UFC 2020: When Sven Took Charge II

Fantabulous · July 28, 2020

Paula Costa returns to action

<div style="text-align:center;">Monday of Week 3 of May 2020

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Is Adesanya vs. Costa just around the corner?</div>

Fantabulous · July 30, 2020

A call-out gets a response; someone got caught; a fighter gets cut

Wednesday of Week 3 of May 2020

Friday of Week 3 of May 2020

Say it isn't so, Joe?

Makwan Amirkhani cut by UFC

After failing his post-fight drug test at UFC Fight Night 171, Makwan Amirkhani, who tested positive for PED's, received a three-year suspension. Having shown no indication that he intends to appeal the decision, despite his protestations of innocence, Amirkhani has now been cut by the UFC.

Fantabulous · August 1, 2020

Announcement of UFC Fight Night 176

Announcement of UFC Fight Night 176

Saturday of Week 3 of May 2020

The UFC today announced that UFC Fight Night 176 will take place on Saturday of Week 3 of July, and that the main event will be a battle between two welterweight veterans, as Matt Brown takes on Alex Oliveira.

Matt Brown is coming off a pair of brutal KO finishes, over Diego Sanchez and Ben Saunders, and Brown will be hoping to secure his third straight victory, a run of form that will undoubtedly make him stand out in one of the more stacked divisions in the UFC. Meanwhile, Alex Oliveira is hoping to re-establish himself in the welterweight division; having arrested a three-fight skid with a victory over Max Griffin, Oliveira will need another victory if he hopes to once again become a force to be taken seriously.

In the co-main event, featherweight standout Cub Swanson takes on the rising star Sodiq Yusuff. Swanson is coming off a victory over another rising name, Kron Gracie, and he’ll be facing a tough challenge in Yusuff, who will be coming into the fight on a six-fight win streak.

Swedish submission master Jake Hermansson must rebound from a tough loss when he takes on Andrew Sanchez. Aspen Ladd looks to continue her return to form when she takes on Ketlen Viera, who will herself be trying to bounce back from the first loss of her career. Female flyweight veterans Alex Davis and Jessica Eye will also do battle, and the main card kicks off with a pair of UFC debutants when Gabrielle Holloway takes on the French standout Iony Razafiarison

Main Card

Welterweight: Matt Brown (22-16) vs. (22-16) Alex Oliveira (20-8-1, 2NC)

Featherweight: Cub Swanson (26-11) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (14-1)

Middleweight: Jack Hermansson (20-5) vs. Andrew Sanchez (11-5)

Women’s Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd (9-1) vs. Ketlen Viera (10-1)

Women’s Flyweight: Alexis Davis (19-10) vs. Jessica Eye (15-7, 1NC)

Women’s Featherweight: Gabrielle Holloway (6-5) vs. Iony Razafiarison (6-5)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Andre Muniz (19-4) vs. Bruno Silva (19-6)

Women’s Strawweight: Alexa Grasso (11-3) vs. Angela Hill (12-7)

Heavyweight: Greg Hardy (5-2, 1 NC) vs. Chi Lewis- Perry (8-0)

Welterweight: Dhiego Lima (15-7) vs. Jake Matthews (16-4)

Heavyweight: Jeff Hughes (10-3, 1 NC) vs. Ben Sosoli (7-3, 2 NC)

Lightweight: Drew Dober (22-9, 1 NC) vs. James Vick (13-5)

Light Heavyweight: Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-4)

Women’s Flyweight: Poliana Botelho (8-2) vs. Sabina Mazo (8-0)

Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber (8-1) vs. Wu Yanan (10-3)

Bantamweight: Said Nurmagomedov (14-2) vs. Ricky Simon (15-3)

UFC Fight Night 176 will take place in Vermont on Saturday of Week 3 of July

Fantabulous · August 2, 2020

A familiar face returns

<div style="text-align:center;">Sunday of Week 3 of May 2020

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Fantabulous · August 3, 2020

UFC 250: Violence in Vegas

UFC 250: Violence in Vegas

Date: Monday of Week 4 of May 2020 Location: Nevada

Attendance: 14,530 Gate: $3,300,490 PPV Revenue: $184,511

Critical Rating: 78% Commercial Rating: 98%

Commentary Team:

Preliminary Card

Women’s Featherweight: Amanda Lemos (7-1-1) vs. Leah Letson (5-1)

The night got off to a great start with this fight being very exciting and having an explosive finish to boot. After dominating most of the fight, Letson landed a straight right that had Lemos wobbling and then falling; Letson promptly pounded away with some heavy handed shots to force the stoppage.

Result: Leah 'Nidas' Letson beat Amanda Lemos by TKO (strikes) in 3:53 of Round 1

Light Heavyweight: Tyson Pedro (7-3) vs. Gokhan Saki (1-2)

This was a good fight, although very one-sided, with Pedro easily able to take Saki down and completely dominate him on the ground. Saki did well to last as long as he did but he couldn’t hold out forever and Saki eventually fell to a rear naked choke late in the second round.

Result: Tyson Pedro beat 'The Rebel' Gokhan Saki by Submission (rear naked choke) in 4:00 of Round 2

Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (8-0) vs. Ciryl Gane (6-0)

This was a BAYMI fight; ‘blink and you’ll miss it’. Gane rocked Felipe with the first shot he threw and, while Felipe was able to keep going, Gane landed a powerful right hand a few moments later that left Felip out cold after just 42 seconds.

Gane noted that he believes he can always rely on his power, in a post-fight interview where his star power really came across strongly.

Result: Ciryl 'Bon Gamin' Gane beat Carlos 'Boi' Felipe by Knockout (punch) in 0:42 of Round 1

Women’s Strawweight: Randa Markos (10-8-1) vs. Marina Rodriguez (12-0-2)

After a lot of excitement, the scales were balanced with this poor outing, a fight that featured a lot of clinching and smothering and very little to get excited about. Randa took the victory by way of unanimous decision. This won’t make UFC Unleashed. Unless what they’re trying to unleash is boredom.

To her credit, Markos, in her post-fight interview, admitted the fight was ugly, and she said she was just glad to have at least won.

Result: Randa 'Quiet Storm' Markos beat Marina Rodriguez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Bantamweight: Tim Elliot (15-10-1) vs. Vince Morales (9-4)

The action picked up in this fight, although it would be hard pressed not to after the previous snoozer. It was a fairly even contest, neither fighter outshining the other until Morales delivered a stunning right hook that dropped Elliot. The requisite ground and pound followed, and Elliot was offering so little in the way of defence that even Steve Mazzagatti, who was the referee, thought he’d seen enough.

Result: Vince 'Vandetta' Morales beat Tim Elliott by TKO (strikes) in 3:19 of Round 1

Lightweight: Evan Dunham (18-8-1) vs. Nik Lentz (30-11-2, 1NC)

Early on in the first round, Dunham caught Lentz with a guillotine off a takedown attempt. And while Lentz escaped, it was a sign of things to come. The fight wasn’t particular outstanding, mainly due to Lentz’s grinding style, but it was worth putting up with for the finish; Lentz went a takedown right away in the second round, and, when Dunham caught Lentz in the guillotine this time, there was no escape and Lentz tapped out.

In his post-fight interview, Dunham expressed respect for the skills of Alex Munoz and said that that is who he would like to face next.

Result: Evan Dunham beat Nik 'The Carnie' Lentz by Submission (guillotine choke) in 0:55 of Round 2

Welterweight: Gunner Nelson (17-5-1) vs. Michel Pereira (23-11, 2 NC)

This was a fight that saw Nelson, the favourite, dominating the action. He had Pereira rocked early on and almost finished him with a standing guillotine, with Nelson almost doing the same thing again later on in the round. In the second round, Nelson controlled Pereira again, and had him a tight kneebar right as the round ended. And then Pereira landed a wicked right uppercut very early in the third that dropped Nelson, and Pereira, knowing he needed a finish, went for one and he battered Nelson with everything he had and forced the stoppage, giving Pereira the come-from-behind victory.

Still raring to go after his win, Pereira used his post-fight interview to issue a challenge to Abdul Razak Alhassan.

Result: Michel 'Demolidor' Pereira beat Gunnar 'Gunni' Nelson by TKO (strikes) in 0:41 of Round 3.

Middleweight: Keith Berish (5-1, 1NC) vs. Deron Winn (6-2)

This was a decent fight, with Winn using the Muay Thai clinch throughout. He was able to use it to control Berish, although he couldn’t do much with it in the formative part of the fight. That changed early in the second, when Winn delivered a powerful knee that caught Berish flush and Berish crumpled in a heap, out cold.

Result: Deron Winn beat 'Sha Bang Bang' Keith Berish by Knockout (knee) in 1:33 of Round 2

Light Heavyweight: Klidson de Abreu (15-4) vs. Saparbek Safarov (9-3)

Most of the first round of what was a fantastic fight saw Safarov, the underdog, controlling de Abreu against the fence, unable to do anything. The referee ordered a separation, though, and de Abreu was able to take Safarov down, but wasn’t able to get much done from top position. de Abreu looked a little surprised by how the fight was going, and, perhaps because of this, he took the fight to Safarov in the second round; de Abreu quickly took him down and, when Safarov gave up his back, de Abreu swiftly locked in a rear naked choke and got the submission.

Result: Klidson 'Russian Terror' de Abreu beat Saparbek Safarov by Submission (rear naked choke) in 1:11 of Round 2

Welterweight: Carlos Condit (30-13) vs. Mike Perry (13-6)

The first round was fairly even, with both fighters able to land strikes on the other, until, about two-minutes in, Perry landed a right head kick that Condit on rubbery legs. A stiff head kick from Perry floored Condit; Perry followed up with some big shots, but he seemed to not like how that was going because Perry then began working for submissions on the arm of Condit, all of which Condit was able to fend off for the rest of the round.

In the second round, Condit seemed to have recovered from getting dropped because he was back in the fight and was making it a competitive one. And, just when it looked like the second round would be seen out, Condit dropped Perry with a powerful right hand; Condit seized on the chance to end the fight, pounding on Perry with powerful punches, and the referee had no choice but to stop the fight.

Result: 'The Natural Born Killer' Carlos Condit beat 'Platinum' Mike Perry by TKO (strikes) in 4:57 of Round 2

Main Card

Women’s Flyweight: Andrea Lee (11-4) vs. Paige Van Zant (8-4)

Paige VanZant got a massive ovation from the fans upon both her entrance and introduction, fighting, as she was, in front of her home crowd. PVZ needed that support, at least according to the oddsmakers, who had PVZ down as the underdog. Yet PVZ’s performance in the first round belied that underdog status, as she took the fight to Lee, and, when the round was over, she had left Lee looking almost bewildered, like Lee was facing a level of competition that she was not expecting.

