UFC 2020: When Sven Took Charge II

CageRage · March 1, 2021

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza (17-6) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (18-5)

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (15-3, 1NC) vs. Aleksei Olenik (59-13-1)

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon (17-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Mara Romero Borella (14-7, 2NC) vs. Jessica Eye (17-7, 1NC)

Women’s Strawweight: Nina Ansaroff (11-6) vs. Cortney Casey (9-7)

Featherweight: Shane Burgos (14-2) vs. Brian Ortega (14-3, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Flyweight: Askar Askarov (12-1-1) vs. Tagir Ulanbekov (12-1)

Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy (13-5) vs. Gillian Robertson (8-5)

Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos (29-14) vs. Gunnar Nelson (18-6-1)

Light Heavyweight: Aleksa Camur (7-0) vs. Mike Rodriguez (10-5-1)

Featherweight: Guido Cannetti (8-6) vs. Chase Hooper (9-0)

Welterweight: Michel Prazeres (26-3) vs. Stephen Thompson (15-5-1)

Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz (12-6) vs. Yadong Song (15-5-1, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Iuri Alcantara (36-10, 1NC) vs. Joe Soto (19-7)

Middleweight: Alen Amedovski (9-2) vs. Markus Perez (12-3)

Welterweight: Alvaro Herrera (9-7) vs. Zelim Imadev (8-3)

McDojoDelux · March 2, 2021

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza (17-6) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (18-5)

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (15-3, 1NC) vs. Aleksei Olenik (59-13-1)

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon (17-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Mara Romero Borella (14-7, 2NC) vs. Jessica Eye (17-7, 1NC)

Women’s Strawweight: Nina Ansaroff (11-6) vs. Cortney Casey (9-7)

Featherweight: Shane Burgos (14-2) vs. Brian Ortega (14-3, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Flyweight: Askar Askarov (12-1-1) vs. Tagir Ulanbekov (12-1)

Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy (13-5) vs. Gillian Robertson (8-5)

Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos (29-14) vs. Gunnar Nelson (18-6-1)

Light Heavyweight: Aleksa Camur (7-0) vs. Mike Rodriguez (10-5-1)

Featherweight: Guido Cannetti (8-6) vs. Chase Hooper (9-0)

Welterweight: Michel Prazeres (26-3) vs. Stephen Thompson (15-5-1)

Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz (12-6) vs. Yadong Song (15-5-1, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Iuri Alcantara (36-10, 1NC) vs. Joe Soto (19-7)

Middleweight: Alen Amedovski (9-2) vs. Markus Perez (12-3)

Welterweight: Alvaro Herrera (9-7) vs. Zelim Imadev (8-3)

Majster_93 · March 2, 2021

Main Card

Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza (17-6) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (18-5)

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (15-3, 1NC) vs. Aleksei Olenik (59-13-1)

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon (17-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Mara Romero Borella (14-7, 2NC) vs. Jessica Eye (17-7, 1NC)

Women’s Strawweight: Nina Ansaroff (11-6) vs. Cortney Casey (9-7)

Featherweight: Shane Burgos (14-2) vs. Brian Ortega (14-3, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Flyweight: Askar Askarov (12-1-1) vs. Tagir Ulanbekov (12-1)

Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy (13-5) vs. Gillian Robertson (8-5)

Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos (29-14) vs. Gunnar Nelson (18-6-1)

Light Heavyweight: Aleksa Camur (7-0) vs. Mike Rodriguez (10-5-1)

Featherweight: Guido Cannetti (8-6) vs. Chase Hooper (9-0)

Welterweight: Michel Prazeres (26-3) vs. Stephen Thompson (15-5-1)

Bantamweight: Frankie Saenz (12-6) vs. Yadong Song (15-5-1, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Iuri Alcantara (36-10, 1NC) vs. Joe Soto (19-7)

Middleweight: Alen Amedovski (9-2) vs. Markus Perez (12-3)

Welterweight: Alvaro Herrera (9-7) vs. Zelim Imadev (8-3)

Fantabulous · March 3, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 1 of January 2021

Sunday of Week 1 of January 2021

Monday of Week 2 of January 2021

Fantabulous · March 5, 2021

News Blast

Tuesday of Week 2 of January 2021

Wednesday of Week 2 of January 2021

Thursday of Week 2 of January 2021

Friday of Week 2 of January 2021

Women’s Featherweight: Alesha Delcastillo (Team Ferguson) (26-3) vs. Everly Runge (Team Ferguson) (8-2)

Result: ‘Rapid Fire' Alesha Delcastillo beat Everly ‘The Vampire' Runge by TKO

From the author: UFC Fight Night 184 will be posted tomorrow, and here is a reminder of the card for predictions, comment, etc;

UFC Fight Night 184: Edgar vs. Magomedsharipov

Main Card

Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (#6) (23-8-1, 1NC) vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov (#5) (19-2)
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (#13) (29-8, 2NC) vs. Dustin Poirier (#10) (25-7, 1NC)
Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (#4) (14-3) vs. Montana de la Rosa (#2) (13-5)
Women’s Strawweight: Livia Renata Souza (#25) (13-4) vs. Tecia Torres (10-6)
Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov (#8) (16-5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (#11) (17-5, 1NC)
Lightweight: Renato Carnerio (#9) (14-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (#25) (36-19)

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight: Jim Crute (#15) (12-1) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (#21) (9-5, 1C)
Women’s Flyweight: Barb Honchak (#21) (10-5) vs. Lucie Pudilova (#19) (10-6)
Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (#18) (4-4, 1NC) vs. Nicco Montano (#14) (4-4)
Flyweight: Ryan Benoit (#18) (10-7) vs. Manel Kape (#17) (16-5)
Middleweight: Brendan Allen (#17) (15-3) vs. Charles Byrd (11-7)
Lightweight: Alex Munoz (7-0) vs. Brad Riddell (9-1)
Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (26-9) vs. Augsuto Sakai (#22) (14-2-1)
Light Heavyweight: Shamil Gamzatov (16-0) vs. Justin Ledet (11-3, 1NC)
Welterweight: Warlley Alves (13-5) vs. Sergey Khandozhko (28-6-1)
Bantamweight: Rob Font (#5) (18-4) vs. Corey Sandhagen (#8) (12-2)

CageRage · March 5, 2021

UFC Fight Night 184: Edgar vs. Magomedsharipov

Main Card

Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (#6) (23-8-1, 1NC) vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov (#5) (19-2)

Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (#13) (29-8, 2NC) vs. Dustin Poirier (#10) (25-7, 1NC)

Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (#4) (14-3) vs. Montana de la Rosa (#2) (13-5)

Women’s Strawweight: Livia Renata Souza (#25) (13-4) vs. Tecia Torres (10-6)

Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov (#8) (16-5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (#11) (17-5, 1NC)

Lightweight: Renato Carnerio (#9) (14-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (#25) (36-19)

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight: Jim Crute (#15) (12-1) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (#21) (9-5, 1C)

Women’s Flyweight: Barb Honchak (#21) (10-5) vs. Lucie Pudilova (#19) (10-6)

Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (#18) (4-4, 1NC) vs. Nicco Montano (#14) (4-4)

Flyweight: Ryan Benoit (#18) (10-7) vs. Manel Kape (#17) (16-5)

Middleweight: Brendan Allen (#17) (15-3) vs. Charles Byrd (11-7)

Lightweight: Alex Munoz (7-0) vs. Brad Riddell (9-1)

Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (26-9) vs. Augsuto Sakai (#22) (14-2-1)

Light Heavyweight: Shamil Gamzatov (16-0) vs. Justin Ledet (11-3, 1NC)

Welterweight: Warlley Alves (13-5) vs. Sergey Khandozhko (28-6-1)

Bantamweight: Rob Font (#5) (18-4) vs. Corey Sandhagen (#8) (12-2)

Fantabulous · March 6, 2021

UFC Fight Night 184: Edgar vs. Magomedsharipov

UFC Fight Night 184: Edgar vs. Magomedsharipov

Date: Saturday of Week 2 of January 2021 Location: Idaho

Attendance: 3,443 Gate: $681,714

Critical Rating: 72% Commercial Rating: 74%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Rob Font (#5) (18-4) vs. Corey Sandhagen (#8) (12-2)

The night’s action kicked off with a decent fight, and a fairly competitive one at that. Both Font and Sandhagen had their moments in a contest that was a solid mix of striking and ground work, but it was Sandhagen who came out the winner, albeit just, as he gained a split-decision victory.

