UFC 2020: When Sven Took Charge II

Fantabulous · July 10, 2021

UFC 262: The Homecoming <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="vsaa7XB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vsaa7XB.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> UFC 262: The Homecoming Date: Saturday of Week 4 of May 2021 Location: Hawaii Attendance: 23,047 Gate: $6,453,160 PPV Revenue: $261,391 Critical Rating: 77% Commercial Rating: 100% Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy Preliminary Card <img alt="iXYf9pW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/iXYf9pW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ZOvqvoq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZOvqvoq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Women’s Flyweight: Izabela Badurek (8-6) vs. Miranda Granger (8-1) The first fight of the night was short and explosive, ending as it did just past the two-minute mark, with Granger, who had landed some nice shots, catching Badurek with a beautiful right uppercut that knocked her out cold. In her post-fight interview, Granger said that she was happy with the finish to the fight, which Granger said was a testament to her training and her punching power. Result: Miranda ‘Danger’ Granger beat Izabela Badurek by knockout (punch) in 2:12 of Round 1 <img alt="vGmlD0L.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vGmlD0L.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Dak68dm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Dak68dm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (#17, 4-5, 1NC) vs. Liana Jojua (#19, 8-4) It wasn’t quite the explosive fight that the first one was, but this was still a hard hitting encounter, and it had an equally explosive ending. After a fairly even contest, Jojua delivered a flying superman punch out of nowhere that dropped Eubanks like a sack of potatoes and left her completely unconscious. Jojua spoke about her punching power during her post-fight comments, with Jojua saying it was down to a combination of natural ability and training. Result: Liana ‘Mgeli’ Jojua beat Sijara ‘Sarj’ Eubanks by knockout (punch) in 3:56 of Round 1 <img alt="abX4Fp1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/abX4Fp1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="2ANdwQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2ANdwQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Women’s Bantamweight: Sarah Alper (#22, 10-4) vs. Lara Procopio (#23, 7-1) The next fight was fine but not rather exciting, as most of the action involved Alper smothering Procopio against the cage or the ground, Alper content to simply wear her opponent out. But Alper clearly didn’t do a good enough job because Procopio delivered a stunning right hook almost immediately upon the beginning of the third round, dropping Alper and Procopio hammered Alper with enough big shots to cause the referee to stop the fight. Result: Lara Procopio beat Sarah ‘Too Sweet’ Alpar by TKO due to strikes in 0:35 of Round 3 <img alt="bsiLJqb.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bsiLJqb.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dhW17YK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dhW17YK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Light Heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba (#17, 17-6, 1NC) vs. Thiago Santos (#11, 21-9) This was a real bruising affair, especially for Santos, as he took some big shots during this fight. Santos, who employed a grappling approaching throughout, was rocked early by a right cross and Santos was lucky to avoid the follow up from Cutelaba and gain the time he needed to get his head cleared up. Santos’ attempts at grappling were well met by Cutelaba, who used his own grappling to counter Santo, with Cutelaba even suplexing his opponent near the end of the first round. The second round was a pure grappling battle, with Santos giving a good accounting of himself although Cutelaba had most of the control, reversing Santos at times and keeping him pressed up against the fence, hitting him with quick elbows and even suplexing him to the ground yet again. Cutelaba was in side-control after that and whilst Santos was able to keep him neutralised for the rest of the round, Cutelaba was in firm control of the fight and Santos was in need of a finish. In the third round, it was more grappling from both men, with Cutelaba’s corner encouraging their fighter to be more aggressive. Yet it was soon obvious that Cutelaba’s slowing down was not because of a lack of aggression but because he was starting to tire. After another extended grapple, Cutelaba was able to slam Santos down to the mat, but this move took a lot out of Cutelaba and he was now breathing quite heavily. Cutelaba tried to pass the guard of Santos but Santos was able to scramble free and up back on his feet. The two started to throw strikes, mostly jabs, with neither fighter seemingly willing to go hard. Santos grabbed Cutelaba into a clinch and tried to force his opponent into a Muay Thai clinch, which Cutelaba was too tired to prevent. Measuring his opponent, Santo hit a knee to the ribs, though it lacked power. With the round winding down, Santos missed a knee but kept control of Cutelaba, and then, as the round entered its final minute, Santos delivered a hard knee square into the face of Cutelaba who dropped to mat, face down, unconscious, and Thiago Santos had pulled out the victory, and it was a well earned one with Santos having to battle back to come out on top. Result: Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos beat Ion ‘The Hulk’ Cutelaba by knockout (punch) in 4:24 of Round 3 <img alt="9xqqjS2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/9xqqjS2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="rSf2pVh.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rSf2pVh.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Light Heavyweight: Jim Crute (#9, 13-1) vs. Jiri Prochazka (#22, 27-4-1) Crute opened up the fight by taking Prochazka down and Prochazka began fighting off his back, although his efforts allowed Crute to take side-control. A ground battle played out, with Crute fighting to transition to the guard position and Prochazka trying to stop this from happening. Although prevented from taking the guard of his opponent, Crute was still able to control him on the ground, and although he couldn’t deliver much damage, Crute still dominated the first round. Things picked up in the second round, the fight staying standing, and just over a minute in, Prochazka landed a great right hook that clearly had Cute in trouble. Prochazka pounced, flooring Crute with a big right hand, Prochazka then unloading on Crute with massive right hands, one of which saw Crute go limp and the referee quickly dove in to halt the action, giving Prochazka victory. In his post-fight interview, Prochazka said that he wanted to take on Phil Davis, with Prochazka saying he respected the skills of Davis and believed that they would have a great fight. Result: Jiri ‘Denisa’ Prochazka beat Jim ‘The Brute’ Crute by knockout (punch) in 1:47 of Round 2 <img alt="DBfb4ER.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/DBfb4ER.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="asj9htW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/asj9htW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Bantamweight: Rob Font (#7, 18-5) vs. Brett Johns (#12, 19-2) Aside from a right cross in the first round that opened up a gash under his eye, Johns was able to completely shut down Font with his ground game. Font had no answer for the grappling and submissions of Johns, who was all over him throughout the fight, giving Font little chance to land anything outside of that right cross in the first round. It was a commanding performance from Johns, who, to no surprise, eased to the unanimous decision victory on the scorecards, getting 30-27 from all three judges. Result: Brett ‘The Pikey’ Johns beat Rob Font by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27) <img alt="iJdMrzN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/iJdMrzN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="0iA3zbN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0iA3zbN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Flyweight: Joseph Benavidez (#9, 28-7) vs. Jussier da Silva (#2, 24-7) This flyweight contest gave both Benavidez and da Silva a chance to reassert themselves in a very competitive division, but only one of them would be able to move forward and up, and it was Benavidez who delivered a major statement when a wicked left uppercut dropped da Silva, with some seriously powerful lefts forcing the referee to jump and in stop the fight. Benavidez showed surprising charisma in his post-fight interview. Result: Joseph ‘The Beefcake’ Benavidez beat Jussier ‘Formiga’ da Silva by TKO due to strikes in 1:57 of Round 1 <img alt="PrlGv8o.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/PrlGv8o.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="SCp82qi.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/SCp82qi.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Welterweight: Alex Oliveira (#24, 29-1-2, 1NC) vs. Niko Price (#16, 16-3, 1NC) Next up was a welterweight outing that turned into a delightfully hard-hitting outing, a pure stand-up battle that saw Oliveira and Price exchanging a number of punches and kicks. Neither fighter was able to dominate the other, as one would land a good shot on the other and their opponent was soon responding in kind. It was a close, gruelling fight, but somebody had to win, and the tide turned in the second round when Price delivered a left hand that saw Oliveira looking almost punch-drunk as he backed up. Price moved in, hammering away on Oliveira with a number of heavy shots, and referee Marc Goddard was soon pulling Price away, Price getting the TKO victory. A fired up Price used his post-fight interview to call for a fight with Mike Perry, with Price noting that Perry has previously stated a desire for the two to square off in the octagon. Result: Niko ‘The Hybrid’ Price beat Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira by TKO due to strikes in 1:48 of Round 2 <img alt="HNFIbjd.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/HNFIbjd.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="B58afeF.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/B58afeF.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Heavyweight: Anthony Johnson (#5, 24-7) vs. Marcin Tybura (#10, 19-7) The size advantage of Johnson was very obvious from the start but it played less of a factor in the match than you’d think, although that was strictly because it didn’t get the chance to. Johnson nailed Tybura with a superb right high kick barely a minute in and that was all Johnson needed because Tyrbura was out before he hit the ground. An understandably excited Johnson was his usual lively and charismatic self in his post-fight interview, Johnson saying that he was going to go out clubbing to celebrated his victory, and that his fans were invited along to join him. Result: Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson beat Marcin ‘Tybura’ Tybura by knockout (punch) in 1:02 of Round 1 <img alt="XjlCKEU.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XjlCKEU.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="bVQBjEW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bVQBjEW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Middleweight: Derek Brunson (#9, 21-8) vs. Yoel Romero (#8, 13-6) What the heavyweights can do, the middleweights can do that little bit better, at least on this night, because Yoel Romero needed less than thirty seconds to put this fight to bed. Romero dropped Brunson with one of the first punches he threw, a beautiful right uppercut, and Romero destroyed Brunson with a series of punches that forced the referee to intercede and stop the fight after a mere 28 seconds. Almost as stunning as the speed of Romero’s win was his post-fight announcement that he was retiring from MMA. Result: Yoel ‘Soldier of God’ Romero beat Derek Brunson by knockout (punch) in 0:28 of Round 1 Main Card <img alt="l86n1VV.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/l86n1VV.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="n1c4s2j.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/n1c4s2j.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Women’s Featherweight: Sheila Blakey (33-1) vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos (#12, 7-4) Despite her loss in the finals of TUF 29, Blakey was confident heading into this fight, although the oddsmakers didn’t share that confidence as Blakey; even though she had far more fights on her record than Dos Santos, Blakey was a +770 underdog, with Dos Santos the -970 favourite. Perhaps it was for this reason that Blakey declined Dos Santos’ offer to touch gloves at the beginning of the fight, although it didn’t appear to be anything personal; Blakey look very focused. Dos Santos opened up with some quick punches but Blakey showed great movement in avoiding them. The two fighters exchanged strikes, but nothing really landed, both women still trying to get a feel for each other. Dos Santos went for a right cross that missed, leaving herself open to a right hook from Blakey, and Dos Santos was quickly backing up, and it looked like that she had been rocked by the punch. Blakey went in for the kill, cracking Dos Santos with a great left uppercut, but she got a little too fancy with a spinning backfist which missed and this allowed Dos Santos to circle away and it appeared to be enough to let her clear her head. The fight resumed being even, both women landing and pressuring the other, and it was looking like the first round would end in this manner. But Dos Santos got a little too aggressive with a big right hand and Blakey countered with a massive left hook that cracked Dos Santos in the jaw and knocked here completely out, and Sheila Blakey had defied the oddsmakers and rebounded from the first loss of her career in stunning fashion. Blakey noted her status as the heavy underdog in her post-fight interview, with Blakey saying that her underdog status was a source great motivation for her and she was delighted to have proven the oddsmakers wrong. Result: Sheila Blakey beat Zarah Fairn Dos Santos by knockout (punch) in 4:17 of Round 1 <img alt="FRL7ZpH.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/FRL7ZpH.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="CptHRMv.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CptHRMv.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Middleweight: Israel Adesanya (#4, 20-1) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (#12, 17-6, 1NC) It was major rematch in the middleweight division with the former divisional kingpin, Israel Adesanya, returning to action after losing his middleweight title to Darren Till earlier in the year. And he would be facing a familiar foe in the form of Kelvin Gastelum, the two men having met in one of the greatest middleweight fights in UFC history at UFC 236, a fight that saw Adesanya beat Gastelum by unanimous decision to claim the interim version of the middleweight title. Gastelum was coming into this rematch on the back of a loss to Ronaldo Souza, and a win over his old rival would be more than enough to re-establish him in a very crowded division, one whose top ten was filled with potential contenders for the middleweight championship. The fight saw Adesanya not touch gloves, which got a negative reaction from the fans, and Gastelum seemed very unsurprised by this move. Both men came forward, both landing, with Gastelum nailing a left cross and Adesanya delivering a good right hand. Adesanya and Gastelum continued to engage, trading strikes; Adesanya dodged a left hand, and drilled Gastelum with a massive right hook to the jaw that floored his opponent. Sensing his time was now, Adesanya jumped on Gastelum and pounded on his hapless foe, Adesanya landing some sickeningly heavy shots to the face of Gastelum, and, after giving Gastelum every chance to escape, the referee pulled Adesanya away, and the former middleweight champion had showed that he was still a dangerous threat to the entire division and, perhaps more importantly, had likely put him in prime position for a title shot. Adesanya had some strong words in his post-fight interview, with Adesanya saying it was hard to get fights because everyone was scared of him. Adesanya then called for a fight with Robert Whittaker. Result: ‘The Last Style Bender’ Israel Adesanya beat Kelvin Gastelum by TKO due to strikes in 1:22 of Round 1 <img alt="PEFSwXQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/PEFSwXQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="xdxj0tq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xdxj0tq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Featherweight: Chan Sung Jung (#8, 17-6) vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov (#4, 20-2) This featherweight contest saw Magomedsharipov continuing his return up the ladder after a stunningly quick loss to the then-former champion Max Holloway at UFC 249; Magomedsharipov had been finished in under a minute by Holloway, but since then had dispatched Brian Ortega and Frankie Edgar, and a win over the former champion Jung could put Magomedsharipov in line for a title shot and the chance to avenge his most recent loss. For Jung, he was coming off losing the featherweight title to Max Holloway, so he too needed a win, to keep himself in title contention, and a win for Jung, and a decisive one, could see him facing the winner of the main event. The first round saw Magomedsharipov somehow managing to outbox Jung, the forward, relentless pressure seemingly throwing Jung off his game, as Magomedsharipov showed no fear in moving forward and taking the fight to the Korean Zombie. And it wasn’t as if Jung wasn’t landing on Magomedsharipov; it was just that Magomedsharipov was having the round of his life, outstriking and outworking Jung, and, when the round ended, it was clear that the corner of the Korean Zombie needed to change things up. In the second round, Magomedsharipov continued to be aggressive but at a slower pace, Magomedsharipov perhaps wanting to conserve energy in case the fight went to the third round. Jung was still on the backfoot though, and it was as if he couldn’t find a way to counter Magomedsharipov’s approach; he was always a step or two behind his opponent, Jung appearing to having a very off night as Magomedsharipov was consistently tagging him and avoiding Jung’s strikes, and, when the round ended, it was clear that Magomedsharipov had the fight in the bag and that the Korean Zombie desperately needed to find a finish. The third round was more of the same as the first two rounds, with Magomedsharipov outstriking Jung and dominating the action. It was clear as the round progressed that, although Jung was obviously not performing well, Magomedsharipov was having the fight of his life, perhaps keenly aware of what he could gain with a victory. Even with Magomedsharipov looking shattered in the final minutes of the fight, he still had enough to keep Jung pressed against the fence, Magomedsharipov able to ride out the round, and, when the fight was over, there was only ever going to be one winner. Result: Zabit Magomedsharipov beat ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 and 30-27) <img alt="2kPEEeJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2kPEEeJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="6kqVEo7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6kqVEo7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (#1, 21-3) vs. Montana de la Rosa (#2, 14-5) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship The time had come for our first title fight of the evening, a fight that would see the dominant and destructive UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko defend her title against the top ranked contender Montana de la Rosa. Montana was on a three-fight winning streak, with all three victories coming inside the distance, and it was a run that included a first-round submission victory over the champion’s sister, Antonina. De La Rosa was in top form, undoubtedly the best of her career, and she would have to be at, not just her best but her absolutely best if she wanted to unseat a champion who was in the midst of a title reign that seems destined to go down as legendary. For her part, de la Rosa seemed composed as she made her walk-out and it appeared that any fears she might have, fears that would be perfectly understandable, were being kept in-check and de la Rosa remained calm as she conferred with her corner ahead of the biggest fight of her life. Valentina Shevchenko looked as stern and as all-business as ever as she made her way to the octagon, the champion always in that mindset of taking her reign seriously, and it was a mindset that had led her to a title reign that included one of the greatest and one of the most terrifying knockouts in combat sports history, her infamous head kick knockout of Jessica Eye. A touch of gloves started things off before both women got down to the serious business of combat. De La Rosa tried to get in close to the champion, a wise move given the dangerous striking of Shevchenko, but Shevchenko was able to keep the challenger at a distance. Shevchenko pressed forward, and de la Rosa was quick to move out of range, perhaps looking to make the champion exert herself early and wear her down for the later rounds. In any event, it didn’t take long for Shevchenko to start landing, the champion nailing the challenger with a series of four quick punches and a left head kick. Before she could respond, de la Rosa found herself taking more quick punches and then a left to the body; Shevchenko quickly followed up with another combination, but instead of finishing off with a body shot, Shevchenko corked de la Rosa with a beautiful left uppercut, the challenger dropping to the mat. Shevchenko was on her opponent quickly, laying into her with a series of heavy shots, each one just as heavy as the one before; de la Rosa was taking a serious beating, and the referee hurriedly moved in to pull the champion away, and Valentina Shevchenko had delivered the expected beating, the expected brutal finish, and she had made the sixth defence of the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship in a fight that was (not) stunningly one-sided. Result: Valentina ‘The Bullet’ Shevchenko beat Montana de la Rosa by TKO due to strikes in 2:44 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship <img alt="aW2ke8a.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/aW2ke8a.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="7fjT0cX.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7fjT0cX.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> UFC Featherweight Champion: Max Holloway © (#1, 23-5) vs. Yair Rodriguez (#3, 15-2) for the UFC Featherweight Championship Finally, the main event of the evening had arrived, and the fight that the fans in the arena had been waiting for most of all was upon us. The home hero, the two-time UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway would defend his title, in his first fight in his home state, against the number one contender, Yair Rodriguez. Rodriguez got a mixed reaction coming out, which wasn’t a surprise given who he was facing; it wasn’t that there were fans who really hated Rodriguez, more that they hated the fact that was taking on their favourite and trying to take the featherweight championship away from him. Holloway got a superstar reaction coming out, the Hawaii faithful giving their own the kind of welcome that you knew he was going to get, and the champion couldn’t help but smile at the reception he was getting. The first round opened up with a short feeling out period before Holloway went for a right hook that Rodriguez avoided and countered with a left jab, although Holloway was able to parry away a kick to the body. Holloway fired off a combination and then a low kick, which Rodriguez checked with ease. Rodriguez then pressed forward, looking to take the fight to the champion, but Holloway showed great footwork by almost dancing out of the way of the punches, the champion slickly avoiding the punches Rodriguez was throwing. The fighters came together again, both throwing, with Rodriguez landing a left kick to the body, Rodriguez then threw a great looking right cross...but Holloway avoided it and countered with a left jab and a vicious right cross of his own and Rodriguez struggled to stay on his feet before his legs betrayed him and he dropped to the canvas. The fans erupted into raucous cheers as Holloway knelt beside the fallen challenger and began delivering a series of hammerfists in rapid fashion; Rodriguez was taking shot after shot to the face, showing no sign of defending himself, and the referee jumped in to stop the fight, and the fans exploded as their home favourite, the Hawaiian hero, had delivered a first-round finish to retain the UFC Featherweight Championship. Result: ‘Blessed’ Max Holloway beat Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez by TKO due to strikes in 2:39 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Featherweight Championship Post-Fight Bonuses Fight of the Night: Max Holloway © vs. Yair Rodriguez Performance of the Night: Sheila Blakey Knockout of the Night: Anthony Johnson Submission of the Night: n/a Predictions CageRage: (13/15) CageRage (Overall(: (229/373; 61.39%) McDojoDelux: (12/15) McDojoDelux (Overall): (46/74; 62.16%) <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50712" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>From the author: Well done to CageRage for correctly predicting all five main card fights.</div></blockquote></div>