Lee was better prepared in the second round, quickly opening up a gash under the eye of PVZ, and making things far tougher for the home favourite. Despite not being able to finish PVZ in this round, Lee had established herself in the fight, and things were clearly even heading into third and final round.

The third round was just as competitive as the previous two, with both fighters coming forward and landing strikes, neither one of them willing to give ground to the other. Such was the even nature of the round that neither woman seemed like an obvious winner, so everyone was eagerly anticipating the outcome when the scores were read out.

And, although the fans had a lot to cheer for when the first scored was read out, the first judge having given all three rounds to PVZ, they were left disappointed when the split-decision went the way of Lee, who had earned 29-28 scores on the other two scorecards.

Result: Andrea 'KGB' Lee beat Paige '12 Gauge' VanZant by Split-Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 27-30)

Welterweight: Gilbert Burns (18-3) vs. Geoff Neal (13-2)

This was a top clash in the welterweight division and, perhaps mindful of what was at stake, Burns decided to cross things up and eschew his expected ground-based attack and employ a stand-up attack instead. This approach seemed to throw Neal off his game a little as a number of his strikes were blocked or just simply missed, and when the round ended, it was clearly one in favour of Burns.

Now knowing what to expect, Neal came into the second better prepared mentally, and it showed, because he was ready for the attack of Bush; Neal was mixing punches and kicks to great effect, and it seemed as if Bush hadn’t anticipated Neal adapting so quickly, The round ended with Neal looking a far more comfortable, so it was all to play for heading into the third round.

In the third round, Neal opened up still having that confidence he built in the second round, and it showed as he had plenty of success for much of it. Burns wound up trying to take the fight to the ground, but Neal sprawled and he was able to keep the fight standing, and, despite looking tired, he was able to see the round out.

The fight went to the judges, and nobody was surprised when all three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favour of Geoff Neal.

Result: Geoff 'Handz of Steel' Neal beat Gilbert 'Durinho' Burns by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Welterweight: Colby Covington (15-2) vs. Neil Magny (22-7)

As expected, Covington didn’t get a positive reaction, the fans having found his act tiresome and tedious. So, when Covington finally got into the fight, after having no real success against Magny for the first couple of minutes, they weren’t thrilled, especially when that success was simply grinding Magny against the cage and wearing him down. Magny managed to break free eventually, which roused the fans into cheers because they were dying to see some action, but the round ended shortly thereafter and their wait for action would have to go on.

The fans desire for action was not met, as Covington took Magny down right away in the second round and the best he could do was smother Magny; Magny thwarted all of Covington’s efforts to pass his guard. The referee ordered the fighters to their feet late on, and Magny landed some punches, but the rounded ended to a chorus of boos as the fans continued their wait for something to get excited by.

Early in the third round, the fans finally found something to cheer for when Magny landed a right head kick that had Covington on unsteady feet. Covington retreated but he was too slow to avoid a second head kick and ‘Chaos’ was dropped. Magny pounced on this golden opportunity and rained down punches; with Covington barely offering resistance, referee Marc Goddard pulled Magny away and the fight was over.

Result: Neil Magny beat Colby 'Chaos' Covington by TKO (strikes) in 1:11 of Round 3

UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion: Amanda Nunes © (19-4) vs. Felicia Spencer (12-1) for the UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship

It was now time for the first title fight of the evening, as the fearsome women’s featherweight champion, Amanda Nunes, defended her title against Felicia Spencer. It was a fight that many were expecting to be a routine affair, with Nunes considered such a dominant force that even a tough and talented fighter like Spencer, who had taken the best that Cris Cyborg could dish out and not fallen, wouldn’t be able to offer a serious challenge. But, heading into this fight, it was clear that Spencer wanted to do more than become a champion; she wanted to prove all the sceptics wrong.

And the first round started off with Spencer doing just that as, early on, Spencer used a great looking sweep to trip Nunes up and force the champion to hurriedly pull guard. Nunes tried to punch up and Spencer leaned back to avoid the blows, and the challenger ended up deciding to press Nunes to the mat and work her over with short punches, a necessary tactic to avoid any more of the champions punches. Nunes attempted to push Spencer off of her and slip free, which she almost managed to do, but Spencer was too quick and she was able to keep Nunes down on the mat, and she continued to work over the body of the champion with punches as the round wound down.

As the challenger walked back to the corner, she had a look of quiet confidence, while the champion was looking a little frustrated. Felicia Spencer had so far shown that she could hold her own against the dominant champion; she was proving the sceptics wrong so far. Could she keep proving them wrong and deliver the huge upset victory?

Yeah, about that...

Literally wasting no time, Nunes flattened Spencer with a devastating right hand to open up the second round, eliciting a massive roar from the fans, and the ‘Lioness’ pounced on her prey and battered Spencer with brutal punches; Spencer went limp and the referee dove in to pull her away and Amanda Nunes had weathered an early storm to retain her featherweight title in spectacular fashion.

Result: Amanda 'Leoa dos Ringues' Nunes beat Felicia 'FeeNom' Spencer by Knockout (punch) in 0:28 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship

UFC Heavyweight Stipe Miocic © (19-3) vs. Daniel Cormier (22-1, 1NC) for the UFC Heavyweight Championship

Our co-main event was next up, the second title fight of the evening, and the trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. Cormier had upset Miocic to claim the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 226, before losing it back to Miocic at UFC 241. With the series even at 1-1, it was time for one of these fighters to prove that they were the better fighter and claim the final victory.

The staredown was intense, both Miocic and Cormier very much in ‘the zone’, all business and with nothing on their mind but the fight at hand.

The first round opened up with Miocic throwing some god strikes, the challenger hoping to land something early. Barely a minute in, and the Miocic did just that, catching Cormier flush with a right hook that dropped the challenger, leaving him stunned. Miocic almost literally jumped on Cormier, hitting the dazed challenger with shot after shot after shot; Cormier could barely defend himself, and the referee hauled Miocic off the battered challenger, and the champion had retained his title in a mere 66 seconds.

Result: Stipe Miocic beat Daniel 'DC' Cormier by Knockout (punch) in 1:06 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Heavyweight Championship

Lightweight: Conor McGregor (22-4) vs. Justin Gaethje (21-2)

It goes without saying that there was an incredible atmosphere for this fight, the main event of the evening. Justin Gaethje, a fighter who guarantees an exciting fight every time out, who cannot have a bad fight or even a boring one, taking on the biggest superstar in the history of the sport, a man on whom the spotlight cannot help but fall.

‘The Notorious One’ received a monster reception upon his walkout, a reception that far eclipsed any that had been given that evening. Justin Gaethje looked almost unimpressed throughout the pre-fight introductions, as if the superstar who stood across the cage was just an ordinary opponent.

But there is nothing ordinary about Conor McGregor.

The fans were up for this fight from the very beginning, before a punch or kick had even been thrown. Gaethje avoided the initial strikes of McGregor, none of ‘The Notorious One’s’ punches or kicks landing. McGregor continued to press the attack, and he took a few punches for his troubles before finally landing a high left head kick. Gaethje responded with a series of punches, which had McGregor firing back with some of his vaunted trash talking, not that that would win points on the scorecards. The fight continued to develop with both men landing punches and taking a few punches as well.

Late in the round, Gaethje delivered a one-two combination that set up a nice uppercut, Gaethje ending the round with a similar combination, and that would seem to give Gaethje the edge in the fight so far.

After a bombastic series of instructions from his cornermen, McGregor perhaps surprised Gaethje by starting out the second round more patiently than he or anyone else expected. That patience paid off when, just over a minute into the round, McGregor landed a snapping head kick that wobbled the normally sturdy ‘Highlight’. McGregor then stunned Gaethje, literally and figuratively, with a sharp spinning backfist that cracked Gaethje flush in the jaw and dropped him to the mat like a sack of potatoes.

The already fevered fans erupted with a collective roar that filled the arena, a roar that only got louder, somehow, when McGregor delivered a pinpoint series of right hands to the prone Gaethje, who took them flush. Referee Marc Goddard gave Gaethje every chance to try and escape, but when Gaethje went limp the referee’s hand was forced and the fans went nuts as ‘The Notorious One’ was pulled away from his fallen foe, and Conor McGregor had delivered the highlight reel moment of the night, one that would be replayed on sports shows all over the world.

Result: 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor beat Justin 'The Highlight' Gaethje by Knockout (punch) in 2:01 of Round 2

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Klidson de Abreu vs. Saparbek Safarov

Performance of the Night: Michel Pereira

Knockout of the Night: Conor McGregor

Submission of the Night: Tyson Pedro

Predictions

CageRage: (9/16)

CageRage (Overall): (44/72)

Fantabulous · August 5, 2020

UFC Rankings; Tuesday of Week 4 of May 2020

Fantabulous · August 6, 2020

Someone has been playing dirty

Tuesday of Week 4 of May 2020

I wouldn't have been shocked if Caceres had failed for recreational drugs, but him failing for PED's was a surprise.

Uh oh.

Fantabulous · August 8, 2020

Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa to headline UFC 252

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Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa to headline UFC 252; Zhang vs. Namajunas will be the co-main event

Saturday of Week 4 of May

The UFC today announced that UFC 252, which will be called Mayhem in Massachusetts, will be headlined by UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya defending his title against Paulo Costa. The co-main event will see Zhang Weili defend the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship against former champion Rose Namajunas.

Israel Adesanya, the UFC’s middleweight champion, is one of the most exciting fighters in the world, and, at UFC 252, he’ll be putting his title and his unbeaten record on the line against an opponent who is being considered his toughest challenge to date, and, not only that, he too is unbeaten.

Adesanya has already made one successful defence of his title, retaining it at UFC 258 with a unanimous decision victory over perennial contender Yoel Romero. The fight was one that left a cloud hanging over Adesanya, as it failed to live up to expectations. However, Adesanya has a chance to dispel that cloud, if, that is, he can fend off the challenge of the hottest contender in the middleweight division, Paulo Costa.

Paulo Costa comes into UFC 252 after an injury-imposed layoff, but that time off has done nothing to dampen the momentum of an unbeaten fighter looking to become a UFC champion. Costa’s last three victories have included finishes of former welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks, of Uriah Hall, and a unanimous decision win over Yoel Romero. Costa was already heading for this title fight before injury struck, but now, Costa is back at full health, and is ready to stake his claim as being the best middleweight in the UFC.

Can the unbeaten Costa become the champion he feels destine to be? Or will ‘The Last Stylebender’ retain his title against the threat that stands before him?

Whose unbeaten run will end at UFC 252?

Zhang Weili enters UFC 252 off of the back of what is widely considered to be the greatest fight in female combat sports history, a split-decision win over former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248. Zhang shocked everyone when she upset Jessica Andrade to become UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, a victory that also made Zhang the first ever Chinese champion in UFC history. And while most people expected Zhang to lose to Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248, she defied the odds and retained her title in a fight that is the front runner to claim Fight of the Year honours, and is also a serious contender for Fight of the Decade.

