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.

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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