Fantabulous · July 11, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 4 of May 2021

Fantabulous · July 12, 2021

UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line at UFC 264

UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line at UFC 264; Derrick Lewis to defend against Curtis Blaydes at Battle of the Bruisers

Saturday of Week 4 of May 2021

UFC 264, a show titled Battle of the Bruisers, will have a main event worthy of that name when UFC Heavyweight Champion Derrick Lewis makes the first defence of his title against Curtis Blaydes.

Lewis won the UFC Heavyweight Championship back at UFC 257 in December with third round knockout of Stipe Miocic, and now he puts that heavyweight title on the line against an opponent who is not only on a winning streak, but whose last win was a stunning 11-second knockout. Derrick Lewis has some of the heaviest hands in the heavyweight division, but Curtis Blaydes has also proven himself to be a knockout artist, so who will come out on top when these two hard-hitting bruisers collide over the UFC Heavyweight Championship?

The co-main event also sees a first time title defence when Darren Till puts the UFC Middleweight Championship on the line against former champion Robert Whittaker. Till stunned the MMA world when he stopped the seemingly unbeatable Israel Adesanya at UFC 258, a victory that was achieved in front of his home fans. But Till’s first title defence is no easy task, with Robert Whittaker looking to regain the title that he proudly held before losing it to Adesanya at UFC 243.

Tony Ferguson returns to action in his first fight since losing the UFC Lightweight Championship, and he’ll be facing Renato Carneiro, who is coming off back-to-back wins against Clay Guida and Carlos Diego Ferreira. Lucie Pudilova will be trying to maintain her winning ways since returning to the UFC as she takes on the submission specialist Gillian Robertson.

And the main card kicks off with a light heavyweight encounter between Stephan Puetz and Saparbek Safarov.

A heavy-handed main event headlines a huge event, with a great preliminary card, that will hit New Jersey on Saturday, Week 4 of July.

UFC 264: The Battle of the Bruisers

Main Card

UFC Heavyweight Champion: Derrick Lewis © (#1, 25-7, 1NC) vs. Curtis Blaydes (#2, 16-3, 1NC) for the UFC Heavyweight Championship

UFC Middleweight Champion: Darren Till © (#1, 21-2-1) vs. Robert Whittaker (#2, 21-6) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

Lightweight: Renato Carneiro (#8, 16-4-1) vs. Tony Ferguson (#6, 26-4)

Women’s Flyweight: Lucie Pudilova (#11, 12-6) vs. Gillian Robertson (#10, 8-5-1)

Light Heavyweight: Stephan Puetz (20-4) vs. Saparbek Safarov (11-4)

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Maurice Greene (#25, 10-5) vs. Justin Tafa (6-1)

Middleweight: Oskar Piechota (#24, 13-3-1, 1NC) vs. Bradley Scott (13-6)

Women’s Featherweight: Norma Dumont (#14, 5-2) vs. Sadbh Kuehn (#22, 10-2)

Women’s Bantamweight: Sarah Kaufman (#10, 25-5, 1NC) vs. Raquel Pennington (#5, 12-9)

Women’s Strawweight: Emily Whitmire (#19, 4-5) vs. Ashley Yodeer (7-7)

Welterweight: Max Griffin (#23, 16-8) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1)

Heavyweight: Ilir Latifi (15-9, 1NC) vs. Salimgirey Rasulov (20-7)

Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz (#15, 19-6, 1NC) vs. Jimmie Rivera (22-6)

Bantamweight: Darrion Caldwell (#23, 18-3) vs. Montel Jackson (#14, 10-2)

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#18, 14-6) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (17-8-1)

CageRage · July 12, 2021

UFC 264: The Battle of the Bruisers

Main Card

UFC Heavyweight Champion: Derrick Lewis © (#1, 25-7, 1NC) vs. Curtis Blaydes (#2, 16-3, 1NC) for the UFC Heavyweight Championship

UFC Middleweight Champion: Darren Till © (#1, 21-2-1) vs. Robert Whittaker (#2, 21-6) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

Lightweight: Renato Carneiro (#8, 16-4-1) vs. Tony Ferguson (#6, 26-4)

Women’s Flyweight: Lucie Pudilova (#11, 12-6) vs. Gillian Robertson (#10, 8-5-1)

Light Heavyweight: Stephan Puetz (20-4) vs. Saparbek Safarov (11-4)

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Maurice Greene (#25, 10-5) vs. Justin Tafa (6-1)

Middleweight: Oskar Piechota (#24, 13-3-1, 1NC) vs. Bradley Scott (13-6)

Women’s Featherweight: Norma Dumont (#14, 5-2) vs. Sadbh Kuehn (#22, 10-2)

Women’s Bantamweight: Sarah Kaufman (#10, 25-5, 1NC) vs. Raquel Pennington (#5, 12-9)

Women’s Strawweight: Emily Whitmire (#19, 4-5) vs. Ashley Yodeer (7-7)

Welterweight: Max Griffin (#23, 16-8) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1)

Heavyweight: Ilir Latifi (15-9, 1NC) vs. Salimgirey Rasulov (20-7)

Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz (#15, 19-6, 1NC) vs. Jimmie Rivera (22-6)

Bantamweight: Darrion Caldwell (#23, 18-3) vs. Montel Jackson (#14, 10-2)

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#18, 14-6) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (17-8-1)

Fantabulous · July 14, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 4 of May 2021

Monday of Week 1 of June 2021

Tuesday of Week 1 of June 2021

Fantabulous · July 16, 2021

News Blast + preview of UFC Fight Night on HBO 3

Wednesday of Week 1 of June 2021

Thursday of Week 1 of June 202

Friday of Week 1 of June 2021

From the author: UFC Fight Night on HBO 3 will be posted tomorrow night, with a main event that will see bitter rivals Ben Askren and Vicente Luque collide. They’ve been exchanging insults for months, but tomorrow night is when they finally get to the chance to settle their feud. The co-main event sees Leon Edwards in the highest profile fight of his career when he takes on former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. Joanne Calderwood faces late replacement Shana Dobson, and Felicia Spencer takes on the hottest rising female featherweight in the sport today, Riley Spooner. Here is a rundown of the card for predictions, comment, etc;

