Last week Daniel Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic, and was looking down on the fight game from his throne, one championship on each shoulder. History was made that will not be forgotten for a long time. As the dust is still settling, UFC provided a 13 fight card from Boise, Idaho for the first time in UFC history. Headlining the card is Junior Dos Santos facing Blagoy Ivanov who has the experience in MMA, but steps into a UFC octagon for the first time in his career. In the co-main event prettyboy Sage Northcutt faces Zak Ottow. For those who didn’t know, Northcutt was one of the many talents discovered on Dana White’s web series called “Looking For A Fight”. Before that fight, the main event and many more, the evening starting with Jessica Aguilar and Jodie Esquibel on the UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims.

 

1. The first fight on the Early Prelims was a Strawweight fight between Jessica Aguilar and Jodie Esquibel. This fight was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Utica, but was cancelled after Aguilar had a “chapped lips” issue. Aguilar’s bad luck goes even farther back than last month, with another fight of hers being cancelled in February. This is Aguilar’s first fight in 2018. In the first round both fighters were able to hold their own, with Aguilar being better by a margin on my scorecard. The second round was closer to call than the first. Esquibel’s corner seemed confident that the scorecards had it 1-1 while Aguilar’s corner was saying that she is up 2-0 but “you never know” with the judges. The fight went the distance, giving us the chance to see what the judges actually thought. The judges gave Aguilar the win Unanimously (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Aguilar	10	10	10	30
Esquibel	9	9	9	27

 

2. Continuing the three fight UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims was Mark De La Rosa against Elias Garcia in a Flyweight bout. Both of these guys are really young and have a lot of wins on their record already. In the first round Garcia mounted De La Rosa, with DLR getting rid of him by spinning many times. When put in an Armbar later in the round he used a similar spinning tactic. Two very interesting moments in the round. In the second round De La Rose put in a Rear Naked Choke that made Garcia tap. De La Rosa did not call anyone out after the fight, saying that he wants to “stay humble”.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
De La Rosa	10
Garcia	9

 

3. Finishing off the Early Prelims was ranked fighter #7 Liz Carmouche against Jennifer Maia. In the second round Carmouche was aggressively looking for a finish, trying with strikes then an Armbar until the round ended. The fight went all three rounds. Carmouche walked away with a victory Unanimously (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Carmouche #7	10	10	10	30
Maia	9	9	9	27

 

4. Starting the prelims on FS1 was Kurt Holobaugh versus Raoni Barcelos. The two Featherweights were very close in the first round. The commentary team predicted that the fight would not make it past the first round, but it instead went to the third round. AQ flurry of strikes by Barcelos dropped Holobaugh making referee Herb Dean stop the fight.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Holobaugh	9	10
Barcelos	10	9

 

5. Justin Scoggins faced Flyweight Said Nurmagomedov in the second prelim fight. Said was hired in January, this being his first UFC fight. He is a cousin to UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. There was an interesting moment in the third round where the two fighters were stood up while Nurmagomedov was throwing strikes. Said Nurmagomedov ended up winning the fight via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Scoggins	10	9	9	28
Nurmagomedov	9	10	10	29

 

6. Alexander Volkanovski faced #10 rank Darren Elkins in the next fight. During the fighter introductions it is shown on the broadcast that Israel Adesanya, who won the main event at TUF27 last week, was applauding Volkanovski while wearing one of his shirts. In the first round Volkanovski put in a pretty convincing Guillotine, but Elkins escaped. Eklins got dropped with a strike later in the first round but recovered. Volkanovski dropped Elkins once again and slipped in a Guillotine as the round ended. The ref was giving Elkins more leeway than usual. Volkanovski had him in the palm of his hand during the second round. The fight (somehow) went the distance. It’s worth being applauded itself that Elkins survived past round 1. The judges gave Volkanovski the win Unanimously (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Volkanovski	10	10	10	30
Elkins #10	8	9	9	26

 

7. Finishing off the preliminary card was #15 rank Eddie Wineland versus #13 rank Alejandro Perez in the Bantamweight class. The fight was very close for all three rounds. Nobody was being super aggressive, and the fight stayed standing for the most part. In the final 10 seconds Perez started swinging like crazy. The official decision was a Unanimous Decision for Perez (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Wineland #15	10	9	9	29
Perez #15	9	10	10	28

 

