UFC on ESPN: Asia: Korean Zombie vs Holloway
Southern Asia
Attendance: 2,146 (Gate: $429,200)
Critical Rating: 72%, Commercial Rating: 77%

MAIN EVENT

(#3) Max Holloway (22-5) defeated (#7) Chan Sung Jung (16-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:41 of Round 5

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#25) Dong Hyun Kim (23-4-1-1NC) defeated (#13) Gunnar Nelson (17-6-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:16 of Round 3

MAIN CARD

(#11) Mirsad Bektic (14-2) defeated Doo Ho Choi (14-5) via Unanimous Decision
Jingliang Li (18-5) defeated (#19) Michael Chiesa (16-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:55 of Round 2
(#25) Kyoji Horiguchi (29-2) defeated Deiveson Figueiredo (17-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:07 of Round 2

PRELIMS

Takashi Sato (16-3) defeated Abubakar Nurmagomedov (15-4-1) via Unanimous Decision
Guan Wang (21-1-1) defeated Grant Dawson (14-2) via Unanimous Decision
Dong Hyun Ma (17-11-3) defeated Frank Camacho (22-9) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:56 of Round 1
(#13) Yadong Song (16-4-1-1NC) defeated Chris Gutierrez (14-4-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:21 of Round 2
Pingyuan Liu (16-6) defeated Mark de la Rosa (11-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:35 of Round 3
Chris de la Rocha (6-3) defeated Yaozong Hu (3-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:42 of Round 1
Bradley Scott (12-6) defeated Jun Yong Park (11-5) via KO (Punch) at 3:17 of Round 2
Heili Alateng (15-7-1) defeated Enrique Briones (16-8-1) via Submission (Kimura) at 1:07 of Round 3
Michel Pereira (24-10-2NC) defeated Kenan Song (15-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:50 of Round 1
Danaa Batgerel (7-2) defeated Ode Osbourne (8-3-1NC) via Submission (RNC) at 4:41 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Dong Hyun Kim vs Gunnar Nelson
Knockout of the Night: Bradley Scott (vs Jun Yong Park)
Submission of the Night: Danaa Batgerel (vs Ode Osbourne)


Notes:

- Bradley Scott called out Makhmud Muradov after his win over Jun Yong Park. This was a must win for Scott to keep his spot on the UFC roster and an emphatic knockout alongside a KO of the night bonus earned him a new contract.
- Pingyuan Liu called out Sean O'Malley after his win.
- Guan Wang called out Martin Buschkamp after another solid UFC win, handing Grant Dawson his first UFC loss, which comes after his impressive debut victory over Alex Caceres
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov isn't having anywhere near the UFC career that his brother is having, losing his second fight in the ufc and now stands at 0-2 in MMAs top organisation.
- An impressive return for Kyoji Horiguchi, whos contract with Bellator and Rizin expired, and he left as both companies Bantamweight champion, defeating top contender, Deiveson Figueiredo, is a UFC Bantamweight shot next?
- Michael Chiesa lost off the back of wins over big names Diego Sanchez and Carlos Condit, it was a disappointing setback for the former Lightweight.
- Jingliang Li is now 6-1 in his last 7 fights, and will hope this win breaks him into the top 25 rankings in the UFC.
- Mirsad Bektic called out Yair Rodriguez next, who fights Arnold Allen next month. So Bektic vs the winner is a high possibility.
- Dong Hyun Kim was a +350 underdog but pulled out the win over Gunnar Nelson, despite this being his first fight since 2017.
- Enrique Briones, Frank Camacho, Mark de la Rosa were released from their contracts after their losses.

Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Dong Hyun Kim moves up to #17, Gunnar Nelson drops to #23, Jingliang Li enters at #25
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Max Holloway up to #2, Mirsad Bektic up to #10, Chan Sung Jung down to #11
Bantamweight: Yadong Song up to #12, Kyoji Horiguchi up to #13

UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs Blaydes
STexas, USA
Attendance: 2,556 (Gate: $541,872)
Critical Rating: 69%, Commercial Rating: 59%

MAIN EVENT

(#6) Curtis Blaydes (13-2-1NC) defeated (#8) Derrick Lewis (22-8-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:58 of Round 3

CO-MAIN EVENT

Marcin Held (27-7) defeated (#14) Alexander Hernandez (11-3) via Submission (Leglock) at 0:53 of Round 1