Result: Cory Sandhagen beat Rob Font by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

Welterweight: Warlley Alves (13-5) vs. Sergey Khandozhko (28-6-1)

It didn’t take long for Sergey Khandozhko to leaves his mark on Warlley Alves, with Khandozhko having Alves out on his feet inside of thirty seconds thanks to a fast right high kick. A big right hand put Alves down and some massive right hands quickly brought about the stoppage and gave Khandozhko the upset victory, with Khandozhko having been the +270 underdog against the -240 Alves.

Result: Sergey ‘Honda’ Khandozhko beat Warlley Alves by TKO due to strikes in 1:08 of Round 1

Light Heavyweight: Shamil Gamzatov (16-0) vs. Justin Ledet (11-3, 1NC)

This was a solid, completive fight, with the striking of Ledet pitted against the ground game of Gamzatov. It wasn’t always exciting because Gamzatov’s strategy was to mostly smother Ledet on the ground. But the strategy proved to be effective as Gamzatov won by unanimous decision.

Result: Shamil Gamzatov beat Justin ‘El Blanco’ Ledet by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28)

Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (26-9) vs. Augsuto Sakai (#22) (14-2-1)

Nikita Krylov’s first foray into the heavyweight division was short and not-so sweet, with the weight differential, and the power that came with it, being too much; Augusto Sakai rocked Krylov with a nice high roundhouse kick before grabbing hold of him in a Muay Thai clinch and blasting Krylov into unconsciousness with a vicious knee to the face.

Sakai had been the underdog in this fight, something that Sakai mentioned in his post-fight interview as being a big motivation for his performance.

Result: Augusto Sakai beat Nikita ‘The Miner’ Krylov by knockout (knee) in 2:50 of Round 1

Lightweight: Alex Munoz (7-0) vs. Brad Riddell (9-1)

This was our third straight upset, but the biggest one so far with Riddell a massive +620 underdog against the overwhelming -780 favourite Munoz. The first round saw Riddell stun Munoz with a great performance, Munoz seemingly ill-prepared for what Riddell could offer, and almost getting stopped at the half-way mark after tasting a great head kick.

But Munhoz got absolutely no surcease from Riddell, and it took Riddell a little more than thirty seconds of the second round to finish the job, with Riddell rocking Munoz with a right hook before knocking him out cold with a huge right hand.

Riddell was highly motivated by this showing, and he stated a desire to face Roman Bogatov in his post-fight interview, with Riddell feeling that their fight would be a good contest.

Result: Brad ‘Quake’ Riddell beat Alex Munoz by knockout (punch) in 0:33 of Round 2

Middleweight: Brendan Allen (#17) (15-3) vs. Charles Byrd (11-7)

Brendan Allen used clinching and striking to put in a dominating performance against Charles Byrd, who could provide no effective defence whenever Allen pressed him up against the cage or was controlling him on the ground.

Result: Brendan ‘All In’ Allen beat Charles ‘Kid Dynamite’ Byrd by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Flyweight: Ryan Benoit (#18) (10-7) vs. Manel Kape (#17) 16-5)

The remarkable rise of Manel Kape continued with a victory over veteran Ryan Benoit, and, whilst the fight was more competitive than the scorecards suggest, it has to be said that Benoit didn’t trouble Kape a whole lot. And it was Kape who inflicted the most noticeable damage of the fight, with Benoit suffering a cut underneath his eye in the second round, a cut that would be opened up again in the third.

Result: Manel ‘Prodigio’ Kape beat Ryan ‘Baby Face’ Benoit by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (#18) (4-4, 1NC) vs. Nicco Montano (#14) (4-4)

This was an interesting fight because it featured the two fighters who had been scheduled to face off for the inaugural UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship, in a fight that was cancelled at the last minute when Eubanks was hospitalised for kidney failure when trying to make weight.

There were no problems with either fighter making weight here and the fight that was had was worth the wait because it was a great one. It was a very even affair, a pure stand-up battle for the first two rounds, with both women showing lots of aggression, coming forward and looking for the win. Eubanks had Montano a little dazed in the first round and in serious trouble in the second, but on both occasions Montano was able to survive and exert some smothering control over Eubanks.

The pace slowed down somewhat in the third round, both fighters looking a little tired, but that did little to dampen the competitive nature of the fight; it wasn’t a surprise that it was a split-decision, and, tonight it was Nicco Montana who was fortunate enough to come away the victor.

Montana was clearly fired up by her win, possibly believing it to be more decisive than it was, and she called for a fight with Ketlen Viera, with Montana outright stating that she would kick Viera’s ass.

Result: Nicco Montano beat Sijara ‘Sarj’ Eubanks by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

Women’s Flyweight: Barb Honchak (#21) (10-5) vs. Lucie Pudilova (#19) (10-6)

Lucie Pudilova’s return to the UFC was short and brutal with Pudilova obliterating Barb Honchak with a pair of brutal right uppercuts, with the referee, Marc Goddard, perhaps getting in there a little too late.

Result: Lucie ‘Bullet’ Pudilova beat ‘Little Warrior’ Barb Honchak by TKO due to strikes in 0:57 of Round 1

Light Heavyweight: Jim Crute (#15) (12-1) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (#21) (9-5, 1C)

Khalil Rountree Jr’s size advantage proved to be of no use to him once Jim Crute took him down, something Crute did with stunning ease. It was only Crute’s patience that saw this fight almost hit a second round and, once he kicked it into high gear, Crute almost effortlessly worked his way into a body triangle, which he then used to secure a rear naked choke, Crute then flattening Rountree Jr. out and getting the tap.

In his post-fight interview, Crute said that he was happy with the win and he express full confidence in his choke holds.

Result: Jim ‘The Brute’ Crute beat Khalil ‘The War Horse’ Rountree Jr. by submission due to a rear naked choke in 4:06 of Round 1

Main Card

Lightweight: Renato Carnerio (#9) (14-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (#25) (36-19)

Renato Carneiro was able to take Guida down repeatedly, with little trouble, throughout this fight, and, while Guida was able to defend against Carneiro’s submission attempts, it didn’t diminish the fact that he was completely dominated in an area where you’d expect ‘The Carpenter’ to excel.

Result: Renato ‘Moicano’ Carneiro beat Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov (#8) (16-5) vs. Ion Cutelaba (#11) (17-5, 1NC)

Ion Cutelaba came into this fight bigger than his opponent but, as with an earlier fight, that added size was of no use to the bigger man once the fight hit the ground. Cutelaba played defence as best he could but he couldn’t quite see the round out and Cirkunov gained the submission with a rear naked choke.