8. Kicking off the main card, Cat Zingano who is #6 Bantamweight rank faced #7 rank Marion Reneau. This fight, which travelled at a slow pace for all three rounds went to decision. Zingano won, absolutely dominating the scorecards (30-27, 30-27 & 30-26). She gave a very emotional, feel good interview after the fight.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Zingano #6	10	10	10	30
Reneau #7	9	9	9	27

 

9. In the next bout Chad Mendes faced #12 rank Featherweight Myles Jury. Mendes last fought in 2015 when he lost to Frankie Edgar, coming off his loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 189. Basically, this is the start of the Chad Mendes redemption arch. Minutes into the first round Mendes dropped Jury with a left then finished the fight on the ground with more strikes. He was excited to be back in his interview afterwards.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Mendes
Jury #12

 

10. Niko Price faced Randy Brown in the next fight. Brown won the first round standing up. In the second round we saw a very unique finish, with Price putting Brown to sleep while Price was on the bottom. After the finish he threw his mouthguard out of his mouth, a similar celebration that we saw last week when Dan Hooker won his fight.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Price	9
Brown	10

 

11. In a Featherweight fight, Rick Glenn faced Dennis Bermudez.This fight went all fifteen minutes, leaving the win and loss to each fighter in the hands of the judges. Rick Glenn won via Split Decision (29-28, 30-27 & 29-28)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Glenn	10	9	10	29
Bermudez	9	10	9	28

 

12. In the co-main event spot for tonight is Zak Ottow versus Sage Northcutt. Northcutt is one of those guys that sticks with you because of his look and personality. Ottow had control for most of the first round when he took Northcutt to the ground. Racing the clock Northcutt was looking for a finish on the ground. Ottow seemed to really gas out in the second round, and Northcutt took advantage of that. Northcutt got a win after landing Hammerfists on the ground.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Ottow	10
Northcutt	9

 

13. Now it became time for the main event. #8 rank Heavyweight Junior Dos Santos faces newcomer to the UFC Blagoy Ivanov. The first three rounds were back and forth. Ivanov’s best round was the third. Dos Santos had finger poking issues throughout rounds, with Herb Dean bringing him to a corner to fix his gloves in the fourth. In the fourth round the crowd started a stomping chant, trying to get the two fighters to engage more. Ivanov got hit in the eye again in the final round, being checked by the doctors. No point was taken away, despite the commentators believing there was good reason to. All three judges had scorecard Unanimously in favour of Dos Santos (50-45, 50-45 & 50-45).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Dos Santos #8	10	9	9	10	10	48
Ivanov	9	10	10	9	9	47

 

UFC usually runs Saturday evening events like we saw tonight, but next week when the octagon travels to Hamburg, Germany, it will have a special start time of 10:30 AM EST for the Early Prelims on Sunday (2PM EST for Main Card). Headlining the card is Shogun Rua and Anthony Smith. UFC is many many weeks away from their next PPV, when TJ Dillashaw defends his Bantamweight Championship against Cody Garbrandt in a rematch. That card goes down on August 4, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Ending off this week in UFC was Junior Dos Santos on top in Boise.

Daniel Cormier attempted to do what only one other person has done. Cormier challenged Stipe Miocic for his Heavyweight Championship while already being the Light Heavyweight Champion. Stipe faced Cormier with his goal being to extend his win streak, and also extend his historic title reign. This proclaimed superfight headlined the July 7th UFC 226 card capping off UFC’s International Fight Week. Below them was 10 other fights including another attempt at the Michael Chiesa and Anthony Pettis fight which was thrown away in April after Conor McGregor attacked a fighter bus. Derrick Lewis faced Francis Ngannou in what was predicted to be an explosive Heavyweight clash, whether it lived up to its hype or not is easy to answer: No. But besides that, there were many more big names going down this card who were ready to make history. The evening started on UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims with Jamie Moyle facing Emily Whitmire.

 

1. Starting off the evening was Jamie Moyle versus Emily Whitmire in a Strawweight fight. It’s been over a year since Moyle has fought, with her last fight being a decision loss at UFC 212. The first round and a half was boxing only with Whitmire swinging way more and landing more than Moyle. In the third round Whitmire got a good takedown and used the opportunity to land ground strikes. The fight went all 15 minutes with Whitmire having the advantage almost the whole way through. The judges gave Whitmire the win Unanimously (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). In the post-fight interview Whitmire was happy about how she has finally made it to the UFC. She also mentioned the issue she has with Vinny Magalhaes who wouldn’t corner her but then showed up to the event today.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Moyle	9	9	9	27
Whitmire	10	10	10	30

 