MAIN CARD

(#20) Ryan Spann (18-5) defeated (#15) Nikita Krylov (25-8) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:51 of Round 1
(#12) Geoff Neal (14-2) defeated Abdul Razak Alhassan (10-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:02 of Round 1
(#8) Jeremy Stephens (29-18) defeated (#16) Cub Swanson (26-12) via Split Decision

PRELIMS

(#21) Kevin Aguilar (18-2) defeated (#19) Darren Elkins (24-9) via KO (Punch) at 1:11 of Round 3
Erik Koch (17-6) defeated Alan Jouban (16-8) via KO (Kick) at 2:14 of Round 3
Alex Munoz (7-0) defeated Mark O Madsen (9-1) via KO (Kick) at 2:21 of Round 1
Steven Peterson (19-9) defeated Austin Arnett (16-7) via Split Decision
Julio Arce (17-4) defeated Chas Skelly (18-5) via Unanimous Decision
Trevin Giles (12-2) defeated Alen Amedovski (8-3) via Unanimous Decision
Juan Adams (6-2) defeated Daniel Spitz (6-4) via Unanimous Decision
Markus Perez (12-3) defeated Kevin Holland (16-6) via Submission (Guillotine) at 1:13 of Round 3
Alonzo Menifield (10-0) defeated Da Un Jung (13-3) via Unanimous Decision
Davey Grant (10-4) defeated Ryan Benoit (10-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:58 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Jeremy Stephens vs Cub Swanson
Knockout of the Night: Alex Munoz (vs Mark O Madsen)
Submission of the Night: Marcin Held (vs Alexander Hernandez)


Notes:

- Markus Perez was a +590 underdog, but pulled out a win over Kevin Holland.
- Julio Arce called out Gavin Tucker after his win over Chas Skelly.
- In a battle of undefeated fighters, Alex Munoz got the better of Olympian Mark O Madsen with a quick headkick knockout.
- Kevin Aguilar said after the fight that he'd like a matchup with Dan Ige for his next fight.
- Jeremy Stephens was very critical of the judges after the fight, stating he can't believe the split decision wasn't a unanimous decision.
- Geoff Neal remains undefeated in the UFC and moves to 6-0, which should break him into the top 10 of the division. This loss for Abdul Razak Alhassan snaps his 3 fight win streak.
- Ryan Spann is now 4-0 in a shallow Light Heavyweight division and a win over a top 15 ranked Light Heavyweight will really elevate him especially with a first round TKO.
- Marcin Held made an emphatic return to the UFC, taking out one of the top prospects at Lightweight with a very quick Leglock Submission. Held's submission skills have always been highly touted and he proved why. He's now on a 4 fight winning streak.
- Curtis Blaydes continues on his rise thru the Heavyweight rankings with another impressive victory, this time dispatching the Black Beast in the 3rd round. Blaydes has now beat everyone in his path who isnt named Francis Ngannou, but that fight could be a possibility next as this win likely earns Blaydes the next Heavyweight Title shot against the winner of Stipe Miocic vs Ngannou.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes up to #3, Derrick Lewis down to #13
Light Heavyweight: Ryan Spann up to #15, Nikita Krylov down to #20
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Geoff Neal up to #10
Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez down to #20
Featherweight: Jeremy Stephens up to #7, Kevin Aguilar up to #15, Cub Swanson down to #18, Darren Elkins down to #25
Bantamweight: N/A

Arnold Allen injured, out of Yair Rodriguez fight

Arnold Allen has unfortunately sustained a hand injury in training, leaving him unable to fight Yair Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN: Ferguson vs Lee II.
Rodriguez will remain on the card with many fighters messaging the matchmaker Matty to put themselves forward to fill the void, including Herbert Burns, Manny Bermudez and Guido Cannetti.
Mirsad Bektic called out Rodriguez on the UFC on ESPN: Korean Zombie vs Holloway card, and will likely be the frontrunner for the spot if he can be ready in time.




