UFC on ESPN: Ferguson vs Lee
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Attendance: 1,341 (Gate: $348,124)
Critical Rating: 68%, Commercial Rating: 60%

MAIN EVENT

(#5) Kevin Lee (20-5) defeated (#6) Tony Ferguson (25-5) via Unanimous Decision

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#8) Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza (27-8-1NC) defeated (#21) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-10) via Unanimous Decision

MAIN CARD

(#8) Joseph Benavidez (29-5) defeated (#9) Petr Yan (14-3) via Submission (D'Arce Choke) at 2:00 of Round 3
(#8) Yair Rodriguez (14-2) defeated (#25) Manny Bermudez (15-3) via KO (Punch) at 3:10 of Round 2

PRELIMS

Todd Duffee (10-3-1NC) defeated Dontale Mayes (7-4) via Submission (Guillotine) at 3:22 of Round 1
Fabio Maldonado (24-13) defeated Thiago Silva (21-11-2NC) via Unanimous Decision
Deron Winn (7-1) defeated Julian Marquez (7-3) via Unanimous Decision
Davi Ramos (11-3) defeated Darrell Horcher (14-5) via Submission (D'Arce Choke) at 3:12 of Round 3
Maki Pitolo (13-5) defeated Brian Camozzi (7-6) via Split Decision
Jordan Griffin (18-7) defeated Calvin Kattar (20-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:57 of Round 1
Michel Prazeres (27-3) defeated Sean Strickland (20-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:22 of Round 3
Bryce Mitchell (13-0) defeated Martin Buschkamp (9-1-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
Bartosz Fabianski (15-3) defeated Warlley Alves (13-5) via Split Decision
Brett Johns (17-2) defeated Luke Sanders (13-4) via Submission (Armbar) at 1:49 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Fabio Maldonado vs Thiago Silva
Knockout of the Night: Yair Rodriguez (vs Manny Bermudez)
Submission of the Night: Joseph Benavidez (vs Petr Yan)


Notes:

- Brett Johns called out Sean O'Malley after his 1st round stoppage of Luke Sanders.
- Bryce Mitchell both continued his undefeated record while ending the undefeated record of Martin Buschkamp. He moves to 13-0 and 4-0 in the UFC.
- Jordan Griffin's stoppage victory over Calvin Kattar was controversial as it was stopped 3 seconds before the bell with Kattar still looking to defend himself, likely knowing how long he had left in the round to brave it out.
- Brian Camozzi lost his 4th straight UFC fight and is released. He is however only 28 so has plenty of time to work his way back to the UFC.
- Deron Winn was a +490 underdog for his fight against Julian Marquez, but pulled out a Unanimous Decision victory.
- In the return of two Brazillian sluggers, Fabio Maldonado edged Thiago Silva in a fantastic fight. Both were brought back due to the lack of depth in the Light Heavyweight division and will likely move on to be tough tests for upcoming fighters. Maldonado likely has his next fight mapped out, with Devin Clark calling him out on a previous card.
- Todd Duffee returned after a near 5 year hiatus to demolish Dontale Mayes within a round. He then said Rodrigo Nascimento would be an ideal opponent next as he shakes off the ring rust.
- Manny Bermudez was a late replacement to face highly rated Featherweight contender, Yair Rodriguez and did himself no harm in putting up a solid fight before being knocked out in the second half of the second round.
- Petr Yan dropped his second successive fight, both by submission, and now the former contender really needs a win to turn around his fortunes.
- Joseph Benavidez is now on a 4 fight win streak, over solid names in Jussier da Silva, Dustin Ortiz, Alex Perez and now Petr Yan, with 3 finishes out of the 4. A fight with former Alpha Male teammate TJ Dillashaw is something that interests Benavidez according to his post-fight interview.
- Kevin Lee earned the next shot at Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov with his win over Tony Ferguson. Lee is one of few Lightweight contenders who haven't been beaten yet by the undefeated Russian.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Michel Prazeres enters at #23
Lightweight: Kevin Lee up to #4, Tony Ferguson down to #8
Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez up to #6
Bantamweight: Joseph Benavidez up to #5, Petr Yan down to #17, Brett Johns enters at #19

UFC 252 issues

UFC 252 has been issue after issue with the main card, starting with a solid lineup of:

Kamaru Usman vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (UFC Welterweight Title)
Jorge Masvidal vs Colby Covington
Robert Whittaker vs Kelvin Gastelum
Fabricio Werdum vs Ben Rothwell
Greg Hardy vs Rico Verhoeven

But injuries to both Masvidal and Gastelum ruled them out, then a further injury to Covington took him out of any potential fight on the card.