Zhang’s next challenger is also a former strawweight champion, an opponent who is also familiar with Joanna Jędrzejczyk, having faced and beaten her twice before. And, like Zhang, her opponent has also faced Jessica Andrade. But her opponent has had mixed results in that department, having lost the title with one of the most memorable finishes of the year.

Rose Namajunas entered her UFC 237 title defence against Jessica Andrade with all the confidence in the world, having first TKO’d Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 217 to shock the MMA world and claim the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship, and then retaining her title in the rematch, this time with a unanimous decision victory. And for most of the fight against Andrade, it looked like Namajunas would retain her title. But one mistake was all it took for everything to come crashing down, literally, as a desperation slam by Andrade off a submission attempt saw Namajunas being dumped almost right on her head and getting knocked out cold, resulting in Namajunas losing her title and giving us one of the scariest scenes of the year.

The effects of that slam, both the physical and psychological, resulted in Namajunas being out of action for almost a year, but she returned at UFC 249 and gained brutal retribution over Andrade with a devastating TKO win in the first round. Rose Namajunas was back, she appeared to be better than ever, and, almost as importantly, she had asserted herself as the top strawweight contender in stunning fashion.

Can Zhang Weili retain her title and maintain her status as the pride of China? Or will ‘Thug Rose’ reclaim the title she fought so hard to win, and reclaim her spot as the best strawweight in the world?

Also at UFC 252, former champions collide as Henry Cejudo faces Cody Garbrandt. Cejudo lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship title to Dominick Cruz earlier this month, and he has wasted no time in agreeing to get back in the cage, determined to earn the chance to regain his title. Cejudo was another fighter who seemed set for a long reign, having claimed the vacant bantamweight title with a TKO win over Marlon Moraes. Yet Dominick Cruz turned back the clock earlier this month to take the title from Cejudo, and Cejudo is determined to get back the title he feels rightfully belongs to him.

But Cejudo will be taking on an opponent who is equally determined to regain the bantamweight title.

Cody Garbrandt had been the one to take the title from Cruz, and seemed set to a long run as champion, but back-to-back losses to hated rival T.J. Dillashaw were followed by a crushing knockout loss to Pedro Munhoz. Garbrandt had fallen far from his lofty perch, and it was looking bleak for Garbrandt, who had the world at his fingertips but was in danger of becoming a one-hit wonder. Yet an emphatic first round win over Jimmie Rivera a UFC Fight Night 172 showed that Garbrandt has plenty left in the tank, and a victory over Henry Cejudo, especially a decisive one, may be enough to put Garbrandt back in the ranks of the title contenders.

We’ll also see a rematch between Germaine de Randamie and Holly Holm, a big light heavyweight contest between Misha Cirkunov and Anthony Smith, and, in a fight that will put the welterweight division on notice, Nick Diaz makes his highly anticipated UFC return against the submission master Demian Maia.

What will the Stockton native look like in his return to the octagon? Can Maia make it an unhappy return?

UFC 252 will take place on Saturday of Week 4 of July in Boston, Massachusetts

Main Card

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UFC Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya © (19-0) vs. Paulo Costa (13-0) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

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UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion: Zhang Weili © (22-1) vs. Rose Namajunas (9-4) for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship

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Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo (15-3) vs. Cody Garbrandt (12-3)

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Women’s Bantamweight: Germaine de Randamie (9-4) vs. Holly Holm (13-5)

<img alt="g2O4ASo.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/g2O4ASo.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="7bmraM5.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7bmraM5.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov (15-5) vs. Anthony Smith (21-14)

<img alt="ZDwB2U0.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZDwB2U0.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="tUhGZ01.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tUhGZ01.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Welterweight: Nick Diaz (26-9, 2 NC) vs. Demian Maia (28-10)

Preliminary Card

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

Welterweight: Dwight Grant (10-2) vs. Jack Marshman (24-9)

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

Women’s Flyweight: Ariane Lipski (12-5) vs. Maryna Moroz (10-3)

<img alt="NIudtLN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NIudtLN.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="L5k1SJz.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/L5k1SJz.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Strawweight: Mizuki Inoue (15-6) vs. Brianna Van Buren (11-2)

<img alt="smVvc8p.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/smVvc8p.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="rY4qk8K.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rY4qk8K.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Strawweight: Nadia Kassem (6-2) vs. Justine Kish (7-2)

<img alt="sNRajhB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/sNRajhB.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="5F23Cgi.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5F23Cgi.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Alessia Di Chirico (12-4) vs. Julian Marquez (7-2)

<img alt="5CZSjVE.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5CZSjVE.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="ovlq4DB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ovlq4DB.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Bantamweight: Cole Smith (7-1) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (7-2)

<img alt="4dDAbDC.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/4dDAbDC.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="drMQ8zT.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/drMQ8zT.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Lightweight: Paul Felder (17-6) vs. Alan Patrick (15-2)

<img alt="PVNQoEg.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/PVNQoEg.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="C9qEn89.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/C9qEn89.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Bantamweight: Bruno Gustavo da Silva (11-5-2) vs. Alejandro Perez (21-9-1)

<img alt="Nq1qs0N.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Nq1qs0N.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="dxXf0ES.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dxXf0ES.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Women’s Flyweight: Barb Honchak (10-4) vs. Jessica Rose-Clark (9-6)

<img alt="D2Fh50Z.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/D2Fh50Z.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="tg9Wwur.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tg9Wwur.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Light Heavyweight: Jamahall Hill (7-0) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (7-1) </div>

Fantabulous · August 10, 2020

More bad blood made public; a major ruling from the NSAC

Sunday of Week 4 of May 2020

NSAC rules knees to head of a downed opponent are now legal

Monday of Week 1 of June 2020

In a groundbreaking ruling for MMA, one that will impact the sport throughout the country, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has voted to allow knees to the head of a downed opponent. It is expected that this ruling will be adopted by state athletic commissions throughout the country.

Sources tell MMAJunkie that the UFC were the main forces behind this change on the NSAC’s long-time stance on the issue. We’ve also been told that, even in the light of this success, the UFC will not make the same efforts to make soccer kicks to the head of a downed opponent, with UFC President Sven Lundgren said to be adamantly opposed to making such a tactic legal.

Fantabulous · August 12, 2020

UFC 250 drug test failure; suspension appeal; Bellator drug cheat

Monday of Week 1 of June 2020

Tuesday of Week 1 of June 2020

Alex Caceras to appeal against drug suspension

Alex Caceras has announced that he will be filing a legal appeal against his suspension for failing his post-fight drug test from UFC Fight Night 172. Caceras failed for PED’s, and, as a result, was suspended from all competition for one year. If Ceceras is successful in his appeal, his suspension will be reduced, but the length of the reduction will depend on how the athletic commission views the case.

Thursday of Week 1 of June 2020

Fantabulous · August 15, 2020

UFC Fight Night 173: Lewis vs. Overeem

<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 173: Lewis vs. Overeem

Date: Saturday of Week 1 of June 2020 Location: Alabama

Attendance: 3,825 Gate: $810,900

Critical Rating: 75% Commercial Rating: 96%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald

Preliminary Card

<img alt="tf6WIJ4.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tf6WIJ4.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="JsP0AQt.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JsP0AQt.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon (12-5) vs. Joe Soto (18-7)

Although Gagnon had his moments, mainly with takedowns, he couldn’t do much when he was in a position of control, and Gagnon actually almost got trapped by a guillotine choke. Otherwise, this fight was a great performance by Joe Soto, with Soto dominating the majority of the action; Soto had Gagnon wobbled off a right high kick right as the fight ended, although Gagnon still managed to get a desperation takedown.

In his post-fight interview, Soto was clear in who he wanted his next, calling for a fight with Sean O’Malley.

Result: Joe 'One Bad Mofo' Soto beat Mitch Gagnon by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="Yf2B1Hd.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Yf2B1Hd.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="Krt4xDO.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Krt4xDO.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Featherweight: Guido Cannetti (8-5) vs. Teruto Ishihara (10-7-2)

Other than some clinching against cage in the third round, this fight was all Ishihara, who dominated the action, with the second round featuring an especially commanding performance. Such was Ishihara’s showing that one judge even scored the second round as a 10-8.

Ishihara, despite having to speak through an interpreter, was very charismatic in his interview, and praised Cannetti for being a tough opponent.

Result: Teruto 'Yashabo' Ishihara beat Guido 'Ninja' Cannetti by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="CWlFIpN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CWlFIpN.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="nF4IQzj.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nF4IQzj.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Welterweight: Bryan Barbarena (14-7) vs. Alexey Kunchenko (20-2)

The first round saw Barberena controlling Kuncheko on the mat, but unable to inflict much damage due to his opponent neutralizing all of his efforts to do so. Early in the second, Kuncheko came into the fight with a right hook that had Barberena on unsteady feet; a big right hand dropped Barberena and a series of massive punches finished the job, with Kuncheko getting the TKO victory.

Result: Alexey Kunchenko beat Bryan 'Bam Bam' Barberena by TKO (strikes) in 1:06 of Round 2

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

Heavyweight: Ilir Latiffi (14-8, 1NC) vs. Tai Tuivasa (8-3)

Ilir Latifi came into this fight with a huge weight disadvantage; Tuivasa outweighed him by at least 50lbs. But that also meant that Latifi a lot quicker than his opponent, and that speed gave him a huge edge as Latifi was just too quick for Tuivasa throughout this fight, and, while both men were tired by the end, Latifi held on, sometimes literally, to see the fight out and gain the unanimous decision victory.

Result: Ilir 'The Sledgehammer' Latifi beat Tai 'Bam Bam' Tuivasa by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

<img alt="0xrTudC.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0xrTudC.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="2BsB9S6.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2BsB9S6.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Light Heavyweight: Khadis Igragimov (8-2) vs. Justin Ledet (9-3, 1NC)

If you took your time getting back to your seat, you’ll have missed this fight entirely; it didn’t even last a minute. Ledet caught Ibragimov with a crunching right hook, only the second punch of the fight he’d thrown, and Ibragimov was staggering backwards. One more punch dropped Ibragimov, a barrage of others soon followed, and with Ibragimov taking a beating, the referee stepped in to stop the fight after just 47 seconds.

Result: Justin 'El Blanco' Ledet beat Khadis Ibragimov by TKO (strikes) in 0:47 of Round 1

<img alt="XSPlnnZ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XSPlnnZ.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="3awrREX.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3awrREX.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Marc-Andre Barriult (11-4) vs. Eric Spicely (10-4)

Despite being the underdog, or maybe because of that, Marc-Andre Barriault put in a great performance as he dominated Eric Spicely for much of this fight. Barriault was confident throughout, almost landing at will sometimes, and a massive right hand followed by some ground and pound delivered the TKO win.