Result: Misha Cirkunov beat Ion ‘The Hulk’ Cutelaba by submission due to a rear naked choke in 4:32 of Round 1

Women’s Strawweight: Livia Renata Souza (#25) (13-4) vs. Tecia Torres (10-6)

It was a night of fast finishes and, this time, it was ‘The Tiny Tornado’ who was the whirlwind of activity, as Torres dropped Souza with a stunning right hook at the ninety second mark, with Torres following up with a barrage of powerful punches that had the referee jumping in to stop the fight.

Result: 'The Tiny Tornado' Tecia Torres beat Livia 'Livinha' Renata Souza by TKO due to strikes in 1:50 of Round 1

Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (#4) (14-3) vs. Montana de la Rosa (#2) (13-5)

It was the third first round finish in a row here with Montana de la Rosa walking right through Katlyn Chookagian thanks to her superb ground game. Chookagian was taken down early and easily by de la Rosa, with de la Rosa neutralizing Chookagian’s defensive efforts before quickly and effectively locking on a tight kimura to force the submission.

Result: Montana de la Rosa beat ‘Blonde Fighter’ Katlyn Chookagian by submission due to a kimura in 3:19 of Round 1

Lightweight: Charles Oliveira (#13) (29-8, 2NC) vs. Dustin Poirier (#10) (25-7, 1NC)

This was a great fight and one that continued the streak of first-round finishes. Poirier did an effective job of keeping Oliveira at bay for the first minute of the fight, ‘The Diamond’ using his noted precision striking to ensure Oliveira couldn’t get too close to him. But Oliveira was used to dealing with such tactics and, just over a minute into the round, ‘Da Bronx’ was able to get in close and clinch with Poirier and take him to the mat, with Oliveira able to also pull Poirier into his guard.

From this position, Oliveira, a submission expert, began working for submissions, first a triangle choke, then an omoplata, before going back to the triangle again, and, whilst Poirier defended against them, he remained in the guard of his opponent.

Then, in a sublime move, Oliveira used the rubber guard to sweep Poirier and Oliveira ended up in top-position. From there, it was almost too easy for Oliveira to work for an armbar, and, after some typically stubborn resistance from Poirier, Oliveira got the hold locked in tight and ‘The Diamond’ was forced to tap out.

Result: Charles ‘Do Bronx' Oliveira beat Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier by submission due to an armbarin 4:35 of Round 1

Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (#6) (23-8-1, 1NC) vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov (#5) (19-2)

This was a big main event, a fight with two fighters who both had something to prove; Edgar was coming off a controversial loss that was later changed to a no-contest, while Magomedsharipov was looking to build off the momentum of his decisive win over Brian Ortega.

Magomedsharipov’s gameplan appeared to be to use lots of movement to prevent Edgar from landing any strikes, at least not with any real power, and this proved to be very effective for the first half of the first round. And whilst Edgar was able land more consistently later on in the round, Magomedsharipov was able to as well, making the first round perhaps one you’d score in favour of Magomedsharipov overall.

The second round was more of the same in terms of it being all-action, with both fighters using a lot of boxing, but Magomedsharipov started to throw more kicks, which were a new tool in his arsenal. Magomedsharipov even pulled out a spin kick, which not only landed but got a pop from the fans. But that was the most significant blow of the round, from either fighter, because both Edgar and Magomedsharipov were great with their strike defence.

You knew what to expect in the third round and we got it; lot of movement and lots of strikes thrown, with both fighters looking good. It was looking like the round was going to turn into another very closely contested one, when, just past the 90 second mark, Magomedsharipov countered a right hand with a vicious right cross and Edgar dropped to the canvas!

‘The Answer’ was still conscious but Magomedsharipov, feeling the opening was there, began raining down punches on Edgar; Edgar was taking a beating, offering no defence, and the referee quickly moved in to pull Magomedsharipov away and he had delivered a stunning and decisive victory to put together back-to-back victories.

Result: Zabit Magomedsharipov beat Frankie ‘The Answer' Edgar by TKO due to strikes in 1:54 of Round 3

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Sijara Eubanks vs. Nicco Montano

Performance of the Night: Brad Riddell

Knockout of the Night: August Sakai

Submission of the Night: Charles Oliveira

Predictions

CageRage: (10/16)

CageRage (Overall): (179/301; 59.46%)

Fantabulous · March 7, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 2 of January 2021

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Fantabulous · March 8, 2021

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to Brazil

UFC on Fight Pass series travels to Brazil

Saturday of Week 2 of January 2021

The UFC today announced that the third in their UFC on Fight Pass series of events will take place in Brazil, with a main event in the middleweight division, as Claudio Henrique da Silva Vicente Luque. In the co-main event, Antonio Arroyo takes on the undefeated Rodolfo Vieira, with Brazilian fighters making up most of the main event

The action takes place on Saturday of Week of March in Brazil.

Main Card

Welterweight: Claudio Henrique da Silva (15-1) vs. Vicente Luque (19-7-1)

Middleweight: Antonio Arroyo (10-3) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (10-0)

Welterweight: Alex Oliveira (20-9-1, 2NC) vs. Michael Pereira (24-12, 2NC)

Middleweight: Antonio Carlos Junior (10-5, 1NC) vs. Bruno Silva (19-7)

Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz (19-5, 1NC) vs. Rani Yahya (26-11-1, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Flyweight: J.J. Aldrich (9-5) vs. Maryna Moroz (10-4)

Light Heavyweight: Khadis Ibragimov (9-3) vs. Saparbek Safarov (10-4)

Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill (7-1) vs. Jonathan Wilson (8-4)

Welterweight: Brok Weaver (15-5) vs. Khama Worthy (15-7)

Fantabulous · March 10, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 2 of January 2021

Sunday of Week 2 of January 2021

Monday of Week 3 of January 2021

Tuesday of Week 3 of January 2021

Fantabulous · March 12, 2021

News Blast

Wednesday of Week 3 of January 2021

Thursday of Week 3 of January 2021

From the author: Needless to say, JDS failing a drug test was a shock, plus it eliminates a guy who can be used to elevate heavyweights who need more name value. Conor McGregor taunting Khabib Nurmagomedov; who says this game isn’t realistic? Charles Oliveira deciding to take a break is unfortunate, especially with Beneil Dariush out for a while; Dariush failed a drug test in November (in-game), from his fight at UFC 255, where he submitted Anthony Pettis, and was suspended for one-year. I’m now without another big name that I’d hoped to put in the title picture this year.

Fantabulous · March 15, 2021

News Blast

Friday of Week 3 of January 2021

Women’s Featherweight: Alesha Delcastillo (26-3) vs. Caoimhe Vizcarra (27-3)

Result: Caoimhe ‘Twinkle Toes' Vizcarra beat ‘Rapid Fire' Alesha Delcastillo by submission

From the author: As a result of her victory, Caoimhe Vizcarra is now in the TUF final.

Saturday of Week 3 of January 2021

Bantamweight: Benito Lopez (11-1)

From the author: Benito Lopez will now face Mattos instead.

Fantabulous · March 17, 2021

News Blast

Tuesday of Week 4 of January 2021

Wednesday of Week 4 of January 2021

From the author: He’s not in the UFC, but I had to share another incident of a fighter failing two tests and subsequently both denying and admitting his guilt. Presumably, it’s a case of each failure having its own reaction, but I’m curious as to what it is about the programming of the game that prevents it from generating one reaction where the fighter gives an admission of taking one drug whilst denying taking the other, or at least making sure that the two individual reactions aren’t giving contradictory statements.