UFC Fight Night on HBO 3: Askren vs. Luque

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#4, 21-2, 1NC) vs. Vicente Luque (#5, 20-7-1)
Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#3, 20-4) vs. Robbie Lawler (#10, 29-15, 1NC)
Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#5, 15-5) vs. Shana Dobson (#25, 6-5)
Women’s Flyweight: Felicia Spencer (#1, 13-2) vs. Riley Spooner (#10, 10-0)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Istela Nunes (8-2, 1NC) vs. Tina Lahdemaki (6-2)
Heavyweight: Jair Rozenstruik (#12, 11-2) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#9, 9-4)
Flyweight: Joseph Morales (#8, 13-2) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (#10, 14-4)
Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (14-4) vs. Andrea Lee (12-5)

CageRage · July 16, 2021

UFC Fight Night on HBO 3: Askren vs. Luque

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#4, 21-2, 1NC) vs. Vicente Luque (#5, 20-7-1)

Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#3, 20-4) vs. Robbie Lawler (#10, 29-15, 1NC)

Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#5, 15-5) vs. Shana Dobson (#25, 6-5)

Women’s Flyweight: Felicia Spencer (#1, 13-2) vs. Riley Spooner (#10, 10-0)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Istela Nunes (8-2, 1NC) vs. Tina Lahdemaki (6-2)

Heavyweight: Jair Rozenstruik (#12, 11-2) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#9, 9-4)

Flyweight: Joseph Morales (#8, 13-2) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (#10, 14-4)

Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (14-4) vs. Andrea Lee (12-5)

Fantabulous · July 17, 2021

UFC Fight Night on HBO 3: Askren vs. Luque

UFC Fight Night on HBO 3: Askren vs. Luque

Date: Saturday of Week 1 of June 2021 Location: Minnesota

Attendance: 7,104 Gate: $1,562,880

Critical Rating: 60% Commercial Rating: 88%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy

Preliminary Card

Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (14-4) vs. Andrea Lee (12-5)

The night’s action got off to a good start with this fight, with Andrea Lee, who was a minor underdog, using a hit-and-ring strategy to keep Katlyn Chookagian off her game throughout the duration of this contest. It wasn’t always exciting it has to be said; the first round wasn’t particularly well received by the fans, even with Chookagian getting dropped. But things picked up as the fight went on, with Chookagian getting rocked and bloodied up in the second round, and then getting rocked and dropped in the third.

It was a great performance by Lee, who earned herself a unanimous decision victory and put herself in good stead to shoot up the rankings.

Result: Andrea ‘KGB’ Lee beat ‘Blonde Fighter’ Katlyn Chookagian by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Flyweight: Joseph Morales (#8, 13-2) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (#10, 14-4)

This fight was a great ground-based battle with Morales dominating Zhumagulov with a strong ground game, Morales giving his opponent little chance to get into the fight. Whether it was ground-and-pound, submission attempts, or basic smothering, Morales was in complete control of the fight before finally getting the finish late in the third round with a north-south choke.

Result: Joseph ‘Bopo’ Morales beat Zhalgas ‘Zhako’ Zhumagulov by submission due to a north-south choke in 3:09 of Round 3

Heavyweight: Jair Rozenstruik (#12, 11-2) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#9, 9-4)

Tuivasa actually stepped into the cage with a big size advantage, such was his ability to cut weight, and it didn’t take him long to put that size to devastatingly effective use, Tuivasa dropping Rozenstruik just over a minute into the fight with a wicked uppercut; Tuivasa then pounded Rozenstruik out to get the TKO win.

Result: Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa beat Jair ‘Bigi Boy’ Rozenstruik by TKO due to strikes in 1:31 of Round 1

Women’s Strawweight: Istela Nunes (8-2, 1NC) vs. Tina Lahdemaki (6-2)

The preliminary action was capped off with the easy winner of the Fight of the Night award, a fantastic contest in the women’s strawweight division.

Such was the intensity of the action that Nunes had busted Lahdemaki open in little over a minute, Nunes landing a nice right high kick that opened up a cut just above the eye of Lahdemaki. The action for the rest of the round remained in that intense vein, both women coming forward and looking to put serous pressure on the other. By the end of the round, both Nunes and Lahdemaki had exchanged a large number of punches and kicks, and Lahdemaki still had that cut to deal with.

In the second round, Lahdemaki, after taking more kicks from Nunes, tried to clinch up with her opponent and Lahdemaki was able to press Nunes back up against the cage, keeping her smothered there before taking her down with a great leg trip. Lahdemaki was able to control Nunes on the ground for the rest of the round, Lahdemaki even able to use Nunes’ attempt to scramble free to take side-control, and the round ended with the result of the fight hanging in the balance.

Mindful of how the second round had gone, Nunes opened up and fast and she caught an unsuspecting Lahdemaki with a superb right head kick almost right away. Lahdemaki was dropped hard and Nunes pounced on her dazed opponent, laying into her with a series of powerful shots that had the referee wasting little time before pulling Nunes away, bringing this thrilling contest to an end.

In her post-fight interview, Nunes called the fight a fantastic war and she said that it was fights like this that make people fans of MMA.

Result: Istela Nunes beat Tina ‘Jelly Bean’ Lahdemaki by TKO due to strikes in 0:42 of Round 3

Main Card

Women’s Flyweight: Felicia Spencer (#1, 13-2) vs. Riley Spooner (#10, 10-0)

The HBO action kicked off with a the much-heralded Riley Spooner, who was outspoken about wanting to face high-profile opposition, facing the toughest test of her career as she took on the former title challenger Felicia Spencer. Spencer, a massive -730 favourite against the +580 Spooner, had taken Amanda Nunes to five rounds and came into this fight with the expectation of showing just where Spooner stood, and whether the hype surrounding her, a lot of it created by Spooner herself, was justified.

Well, any questions about Spooner were answered in emphatic fashion when Spooner blasted Spencer with a massive right head kick just seconds into the fight and Spencer hit the mat like a sack of potatoes; Spencer was out cold, completely unconscious, and Riley Spooner had ended this fight in only 19 seconds!

The fans went crazy at this outcome, standing and cheering wildly, and a jubilant Spooner celebrated with her corner, who seemed just as surprised as everyone else at how this fight had turned out.

As was her custom, Spooner, who exuded every quality of superstardom, was very braggadocios in her post-fight interview, ‘Eternity’ bragging about causing the upset, with Spooner believing that Spencer, like everyone else, had underestimated her.

Result: ‘Eternity’ Riley Spooner beat Felicia ‘FeeNom’ Spencer by knockout (kick) in 0:19 of Round 1

Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#5, 15-5) vs. Shana Dobson (#25, 6-5)

Shana Dobson was coming into this fight on just under three weeks’ notice, replacing an injured Mara Romero Borella, and it was clear from the expression on her face during her walk-in that Dobson intended to make the most of this opportunity. For her part, Joanna Calderwood looked as composed as ever, so it didn’t appear that the change in opponent had affected her preparations at all.

The first round opened up with Dobson coming forward somewhat aggressively and the commentary wondered if she was going to try and go for the finish early given that she might not have the stamina to go for a hard three rounds. Whatever Dobson’s motivation, Calderwood came forward just as heavily, and both women were landing some pretty heavy blows, although nothing that could seem to give their opponent pause for thought.

However, in the dying seconds of the round, Calderwood was left wide open to a counter from Dobson, who drilled Calderwood with a powerful straight right that floored the Scotswoman. Dobson moved in for the kill, desperately trying to get the finish before the round ended, but Calderwood was able hold on and survive the round.

Calderwood came out for the second round looking as relaxed as ever, so if that turn of events at the end of the first round was affecting her, it wasn’t obvious. The second round itself was as competitive as the first, with the action very even, but it was only few minutes in that we started to see Dobson possibly showing effects of a shortened training camp, with ‘Danger’ starting to breathe a little heavier. Calderwood started to press forward in an attempt to take advantage of what seemed to be a tiring opponent, but Dobson, despite her apparent tiredness, stood firm and was able to match Calderwood blow-for-blow, and heading into the third round, it seemed like the fight was still wide open.

Calderwood came out aggressively in the third round, possibly wanting to push the pace hard and tire Dobson out and try and get a finish. Calderwood was starting to slow a little herself, but she still had plenty left, enough to take Dobson, who was starting to look like she was almost out of gas, down to the mat with a trip takedown.

Ending up in side-control, Calderwood began working for a kimura, but Dobson was somehow able to block the hold from being applied; Dobson then tried to sweep Calderwood off of her but Calderwood remained firmly in control of her opponent. Calderwood tried for an arm triangle, but again Dobson blocked it and tried to sweep Calderwood, but Calderwood was ready for this move and took Dobson’s back, the Scotswoman then furiously trying to lock in a rear naked choke, but Dobson, despite now being near the point of total exhaustion, still managed to fend off Calderwood until the round ended and, when the buzzer went off and the fight was over, Dobson was rapidly gasping for breath, ‘Danger’ having pushed herself just about a far as she could go.

And that supreme effort would all be worth it, when the judges’ scores were announced and Dobson had earned herself a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.

Result: Shana ‘Danger’ Dobson beat Joanne ‘JoJo’ Calderwood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 30-27)

Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#3, 20-4) vs. Robbie Lawler (#10, 29-15, 1NC)

Next up was the co-main event as rising British welterweight Leon Edwards faced the biggest name, and perhaps toughest test of his career, the former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. Edwards was coming into this fight off the back of wins over the tough twosome of James Krause and Dong Hyun Kim, while Lawler was hoping to rebound after falling to Ben Askren in a rematch of their controversial first meeting.

The first round saw Lawler open up with his usual style of coming forward and pressuring his opponent, but Edwards was equal to the task, able to use head movement and footwork to avoid a lot of Lawler’s offense. There was a brief pause in the action a couple of minutes in when Edwards suffered an accidental eye poke, and when the action resumed, Edwards was able to soon get back into the swing of things and resume control of the fight.

The second round told a similar story, with Edwards simply being too fast and quick for Lawler to be particularly effective with his offense, a situation not helped by Lawler noticeably slowing down and breathing heavily at the mid-point of the round, by which point Edwards had been able to open up a cut above the eye of Lawler. As the round went on, Edwards managed to get Lawler down to the mat and he was able to keep Lawler smothered, wearing him down even more, although near the end of the round Edwards was himself starting breathe a little deeper.

Although both fighters were slowing down, Lawler was slowing down more, and it left him a little more prone to missing his punches and getting countered by Edwards. Yet Lawler was still landing enough to keep Edwards on his toes, the Brit still having to put in a shift to stay ahead of the wily welterweight veteran. By the half-way mark of the third round, Lawler seemed to have hit the wall and was looking rather ragged, something Edwards, who was himself slowing down a tad, took advantage of to slow the fight down by getting hold of Lawler and keeping him pressed against the cage.

Lawler took a few short shots before eventually working his way free, but he was too slow to do much for what remained of the round and Edwards was both weary and wary, and he was content to wait the round out, staying at a distance and the round ended with a smattering applause.

Edwards dominance of Lawler was reflected in the scoring, with two judges giving him a 10-8 round, as he easily won the decision. In his post-fight interview, Edwards declared an interest in fighting Colby Covington.

Result: Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards beat ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26 and 30-27)

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#4, 21-2, 1NC) vs. Vicente Luque (#5, 20-7-1)

The main event was next, a grudge fight between Ben Askren and Vicente Luque that had been a long-time coming. Askren had spent many months riling Luque up through various forms of media, which Luque had responded to with some biting comments of his own and the time had come for these two men to finally settled their feud.

It was not a shock that there was no touch of the gloves, nor that Askren immediately took the fight to the ground, Askren taking Luque down with surprising ease. Askren tried to pass to side-control but Luque was ready for this and scrambled free and the fight was back standing. Luque wasn’t able to keep Askren at bay for long before he was taken back down, this time by way of a single leg, and Askren spent the next three minutes doing just enough to keep from being stood up, in what had become his usual strategy since his return to competition; it was effective, but it didn’t make for a barnburner. The referee eventually stood them up but it was right at the end of the round.

The second round opened up like the first, with Askren going for a quick takedown; Luque tried to catch Askren in a guillotine, and succeeded, but Askren was able to survive the hold for long enough that Luque gave up on the hold, and it was speculated by the commentary team if Luque had gassed his arms.

Askren spent the next couple of minutes sticking to his tried and tested gameplan of smothering Luque on the ground and hitting the occasional punch. As before, they were eventually stood up, and there was just enough tie left for Luque to take a swing at Askren, a swing which was ducked and allowed Askren to take Luque back down.

Luque actually landed a right hook on Askren early in the third, but Askren responded with a takedown, and if you can’t guess what Askren did next, then you’ve not been paying attention. As before, they were eventually stood up and, also as before, it was right near the end of the round, but this time Luque was able to land a series of quick punches, and then a right hand, before the round ended, in the most significant blows of the fight so far.

Luque was finally able to keep Askren at bay in the fourth round, catching him with a crunching right hook and keeping Askren at a distance with good jabs. But Askren was relentless and was able to get a hold of Luque’s leg and press him back up against the cage. The action slowed, unsurprisingly, with Askren playing it safe and keeping Luque right where he was. The referee performed his familiar act of separating the two, but Askren went right back for the leg of Luque, Askren again getting a hold of it and pressing Luque back up against the fence for the rest of the round.