2. Ending off the one hour early-prelims is Lightweight Gilbert Burns against Dan Hooker. In the first round Burns got dropped many times. Hooker dropped Burns with a left that made the ref call off the fight. Burns was looking good, maybe even the better of the two until Hooker started landing bombs. Hooker also did a good move where he immediately turned a takedown attempt from Burns into a submission move. After the fight Hooker cut a good promo saying that he needs a top 10 fight because booking him against unranked fighters is just getting them hurt.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Burns
Hooker

 

3. Over to FS1, Curtis Millender fought Max Griffin in a Welterweight fight. During this fight Millender really liked using knees. Griffin was the one who was more aggressive when it came to looking for takedowns. The third round determined the result for the whole fight. Millender started really landing bombs with a minute left. The scorecards determined the fate for both fighters, with the judges all seeing it the same, 2-1 for Millender. Millender gets the Unanimous victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Millender	9	10	10	29
Griffin	10	9	9	28

 

4. Lando Vannata and Drakkar Klose faced off in the second FS1 fight. Klose has quite the unique name. The first round was close (or should I say Klose), but went in favour for Klose on my scorecard. In the second round Klose was really targeting the legs of Vannata, and you could tell that it was hurting him. Judges all gave Klose the unanimous win with a clean sweep scorecard (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Vannata	9	9	9	27
Klose	10	10	10	30

 

5. Our first fight this evening that has two ranked fighters is Raphael Assuncao against Rob Font. Commentators mentioned that the winner of this fight could be next in line for a Bantamweight title fight. Rob Font got dropped once in the first round, recovering very quickly. In the third round Rob got accidentally poked in the eyes. He was checked out by the doctor, but was able to finish the round. All three judges gave Assuncao a 30-27 win (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27). After the fight Assuncao sounded desperate for a title shot saying “Boss what do I have to do?” He gave a composed promo saying that even though he isn’t finishing his opponents, he is on a winning streak.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Assuncao #3	10	10	10	30
Font #11	9	9	9	27

 

6. Finishing off the prelims we have Paulo Costa, who put on a very impressive showing last time he was on PPV. He faces #9 rank Uriah Hall. The battle between Hall and Costa was intense in the first round, but took a break when Hall was hit square in the cup. Costa was absolutely in control of the fight until it was paused once again for a hit to the groin. Hall took a longer time to heal after this second hit. No point was deducted from Costa. In the second round both Costa and Hall were swinging like crazy. Costa got the better of the absolute war in the second round, dropping Hall, causing the ref to stop the fight. Costa wasn’t the cleanest fighter in the first round, and that most likely played into his victory, but with that being said it’s worth mentioning that Costa is a real threat to the Middleweight division. If it wasn’t for Costa ending it in the second round, the prelim should would have most likely went over it’s time slot, into the PPV time slot.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Hall #9	9
Costa #10	10

 

7. Starting off the five fight PPV card was Gokhan Saki versus Khalil Rountree Jr. in a Light Heavyweight fight. This fight was not that busy for the first minute. After that, Rountree floored with a punch. Saki was given a chance to recover on the ground but Rountree continued with hammer fists on the ground until the fight ended. Rountree gave a very excited promo after the fight, screaming into the mic for some time.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Saki
Rountree

 

8. The next fight is a re-do of what was supposed to happen in New York back in April. Due to the attack that McGregor did on the buses of fighters, Chiesa became a scratch on the card. This time around didn’t come without it’s problems too, as Chiesa missed weight, making this a 157.5 Catchweight fight. During the weigh-ins Chiesa announced to the media that this would be his last fight at Lightweight. In the first round Chiesa landed lots of takedowns. In between rounds Chiesa said he thinks Pettis greased for this fight. Pettis dropped Chiesa at the start of the second round with strikes, then put him in a Triangle Armbar to make him tap. After the fight Pettis says that he finished the fight early because he knows that’s what the fans want.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Chiesa #9	10
Pettis #12	9

 

9. Welterweight Paul Felder faced Mike Perry in the ninth fight of the evening. Mike Perry is a fighter as much as he is a personality. The media that he did for this weekend was more than entertaining, saying that “somebody might die” while being interviewed by Fox and TSN. In the first round of the fight there was a cut due to some sort of accidental headbut. In the second round Felder got completely cut open from a forearm from Perry. A doctor was called in, and greenlit the fight to continue. Felder also mentioned in-between rounds that he thinks he broke his arm. Throughout the fight Perry had fantastic wrestling. Felder being the absolute tough guy that he is went the whole fight. The judges gave Mike Perry the win via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Felder	10	9	9	28
Perry	9	10	10	29

 

10. This next fight was moved to co-main event just this week once Brian Ortega versus Max Holloway was thrown away due to Holloway having health issues. These two have seemed like all fun and games at press conferences and media, but once it came to the face-off yesterday, it got extremely heated. #5 rank Heavyweight Derrick Lewis faced #1 rank Francis Ngannou. It was expected for this fight to be fireworks right out the gates, but it ended up actually being very slow. Lewis was the only one trying to land strikes in the first round.