Thursday of Week 4 of January 2021

Fantabulous · March 19, 2021

News Blast

Friday of Week 4 of January 2021

Women’s Featherweight: Sheila Blakey (33-0) vs. Audrey Whitworth (1-0)

Result: Sheila Blakey beat Audrey ‘Crossbones’ Whitworth by knockout

Women’s Featherweight: Sheila Blakey (Team Ferguson, 33-0) vs. Caoimhe Vizcarra (Team McGregor, 27-3) – TUF 29 Tournament Final

From the author: The TUF tournament final will be the PPV opener for UFC 259: Repeat or Revenge.

From the author: There is no time to get a replacement, so Michelle Waterson has been removed from the card.

From the author: UFC 258 will be posted tomorrow night. The main event sees Israel Adesanya defending the UFC Middleweight Championship against Darren Till, with a co-main event of Valentina Shevchenko defending the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship against Molly McCann. Here the full card for predictions, comment, etc;

UFC 258: Merseyside Mayhem

Main Card

UFC Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya © (#1, 20-0) vs. Darren Till (#4, 20-2-1) for the UFC Middleweight Championship
UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (#1, 20-3) vs. Molly McCann (#4, 12-2) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship
Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#7, 19-4) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (#11, 24-4-1, 1NC)
Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#10, 14-5) vs. Paige VanZant (#15, 18-5)
Middleweight: Chris Weidman (#10, 15-5) vs. Robert Whittaker (#8, 20-6)
Flyweight: Aleksander Doskalchuk (#13, 11-2) vs. Joseph Morales (#9, 12-2)

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Montel Jackson (#22, 10-1) vs. Brett Johns (#19, 18-2)
Welterweight: Alberto Mina (13-2) vs. Danny Roberts (17-6)
Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (#17, 9-0) vs. Alexander Romanov (11-2)
Welterweight: Jessin Ayari (17-5) vs. Emil Meek (9-6-1)
Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#12, 14-5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#18, 8-4)
Middleweight: Keith Berrish (5-2, 1NC) vs. Darren Stewart (11-6)
Lightweight: Jai Herbert (10-2) vs. Thiago Moises (12-4)
Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (8-1) vs. Raphael Pessoa (10-3)
Women’s Flyweight: Shana Dobson (5-5) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (#19, 6-5)
Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#22, 8-1) vs. Liana Jouja (#21, 7-4)

Majster_93 · March 19, 2021

UFC 258: Merseyside Mayhem

Main Card

UFC Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya © (#1, 20-0) vs. Darren Till (#4, 20-2-1) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (#1, 20-3) vs. Molly McCann (#4, 12-2) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#7, 19-4) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (#11, 24-4-1, 1NC)

Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#10, 14-5) vs. Paige VanZant (#15, 18-5)

Middleweight: Chris Weidman (#10, 15-5) vs. Robert Whittaker (#8, 20-6)

Flyweight: Aleksander Doskalchuk (#13, 11-2) vs. Joseph Morales (#9, 12-2)

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Montel Jackson (#22, 10-1) vs. Brett Johns (#19, 18-2)

Welterweight: Alberto Mina (13-2) vs. Danny Roberts (17-6)

Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (#17, 9-0) vs. Alexander Romanov (11-2)

Welterweight: Jessin Ayari (17-5) vs. Emil Meek (9-6-1)

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#12, 14-5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#18, 8-4)

Middleweight: Keith Berrish (5-2, 1NC) vs. Darren Stewart (11-6)

Lightweight: Jai Herbert (10-2) vs. Thiago Moises (12-4)

Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (8-1) vs. Raphael Pessoa (10-3)

Women’s Flyweight: Shana Dobson (5-5) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (#19, 6-5)

Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#22, 8-1) vs. Liana Jouja (#21, 7-4)

CageRage · March 19, 2021

UFC 258: Merseyside Mayhem

Main Card

UFC Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya © (#1, 20-0) vs. Darren Till (#4, 20-2-1) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (#1, 20-3) vs. Molly McCann (#4, 12-2) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#7, 19-4) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (#11, 24-4-1, 1NC)

Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#10, 14-5) vs. Paige VanZant (#15, 18-5)

Middleweight: Chris Weidman (#10, 15-5) vs. Robert Whittaker (#8, 20-6)

Flyweight: Aleksander Doskalchuk (#13, 11-2) vs. Joseph Morales (#9, 12-2)

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Montel Jackson (#22, 10-1) vs. Brett Johns (#19, 18-2)

Welterweight: Alberto Mina (13-2) vs. Danny Roberts (17-6)

Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (#17, 9-0) vs. Alexander Romanov (11-2)

Welterweight: Jessin Ayari (17-5) vs. Emil Meek (9-6-1)

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#12, 14-5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#18, 8-4)

Middleweight: Keith Berrish (5-2, 1NC) vs. Darren Stewart (11-6)

Lightweight: Jai Herbert (10-2) vs. Thiago Moises (12-4)

Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (8-1) vs. Raphael Pessoa (10-3)

Women’s Flyweight: Shana Dobson (5-5) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (#19, 6-5)

Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#22, 8-1) vs. Liana Jouja (#21, 7-4)

Fantabulous · March 20, 2021

UFC 258: Merseyside Mayhem

UFC 258: Merseyside Mayhem

Date: Saturday of Week 4 of January 2021 Location: North of England

Attendance: 11,053 Gate: $2,039,278 PPV Revenue: $183,083

Critical Rating: 72% Commercial Rating: 96%

Commentary Team: Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Dan Hardy

Preliminary Card

Women’s Bantamweight: Tracy Cortez (#22, 8-1) vs. Liana Jouja (#21, 7-4)

The night got off to a great start with a short but exciting fight that ended when Jouja cracked Cortez with a right hook, Cortez hitting the mat before being pounded out with some sickeningly heavy shots to the face.

Although her post-fight interview wasn’t the best, the camera still loved Jouja, who made quite the impression.

Result: Liana ‘Mgeli’ Jojua beat Tracy Cortez by TKO due to strikes in 2:04 of Round 1

Women’s Flyweight: Shana Dobson (5-5) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (#19, 6-5)

Coming off a controversial loss, a loss that was overturned and ruled a no-contest due to her opponent failing a drug test, Shana Dobson got back into the groove with a fairly commanding performance here, Dobson using a bruising series of strikes to set up brutal looking kimura that forced a hurried submission from Ashlee Evans-Smith.

Result: Shana ‘Danger’ Dobson beat ‘Rebel Gir’ Ashlee Evans-Smith by submission due to a kimura in 3:11 of Round 2

Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (8-1) vs. Raphael Pessoa (10-3)

This fight was rather average, and it pitted the ground control of Bebezao against the striking of Felipe. Bebezao controlled large portions of the fight but Felipe landed the most significant strike, a right head kick that had Bebezao wobbled and then falling. But Felipe couldn’t get the finish and was too tired to keep up the pressure, and he faded from there.

It was a surprise to see the fight go to a split-decision, but at least the right man won.

Result: Raphael Pessoa beat Carlos ‘Boi’ Felipe by split decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)

Lightweight: Jai Herbert (10-2) vs. Thiago Moises (12-4)

The takedowns and grappling of Thiago Moises allowed him to dominate this fight. Jai Herbet resorted to grabbing the cage to block a takedown at one point, an action which got him verbally warned by the referee. It didn’t affect the outcome of fight, though, with Moises in complete control throughout.