In between rounds, Luque’s corner was pumping him up, getting him fired up and letting him know that he needed a finish if he wanted to win this fight.

But there was no stopping the relentless takedowns of Ben Askren and Luque was soon on his back and having to pull guard. As Askren kept him smothered on the ground, Luque tried to grab the arm of Askren to begin working for a submission, possibly a kimura, but Askren was wise to this and blocked the attempt.

The action followed its familiar pattern of slowing down and the referee eventually ordering a stand-up; Luque landed some good strikes on Askren, and the fans roared into life, but Luque went for a kick and Askren caught his leg, Askren then taking Luque down and holding him in place for what little remained of the round.

Although not particularly crowd pleasing, Ben Askren’s strategy was highly effective when it came to the judging, with all three judges giving him the fight, two of them giving him scores of 49-46.

Result: ‘Funky’ Ben Askren beat Vicente ‘Silent Assassin’ Luque by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47 and 49-46)

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Istela Nunes vs. Tina Lahdemaki

Performance of the Night: Leon Edwards

Knockout of the Night: Riley Spooner

Submission of the Night: Joseph Morales

Predicitons

CageRage: (3/8)

CageRage (Overall(: (232/381; 60.89%)

Fantabulous · July 18, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 1 of June 2021

Fantabulous · July 20, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 1 of June 2021

Marcos Rogerio de Lima will now face Blagoy Ivanov

Raulian Pavia will now face Tyson Nam

Sunday of Week 1 of June 2021

Monday of Week 2 of June 2021

Tuesday of Week 2 of June 2021

Fantabulous · July 22, 2021

News Blast

<div style="text-align:center;">Wednesday of Week 2 of June 2021

<img alt="6hIoKmz.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6hIoKmz.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="4IHLtM7.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/4IHLtM7.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

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Thursday of Week 2 of June 2021

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Friday of Week 2 of June 2021

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Fantabulous · July 24, 2021

Gunnar Nelson and Mike Perry headline UFC Fight Night 189

Gunnar Nelson and Mike Perry headline UFC Fight Night 189

Saturday, Week 2 of June 2021

Home of ‘The Valleys’, Wales becomes the home of the UFC when the Octagon travels overseas for a Fight Night card that will be headlined by a high-profile welterweight clash between Gunnar Nelson and Mike Perry.

Nelson enters this fight off back-to-back victories, over Nicolas Dalby and Rafael dos Anjos, while Perry is also coming in with back-to-back victories; his come over Jack Marshman and Neil Magny. A victory for either man would give them great momentum in a loaded division and would surely vault them into more high-profile fights, pushing them further up the ladder.

In the co-main event, Brett Johns competes in front of his countrymen for the first time in seven years as he looks to continue his sensational run in the bantamweight division, but he faces the toughest test of his career to date as he’ll be facing Cory Sandhagen, whose most recent fight saw him avenge his loss to Aljamain Sterling, and Sandhagen will be looking to spoil the homecoming of Johns and keep rising up the bantamweight division.

Ground specialist Omari Akhmedov takes on the lethal striking of Uriah Hall, Jessica Eye faces Wu Yanan, and the main card kicks off with a hell of a bang as top female strawweights Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill collide in a fight that could easily steel Fight of the Night honours.

This night of stellar action, which includes a great undercard, hits Wales on Saturday of Week 2 of August.

UFC Fight Night 189: Nelson vs. Perry

Main Card

Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson (#12, 19-6-1) vs. Mike Perry (#14, 15-7)

Bantamweight: Brett Johns (#5, 20-2) vs. Corey Sandhagen (#3, 14-2)

Middleweight: Omari Akhmedov (#19, 21-6-1) vs. Uriah Hall (#17, 16-11)

Women’s Flyweight: Jessica Eye (#3, 17-8, 1NC) vs. Wu Yanan (#12, 13-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Claudia Gadelha (#12, 18-6) vs. Angela Hill (#14, 14-8)

Preliminary Card

Lightweight: Marc Diakiese (#25, 16-3) vs. David Teymur (#21, 9-2)

Women’s Strawweight: Amanda Bobby Cooper (4-7) vs. Bec Rawlings (9-11)

Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Macedo (6-5-1) vs. Talia Santos (#25, 15-3)

Flyweight: Askar Askarov (#17, 12-2-1) vs. Ryan Benoit (#19, 10-8)

Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili (10-6) vs. Marlon Moraes (#21, 23-8-1)

Featherweight: Alex Caceras (15-13, 1NC) vs. Eduardo Garagorri (13-2)

Featherweight: Josh Emmett (#16, 15-4) vs. Kyle Nelson (13-4)

Lightweight: Joseph Duffy (16-5) vs. Rustam Khabilov (25-6)

Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-1, 1NC) vs. Danny Roberts (17-7)

Light Heavyweight: Eryk Anders (13-6) vs. Devin Clark (11-6)

Fantabulous · July 27, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 2 of June 2021

Sunday of Week 2 of June 2021

Bartosz Fabinski will replace Marshman against Gilbert Burns.

Monday of Week 3 of June 2021

Tuesday of Week 3 of June 2021

Austin Lingo has been removed from the UFC Fight Night 187 card as there is no time to find a new opponent.

Fantabulous · July 30, 2021

News Blast + Preview of UFC Fight Night 187

Wednesday Week 3 of June 2021

Thursday of Week 3 of June 2021

Friday of Week 3 of June 2021

From the author: UFC Fight Ngiht 187 will be posted tomorrow night, with a main event of Rose Namajunas taking on Michelle Waterson. In the co-main event, Raphael Assunção faces Petr Yan, who is replacing an injured T.J. Dillashaw. Here is a rundown of the card for predictions, comment, etc;

UFC Fight Night 187: Namajunas vs. Waterson II

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Rose Namajunas (#3, 10-5) vs. Michelle Waterson (#4, 18-7)
Bantamweight: Raphael Assunção (#8, 28-8) vs. Petr Yan(#6, 16-3)
Women’s Strawweight: Cortney Casey (#6, 10-7) vs. Yan Xiaonan (#8, 13-2, 1NC)
Heavyweight: August Sakai (#14, 15-2-1) vs. Linton Vassell (#5, 22-8, 1NC)
Women’s Bantamweight: Pannie Kianzad (#14, 15-6) vs. Ketlen Vieira (#8, 12-2)[/i
Middleweight: Krzysztof Jotko (22-5) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (11-0)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (#20, 13-5) vs. Tecia Torres (#17, 11-6)
Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#21, 8-2) vs. Karol Rosa (#23, 12-4)
Heavyweight: Jarjis Danho (5-2-1, 1NC) vs. Yorgan de Castro (6-2)
Light Heavyweight: Jake Collier (11-5) vs. Ryan Spann (17-6, 1NC)
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (17-6-1) vs. Nathaniel Wood (18-4)
Welterweight: Court McGee (20-9) vs. Brandon Thatch (13-5)
Women’s Flyweight: Mariya Agapova (9-2) vs. Shanna Young (7-4)
Middleweight: Maurilo de Souza (10-4, 1NC) vs. Bevan Lewis (7-3)
Lightweight: Peter Barrett (12-3) vs. Roman Bogatov (11-0)

[/center]

CageRage · July 30, 2021

UFC Fight Night 187: Namajunas vs. Waterson II

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Rose Namajunas (#3, 10-5) vs. Michelle Waterson (#4, 18-7)

Bantamweight: Raphael Assunção (#8, 28-8) vs. Petr Yan(#6, 16-3)

Women’s Strawweight: Cortney Casey (#6, 10-7) vs. Yan Xiaonan (#8, 13-2, 1NC)

Heavyweight: August Sakai (#14, 15-2-1) vs. Linton Vassell (#5, 22-8, 1NC)

Women’s Bantamweight: Pannie Kianzad (#14, 15-6) vs. Ketlen Vieira (#8, 12-2)[/i

Middleweight: Krzysztof Jotko (22-5) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (11-0)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (#20, 13-5) vs. Tecia Torres (#17, 11-6)

Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#21, 8-2) vs. Karol Rosa (#23, 12-4)

Heavyweight: Jarjis Danho (5-2-1, 1NC) vs. Yorgan de Castro (6-2)

Light Heavyweight: Jake Collier (11-5) vs. Ryan Spann (17-6, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (17-6-1) vs. Nathaniel Wood (18-4)

Welterweight: Court McGee (20-9) vs. Brandon Thatch (13-5)

Women’s Flyweight: Mariya Agapova (9-2) vs. Shanna Young (7-4)

Middleweight: Maurilo de Souza (10-4, 1NC) vs. Bevan Lewis (7-3)

Lightweight: Peter Barrett (12-3) vs. Roman Bogatov (11-0)

Fantabulous · July 31, 2021

UFC Fight Night 187: Namajunas vs. Waterson II

<div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="vsaa7XB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vsaa7XB.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

UFC Fight Night 187: Namajunas vs. Waterson II

Date: Saturday of Week 3 of June 2021 Location: Oregon

Attendance: 4,762 Gate: $1,047,640

Critical Rating: 81% Commercial Rating: 75%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald

Preliminary Card

<img alt="ScbLDJc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ScbLDJc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Q2l6bUt.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Q2l6bUt.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Lightweight: Peter Barrett (12-3) vs. Roman Bogatov (11-0)

Bogatov opened up this fight with a bang, rocking Barrett almost right away and having him in trouble. Bogatov couldn’t get the finish, but his opening salvo did set the stage for a fight that Bogatov pretty much dominated, with Barrett’s only real success coming in the second round when he managed to open up Bogatov under the eye.

Bogatov’s post-fight interview saw him express a keen interest in fighting Brad Riddell.

Result: Roman Bogatov beat Peter 'Slippery Pete' Barrett by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="rZYMb1t.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rZYMb1t.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="37ItXAe.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/37ItXAe.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Maurilo de Souza (10-4, 1NC) vs. Bevan Lewis (7-3)

The debut of Maurilo de Souza was an entertaining affair, but, unfortunately for de Souza, it was one that he just couldn’t quite find his feet in until the third round. Before that point, it was a fight that Lewis was the better fighter in as he was too quick for de Souza to able to land anything of substance. de Souza finally landed something early in the third and Lewis was dazed and looking like he was only being held up by the cage, but Lewis somehow managed to hang in there, surviving the danger and threatening de Souza with takedowns for the rest of the round, giving de Souza no chance to land anything again.

Result: Bevon 'The Extraordinary Gentleman' Lewis beat Maurilio 'Touro' de Souza by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="z0iHKal.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/z0iHKal.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="oQaLKwG.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oQaLKwG.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Flyweight: Mariya Agapova (9-2) vs. Shanna Young (7-4)

Mariya Agapova was a replacement for Hannah Goldy and she made the most of her opportunity in this tightly contested affair. Both women brought the fight to the other throughout, in what was something of a kickboxing contest. Agapova busted Young open, above the eye in the second round, which the cutman was working hard to close when the round was over.

The third was more of the same, although Agapova did start to slow down a little; Young tried to take her down but Agapova still had enough to thwart the attempt, and the fight remained standing for the rest of the round.

Despite the very competitive nature of the fight, Agapova not only won by unanimous decision, but she won all three rounds on all three scorecards.

Result: Mariya Agapova beat Shanna 'The Shanimal' Young by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="ql7HXPa.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ql7HXPa.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="znT0hGq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/znT0hGq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Welterweight: Court McGee (20-9) vs. Brandon Thatch (13-5)

Brandon Thatch had no easy task in his second fight back in the UFC as he took on the versatile and dangerous Court McGee. Yet Thatch started off fantastically well, dropping McGee almost immediately with a high right head kick, and, whilst McGee survived the follow up barrage, Thatch dominated him for the rest of the first round. The second round was more of the same in terms of Thatch dominating the action, with McGee having little in the way of success, leaving him in need of a finish heading into third round.

But despite his best efforts, McGee just could not get into the fight, Thatch lighting him up throughout with a number of kicks, of varying types. Thatch then dropped McGee with seconds to go; Thatch battered McGee for all he was worth, and, with just five seconds remaining, the referee pulled Thatch away and he had scored a dominant and decisive victory.

Result: Brandon 'Rukus' Thatch beat Court 'The Crusher' McGee by TKO due to strikes in 4:55 of Round 3

<img alt="598G13n.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/598G13n.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="rS1HYx6.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rS1HYx6.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (17-6-1) vs. Nathaniel Wood (18-4)

Any fan stuck in a queue at the concession stand missed this one with Nathaniel Wood cracking Marlon Vera with the first big punch of the fight, a right hook to the jaw after 27 seconds, and it was enough to render Vera completely unconscious.

Wood called out a big name in his post-fight interview, as he said he wanted to take on Brett Johns.