In his post-fight interview, Barriault said that being the underdog made him extremely motivated, and that motivation clearly paid off.

Result: Marc-Andre 'Power Bar' Barriault beat Eric 'Zebrinha' Spicely by TKO (strikes) in 3:55 of Round 2

<img alt="GHC4m3f.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/GHC4m3f.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="eBYgTKF.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/eBYgTKF.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Welterweight: Brian Camozzi (7-5) vs. Zelim Imadaev (8-2)

Imadaev dominated the majority of this fight, using forward pressure and plenty of head movement to both deliver punishment and avoid the counterattack, and there seemed little that Camozzi could do to get himself into the fight. But a takedown early in the third round ended up making all the difference; with Imadaev sat up against the cage, Camozzi managed to slip into the full mount, and he began raining down some sickening elbows to the head of Imadaev, and when Imadaev went limp the referee was in like a shot to stop the fight.

Fired up by his comeback victory, Camozzi named David Zawada as the person he’d like to face next.

Result: Brian 'The Mantis' Camozzi beat Zelim Imadaev by Knockout (punch) in 2:58 of Round 3

<img alt="xxRzYci.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xxRzYci.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="ZTLt2zB.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZTLt2zB.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Oskar Piechota (11-3-1) vs. Trevor Smith (15-10)

For 4:11, this fight was one-way traffic, with Piechota shoving away Smith’s attempted clinches and peppering him with numerous punches. Just past the half-way mark of the first round, Piechota dropped Smith a great right hook; Piechota tried to finish Smith off with punches, but Smith was able to scramble free and tussle ensued. Piechota went for the leg of Smith but was unsuccessful, and, in the process, left his head wide open for Smith to quickly secure a D’Arce Choke, and, with the hold sunk in, Piechota was in real trouble; he tried to hold on to see out the round, but was forced to tap out at literally the last second.

During his post-fight interview, Smith, who was a serious underdog, admitted that being the underdog hurt his pride, but that he had used that to spur himself on and it had paid great dividends.

Result: Trevor 'Hot Sauce' Smith beat Oskar 'Imadlo' Piechota by Submission (D'Arce Choke) in 4:59 of Round 1

<img alt="2Q7jO19.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2Q7jO19.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="cT9HhxN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cT9HhxN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Alen Amedovski*(missed weight) (8-2) vs. Antionia Braga Neto (9-3, 1NC)

Coming in with a weight advantage, Amedovski was something of a favourite, but the completive nature of the fight belied that status. The fight was primarily the striking of Amedovski against the grappling of Neto, and Neto seemed to be consistently doing enough throughout the fight to take the fight on the scorecards. So it was a big surprise when, not only did the fight go a split-decision, but that it was Amedovski who got the nod.

Result: Alen Amedovski beat Antonio Braga Neto by Split-Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

<img alt="ajKtpql.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ajKtpql.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="uqX6tp0.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uqX6tp0.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Lightweight: Yancy Medeiros (15-7, 1NC) vs. Matt Wiman (16-9)

Turning back the clock, Matt Wiman looked as good as he ever has with a performance that seemed to show he has plenty left in the tank. Medeiros seemed ill-prepared for Wiman, and he was dangerously close to being submitted in the first round. He escaped, but that was really the best Medeiros did in a fight that was dominated by his opponent.

Result: 'Handsome' Matt Wiman beat Yancy 'Frisson' Medeiros by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Main Card

<img alt="Ecta3Ba.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Ecta3Ba.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="R9jbFfW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/R9jbFfW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Welterweight: Warrley Alves (13-4) vs. Niko Price (14-3, 1NC)

The main card started out with a decent fight that had a brutal finish. After lots of clinching, Price managed to secure a Muay Thai clinch of Alves, and, following a knee to the ribs of Alves, Price landed a vicious knee that caught Alves right on the button and saw Alves crumple to the mat in an unconscious heap.

Clearly in a good mood after this outing, Price, in his post-fight interview, declared his intention to celebrate by going clubbing, and that everyone who wanted to celebrate with him was welcome to join in the fun.

Result:Niko 'The Hybrid' Price beat Warlley Alves by Knockout (knee) in 3:21 of Round 1

<img alt="2jMTEng.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2jMTEng.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="7bpm5Bx.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7bpm5Bx.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Middleweight: Krzysztof Jotko (21-4) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (11-0)

A great all-action affair, we had our second consecutive fight with a first round finish. This was a total stand-up fight, the action never hitting the ground until Shahbazyan dropped Jotko right a hard right. Shahbazyan followed up with some massive right hands and referee Marc Goddard was left with no choice to stop the fight.

Result: 'The Golden Boy' Edmen Shahbazyan beat Krzysztof Jotko by TKO (strikes) in 3:44 of Round 1

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

Middleweight: Antonio Carlos Junior (10-4, 1NC) vs. Brad Tavares (17-6)

From the outset, Antonio Carlos Junior just wasn’t in the fight; it was as if he had lost before the fight started. Junior was almost finished in the first round, barely surviving, and it didn’t take long for Tavares to finally end things in the second round, landing a fantastic right cross, although victory may have come at a price.

Result: Brad Tavares beat Antonio 'Cara De Sapato' Carlos Junior by Knockout (punch) in 1:04 of Round 2

<img alt="2POmbqX.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2POmbqX.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="r8O7KJI.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/r8O7KJI.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Lightweight: Carlos Diego Ferreira (17-2) vs. Alexander Hernandez (11-2)

This was a very competitive fight with both fighters mixing things up with striking and grappling although neither was able establish any true dominance despite putting in a lot of effort. Such was that effort that both men were breathing heavily in the third round, and when the fight ended it wasn’t quite clear who would get the nod.

In the end, though, it was Ferreira who claimed victory, with 29-28 scores on all three scorecards.

Result: Carlos Diego Ferreira beat Alexander 'The Great' Hernandez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

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Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (14-3) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (58-13-1)

The co-main event was a big clash in the heavyweight division; a win for Ngannou would affirm his status as a top contender to the heavyweight title, while a win for Oleinik would likely put his name in the mix of potential contenders.

The early going of first round saw Ngannou using his right hand to both deliver damage and keep Oleinik at bay, and, whilst it had success, when Ngannou missed with one punch, Oleinik seized the opening get hold of Ngannou and trip him up and get him to the ground. Oleinik landed in side-control and started making myriad submission attempts, Oleinik going from one submission to the other; Ngannou was able to fend them all off, but he was unable to escape before the round ended.

Ngannou started off the second round with a quick flurry of activity before slowing down, perhaps looking to conserve energy. Oleinik once more saw an opening for a takedown attempt and went for it, getting hold of Ngannou and tripping him up to get him down to the mat, Oleinik ending up in the guard of Ngannou. Oleinik tried to get past the guard of Ngannou, but in doing so he allowed Ngannou to try and scramble free and the scramble ended up with Ngannou pressing Oleinik up against the fence; Ngannou maintained this position for a while before Oleinik tripped him back up again, and Oleinik continuously went for submissions for the remainder of the round.

Knowing what was working best for him, Oleinik quickly went to take Ngannou down, and was able to do so. Ngannou to escape after not too long and was pressing Oleinik up against the cage, but the effort of constantly having to defend against takedowns and submissions was starting to take noticeable toll on Ngannou and he was now breathing heavily. Oleinik was able to break free from Ngannou, and, while he was also tiring, he still had the strength to survive a right hand and take Ngannou back down to the mat. Ngannou made an attempt to power free, and he almost scrambled his way clear, but in doing so Ngannou left his nick wide open and Oleinik clamped on a tight guillotine choke, and, after a moment of resistance, Ngannou was forced to tap out and Oleinik had scored a major victory.

Showing the quiet confidence that was his hallmark, Oleinik issued a post-fight challenge to Derrick Lewis, regardless of how the main event went.

Result: Aleksei 'The Boa Constrictor' Oleinik beat Francis 'The Predator' Ngannou by Submission (guillotine choke) in 4:00 of Round 3

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Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis (23-7, 1NC) vs. Alistair Overeem (45-18, 1NC)

The main event of the evening was the fight everyone that expected it to be; short, violent, and with a concussive finish. Both men started throwing early, each man having mixed results. As both men moved forward, pressing their attack, Lewis peppered Overeem with a flurry of punches, one of which was a vicious right cross; Overeem rather abruptly collapsed to the mat in a heap and the fans roared their approval as ‘The Black Beast’ delivered the highlight reel finish they had wanted to see.

Always the colourful character, Lewis issued a challenge to ‘Big Ticket’ Walt Harris in his post-match interview.

Result: Derrick 'The Black Beast' Lewis beat Alistair 'Demolition Man' Overeem by Knockout (punch) in 2:14 of Round 1

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Francis Ngannou vs. Aleksei Oleinik

Performance of the Night: n/a

Knockout of the Night: Niko Price

Submission of the Night: Aleksei Oleinik

Predictions

CageRage: (3/16)

CageRage (Overall): (47/88)

mattu29: (10/16)

mattu29 (Overall): (29/47)

It wasn’t a good night for CageRage, but mattu29 did very well.</div>

Fantabulous · August 18, 2020

UFC Rankings; Sunday of Week 1 of June 2020

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Fantabulous · August 19, 2020

PFL results, and another social media spat

Saturday of Week 1 of June 2020

Thursday of Week 2 of June 2020

Fantabulous · August 21, 2020

Nina Ansaroff out of UFC Fight Night 175

Friday of Week 2 of June 2020

Nina Ansaroff out of UFC Fight Night 175

It’s been announced that Nina Ansaroff has suffered a groin injury in training, and, as a result, her fight against Yan Xiaonan at UFC Fight Night 175 has been cancelled. Xiaonan has been removed from the card as there is no time to find a replacement.

UFC Fight Night 175 takes place next Saturday night.

From the author: UFC Fight Night 174 will be posted tomorrow night.

Fantabulous · August 22, 2020

UFC Fight Night 174: Dariush vs. Poirier

UFC Fight Night 174: Dariush vs. Poirier

Date: Saturday of Week 2 of June 2020 Location: South Dakota

Attendance: 1,968 Gate: $299,136

Critical Rating: 73% Commercial Rating: 62%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Trevin Giles (12-2) vs. Marcus Perez (11-3)

The first round was mostly a lot of grappling and scrambling on the ground, with Perez even going for a twister at one point! In the second round the action was purely a stand-up battle, and an exciting one at that, one that had the fans on their feet at various points. The third round was more of the same, albeit with a slower pace, until the half-way mark when Perez took Giles down; Giles almost got a guillotine off the takedown, but Perez escaped. And while Perez couldn’t do much from his position, he was at least able to control Giles until the round ended.

And it was Perez who got the win, with all three judges giving him the fight 29-28.