Result: Thiago Moises beat ‘The Black Country Banger’ Jai Herbert by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Middleweight: Keith Berrish (5-2, 1NC) vs. Darren Stewart (11-6)

It didn’t take long for ‘The Dentist’ to extract a finish in this fight, with Stewart rocking Berish early on with a right hand and then dropping him with a head kick and pounding away until the referee jumped in to stop the fight in just 81 seconds.

Stewart didn’t mince words in his post-fight interview, the charismatic ‘Dentist’ issuing a challenger to Deron Winn.

Result: Darren ‘The Dentist’ Stewart beat ‘Sha Bang Bang’ Keith Berish by TKO due to strikes in 1:21 of Round 1

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou (#12, 14-5) vs. Tai Tuivasa (#18, 8-4)

It was as if being the heavy underdog (-500 to +350) lit a fire under Tai Tuivasa because he really took the fight to his more favoured opponent. In fact, Francis Ngannou was shockingly dropped in the first thirty seconds of the first round, Ngannou having to hold on tight to get the time to recover his senses. Ngannou was at least able to get Tuivasa in half-guard, a move which eventually set up a scramble that allowed Ngannou to take top position and slow the fight down for the rest of the round.

And it didn’t take long for Tuivasa to pick up where he left of in the previous round, Tuivasa dropping Nganou in just over ten seconds before unloading a barrage of massive right hands that forced the referee to step in and stop the fight, Tuivasa delivering a massive upset, and you had to wonder where Ngannou was going to go from here, the hype train having been well and truly derailed over the past year.

In his post-fight interview, Tuivasa admitted the result was a shock but he attributed it to what happens when you believe in yourself.

Result: Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa beat Francis ‘The Predator’ Ngannou by TKO due to strikes in 0:27 of Round 2

Welterweight: Jessin Ayari (17-5) vs. Emil Meek (9-6-1)

This was a solid if unremarkable fight, one that was dominated by Meek from beginning to end.

Result: Emil ‘Valhalla’ Meek beat Jessin ‘Abacus’ Ayari by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane (#17, 9-0) vs. Alexander Romanov (11-2)

The fistic fury of Frenchman Cyril Gane was a-gane on display, with Gane displaying a great sprawl before knocking Romanov out cold with a vicious right cross.

Gane’s post-fight interview saw him express happiness at the finish, with Gane, who exuded all the qualities to be a superstar, saying that the finish was a testament to his training.

Result: Ciryl ‘Bon Gamin’ Gane beat Alexander ‘King Kong’ Romanov by knockout (punch) in 1:41 of Round 1

Welterweight: Alberto Mina (13-2) vs. Danny Roberts (17-6)

Danny Roberts got a big reaction from his home fans but that was, unfortunately, as good as it got for ‘Hot Chocolate’, who simply had no answer for the takedowns and ground game of Mina, and, late in the third round, Mina secured a rear naked choke to get the submission.

In his post-fight interview, Mina challenged Romazan Emeev.

Result: Alberto ‘Soldier of God’ Mina beat Danny ‘Hot Chocolate’ Roberts by submission due to a raer naked choke in 3:55 of Round .

Bantamweight: Montel Jackson (#22, 10-1) vs. Brett Johns (#19, 18-2)

Although this fight saw Johns put in a great performance, it wasn’t a great fight to watch in terms of excitement because Jackson offered little the way of defence to the ground game of Johns, and no real offence to speak off of his own. Oftentimes it was as if Johns could do whatever he felt like doing, and Jackson was having to work hard just to avoid being submitted, so the fight also lacked drama in that regard.

Perhaps looking for a tougher challenger, Johns called for a fight with Nathanial Wood in his post-fight interview, with Johns openly admitting that it would be a tough challenge for him.

Result: Brett ‘The Pikey’ Johns beat Montel ‘Quik’ Jackson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

Main Card

Flyweight: Aleksander Doskalchuk (#13, 11-2) vs. Joseph Morales (#9, 12-2)

The main card kicked off with a flyweight contest, where one fighter, Doskalchuk, was looking to continue establishing himself in UFC, while the other, Morales, was looking to prove he deserved a second chance, with this being Morales return to the UFC after spending time away from the promotion.

It didn’t take long for Morales so stamp his authority on the fight, swiftly taking Doskalchuk down and immediately threatening him with a series of submissions; Morales locked on a tight armbar, and it looked nasty, but Doskalchuk somehow managed to resist and pop his arm free. Doskalchuk then tried to scramble free but Morales was too quick and he quickly secured side-control. Morales once gain threatened with submissions, but Doskalchuk defended well enough to slow the action to where the referee ordered a stand-up, although it didn’t take long for Morales to take Doskalchuk back down and the round ended with Morales in complete control.

The second round seemed to start out well for Doskalchuk, who landed some nice punches, but Morales was soon able to take Doskalchuk down, with a single leg, forcing Doskalchuk to pull guard. Morales soon improved his position and again began to threaten Doskalchuk with submissions and Doskalchuk was on the defensive for the rest of the round.

Heading into the third round, it was clear that Doskalchuk was in need of a finish, having been thoroughly dominated so far. And Doskalchuk came out very aggressively for the third round, knowing full well that he needed to get a finish and eager to get it. But with only a minute gone, Morales once again took Doskalchuk down, although this time he was content to play it safe and simply neutralise Doskalchuk on the ground, Morales perhaps not wanting to risk leaving himself open for anything when he obviously had the fight in the bag and merely need to see the round out.

Morales did try to improve his position near the end of the round, and Doskalchuk was able to try and scramble free, but Morales kept a tight hold of Doskalchuk and forced him back up against the cage before taking him back down as he round ended.

To no surprise, Morales scored the unanimous decision victory, yet, for some reason, one judge, Marcos Rosales, gave Doskalchuk a round; the other two scored it 30-27 for Morales. Quite how Rosales saw Doskalchuk winning a round was hard to fathom.

Result: Joseph ‘Bopo’ Morales beat Aleksander Doskalchuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 29-28)

Middleweight: Chris Weidman (#10, 15-5) vs. Robert Whittaker (#8, 20-6)

It was crunch-time for Robert Whittaker who, after losing the middleweight title, had lost his first fight back; another loss here would surely put him way at the back of the line when it came to being a possible title contender. Conversely, Weidman was coming off putting to rest the ghost of his rivalry with Anderson Silva, with Weidman having finally scored a decisive win over ‘The Spider and now looking to get back in the contender mix to regain the title he too had once held, and a win over Whittaker may be enough to put the ‘All American’ in the conversation for a title shot at the winner of our main event.

Weidman seemed to have an advantage before the fight had even begun, with the former amateur wrestling standout coming into the fight with a significant size edge over Whittaker. Weidman came out with a confidence that was quickly tested because Whittaker landed a nice roundhouse kick, one of his trademark moves, a blow that seemed to have Weidman on somewhat unsteady feet. Whittaker moved in to capitalize with a big right hand, but missed, giving Weidman time to back off and recover.

Whittaker kept pressing forward, determined to maintain the momentum he was building up, and the Australian avoided a right from Weidman to fire back with a jab and then a left kick to the ribs. Weidman wasn’t one to back down and he responded with some big punches, going for the body of Whittaker, but Whittaker was too fast, and, when Weidman missed with a particularly powerful right hand, Whittaker landed a left jab and right hand that landed cleanly.

The action seemed to slow as we moved past the halfway mark of the round, both fighters seemingly pacing themselves for a long contest. Then, Whittaker came forward, looking to force an exchange of strikes; as he bobbed and weaved, Whittaker landed a left hand but couldn’t seem connect to with anything else...and then scored with a fantastic right cross and Weidman hit the canvas in an unconsciousness heap, and the fans erupted as this contest came to a sudden but decisive conclusion!

