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.

UFC put on one of it’s biggest, if not the biggest show of the year. From Chicago, UFC 225 had more than a few stories ahead of the event. One of the biggest, but also least desirable of the many stories was the jeopardization of the main event. Yoel Romero’s chances of winning the Middleweight Championship hung in the balance as he had trouble cutting weight on Friday. He missed weight twice, by a margin. After that, it was quickly agreed that the fight would still happen, just not for the belt. Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero were still slated for a five round bout.

 

Another notable matchup was Colby Covington, who is a loudmouth was set to face off against Rafael Dos Anjos, who lets his actions speak for himself. Covington spewed trash talk leading up to the fight, often attacking Brazilians. He also that he will “Make UFC Great Again”, shadowing Donald Trump, who he has praised separately on many occasions as well.

 

Farther down on the main card was a second chance for two fighters. Former WWE star Phil Brooks, who is widely known as CM Punk lost his UFC debut back in September of 2016 to young fighter Mickey Gall. After landing no strikes, Punk tapped in the first round. Mike Jackson, the opponent of Punk, saw a similar career route, as he also lost to Mickey Gall, also via Submission in the first round. Both fighters had a zero in their career win column, and quite honestly really needed one of they wanted to keep their career in the UFC.

 

Other than those three fights, there were 10 other fights, all with very popular fighters. Up and down the card is talent. Almost any fight, whether early prelim, prelim, or main card, could easily headline their own card if given that opportunity. Without further wait, let’s look at the UFC 225 card. The very early 6:15PM EST Early Prelims started with Mike Santiago versus Dan Ige.

 

1. Starting off the Early Prelims on UFC Fight Pass, was Mike Santiago versus Dan Ige in the Featherweight Division. Very early in the first round, Ige went for a takedown. On the ground, Ige was landing tons of strikes, until the ref called it off.

 

2. In the second bout of the evening, the ever energetic and crazy (and I mean that in an endearing way) Clay Guida versus Charles Olivera in the Lightweight division. Since Chicago is Guida’s hometown, the crowd was electric for him. For the first few minutes, Olivera and Guida were stand and bang fighting. Guida got slightly cut up, then he tried for a takedown. Guida tapped almost immediately to a Guillotine once Olivera was able to put it on. Surprisingly, instead of booing, the crowd just went silent.

 

3. Continuing in the Early Prelims, Joseph Benavidez and Sergio Pettis compete in the Flyweight division. Benavidez is currently the #1 rank in the division, below the current champion, Demetrious Johnson. At the start of the fight the commentary team joked about how Bruce Buffer mispronounced Jiu-Jitsu, saying “Joe Jitsu.” In the first minute of the fight, Pettis tagged Benavidez many times with strikes. Benavidez got a takedown, which possibly saved him. Shortly after the two fighters went back to standing, and stayed that way for the rest of the first round. The second and third round was very even. The fight went to decision, with the judges favoring Sergio Pettis by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 30-27).

 

4. The final about in the early prelims was a Light Heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Rashad Evans. Rashad had the crowd behind him since he was fighting out of Chicago. Very early in the first round, Evans got KO’d with a hard right knee. The knee came while the two fighters were clinched up, with Smith up against the cage. The commentary team claimed that they saw the knee coming, and that Evans should have as well.

 

5. Switching over to the FS1 Preliminary fights, Chris De La Rocha and Rashad Coulter face each other in the Heavyweight division. Coulter was doing well on strikes and combos, but then slipped and fell, allowing De La Rocha to do his ground game. De La Rocha almost got a submission move in, but then Coulter was able to get up. Coulter continued to absolutely clobber when they were standing. It became an absolute war near the end of round 1. De La Rocha got another takedown with 30 or so seconds left. The round ended on the ground. In the first round De La Rocha landed his own strikes, but was outnumbered compared to Coulter. They went to the ground early in the second round. De La Rocha was on top, but was so tired that he wasn’t landing strong enough strikes. De La Rocha eventually won the fight via strikes. The crowd, which was exploding during the first round was no booing De La Rocha.

 

6. Going down quite a few weight classes, the next fight was Ricardo Lamas versus Mirsad Bektic in the Featherweight class. This fight was very close and composed. This was the most composed fight so far on the whole card. The fight went the distance, turning to the scorecards to decide the fighter’s fates. The judges scored the fight in favour of Mirsad Bektic by a Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 30-27).