UFC signs Olympic Gold Medallist Wrestler

The UFC have announced the signing of the youngest Olympic gold medalist and the youngest World Champion in American wrestling history, Kyle Snyder. He is yet to make his debut in MMA so will be making his debut in the biggest organisation in MMA.
Snyder's accolades in wrestling are incredible, he is also the youngest wrestler ever to win the World, NCAA, and Olympic championships in the same year - a Triple Crown of American wrestling that hadn't been accomplished in a generation until he completed his sweep at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Snyder then made more history by becoming the first Olympic gold medalist to return to college and win an NCAA wrestling championship, clinching his second consecutive NCAA heavyweight title in 2017 despite tearing cartilage in his chest in the quarter finals and being outweighed by upwards of 40 pounds throughout the tournament. In 2018, Snyder won his third straight individual NCAA title as a heavyweight, this time being outweighed by nearly 60 pounds 'in one of the biggest size differences in an NCAA championship match in history,' and became the first three time NCAA heavyweight champion in nearly 30 years.
Along the way he became the youngest American, and only the eleventh ever, to win the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Grand Prix, which is widely considered to be the toughest open wrestling tournament in the world. Snyder dominated it with three technical falls and then a pin in the finals. The following year Snyder would become the first American man not only to win back to back Yarygin titles, but the only one to win the prestigious tournament more than once at all, earning him Best Foreign Wrestler honors from his Russian hosts.
His journey through the history books continued in the summer of 2017, when Snyder won 'The Match of the Century' by defeating Abdulrashid Sadulaev - nicknamed 'The Russian Tank' after steamrolling his way to titles at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships, and through the 2016 Rio Olympics where he outscored his opponents 28-1 on his way to a gold medal at 97 kg - in the deciding finals match of the 2017 World Championships.
This come from behind victory earned Team USA its first World Championship in over 20 years and Snyder his third consecutive individual World or Olympic championship, and led to Snyder being ranked as the best pound for pound freestyle wrestler on the planet by Flowrestling in September 2017, a title he would retain in their June 2018 rankings. And he ended his collegiate career as 'the first and only wrestler to win the NCAA, World, and Olympic championships as a collegiate athlete.'

Welterweight Title picture shakeup

In breaking news, Leon Edwards has had to pull out of his title fight against reigning champion, Kamaru Usman, which was set to take place at UFC 252 in Florida.
In a shake-up of fights, Santiago Ponzinibbio, who was scheduled to headline a UFC on ESPN fightcard opposite former champion, Tyron Woodley, will now move in and fight Usman at UFC 252. Ponzinibbio is currently on a 8 fight win streak, defeating ranked opponents in Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry, Neil Magny and Stephen Thompson in his last 4 fights.
Stepping in to replace Ponzinibbio and main eventing opposite Tyron Woodley will be Gilbert Burns, who himself is on a winning streak, which sits at 5, and is coming off the back of a dominant TKO victory over Demian Maia.
Leon Edwards has been promised the winner of Usman vs Ponzinibbio when he returns, and then the winner of that fight will likely fight the winner of the Burns vs Woodley fight.
Also on tap in this stacked division is two fighters looking to rebound from losses and to finish their bad blood in Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington, who will co-main on the Usman vs Ponzinibbio card.

Title situations in each weight

Champions

Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic
Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones
Middleweight: Israel Adesanya
Welterweight: Kamaru Usman
Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov
Featherweight: Zabit Magomedsharipov (Previous: Alexander Volkanovski)
Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo


Title Defenses/Next Opponents:

Heavyweight: Miocic vs Ngannou II (UFC 249), next defense vs Curtis Blaydes
Light Heavyweight: Jones vs Reyes (UFC 250), next defense vs Corey Anderson
Middleweight: Adesanya defeated Borrachinha (UFC 248), next defense vs Derek Brunson (highest ranked with any kind of win streak)
Welterweight: Usman vs Ponzinibbio (UFC 252), next defense vs Edwards, then winner of Burns vs Woodley
Lightweight: Khabib defeated Ferguson (UFC 247), next defense vs Kevin Lee (if he beats Tony Ferguson) or winner of McGregor vs Poirier
Featherweight: Zabit defeated Volkanovski (UFC 248), next defense vs ...
Bantamweight: Cejudo vs Sterling (UFC 250), next defense vs Cory Sandhagen

UFC 250: MSG: Jones vs Reyes
New York, USA
Attendance: 14,951 (Gate: $3,683,926)
Critical Rating: 70%, Commercial Rating: 98%

