UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz Live Report

This Saturday night, UFC will hold UFC 244, a pay-per-view live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA. The stacked card is headlined by Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz battling for the B.M.F Championship. Follow this article throughout the night for live results and updates.

The preliminary card begins at 6:30 PM EDT. For prerequisite reading, check the site’s UFC 244 preview article.

Bout 1: Julio Arce (16-3) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (10-1-1) (Featherweight)

The first fight of the evening was Julio Arce returning to MSG to face Canadian prospect Hakeem Dawodu. Dawodu was landing good leg kicks early on. Dawodu put Arce in a clinch against the cage, but they separated shortly after. Arce landed a good left straight with two minutes to go which stunned Dawodu. Dawodu continued with his stellar kicks. Dawodu landed good knees in another standing clinch.

In the second round, the fighters went into a clinch after exchanging hard strikes. They separated after a minute or so. When Dawodu initiated another clinch with two minutes left, Arce got a trip takedown, taking top position. Arce took the back of Dawodu and then pursued a rear naked choke. Dawodu flipped over and took top position. Dawodu got up and landed some leg kicks before Arce got up.

Dawodu put Arce up against the cage in the first minute of the final round. Arce shoved him off and they returned to striking. The same exchange happened again later in the round. Arce tried for a takedown in the final minute of the fight which Dawodu defended. The striking hit the highest gear in the final moments, as both fighters were landing good shots. The fight went the distance, with Hakeem Dawodu getting the victory via split decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). Dawodu was upset about his performance afterwards.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Arce	9	10	9	28
Dawodu	10	9	10	29

Bout 2: Lyman Good (20-5) vs. Chance Rencountre (14-3) (Welterweight)

The next fight saw up-and-coming welterweights in Lyman Good and Chance Rencountre face off. Good landed a jab right off the bat in the fight. He was landing the better strikes early on, especially leg kicks. Rencountre tried for a takedown in the third minute. Good got pinned against the cage but resisted takedown and eventually got back to striking. Rencountre clinched up again after Good landed some hard punches. Good kept tagging him, although Rencountre was absorbing the shots. Good landed a solid head kick in the closing ten seconds of the first round.

At the start of the second round, good capitalized off a failed flying knee attempt from Rencountre, coming in and landing a combination of punches. While Rencountre was landing some strikes, Good was pushing the pace of the fight throughout the second round.

Good continued to land good shots in the final round. Good landed a right which dropped Rencountre in the second minute of the third round. Only seconds later, the referee came in to end the fight. In nothing short of an impressive showcase, Lyman Good stopped Chance Rencountre in the third round.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Good	10	10
Rencountre	9	9

Bout 3: Katlyn Chookagian (12-2) (#1) vs. Jennifer Maia (17-5-1) (#5) (Catchweight 127 lbs).

Finishing off the early prelims was Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia. What was originally set to be a flyweight match was changed to catchweight after Maia missed weight. Chookagian had some solid strikes early on. Maia put Chookagian up against the cage with two minutes left in the first round.

The second round was another one where Chookagian was out-striking Maia.

Maia put Chookagian in a clinch in the first minute of the final round. She let go of the clinch, going back to stand-up. Maia finally landed a takedown with a minute left in the round. The fight went the distance, with Katlyn Chookagian getting the win (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Chookagian	10	10	10	30
Maia	9	9	9	27

Bout 8: Kevin Lee (17-5) (#10) vs. Gregor Gillespie (13-0) (#11) (Lightweight)

The main card started with a battle between Kevin Lee and undefeated Gregor Gillespie. Starting the fight, both fighters had close striking, mostly throwing jabs. With just over two minutes left in the round, Lee landed a punch and a head kick which absolutely shut Gillespie off. Kevin Lee got a vicious first round knockout victory, taking Gregor Gillespie’s undefeated record.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lee
Gillespie

Bout 9: Derrick Lewis (21-7) (#5) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (18-2) (#8) (Heavyweight)

In a ranked heavyweight clash, Derrick Lewis faced Blagoy Ivanov. Early on, Ivanov caught a kick and brought Lewis to the ground. Lewis got up and landed some punches. They went into a standing clinch, then Lewis got a takedown. They stood up shortly after. The rest of the round had close striking from the fighters.