Result: Markus 'Maluko' Perez beat Trevin 'The Problem' Giles by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Heavyweight: Raphael Pessoa (10-1) vs. Salimgirey Rasulov (11-7)

This fight was decent and one that Rasulov controlled the first two rounds of with grappling and clinching. Pessoa returned the favour in the third round, but he couldn’t get the needed finish so Rasulov took the fight when it went to the scorecards.

Result: Salimgirey 'Tank' Rasulov beat Raphael Pessoa by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Light Heavyweight: Roman Dolidze (6-0) vs. William Knight (7-1)

This was a very even fight for most of its duration, both Dolidze and Knight having their successes, but was ‘The Knightmare’ who came out on top after landing a great uppercut early in the second round; the punch dropped Dolidze, and Knight followed up with some sickening shots to the face that forced the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

Result: William 'The Knightmare' Knight beat Roman Dolidze by TKO (strikes) in 1:22 of Round 2

Heavyweight: Todd Duffee (9-3, 1NC) vs. Dmitriy Sosnovskiy (11-0)

Todd Duffee came into this fight with a significant weight advantage, around 25lbs, and it proved to be both a hindrance and a help. For much of the fight, it was a hindrance because it seemed like Duffee was always open to the counters of his opponent, and it was only his power punches that kept the match from being one-sided. In the second round, though, Duffee made his weight work for him using clinch work, which tired Sosnovskiy just enough to leave him open to a brutal uppercut that left him completely unconscious.

Result: 'The Irish Car Bomb' Todd Duffee beat Dmitriy 'Wicked Machine' Sosnovskiy by Knockout (punch) in 3:06 of Round 2

Welterweight: Tristan Connelly (14-6) vs. Sheldon Westcott (9-3-1)

Connelly’s corner fired their man up before the fight began, but it did little good with Connelly getting dominated for the majority of the fight. Westcott mixed strikes and grappling to slowly break Connelly down before a brutal right hand late in the third round left Connelly slumped against the cage before he collapsed to the floor, with Westcott then dropping a series of heavy punches to get the stoppage victory.

In his post-fight interview, which saw him get the crowd going due to his personality, Westcott said that for his next opponent he’d like to face Khaos Williams.

Result: Sheldon Westcott beat Tristan 'Boondock' Connelly by TKO (strikes) in 3:51 of Round 3

Middleweight: Tom Breese (11-2) vs. Rodolfo Viera (7-0)

It didn’t take Vieira too long to take care of business, as he needed less than two minutes to hand Tom Breese his first loss. Vieira quickly took Breese down, and, in doing so, take his back. Vieira swiftly got both hooks in and almost effortlessly trapped Breese with a rear naked choke and forced the submission.

Rodolfo didn’t show the greatest charisma in his post-fight interview, but he looked good and he did issue a challenge to Bevon Lewis.

Result: Rodolfo 'The Black Belt Hunter' Vieira beat 'Fearless' Tom Breese by Submission (rear naked choke) in 1:46 of Round 1

Lightweight: Renato Caneiro (14-3-1) vs. Gregor Gillespie (13-1)

Coming off his first ever loss, Gregor Gillespie rebounded with a commanding performance, dominating all aspects of this fight, and the action in general, for all three rounds and gaining a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

Result: Gregor 'The Gift' Gillespie beat Renato 'Moicano' Carneiro by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Women’s Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee (4-2) vs. Mallory Martin (6-3)

Loma Lookboonmee looked to be in excellent form tonight with a display of pinpoint striking that saw her take Mallory Martin apart. With a growing confidence, Lookboonmee dismantled Martin with precision punches and kicks, eventually dropping her opponent with a wicked right uppercut. Lookboonmee rained down punches on Martin and referee Mario Yamasaki was left with no option but to stop the fight.

Result: Loma Lookboonmee beat Mallory Martin by TKO (strikes) in 4:03 of Round 1

Light Heavyweight: Eryk Anders (13-4) vs. Jim Crute (11-1)

This was a hard fought, close fight, with nothing to really separate either fighter in the first round. The second and third rounds were equally competitive, although both fighter clearly won a round each, so it all came down to how the first round was viewed. Not even the judges could reach a consensus on that, but it was Crute who was favoured by fate as he got the split-decision win.

Result: Jim 'The Brute' Crute beat Eryk 'Ya Boi' Anders by Split-Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

Light Heavyweight: Mike Rodriguez (10-4-1) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (8-4, 1NC)

Rountree mixed up his striking with an effective use of the Muay-Thai clinch to dominate the first two rounds. Perhaps lulled into feeling comfortable, Rountree was dropped with a stunning head kick very early in the third round, and was very close to being finished, but he somehow survived the follow up attack. Rodriguez couldn’t fully capitalise on his position, though, and a mistimed attempt to gain a better position resulted in Rountree ending up on top and he held on to see out the round. Rountree took the unanimous decision, to no surprise.

Result: Khalil 'The War Horse' Rountree Jr. beat 'Slow' Mike Rodriguez by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28 and 29-28)

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza (15-6) vs. Livia Renata Souza (13-2)

Esparza made excellent use of the jab in this fight; she even had Souza cut under the eye inside of a minute. It was all Esparza for the most part; Souza managed to trip up Esparza late in the second round, and ended up in side-control, but was unable to do anything from there. A similar event happened late in the third round, but that was about it for Souza, who was comfortably dominated throughout.

Making the most of her post-fight interview, Esparza stated that she wanted to face Randa Markos.

Result: Carla 'Cookie Monster' Esparza beat Livia 'Livinha' Renata Souza by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Flyweight: Brandon Moreno (17-5-1) vs. Alex Perez (23-5)

Brandon Moreno took something of a beating in this fight, and was so much on the defence that he was completely gassed by the end of the second round; he looked thoroughly miserable in between rounds, perhaps knowing that he was going out there for a third round and had nothing left in the tank. But he pushed on, and was rewarded with a right to the jaw from Perez to open up the round, a blow that dropped Moreno and appeared to spell disaster. Moreno managed to hold on, literally at times, and it seemed like he was at least going to see the fight out and save some pride. But one last right to the jaw felled Moreno, and Perez unloaded with everything he had, and, eventually, Mario Yamasaki stepped in to call a halt to the fight.

Alex Perez was very happy in his post-fight interview, which he used to call out Alexandre Pantoja.

Result: Alex Perez beat Brandon 'The Assassin Baby' Moreno by TKO (strikes) in 4:31 of Round 3

Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) vs. Pedro Munhoz (18-4, 1NC)

This was a top clash in the bantamweight division, and was the expected hard-fought contest. In the first round, Moraes used a lot of forward pressure and measured striking attacks to take the fight to Munhoz, who couldn’t seem to get anything going. That changed in the second round, with Munhoz changing his approach and using clinch work to keep Moraes pressed up against the cage to wear him down; Munhoz did try to take Moraes down to the mat but couldn’t complete the task. In the third round, Munhoz went for a similar strategy and he was very effective with it, and was able to shutdown any attempts by Moraes to counter with submissions or escape from under Munhoz and get back to his feet.

The fight went the distance and all three judges gave the fight to Munhoz, 29-28.

Result: 'The Young Punisher' Pedro Munhoz beat Marlon Moraes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Featherweight: Ryan Hall (8-1) vs. Dan Ige (13-2)

You know what to expect from Ryan Hall; he wants the fight on the ground. It’s just a case of whether or not you can stop him. In both rounds, Ige had early success in this regard, but, also in both rounds, that success didn’t last. And it was in the second round that Hall was finally able to isolate a leg of Ige and secure a tight kneebar and force a submission.

Result: Ryan Hall beat 'Dynamite' Dan Ige by Submission (kneebar) in 2:55 of Round 2

Lightweight: Dan Hooker (20-8) vs. Islam Makhachev (18-1)

This was a decent fight, but nothing outstanding. The majority of the first round saw Makhachev smothering Hooker on the ground, making no real effort to advance his position or do anything on offense. The second round was very similar, although this time Makhachev made much more of an effort to be active and was peppering Hooker with a number of strikes, and, while the fighters did eventually get stood up, there was not enough time left for Hooker to do anything. The third round was, well, more of the same, only this time Makhachev actually went for the kill, applying a kimura that bent Hooker’s arm to a terrible angle; the fight looked over but Hooker somehow managed to get his arm free. But that was all the success Hooker had, and when the fight ended there was no doubt whatsoever what the outcome was.

Result: Islam Makhachev beat Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush (18-4-1) vs. Dustin Poirier (25-6, 1NC)

It was main event time, a top clash in the lightweight division, with Dariush on a four-fight winning streak, and Poirier making his return to action after falling short in challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title.

Poirier opened up with a confident attack, moving forward and throwing punches. That confidence seemed warranted when he landed sick left head kick just under a minute into the fight that had Dariush wobbling and then falling to the canvas. Poirier pounced, kneeling beside Dariush and hammering away with heavy punches; but perhaps too heavily so because, even as he was rocking Dariush, Poirier was wincing as he landed his blows. Poirier, mindful of what this could mean, went in big, but his over commitment allowed Dariush to sweep him off balance and Poirier ended up having to pull half-guard.

After Poirier fended off some punches by Dariush, the two men spent the rest of the round grappling as they vied for position on the mat, but neither man could improve their position before the round ended.

The second round saw Dariush quickly go for a takedown, but he couldn’t complete the takedown and had to settle for pushing Poirier up against the fence. Dariush tried a little Muay Thai action and used the Muay Thai clinch to deliver a big knee to the chest of Poirier, who took it well. Dariush broke away from Poirier, reassessing the situation before shooting in for another takedown and taking Poirier down. A mad scramble ensued and this resulted in Dariush ending up in the north-south position; Dariush quickly worked his way into applying a north-south choke, which he had tightly applied, but the rounded came to an end before Dariush could get the tapout.

Dariush quickly began looking to get the fight back to the mat in the third round; Poirier was able to fend him off initially with some well-timed punches, but Dariush’s persistence paid off and he got a hold of Poirier and took him down to the mat, with Poirier pulling guard. Amazingly, Poirier began going for a submission off his back, reaching up to take the arm of Dariush, but Dariush pulled free. Dariush promptly countered with a guard pass that Poirier was ill-prepared for and Dariush eased into side-control. Poirier quickly began trying to sweep Dariush off of him, but Dariush was ready for it and he went with the momentum of Poirier and ended taking his back!

Dariush forced Poirier into the mat and worked his arms under the chin of Poirier, going for the rear naked choke; Dariush was able to get the hold in tight and there was a huge roar from the fans when Poirier tapped out and Beneil Dariush had gained what was his biggest victory to date!

[Result: Beneil Dariush beat Dustin 'The Diamond' Poirier by Submission (rear naked choke) in 4:36 of Round 3

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Beneil Darius vs. Dustin Poirier

Performance of the Night: Alex Perez

Knockout of the Night: Loma Lookboonmee

Submission of the Night: Beneil Dariush

Predictions

CageRage: (9/16)

CageRage (Overall): (56/104)

CageRage did a lot better this time, and his overall score equates to a success rate of just under 54%.