Robert Whittaker had finally scored the big win he needed, and it was as big a win as he could get, a decisive knockout finish, and the former champion was now back in the hunt in the middleweight division.

When asked about the finish in his post-fight interview, Whittaker said that being able to rely on his punches is a big advantage for him.

Result: Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker beat ‘The All American’ Chris Weidman by knockout (punch) in 3:51 of Round 1

Women’s Flyweight: Joanne Calderwood (#10, 14-5) vs. Paige VanZant (#15, 18-5)

Up next was the fight of the night, and a serious contender for Fight of the Year as Joanne Calderwood and Paige VanZant engaged in a fantastic all-action brawl.

Calderwood and VanZant were all-offensive, both women coming forward with a variety of punches and kicks. In fact, Calderwood was bleeding from a cut under her eye inside of ten seconds, which was a portent of things to come in a fight that harkened back to the classic fight earlier in the year between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk. It took until near the end of the round for the action to slow enough for the referee to pause the fight so that the ringside doctor could check Calderwood’s cut, but the action was soon underway as the doctor was fine to have the fight carry on, much to the delight of the fans, with the rest of round playing out in the same frantic fashion it had started in.

As both warriors went back to their respective corners, although you couldn’t say that either fighter had won the round decisively, with VanZant having busted Calderwood open so soon into the fight, it seemed probable that she would have the edge with the judges.

The second round was more of the same aggressive, high-action action we saw in the first, with Calderwood and VanZant coming forward and throwing leather. At the half-way mark, VanZant, out of nowhere, went for a takedown, and she managed to catch Calderwood off-guard and get her down to the mat. VanZant was soon trying to pass the guard of Calderwood, who allowed the pass so that she could use the transition to try and scramble free, and the result was that VanZan ended up turtle up on her back, with Calderwood looming over in a kneeling position.

Calderwood delivered some big right hands, but VanZant took them well. Calderwood then landed a short knee to the head of VanZant before delivering some more punches, and whilst VanZant didn’t take too much damage, handling the punches well, it was still positional dominance for Calderwood, and it was perhaps she who now ended the round having the edge with the judges.

The third round saw the action immediately pick up here it left off, both fighters swinging, both fighters hitting but also missing, with their defence being as good as their offence, either woman giving the other any surcease.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, after a wild exchange of punches, Calderwood landed a vicious right high kick that caught VanZant flush on the side of the head, and ’12 Gauge’ collapsed to mat, completely unconscious, and the fans erupted into wild cheers and this thrilling and brutal contest came to a stunning yet decisive conclusion.

Result: Joanne ‘JoJo’ Calderwood beat Paige ‘12 Gauge’ VanZant by knockout (high kick) in 2:00 of Round 3

Welterweight: Leon Edwards (#7, 19-4) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (#11, 24-4-1, 1NC)

Leon Edwards and Dong Hyun Kim had a good fight, one that was almost entirely a pure stand-up battle with both fighters showcasing their punching and striking skill. Both fighters went for some big kicks in the first round, although none of the more spectacular ones landed, but it was a big right hand from Edwards, delivered late on that was most significant strike of the round, because it wobbled Kim. However, Edwards didn’t quite land the flying knee he went for as the follow up, and it gave Kim the time he needed to recover enough to survive until the end of the round.

The second round was more punching-orientated, with Edwards and Kim holding back on their more spectacular kicks this time around, and it seemed like both men were a little more cautious in the second stanza. Not that either of them stopped coming forward, as both Edwards and Kim were able to leave their mark on each other, and the fans were eating up the action. Neither fighter dominated the other or landed that really telling blow, so it was unclear who had won the round when it ended.

The pace slowed down in the third round, and it was clear that both Edwards and Kim were feeling the effects of a gruelling pace. But that didn’t stop either man from still trying to win, both of them knowing that, if nothing else, they needed to at least win the round to be assured of victory, and maybe even get a finish.

Because of the tiredness both fighters were feeling, we got our first clinching in the third round, with Edwards practically stumbling into a clinch from Kim, who was able to press Edwards back up against the cage. Yet Kim couldn’t keep Edwards there for long, with Edwards waiting for Kim to try a foot stomp and then using the space created to escape.

The action continued, but at a much slower pace now, and neither fighter threatened the other, or really hurt him, although Kim did execute a nice judo throw at the end of the round.

The fight had gone the distance, and, when the scores were announced, there was a huge cheer when Edwards was declared the winner, by unanimous decision, having won all three rounds on all three scorecards.

Result: Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards beat Dong ‘Stun Gun’ Hyun Kim by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27)

UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion: Valentina Shevchenko © (#1, 20-3) vs. Molly McCann (#4, 12-2) for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Molly McCann got a tremendous ovation from the fans upon making her entrance, ‘Meatball’ being a home favourite who was sure to have total fan support as she looked to wrest the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship from a champion, Valentina Shevchenko, who has looked supremely dominant throughout her title reign, a reign that has included some devastating performances and highlight-reel finishes.

McCann clearly wasn’t feeling any pressure as she moved forward confidently to start the first round, although she was soon given reason to be more cautious, Shevchenko landed a crunching kick to the body of McCann, the champion then following up on that with a right hook that was also delivered to the body of the challenger. Yet McCann continued to move forward, and, while the challenger was able to evade some of the shots that Shevchenko threw, the champion was starting to land more of the steady stream of strikes that she was throwing out.

Although the champion wasn’t having it all her own way as McCann landed a great looking right hook, a blow that gave McCann a much needed confidence boost and she kept coming forward to trade with a champion who was not backing down at all, and who was having the better of things as the round came to an end.

The second round started out with a bang, as Shevchenko landed a violent roundhouse kick to the body that had McCann collapsing to the canvas. The champion jumped at the chance to finish the fight, Shevchenko landed several clean blows, but the challenger survived, albeit with the champion now in side-control. McMann tried to shift Shevchenko into the guard, but Shevchenko was having none of that, and the action slowed down to where the referee ordered a stand-up.

Within seconds of the stand-up, Shevchenko took advantage of an opening and landed a powerful straight left that dropped McCann hard. Shevchenko was to the side of McCann like a shot, landing a series of hammering punches that were brutalising McCann; the referee give ‘Meatball’ every chance to hold on, but with the challenger taking a pasting, the referee was left with no choice but to step in and Valentina Shevchenko had once more retained the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.

Result: Valentina ‘The Bullet’ Shevchenko beat ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann by TKO due to strikes in 3:47 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

UFC Middleweight Champion: Israel Adesanya © (#1, 20-0) vs. Darren Till (#4, 20-2-1) for the UFC Middleweight Championship

It was now time for the highly anticipated main event of the evening, the fight that the fans at home and, most assuredly, the fans in the arena had been waiting for. The home favourite, Darren Till, was getting his second chance at glory, this time in the middleweight division, as he challenged the undefeated Israel Adesanya, regarded as the premier striker in combat sports, for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Till, as the challenger, came out first, as is custom, and he got a typically raucous response from the Merseyside fans, who were eager to see one of their own make history and become first Merseysider to become a UFC champion; the reception from the fans got even louder when Till’s traditional walk-in music, “Sweet Caroline”, hit its chorus. Till looked quietly confident, but you could see that he was well aware of the task that lay ahead of him, and it was as if he was already fighting the fight in his head, going over what he could expect when he took on the reigning champion.