 

Lewis mentioned that his back was hurting in-between rounds. Lewis mentioned weeks ago on Ariel Helwani’s podcast that he takes shots to stop his back issues from happening, and that he won’t have that issue on fight night. So taking that into account, it’s odd that it ended up being an issue for him with this fight. Herb Dean warned both fighters near the end of the second round that they need to engage, and that if they don’t he will start taking points. The crowd booed in hatred after the fight ended. On commentary Rogan said this was the worst Heavyweight fight that he has ever seen. Ngannou landed a shot way after the horn went, giving the crowd even more of a reason to cause a ruckus. When we painfully went to the judges scorecards, Lewis was Unanimously given the win (29-28, 29-28 & 30-27).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lewis #5	10	10	10	30
Ngannou #1	9	9	9	27

 

11. Finally, it’s time for the “Superfight”. Before the fight people notice that Brock Lesnar is at cageside. Cleveland’s Machine Gun Kelly was at Cageside as well since his music was playing during Stipe’s entrance. Near the end of the first round Miocic seemingly got hit in the eye. Cormier was given a warning. With the first round nearly over, Cormier dropped Miocic with a overhard right just as they were leaving a clinch, then finished him with strikes on the ground. It all happened so quickly. Going into this fight it seemed like a total David vs. Goliath battle when looking at their size differences. Cormier said afterwards that he knew beforehand that Miocic leaves clinch with his hands low, and that he capitalized off of it. After his interview with Joe Rogan, he called out Brock Lesnar for a fight. Lesnar came into the ring and shoved Cormier. “Push me now, you go to sleep later” is what Cormier said to him.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Miocic (C)
Cormier

 

While some other fights on the card disappointed, the main event lived up to its hype. History was made, and new pages were opened in what could possibly be another historic fight later down the line. Daniel Cormier made quite the comeback from his loss against Jon Jones last year, ending with him crying in the ring. Cormier sits at the top of the fight game, with two belts around his shoulders.

 

Next week UFC presents a Fight Night event out of Boise, Idaho with Junior dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov headlining the card. It happens on the same weekend that Bellator will run two events, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. The next big event for UFC is far down the line on August 4th, when Cody Garbrandt challenges TJ Dillashaw for the Bantamweight Championship at the Staples Center.

For wrestling fans, the best way to put the TUF 27 finale into their world is to call it the night before Wrestlemania. Tonight’s card has its own type of shine, but at the same time is a way to get everyone ready for what’s to come tomorrow. The Ultimate Fighter’s 27th season finale takes place in the Pearl Theatre, which is in Paradise, Nevada. Main event of the evening is Middleweight Brad Tavares versus Israel Adesanya. Below them on the main card is the finale for the Lightweight and Featherweight TUF tournament. To crown the Lightweight tournament winner, Mike Trizano faced Joe Giannetti. The Featherweight tournament saw Jay Cucciniello against Brad Katona. Below those three featured bouts were 9 other fights, starting on the UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims with Gerald Meerschaert facing Oskar Piechota.

 

1. Starting off the evening was Gerald Meerschaert and Oskar Piechota in a Middleweight fight. In the first round Piechota was very dominant. He got a takedown early on, but got stood up. Piechota took it to the ground once again with a minute to go. In the second round Meerschaert was landing lots of strikes that were unanswered. After minutes of strikes, Meerschaert put in a Rear Naked Choke that put Piechota to sleep. From the first to the second round, it was quite the impressive comeback from Meerschaert.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Meerschaert	9
Piechota	10

 

2. Ending off the early prelims was Matt Bessette against Steven Peterson in a Featherweight bout. Early into the first round Peterson went for a Guillotine that Bessette escaped. Bessette dominated with the strikes in the first and second round. The third round was much slower with both fighters gassing out. The fight went the distance, with the judges giving Peterson the win via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Bessette	10	9	9	28
Peterson	9	10	10	29

 