Ivanov landed a good right straight in the first minute of the second round. Ivanov landed a trip takedown after both fighters landed good punches. In top position, Ivanov put in a kimura. Lewis was in it deep, but escaped and got back up. He stormed Ivanov with punches, then had a stand-off. Ivanov came in for a clinch up against the cage again. Lewis landed a knee and punches exiting the clinch. Ivanov initiated another clinch after scoring a few strikes. Ivanov got a throw takedown and tried for a choke before the round ended.

The final round was mostly slow from both fighters until Lewis had a flurry of punches at the very end. Heading to the scorecards, it was Derrick Lewis who took a split decision victory (30-27 Lewis, 29-28 Ivanov & 29-28 Lewis).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lewis	10	9	10	29
Ivanov	9	10	9	28

Bout 10: Stephen Thompson (14-4-1) (#9) vs. Vicente Luque (17-6-1) (#14) (Welterweight)

The next fight saw well-known Stephen Thompson face the red-hot Vicente Luque. The first round had very close striking from both fighters. Both fighters were very selective with their shots.

The second round was a continuation of the one before. It was clear that each fighter respected the other’s power. Thompson landed a sidekick to the head which dropped Luque. When he got back up and resumed, Luque got stunned by a punch.

In the first minute of the third and final round, Luque was getting picked apart. Luque got knocked down by a punch, and then was forced to stand back up moments after. By the end of the fight, Luque was showing real damage on his face. The judges all had the fight heavily in favour of Stephen Thompson (30-26, 30-26 & 29-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Thompson	10	10	10	29
Luque	9	9	9	28

Bout 11: Kelvin Gastelum (16-4) (#4) vs. Darren Till (17-2-1) (Middleweight)

In the co-main event of the evening Darren Till moved up to middleweight to face Kelvin Gastelum. Many clinches happened in the first round, although each one didn’t seem to have much action in them.

Till constantly kept his distance from Gastelum, dipping in for a strike or two before backing up again. A pause came after Till was poked in the eye. They resumed quite quickly. The crowd started to boo with a minute left in the round.

Till caught a kick early in the third round and landed a punch because of it. Gastelum tried for a double leg takedown but Till avoided it. Till was able to take down Gastelum by catching another kick, although he got up moments later. Gastelum finally landed a takedown in the final minute of the fight. Till got up within seconds and continued with stand-up. The fight went all 15 minutes, with Darren Till getting a split decision win (30-27 Gastelum, 29-28 Till & 30-27 Till).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Gastelum	9	9	9	27
Till	10	10	10	30

Bout 12: Jorge Masvidal (34-13) (#3) vs. Nate Diaz (20-11) (#7) (Welterweight)

In the main event of the evening, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz battle for the B.M.F belt. Masvidal started the fight running similar to when he fought Ben Askren, but stopped himself before doing anything. Masvidal clinched up with Diaz against the cage after Diaz came forward with a few punches. Masvidal landed elbows while leaving clinch, and then dropped Diaz with a leg kick. Diaz was on his back on the ground. He got hit with some punches and become quite bloodied. Diaz did a front kick to Masvidal which he seemingly pretended to be hurt by. Diaz was eventually stood up by the referee. Diaz exploded forward with punches which Masvidal ate. Masvidal went into a clinch smiling. Diaz landed another left straight before the round ended.

Both fighters had good strikes in the opening minutes of the second round. Diaz got hurt by a right hand, dropping him for the second time in the fight. He stayed on his back after falling, but was told to stand up by the referee. To an extent it felt like Diaz was just absorbing damage in this round. Masvidal got the first takedown of the fight with a minute left in the round.