Fantabulous · August 23, 2020

Alvey vs. Rua to headline UFC Fight Night 177

Alvey vs. Rua to headline UFC Fight Night 177

Saturday of Week 2 of June 2020

The UFC returns to Georgia for a Fight Night card headlined by two veterans who are sure to bring the heat, as Sam Alvey takes on the legendary Mauricio Rua.

Both men are heavy hitters who know how to finish; of Alvey’s ten victories in the UFC, six were by stoppage, with five of those coming in the first round. Meanwhile, Rua also has ten victories in the UFC, with eight of those coming by stoppage, and one of those wins earning Rua the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Alvey’s last fight saw him score a first round knockout win over Michal Oleskiejczuk at UFC on ESPN 8, a victory which halted a three fight skid. Meanwhile, Rua’s last fight saw him gain a submission victory over Corey Anderson with an armbar in the main event of UFC Fight Night 172, a win which gave Rua a 5-1-1 record in his last seven fights.

Alvey needs to keep his momentum going, but he may find himself with his back against the wall when he faces an opponent in Mauricio Rua who brings it every time he fights.

In the co-main event, Juan Espino returns to action for the first time in almost two years to take on the French heavyweight Cyril Gane. Epsino won the heavyweight tournament on TUF 29, but was unable to follow up on that success due to injuries, so Espino will be looking to pick up where he left off and derail one of the heavyweight division’s hottest rising names. Gane is 7-0, with his last victory being a stunning 42-second knockout of Carlos Felipe at UFC 250.

As with the main event, Espino and Gane are two fights who love to finish, with 12 finishes between them, in 18 combined fights. Will we see another finish when these two heavy hitters collide at UFC Fight Night 177?

In the women’s strawweight division, Amanda Bobby Cooper takes on Japan’s Syuri Kondo. Both women are coming off unanimous decision victories, over Felice Herrig and Alex Chambers respectively, and a victory for either woman would further establish them in one of the UFC’s most exciting divisions.

In other action, Julia Avila faces Macy Chiasson, Drakkar Klose goes up against Arman Tsarukyan, and the main card kicks off with a welterweight clash between Alan Jouban and Alex Morono.

All this, plus a packed preliminary card headlined by a heavyweight contest pitting Shamil Abdurakhimov against Andrei Arlovski, take place in Georgia on Saturday of Week 2 of August at UFC Fight Night 177

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (34-13, 1NC) vs. Maurico Rua (26-11-1)

Heavyweight: Juan Espino (10-1) vs. Ciryl Gane (7-0

Women’s Strawweight: Amanda Bobby Cooper (4-5) vs. Syuri Kondo (7-3)

Women’s Bantamweight: Julia Avila (7-1) vs. Macy Chiasson (6-1)

Lightweight: Drakkar Klose (12-2-1) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (15-2)

Welterweight: Alan Jouban (16-7) vs. Alex Morono (17-6, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Shamil Abdurakhimov (21-5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (28-19, 2NC)

Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bakauskas (10-2) vs. Alonzo Menifield (9-0)

Middleweight: Karl Roberson (9-2) vs. Punahele Sorianpo (7-0)

Welterweight: Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (22-7) vs. Vicente Luque (17-7-1)

Lightweight: Michael Johnson (19-15) vs. Jim Miller (31-15, 1NC)

Featherweight: Spike Carlyle (9-1) vs. Youssef Zalal (8-1)

Bantamweight: Rob Font (17-4) vs. Marlon Vera (17-5-1)

Women’s Bantamweight: Liana Jouja (7-3) vs. Pannie Kianzad (12-6)

Women’s Flyweight: Shana Dobson (4-4) vs. Emily Whitmire (4-3)

Women’s Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba (16-1) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-6)

Fantabulous · August 24, 2020

UFC Rankings; Sunday of Week 2 of June 2020

Xience · August 25, 2020

Hey man, did you make the updated face cuts yourself for the fighters? Would you be able to upload the your graphics folder? I love the MW style faces and struggle playing using the non-matching new cuts, would very much be appreciated if possible, thank you!

Fantabulous · August 26, 2020

Bellator results; other news

Saturday of Week 2 of June 2020

Wednesday of Week 3 of June 2020

Hey man, did you make the updated face cuts yourself for the fighters? Would you be able to upload the your graphics folder? I love the MW style faces and struggle playing using the non-matching new cuts, would very much be appreciated if possible, thank you!

Yes, I made them myself. I made four more for this entry, and the Michael Chandler one is actually a slightly tweaked version of my original remake. I can bundle together the face cuts I’ve done; at last count, there’s just over 250. I’m regularly adding new ones as the dynasty rolls on, so I can make periodic updates of the new face cuts I’ve made.

What I’ll try to do tomorrow is bundle together the non-spoiler ones; I invariably make a new cut for new signings. And I can upload them as a RAR file and post a link, and you and anyone else who wants them can download them.

Fantabulous · August 27, 2020

Face Cuts

As requested, here is a link to download the face cuts that I've made for my dynasty. It is possible that I've accidentally bundled in a few that I didn't make, but, at the very least, the vast majority are mine. There are 334 of them in the upload.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/hgvlfvptq9oh6ne/Face+Cuts.rar/file

Fantabulous · August 29, 2020

UFC Fight Night 175: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira

UFC Fight Night 175: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira

Date: Saturday of Week 3 of June 2020 Location: South Carolina

Attendance: 2,629 Gate: $399,608

Critical Rating: 68% Commercial Rating: 72%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald

Preliminary Card

Lightweight: Damir Hadzovic (13-6) vs. Teemu Packalan (8-3)

The preliminary action got off to a great start in this hard fought fight, with Hadzovic using his striking and Packalen trying to neutralize that striking with his grappling game. Packalen was somewhat successful with the grappling game in the first round, but his best grappling success came in the second round when hetripped Hadzovic up, got him seated against the cage, and used positioning to apply a painful but effective guillotine choke to get the tap.

Packalan’s post-fight interview didn’t go to waste, as he called for a fight with Jared Gordon.

Result: Teemu 'Pacu' Packalen beat 'The Bosniam Bomber' Damir Hadzovic by submission due to a guillotine choke in 1:31 of Round 2

Welterweight: Jessin Ayari (16-5) vs. Alvaro Herrera (9-6)

A decent fight, this one came to an end just past the three minute mark when a right hand from Ayari had Herrera backing up and covering up. Ayari blitzed Herrera with several big shots, Herrera offering little defence, but it wasn’t until Ayari delivered an uppercut that broke the guard of Herrera and left him slumped against the cage and wobbling that Herb Dean finally stepped in to stop the fight.

Ayari popped the fans with his post-fight interview, declaring his intention to party at a nearby club and that everyone was invited.

Result: Jessin 'Abacus' Ayari beat Alvaro 'El Chango' Herrera by TKO due to strikes in 3:14 of Round 1

Lightweight: Austin Hubbard (11-4) vs. Rodrigo Vargas (11-4)

For the first two rounds this fight was all Hubbard as he used forward pressure and lots of head movement to keep Vargas off-base and unable to deal with his relentless attack. But that kind of effort expends a lot of energy, and, by the third round, Hubbard had slowed down and couldn’t stop Vargas from taking him down. After some resistance, Vargas was able to flatten Hubbard out and sink in a rear naked choke to get the submission.

Vargas wasn’t the best of speakers in his post-fight interview, but at least he looked good while standing there.

Result: Rodrigo 'Kazula' Vargas beat Austin 'Thud' Hubbard by submission due to a rear naked choke in 3:47 of Round 3

Welterweight: Emil Meek (9-5, 1NC) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (15-3-1)

A highly competitive first round was almost all stand-up, both fighters landing, but with Meek also having some success in landing leg kicks, leg kicks that ended up causing Nurmagomedov to limp; Meel then ended the round with a big takedown. The second round was very similar, with the only real difference being that Nurmagomedov’s limp was becoming a lot more pronounced. Things turned around for Nurmagomedov in the third round as he was able take advantage of a tiring Meek and lift him up and slam him to the ground within thirty seconds of the round starting.

Able to keep Nurmagomedov in a butterfly guard, Meek tried to scramble free, which only resulted in Nurmagomedov taking side-control. Again, Meek tried to scramble free but again Meek ended up making things worse for himself as he ended up giving up his back. Nurmagomedov began working for a rear naked choke and, after some spirited resistance, got the hold applied and Meek had no choice but to tap out.

Result: Abubakar Nurmagomedov beat Emil 'Valhalla' Meek by submission due to a rear naked choke in 4:46 of Round 3

Bantamweight: Douglas Sliva de Andrade (26-3, 1NC) vs. Eddie Wineland (24-13, 1)

Eddie Wineland put in a great showing here, using counterpunches to great effect throughout the fight. It seemed like whatever Silva de Andrade threw, Wineland was able to avoid it and respond with a hard shot of his own, and that was really the story of the fight, with Silva de Andrade even getting cut under his eye. Things didn’t change much for Silva de Andrade in the third round, and it came to an end, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind what the judges’ decision would be

Showing great confidence in himself, Wineland used his post-fight interview to call for a fight with Ricky Simon.

Result: Eddie Wineland beat 'D'Silva' Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Flyweight: David Dvorak (18-3) vs. Jenel Lausa (7-4)

This was a decent fight, although nothing outstanding. Lausa mainly outworked Dvorak, who was very tired by the third round, and, when the fight hit the ground, an ill-timed scramble left Dvorak open for a kneebar that got a swift tap.

Result: Jenel 'The Demolition Man' Lausa beat 'Killa Khroust' David Dvorak by submission due to a kneebar in 3:42 of Round 3

Women’s Flyweight: Montana De La Rosa (11-5) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (8-1)

Shevchenko came out for the first round a confident fighter and left it a not-so confident fighter, because de la Rosa pretty much walked right through her, taking her down early, easily transitioning into the mount, and then locking on an armbar for the submission victory.

De La Rosa didn’t shine as much on the mic as she did during the fight, but it can’t be denied that she’s very photogenic.

Result: Montana de la Rosa beat Antonina 'The Panther' Shevchenko by submission due to an armbar in 2:14 of Round 1

Light Heavyweight: Aleksander Rakic (12-2) vs. Gian Villante (17-11)

Villante had a significant weight advantage in this fight, but it did him absolutely no good at all because Rakic hit a right uppercut almost right away that had Villante wobbling and then falling to the ground. Some massive right hands soon followed and the referee jumped in to call the fight off after just 34 seconds.

Result: Aleksandar Rakic beat Gian Villante by TKO due to strikes in 0:34 of Round 1

Heavyweight: Maurice Green (8-4) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (7-0)

This was another fight that failed to get out of the first round, with Nascimento taking Greene down right away, avoiding a guillotine attempt, and then breaking the guard of Greene and quickly going for a toe hold and getting the submission.