Adesanya got a mixed reaction as, whilst the fans didn’t really hate him, they were loath to support a fighter, albeit a supremely talented one, who was going against one of their own. For his part, Adesanya seemed completely unfazed, very calm and relaxed, and it was clear that he wasn’t affected by defending his title in what was effectively ‘hostile territory’.

The introductions saw Till get a monster cheer when he was announced, while Adesanya, as when he made his entrance, got a mixed response, with plenty of both cheers and boos.

The fight started with Adesanya coming forward, and his eagerness left the champion open to a spin kick to the ribs from the challenger. Undeterred, Adesanya kept coming, but was once more hit with a kick to the ribs, as the kick became a favoured weapon of Till in this round. Adesanya responded with a flurry of punches as he looked to establish himself in this fight. Perhaps as part of that, Adesanya began throwing a little trash talk towards Till, who shook his head and almost smirked, as if to let Adesanya know that he was wasting his time trying to get rattle him.

As the round wound down, both fighters continued to throw, mixing up punches and kicks, although neither fighter landed anything of note, and when the round ended, the fight was finely balanced.

Till opened up the second round looking to grapple, but was kept at bay by Adesanya, who resumed his trash talking. Till landed a good kick to the leg, but Adesanya responded with a trio of rapid-fired punches and a right hook, the champion starting to find his groove. Adesanya missed a right hook, and, while Till landed a counter jab, a spin kick was wide of the mark, and it was a miss that resulted in a slight smile on the face of the champion, who was perhaps starting to feel more confident.

Suddenly, both fighters came forward in a burst of strikes, but neither fighter landed a blow. As the action slowed down, Adesanya once again began trash talking Till, an unusual move from the usually calm champion, but, as before, it didn’t appear to be getting to Till at all. In fact, it appeared to giving Till more confidence, a little swagger in his step, the challenger perhaps of the belief that the champion was starting to doubt himself.

But if that was the case, Adesanya wasn’t letting that affect his work as he began throwing more kicks, a lot of them landing, with Adesanya landing a counter jab and a right cross as the round ended, and it was now looking like the champion was slowly taking control of this championship contest.

Indeed, the third round opened with Adesanya landed a series of punches, and, although Till threw his own strikes, Adesanya was deftly able to block them.

The round was less than a minute old, though, when Till missed a jab and then landed a powerful right head kick that dropped Adesanya to the mat. The fans erupted as Till seized this opportunity to finish the job, Till raining down punches on a stunned champion; Till landed a series of punches, and, when one of them saw Adesanya go out, the referee jumped in and the fans went absolutely crazy as Darren Till, the home favourite, had made history and had become the UFC Middleweight Champion!.

Till looked beyond thrilled as he celebrated with his corner and his family, and the new champion cut a terrific picture, lights and flashes going off throughout the arena as everyone rushed to take their pictures of the new UFC Middleweight Champion, Darren Till.

Result: Darren ‘The Gorilla’ Till beat ‘The Last Style Bender’ Israel Adesanya by knockout (punch) in 1:12 of Round 3 to win the UFC Middleweight Championship

Post-Fight Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Joanne Calderwood vs. Paige VanZant

Performance of the Night: Tai Tuivasa

Knockout of the Night: Darren Till

Submission of the Night: Shana Dobson

Predictions

Majster_93: (13/16)

Majster_93 (overall): (33/47; 70.21%)

CageRage: (11/16)

CageRage (Overall): (190/317; 59.93%)

From the author: It seems nobody foresaw Till taking the middleweight title; I expected Adesanya to win as well, and likely with ease, but Till delivered the upset. But the big upset victory of the night belongs to Tai Tuivasa, who was the major underdog against Francis Ngannou; I’m about this far from wishing Ngannou well in his future endeavours.

Fantabulous · March 21, 2021

UFC Rankings for Sunday, Week 4 of January 2021

Fantabulous · March 22, 2021

UFC returns to Ohio for UFC 260; Jon Jones title to defend against Jan Błachowicz

UFC returns to Ohio for UFC 260; Jon Jones title to defend against Jan Błachowicz. Zhang defends against Suarez in co-main event

Saturday of Week 4 of January 2021

The UFC returns to Ohio in March for The Buckeye Brawl, a PPV that will see Jon Jones aim to make the fifth defence of his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship when he takes on Jan Błachowicz, Błachowicz the next fighter tasked with taking on a champion who is widely considered the best fighter of all time.

Jones, fresh off a rematch with Dominick Reyes at UFC 253, now looks to continue his run of dominance, and further establish himself as the greatest fighter of all time, as he heads to Ohio and another title defence, and it’s apropos about this this being his fifth title defence because his challenger is on a five fight winning streak.

Jan Błachowicz started his streak with a sensational knockout of Luke Rockhold, with Błachowicz then racking up wins over Ronaldo Souza, Corey Anderson, Glover Texeira, and the legendary Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Now, Błachowicz stands atop the rank of contenders in the light heavyweight division, with the only step remaining for him to take being the one that would put him atop the entire division, and that’s beating Jon Jones become UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Yet standing in front of him is a champion who has been dominant against virtually every challenger who has stood before him, and even against those who have pushed him to the limit, Jones has still emerged victorious, but there may have been no more dangerous challenger than the one he will face at UFC 260.

In the co-main event of UFC 260, the reigning UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, Zhang Weili, coming off a success title defence against Rose Namajunas, puts her title on the line against a challenger that nobody has been able to figure out yet, with Zhang facing the undefeated Tatiana Suarez.

Zhang has been through some tough battles, including her legendry Fight of the Decade against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. But there is no tougher battle than one against an opponent who has beaten everyone they’ve faced, because you must find a way to do that which nobody has been able to do before.

Tatiana Suarez is a world-class calibre wrestler, at one point being the number one ranked freestyle wrestler in the US (121lbs), her Olympic aspirations only being derailed not by an opponent, but by injury and cancer. With injuries and cancer behind her, Suarez entered MMA, wowing on the regional scene before bursting onto the national stage by winning the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter. Suarez then put together a series of impressive wins, her most notable coming at UFC 228 when she dominated and battered former champion Carla Esparza en route to a TKO victory.

Suarez is now one win away from MMA immortality and joining the rare cadre of fighters who have become UFC champion whilst being undefeated. Yet that win would have to be over a champion who has shown mettle and fire the likes of which has rarely been seen in MMA. However, Suarez is no stranger to taking on a foe that most would find daunting, and at UFC 260, she has the chance to make history and become the next UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

Elsewhere on the card, Corey Anderson faces Alexander Gustafsson. Gustafsson emerged from retirement late last year to beat Mauricio Rua, and a strong showing by Gustafsson against Anderson may be enough to put him in contention for a shot at the winner of the main event. Similarly, when Angela Hill takes on Rose Namajunas, a victory for Hill could be enough to see the former TUF standout steak her claim to challenge the winner of the Zhang/Suarez contest. Namajunas will have other ideas, and, after coming up short in her own challenge for the strawweight title, the last thing she will want to see happen is a loss that would plunge her far down the ranks of the strawweight division.

Bitter enemies collide in the welterweight division when loudmouthed clown Colby Covington takes on former champion Tyron Woodley. And the main card kicks off with a heavy-handed heavyweight affair between Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem.

This great PPV, and a loaded preliminary card that includes potential title challengers, rising contenders, and undefeated standouts, takes place on Saturday of Week of 4 of March in Ohio.