3. Switching to FS1, Bryce Mitchell and Tyler Diamond, two members of Team Cormier in Ultimate Fighter, face each other. Both fighters were on the Featherweight part of Cormier’s team. The mutual respect between both fighters was really seen during this fight. Diamond got a takedown shortly after he was accidentally hit below. In the second round Mitchell put in a very right Triangle hold while elbowing his head. After being in the triangle for a long time, Diamond escaped. Diamond got a decent amount of strikes in at the end. It was hard to score the second round. Diamond had complete control in round 3, starting and finishing strong. The fight went the distance with Bryce Mitchell winning by Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 28-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Diamond	9	9	10	29
Mitchell	10	10	9	28

 

4. John Gunther, who as the broadcast team has mentioned many times, trims alpacas for a living outside of MMA. A fan even shouted something along those lines to him during the fight. Anyways, Gunther fought Allan Zuniga in a Lightweight fight. Gunther showcased successful ground game in the first round. In the second round Zuniga tried his hardest to stay off the ground where that’s all Gunther wanted to be at. Online people seemed to be really bored by this fight. In the final 10 seconds of the fight it really started cracking, with both fighters tee’ing off. It went the distance, like many fights tonight, with the judges giving John Gunther a Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 28-28). In the post fight interview Gunther gave an Alpaca scream, or something. I can’t judge if the impression was accurate or not.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Gunther	10	10	10	30
Zuniga	9	9	9	27

 

5. Up next was Luis Pena versus Richie Smullen. Luis Pena has an impressive afro, coining his nickname “Violent Bob Ross”. It has to be a very recent nickname for Pena since in his Sherdog photo he is bald. Smullen has three wins going into this fight, while Pena has two. After a few minutes of ground game Pena dropped Smullen with strikes. Pena then finished the fight with a Guillotine on the ground.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Pena
Smullen

 

6. The final fight before the main card was Montana De La Rosa against Rachael Ostovich in a Flyweight bout. They both appeared in past seasons of TUF. The first round was mostly standing with De La Rosa landing many strikes that got Ostovich backing up. In the final round Ostovich put in an Armbar that the crowd was really behind. De La Rosa eventually escaped. Ostovich seemingly gassed out after the Armbar, because De La Rose started really getting her with strikes. De La Rosa was able to secure a win with a Rear Naked Choke.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
De La Rosa	10	9
Ostovich	9	10

 

7. In the first fight on the main card, Alessio Di Chirico faced Julian Marquez in Catchweight 190 lbs. It was Marquez who missed weight, making this a Catchweight bout. The first round was nearly all stand up swinging. It was very hard to decide who got the first round. Marquez had a better second round than first, with good stand up game and a good attempt at a Kimura. The fight went the distance in easily one of the most entertaining fights of the night. The judges ruled in favour of Di Chirico via (30-27 Marquez, 29-28 Chirico & 29-28 Di Chirico).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Di Chirico	10	9	9	28
Marquez	9	10	10	29

 

8. In the eighth fight of the evening, #7 rank Flyweight Barb Honchak faced #8 rank Roxanne Modafferi. Modafferi showed off her personality at the Weigh-Ins yesterday, wearing a Dragon Ball-Z wig while standing on the scale. The first round was nearly all standing while Modafferi was completely dominant on the ground in the second. The fight came to a close in the second when Modafferi finished the fight with elbows on the ground.

 

My Scorecard:

Fight	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Modafferi #8	10
Honchak #7	9

 

9. In the final fight before we crown TUF winners, we have Martin Bravo against Alex Caceres in a Featherweight fight. The first round of the fight felt like a warmup for Caceres. In the second round he really broke into a stride, landing lots of significant strikes and winning the round (on my scorecard). The third round was the closest, with Bravo showing more life than what he did in the second. Caceres seemed to panic in the third, going for a takedown at one point to slow the pace of the fight. The fight went the distance, with Caceres getting the Split Decision from the judges (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fight	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Bravo	10	9	10	29
Caceres	9	10	9	28

 

10. In the first of two tournament finals tonight, Jay Cucciniello faced Brad Katona to crown The Ultimate Fighter Season 27 Featherweight Winner. Cucciniello lost in the first round of the bracket, but was given a second chance after Ricky Steele got injured and couldn’t fight. In the first round, which was a very slow round, Katona dropped Cucciniello with a strike. Since such little else happened in the round, that could have easily been what gave Katona the round. Early in the second round an almost identical situation happened. A minute in Katona got a takedown. The fight went all 15 minutes. All three judges gave Brad Katona a 30-26. Unanimously, Brad became an Ultimate Fighter (30-26, 30-26 & 30-26). Dana White was in the ring to award Katona with his trophy.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Cucciniello	9	9	9	27
Katona	10	10	10	30