MAIN EVENT

(#1) Jon Jones (26-1-1NC) defeated (#3) Dominick Reyes (12-1) via Submission (Guillotine) at 3:26 of Round 3 to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#5) Aljamain Sterling (19-3) defeated (#1) Henry Cejudo (15-3) via Technical Submission in 0:48 of Round 5 to win the UFC Bantamweight Title

MAIN CARD

(#12) Gregor Gillespie (14-1) defeated (#14) Anthony Pettis (22-10) via Unanimous Decision
(#7) Kelvin Gastelum (17-5-1NC) defeated (#14) Uriah Hall (15-10) via KO (Knee) at 1:48 of Round 2
(#6) Renato Moicano (14-3-1) defeated (#5) Frankie Edgar (23-9-1) via KO (Punch) at 0:25 of Round 2

PRELIMS

(#21) Tony Martin (18-5) defeated Randy Brown (12-4) via Unanimous Decision
(#14) Shane Burgos (14-1) defeated (#20) Dan Ige (12-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:29 of Round 2
Lyman Good (22-5-1NC) defeated (#14) Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (21-7) via Split Decision
Jared Gordon (15-4-1) drew with John Makdessi (17-6-1) via Majority Draw
Matt Frevola (9-1-1) defeated Chris Gruetzemacher (14-4) via KO (Punch) at 0:21 of Round 2
Alex Pereira (3-1) defeated Keith Berish (5-2-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
Brian Kelleher (20-10) defeated Tyson Nam (16-11-1) via Submission (RNC) at 1:59 of Round 1
Anthony Hernandez (8-1-1NC) defeated Roman Kopylov (8-2) via Submission (Kimura) at 4:38 of Round 3
Nad Narimani (13-3) defeated Scott Holtzman (13-4) via Unanimous Decision
Sean O'Malley (11-0) defeated Movsar Evloev (12-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:25 of Round 3


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Sean O'Malley vs Movsar Evloev
Knockout of the Night: Renato Moicano (vs Frankie Edgar)
Submission of the Night: Brian Kelleher (vs Tyson Nam)


Notes:

- Sean O'Malley made his return after basically 2 years out of the cage, earning his 3rd UFC win out of 3 fights, and a Fight of the Night bonus. He remains undefeated but ended the undefeated record of Movsar Evloev.
- Anthony Hernandez called out Rodolfo Vieira for his next fight after his victory over Roman Kopylov.
- Hometown fighter, Brian Kelleher was thankful to the New York crowd for their support, as he picked up a win that will save his job, after losing his last 2 fights via stoppage.
- It was the UFC debut, and only his 4th MMA fight, for Multi-weight Glory Kickboxing World Champion, Alex Pereira. He was dominant on the feet, as expected, but also shown a great development in his takedown defense since the win that got him his UFC contract. He currently still holds the Glory Light Heavyweight and Middleweight titles with a impressive record of 40-6, and also holds 2 wins over current UFC Middleweight Kingpin Israel Adesanya, one a left hook highlight reel knockout. He called out fellow Brazillian Andre Muniz for his next fight.
- Matt Frevola said he'd like to fight Tshilomba Mikixi next.
- Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos went from going 7-0 in the UFC to now losing 2 in a row after losing to New Yorker, Lyman Good.
- Another New Yorker, Shane Burgos is now on a 4 fight winning streak and 7-1 in the UFC, with just one blip against Calvin Kattar.
- Dan Ige ends his 4 fight winning streak with his loss to Burgos.
- Renato Moicano picked up the biggest win of his career with a knockout victory over former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. This snapped a 2 fight losing streak. He also picked up the Knockout of the Night award.
- In a rematch of The Ultimate Fighter 17 final, Kelvin Gastelum beat Uriah Hall for a second time, but this time in much more definitive style. This snapped Gastelum's 2 fight losing streak, aswell as Hall's 2 fight winning streak. Gastelum called out Robert Whittaker to fight next.
- Gregor Gillespie bounced back from the first loss of his career with a win over former UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis.
- It was an excellent night for another New Yorker in Aljamain Sterling, who was a heavy underdog for his Bantamweight title challenge, yet shocked the MMA world with a 5th round technical submission over Olympian, Henry Cejudo, choking the former champion unconscious. Sterling will face off with Cory Sandhagen next.
- In the second title fight of the night, there was a more predictable result, with Jon Jones breaking the record for UFC title defenses with a 3rd round submission of Dominick Reyes. Corey Anderson went face to face with Jones after the fight.

Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes down to #10
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum up to #5, Uriah Hall down to #16
Welterweight: Tony Martin up to #20, Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos down to #22
Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie up to #8, Anthony Pettis down to #16
Featherweight: Renato Carneiro up to #4, Frankie Edgar down to #9, Shane Burgos up to #10, Dan Ige down to #21
Bantamweight: Aljamain Sterling up to #1, Henry Cejudo down to #7

UFC on ESPN: Canada: Lesnar vs Oleynik
Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 1,010 (Gate: $202,000)
Critical Rating: 72%, Commercial Rating: 94%

MAIN EVENT

(#18) Brock Lesnar (6-3-1NC) defeated (#8) Alexey Oleynik (57-14-1) via Submission (RNC) at 4:19 of Round 2

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#3) Yoel Romero (14-4) defeated (#14) Anderson Silva (34-11-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:37 of Round 3

MAIN CARD

Joaquim Silva (12-2) defeated (#25) Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:46 of Round 3
Sodiq Yusuff (11-1) defeated Hakeem Dawodu (11-2-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:02 of Round 3
Diego Sanchez (30-12) defeated Tim Means (30-12-1-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:18 of Round 1

PRELIMS

Mickey Gall (7-2) defeated Jonathan Meunier (8-2) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:34 of Round 1
Charles Jourdain (11-2) defeated Claudio Puelles (8-3) via KO (Kick) at 0:40 of Round 2
Joey Gomez (7-2) defeated Brad Katona (8-3) via Submission (Armbar) at 1:31 of Round 2
Chad Laprise (14-4) defeated Chance Recountre (14-5) via KO (Punch) at 2:30 of Round 2
Sheldon Westcott (10-3-1) defeated Laureano Staropoli (9-3) via Submission (RNC) at 3:40 of Round 3
Bryan Barbarena (15-7) defeated Tristan Connelly (14-7) via Unanimous Decision
Aiemann Zahabi (8-2) defeated Mario Bautista (7-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:37 of Round 1
Gavin Tucker (12-1) defeated Eduardo Garagorri (13-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:22 of Round 3
Joe Soto (19-7) defeated Mitch Gagnon (12-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:39 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Joaquim Silva vs Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Knockout of the Night: Charles Jourdain (vs Claudio Puelles)
Submission of the Night: Sodiq Yusuff (vs Hakeem Dawodu)


Notes:

- Canadian favourite, Chad Laprise got back on track with his first win in 3 fights in front of his home crowd.
- TUF winner Brad Katona loses his third straight fight and is very close to release, if he hadn't won TUF he would be likely be gone, but he will get one last fight to save his job.
- After his victory over Jonathan Meunier, Mickey Gall called out Lyman Good for his next fight.
- Diego Sanchez was an underdog for his fight against Tim Means but pulled off the upset for his 30th career win.
- Sodiq Yusuff moved to 4-0 in the UFC and will hope to break into the Featherweight rankings after his win over Hakeem Dawodu, whos 4 fight win streak was ended.
- The no.1 ranked Canadian Lightweight, Olivier Aubin-Mercier will be released after his 4th loss in a row. The door has been left open for him if he can put together a couple of wins outside the UFC.
- Yoel Romero broke a 2 fight losing streak while putting Legendary former Middleweight, Anderson Silva on a 3 fight losing streak. Anderson Silva has said he'll move upto Light Heavyweight for what will likely be his final fight.
- In Brock Lesnar's first fight since 2016, he defeated gritty veteran and submission ace, Alexey Oleynik via submission in what was a very impressive return fight. This puts Lesnar on a 2 fight win streak after his 2016 victory over Mark Hunt. Oleynik has now lost 3 in a row and is likely 1 fight away from losing his job in the UFC. Lesnar called out Justin Willis as a fighter he'd like to fight next, saying it will be old school wrestling vs new school.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar up to #14, Aleksey Oleynik down to #17
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: Anderson Silva down to #17
Welterweight: N/A
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff enters at #20
Bantamweight: N/A

UFC on ESPN: Struve vs Velasquez
Paris, France
Attendance: 4,275(Gate: $752,400)
Critical Rating: 66%, Commercial Rating: 78%