Masvidal landed a strong right straight in the first minute of the third round. Diaz had some good combinations at the start of the round, although he was the fighter circling the outside of the octagon. Just over halfway through the round both fighters were trading punches. After being in a standing clinch for some time, Masvidal took Diaz down and landed strikes from above.

Before the fourth round was about to start, a doctor came in to check on Diaz. After seeing the cuts on his head, the fight was waved off. Jorge Masvidal won the fight via doctor’s stoppage, and had the B.M.F belt put on him by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Masvidal	10	10	10
Diaz	9	9	9

UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz Full Preview

Ever since mixed martial arts have been legalized in New York State, UFC has made an effort to do an annual large show at Madison Square Garden. The first time, it was Conor McGregor becoming a “Champ-Champ,” dethroning lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. The next year it was MMA legend Georges St-Pierre returning to win a belt off of Michael Bisping. Last year, Daniel Cormier built on his legacy, making his first heavyweight championship defense against Derrick Lewis. This year is a little different.

Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz will headline the show, although a belt with lineage won’t be on the line. Instead, a new belt is being introduced, and will be awarded to the “BMF (Baddest M*****F*****).” Along with the main event is also a stacked card, even down to the preliminary portion. Celebrating their 500th show, live from Madison Square Garden on Saturday, here’s a look at UFC 244.

Bout 1: Julio Arce (16-3) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (10-1-1) (Featherweight)

The evening will begin on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM EDT with a battle of two featherweight prospects. Julio Arce and Hakeem Dawodu are both currently with a 3-1 record in the UFC. Dawodu most recently finished Yoshinori Horie with a head kick at UFC 240. Arce also finished his last fight with a head kick, defeating Julian Erosa in the third round. This will be Arce’s second appearance at Madison Square Garden.

Bout 2: Lyman Good (20-5) vs. Chance Rencountre (14-3) (Welterweight)

The welterweight division has a real pick-em bout between Lyman Good and Chance Rencountre on the prelims. While being the more experienced fighter, Good is returning from a loss to Demian Maia. Rencountre hasn’t faced anyone big like Maia yet, but is currently on a two-fight winning streak.

Bout 3: Katlyn Chookagian (12-2) vs. Jennifer Maia (17-5-1) (Catchweight 127 lbs)

While only being in the UFC for three years, Katlyn Chookagian has racked up an impressive promotional record of 5-2. She attempts to better that against Jennifer Maia, who is currently riding a victory against Roxanne Modafferi. Maia missed weight on Friday by one pound, causing the fight to be moved from flyweight to a catchweight bout.

Bout 4: Andrei Arlovski (28-18) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (8-0) (Heavyweight)

At 8 PM EDT, the broadcast will move to TSN 5 for four final preliminary bouts. The first of the four is between Andrei Arlovski and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Arlovski recently snapped a winless streak of four bouts by defeating Ben Rothwell. While experience weighs heavily on Arlovski’s side, he will have to try to snap the undefeated record of Rozenstruik. The Suriname fighter has won twice via stoppage since joining the UFC. More notably, Rozenstruik finished Allen Crowder in nine seconds in June.

Bout 5: Brad Tavares (17-5) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (10-0) (Middleweight)

Young and undefeated fighter Edmen Shahbazyan will see his biggest UFC challenge yet when he faces Brad Tavares on Saturday. Tavares is a UFC veteran who got into the promotion in 2010 by winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 11. To compare, Tavares has been in the UFC for six years more than Shahbazyan has been doing MMA. Tavares hasn’t fought in over a year, with his last fight being a decision loss against Israel Adesanya in July of 2018 (for reference, Adesanya has fought four times since then). Shahbazyan most recently finished Jack Marshman in just over a minute at UFC 239.