 

7. Claudia Gadelha faced Carla Esparza in the Strawweight Division next. Esparza was seeing more success standing than on the ground, in the first round. Gadelha almost finished the fight at the end of round 1 with a submission, but Esparza was saved by the bell. The majority of round 2 was spent on the ground. In the third round Esparza seemed more aggressive with the strikes while Gadelha was more less playing defense. With over two minutes to go, Gadelha got a takedown. For the first time on the ground, it seemed like Esparza was more dominant. The fight went the whole 15 minutes. When we went to decision, it was Claudia Gadelha that got the Split Decision win (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

8. Finishing off the preliminary bouts, Curtis Blaydes faced off against Alistair Overeem. In the first round, there was barely any contact between the two fighters until Blaydes scored a takedown. Early in the third round Overeem got rocked by a combination of strikes. When taken to the ground, Overeem was able to stall the attack, but minutes later Blaydes was able to finish the fight with hard forearms. It was a very bloody, messy finish to the bout.

 

9. Starting off the Main Card is the battle of two 0-1 records. Mike Jackson faces CM Punk in the Welterweight division. Punk saw a pretty successful first round, landing a takedown and showing control while standing. In the second round Punk was stopped by a hard right hand. They went to the ground, where Punk was hit many times and really started to bleed. Jackson won the second round by a long shot. When taken to the ground in the third round, Jackson got up, and the ref stood Punk up. At this point Punk was all over the place, and Jackson was very relaxed, not looking too aggressive. The fight went the distance, and when it ended, the crowd was booing. As many predicted, Mike Jackson won, but the actual score was (30-26, 30-26 & 30-26) Unanimously.

 

10. Tai Tuivasa against Andrei Arlovski was the next fight. Tuivasa came out to “My Heart Will Go On”, from Titanic. From following the media and that has covered Tuivasa leading up to this fight, he seems like someone who has a playful side. Late in round 1, Tuivasa knocked Arlovski down with a punch. He let him get up, then continued the fight. The fight went all three rounds, with both fighters celebrating with their arms in the air before the fight even ended. Joe Rogan did not like that they celebrated prematurely, saying “Don’t do that.. Don’t do that!” Tai Tuivasa got the win via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). After the fight, Tuivasa did traditional Australian celebration called a “Shoey”, drinking a beer out of a fans shoe who was sitting nearby.

 

11. In a fight similar to the one before, an up and comer in Meghan Anderson is facing Holly Holm. The commentary team was repeatedly talking about how Anderson was struggling. They described her as a “fish out of water” when Holm would mount her. The fight went all 15 minutes, with Holm holding down a Guillotine as the bout ended. The judges gave Holly Holm a Unanimous, and not even close win (30-27, 30-26 & 30-26).

 

12. In what has now become the only title fight tonight, Colby Covington faces Rafael Dos Anjos for the Interim Welterweight Championship. Right off the bat in this fight Colby went for the takedown. In this fight Colby was showing a very different style from what we have seen from him in the past. In the third round there was a pause in the fight due to an accidental kick to RDA’s groin area. Covington kept the pressure on, almost always staying in the pocket, and grappling up against the cage. By the fourth round it became apparent that both of these guys are tired. Both guys were swinging away as the fight ended in the fifth round. The fight went to decision, where the judges gave Colby Covington a Unanimous win (49-46, 48-47 & 48-47). After the fight Colby called out Tyron Woodley, and said that he is taking his Interim belt to Donald Trump.

 

13. Finally, in the main event of the evening, Robert Whittaker faces Yoel Romero in a non-title fight. The first round very slow, with Romero just barely dodging a Spinning Backfist at the very end of the round. Whittaker gave Romero a pat of the back after that. In the third round, Whittaker got dropped by a right hand from Romero. Romero chased him around the octagon, trying to finish the bout. Up against the cage, Romero was landing more strikes, but then Whittaker was able to answer with an elbow which shook Romero. Romero continued with the punches up against the cage, but then Whittaker landed a hard kick to the head. Somehow, both fighters made it to the end of round three. There was a pause in round three after Romero was hit in the groin. As far as I know the rule is that you get up to five minutes to recover, but it felt like Romero was given what, like 2 minutes? With around 20 seconds left in the fourth Romero wobbled. Romero was saved by the round ending. Early in round five, Whittaker got dropped by a right. Romero was on top of Whittaker, trying to finish him with the strikes. The fight went the full distance. We had to see what the judges thought of the contest, and who they would reward the win to. The judges came to the conclusion that Robert Whittaker won, by split decision (48-47, 48-47 & 48-47). This fight ups Whittakers win streak to nine in a row.