MAIN EVENT

(#13) Cain Velasquez (15-3) defeated (#20) Stefan Struve (29-13) via Unanimous Decision

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#6) Volkan Oezdemir (18-4) defeated Alexander Gustafsson (18-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:54 of Round 2

MAIN CARD

Anthony Johnson (23-6) defeated (#21) Andrei Arlovski (28-20-2NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:00 of Round 1
(#17) Mike Perry (14-6) defeated David Zawada (17-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:18 of Round 1
Jack Shore (13-0) defeated Tom Duquesnoy (16-3-1NC) via Split Decision

PRELIMS

Ricardo Ramos (15-2) defeated (#23) Khalid Taha (14-3) via Submission (RNC) at 2:15 of Round 2
(#17) Michal Oleksiejczuk (15-3) defeated Darko Stosic (13-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:53 of Round 3
Chris Fishgold (19-3-1) defeated David Teymur (8-3) via Submission (Armbar) at 2:22 of Round 2
Jack Marshman (24-9) defeated Max Griffin (15-8) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:14 of Round 2
Ciryl Gane (7-0) defeated Tom Aspinall (7-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:06 of Round 1
Aaron Chalmers (6-1) defeated Alvaro Herrera (9-7) via Submission (Armbar) at 4:31 of Round 1
Michael Wooten (8-0) defeated Ronaldo Candido (6-1) via TKO (Cut) at 3:12 of Round 2
Damir Hadzovic (14-5) defeated Daniel Teymur (7-5) via Unanimous Decision
Alessio Di Chirico (13-4) defeated Oskar Piechota (11-4-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:48 of Round 3

Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Alessio Di Chirico vs Oskar Piechota
Knockout of the Night: Anthony Johnson (vs Andrei Arlovski)
Submission of the Night: Chris Fishgold (vs David Teymur)


Notes:

- Oskar Piechota is now on a 4 fight losing streak and will be released from his contract.
- Daniel Teymur's loss puts him at 1-5 in the UFC and will also be released.
- Damir Hadzovic called out Shamil Zavurov for his next fight.
- Michael Wooten won the battle of the undefeated fighters against Ronaldo Candido. He was a heavy underdog going into the fight.
- UK celebrity, Aaron Chalmers made a successful UFC debut, submitting Alvaro Herrera in the first round. Herrera's loss was his 4th in a row, leading to his release from the UFC.
- Ciryl Gane moves to 4-0 in the UFC and 7-0 overall and will hope for a step up in competition next.
- To continue the awful night for the Teymur brothers, David was a slight favourite over Chris Fishgold but was submitted in the second round.
- Jack Shore remained undefeated by ruining the return to MMA of Tom Duquesnoy. He was a +350 underdog to beat the Frenchman, but edged a very close split decision.
- Mike Perry called out Neil Magny after the fight, but says hes too much of a coward to take the fight.
- Anthony Johnson made his return to MMA in the Heavyweight division, but shown no ring rust by dismantling former Heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski in just 3 minutes.
- It wasn't such a successful return for former Light Heavyweight challenger, Alexander Gustafsson, who was stopped in 2 rounds by Volkan Oezdemir, which puts Oezdemir on a 3 fight win streak and right in the title picture.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Anthony Johnson enters at #8, Cain Velasquez up to #12, Stefan Struve down to #22, Andrei Arlovski down to #24
Light Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir up to #3
Middleweight: Alessio Di Chirico enters at #23
Welterweight: Mike Perry up to #15, Jack Marshman enters at #25
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos enters at #21
Bantamweight: N/A

UFC on ESPN: Cruz vs Munhoz
Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 2,337 (Gate: $606,685)
Critical Rating: 64%, Commercial Rating: 67%

MAIN EVENT

(#24) Dominick Cruz (23-2) defeated (#5) Pedro Munhoz (18-5-1NC) via Unanimous Decision

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#10) Ovince St. Preux (25-12) defeated (#8) Johnny Walker (17-5) via Unanimous Decision

MAIN CARD

(#13) Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (27-11-1) defeated (#19) Khalil Rountree (8-5-1NC) via KO (Elbow) at 1:47 of Round 1
(#13) Charles Oliveira (29-8-1NC) defeated (#18) Carlos Diego Ferreira (16-3) via Submission (Armbar) at 2:55 of Round 1
(#16) Vicente Luque (18-7-1) defeated (#12) Neil Magny (21-8) via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