Main Card

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion: Jon Jones © (#1, 27-1, 1NC) vs. Jan Błachowicz (28-8) for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion: Zhang Weili © (#1, 23-1) vs. Tatiana Suarez (10-0) for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship

Light Heavyweight: Corey Anderson (#9, 14-6) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (#4, 19-6)

Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill (#8, 14-7) vs. Rose Namajunas (#6, 9-5)

Welterweight: Colby Covington (#7, 16-3) vs. Tyron Woodley (#2, 20-5-1)

Heavyweight: Walt Harris (#3, 15-7, 1NC) vs. Alistair Overeem (#12, 45-19, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (#22, 12-4) vs. Virna Jandiroba (#17, 17-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber (#6, 10-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (#11, 14-5)

Women’s Bantamweight: Macy Chaisson (#2, 8-1) vs. Ketlen Viera (#12, 11-2)

Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili (10-5) vs. Sean O’Malley (12-0)

Featherweight: Khalid Taha (#21, 15-1) vs. Sodiq Yussuf (#16, 13-1)

Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas (#12, 19-9) vs. Cub Swanson (#19, 26-12)

Featherweight: Doo Ho Choi (#20, 16-4) vs. Darren Elkins (#23, 24-9)

Lightweight: Mark Madsen (11-0) vs. Omar Morales (10-0)

Lightweight: Bobby Green (25-11-1) vs. James Vick (14-5)

Lightweight: Paul Felder (#16, 18-7) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (#14, 17-2)

Fantabulous · March 24, 2021

News Blast

Saturday of Week 4 of January 2021

Junior Dos Santos today announced that he is launching an appeal over the one-year suspension he received for failing a drug test earlier in the month. Dos Santos tested positive for PEDs after UFC on ESPN 12, where he lost in the main event to Daniel Cormier.

Sunday of Week 4 of January 2021

Monday of Week 1 of February 2021

Tuesday of Week 1 of February 2021

Majster_93 · March 24, 2021

Light Heavyweight: Corey Anderson (#9, 14-6) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (#4, 19-6)

Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill (#8, 14-7) vs. Rose Namajunas (#6, 9-5)

Welterweight: Colby Covington (#7, 16-3) vs. Tyron Woodley (#2, 20-5-1)

Heavyweight: Walt Harris (#3, 15-7, 1NC) vs. Alistair Overeem (#12, 45-19, 1NC)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (#22, 12-4) vs. Virna Jandiroba (#17, 17-2)

Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber (#6, 10-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (#11, 14-5)

Women’s Bantamweight: Macy Chaisson (#2, 8-1) vs. Ketlen Viera (#12, 11-2)

Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili (10-5) vs. Sean O’Malley (12-0)

Featherweight: Khalid Taha (#21, 15-1) vs. Sodiq Yussuf (#16, 13-1)

Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas (#12, 19-9) vs. Cub Swanson (#19, 26-12)

Featherweight: Doo Ho Choi (#20, 16-4) vs. Darren Elkins (#23, 24-9)

Lightweight: Mark Madsen (11-0) vs. Omar Morales (10-0)

Lightweight: Bobby Green (25-11-1) vs. James Vick (14-5)

Lightweight: Paul Felder (#16, 18-7) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (#14, 17-2)

Fantabulous · March 26, 2021

News Blast

Wednesday of Week 1 of February 2021

Thursday of Week 1 of February 2021

Friday of Week 1 of February 2021

From the author: UFC Fight Night on HBO 1 will be posted tomorrow, with the main event being the rematch between Ben Askren and Robbie Lawler. Their first fight, at UFC 235, had a controversial ending, but, hopefully, the rematch will provide us with a conclusive winner. The co-main event features the return of T.J. Dilliashaw in his first fight since completing a lengthy suspension for failing a drug test. Also returning at this event is Luke Rockhold. Here is the full card for predictions, comment, etc;

UFC Fight Night on HBO 1: Askren vs. Lawler II

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#8, 20-2, 1NC) vs. Robbie Lawler (#9, 29-14, 1NC)
Bantamweight: Jose Aldo (#7, 28-6) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (#4, 16-4)
Women’s Bantamweight: Irena Aldana (#2, 14-5) vs. Pannie Kianzad (#18, 14-6)
Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (#17, 34-14, 1NC) vs. Dominick Reyes (#7, 12-2)
Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold (16-5) vs. Anthony Smith (#6, 33-15)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Abu Azaitar (15-2-1, 1NC) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4)
Women’s Strawweight: Felice Herrig (#20, 14-10) vs. Syuri Kondo (#23, 9-3)
Women’s Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (#20, 9-1) vs. Talia Santos (#24, 15-2)
Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (#2, 10-4) vs. Olga Rubin (#6, 6-3)
Featherweight: Suman Mokhtarian (8-3) vs. Chas Skelly (19-4)

Majster_93 · March 26, 2021

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#8, 20-2, 1NC) vs. Robbie Lawler (#9, 29-14, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Jose Aldo (#7, 28-6) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (#4, 16-4)

Women’s Bantamweight: Irena Aldana (#2, 14-5) vs. Pannie Kianzad (#18, 14-6)

Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (#17, 34-14, 1NC) vs. Dominick Reyes (#7, 12-2)

Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold (16-5) vs. Anthony Smith (#6, 33-15)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Abu Azaitar (15-2-1, 1NC) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Felice Herrig (#20, 14-10) vs. Syuri Kondo (#23, 9-3)

Women’s Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (#20, 9-1) vs. Talia Santos (#24, 15-2)

Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (#2, 10-4) vs. Olga Rubin (#6, 6-3)

Featherweight: Suman Mokhtarian (8-3) vs. Chas Skelly (19-4)

CageRage · March 26, 2021

UFC Fight Night on HBO 1: Askren vs. Lawler II

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#8, 20-2, 1NC) vs. Robbie Lawler (#9, 29-14, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Jose Aldo (#7, 28-6) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (#4, 16-4)

Women’s Bantamweight: Irena Aldana (#2, 14-5) vs. Pannie Kianzad (#18, 14-6)

Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (#17, 34-14, 1NC) vs. Dominick Reyes (#7, 12-2)

Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold (16-5) vs. Anthony Smith (#6, 33-15)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Abu Azaitar (15-2-1, 1NC) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Felice Herrig (#20, 14-10) vs. Syuri Kondo (#23, 9-3)

Women’s Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (#20, 9-1) vs. Talia Santos (#24, 15-2)

Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (#2, 10-4) vs. Olga Rubin (#6, 6-3)

Featherweight: Suman Mokhtarian (8-3) vs. Chas Skelly (19-4)

McDojoDelux · March 26, 2021

Main Card

Welterweight: Ben Askren (#8, 20-2, 1NC) vs. Robbie Lawler (#9, 29-14, 1NC)

Bantamweight: Jose Aldo (#7, 28-6) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (#4, 16-4)

Women’s Bantamweight: Irena Aldana (#2, 14-5) vs. Pannie Kianzad (#18, 14-6)

Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (#17, 34-14, 1NC) vs. Dominick Reyes (#7, 12-2)

Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold (16-5) vs. Anthony Smith (#6, 33-15)

Preliminary Card

Middleweight: Abu Azaitar (15-2-1, 1NC) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4)

Women’s Strawweight: Felice Herrig (#20, 14-10) vs. Syuri Kondo (#23, 9-3)

Women’s Flyweight: Mackenzie Dern (#20, 9-1) vs. Talia Santos (#24, 15-2)

Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (#2, 10-4) vs. Olga Rubin (#6, 6-3)

Featherweight: Suman Mokhtarian (8-3) vs. Chas Skelly (19-4)

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