 

Another huge UFC event is now in the books. UFC’s next cornerstone event is Fight Week, which is from July 5th to 7th. The main event of the biggest of the three events, Miocic versus Cormier is accompanied with many other fights, including Max Holloway versus Brian Ortega in the Featherweight division. That weekend also sees the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 27. UFC has a relaxed schedule until then, as there is no weekend event next week. Instead, on Tuesday we get the Season 2 premier of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. The next weekend event held by UFC is a Fight Night in Singapore on the 23rd, headlined by Donald Cerrone and Leon Edwards.

After the rare Sunday Fight Night last week, we get an even more rare Friday night UFC show this week. Live from Utica, Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes headline the card. What was originally scheduled to be 13 fights, was shortened down to 12 fights as a Fight Pass bout was cancelled at the last minute. At 2:41PM EST, journalist Ariel Helwani reported that Jessica Aguilar was pulled from her fight against Jodie Esquibel after a “chapped lips” issue. Despite the show being on a Friday night, the show did operate in the usual time slots that it would on a Saturday. The Fight Pass Early Prelims, which were scheduled to start at 6:30PM, were moved to 7PM due to the cancelled fight. Jose Torres versus Jared Brooks started the night.

 

1. In the Flywight division, Jose “Shorty” Torres makes his UFC debut against Jared Brooks. Just after a minute of the first round, Torres got knocked down by a spinning back-fist. Brooks was extremely dominant in the first round. In the second round Torres capitalized on an error, after Brooks went for a huge slam, knocking himself out. Torres ended the fight with punches right after. It’s actually amazing to watch, because Brooks really just hit his head hard on the mat. A truly unique fight finish.

 

2. The second fight of the night was Johnny Eduardo versus Nathaniel Wood in the Bantamweight class. Halfway through the first round Eduardo was starting to dominate with strikes. Despite being dominated in the first round, Wood was able to get a tap in the second round with a Darce Choke. Coincidentally, Wood was also in his UFC debut.

 

3. Switching to FS1 for the Prelims, Desmond Green was set to face Gleison Tibau in the Lightweight division. Green, who is from New York, got a very warm welcome when introduced. The fight made its way to the third round, where Green dropped Tibau with a right. Tibau recovered, but was retreating for the rest of the round. The fight went the distance, and made us turn to the judges scorecards. Desmond Green won the fight via Unanimous Decision, which was expected.

 

4. Shifting over to the Welterweight division, Belal Muhammad versus Chance Rencountre. Rencountre, like many others tonight was also making his UFC debut. One thing interesting to note about Belal Muhammad is that he has been and still is fasting for Ramadan. It’s impressive to do any sort of athletic event, better yet MMA, while fasting. Muhammad hit a strong combo of jabs near the end of the second round. Bellal completely dominated every round of this battle. All three judges gave Belal Muhammad a 30-27 win.

 

5. Heading back to Lightweight, Nik Lentz fought David Teymur. The fight went all three rounds, relying on the judges to decide who gets the win. The judges Unanimously decided that Teymur won the fight (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).

 

6. Ending off the prelims is Sijara Eubanks versus Lauren Murphy in the Flyweight division. This match was pretty slow, and went to decision. The judges gave Sijara Eubanks the Unanimous win (29-28, 30-27 & 30-27).

 

7. After six undercard fights, we move on to the main card. Starting it off in the Light Heavyweight division was Gian Villante versus Sam Alvey. There was a pause in the fight in the first round after Alvey got hit in the groin with a kick. Late in the round Alvey was able to knock down Villante. He was near a fight finish, but then the round timer expired. The two fighters went the distance. The judges gave Sam Alvey the win, but via a Split Decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

 

8. After five decision finished in a row, we look to Daniel Teymur and Julio Arce from the Featherweight division to have an explosive fight. Arce is from New York, and got a reaction from the Utica crowd because of this. Also, during introductions, you could see that Arce had been trying that “cupping” technique on his back before the fight. The fight looked like it would be going to decision, until Julio Arce was able to make Teymur tap with a Rear Naked Choke.

 

9. Ben Saunders faced Jake Ellenberger as the ninth fight on the card, in the Welterweight division. Ellenberger was finished in the first round after a knee to the torso. After that, Saunders finished the fight with strikes.