Bout 6: Shane Burgos (12-1) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (15-3) (Featherweight)

Two experienced UFC fighters in Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani will face off on the prelims. Burgos is a New York fighter who competed on the MSG show last year as well. He most recently bested Cub Swanson in a split decision bout in May. Amirkhani has fought only half as many times as Burgos in the past three years, but is still a young and successful fighter. He defeated Chris Fishgold with an anaconda choke in June, sounding his return after a one year absence.

Bout 7: Corey Anderson (12-4) vs. Johnny Walker (17-3) (Light Heavyweight)

The preliminary card will finish off with Corey Anderson and Johnny Walker competing. Walker has become a famous name within the promotion due to his flashy KO victories. His most recent appearance, while being a cakewalk of a fight, sidelined him for some time. This was because his post-fight celebration which included falling on the canvas dislocated his shoulder. Anderson is a step up in competition for Walker. Anderson is on a three-fight winning streak, most recently beating Ilir Latifi. The majority of Anderson’s career has happened in the UFC, unlike Walker’s. Will Walker put on another memorable performance, or will Anderson out-wit the Brazilian’s dangerous flashes of offense?

Bout 8: Kevin Lee (17-5) vs. Gregor Gillespie (13-0) (Lightweight)

The main portion of the show will kick off at 10 PM EDT on pay-per-view. Starting the main card will be lightweight gatekeeper Kevin Lee facing undefeated Gregor Gillespie. Despite having a six-fight winning streak in the UFC and having never lost, Gillespie flies under the radar of many. It’s possible that a win over a name of Lee could finally give him attention. Lee is conditioned to fighting five round fights, having last done a three round fight in 2017. Lee is 2-3 in his last five, all up against fighters of a similar calibre.

Bout 9: Derrick Lewis (21-7) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (18-2) (Heavyweight)

While Derrick Lewis fights on the main card this year against Blagoy Ivanov, it’s a clear step down from main eventing, which he did in 2018. Lewis is on a two-fight losing streak, recently dropping to Junior dos Santos on the main event of a fight night card. Ivanov is considered an up-and-coming fighter within the division. He bounced back from his UFC debut loss by recently defeating Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa.

Bout 10: Stephen Thompson (14-4-1) vs. Vicente Luque (17-6-1) (Welterweight)

Vincente Luque has been on the rise lately, defeating high level welterweights. Most recently, Luque got a split decision win over Mike Perry. He will look to add Stephen Thompson to his list of names on Saturday when they match up on the main card. Thompson has been absent since his knockout loss to Anthony Pettis. He also lost to Darren Till in the fight before then. He will aim to return to his winning ways against a seemingly unstoppable Luque.

Bout 11: Kelvin Gastelum (16-4) vs. Darren Till (17-2-1) (Middleweight)

Darren Till was an undefeated fighter a year ago that was near championship material. He was pushed into a fight against Tyron Woodley for the welterweight belt in 2018. The fight was one-sided, with Woodley ending Till’s championship hopes in under two rounds. Till then went against Jorge Masvidal in March, getting finished via punches in less time than his championship outing lasted. In hopes of finding success, Till moves down to middleweight for his fight against Kelvin Gastelum. The bout is no step down in competition, as Gastelum was the runner-up to face Robert Whittaker and unify the middleweight belts. He got bested by Israel Adesanya in April, losing via scorecards. Before then, Gastelum had wins over Michael Bisping and Jacare Souza.

Bout 12: Jorge Masvidal (34-13) vs. Nate Diaz (20-11) (Welterweight)

The main event of the show sees Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz face off in a five round competition. The winner receives the BMF Championship, a one-use belt to determine the “Baddest M*****F*****.”

Masvidal’s rise in popularity was quite out of left field. The welterweight has been in the game for longer than most people at this point, and has stayed at a mid-level or gatekeeper status for a long time. After a brutal victory over Darren Till in early 2019, Masvidal went viral with a flying knee knockout to Ben Askren. The knockout was brutal and online basically overshadowed the two championship bouts that happened that night as well.

