but Topuria stuffs. Topuria lands a right hand. Mitchell lands a head kick. Topuria drops Mitchell with a right hand after an uppercut. Topuria lands from the top but Mitchell works his way up. Topuria clips Mitchell with an uppercut and rag dolls him to the mat. Topuria lands from the top as he looks for a arm-triangle choke. He gets it locked in and Mitchell taps! Big win as Topuria remains undefeated.

Official Result- Ilia Topuria def. Bryce Mitchell by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:10 of Round 2

> Middleweights- #10 Darren Till (18-4-1, 6-4-1 UFC) vs. #14 Dricus Du Plessis (17-2, 3-0 UFC)

Till pressuring as Du Plessis lands a leg kick. Du Plessis gets a takedown and gets the back. Du Plessis with some left hands from the back. Du Plessis landing a lot of left hands. Du Plessis with some knees to the thighs. Du Plessis with more left hands. Du Plessis now landing right hands. Du Plessis looking to get it back down and does. Du Plessis has the back with the body triangle in. Du Plessis with big right hands from the back. Du Plessis looking for a rear-naked choke but lets go. Du Plessis still has the back ad is working. Till explodes to his feet and lands some punches and went for a choke but they scramble up. Du Plessis with the jab. Du Plessis slips on a kick and Till gets on top and lands some punches. Du Plessis scrambles and gets a late takedown. 10-8 Du Plessis.

Till lands some left hands and Du Plessis with a right hand. Till with a left hand. Till with a combination. Till with a leg kick. Till lands a hard elbow. Till lands a knee and Du Plessis is able to get a takedown. Till landing as he tries to scramble up. They get to their feet. Du Plessis is breathing heavy. Till lands another big elbow. Till with a left hand. Till with another combo. Till lands another elbow. Du Plessis tries a takedown and gets it and Du Plessis ends up on top. Du Plessis looking for a foot lock late but time runs out. 10-9 Till, 19-18 Du Plessis.

Till with the jab. Till with a combo. Du Plessis with a leg kick. Till with a left hand to the body. Du Plessis with a couple of kicks. Till with a left hand and Du Plessis lands a jab. We have a brief timeout for a groin strike. They trade jabs. Du Plessis gets a takedown right into mount and lands some shots from the top. He gets the back and locks in a quick rear-naked choke and Till taps! Finish out of nowhere from Du Plessis as he gets another win.

Official Result- Dricus Du Plessis def. Darren Till by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:43 of Round 3

> Welterweights- Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-6, 10-5 UFC) vs. Alex Morono (22-7 1 NC, 11-4 1 NC UFC)

Ponzinibbio lands the jab to the body. Morono lands a right hand. Ponzinibbio with a leg kick. Morono lands a right hand. They trade punches. Ponzinibbio lands a jab. Morono lands a right hand. Ponzinibbio lands a leg kick. They trade jabs. Ponzinibbio landing shots to the body. Ponzinibbio with a leg kick and he has a cut open. Morono lands a right hand. Ponzinibbio with a right hand and Morono lands a big right hand and they go to the mat and Morono lands from top and they get up at the end. 10-9 Morono.

They are trading jabs to start the second. Both are looking for openings and land leg kicks. Morono lands a leg kick and Ponzinibbio stumbles to the mat. Ponzinibbio just misses a left hand but lands a jab. Ponzinibbio lands a nice right hand. Ponzinibbio with a combo. Morono lands a spinning elbow. They trade right hands. Ponzinibbio lands a right hand. 10-9 Morono, 20-18 Morono.

Morono with a leg kick. Morono lands a few punches and has Ponzinibbio hurt. Ponzinibbio is retreating and Morono lands some more. Ponzinibbio is trying to recover. Ponzinibbio rocks Morono with a big right hand and then drops him with another right hand and it is over! Ponzinibbio gets the finish out of nowhere!

Official Result- Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Alex Morono by TKO (punches) at 2:29 of Round 3

> Lightweights- Paddy Pimblett (19-3, 3-0 UFC) vs. Jared Gordon (19-5, 7-4 UFC)

Pimblett with a combo and a high kick. Gordon lands a left hand. They trade leg kicks. They trade left hands. Pimblett with a high kick. Gordon with a couple of leg kicks. Gordon lands a combo. Pimblett with a leg kick. Gordon with a big right hand. Pimblett with a combination. They trade leg kicks. Pimblett with a head kick. Gordon lands a left hand. Pimblett with a combo. They trade big punches inside the pocket. Pimblett tries a takedown but Gordon ends up on top. Gordon ends the round on top. 10-9 Gordon.

Pimblett with a couple of leg kicks. Pimblett with a high kick. They trade punches. Pimblett with a body shot. Gordon lands a left hand and they are tied up against the fence. Gordon gets it down but Pimblett is working for a choke. They get to their feet. Gordon lands some body shots then a right hand as they separate. Pimblett lands a right hand. Gordon lands a left hook. They trade leg kicks and Gordon lands a right hand. Pimblett lands an uppercut. Pimblett with some knees and they break. Pimblett lands a nice right hand. We have a timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and Pimblett lands a right hand and a body kick. 10-9 Gordon, 20-18 Gordon.

Gordon tries a takedown and puts Pimblett down face-first but Pimblett gets to a knee. Gordon trying hard for the takedown against the fence. Pimblett lands some elbows. They break. Gordon immediately grabs Pimblett against the fence. Gordon has the body lock but isn’t doing anything with it. Gordon gets the takedown and has the back but Pimblett scrambles up and has the back. Pimblett with some punches but we go to the finish here. 10-9 Gordon, 30-27 Gordon.