A number of fighters have stepped up to fight Whittaker but none are ranked so none do any favours for the former champion. Andre Muniz (20-4, 2-0 UFC) is the strongest of those available and Whittaker insists he wants to fight, so this matchup is likely.

At this moment there are only 3 confirmed fights on the main card, with the Whittaker-Muniz possibly a 4th, so a undercard fight will likely be moved up to the main card, giving extra exposure to 2 fighters who wouldn't expect to be on a PPV main card at this time. This could well see the MMA debut of American Wrestling standout Kyle Snyder being that fight.

TUF 29 Results



Chris Camozzi really put on a show, destroying once-highly regarded Hector Lombard by 1st round TKO. The hugely powerful Judoka announced after this fight he'd be hanging up his gloves and would be focusing on Bare Knuckle after the tournament ends.



Tom Lawlor had an absolute war with David Branch, before eventually submitting the former WSOF Light Heavyweight and Middleweight champion late in the second round. Lawlor has become a real favourite with viewers, with his crazy antics and personality so far.



Czech Wrestling powerhouse, Karlos Vemola took a unanimous decision victory over Canadian former Hockey player Steve Bosse in the final first round fight. Vemola picked up a nasty cut above his eye, which will need to be checked out to confirm he can fight in the quarter final.
This fight set up the quarter finallists, and after consultations with both coaches, these were the matchups that were made:

Chris Camozzi vs Alex Garcia
Tom Lawlor vs Francis Carmont
Kendall Grove vs Tom Watson
Jason 'Mayhem' Miller vs Karlos Vemola

UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs Burns
North Dakota, USA
Attendance: 4,830 (Gate: $734,160)
Critical Rating: 75%, Commercial Rating: 80%

MAIN EVENT

(#2) Tyron Woodley (21-4-1) defeated (#9) Gilbert Burns (18-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:46 of Round 1

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#4) Anthony Smith (33-14) defeated (#15) Misha Cirkunov (15-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:01 of Round 1

MAIN CARD

Mateusz Gamrot (16-0-1NC) defeated Gray Maynard (14-8-1-1NC) via KO (Kick) at 4:56 of Round 1
(#5) Rafael dos Anjos (30-12) defeated (#19) Alex Oliveira (19-9-1-2NC) via TKO (Leg Kick) at 2:10 of Round 1
(#17) Francisco Trinaldo (25-7) defeated (#14) Beneil Dariush (17-5-1) via Split Decision

PRELIMS

(#19) Michael Johnson (20-15) defeated (#13) Ricardo Lamas (19-9) via Unanimous Decision
(#18) Ricky Simon (16-3) defeated John Moraga (19-8) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:52 of Round 3
Niko Price (15-3-1NC) defeated Muslim Salikhov (17-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:01 of Round 1
Aalon Cruz (9-2) defeated Giga Chikadze (8-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:21 of Round 1
Vince Morales (10-4) defeated Bruno Gustavo da Silva (11-5-2) via Unanimous Decision
Khama Worthy (16-6) defeated Clay Collard (14-8-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:17 of Round 1
Andrzej Grzebyk (17-3) defeated Bruno Silva (19-7) via Unanimous Decision
Tony Gravely (20-5) defeated Brandon Moreno (16-6-1) via Unanimous Decision
(#24) Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1) defeated (#25) Ed Herman (24-15-1NC) via Unanimous Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Vince Morales vs Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Knockout of the Night: Mateusz Gamrot (vs Gray Maynard)
Submission of the Night: N/A


Notes:

- On his UFC debut, Jiri Prochazka's win over Ed Herman moved his winning streak to 10.
- Late replacement, Tony Gravely pulled off a massive upset on his UFC debut, beating Brandon Moreno, who was a -910 favourite, via Unanimous Decision.
- Khama Worthy moves to 2-0 in the UFC, both by 1st round stoppage. Clay Collard made his return after a 5 year hiatus for what ended up being his 3rd straight loss, and likely a release.
- Muslim Salikhov's loss ended a 4 fight win streak, while putting Niko Price on a two fight win streak, which includes his last fight, a win over James Vick.
- Ricky Simon snapped a 2 fight losing streak with just 8 seconds left in his fight against John Moraga, a fight which he was losing on the scorecards before the stoppage. He called out Eddie Wineland during his post-fight interview.
- Rafael dos Anjos' leg kicks prove deadly once again, this time rendering Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira unable to continue due to a knee injury sustained from numerous kicks. This was his 30th career victory.
- Former KSW Lightweight and Featherweight champion, Mateusz Gamrot remained undefeated in his UFC debut, taking out former UFC Lightweight champion, Gray Maynard within a round. Maynard was coming into the fight off the back of a impressive TKO victory in less than 2 minutes over Joe Lauzon but will be back to the drawing board after another loss.
- Tyron Woodley put himself right back in the title talk at Welterweight with his destruction over streaking Gilbert Burns, who was coming into the fight off the back of 5 wins which included wins over Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson. Woodley will now have to choose to either wait for Usman vs Ponzinibbio to happen, then Leon Edwards after that, then take his shot, or take another fight while he waits.
- The theme of the night seemed to be either the fight was stopped in the first round or went all the way to a decision, with 6 decisions and 7 first round stoppages.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith up to #3, Misha Cirkunov down to #17, Jiri Prochazka up to #21
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos up to #4, Gilbert Burns down to #10, Niko Price up to #20, Alex Oliveira down to #25
Lightweight: Francisco Trinaldo up to #14, Beneil Dariush down to #17
Featherweight: Michael Johnson up to #14, Ricardo Lamas down to #15
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon up to #10