 

10. The only Heavyweight fight that we got tonight was Walt Harris versus Daniel Spitz. With only seconds left in the second round, Walt Harris was able to knock Spitz out. He was really up against the clock to finish the fight. Spitz was first hit with a left, but stayed standing. He was eventually taken down and finished by punches.

 

11. In our last fight before the main event, Vinc Pichel faced Gregor Gillespie. Gillespie stopped the fight with a Arm Triangle Submission. When interviewed after the fight, Gregor said that Vinc is hard to take down (there were many, many takedown attempts in this fight). He also opted to not call anyone out.

 

12. Finally, like honestly, finally, it is time for the main event. Marlon Moraes fights Jimmie Rivera. Rivera had the home-state advantage in this fight. In just under a minute of the fight, Moraes absolutely floored Rivera with a left leg kick. After that, he went to the ground to finish the fight. The crowd went absolutely silent for this. After the fight Moraes said that he dedicates the fight to his son, who is on the way. He also mentions that he wants to fight for the Bantamweight title.

 

With this Fight Night in the books, UFC puts 100% of their focus on UFC 225, which is next week in Chicago. In the main event, Robert Whittaker defends his Middleweight belt against Yoel Romero. This is the second time in both fighters careers that they have met in the octagon. Along with that is a Welterweight bout which is a clash between a trash talker and a composed fighter. The ever so loud Colby Covington will see if he can back up all of his talk when he faces Rafael Dos Anjos.

 

Even though there are many more fights to discuss, if there was only one more of importance, it would be CM Punk’s. CM Punk faces Mike Jackson. Both fighters have something in common, in that they both took their first professional loss to Mickey Gall. Both fighters will be trying to prove themselves in the UFC, something they haven’t done yet. UFC and UFC fans await a stacked 12 fight card next week.

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UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till

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UFC held one of their rare Sunday shows, including a main event which fans held their breath for until early this morning. Yesterday at the weigh-ins it was reported that main eventer Darren Till did not make weight. Till was offered a second chance in being weighed in the next morning. Per Ariel Helwani, Till had to weigh under 188 lbs. Also, Till had to forfeit 30% of his fight purse and bonus to Thompson. There was even more suspicion around the extended weigh in, as media was not allowed to attend the event. Luckily, Till did make weight, by a small margin of .7 (187.3 lbs). Till had even more on his plate (figuratively, because if we are talking literally, there wasn’t a lot on his plate due to strict weight cutting), because his wife was in the hospital in labour. Despite all of the madness, once Till weighed in and was confirmed for the fight, he had to put all of his focus on Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Till was defending his undefeated streak against someone who picked up his last win in Madison Square Garden. Along with that five round battle were 10 other 3 round fights. Live from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England the show started with an early prelim bout between Elias Theodorou and Trevor Smith.

 

1. On the UFC Fight Pass was where the show started, with Elias Theodorou facing Trevor Smith in a Middleweight fight. Going into this fight, Elias was ranked 15th in the Middleweight division. There was a timeout in the second round after Smith’s mouthguard fell out. Another timeout was called after Elias had a cut opened on his head. This fight was quite close. The final 10 seconds of the fight was chaotic. It went the distance, with the judges scoring in favor of Elias Theodorou via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).

 

2. Switching the TV’s over to FS1, it was time to watch the preliminary fights. The first of the four preliminary fights was Gillian Robertson versus Molly McCann in the Flyweight division. McCann was the first home-country fighter on the card. Molly was doing well standing up. Robertson got a takedown on McCann. Robertson was landing lots of strikes while on the ground, specifically in Full Mount. The fight went to the second round, but McCann looked like she was really struggling. Early in the second round, Robertson was aggressively trying to bring the fight to the ground again. With three minutes left in the second, Robertson put in a Rear Naked Choke that made the ref stop the fight. Robertson took her fourth win via Submission.

 

3. The second fight on the prelims was Carlo Pedersoli against Brad Scott in the Welterweight class. In the first round Pedersoli tried for what would have been a vicious spinning kick, if it had connected. Scott wagged his finger at Pedersoli after the kick was denied. With under a minute to go in the first round, Scott dropped Pedersoli with a right strike, twice. Pedersoli recovered, then did a finger wag to Scott. During the break in-between round 1 and 2, Scott’s corner told him to stop the “poses.” Before the start of the third round, the ref talked to both competitors about how they need to keep their fingers in while striking. To reconcile, Scott and Pedersoli hugged at the start of the round. The fight went the distance, turning to the judges scorecards. Carlos Pedersoli walked away with the win after the judges gave a split decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). He wasn’t big on the split decision in the post-fight interview, saying “why the split decision man? One week notice for this fight I did my best. This is unanimous decision.”