 

11. From one tournament final to another. Mike Trizano faced Joe Giannetti to decide the winner from the Lightweight bracket. This fight was very uneventful, going the distance. The crowd booed in disapproval once the third round ended. By Split Decision Michael Trizano won (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Giannetti	9	10	9	28
Trizano	10	9	10	29

 

12. Finally, the main event of the evening. The pacing of this show was completely off compared to the traditional UFC show. As this main event was getting started, UFC had just started to go over their schedule time slot, which ended at 1 AM Eastern. But enough complaining, because Israel Adesanya faced Brad Tavares #8 in a Middleweight clash. In the fourth round there was a pause in the fight so that medical at ringside could check a nasty cut around Tavares’ right eye. Looking at it in-between rounds, it was disgusting honestly. The cutman fit the whole tip of the cloth he was using into the gash to get blood. The type of injury you can’t fathom having. Adesanya was pretty dominant for most rounds except the first round, which could have went either way. These two guys were just slugging away round after round. The fight went all five rounds. The judges gave Adesanya the win via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 50-45 & 50-45).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Adesanya	9	10	10	10	10	49
Tavares #8	10	9	9	9	9	46

 

Now that this event is out of the way, all sights are set on tomorrow’s card. Of course in the main event is Daniel Cormier moving up to Heavyweight to challenge Stipe Miocic for his Championship. The co-main event that was thrown away just days ago was Max Holloway versus Brian Ortega. The fight got taken off the card after a recurring health scare going on with Max Holloway. Hopefully he is able to heal up and be 100% sooner rather than later. Because of this scratch, Derek Lewis versus Francis Ngannou was moved into the co-main event slot. The two fighters have been no short of intense this weekend, with a face-off at the weigh-ins that got slightly physical. The card has many other exciting matchups all the way down the card, making it an exciting, very PPV worthy card. All has been said and done, and now it’s time to see who will come out victorious.

If there was a perfect weekend for Bellator to host an event in June, it would be this one. No interference from UFC events, with hungry fight fans watching this show in anticipation for International Fight Week. The main event of the card has Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defending her Women’s Flyweight Championship against Alejandra Lara in a five round bout. Macfarlane is also putting her undefeated streak on the line in the fight. Lower down in the main card is Saad Awad versus Brian Couture, two fighters who have been long-time fighters for Bellator. This fight ends the over one year pocket of time that Couture went without fighting. On the flipside of things, Awa just fought in January on the 193 card. Valerie Letourneau is set to fight undefeated (2-0) Kristina Williams, as well as Juan Archuleta faces Robbie Peralta in a Featherweight fight. Below the four fight main card was 8 preliminary fights, which were available online through Bellator’s site. Live from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, the night started with a Heavyweight fight.

 

1. The evening started on the prelims with Tyrell Fortune facing Giovanni Sarran in the Heavyweight division. Tyrell absolutely dominated in the first round, absolutely hammering down some strikes while on the ground. Tyrell got close to finishing the fight but never fully got there. With under a minute left in the second round, the ref stopped the fight due to strikes. This fight came off as sad.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Fortune	10
Giovanni	9

 

2. Joey Davis and Craig Plaskett continued the prelims in the Welterweight division. At the start of first round Plaskett almost immediately went for a takedown. When going back to standing position Davis seemed more dominant. Davis, who has a background in wrestling went for impressive takedowns during the first round. The second round was almost all Davis. At the start of round 3 the ref quickly noticed that Plaskett walked into the round with no mouthpiece. Halfway through the final round Davis absolutely cut open Plaskett with strikes on the ground. Davis was ahead until the round came to a close. All three judges gave Joey Davis the win Unanimously (30-26, 30-26 & 30-26).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Davis	10	10	10	30
Plaskett	9	9	8	26

 

3. Ed Ruth against Andy Murad in a Welterweight bout was next. Ruth was in control for the whole fight, knowing the perfect time to strike. A second before the second round would end, the ref ended the fight standing.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Ruth	10
Murad	9

 

4. Switching to the Paramount Network for the main card, Juan Archuleta faced Robbie Peralta in the Featherweight division. This fight was close for the first two rounds. In the third round Archuleta dropped Peralta right out of the gates with a right, ending the fight via TKO. Juan Archuleta gave an emotional interview, mentioning that his daughter had a seizure this morning.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Archuleta	10	9
Peralta	9	10