Result: Nathaniel 'The Prospect' Wood beat Marlon 'Chito' Vera by knockout (punch) in 0:23 of Round 1

<img alt="Y1Pp31n.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Y1Pp31n.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="rXJglqY.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rXJglqY.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Light Heavyweight: Jake Collier (11-5) vs. Ryan Spann (17-6, 1NC)

Jake Collier came into this fight with a noticeable weight edge over Ryan Spann but it did served him little use in a fight where Spann put in a great performance in outworking Collier throughout the first round, before drilling him with wicked right uppercut early in the second round, Spann then pounding Collier out and forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Result: Ryan 'Superman' Spann beat Jake Collier by TKO due to strikes in 0:57 of Round 2

<img alt="uyPI2zv.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uyPI2zv.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qybjXJc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qybjXJc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Heavyweight: Jarjis Danho (5-2-1, 1NC) vs. Yorgan de Castro (6-2)

The size advantage of Danho, one of at least 25lbs, was to prove a big advantage, aiding him in muscling de Castro to the ground in the first round, the submission skill of Danho enabling him work for a kimura, Danho then securing a tight submission and forcing the tap.

Result: Jarjis 'Man Mountain' Danho beat Yorgan De Castro by submission due to a kimura in 3:45 of Round 1

<img alt="bCniTuK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bCniTuK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Ti4Co6q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Ti4Co6q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#21, 8-2) vs. Karol Rosa (#23, 12-4)

Up next was a closely contested affair between two fighters looking to push up the ladder in the women’s bantamweight division. Cortez and Rosa exchanged a number of punches, whilst also displaying a sound defence, although that defensive display dampened the enthusiasm of the fans, who wanted to see some excitement; the only real high point of the first round was Rosa suffering a cut above the eye,

The action-heavy but excitement-light contest saw Rosa looking shattered by the end of the second round, a round she probably won with more precise striking. Cortez was able to take Rosa down early in the third round and she threatened Rosa with various submissions, but Rosa, despite her exhaustion, was able to fend them all off. With a minute left in the round, the referee stood the fighters up, but there was little to get excite about for the remainder of the fight.

The fight was close and the scoring was too, as it went to a split-decision, Cortez getting the nod, with two judges, not just giving her the fight, but giving her all three rounds.

Result: Tracy Cortez beat Karol Rosa by split decision (30-27, 30-27 and 28-29)

<img alt="fFGLmb2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/fFGLmb2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="xQkm3jW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xQkm3jW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (#20, 13-5) vs. Tecia Torres (#17, 11-6)

This was a great fight with a lot of hard-fought action throughout. Torres landed some nice shots early, and rocked Penne at the half-way mark of the first round; Torres then dropped her opponent and tried finishing her off, but Penne resisted, Penne also fending off several submission attempts that followed, and she saw out the round.

In the second round it was Torres who was dropped, and early on, with Penne landing a vicious right cross. In this instance, Penne followed up with ground control and attempted to submit Torres with various submissions, but Torres displayed stout defence to stay out of serious trouble. The referee stood both fighters up with a minute to go in the round, and the two women exchanged strikes for the rest of the round, neither landing anything of significance.

The third round saw both women looking to dominate, knowing that the outcome of the fight hinged on how the third round played out. And as the round progressed, it was Torres who began to look more in control, both evading Penne’s wilder strikes and landing some stinging strikes of her own, with Torres capping off her performance by ending the round with a great right hook.

The judges were unanimous in their scores, with all three of them giving scoring the fight 29-28 for Tecia Torres, who, in her post-fight interview, expressed her desire to fight Angela Hill.

Result: 'The Tiny Tornado' Tecia Torres beat Jessica Penne by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Main Card

<img alt="NTY4o6S.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NTY4o6S.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="pmaTmPb.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/pmaTmPb.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Krzysztof Jotko (22-5) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (11-0)

The main card was kicked off in grand fashion, a fantastic fight in the middleweight division between the dangerous Krzysztof Jotko and the unbeaten Rodolfo Vieira.

Vieira was noticeably bigger than Jotko in the cage, and the vaunted ground specialist was quick to put that size advantage to good use and took Jotko down with a single leg, Jotko having to hurriedly pull guard. Vieira tried to loosen the guard, perhaps with a submission in mind, but Jotko kept a tight guard, so the Brazilian tried to pass the guard of the Pole, but Jotko kept Vieira close to him. The stalemate was only broken when the referee ordered a stand-up; although there was less than thirty seconds to go, Vieira still had the time to take Jotko down, the submission ace putting his stamp on the first round.

The second round started more in favour of Jotko who was able to land some crunching blows on Vieira, the Brazilian now being put on the backfoot. Vieira eventually made his way past the punches of Jotko and he was able to get a hold of Jotko’s leg; Vieira tried to take Jotko down, but the best he could do was pushed his opponent back up against the cage.

Suddenly, Vieira swept Jotko down to the mat and he grabbed a kimura from side-control, where he’d ended up; Vieira had the hold tight and cranked down hard...but Jotko somehow popped his arm, despite the arm being bent at a gruesome angle. Vieira remained in side-control, but he couldn’t take the mount, Jotko keeping up the tight defence he’d maintained so far, and all Vieira could do for the rest of the round was pepper Jotko with short punches.

Vieira opened up the third round with an immediate takedown. Now in the guard, Vieira tried to pass it, and, despite Jotko’s best efforts, Vieira managed to take side-control. Yet Jotko was immediately trying to scramble free, but Vieira was able to get a hold of Jotko and put him back up against the cage. A great inside leg trip saw Jotko get taken down, Vieira once more back in the familiar position of the guard. Vieira tried to pass into side-control, which Jotko allowed in an attempt try and scramble free; Jotko’s gambled didn’t pay off and he was left turtled up, facing Vieira.

Vieira hurriedly grabbed hold of Jotko’s neck and worked his arms into position for the anaconda choke, which he quickly secured before rolling over to tighten the hold, and, with the hold on tight and his face looking anguished, Jotko frantically tapped out and Rodolfo Vieira had scored a big victory that not only raised his ranking but also maintained his unbeaten record.

Vieira was very happy to win, obviously, but he was also happy with the quality of the fight, which he called one of the best fights ever, one that he couldn’t wait to re-watch again.

Result: Rodolfo 'The Black Belt Hunter' Vieira beat Krzysztof Jotko by submission due to an anaconda choke in 2:58 of Round 3

<img alt="MP4kcaj.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/MP4kcaj.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="7NImXew.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7NImXew.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Bantamweight: Pannie Kianzad (#14, 15-6) vs. Ketlen Vieira (#8, 12-2)

The grappling of Ketlen Vieira was a problem that Pannie Kianzad simply could not solve, as it gave her trouble throughout this fight. Vieira was clinching and controlling, and sometimes throwing Kianzad with relative ease; Kianzad’s only defence at times was to grab the cage, an action which earned her a stiff rebuke from the referee. Kianzad was able to land some nice punches in the second round, so it wasn’t like she wasn’t without her shine, but this was a fight that Ketlen Vieira dominated; Kianzad almost saw the fight out, but a late flurry of ground-and-pound saw Vieira get the stoppage with just four seconds left in the third round.

After the fight, a very fired up Vieira called out the biggest superstar in the division, Ronda Rousey.

Result: Ketlen 'Fenomeno' Vieira beat Pannie 'Banzai' Kianzad by TKO due to strikes in 4:56 of Round 3

<img alt="AkT6ZXa.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/AkT6ZXa.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="xLd7H1b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xLd7H1b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Heavyweight: August Sakai (#14, 15-2-1) vs. Linton Vassell (#5, 22-8, 1NC)

The UFC run of Linton Vassell continued with a challenge here as he took an opponent in August Sakai who outweighed by a minimum of 25lbs. The battling Brit was able to avoid Sakai in the early going, Vassell very quickly able to clinch up with Sakai and keep him pressed up against the cage, Vassell working his opponent over with close-range punches, slowing wearing him down and forcing his opponent carry that larger frame

Eventually, Saki was able to wrestle his way free from Vassell’s grip, but Vassell almost immediately took Sakai back down with a well-timed takedown; a ground battle ensued, with Sakai scrambling to his feet, but Vassell took hold of Sakai from behind, forcing him against the fence. Vassell tried to start punching Sakai, but Sakai broke free, although the round ended before he could do anything else.

The second round saw Vassell clinched with Sakai early on, and, after some resistance, Vassell was able to take Sakai down with a leg sweep. Vassell easily transitioned to side-control, before working for an arm triangle; Sakai blocked that attempted submission, but he couldn’t block a kimura, and Vassell got the hold deep, cranking down hard and forcing Sakai to tap out, giving Vassell a 2-0 record in the UFC.

Result: Linton 'The Swarm' Vassell beat Augusto Sakai by submission due to a kimura in 2:43 of Round 2

<img alt="uOZqog7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uOZqog7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="8ySwyAn.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8ySwyAn.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Strawweight: Cortney Casey (#6, 10-7) vs. Yan Xiaonan (#8, 13-2, 1NC)

The next fight on deck was a great one, in the women’s strawweight division, with Cortney Casey and Yan Xiaonan duelling it out in something of a dogfight. Both Casey and Yan delivered and avoided a number of wild strikes, each woman seemingly determined to get a decisive finish and stamp their authority in an increasingly crowded division.

It was hard to separate the two over the course of the fight, the momentum ebbing and flowing, but, late in the second round, Casey finally landed big, rocking Yan with a powerful right hook, and it took some great defence from Yan to see out the round.

It was a reprieve that wasn’t to last too long, with Casey pressing hard in the third round, and, just a few minutes in, Casey landed a vicious right cross that left Yan a crumpled heap on the mat.

Result: Cortney 'Cast Iron' Casey beat Yan 'Fury' Xiaonan by knockout (punch) in 2:11 of Round 3

<img alt="CnEPzb7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CnEPzb7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="M4igxZv.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/M4igxZv.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Bantamweight: Raphael Assuncao (#8, 28-8) vs. Petr Yan(#6, 16-3)

The co-main event started off at the quick pace you’d expect out of the bantamweight division, in this case with Yan taking the fight to Assuncao early on. Assuncao responded by taking the fight to the ground, an area where it was expected he would have a big advantage. Yet Yan, whilst not able to counter the ground work of Assuanco, was able to neutralise it and keep Assuanco in his guard until the final stages of the round, but by then it was too late for Assuanco to do anything of note.

The second round saw Assuanco trying to quickly take the fight back to the ground, which he was eventually able to do, with Yan putting up a spirited defence. Assuanco dominated Yan on the ground, going for various submissions and even having Yan in serious trouble at one point, with a kimura that looked very tight, but Yan somehow escaped danger. The fight slowed down enough for the referee to order a stand-up, and whilst there wasn’t much time left, Assuanco was able to take Yan down once more, putting a real exclamation mark on the round.

Yan came out for the third round like a ball of fire, and he rocked Assuanco almost immediately with a straight right. With Assuanco backing up, Yan zeroed in for the kill, flooring Assuanco with a vicious head kick; with his opponent prone, Yan took his opportunity to go for the kill and he pounded away on Assuanco with some powerful shots. Assuanco was taking heavy blows, and, after giving him every chance to defend himself, the referee stepped in to call the fight off and Petr Yan had made the most of his opportunity and scored a major victory.

Result: Petr 'No Mercy' Yan beat Raphael Assuncao by TKO due to strikes in 0:43 of Round 3

<img alt="Qjpp775.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Qjpp775.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="jd3Ws5b.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/jd3Ws5b.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QK8bCKE.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QK8bCKE.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Strawweight: Rose Namajunas (#3, 10-5) vs. Michelle Waterson (#4, 18-7)

The main event was up, a major contest in the women’s strawweight division where the winner could very easily find themselves within one more win of a shot at the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. For Namajunas, it would be her second shot at gold, whereas Waterson would be angling for her first chance at championship glory in the UFC.

Both fighters came forward to meet in the centre of the octagon and began exchanging strikes, with Waterson missing her right cross and Namajunas landing a counter left hook to the body. Waterson continued to come forward, hitting a jab but then missing a high kick. Namajunas swiftly responded with a right head kick of her own, and the blow appeared to rock Waterson and she began backing off, on somewhat unsteady feet.

Namajunas smelt blood and rushed forward, literally, and hit a flying knee, although it only caught a glancing blow. Undeterred, Namajunas landed a flurry of five furiously fast punches, capping it off with a crunching right hook, and Waterson was now barely able to stand. Namajunas landed one more blow, another right head kick, and this one put the fight to bed as it knocked Waterson out cold, and the fans erupted as the main event came to a brutal yet decisive end.

Result: 'Thug' Rose Namajunas beat 'The Karate Hottie' Michelle Waterson by knockout (kick) in 2:20 of Round 1

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Krzysztof Jotko vs. Rodolfo Viera

Performance of the Night: Rodolfo Viera

Knockout of the Night: Rose Namajunas

Submission of the Night: Jarjis Danho

Predictions

CageRage: (8/16)

CageRage (Overall): (240/397; 60.45%)</div>

Fantabulous · August 1, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 3 of June 2021

Fantabulous · August 2, 2021

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to the Netherlands for its sixth event

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to the Netherlands for its sixth event

Saturday of Week 3 of June 2021

The UFC on Fight Pass series goes to home of kickboxing, the Netherlands, for its sixth event, with a great main event in the bantamweight division, and it will see the winner of TUF 14, John Dodson, pit his striking skills against the sublime submission abilities of Rani Yahya.