The story of Nate Diaz lately is similar to his opponent. Diaz has been popular before, but his mid-2019 run could be described as a resurrection. After losing to Conor McGregor in 2016, Diaz disappeared until late 2018. He was scheduled to be on the 2018 MSG show, facing Dustin Poirier. That fell through after Poirier got injured, putting Diaz back on the bench. Diaz finally made his long-awaited return in the summer of 2019, defeating Anthony Pettis at UFC 241.

While it could be described as unexpected that these two fighters would headline one of the biggest cards of the year, their collision makes sense. Two fighters who are in the same division, both have charisma, both had a boom at a similar time, and are both considered real badasses.

UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar Live Coverage

On Saturday night, UFC held their pay-per-view “UFC 240.” The event included Max Holloway’s third title fight in eight months, facing Frankie Edgar in a Featherweight Championship bout. Holloway’s last fight was a loss to Dustin Poirier, dropping his Interim Lightweight Championship. Holloway’s last defense of the Featherweight Championship was back in December against Brian Ortega. Despite his Hawaiian background, Holloway claims he has “home court advantage” in this Canadian event. His bout will be the fifth time he’s headlined a Canadian card, tying himself with Georges St-Pierre.

In the co-main event was Cris Cyborg in what some predict will be her farewell fight in the UFC, as the bout was the last on her contract. She faced Canadian Felicia Spencer, an undefeated prospect who is only in her second fight in the UFC after running through Invicta FC. Nine other bouts opened the evening, so let’s start the coverage by breaking down the preliminary bouts.

Bout 1: Kyle Stewart (11-2) vs. Erik Koch (15-6) (Welterweight)

Starting on UFC Fight Pass was the early prelims of the show. Kyle Stewart and Erik Koch battled in the welterweight division. Early on, Koch was coming forward with powerful strikes. They clinched up against the cage for a minute or so. Stewart shot for a takedown but Koch turned it into another clinch against the cage. He tried once more but wasn’t successful as the round was winding down. Stewart was walking down Koch more at the start of the second, landing a hard right hook. They clinched up against the cage again. Koch brought the fight to the ground a few times. They stood up shortly after the first two times, but the third time Koch was very dominant on the ground for a minute or so. Both fighters were quite tired as the round concluded. Stewart had some good knees in clinch at the start of the third round. Koch landed a takedown in the second minute. Koch was on top once again as the round ended. He ended the round strong with strikes and choke attempts. The judges unanimously gave the fight to Erik Koch (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Stewart	9	9	9	27
Koch	10	10	10	30

Bout 2: Gillian Robertson (6-3) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1) (Flyweight)

In the first flyweight bout of the evening, Gillian Robertson fought Sarah Frota. Robertson was the first of many Canadians to fight on the card. Moments into the bout, Robertson landed a takedown. Frota was in bottom position but was the dominant fighter, putting Robertson in a submission hold at one point. Robertson escaped and landed hard strikes which cut open Frota’s head. Robertson scored another takedown at the start of the second round. Robertson landed enough elbows on the ground in top position that the referee intervened, giving her the win.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Robertson	10
Frota	9

Bout 3: Alexandre Pantoja (21-3) (#3) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (15-1) (#4) (Flyweight)

The ESPN prelims kicked off with a high profile flyweight bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Deiveson Figueiredo. After looking sharp in stand-up for the first minute, Figueiredo landed a takedown. When they stood up, both were swinging hard. Pantoja’s punches came through more in the second round. There was many exchanges where both fighters got their strikes in. Pantoja got a takedown but Figueiredo got up quickly after. They continued to swing for the fences until the round ended. Pantoja got a cut near his left eye during the round. Pantoja’s face was a mess in the third round. The final round was mostly stand-up, with Figueiredo being the fresher fighter. The fight went the distance with the judges giving the win the Deiveson Figueiredo (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Pantoja	9	10	9	28
Figueiredo	10	9	10	29