Official Result- Paddy Pimblett def. Jared Gordon by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> UFC Light Heavyweight Championship- #3 Jan Blachowicz (29-9, 12-6 UFC) vs. #4 Magomed Ankalaev (18-1, 9-1 UFC)

Blachowicz with a leg kick. Ankalaev with a left hand. Blachowicz is landing all leg kicks in the first two minutes. Ankalaev looking for an opening. Blachowicz with a left hand to the body. Ankalaev with a body kick then a high kick but Blachowicz blocks it. Ankalaev with some body kicks. Ankalaev with more front kicks to the body. They trade body kicks. 10-9 Ankalaev.

They trade body kicks. Blachowicz with a leg kick. He lands a combo. Blachowicz landing more leg kicks. Ankalaev lands a leg kick. Blachowicz lands a combo with a short uppercut. Blachowicz lands a jab. Blachowicz hurts Ankalaev with a leg kick. Blachowicz lands another leg kick and Ankalaev went to his knee in pain after but Ankalaev grabs the clinch against the fence. They separate. They clinch at the end. 10-9 Blachowicz, 19-19.

Blachowicz lands a leg kick. Blachowicz with a body kick then a leg kick. Ankalaev lands a right hand. Blachowicz with a body kick. Ankalaev lands a jab and Blachowicz with a leg kick. Ankalaev lands a left hand. Blachowicz with a head kick. Blachowicz with more hard leg kicks and Ankalaev is limping from them. Ankalaev lands a combo. Ankalaev tries a takedown but Blachowicz defends. They’re tied up against the fence. They break and Ankalaev pressing forward. We have a timeout for a groin strike. They get back to work and Ankalaev tries a takedown but Blachowicz is defending. Ankalaev gets it down late. 10-9 Blachowicz, 29-28 Blachowicz.

They clinch and Ankalaev lands a knee to the body. Ankalaev landing some body shots. They separate. Ankalaev gets a takedown and is in the guard of Blachowicz. Ankalaev gets the back and is keeping Blachowicz on the mat and is draining whatever Blachowicz has left in the gas tank. Ankalaev with a couple of left hands. Ankalaev with a big elbow from the top. Ankalaev with big shots from the top before he stands. 10-9 Ankalaev, 38-38.

Blachowicz falls to the mat early as he stumbles and Ankalaev is trying to get on top as he’s all over him. Ankalaev gets into the full guard of Blachowicz. Ankalaev lands from the top some but is keeping Blachowicz planted down. Ankalaev with some big punches from the top. He’s landing more and more with punches and a few elbows. Ankalaev is looking to get the finish. Ankalaev now in the half-guard and landing from the top. Ankalaev continues to land from the top as the fight ends. 10-9 Ankalaev, 48-47 Ankalaev.

Official Result- Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev ends in a split draw (48-47, 46-48, 47-47, the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship remains vacant

Jiri Prochazka out of UFC 282, vacates light heavyweight title

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

Jiri Prochazka is no longer UFC light heavyweight champion after vacating the title due to a shoulder injury and pulling out of his scheduled title defense against Glover Teixeira at December 10th’s UFC 282.

The new main event for the show will see former champion Jan Blachowicz take on Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant title.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the news of Prochazka’s injury and subsequent changes.

Teixeira was offered a shot against Ankalaev, but turned it down due to short preparation time. He did say he would fight Ankalaev at January’s UFC 283 in Brazil, but that was turned down by the UFC. 

He also suggested fighting Blachowicz on December 10, but that was turned down by the UFC as they wanted a fresh matchup with Ankalaev instead of a rematch between Teixeira and Blachowicz. Teixeira defeated Blachowicz for the title at UFC 267 in October 2021.

Prochazka’s shoulder injury is bad enough that he will likely be out of action for a year, if not more, and “out of respect to the athletes and the division, Prochazka has elected to vacate his title and will compete for the belt as soon as he is medically cleared,” according to a UFC press release.

It is expected that he will receive an immediate title shot once he is ready to return to action. Teixeira, meanwhile, is hopeful to fight the winner of the fight between Blachowicz and Ankalaev as the first title defense.

“This is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history,” UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports. “His shoulder is very, very bad. He’s going to have serious surgery that will require extensive rehab.”

According to ESPN, the recovery could take up to a year.

UFC 282 takes place on December 10 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MJF teases UFC 282 appearance after online confrontation with Paddy Pimblett

Posted on by Bryan Rose

MJF has teased appearing at UFC 282 on December 10 to confront Paddy Pimblett after the two exchanged words on social media.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if the AEW world champion shows up on Dec. 10 in Vegas,” MJF told Marc Raimondi of ESPN.

“I’m sick and tired of people talking about pro wrestling as if it’s some f—ing stunt show,” he continued. “The fact of the matter is Paddy ‘The Prima Donna’ Pimblett would not last two seconds in a professional wrestling ring with me. Maybe not even one. Pro wrestling is a dangerous, dangerous sport, and there is no one more dangerous than MJF. I can assure you when we come to London in 2023, if Paddy shows his face, he’s going to find out that a Scouser is no match for a Long Islander. Because I’m better than him and he knows it.”

The exchange between the two went down on Tuesday, with Pimblett telling MJF “if you wanna have a real fight let’s sort it out with the @ufc if not pipe down! Oh tell ur boss to sign me up when yous come to Fulham’s ground I be ready son.”

MJF later called Pimblett a “dollar store [Conor McGregor] talking, Will from [Stranger Things] looking ass” that “wouldn’t last two seconds in my world.”

Pimblett is scheduled to fight Jared Gordon at UFC 282 in Las Vegas. MJF won the AEW World Championship at Full Gear this past Saturday, defeating Jon Moxley.