I wish UFC put together cards as good as these.

Thanks foul!

UFC 252: Usman vs Ponzinibbio
Florida, USA
Attendance: 15,620 (Gate: $3,498,880)
Critical Rating: 68%, Commercial Rating: 94%

MAIN EVENT

(#1) Kamaru Usman (16-1-1) drew with (#3) Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-3-1) via Split Draw to retain the UFC Welterweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#2) Robert Whittaker (22-5) defeated Andre Muniz (20-5) via Unanimous Decision

MAIN CARD

(#25) Fabricio Werdum (24-8-1) defeated (#21) Ben Rothwell (37-13) via Submission (D'Arce Choke) at 1:39 of Round 1
Rico Verhoeven (2-0) defeated Greg Hardy (5-4-1NC) via Submission (Armbar) at 4:43 of Round 1
Aleksa Camur (6-0) defeated Kyle Snyder (0-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 2:59 of Round 1

PRELIMS

Teruto Ishihara (11-7-2) defeated Alex Caceres (15-13-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
Roosevelt Roberts (10-1) defeated Mike Davis (8-3) via Unanimous Decision
Michael Graves (7-0-1) defeated Luigi Vendramini (9-2) via Unanimous Decision
(#21) Zak Cummings (24-7) defeated (#25) Andrew Sanchez (11-6) via Unanimous Decision
Dwight Grant (11-2) defeated Miguel Baeza (8-1) via Submission (Guillotine) at 2:13 of Round 1
Alex Reyes (14-3) defeated Devin Powell (10-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:08 of Round 1
Sean Brady (12-0) defeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 4:58 of Round 1
Carrington Banks (10-2) defeated Drakkar Klose (11-2-1) via Submission (RNC) at 1:26 of Round 1
Montel Jackson (9-1) defeated Benito Lopez (10-2) via Submission (Kimura) at 3:56 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Roosevelt Roberts vs Mike Davis
Knockout of the Night: Alex Reyes (vs Devin Powell)
Submission of the Night: Fabricio Werdum (vs Ben Rothwell)


Notes:

- Montel Jackson extends his winning streak to 3 at Bantamweight after his win over Benito Lopez. His previous 2 came against Brian Kelleher and Andre Soukhamthath.
- Years after his initial TUF run, Carrington Banks finally made his UFC debut, demolishing Drakkar Klose in less than 90 seconds. Klose was on a decent 3 fight win streak prior to this fight with wins over Lando Vannata, Bobby Green and Christos Giagos.
- It was undefeated vs undefeated in the third fight on the card, with American, Sean Brady moving to 12-0 and 2-0 in the UFC.
- Older brother of top Light Heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes, Alex Reyes bounced back from a loss in his UFC debut with a 68 second TKO over Devin Powell. Reyes then called out Aussie, Damien Brown, who has just signed to return to the UFC, for his next fight.
- Michael Graves returned to the UFC after being released for some issues outside the cage and continued to remain undefeated in his career, and is now 4 fights with defeat within the UFC.
- Teruto Ishihara got a much needed win to save his job, after dropping his last 3 fights. He called out Pavel Vitruk for his next fight.
- It was a disappointing debut for Legendary wrestler, Kyle Snyder as he was submitted quickly by little known Serbian-American, Aleksa Camur in just under 3 minutes. Snyder has vowed to keep improving and at just 24 years old and with his wrestling pedigree, he could prove to be a top fighter in the future if he fully trains other disciplines of Mixed Martial Arts.
- In a shocking result, more for the way it ended rather than who won, World class Kickboxer Rico Verhoeven proved hes truly been working hard on his Jiu-Jitsu, with a stunning first round armbar over former NFL player Greg Hardy. This was Verhoeven's UFC debut and only his second MMA fight.
- Robert Whittaker said he takes his hat off to Andre Muniz after he stepped up on really short notice to replace Kelvin Gastelum and earned his respect after taking Whittaker to a decision. This moves Whittaker to 2-0 since his title loss, while handing Muniz his first loss in the UFC.
- A stunning conclusion to a decent fight, as Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio found out their fight was a Split Draw after 5 hard fought rounds, which leaves Usman with the title and Ponzinibbio without the belt but also without losing the title shot. This result really shakes up the plans for the Welterweight title, as Leon Edwards has proven himself to be the no.1 contender but Ponzinibbio has now proven hes on Usman's level. Aswell as having Woodley waiting for a shot. I'm hoping I can have all 4 fighters available for the same card and may throw together a 4 man one-night tournament.
- As detailed in a previous post, this card had awful luck with injuries and didn't have nearly as much star power as I like to have on PPV cards.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum up to #21
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: Zak Cummings up to #18
Welterweight: N/A
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: N/A