The light heavyweight division provides the co-main event, a fight with a true international flavour as Magomed Ankalaev tries to end the unbeaten record of Shamil Gamzatov.

A great main card of action, and a loaded preliminary card, take place on Saturday of Week 3 of August.

UFC on Fight Pass 6: Dodson vs. Yahya

Main Card

Bantamweight: John Dodson (22-12) vs. Rani Yahya (27-1-1, 1NC)

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev (14-2) vs. Shamil Gamzatov (17-0)

Middleweight: Trevor Smith (15-10, 1NC) vs. Punahele Soriano (9-0)

Women’s Bantamweight: Liana Jojua (9-4) vs. Nicco Montano (5-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Istela Nunes (9-2, 1NC) vs. Brianna Van Buren (12-3)

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Chris Guiterrez (15-3-1) vs. Vince Morales (11-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Vivian Araujo (8-4) vs. Marina Rodriguez (12-2-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Melinda Fabian (4-5-2) vs. Hannah Goldy (5-2)

Women’s Bantamweight: Melissa Gatto (6-1-2) vs. Vanessa Melo (10-8)

Bantamweight: Louis Smolka (17-6) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (9-2)

Bantamweight: Martin Day (9-3) vs. Davey Grant (10-5)

Featherweight: Mike Grundy (14-1) vs. Bobby Moffett (15-5)

Lightweight: Frank Camacho (23-8) vs. Nik Lentz (31-11-2, 2NC)

Welterweight: Alex Morono (19-6, 1NC) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (12-1)

Fantabulous · August 3, 2021

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to Germany for its seventh event

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to Germany for its seventh event

Sunday of Week 3 of June 2021

One day after stepping down in the Netherlands, the UFC on Fight Pass series hops on over to Germany for a card that will be headlined by a rematch between Jeremy Stephens and Cub Swanson. Their first fight took place back in 2014, with Swanson coming out on top by unanimous decision, and now, seven years later, Stephens has the chance to avenge that loss.

The co-main event could see some serious fireworks as Sean O’Malley faces his next when he meets Song Yadong.

Another great main card of action, with a stacked preliminary card, take place on Sunday of Week 3 of August.

UFC on Fight Pass 7: Stephens vs. Swanson II

Main Card

Featherweight: Jeremy Stephens (#10, 29-19) vs. Cub Swanson (#11, 27-12)

Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley (#23, 13-0) vs. Song Yadong (#15, 16-5-1, 1NC)

Welterweight: Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-1, 1NC) vs. Alberto Mina (14-2)

Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas (11-3) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (9-1)

Women’s Strawweight: Justine Kish (8-4) vs. Karine Silva (11-3)

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight: Da Un Jung (13-3) vs. Marcin Prachnio (14-5)

Middleweight: Alessio Di Chirico (12-4, 1NC) vs. Eric Spicely (10-5)

Middleweight: Jared Cannonier (13-5) vs. Andrew Sanchez (11-7)

Middleweight: Tim Boetsch (21-15) vs. Zak Cummins (#24, 23-9)

Welterweight: Bryan Barberena (14-9) vs. Alan Jouban (16-8, 1NC)

Welterweight: Lorenz Larkin (24-8, 1NC) vs. Sheldon Westcott (10-4-1)

Lightweight: Drew Dober (22-10, 1NC) vs. Damir Ismagulov (20-1)

Lightweight: Evan Dunham (18-8-1, 1NC) vs. John Makdessi (17-8)

Featherweight: Austin Lingo (8-1) vs. Alex White (13-7)

Featherweight: Danny Henry (13-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (12-1)

Fantabulous · August 4, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 3 of June 2021

Sunday of Week 3 of June 2021

Monday of Week 4 of June 2021

Fantabulous · August 6, 2021

News Blast + UFC 263 preview <div style="text-align:center;">Tuesday of Week 4 of June 2021 <img alt="llOU6Ai.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/llOU6Ai.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="MGBrkp5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/MGBrkp5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <img alt="Fku96bz.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Fku96bz.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dFD7K2d.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dFD7K2d.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <img alt="rshx62i.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rshx62i.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="N70cWgb.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N70cWgb.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Wednesday of Week 4 of June 2021 <img alt="3ISI2Sb.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3ISI2Sb.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="180it2c.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/180it2c.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <img alt="zOaw1f5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/zOaw1f5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Thursday of Week 4 of June 2021 <img alt="s6lo4iK.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/s6lo4iK.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="mDtRB1a.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/mDtRB1a.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Friday of Week 4 of June 2021 <img alt="5gvG0GG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5gvG0GG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50712" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>From the author: UFC 263 will be posted tomorrow night and it’s the biggest show in the history of the UFC. In the main event, it’s the highly anticipated rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Their first meeting had a controversial aftermath; will history repeat itself tomorrow night? The co-main event is just as big, with the biggest rematch in the history of women’s combat sports, as Amanda Nunes defends her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Ronda Rousey. Their last fight resulted in a destructive win for Nunes and, in the aftermath, Rousey retired. Now, back from retirement and having avenged her only other loss, Rousey seeks to avenge the second loss of her career and regain UFC gold. We have a third rematch as well; Gregor Gillespie takes on Kevin Lee, with Gillespie gunning for revenge against the man who ended his unbeaten record with the most devastating knockout of 2019. Here is a rundown of the full card for predictions, comment, etc; <div style="text-align:center;">UFC 263: All In</div> Main Card UFC Lightweight Champion: Conor McGregor © (#1, 24-4) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (#3, 29-1) for the UFC Lightweight Championship UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion: Amanda Nunes © (#1, 21-4) vs. Ronda Rousey (#8, 13-2) for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie (#2, 16-1) vs. Kevin Lee (#4, 20-7) Middleweight: Rafael Carvalho (#5, 20-4) vs. Brad Tavares (#7, 19-6) Lightweight: Michael Chandler (20-6, 1NC) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (12-3) Preliminary Card Middleweight: Fabian Edwards (12-1) vs. Dusko Todorovic (8-1) Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercer (#25, 13-5) vs. Patricky Freire (25-9) Featherweight: A.J. McKee (16-2) vs. Khalid Taha (#15, 16-2) Flyweight: Will Campuzano (#20, 16-7) vs. David Dvorak (#25, 19-4) Flyweight: Tyson Nam (#23, 17-12) vs. Raulian Paiva (19-5) Women’s Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (12-3) vs. Celine Haga (12-16) Women’s Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (12-3) vs. Celine Haga (12-16) Heavyweight: Dmitry Poberezhets (25-7-1, 1NC) vs. Ben Rothwell (#24, 37-13, 1NC) Heavyweight: Tyler East (17-6) vs. Ciryl Gane (#15, 12-1) Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (#12, 13-4) vs. Nadia Kassem (9-2)</div></blockquote></div>

CageRage · August 6, 2021

UFC 263: All In

Main Card

UFC Lightweight Champion: Conor McGregor © (#1, 24-4) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (#3, 29-1) for the UFC Lightweight Championship

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion: Amanda Nunes © (#1, 21-4) vs. Ronda Rousey (#8, 13-2) for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie (#2, 16-1) vs. Kevin Lee (#4, 20-7)

Middleweight: Rafael Carvalho (#5, 20-4) vs. Brad Tavares (#7, 19-6)

Lightweight: Michael Chandler (20-6, 1NC) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (12-3)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Fabian Edwards (12-1) vs. Dusko Todorovic (8-1)

Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercer (#25, 13-5) vs. Patricky Freire (25-9)

Featherweight: A.J. McKee (16-2) vs. Khalid Taha (#15, 16-2)

Flyweight: Will Campuzano (#20, 16-7) vs. David Dvorak (#25, 19-4)

Flyweight: Tyson Nam (#23, 17-12) vs. Raulian Paiva (19-5)

Women’s Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (12-3) vs. Celine Haga (12-16)

Heavyweight: Dmitry Poberezhets (25-7-1, 1NC) vs. Ben Rothwell (#24, 37-13, 1NC)

Heavyweight: Tyler East (17-6) vs. Ciryl Gane (#15, 12-1)

Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (#12, 13-4) vs. Nadia Kassem (9-2)

Fantabulous · August 7, 2021

UFC 263: All In

UFC 263: All In

Date: Saturday of Week 4 of June 2021 Location: Nevada

Attendance: 26,079 Gate: $8,462,636 PPV Revenue: $456,818

Critical Rating: 71% Commercial Rating: 100%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (#12, 13-4) vs. Nadia Kassem (9-2)

We kicked things off with a great one-round fight, complete with a brutal finish; Kassem dropped Cifer with a right head kick and then hammered away on her until the referee interceded to stop the fight.

Kassem, who sold herself well in her-post fight interview, used her mic time to call for a fight with Karine Silva.

Result: Nadia ‘187’ Kassem beat ‘Shockwave’ Hannah Cifers by TKO due to strikes in 2:08 of Round 1

Heavyweight: Tyler East (17-6) vs. Ciryl Gane (#15, 12-1)

Ciryl Gane’s last fight saw his undefeated record come to halt by way of a unanimous decision loss to Stefan Struve, and he had to try and rebound from that disappointment against the debuting Tyler East, who was a very tough customer.

Yet East was not quite tough enough because Gane rebounded in about as grand a fashion as possible with a sensational 20-second knockout, Gane leaving East unconscious after a vicious right cross.

Gane, a charismatic talker with looks to match and real star power, had revenge on his mind, as he issued a demand for a rematch with Stefan Struve during his post-fight interview.

Result: Ciryl ‘Bon Gamin’ Gane beat Tyler ‘The Beast’ East by knockout (punch) in 0:20 of Round 1

Heavyweight: Dmitry Poberezhets (25-7-1, 1NC) vs. Ben Rothwell (#24, 37-13, 1NC)

Dmitry Poberezhets was our next debutant of the night and he faced the grizzled veteran Ben Rothwell, an opponent who had around 25lbs on Poberezhets, a significant advantage in any weight class. But the advantage did Rothwell little good because Poberezhets, a heavy underdog, outclassed Rothwell, with his speed and elusiveness proving to be too much for Rothwell. Although he couldn’t quite get the finish, Poberezhets did drop Rothwell in the third round, and Rothwell was lucky to hang on and see the rest of the round out.

Poberezhets was understandably happy to have won his UFC debut, and he said as much in his post-fight interview.

Result: Dmitry Poberezhets beat ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 and 30-27)

Women’s Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (12-3) vs. Celine Haga (12-16)

The third debuting fighter of the night was submission whiz Celine Haga, a decorated star of the BJJ scene. Haga did a great job of dominating Carnelossi in the first round with her controlling ground game, and she had Carnelossi in trouble constantly. Yet Haga was unable to find that finish, and, late in the second round, Carnelossi managed to land an uppercut that dropped Haga, Carnelossi then wailing away on her opponent to get the finish. Haga had lost her UFC debut, but she had put in a good accounting of herself and had nothing to be ashamed of.

Carnelossi was interviewed after the fight and she said she next wanted to faced Angela Lee.

Result: Ariane ‘Sorriso’ Carnelossi beat Celine Haga by TKO due to strikes in 4:37 of Round 2

Flyweight: Tyson Nam (#23, 17-12) vs. Raulian Paiva (19-5)

Coming in as a replacement for the injured Shohei Masumizu, Tyson Nam put forth a sterling effort against Raulian Paiva in what was a good, competitive fight. Punches and kicks were dished out throughout this contest, with Paiva, the underdog, looking great in the first round, although he began tire in the second round, allowing Nam to get back into the fight. The third round saw Nam start to tire as well, but Paiva was more tired, a lot more, and this meant Nam was always one step ahead, and Nam was able to take the round and, with it, the unanimous decision.

Result: Tyson Nam beat Raulian Paiva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Flyweight: Will Campuzano (#20, 16-7) vs. David Dvorak (#25, 19-4)

Will Campuzano was returning to the UFC for his third stint in the Octagon, and he made it a winning return, with his strong ground game overcoming the striking of Dvorak, Campuzano gaining the submission with just under a minute to go in the first round by way of a guillotine choke.

Result: Will Campuzano beat 'Killa Khroust' David Dvorak by submission due to a guillotine choke in 4:39 of Round 1

Featherweight: A.J. McKee (16-2) vs. Khalid Taha (#15, 16-2)

The UFC debut of the highly touted A.J. McKee did not go according to plan, as, less than a minute in, McKee found himself getting rocked and dazed by a good right hand from Taha. Taha knew his time was now, and he felled McKee with a big right hand and then destroyed him with heavy right hands, and referee Dan Miragliotta had no choice but to stop the fight.