 

4. The Bantamweight Division played host to the next fight. Gina Mazany squared off against Lina Lansberg. Prior to this fight, Lansberg was ranked at #14 and Mazany was at the #15 spot. This fight went all three rounds. The judges scored the fight in favour of Lina Lansberg Unanimously (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).

 

5. Finishing off the preliminary card was Daniel Kelly and Tom Breese in the Middleweight division. Kelly was sporting the rare tape around the feet/shins. With over a minute left in the first round, Kelly was hurt with an uppercut. Kelly retreated, and after a few more strikes the ref called it.

 

6. The first fight on the main card was Eric Spicely versus Darren Stewart in the Middleweight division. Stewart was representing England in this fight. Spicely landed a solid combination with 3 minutes to go then tried for a takedown. It was taken to the fence, but never taken to the ground. During this round Stewart showed great head movement on many occasions. Stewart seemed more aggressive at the start of the second round. Stewart hit a strong right one minute into round two. Spicely recovered but was visibly hurt. Stewart stayed on the attack, and finished the fight with a hard left jab that took Spicely down. Stewart hit Spicely a few more times, until the ref called off the fight. Darren “The Dentist” Stewart delivered an emotional interview after the fight, talking about how he deserves to be in the UFC, after losing his past three fights.

 

7. Claudio Silva and Nordine Taleb in the Welterweight division was up next. Late in the first round the fight was taken to the ground. Silva was absolutely hammering away with strikes. Taleb found himself in a Body Triangle with around 40 seconds left. After Taleb endured 15 or so seconds of the hold, he tapped out. The crowd was absolutely silent for the finish of this fight. During the whole thing, the crowd did not seem to favour either fighter. After the fight, Silva gave a very energetic, positive interview. The interview was long.

 

8. Moving to the Featherweight division we got Jason Knight versus Makwan Amirkhani. Early on the fight was taken to the ground. While fighting for control, Amirkhani taunted Knight by flailing his tongue. Amirkhani looked dominant with his strikes, taunting during every pause in the fight. Amirkhani got hit with an right uppercut that knocked him down hard. Amirkhani recovered, but got floored with another right shortly after, bringing him back to the ground. Knight tried for a Triangle on the ground and then tried for strikes, but then the round ended. With a minute left in the second round, Amirkhani got a takedown. Fight goes to decision, second and third round not as chaotic as the first. The judges were split, but in the end favoured Makwan Amirkhani (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28). After the fight, he called out Cub Swanson and Jimi Manuwa.

 

9. Mads Burnell faced Arnold Allen continued the Featherweight action on the card. The fight was close through the first two rounds. Allen won the fight in the third round after Burnell tapped in a Front Choke that started standing but finished on the ground. Allen gave an interesting interview after the fight, to say the least.

 

10. In the Welterweight division, Neil Magny faced UK’s own Craig White. Set for three rounds, this was a co-main event of the night. Magny is currently ranked 9th in the division. In the first round the ref paused the fight after Magny was hit below the belt. With less than a minute to go, Magny was absolutely clobbering Magny on the ground. The ref finally stopped the fight after Magny landed numerous rounds of punches.

 

11. The main event of the evening was #1 rank Stephen Thompson versus #8 rank Darren Till, in the Welterweight division. Till puts his undefeated record (16-0-1) on the line in this bout. The first round was very strategic, staying standing with minimal strikes. The second round was similar to the first. The crowd was on fire as the fight went from it’s third to fourth round. The standing-only fight went to the fifth and final round. At the start of the final round the fighters hugged out of respect. With two minutes left, Till knocked down Thompson with a hard left strike. Thompson recovered from the attack, then hit a combo on Till. The fight ended up going the distance. When we went to the scorecards, Darren Till won by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 49-46 & 49-46). “I had to use every part of me brain to figure him out”, Till said afterwards, describing the fight. On the FOX post-fight show some of the analysts were in disagreement with the judges scorecards.

 

Next week UFC kicks of the month of June with a Fight Night in Utica, New York in the Adirondack Bank Center. The 13 fight card is spearheaded by #4 rank Jimmie Rivera versus the #5 rank Marlon Morales. In two weeks, UFC heads to Chicago, Illinois for UFC 225, with Whittaker and Romero ending off the show.

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