Bout 4: Gavin Tucker (10-1) vs. Seung Woo Choi (7-2) (Featherweight)

In the second of six Canadian fighter bouts of the evening, Gavin Tucker fought Seung Woo Choi. Tucker scored a takedown in the second minute of the bout. Tucker stayed on him after he got up. Tucker got on Choi’s back early in the second round. While Tucker had Choi’s back on the ground, he landed a knee to the head of Choi, who was clearly grounded. A point was deducted due to this. He also lost position, as the fight resumed in stand-up. Choi landed a trip in the final round when Tucker had him up against the fence. In the final two minutes, Tucker took Choi’s back and put in a rear naked choke which made Choi tap out. In what could have been a scorecard nightmare for Tucker, the crisis was avoided as he got a stoppage.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Tucker	10	9
Woo Choi	9	9

Bout 5: Hakeem Dawodu (9-1-1) vs. Yoshinori Horie (8-1) (Featherweight)

In the next bout, Canadian fighter Hakeem Dawodu fought Japanese fighter Yoshinori Horie. Horie was a Pancrase fighter before, with this bout being his debut in the UFC. Horie circled the perimeter throughout the first round. He wasn’t consistently landing, but had strong punches every once in a while. His style of striking was very wild and hard to control while Dawodu was very textbook. The second round was more of the same except Horie wasn’t getting his shots in. So instead, it was Dawodu constantly advancing and periodically landing strikes. In the third round Dawodu started to string together combinations of punches. It was by far his best round yet. In the final minute, Dawodu landed a head kick which ended the bout.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Dawodu	9	10
Horie	10	9

Bout 6: Alexis Davis (19-9) (#7) vs. Viviane Araujo (7-1) (Flyweight)

Finishing off the prelims was Alexis Davis facing Viviane Araujo. Two real prospects in the flyweight division. The first round had Araujo out-striking Davis. Davis was mostly in top position through the second round. In the third round they stayed in stand-up, where Araujo went back to being dominant. Davis looked quite roughed up by the time the fight ended while Araujo seemed fresh. Viviane Araujo won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Davis	9	10	9	28
Araujo	10	9	10	29

Bout 7: Krzysztof Jotko (20-4) vs. Marc-Andre Barriualt (11-2)

The first fight on the PPV portion of the card was Krzysztof Jotko versus Marc-Andre Barriualt. In the first round Jotko had Barriault up against the cage in a clinch for a significant amount of time. Jotko landed good knees in the clinch as well. The second round felt like an inactive and closer round than the first. Both fighters had their moments in the second. The fight went the distance after another slow paced round. With a split decision, Krzysztof Jotko got the victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Jotko	10	10	9	29
Barriault	9	9	10	28

Bout 8: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-4) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (13-2) (Lightweight)

In the second last bout that featured a Canadian, Olivier Aubin-Mercier faced Arman Tsarukyan. For most of the first round, Tsarukyan out-wrested Aubin-Mercier. The crowd voiced their displeasure as the first round concluded. The second round was mostly stand-up, with Aubin-Mercier having a good strikes. Tsarukyan had a dominant final round, staying in top position on the ground for most of the round. Arman Tsarukyan got the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-29).

My Scorecard:

My Scorecard	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Aubin-Mercier	9	10	9	28
Tsarukyan	10	9	10	29

Bout 9: Geoff Neal (11-2) vs. Niko Price (13-2) (Welterweight)

Geoff Neal and Niko Price fought in the next bout. Neal landed a slam takedown early in the round. Later on, Neal was dropped by a left hook and a clash of heads. Neal landed another takedown as the round was winding down. In the second round there was a strong exchange of punches from both fighters. Price took Neal to the ground and tried for a guillotine but wasn’t successful. Neal landed punches and elbows from top position until the referee stepped in.