 

5. In our first of two women’s fights of the evening, Kristina Williams faced Valerie Letourneau in the Flyweight weight class. In the first round Williams knocked down Letourneau, but didn’t try to go in with an attack. Letourneau dropped Williams shortly after, but went to the ground for striking. The ref stood both fighters up for the final 20 seconds of the round. Williams showed more prevalent in the second round. At the start of the final round both fighters hammered away. The fight went the distance, with it going either way in my opinion. All three judges gave Letourneau the win (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Williams	9	10	10	29
Letourneau	10	9	9	28

 

6. In our co-main event, Saad Awad fought Ryan Couture. With a minute left in the first Saad Awad shook Couture with strikes, putting him into a defensive mode until the ref eventually called it off.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Awad
Couture

 

7. Finally, the main event of the evening, Ilima-Lei MacFarlane defended her title against Alejandra Lara. Both fighters got very grand entrances. The first round had very impressive ground game between both fighters. In the third round MacFarlane locked in an Armbar to retain her championship.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
MacFarlane	10	10
Lara	9	9

 

Once UFC’s International Fight Week is over, Bellator will be having their own little fight week, with a card on July 13 and 14. The first card is from Oklahoma with Julia Budd and Talita Nogueira headlining for the Women’s Featherweight belt. The next day will be Bellator 203 in Rome, Italy. The card has Patricio Freire and Daniel Weichel fighting for the Featherweight belt, but also has an undercard of kickboxing. In the kickboxing, Featherweight champion Kevin Ross defends his belt against Gabriel Varga. For UFC and Bellator, there is a lot of fights to look forward to.

UFC Fight Night in Singapore was a treat for Eastern fans of MMA. The 4AM EST start time offered up a 13 fight card headlined by Donald Cerrone and Leon Edwards. Heading into the main event Cerrone was aiming to obtain a win that would put him as the UFC fighter with the most all time wins. The UFC Fight Pass broadcast was a different experience than usual, with the card moving faster than what you would see on a FOX show. The show had a variety of exciting fights, with a ton of them staying standing up the whole time. Live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, UFC Fight Night started with Melinda Fabian against Ji Yeon Kim.

 

1. Starting off the prelims was Melinda Fabian versus Ji Yeon “Firefist” Kim in the Flyweight division. The program did not have any early-prelim fights, but instead had a long prelim card (6 fights). Kim had a significant 5.5 inch reach advantage. Fabian had more a hoppy way of standing while Kim kept her feet planted. Kim landed a hard strike near the end of round one that made Fabian switch into a defensive mode. Up until then they were both swinging away. The second round was very close, with the only distinctive advantage being Kim landing hard strikes every once in a while. Kim showed that she had a very strong right hand. The fight went the distance, with both of the fighters showing tons of appreciation towards each other after the horn went. The judges gave the fight to Ji Yeon Kim via split decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Kim	10	10	9	29
Fabian	9	9	10	28

 

2. Staying in the Flyweight division we saw Japan’s Ulka Sasaki face Jenel “The Demolition Man” Lausa. Sasaki had a 5 inch height advantage, being the tallest UFC Flyweight (5’10). Within seconds of the first round Sasaki sprinted towards Lausa and went for a takedown. Almost all of the first round was on the ground. In the second round Lausa had more room for boxing, which he was better at. Sasaki failed upon multiple attempts to get a takedown. The fight found its way back to the ground where Sasaki put Lausa in a Rear Naked Choke, making him tap. After the fight he called out Sergio Pettis.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Sasaki	10
Lausa	9

 

3. In another Flyweight fight, Naoki Inoue faced Matt Schnell. The first round of the fight was standing only. The round was very close, with Schnell being the more aggressive of the two. The second round was nearly identical to the first. In the third round we finally got a takedown attempt from Schnell. His attempt was blocked and so was Inoue’s which happened right after. They stayed standing for the rest of the round. The judges gave Matt Schnell the win via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Inoue	9	10	9	28
Schnell	10	9	10	29

 

4. Finally leaving the Flyweight division and moving over to Strawweight, Yan Xiaonan faced Viviane Pereira. The first two rounds of the fight were standing only, with Xiaonan completely being in control. Pereira showed more life in the second round. The final round was also completely strikes, with the two fighters completely hammering away in the final 10 seconds. The judges unanimously thought that Yan Xiaonan (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). When Bruce Buffer announced that she won, the ref raised Pereira’s hand, causing some confusion.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Xiaonan	10	10	10	30
Pereira	9	9	9	27