(#10) Brad Tavares (18-6) defeated (#6) Jack Hermansson (20-6) via KO (Punch) at 4:58 of Round 3
(#17) Marcin Tybura (18-6) defeated Ilir Latifi (14-8-1NC) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:13 of Round 3
James Krause (28-7) defeated Claudio Henrique da Silva (14-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:56 of Round 3
(#9) Jimmie Rivera (23-4) defeated (#16) Alejandro Perez (21-9-1) via Unanimous Decision
Raoni Barcelos (16-1) defeated (#15) Casey Kenney (14-2-1) via Unanimous Decision
Alex White (14-6) defeated Buren Wuliji (11-8) via KO (Punch) at 3:15 of Round 2
Luis Pena (8-2) defeated Martin Bravo (11-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:38 of Round 2
Punahele Soriano (8-0) defeated Tyler Manawaroa (10-1) via KO (Punch) at 2:11 of Round 2
Chase Hooper (10-0-1) defeated Kron Gracie (5-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:59 of Round 3
Ivan Shtyrkov (18-1-1) defeated (#25) Sam Alvey (33-14-1NC) via KO (Punch) at 4:11 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: James Krause vs Claudio Henrique da Silva
Knockout of the Night: Brad Tavares (vs Jack Hermansson)
Submission of the Night: Charles Oliveira (vs Carlos Diego Ferreira)


Notes:

- Tyler Manawaroa missed weight so will move up to Light Heavyweight for his next fight. Raoni Barcelos had the same issue so will also move up a division to Featherweight for his next fight.
- Ivan Shtyrkov called out Max Nunes after his impressive knockout victory over UFC veteran and no.25 ranked Sam Alvey.
- 20 year old Chase Hooper pulled off one of the biggest underdog victories, with a win over BJJ Black Belt, Kron Gracie. Cooper entered the fight as a +800 underdog against the BJJ phenom.
- Punahele Soriano won the battle of the undefeated fighters against Tyler Manawaroa, while also taking a chunk of his opponents purse due to his missed weight. He called out Makhmud Muradov for his next fight.
- Raoni Barcelos moves to 5-0 in the UFC.
- James Krause extends his UFC winning streak to 7 and earned himself a Fight of the Night bonus, which is a common occurence for Krause. This win for Krause ended the undefeated run of Claudio Henrique da Silva, who himself had a 6 fight win streak coming into the fight.
- Marcin Tybura's win ended a 2 fight losing streak while putting Ilir Latifi on a 3 fight losing streak. Tybura called out Walt Harris after the fight. This was Latifi's Heavyweight debut.
- Charles Oliveira named Gregor Gillespie as a fighter he'd like to be matched up against next.
- Shogun Rua called out fellow Brazillian Johnny Walker for his next fight. Walker will fight in the co-main next fight.
- After starting his UFC career with 3 straight wins, Johnny Walker has now dropped 2 in a row, and his next fight, which is likely to be Shogun Rua, is a must win, altho the shallow situation in the Light Heavyweight division may give him a big more slack.
- Dominick Cruz's return fight after nearly 4 years was successful, taking out #5 ranked Pedro Munhoz via a Unanimous Decision. Cruz says he'd love to run it back with Cody Garbrandt next, saying he underestimated him the first fight but that won't happen again.
- Buren Wuliji released.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: Shogun Rua up to #8, Johnny Walker down to #11, Khalil Rountree down to #22
Middleweight: Brad Tavares up to #7, Jack Marshman down to #10
Welterweight: Vicente Luque up to #12, Neil Magny down to #16
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira up to #8, Carlos Diego Ferreira down to #22
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: Jimmie Rivera up to #6, Pedro Munhoz down to #11, Dominick Cruz up to #14, Alejandro Perez down to #20, Casey Kenney down to #25

UFC 251: Miocic vs Ngannou
Ohio, USA
Attendance: 14,456 (Gate: $3,238,144)
Critical Rating: 71%, Commercial Rating: 90%

MAIN EVENT

(#3) Francis Ngannou (15-3) defeated (#1) Stipe Miocic (19-4) via KO (Punch) at 1:09 of Round 1 to win the UFC Heavyweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#6) Junior Dos Santos (22-6) defeated (#2) Daniel Cormier (22-3-1NC) via KO (Punch) at 1:03 of Round 2