UFC 253: McGregor vs Poirier II
Dublin, Ireland
Attendance: 10,122 (Gate: $1,902,936)
Critical Rating: 75%, Commercial Rating: 98%

MAIN EVENT

(#3) Conor McGregor (23-4) defeated (#2) Dustin Poirier (26-7-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:33 of Round 1

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#4) Jair Rozenstruik (12-0) defeated Tyson Fury (0-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:41 of Round 1

MAIN CARD

(#9) Darren Till (19-3-1) defeated Scott Askham (19-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:54 of Round 2
(#21) Tom Breese (13-1) defeated (#24) Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1) via Split Decision
(#13) Arnold Allen (17-1) defeated (#18) Andre Fili (20-7) via Split Decision

PRELIMS

(#21) Marc Diakiese (16-3) defeated (#24) Yancy Medeiros (16-7-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:04 of Round 2
Matt Wiman (17-9) defeated Joseph Duffy (16-6) via Unanimous Decision
Karl Moore (10-2) defeated (#16) Aleksander Rakic (12-4) via Unanimous Decision
(#18) Ismail Naurdiev (21-3) defeated Alexey Kunchenko (21-2) via KO (Punch) at 3:56 of Round 1
Maurice Greene (10-3) defeated Chi Lewis-Parry (9-1-2-2NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:28 of Round 2
Modestas Bukauskas (11-3) defeated Gokhan Saki (1-3) via Unanimous Decision
Magomed Ankalaev (13-1) defeated Max Nunes (18-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:57 of Round 2
Michael Trizano (7-1) defeated Daniel Crawford (10-5) via KO (Punch) at 1:17 of Round 1
Ross Houston (9-0) defeated Kamil Oniszczuk (8-1) via Unanimous Decision
Mike Grundy (13-1) defeated Charles Rosa (13-4) via Submission (D'Arce Choke) at 2:00 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Arnold Allen vs Andre Fili
Knockout of the Night: Michael Trizano (vs Daniel Crawford)
Submission of the Night: Mike Grundy (vs Charles Rosa)


Notes:

- Mike Grundy moves to 2-0 in the UFC, and called out Chase Hooper after his win.
- 24 year old unbeaten UFC debutant, Ross Houston beat 23 year old unbeaten UFC debutant Kamil Oniszczuk in the battle of the 8-0 fighters.
- Magomed Ankalaev improved to 4-0 since his shocking last second submission loss to Paul Craig in his UFC debut with his win over Max Nunes.
- Conor McGregor's teammate, Karl Moore was a +550 underdog but upset #16 ranked Aleksander Rakic via Unanimous Decision in his UFC debut. He called out Abdul-Kerim Edilov for his next fight.
- Joseph Duffy suffered his 4th loss in a row, losing to Matt Wiman. Wiman called out Alex Reyes in his post-fight interview.
- Arnold Allen looks to break the top ten at Featherweight after his win over Andre Fili, which moved Allen to 8-0 in the UFC.
- Darren Till welcomed KSW Middleweight champion, Scott Askham back to the UFC with a second round TKO.
- Jair Rozenstruik answered the callout of MMA debutant and former Boxing World Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury in the co-main event. It was yet another 1st round stoppage for the Surinamese juggernaut and a no.1 contenders fight is likely next. Fury starred in his post-fight interview, stating this was just the start and he'll be working on improving in his new sport.
- Conor McGregor outclassed Dustin Poirier to earn himself a shot at the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Kevin Lee for the Lightweight Title. The prospect of McGregor vs Khabib II is really attracting attention around the MMA world.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Maurice Greene enters at #25
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Akalaev enters at #21, Aleksander Rakic drops to #22
Middleweight: Darren Till up to #6, Tom Breese up to #17
Welterweight: Ismail Naurdiev up to #14
Lightweight: Conor McGregor up to #2, Dustin Poirier down to #7, Marc Diakiese up to #19, Yancy Medeiros down to #25
Featherweight: Arnold Allen up to #12, Andre Fili down to #19
Bantamweight: N/A