Nascimento came across very well in his post-fight interview, where he said that he was thrilled to have won his UFC debut.

Result: Rodrigo 'Ze Colmeia' Nascimento beat Maurice 'The Crochet Boss' Greene by submission due to a toe hold in 2:04 of Round 1

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Ed Herman (24-14, 1NC) vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira (23-9)

This fight was fine, although it didn’t necessarily get the main card off to the most exciting of starts. It featured a mix of striking and grappling, and was pretty even, so it had that going for it. In fact, the fight was so even that we had the very rare majority draw verdict, with Nogueira slipping by with the win.

Result: Antonio 'Minotoro' Rogerio Nogueira beat Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman by majority decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-28)

Lightweight: Davi Ramos (10-3) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (25-7)

The first round was rather dull; Ramos quickly pulled guard on Massaranduba, and they stayed like that for almost the entire round, with very little happening. Things picked up a little in the second round; Ramos took the fight to the ground again, but there was more action on the ground this time, and Ramos began delivering more in the way of punishment. Massaranduba opened up the third round with a high kick that rocked Ramos, but he couldn’t follow up on it properly and the fight went back to the ground, where it stayed for most of the duration, and some decent grappling ensued.

Trinaldo took the victory, though it was only by split decision, and Trinaldo made it very clear in his post-fight interview that he felt he should have had a unanimous decision victory.

Result: Francisco 'Massaranduba' Trinaldo beat Davi 'Tasmanian Devil' Ramos by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

Lightweight: Ovince St. Preux (24-12) vs. Jiri Prochzaka (23-3-1)

St. Preux came into the fight with a noticeable weight advantage, looking quite a bit bigger than Prochazka, although it didn’t seem to play major part in the contest, except, perhaps, in forcing St. Preux to slow the pace down in the second round. And it was in the second round that St. Preux landed the first significant strike of power, dropping Prochazka with an uppercut. Yet it didn’t keep Prozchaka down for long, and when St. Preux pounced to take advantage, Prozchaka managed to sweep St. Preux and get him pressed up against the cage.

In the third round, Prochazka went back to smothering St. Preux against the cagt, but, whilst greatly effective in neutralizing St. Preux, it didn’t do much damage. And, when the referee ordered a separation due to inactivity, it was very clear that Prochazka was now very tired.

As the round wound down, St. Preux acknowledged some instructions from his corner and went for the kill, backing Prochazka up against the cage and laying him into him some nasty shots; despite looking tired himself, St. Preux managed to keep landing shots until Herb Dean had finally decided that he’d seen enough and he stepped in to stop the fight.

St. Preux knew who he wanted for his next fight when asked, because he named Volkan Oezdemir as the person he’d like to face next.

Result: Ovince St. Preux beat Jiri 'Denisa' Prochazka by TKO due to strikes in 4:53 of Round 3

Bantamweight: John Dodson (21-11) vs. Cory Sandhagen (12-1)

Sandhagen took Dodson down early in the first round, and so began a sequence that would repeated itself three times, where Dodson managed to pull the both of them back to the cage, allowing Dodson to walk his back to his feet, but unable to escape Sandhagen’s grip, with Sandhagen then taking Dodson back down. Sandhagen did manage to get the back of Dodson late in the round, but Dodson defend Sandhagen’s attempts at a rear naked choke.

In the second round, Dodson took over control of the fight and kept it standing up. He landed a number of great looking strikes that both hurt Sandhagen and kept him at bay, until late in the round when Sandhagen finally got a hold of Dosdon, but he was unable to do anything before the round ended.

The third round followed a similar pattern, albeit with Sandhagen not attempting to get a hold of Dodson, possibly content to stay with his striking. If that was indeed Sandhagen’s strategy, it didn’t work because Dodson controlled the striking, taking both the round and the fight when the scores were announced.

Result: John 'The Magician' Dodson beat Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Light Heavyweight: Jan Błachowicz (26-8) vs. Glover Teixeira (30-7)

The main event of the evening was a worthy capper to a night of great action, with both fighters mixing up punches, leg kicks and other kick variations. It looked like neither fighter would stamp their authority on the first round, thus leaving it up in the air when it came to the judges, but Blachowicz delivered a quick head kick near the end that had Teixeira backing off and looking dazed, and, while Teixeira avoided the spinning back fist that followed, it was enough to edge Blachowicz ahead on the scorecards.

But it ended up not mattering how the first round was scored because, early in the second round, Teixeira went for a big takedown, and got it, but Teixeira had left his neck wide open in the process and Blachowicz wrapped his arms around it to secure a very tight guillotine choke; Teixeira struggled to resist before hurriedly tapping out and Jan Blachowicz had won the Fight Night main event.

Jan Blachowicz took his moment in the spotlight to demand a fight with Dominick Reyes.

Result: Jan Blachowicz beat Glover Teixeira by submission due to a guillotine choke in 1:29 of Round 2

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Emil Meek vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Performance of the Night: Aleksander Rakic

Knockout of the Night: Ovince St. Preux

Submission of the Night: Jan Blachowicz

Predictions

CageRage : (8/14)

CageRage (Overall): (64/118)

CageRage’s success means his overall winning percentage has gone from just under 54% to just over 54%.

Fantabulous · August 31, 2020

UFC rankings for Sunday of Week 3 of June 2020

Fantabulous · September 1, 2020

UFC news; news from the regional scene

Sunday of Week 3 of June 2020

Bec Rawlins has returned to the UFC. Rawlings was a competitor on the 20th season of TUF, which ended with Carla Esparza becoming the first UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. Rawlings was eliminated in the first round by Tecia Torres.

Fantabulous · September 3, 2020

UFC News Blast #1

Tuesday of Week 4 of June 202

Wednesday of Week 4 of June 2020

Friday of Week 4 of June 2020

Fantabulous · September 5, 2020

UFC 251: Night of the Nightmare

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UFC 251: Night of the Nightmare

Date: Saturday of Week 4 of June 2020 Location: Connecticut

Attendance: 10,250 Gate: $2,050,000 PPV Revenue: $45,437

Critical Rating: 62% Commercial Rating: 81%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy

Preliminary Card

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Women’s Flyweight: Vivian Araujo (8-2) vs. Gillian Robertson (7-4)

The night opened up with a fight in the women’s flyweight division, a fight that saw Gillian Robertson put in a really strong performance against Viviane Araujo. Robertson dropped Araujo twice, in the first and third rounds, and also had her on the defensive with a number of submission attempts, all en route to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

Result: Gillian 'The Savage' Robertson beat Viviane 'Vivi' Araujo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

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Flyweight: Askar Askarov (11-0-1) vs. Manel Kape (15-4)

We moved from the women’s flyweight division to the men’s flyweight division in our next fight, one that turned into a fairly exciting affair. This fight was two rounds of domination by Kape, who was the underdog, using strikes mixed in with grappling to put a hurting on Askarov. Unfortunately for Kape, the fight went into the third round and a combination of fatigue and a well-timed takedown saw the tide of battle turn in favour of Askarov; a scramble by Kape gave Askarov the chance to take his back, which he took. Askarov quickly had both hooks in and was able to sink in a rear naked choke and get the submission.

Askar, in his post-fight interview, said that wanted Zhalgas Zhumagulov for his next fight.

Result: Askar 'Bullet' Askarov beat Manel 'Prodigio' Kape by submission due to a rear naked choke in 3:27 of Round 3

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Light Heavyweight: Aleksa Camur (6-0) vs. Adam Yandiev (9-1)

This was a decent fight, fairly even at first, but soon swinging the way of Camur because Yandiev was looking exhausted by the time the first round ended. It didn’t take too long for Camur to take advantage as he dropped Yandiev early in the second round and then destroyed him with some massive right hands to get the TKO victory.

With victory still having him fired up, Aleksa used his interview time to throw a challenge the way of Jake Collier.

Result: Aleksa Camur beat Adam 'Boroda' Yandiev by TKO due to strikes in 1:09 of Round 2

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Middleweight: Zak Cummings (23-7) vs. Ian Heinisch (13-3)

This wasn’t a very exciting fight, with a decent second round of action sandwiched between two rounds filled with a little more than one fighter having the other pressed against the cage and holding him there to wear him down. Such a fight could have gone either way, and it ended up going to a split decision with Heinisch coming out as the victor.

Heinisch was obviously of the opinion that his victory should have been more clear cut because in his post-fight interview he was adamant that he should have been given the unanimous decision victory.

Result: Ian 'The Hurricane' Heinisch beat Zak Cummings by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

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Bantamweight: Davey Grant (9-4) vs. Brett Johns (16-2)

As soon as the bell rang, Johns took Grant down with a spectacular judo thrown. Grant was eventually able to scramble free, but he was soon sent sailing through the air with another throw and, this time when Grant tried to scramble free, Johns was ready and he trapped him in a tight armbar and got the tap.

Result: Brett 'The Pikey' Johns beat 'Dangerous' Davey Grant by submission due to an armbar in 3:41 of Round 1

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Welterweight: Erik Koch (16-5) vs. Alberto Mina (13-1)

Koch gave Mina a lot of trouble in the first round, using a lot of forward pressure to keep him on the defensive. Koch slowed down in the second but he still had enough to dominate the action and he even had Mina rocked after a head kick. Mina finally got into the fight in the third round, having Koch in trouble and even having him close to tapping with an arm triangle. But Koch survived and he was able to hold on to see the round out and get the unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the right 29-28.

Result: Erik 'New Breed' Koch beat Alberto 'Soldier of God' Mina by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

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Lightweight: Chris Fishgold (18-3-1) vs. Steven Ray (23-9)

This was a fight totally dominated by Steven Ray. Whether the fight was standing up or on the ground, Ray controlled the action. Even a suspected broken or fractured hand in the second round couldn’t stop the Ray from steamrollering Fishgold, who had got dropped by the punch that damaged the hand of Ray.

Result: Steven 'Braveheart' Ray beat Chris Fishgold by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

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Heavyweight: Stefan Struve (29-12) vs. Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1)

Struve went for a takedown right away, and got it, but that was playing into Werdum’s game; Werdum waited for his moment before securing the arm of Struve and throwing his legs up to snare Struve in a snug triangle choke; the hold was tight and Struve submitted before he was put to sleep.

Result: Fabricio 'Vai Cavalo' Werdum beat Stefan 'Skyscraper' Struve by submission due to a triangle choke in 1:55 of Round 1

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Women’s Bantamweight: Yana Kunitskaya (14-6) vs. Nicco Montaño (4-3)

Montano had a few flashes of offence during this fight but they were whilst she was on the defence, as Kunitskaya was the dominant fighter here. By the third round, Kunitskaya had bloodied up Montano with a cut above the eye and Montano was unable to see the round out after getting dropped by a head kick and then destroyed by some ground-and-pound.