My Scorecard:

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

Bout 10: Cris Cyborg (20-2) vs. Felicia Spencer (7-0) (Featherweight)

In the co-main event was Cris Cyborg versus Felicia Spencer. Cyborg swarming Spencer early on with punches. Cyborg was cut open from elbows to the head. The crowd chanting “Let’s go Spencer” in the second round. The second round saw the fight go to the ground, with Cyborg being in top position twice. The second time she landed good shots. They stood back up and continued to strike. Spencer continued to show off her chin. The third round was Cyborg’s best, with a continuation and increased intensity of punches and kicks. While Spencer lost, her toughness was tested, and she certainly passed that test. All three judges gave Cyborg the win (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Cyborg	10	10	10	30
Spencer	9	9	9	27

Bout 11: Max Holloway (20-4) vs. Frankie Edgar (23-6-1) (UFC Featherweight Championship)

Finally, the main event of the evening was Max Holloway attempting to defend his UFC Featherweight Championship against Frankie Edgar. The first round was purely stand-up with both fighters having their moments. Edgar had a takedown attempt defended in the second minute of the round. The second round was quite similar. Holloway defended two more takedown attempts. The final moments of the round were good for Holloway, with him landing a spinning back kick to the body. In the final minutes of the third round, Holloway came forward with good combos that seemingly hurt Edgar. While recovering, Edgar landed his first takedown of the fight. Numerous attempts in the third were blocked before. Edgar started to get a bloody nose in the fourth round. After a final close striking round, the fight went the distance. The judges gave the fight to Max Holloway unanimously (50-45, 50-45 & 48-47).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Holloway	9	10	10	10	10	49
Edgar	10	9	9	9	9	46

UFC 231 Report: Holloway Retains via Doctors Stoppage

Brian Ortega’s undefeated streak was broken at the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday, allowing his opponent, Max Holloway to retain his Featherweight Championship. The finish came via doctor’s stoppage in-between rounds four and five, with Ortega having substantial damage around his left eye. The fight was an absolute brawl with Holloway pushing the pace most of the time. Holloway was landing more often, but Ortega was responding and doing significant damage as well. Going into round five people were under the assumption that Ortega would have to get a finish in the final round to become the new champion. Once Holloway saw the fight get waved off he jumped the octagon to pick up his son to celebrate.

Promoter Dana White said that the gate for the show was 3.28 million, and that it was a sell out with no single seats available. The main event was given fight of the night, with Holloway receiving performance of the night along with Thiago Santos, who kicked off the main card.

In the co-main event spot for the show was another championship bout, with top contenders Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valentina Shevchenko battling for the vacant Flyweight championship. The fight went all five rounds with Shevchenko having dominant striking and ground game for the majority of the time. All three judges scored the bout 49-46 in favour for Valentina.

The main card had two bouts held in the heavier of weight classes, both having dramatic finishes. The previously mentioned Santos battled Jimi Manuwa in a slugger bout that did not leave the second round. Santos finished Manuwa with punches after being ahead in the first. In the 11th bout of the night Gunnar Nelson put Alex Oliveira in a Rear Naked Choke after making him bleed heavily with strikes from the ground. On the replay it seemed like the referee came in to stop the fight because of the bleeding instead of the submission.

Canadian fighters went 3-3 for the night, with the biggest name of them all, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, being handed a loss. Up and coming Manitoban fighter Brad Katona and veteran UFC fighter Elias Theodorou both got wins by scorecards favouring them. The slowest bout on the main card included Alberta-born Hakeem Dawodu battling to a decision against Kyle Bochniak. This fight made the Canadians break even for the night.

UFC has their final PPV of the year on the 29th, with formerly suspended Jon Jones fighting Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch. Before then UFC heads to Milwaukee on the 15th for their final UFC on FOX card before making the move to ESPN.