UFC on ESPN: Adesanya vs Brunson II
Arkansas, USA
Attendance: 16,547 (Gate: $3,309,400)
Critical Rating: 72%, Commercial Rating: 95%

MAIN EVENT

(#1) Israel Adesanya (20-0) defeated (#3) Derek Brunson (21-8) via KO (Punch) at 0:17 of Round 3 to retain the UFC Middleweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#16) Urijah Faber (36-11) defeated (#7) Henry Cejudo (15-4) via Submission (Triangle) at 2:51 of Round 2

MAIN CARD

(#15) Mike Perry (15-6) defeated (#17) Neil Magny (21-9) via Unanimous Decision
(#22) Alex Perez (24-5) defeated (#23) Nathaniel Wood (17-4) via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

Alonzo Menifield (11-0) defeated Abdul-Kerim Edilov (17-5) via Submission (Kimura) at 1:41 of Round 1
Juan Adams (7-2) defeated Muhammed Usman (6-2) via Unanimous Decision
Eric Spicely (11-4) defeated Charles Byrd (10-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:57 of Round 2
Danny Roberts (18-6) defeated Callan Porter (19-9) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:08 of Round 2
Court McGee (20-9) defeated (#15) James Vick (13-6) via Unanimous Decision
Jalin Turner (9-5) defeated Michel Quinones (8-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:58 of Round 1
Joey Davis (9-0) defeated Philip Rowe (7-3) via Submission (Armbar) at 1:23 of Round 1
Anthony Hernandez (9-1-1NC) defeated Rodolfo Vieira (6-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:38 of Round 3
Bradley Scott (13-6) defeated Abu Azaitar (15-3-1-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:13 of Round 3


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Anthony Hernandez vs Rodolfo Vieira
Knockout of the Night: Israel Adesanya (vs Derek Brunson)
Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber (vs Henry Cejudo)


Notes:

- Abu Azaitar loses his first fight in the UFC, in his 6th octagon appearance, being upset by Bradley Scott.
- Rodolfo Vieira's loss to Anthony Hernandez was his first career loss, but even more shockingly, the 4 time BJJ World champion was submitted. This fight was one that Hernandez called for after his victory over Roman Kopylov at UFC 250, and it worked out well for the Californian.
- Joey Davis made a very impressive debut for the UFC, winning in less than 90 seconds and proving why hes so highly rated as a top prospect.
- Juan Adams made sure the debut of Kamaru Usman's brother, Muhammed was unsuccessful, with a Unanimous Decision victory.
- Alonzo Menifield remained perfect in his MMA career with his 11th straight victory, with 3 finishes in his 4 UFC victories so far.
- In a fight between two of the top rising prospects at Bantamweight, Alex Perez took the Unanimous Decision from Nathaniel Wood. Perez called out Brett Johns in his post-fight interview.
- Mike Perry defeated Neil Magny in a real grudge match, Perry asked for this fight after his win over David Zawada in his last fight, and the war of words has continued on social media since, with a very heated staredown at the weigh ins. Perry as always was vocal in his interview and called out Ismail Naurdiev as his next 'victim.'
- With both fighters needing a win off the back of losses, Urijah Faber prevailed against former UFC Bantamweight and Flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo, and did so with a second round Submission.
- With contenders being scarce in the Middleweight division, Israel Adesanya took a rematch against Derek Brunson as his next title defense. Brunson was on a 3 fight win streak, TKOing top contender, Jared Cannonier in his last fight. Adesanya moves to 20 fights in MMA, with 20 wins and his second straight title defense. His next challenger is up in the air at the moment.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: Derek Brunson down to #8
Welterweight: Mike Perry up to #11, James Vick enters at #18, Neil Magny down to #19
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: Urijah Faber up to #8, Henry Cejudo down to #16, Alex Perez up to #17

Still some solid cards, some unexpected results on this one. Always wonder if the game reduces fighter stats as they start to struggle in real life or kind of tries to represent them at their best. Faber today probably lose to henry, but at his peak could go either way.