Result: Khalid ‘The Warrior’ Taha beat A.J. ‘Mercenary’ McKee by TKO due to strikes in 1:13 of Round 1

Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercer (#25, 13-5) vs. Patricky Freire (25-9)

The anticipated UFC debut of Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire saw him hit a stumbling block in the form of the returning Olivier Aubin-Mercer. Aubin-Mercer’s top game was able to very effectively smother and control Freire for the first round, preventing Freire from using his vaunted striking. Freire had more success in the second round, which was all stand-up, with Freire rocking Aubin-Mercer late on. But OAM was once more able to smother and control Freire in the third round, and he eased to a victory, getting 29-28 from all the three judges

Result: ‘The Canadian Gangster’ Olivier Aubin-Mercier beat Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Middleweight: Fabian Edwards (12-1) vs. Dusko Todorovic (8-1)

It was one more for the newcomers next as Fabian Edwards made a successful debut in the UFC against Dusko Todorovic. Todorovic kept trying to grapple with Edwards and take the fight to the ground, but he couldn’t get it done, and a vicious right cross floored Todorovic. Edwards then laid into his opponent with several powerful shots, and, with Todorovic offering nothing in the way of meaningful defence, the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

Edwards was ecstatic to have won and held nothing back in celebrating his victory, and it made for a highly entertaining post-fight interview.

Result: Fabian Edwards beat Dusko Todorovic by TKO due to strikes in 2:18 of Round 1

Main Card

Lightweight: Michael Chandler (20-6, 1NC) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (12-3)

On a night full of debuts, the PPV began with perhaps the most anticipated one of them all, as the Octagon saw the first appearance of Michael Chandler. Chandler, who is quite possibly the best lightweight in the world who isn’t in the UFC, was looking to prove that his reputation wasn’t smoke and mirrors, as some have asserted, and that he belonged to be competing against the best lightweights in the world.

Tonight, Chandler would have that chance, but he would have to be at his best when he faced one of the hottest young talents in the UFC, Nasrat Haqparast.

Chandler came out aggressively in the first round, Chandler perhaps wanting to stamp his mark on the round, but that aggressiveness left him open to some nice counterpunching from Haqparast, and the newcomer slowed his pace down just a little. Haqparast was still able to tag Chandler on the counter, but now Chandler was also able to counter as well, and, while Haqparast had perhaps edged the round, Chandler seemed to have found a better rhythm.

In the second round, Chandler was a little more measured in the pressure he put on Haqparast, and this not only gave Chandler a little more success in his attack, but it also meant he was beginning to avoid the counterpunching of Haqparast. And when Haqparast landed a left cross, Chandler responded with a jab and a massive right hook that felled Haqparast; Chandler launched a series of powerful punches at Haqparas, determined to get the finish, and with Haqparast offering nothing in the way of resistance, the referee leapt in to stop the fight and Michael Chandler had delivered a devastating and decisive finish in his UFC debut.

Chandler was interviewed after the fight, and he was obviously happy with his win, Chandler saying that he was now simply looking forward to his next fight.

Result: 'Iron' Michael Chandler beat Nasrat Haqparast by TKO due to strikes in 2:34 of Round 2

Middleweight: Rafael Carvalho (#5, 20-4) vs. Brad Tavares (#7, 19-6)

Tavares came out as the aggressor in the early going of this fight, eager to be the first to put a blemish on the UFC record of Rafael Carvalho. Carvalho was well-matched and the first round was definitely a competitive one, neither fighter able to truly dominate the other, although Tavares came on strong in the final minute of the round.

The pace slowed down somewhat in the second round and it was mainly Tavares who seemed to be taking his foot off the pedal. Carvalho pressed forward to try and take advantage of a seemingly slowed down opponent, but Tavares didn’t make it easy for him, and Carvalho found his attempts stifled, and, when the round was over, it felt like Carvalho might be in need of a finish.

Tavares, despite slowing down in the second round, still came forward in the third, and Carvalho countered with grappling, Carvalho managing to get a hold of Tavares and pressed him back up against the cage. Carvalho had a hold of Tavares and threw a knee, but this caused just enough space for Tavares to capitalize on and break free.

Now it was Carvalho’s turn to slow down a little and Tavares was the one to press forward to try and take advantage; Carvalho whiffed on a right cross, allowing Tavares to counter with a vicious right cross, dropping Carvalho to the mat!

Tavares unloaded with big rights, trying to get the finish, but Carvalho, despite taking a few big shots, was soon able to deflect the impact of the punches; Carvalho tried to transition into the guard but Tavares blocked him, Tavares then once more trying to get the finish, but unable to land penetrate the guard of Carvalho, who held on to see the round out.

As competitive as the early portions of the fight were, Tavares’ performance over the fifteen minutes was enough to gain him a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

Result: Brad Tavares beat 'The Blessed' Rafael Carvalho by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie (#2, 16-1) vs. Kevin Lee (#4, 20-7)

It was time for the first of three rematches this evening, and this one was as personal as any of them, with Gregor Gillespie looking to get revenge on the man who had ended his unbeaten record, and had done so by delivering one of the most memorable and brutal knockouts in UFC history. Since that time, Gillespie had gone 4-0, whilst Lee had gone 2-2, although one of those defeats was a close split-decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov; Lee’s two wins had seen him beat Paul Felder and Justin Gaethje, the latter fight coming in the co-main event of an HBO special.

Gillespie went for the takedown almost immediately, Gillespie getting Lee down by way of a deep single leg, putting Lee on his back and having to pull guard. Gillespie kept Lee pressed against the mat, working him over with short punches to the body while he figured out his next move. Lee made a grab for the arm of Gillespie from the bottom, but Gillespie blocked the move and maintained his position on top of Lee, keeping him tightly pressed against the mat.

Gillespie tried to pass the guard of Lee, but Lee was ready for this and scrambled his way out from under Gillespie, and was back standing. After acknowledging some instructions from his corner, Lee moved forward aggressively, looking to put Gillespie on the defensive, but ‘The Gift’ was ready and shot in hard for another single leg, and Lee was once more put on his back and forced to pull guard.

Wary of more submission attempts from Lee, Gillespie didn’t posture up and kept in tight on Lee. Gillespie went to pass the guard of Lee, but a momentarily loss of control allowed Lee to try and scramble free, but this scramble ended with Lee grabbing hold of Gillespie and pushing him back up against the cage, with Lee keeping Gillespie pressed there for what remained of the round.

The second round opened with a well-timed takedown attempt from Gillespie; Lee almost blocked it, but he was left hopping on one leg, with Gillespie forced to press Lee back up against the cage. With his opponent trapped, Gillespie got a hold of underhooks and he pulled off a great looking Greco-Roman slam to throw Lee to the mat, Lee yet again in the position of having to pull guard, although this time it was only half-guard.

Lee tried to manoeuvre his way into full guard, but Gillespie thwarted these attempts before trying to transition into side-control; Lee countered the attempt and the fighters engaged in another scramble, a scramble which saw Gillespie up first, but also saw Lee grab him from behind in a waistlock. Lee didn’t have a hold of Gillespie for too long before letting go and backing off, Lee clearly feeling that such close-quarters combat was not to his benefit.

Gillespie went for another takedown, but a jab from Lee kept him at bay. But a second takedown attempt was successful and Lee found himself in the familiar position of pulling guard. Gillespie was quick to try and pass the guard of Lee, and this time the resultant scramble saw Lee up first and Gillespie having a hold of him from behind in a waistlock.

Gillespie pulled Lee down to the mat with ease. Lee was face down, and Gillespie quickly took his back. Gillespie began working for a rear naked choke, and swiftly had the hold locked on tight; Lee struggled, but refused to tap! In just seconds, though, Lee was choked out, completely unconscious, and the referee rushed to break the hold, and Gregor Gillespie had avenged the only loss of his career, and had done so in about as emphatic a manner as possible.

A fired up Gillespie was still full of fire in his post-fight interview, and he called his shot by demanding a fight with Conor McGregor.

Result: Gregor ‘The Gift’ Gillespie beat ‘The Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee by technical submission in 4:16 of Round 2

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion: Amanda Nunes © (#1, 21-4) vs. Ronda Rousey (#8, 13-2) for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

It was now time for the co-main event of the evening, the biggest rematch in the history of women’s combat sports, as Amanda Nunes defended her bantamweight title against the woman whom she’d seemingly sent into retirement, Ronday Rousey.

These two had first met back at UFC 207 in December of 2016, with Rousey hoping to reclaim the title she had lost in a stunning upset to Holly Holm, a title which had subsequently gone from Holm to Miesha Tate to Nunes. It was Rousey’s first fight since that loss to Holm, and there was great fanfare surrounding her return to action, but that fanfare was silenced in stunning and brutal fashion when Nunes destroyed Rousey with a violent barrage of punches, their fight lasting just 48-seconds.

In less than a minute, Nunes had silenced all critics and, not only that, apparently sent Rousey into retirement; Rousey vanished from the MMA scene before resurfacing in WWE, having seemingly moved on to a new chapter in her life. Yet Rousey always hungered for revenge, against both Nunes and Holly Holm, and her return to MMA was announced late last year; Rousey would go on to submit Holm in the main event of UFC 257, a show dubbed Repeat or Revenge. On that night, Rousey had gained the revenge she dearly sought against Holm, and now, just four months later, she has the opportunity to put that last ghost to rest and avenge the loss that sent her, albeit not permanently, into retirement.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric as Rousey made her walk-out, Rousey having her trademark look of steely determination on her face as she approached the Octagon. Stepping into the preparation area, receiving the final check from officials before entering the ultimate proving ground, the announcers wondered what effect would be had by the fact that Rousey and Nunes were now part of the same team, Rousey having aligned with American Top Team upon returning to MMA competition. It was noted that Rousey wasn’t happy about having to fight a teammate, and that she seemingly had no personal animosity towards Nunes; she simply felt driven to avenge a loss. Yet fighting a teammate was the price Rousey had to pay to avenge that loss, and to regain the bantamweight title.

Nunes likewise looked determined as he walked out, the bantamweight champion looking as all-business as ever, and she too appeared to have no animosity towards her opponent, and the commentary team wondered if, since Rousey had joined ATT, whether or not the two women had developed a professional respect for each other, one that had perhaps not been there before.

As Nunes finished her pre-fight checks and entered the Octagon, there was a huge roar amongst the fans; Nunes, like Rousey, had gone straight to her side of the Octagon, neither woman interested in any histrionics as the awaited what would be the biggest fight of their lives. Indeed, when the introductions had been made, each woman’s name getting a massive roar from the fans, there was an incredible atmosphere as Nunes and Rousey were brought to the centre of the octagon for the final instructions from Dan Miragliotta.

Nunes and Rousey never looked away from each other as Miragliotta spoke and, when he was done, the two women firmly touched gloves before returning to their respective corners. The fans began to buzz, the commentary team were likewise enthused, and the referee called for a start to the biggest fight in female combat sports history.

Nunes come out throwing heavy, swinging for the fences; Rousey avoided the first three punches but was then drilled with a crunching right hook and Rousey was wobbled!

Hurt and covering up, Rousey backed up in the face of the barrage of powerful punches, Nunes pressing forward and looking for the finish. Nunes threw a right uppercut that went right through the guard of Rousey, catching her square on the chin and dropping her to the canvas!

Smelling blood, ‘The Lioness’ pounced, hammering on Rousey with all of her might; Rousey was too stunned to react or respond, and with her offering no defence, Dan Miragliotta was forced to leap in and stop the fight, and history had repeated itself once again as Amanda Nunes had destroyed Ronda Rousey in less than a minute.

The fans erupted into a wild cheers, unable to believe that history had indeed repeated itself. As a dazed Rousey was being tended to, Nunes celebrated with her corner before looking across the cage at her teammate, Rousey looking rather despondent as she began to take in the bitter disappointment in having fallen short at her attempt to reclaim the bantamweight title. Nunes rushed to console her teammate, and the two women appeared to exchange words, the commentary team noting that there did indeed appear to be a deep level professional respect between the two warriors.

When the result of the fight was formally announced, Jon Anik quietly mentioned that the rematch had officially lasted one second less than their first fight, this contest lasting a mere 47-seconds. Nunes celebrated her win, Rousey offering a clearly muted clap, the loss still weighing heavily in her mind.

Tonight, though, belonged to Amanda Nunes, the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, ‘The Lioness’ now wildly celebrating her seventh successful title defence.

Result: Amanda ‘Leoa dos Ringues’ Nunes beat ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey by TKO due to strikes in 0:47 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

UFC Lightweight Champion: Conor McGregor © (#1, 24-4) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (#3, 29-1) for the UFC Lightweight Championship

Finally, the wait was over; after almost three years and a string of back-and-forth barbs, the biggest rematch in the history of, not just the UFC, but the history of MMA was upon us. It was finally time for Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov to do battle once more. Their first fight, which had taken place in a sea of controversy, and which itself had led to even more controversy, occured back at UFC 229; it was a fight that Khabib had won by submission to retain the lightweight title, but the victory was almost secondary to a wild post-match melee that saw a mass-brawl break out, a brawl that even saw Khabib launch himself off the Octagon with a wild double footstomp onto one of Conor’s trainers.

Fine and suspensions were levied after the most chaotic scenes in UFC history, and it was said that no rematch would ever take place because there was just too much bad blood between Conor and Khabib. But in the interim, Khabib had lost the lightweight title to Tony Ferguson, and Conor had then taken it from Ferguson. On the very night Conor had reclaimed the title, Khabib had edged past Kevin Lee, and, while the victory was less than decisive, it was enough for Khabib to secure his chance at regaining the UFC Lightweight Championship.