 

5. The fifth fight on the prelims was Jake Matthews against Shinsho Anzai. Anzai walked out to the oh-so relevant Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin”. Australian Matthews got an Aussie chant for him when the first round started. Matthews had a strong first round with solid strikes and a takedown. He put Anzai into a Rear Naked Choke for an early submission. Matthews earns another win in the Welterweight division.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Matthews
Anzai

 

6. Hector Aldana experienced his first fight outside of North America against Song Kenan next. In the first round of the fight Aldana started to bleed a significant amount around his right eye. When checked after the first round, the cut looked like it was deep in the eyelid. Aldana had very powerful kicks and takedowns in the first round. In the second round there was a pause in the fight due to a groin kick to Aldana. When the replay was shown on screens the crowd showed sympathy for Aldana. With 20 seconds left in the second round Kenan floored Aldana with a overhand right. He finished the bout after some strikes on the ground.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Aldana	10
Kenan	9

 

7. Switching from Welterweight to Featherweight, Shane Young fought Rolando Dy. At the halfway point of round 1 both fighters landed strikes that shook them. Around a minute to go in the round Dy acted like he got hit in the groin. The ref didn’t stop anything so Young continued to fight. Dy started to really bleed in the second round. Dy got stopped hard by a punch near the end of the second round. Dy stayed standing, but dropped a few strikes later, making the ref stop the bout. After the fight Young gave an interesting interview which is worth watching.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Young	10
Dy	9

 

8. Song Yadong versus Felipe Arantes was next. Arantes had quite the charismatic walkout. The first round was very close and hard to call. Both fighters seemed re-energized going into the second round. Just as the second round was nearing its end, Yadong hit Arantes with an elbow while against the cage, ending the fight. The crowd absolutely exploded for this.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Yadong	10
Arantes	9

 

9. Finishing off the prelims was Petr Yan versus Teruto Ishihara in a Bantamweight fight. Early in the round Ishihara got a double leg takedown. With two minutes to go Yan dropped Ishihara with two hard strikes. Ishihara recovered but then got dropped once again to end the fight. Yan did somewhat of a backflip to celebrate afterwards.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Yan
Ishihara

 

10. Starting off the main card was Daichi Abe versus Li Jingliang in the Welterweight division. In the second round Abe was alarmed by a strike that landed clean. Jingliang continued to dominate with strikes in the second round. As a bit of a taunt Jingliang turned his back and walked away during the fight. As the third round ended, Li Jingliang ran outside of the octagon over to where his daughter was sitting. The fight went to decision with the judges giving Li Jingliang a Unanimous victory (30-26, 30-27 & 30-27)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Abe	9	9	9	27
Jingliang	10	10	10	30

 

11. #10 rank Jessica Eye faced #9 Jessica-Rose Clark in the next Flyweight bout. This fight was very, very close. The fight went all three rounds. The final result from the judges gave Jessica Eye a Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

My Scorecard

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
#10 Eye	10	9	10	29
#9 Clark	9	10	9	28

 

12. The co-main event of the evening came from the Light Heavyweight division. Tyson Pedro faced Ovince Saint Preux in a three round bout. In the first minute Saint Preux got hit hard with a high kick, then put in a standing Guillotine. Saint Preux escaped the choke. OSP was able to recover throughout the round and eventually get a win via Armbar.

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
#13 Pedro
#7 Saint Preux

 

13. Finally, it’s time for the main event of the show. Rank #13 Leon Edwards faced #11 rank “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone. Cerrone was cut open early in round 1. There was a pause in the second round when Cerrone accidentally kicked Edwards below the belt. Edwards took a hard head kick at the end of the round, then claimed to the ref that Cerrone was grabbing his glove. When we went into the final round Cerrone had a cut that was spitting blood out of his head. He was bleeding so much in this fight that it hurt to look at. The two fighters left everything in the octagon, swinging for the fences in the final 10 seconds. They hugged after the horn went. The judges gave the win to Leon Edwards with a Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47 & 48-47)

 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
#13 Edwards	10	10	10	10	9	49
#11 Cerrone	9	9	9	9	10	46

 

UFC has a week off next week before they head to Fight Week, the organizations biggest week of the year. Headlining that show is Daniel Cormier challenging Stipe Miocic for his Heavyweight belt. The night before that show is the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter, with the scheduled main event currently set as Brad Tavares versus Israel Adesanya.