MAIN CARD

(#11) Robbie Lawler (29-14-1NC) defeated (#9) Nate Diaz (20-13) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:31 of Round 1
(#3) Marlon Moraes (24-6-1) defeated (#5) TJ Dillashaw (16-5) via Split Decision
Matt Brown (23-16) defeated Albert Tumenov (20-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:22 of Round 1

PRELIMS

Carlos Condit (31-13) defeated Ben Saunders (22-14-2) via Submission (Guillotine) at 0:50 of Round 1
(#24) Nik Lentz (31-10-2-1NC) defeated Clay Guida (35-20) via Submission (RNC) at 3:25 of Round 1
(#24) Eddie Wineland (25-13-1) defeated Iuri Alcantara (36-11-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:57 of Round 2
(#13) Ian Heinisch (14-3) defeated (#19) Tim Boetsch (21-14) via Unanimous Decision
Will Brooks (21-4-1) defeated Steven Ray (23-11) via Unanimous Decision
(#18) Mairbek Taisumov (28-6) defeated Bobby Green (24-11-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:06 of Round 3
Nordine Taleb (16-7) defeated Nathan Coy (15-8) via Unanimous Decision
Devonte Smith (11-2) defeated Magomed Mustafaev (14-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:33 of Round 1
Devin Clark (11-4) defeated Bojan Mihajlovic (10-7) via Unanimous Decision
Ottman Azaitar (13-0) defeated Omar Antonio Morales (9-1) via Submission (RNC) at 2:39 of Round 2


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Ian Heinisch vs Tim Boetsch
Knockout of the Night: Francis Ngannou (vs Stipe Miocic)
Submission of the Night: Nik Lentz (vs Clay Guida)


Notes:

- Ottman Azaitar remained undefeated in his career in the opening fight, while ending Omar Antonio Morales' undefeated record. This moves the German to 12-0 and 2-0 in the UFC. Azaitar then called out Dong Hyun Ma for his next fight, the fighter who was Morales last fight, which he lost.
- 40 year old Serbian, Bojan Mihajlovic dropped his 4th UFC fight out of 4 and was released from his contract.
- Devin Clark said he'd love to face returning Brazillian slugger, Fabio Maldonado in his next fight.
- Nathan Coy slips to 1-3 in the UFC and gets released after his loss to Nordine Taleb.
- Will Brooks made a successful return to the UFC with a Unanimous Decision over Steven Ray, this moved the former Bellator Lightweight champion's undefeated streak to 4.
- Eddie Wineland says he'd like to fight young prospect Nathaniel Wood next, it would be an old school vs new school fight if it came to fruition.
- Carlos Condit was relieved to pick up his first win in almost 5 years, and it only took 50 seconds to sink in a guillotine choke to get the tap from Ben Saunders, which was Saunders 5th loss in a row and will likely see him released from his contract.
- ACA Welterweight champion, Albert Tumenov had a less than successful return to the UFC after veteran Matt Brown stopped him with the first minute and a half of the first round.
- Marlon Moraes close split decision victory over TJ Dillashaw was hotly debated by fans after the result was announced. Many felt Dillashaw shouldve got the decision. This was Moraes second fight in a row where he took home a dubious split decision over a former UFC champion after his last fight against Jose Aldo. He called out Cory Sandhagen after the fight, but Sandhagen will be fighting Aljamain Sterling next for the Bantamweight belt.
- Robbie Lawler ended a 3 fight losing streak with a fantastic stoppage over the usually durable, Nate Diaz.
- Junior Dos Santos' stunning knockout of Daniel Cormier put his opponent on his first career losing streak.
- Francis Ngannou destroyed Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic in just over a minute to get revenge for a previous loss. Ngannou now has 4 first round finishes in a row, 3 of which are over fighters who have held the UFC Heavyweight Title.
- Curtis Blaydes stepped into the cage after the fight to staredown the new champion.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou up to #1, Junior Dos Santos up to #2, Daniel Cormier down to #6, Stipe Miocic down to #7
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: Ian Heinisch up to #12
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler up to #6, Nate Diaz down to #15
Lightweight: Nik Lentz up to #19
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: Marlon Moraes up to #2, TJ Dillashaw down to #8, Eddie Wineland up to #16