But in order to take back his title, Khabib would have to face a rival he, not just disliked, but outright hated. It was a feeling that was more than mutual, and, in the lead-up to this fight, the insults had become even more intense between the two fighters. As such, the atmosphere was electric even before Khabib made his walk-out, and when Khabib finally did appear, there was a huge roar, the fans buzzing as the fight they had most been waiting for was now just moments away.

Khabib appeared almost subdued, but it was clear upon looking closely that the Dagestan native was in ‘the zone’, his mind totally focused on the fight that was now imminent, to the point that the fans that packed the arena may as well have not even been there. Even as Khabib was in the preparation area and getting checked over, he was lost in thought, his focus solely on mentally preparing for fighting an opponent had grown to detest. As Khabib stepped foot inside the Octagon, the commentary team wondered if there was a danger that Khabib was psyching himself out, was becoming so focused on, not just fighting Conor but beating him that he was overthinking things; Dan Hardy pointed out that if a fighter becomes too obsessed with winning, he can forget the things that have become second-nature to him, the very things that have carried him to victory before, and he can put himself in danger of losing.

Whatever his mindset was, Khabib was intense and determined as he went to his corner, conferring with his cornermen one last time, and the arena began to almost rumble as the fans awaited the entrance of the biggest superstar in the history of MMA, and one of the biggest superstars in the history of sport itself.

The fans started to roar as soon as they saw Conors’s face on the big screen, the strains of his usual walk-in music echoing throughout the arena. Yet the music was barely audible over the roar that filled the building when Conor came out into the arena, the lightweight champion looking confident yet, at least by his standards, rather subdued, and the commentary team felt that this showed just how serious Conor was taking this fight. And as Conor walked to the Octagon, Joe Rogan wondered whether Conor reining in his natural exuberance and confidence would be a detriment, given that he wouldn’t be being himself, even though you’d think being serious was the ideal approach for this fight.

Conor looked quietly confident as he entered the preparation area, and Jon Anik noted that the eyes of the entire sporting world are on this fight, Anik calling it easily the biggest fight in the history of MMA, even bigger than the first fight between the two, and he said that, however the fight went, it could go down as a turning point in the history of the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts.

Conor posed for the fans before entering the Octagon, the champion going straight to his corner and, rather interestingly, and this was highlighted on commentary, he never once looked at Khabib until reaching his corner and finishing talking to his corner, Conor then finally turning to face his opponent.

During the introductions from Bruce Buffer, Conor and Khabib never turned their gaze off the other, almost as if neither man was willing to back down in even the smallest way. Khabib’s name got a huge roar, yet Conor’s name got, by far, the biggest reaction of the night. The introductions over, referee Yves Lavigne brought both men into the centre of the Octagon for the final instructions, and still neither Conor nor Khabib looked away. To no surprise, they did not touch gloves when invited to, and that got a reaction from the fans.

Conor and Khabib finally looked away from other when they went back to their respective corners, with both men looking equally determined and resolute, yet only one of them able walk away the winner and the UFC Lightweight Champion.

The fight opened with Conor landing a right hand but Khabib avoiding the follow up body shot. Conor landed a few more jabs, with Khabib throwing out a weak jab of his own, perhaps merely gauging distance. That seemed to be the case when Conor threw a kick and Khabib hit a perfectly executed takedown, Khabib taking Conor down with a great single leg, the Irishman then pulling guard. Khabib smothered Conor on the ground, with commentary calling the grinding style was Khabib’s best way to tire Conor, and it was noted that Conor can have stamina issues the longer the fight goes.

Khabib’s approach, whilst effective in wearing Conor down, wasn’t very active, and the referee eventually ordered a stand-up. Khabib was able to clinch up with Conor and, after some resistance from the champion, he was able to wrestle Conor back up against the cage, Khabib smothering him there for the remainder of the round.

Despite how the round played out, Conor seemed relaxed as he went back to his corner, and even Khabib’s apparent success did little to shake his quiet veneer of calm.

The second round saw Khabib trying to bait Conor into another wild strike that would allow him to go for a takedown, but the champion wasn’t falling for it, and he used a series of hit-and-run attacks, darting in to strike and quickly moving away, to thwart the strategy of the challenger. But an attempted body kick finally gave Khabib the chance to hit a takedown, and Conor found himself back on the mat.

Khabib worked Conor over with short punches, yet this seemed more designed to avoid a stand-up and give Khabib more of a chance to wear Conor down, and, whilst not that engaging, it was very effective, and it was only when there were only a few second to go in the round that referee Yves Lavigne finally stood the fighters up.

At the end of the round, neither fighter gave anything away in regards to their facial expressions, so it was hard to tell who the more confident of the two was. On commentary, it was felt that the first round was likely Khabib’s, while the second round probably came down to whether the judges felt Khabib’s control offset the damage, such as it was, inflicted by Conor.

Khabib opened up the third round with a takedown attempt, perhaps looking to catch Conor off-guard, yet the champion was himself coming forward with strikes, and keeping Khabib at bay. However, it only took a few short seconds for Khabib to once again get a hold of Conor and muscle him back up against the cage. With his opponent trapped, Khabib used double underhooks to keep him controlled against the cage, the challenger once again smothering the champion, wearing him down, and the Joe Rogan wondered if Khabib would even try for a finish if he can keep this strategy up, as it was very low-risk and had been successful thus far.

But Khabib couldn’t keep Conor against the cage forever, and the Conor eventually worked enough space so that he was able to pull away from Khabib and circle out to the centre of the Octagon.

Conor now seemed to be slowing down a touch, which was quickly noted on commentary, and it was speculated that with Khabib’s strategy beginning to take its toll, Khabib may try to for a finish once if he feels he has Conor suitably worn down.

Yet before Khabib could think about that, if he even was, Conor brought the fans to life with a crunching straight left that dropped Khabib, the challenger hitting the mat hard.

Conor pounced on his fallen adversary, raining punches down in an effort to get a finish. After a brief struggle, Khabib managed to wrap his legs around Conor and pull guard, giving him a respite, albeit one that may be all too brief. Khabib kept a tight grip on Conor and tried to pull them both backwards to the cage, Khabib likely looking to try and wall walk his way back to his feet. But Conor was wise to this, and kept them firmly near the centre of the Octagon, and the action slowed to a crawl as the round played out.

As the two corners worked on their respective fighters, the commentary talked over the fight thus far and agreed that fight was easy to score in that the first round had gone to Khabib, the third was Conor’s, and the second was up in the air.

In the fourth round, Khabib was quickly angling for a takedown, but Conor was able to stay out of range, the champion keeping the challenger at bay with a well-timed jab and body kick.

Confident after dropping Khabib in the previous round, McGregor seemed to find a new spring in his step, buoyed by flooring Khabib and almost having the fight won. Conor started to land punches and body kicks, the champion throwing in some trademark trash talk as well, and Joe Rogan commented on the clearly growing confidence of the champion. Yet the confidence was ill-judged as Khabib, despite having been dropped in the prior round, still had the awareness to hit a well-timed takedown and once more take Conor down to the mat.

The champion pulled guard as Khabib resumed his smothering attack, and Dan Hardy felt that with Khabib having been dropped, he’d play it as conservatively as possible from now on, content to simply ride it out and avoid giving Conor any chance to land another potentially damaging strike.

As the round approached its final minute, Khabib tried to pass the guard of Conor, but, before he could take side-control, Conor began scrambling free, and this ended up with Khabib on his back and pulling guard. Yet Conor quickly stood up, clearly, and understandably, wanting the fight standing, but there was no time left for Conor to do anything.

When the round ended, the fight was still up in the air, as two rounds were easy to score, whilst the other two would come down to whether the judges favoured damage, albeit light damage, over positional control and dominance. With both fighters getting some frantic instructions from their respective cornermen, the commentary team felt that how Conor and Khabib approached the final round could come down to how confident they each felt of the fight being judged in their favour, with Dan Hardy noting that it’s entirely possible that if either Conor or Khabib felt they were down 3-1 on the scorecards, they could easily decide to go for broke and risk it all in an attempt to win.

That didn’t seem to be the strategy of either fighter, both Khabib and Conor coming out for the fifth round as relaxed as they had for the previous four rounds. So it came out of nowhere when Conor missed a jab and then drilled Khabib with a vicious right cross, and the challenger collapsed to the mat, out cold, totally unconscious, and the fans went absolutely wild as Conor delivered a stunning highlight reel knockout to not just become the first fighter to stop Khabib, but, more importantly, retain the UFC Lightweight Championship!

Medical personnel and officials hit the Octagon, with the medical people checking on Khabib and the officials, who were present in large numbers, making sure that there would be no repeat of the chaos that had befallen the first fight between these two.

Conor celebrated astride the Octagon as Khabib was being tended to, as if that, with the fight over and won, Khabib was now no longer a concern. Khabib’s corner looked understandably devastated, crestfallen at the bitter defeat that Khabib had experienced, and it would defeat that would be harder for Khabib to take than his loss last year to Tony Ferguson. Yet the results spoke for themselves; Conor had delivered the most significant strike of the fight, and scored the keystone moment of his career, by defeating Khabib in the most emphatic manner possible.

There were no questions about this fight, no lingering doubts to be had about the outcome.

On this night, Conor McGregor reigned supreme as the undisputed UFC Lightweight Champion.

Result: ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor beat Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov by knockout (punch) in 0:28 of Round 5 to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Michael Chandler vs. Nasrat Haqparast

Performance of the Night: Dmitry Poberezhets

Knockout of the Night: Conor McGregor

Submission of the Night: Gregor Gillespie

Predictions

CageRage:*(9/14)

CageRage (Overall):*(249/411; 60.58%)

Fantabulous · August 8, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 4 of June 2021

Fantabulous · August 9, 2021

UFC to fill Light Heavyweight and Welterweight title vacancies at UFC 265

UFC to fill Light Heavyweight and Welterweight title vacancies at UFC 265; Gustafsson vs. Reyes and Covington vs. Usman the double bill at Double Header

Saturday of Week 4 of June 2021

The UFC today announced that UFC 265 will see the light heavyweight and welterweight titles, currently both vacant, find new homes, with UFC 265, named Double Header, to be capped off with two title fights.

Alexander Gustafsson will face Dominick Reyes for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, the title being vacant since the events of UFC 260, when the former champion, Jon Jones, was stripped of the title after refusing to release a submission on Jan Błachowicz. Jones, in addition to being stripped of the gold, was suspended for 18 months by both the athletic commission and the UFC, and will be sidelined until late next year.

Gustafsson has been unbeaten since returning to active competition, with wins over Mauricio Rua and Corey Anderson, while Reyes has been undefeated since his unsuccessful challenge of Jones at UFC 253. The two top light heavyweights in the world will now face off to determine who will be the new kingpin of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Bitter rivals Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman will finally meet inside the Octagon and it’ll have the added spice of being for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship, with the title having been stripped from Santiago Ponzinibbio when he failed a drug test at UFC 261, where he’d managed to take the title from Nate Diaz. Covington and Usman absolutely hate each other, and they have a chance to settle the score at UFC 265.

Phil Davis makes his UFC return and he’ll be in for a real challenge when he takes on Luke Rockhold, who defeated Anthony Smith earlier this year in what was Rockhold’s first fight after a lengthy sabbatical. For both men, this fight could be their chance to stake their claim for a shot at the winner of the main event, so a big showing here is vital in their hunt for championship gold.

Megan Anderson welcomes the most fearsome female fighters of all time, Cris Cyborg, back to the UFC, in what may be one of the most anticipated female featherweight fights of all time.

And kicking off the main card is another return as former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez looks to make a big impression in his UFC return, as he’ll face the double-tough James Vick

It’s one of the biggest events of the year, and UFC 265, along with a great undercard, will hit the Octagon on Saturday of Week 4 of August in Florida.

UFC 265: Double Header

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Alexander Gustafsson (#3 ,20-6) vs. Dominick Reyes (#1, 14-2) for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Welterweight: Colby Covington (#1, 17-3) vs. Kamaru Usman (#2, 18-2) for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship

Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis (#13, 22-6, 1NC) vs. Luke Rockhold (#6, 17-5)

Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (#2, 11-4) vs. Cris Cyborg (#1, 25-2, 1NC)

Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez (#19, 32-7, 1NC) vs. James Vick (#9, 15-5)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Featherweight: Janay Harding (#6, 7-5) vs. Leah Letson (#4, 7-2)

Featherweight: Kevin Aguilar (18-3) vs. Frankie Edgar (23-9-1, 1NC)

Featherweight: Herbert Burns (10-3) vs. Kron Gracie (#24, 6-1)

Light Heavyweight: Klidson Abreu (#25, 17-5) vs. Tyson Pedro (#24, 8-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Cynthia Cavillo (#16, 8-3-1) vs. Alexa Grasso (#10, 11-5)

Bantamweight: Thomas Almeida (23-3) vs. Cody Stamann (#16, 18-3-1)

Bantamweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade (26-5, 1NC) vs. Casey Kenney (#10, 15-3-1)

Welterweight: Luan Chagas (15-4-1) vs. Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (#19, 22-7)

Welterweight: Tom Breese (11-4) vs. Jack Hermansson (21-6)

Women’s Flyweight: Poliana Bothelo (#23, -4) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (#22, 6-6)

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