Result: Yana 'Foxy' Kunitskaya beat Nicco Montano by TKO due to strikes in 2:40 of Round 3

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Women’s Flyweight: Priscila Cachoeira (9-3) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (9-2-2)

This was a more competitive fight than the scorecards would have you believe; Cachoeira definitely had her moments, and she fought well off her back, threatening Kim with submissions. But Kim used a heavy ground game backed up by some precise striking to dictate the action and, by the of the fight, Cachoeira didn’t have much to offer in the way of meaningful offence.

Result: Ji 'Fire Fist' Yeon Kim beat Priscila 'Zombie Girl' Cachoeira by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Main Card

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Lightweight: Al Iaquinta (14-6-1) vs. Charles Oliveira (29-8, 1NC)

The first round saw a lot of clinching and grappling, both against the cage and on the ground, and, whilst Oliveira was the more aggressive in this regard, both he and Iaquinta were fairly even in the actual damage that was delivered. The second round played out in a similar vein, only this time it was Iaquinta who was the aggressor, and he dished out most of what little damage was inflicted. The third round was the same as the first two, with lots of clinching against the cage, mostly with Iaquinta in control, although, late on in the round, Oliveira was very aggressive and he had Iaquinta trapped in a rear naked choke, but the round ended before he could force the tap.

With such a close fight, it was always going to hard to pick a winner, and that was reflected in the scorecards with Iaquinta getting the win by split decision.

Result: 'Ragin'' Al Iaquinta beat Charles 'Do Bronx' Oliveira by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

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Women’s Strawweight: Cláudia Gadelha (17-4) vs. Tatiana Suarez (8-0)

This was a fight that was definitely one for the purist, someone who could get into the tactical approach of Suarez and the gruelling nature of the fight and look past the fact that, until the third round, there wasn’t a lot of exciting action. For most of the first two rounds, Suarez had Gadelha either pressed up against the fence or was smothering her on ground, wearing her down with a slow, grinding attack designed to sap Gadelha’s stamina. Gadelha did have her moments, and she managed to open up a cut above Suarez’s eye early in the second round, but the first two rounds were all Suarez.

The third round was more competitive, at least in the first half, with all stand-up action, and enough of it to get the fans a little warmed up. At the half-way point, though, Suarez went in for another takedown, and, while Gadelha did catch her with a guillotine that was almost locked on tight, she couldn’t get the tap and had to let go of the hold in case she burned her arms out. The rest of the round saw Suarez keep firm control of Gadelha on the ground, and when the round ended, Suarez was confident of victory.

Because of how the fight played out, there was a moment of shock when the scoring was being announced and one judge had given Gadelha two rounds on their scorecard. However, the other two judges scored the fight for Suarez, giving her the split decision victory.

Not one to allow her confidence to be affected by a questionable call, Suarez assertively called for a fight with Rose Namajunas, who would soon be challenging for the women’s strawweight championship. Suarez admitted that it would be a tough fight, but she said that that didn’t deter her from wanting to face Namajunas.

Result: Tatiana Suarez beat Claudia 'Claudinha' Gadelha by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

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Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum (16-5, 1NC) vs. Robert Whittaker (20-5)

With former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker making his return to action after taking time off in the wake of losing his title, there was a lot of attention and anticipation surrounding this fight. The first thing people noticed in this fight was during the staredown, with Gastelum being noticeable heavier than Whittaker, which wasn’t entirely a surprise as Gastelum, when he was competing in the welterweight division, frequently had problems making the 170lbs weight limit.

The first round was very competitive with Gastelum, surprisingly, not employing the wrestling attack that most would have expected him to, Gastelum instead choosing to keep it standing with Whittaker. That in itself made the competitive nature of the first round also a surprise given that Whittaker is considered the more vaunted striker of the two. That said, Whittaker did mix up his strikes a lot more, throwing a variety of kicks; Gastelum throw almost entirely punches, a lot of them with a lot of power. Whittaker’s kicks were mainly delivered to the lead leg and body of Gastelum, and, when the round ended, it seemed to be a round that just about went the way of the former middleweight champion.

In the second round, Gastelum begin firing off some leg kicks of his own, but most of them didn’t connect. Gastelum went back to punches and it wasn’t long before he was breathing heavier. For his part, Whittaker continued to mix up his attack and he was going a good job of keeping Gastelum off-balance. Then, at the half-way mark of the round, Gastelum landed the first serious shot of the fight; Whittaker missed a left hook and Gastelum responded with a jab and then a vicious left cross. It caught Whittaker flush and he wobbled for a moment before his legs gave out on him and he fell to the mat.

Gastelum jumped to a prone Whittaker and began hammering away on Whittaker like his life depended on it, and referee Marc Goddard was given no choice but to jump in and stop the fight.

Result: Kelvin Gastelum beat Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker by TKO due to strikes in 2:50 of Round 2

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Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (19-3) vs. Joanne Calderwood (14-4) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

There was a real buzz in the air for this one, and not just because it was our first title fight of the evening. Valentina Shevchenko had a reputation, a well earned reputation, for handing out some of the most brutal and devastating finishes in the sport, and the fans were excited the prospect of another one tonight as Shevchenko defend her title against Joanne Calderwood.

Calderwood, like every challenger to Shevchenko, came in as the underdog, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a dangerous challenger. Calderwood had her own extensive background in Muay Thai, and if anyone had the potential to provide Shevchenko with a challenge when it came devastating striking it was Joanne Calderwood.

After a series of tentative strikes from both women to open up the round, Calderwood landed the first significant blow of the right, a hard kick to the body of Shevchenko. This didn’t stop Shevchenko from coming forward and, as the round developed, both women managed to land a few strikes on the other, and avoid most of what came back in return, and it seemed like neither fighter was able to put their stamp of authority on this contest.

That changed in the final minute of the first round when Shevchenko caught Calderwood with a terrific right cross that dropped the challenger. Shevchenko pounced on her chance to finish the fight and she began raining down punches on Calderwood, but the challenger managed to keep moving around and squirming just enough to avoid the worst of it and see out the round.

Despite how the first round ended, Calderwood came out for the second in a confident mood, and even suffering a gash under her eye, from one of the first punches of the round, did little to deter the Scotswoman. Perhaps because of that, Shevchenko went for a big head kick in what may have been an attempt to replicate her famous highlight reel knockout of Jessica Eye, but Calderwood avoided the blow. A few moments later, though, Calderwood couldn’t avoid a wicked left uppercut and the challenger dropped to the mat unconscious, and the fans roared their approval as Valentina Shevchenko delivered yet another highlight reel finish.

Result: Valentina 'The Bullet' Shevchenko beat Joanne 'JoJo' Calderwood by knockout (punch) in 2:07 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

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UFC Welterweight Champion: Kamaru Usman © (16-1) vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-13) for the UFC Welterweight Championship

It was now time for the big one, the main event of the evening, as Kamaru Usman defended his welterweight title against the undisputed top contender, Jorge Masvidal.

The first round was fine but not particularly exciting, with Masvidal seemingly set on working over the body of Usman, perhaps to try and tire him out. There was a period of about a minute when Usman had Masvidal pressed up against the cage, Masvidal having managed to partially block a takedown attempt. Later on, Masvidal missed a kick and slipped, but Usman didn’t have time to do much beyond getting pulled into the guard when he tried to capitalise on Masvidal’s slip.

In the second round, Masvidal, who appeared to be taking some heavy breaths, pushed forward, but he couldn’t seem to really hit the mark with a lot of his strikes. Usman, wary of getting tagged, stayed out of the range of Masvidal as best he could before rushing in and clinching with Masvidal and pressing him back up against the cage. The two stayed there for almost the entirety of the rest of the round, engaged in some dirty boxing but doing little else. They were eventually forced to break by the referee, and there was just enough time left in the round for Masvidal to catch Usman with a decent right hook.

Immediately upon the third round starting, Usman grappled with Masvidal and once more had him backed up and pressed up against the cage. For the next two minutes, Usman periodically peppered Masvidal with the occasional punch while making a concerted effort to smother Masvidal against the cage and wear him out. After they were separated, it was now very noticeable that Masvidal was tiring and, while he managed to free himself after once more momentarily being pressed against the cage, he couldn’t stop another takedown, this time with Usman using underhooks to set up a trip that left Masvidal on his back and Usman in side-control. Usman didn’t have time to do anything, but he had stamped his authority on the round and was seemingly now in prime position to take control of the fight.

Masvidal opened up the fourth round with a punch that missed the mark, allowing Usman to shoot in and take hold of him, Usman then belly-to-belly suplexing Masvidal to the ground, a move which got a the first big cheer of the fight, and saw Usman end up in side-control. Usman went through a series of submissions but the challenger was able to defend against them and the action eventually slowed enough for the referee to order a stand-up. After taking a few moments to breathe heavily, Usman shot in hard for another takedown, which he got; Usman tried to sit back to go for a leglock, but Masvidal defended against Usman efforts and the champion had to settle for smothering the challenger on the ground for the rest of the round.

Heading into the fifth and final round, the outcome of this title fight seemed to be in the balance; it looked like both fighters had won two rounds apiece. Yet momentum can be crucial, and Usman was heading into the fifth round with plenty of it.

The early exchanges of the fifth round told the story of just how tired Masvidal was as he couldn’t connect with most of his punches, and worse, Usman caught the leg of Masvidal off a body kick and effortlessly took him down to the mat. Masvidal was able to pull guard but that was all he could do, not that he had lot to defend against as Usman was content to smother Masvidal and do what seemed like the bare minimum to avoid from being stood up. With a minute left, though, the fight was stood up, but it didn’t take long for Usman to once more have Masvidal pressed up against the cage, where they stayed, exchanging short punches, for the remainder of the round.

There wasn’t a lot of cheering, at least loud cheering, upon the conclusion of the fight, with it not being the most exciting of affairs. Indeed, the most exciting thing about the fight was the drama over the outcome, as, while the first four rounds seemed to be evenly split, the judging tonight meant that the outcome of the fight was by no means a sure thing.

Even the judging itself had more drama than the fight, as only one judge scored it 48-47, which was consensus score; the other two scored it 49-46, which was somewhat surprising. However, all three judges were in agreement that the winner was Kamaru Usman, who would leave UFC 251 as still the UFC Welterweight Champion.

Result: 'The Nigerian Nightmare' Kamaru Usman beat Jorge 'GameBred' Masvidal by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47 and 49-46) to retain the UFC Welterweight Championship

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Yana Kunitskaya vs. Nicco Montaño

Performance of the Night: Kamaru Usman

Knockout of the Night: Valentina Shevchenko

Submission of the Night: Fabricio Werdum

Predictions

CageRage : (8/15)

CageRage (Overall): (72/133)</div>

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