UFC 267: Gillespie vs Ferguson
Saturday, Week 4, March 2021
New Hampshire, USA
Attendance: 21,292 (Gate: $4,364,860)
Critical Rating: 66%, Commercial Rating: 100%


MAIN EVENT

(#1) Gregor Gillespie defeated (#2) Tony Ferguson via Unanimous Decision to retain the UFC Lightweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#2) Vicente Luque defeated (#1) Robbie Lawler via TKO (Strikes) at 4:56 of Round 3 to win the UFC Welterweight Title

MAIN CARD

(#3) Aljamain Sterling defeated (#23) Cody Garbrandt via Unanimous Decision
(#19) Cain Velasquez defeated (#22) Alexey Oleynik via Unanimous Decision
(#2) Volkan Oezdemir defeated (#10) Thiago 'Maretta' Santos via KO (Punch) at 0:41 of Round 2

PRELIMS

(#13) Ricky Simon defeated (#6) Eddie Wineland via Unanimous Decision
(#4) Jimmie Rivera defeated Brandon Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Tom Lawlor defeated Trevor Smith via Unanimous Decision
Cody Stamann defeated Joey Gomez via Unanimous Decision
Themba Gorino defeated Bevon Lewis via Unanimous Decision
Kyler Phillips defeated Cole Smith via Unanimous Decision
Luis Gomez defeated Sean Woodson via Split Decision
Salimgirey Rasulov defeated Kirill Sidelnikov via TKO (Strikes) at 0:46 of Round 2
Abdul Razak Alhassan defeated Ramazan Emeev via Unanimous Decision
Marvin Vettori defeated Francis Carmont via Submission (Guillotine) at 2:17 of Round 3


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Themba Gorimbo vs Bevon Lewis
Knockout of the Night: Volkan Oezdemir (vs Thiago 'Maretta' Santos)
Submission of the Night: Marvin Vettori (vs Francis Carmont)


Notes:

- Marvin Vettori extended his win streak to 5 after submitting Francis Carmont. His last loss came to Middleweight Kingpin, Israel Adesanya.
- Sean Woodson was 7-0 coming into his fight against Luis Gomez, but lost his undefeated record via split decision. He was far from happy with the result and took to social media after the fight to air his anger.
- Former EFC Welterweight champion, Themba Gorimbo was the first fighter to fight in the UFC from Zimbabwe and took a unanimous decision against Bevon Lewis to start successfully.
- Cody Stamann called out Brian Kelleher after beating Joey Gomez via unanimous decision.
- Ricky Simon took another statement victory over Eddie Wineland after his last win over Raphael Assuncao. Wineland's 4 fight win streak came to an abrupt end with the loss.
- Volkan Oezdemir threw his hat into the ring for next contender to whoever wins the Light Heavyweight Title Tournament after his 4th straight victory. Marreta Santos was added to the win streak after wins over Gustafsson, Rakic and Latifi.
- Aljamain Sterling bounced back from losing the Bantamweight title with a great win over another former champion in Cody Garbrandt.
- Challenger, Vicente Luque TKOd champion, Robbie Lawler for an unlikely title win late into the third round. This extends Luque's UFC record to 15-3 with all 3 losses coming via decision. Luque said he'd like to fight Boxing superstar, Gennady Golovkin in the near future.
- Gregor Gillespie successfully defended his newly won Lightweight title for the first time, taking a unanimous decision over former interim champion, Tony Ferguson.
- Trevor Smith and Francis Carmont released from the UFC.

UFC on ESPN: Khabib vs Barboza II
Saturday, Week 1, April 2021
Maine, USA
Attendance: 9,518 (Gate: $1,808,420)
Critical Rating: 68%, Commercial Rating: 100%


MAIN EVENT

(#2) Edson Barboza defeated (#3) Khabib Nurmagomedov via Submission (RNC) at 4:44 of Round 3

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#2) Zabit Magomedsharipov defeated (#8) Chan Sung Jung via Submission (Guillotine) at 2:17 of Round 2

MAIN CARD

(#6) Curtis Blaydes defeated (#19) Vitaly Minakov via Unanimous Decision
(#13) Douglas Lima defeated (#9) Gunnar Nelson via Unanimous Decision
(#7) Jose Aldo defeated (#4) Yair Rodriguez via KO (Punch) at 1:17 of Round 1

PRELIMS

(#9) Santiago Ponzinibbio defeated (#10) Geoff Neal via TKO (Strikes) at 0:56 of Round 3
(#17) Michael Johnson defeated (#18) Cub Swanson via TKO (Strikes) at 0:45 of Round 3
(#5) Brad Tavares defeated (#12) Antonio Carlos Junior via TKO (Strikes) at 0:54 of Round 2
Dominique Wooding defeated Ricky Bandejas via KO (Punch) at 0:17 of Round 3
Manny Vazquez defeated Raufeon Stots via Unanimous Decision
Devin Clark defeated Arunas Andriuskevicus via Unanimous Decision
Joaquim Silva defeated Drakkar Klose via KO (Punch) at 2:54 of Round 1
Geraldo de Freitas defeated Charles Rosa via Submission (Heel Hook) at 4:05 of Round 1
Michael Tobin defeated Nate Landwehr via Unanimous Decision
Muslim Salikhov defeated Randy Brown via Split Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Michael Johnson vs Cub Swanson
Knockout of the Night: Jose Aldo (vs Yair Rodriguez)
Submission of the Night: Edson Barboza (vs Khabib Nurmagomedov)


Notes:

- Devin Clark extended his win streak to 3, all via unanimous decision, this time beating UFC debutant, Arunas Andriuskevicus, a Lithuanian based in England who won his last 3 fights in Bellator.
- It was a bad couple of days for Raufeon Stots as he not only missed weight, but also lost to Manny Vazquez in his UFC debut. He'll be fighting at Featherweight for his second UFC fight after the missed weight incident.
- In his first fight since losing a title shot to Israel Adesanya, Brad Tavares demolished Brazillian, Antonio Carlos Junior en route to a second round TKO. He called out Rafael Lovato Jr for his next fight.
- Michael Johnson defeated Cub Swanson, then called out Ricardo Ramos, which might be a lofty ask, as Ramos is right in title contention.
- Douglas Lima moves to 2-0 since signing for the UFC with wins over Stephen Thompson and Gunnar Nelson.
- Former Featherweight champion, Zabit Magomedsharipov extended his win streak to 3, and is now 10-1 in the UFC. He has put himself right at the top of the food chain at Featherweight but is behind first Brian Ortega and next Sodiq Yusuff in the title queue.
- Edson Barboza earned the next shot against Lightweight champion, Gregor Gillespie, a rematch from UFC 255, after an underdog victory over Khabib Nurmagomedov. In what was only Khabib's second career loss, Barboza moved to 3 wins in a row, after previous wins over Dustin Poirier and Anthony Pettis.

UFC on ESPN: Volkov vs Overeem
Saturday, Week 2, April 2021
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Attendance: 8,571 (Gate: $1,885,620)
Critical Rating: 64%, Commercial Rating: 95%


MAIN EVENT

(#1) Alexander Volkov defeated (#3) Alistair Overeem via KO (Kick) at 3:23 of Round 1

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#22) Gegard Mousasi defeated (#20) Jared Cannonier via KO (Punch) at 0:52 of Round 1

MAIN CARD

George Groves defeated Nieky Holzken via Split Decision
(#6) Francis Ngannou defeated (#11) Derrick Lewis via KO (Punch) at 2:40 of Round 1
(#9) Alexander Volkanovski defeated (#12) Mirsad Bektic via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

Robin van Roosmalen defeated Michel Quinones via KO (Kick) at 0:35 of Round 1
Gokhan Saki defeated Alan Baudot via KO (Punch) at 1:40 of Round 3
Kenneth Bergh defeated Reinier de Ridder via TKO (Strikes) at 0:44 of Round 3
Nasrat Haqparast defeated Chris Wade via Submission (Guillotine) at 1:15 of Round 1
Maiquel Falcao defeated Gregory Babene via TKO (Strikes) at 1:16 of Round 2
Anton Vyazigin defeated Sergey Spivak via KO (Punch) at 0:30 of Round 2
Guan Wang defeated Adam Borics via TKO (Strikes) at 3:40 of Round 3
Rafael Fiziev defeated Thibault Gouti via TKO (Strikes) at 1:15 of Round 1
Tom Duquesnoy defeated Hiromasa Ogikubo via TKO (Strikes) at 4:19 of Round 1
(#24) Ion Cutelaba defeated Max Nunes via KO (Punch) at 0:51 of Round 3


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Gokhan Saki vs Alan Baudot
Knockout of the Night: Alexander Volkov (vs Alistair Overeem)
Submission of the Night: Nasrat Haqparast (vs Chris Wade)


Notes:

- Adam Borics came in as a -400 favourite against Guan Wang, and it showed, with his overconfidence letting him down as he was TKOd by the Chinese fighter, to lose his unbeaten career record, which now stands at 13-1.
- Nasrat Haqparast moves to 5 wins in a row with a 75 second submission over Chris Wade. He will be hoping to be more active in 2021 after only having 1 fight in 2020 and 1 fight in 2019.
- Gokhan Saki finally got back into the win column after 3 straight losses, as the world class kickboxer knocked out France's Alan Boudot in the third round.
- Another Dutch ex-pro kickboxer, Robin van Roosmalen, remained undefeated, moving to 5-0, with a 35 second knockout of Michel Quinones in his UFC debut
- Boxer George Groves beat Kickboxer, Nicky Holzken by a close decision in a great fight for those who love stand-up wars.
- Francis Ngannou bounced back from surprisingly losing his Heavyweight Title, knocking out Derrick Lewis in 2:40 of the first round.
- Gegard Mousasi knocked out Jared Cannonier in 52 seconds, then called out Canadian Elias Theodorou for his next fight, the two have been having a bit of beef online recently, and Mousasi says he wants to shut up Theodorou.
- Alexander Volkov successfully defended his Heavyweight Title for the first time, knocking out hometown favourite and legend of the cage, Alistair Overeem via a first round headkick. He'll face the winner of Jon Jones vs Anthony Johnson next.
- Thibault Gouti and Michel Quinones released from the UFC. Michael Johnson leaves for Bellator.
- In what is likely a record, only 2 fights went the distance out of the 15 on the card. A lot of finish bonuses were handed out on the night.

TUF 31: Heavyweight Redemption
Coaches: Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson

This season of the Ultimate Fighter will feature 16 Heavyweights, currently signed to the UFC, but coming off losses and looking to bounce back and earn the title of The Ultimate Fighter, a new 6 figure contract and a big push up the rankings.

Fighters: (Record/Current Form)

Walt Harris (13-11-1NC / 4 fight losing streak)
Yorgan de Castro (6-2 / 2 fight losing streak)
Ali Isaev (9-3 / 3 fight losing streak)
Cody East (14-6 / Lost 5 of last 6 fights)
Arjan Bhullar (13-2 / 1 fight losing streak)
Brett Martin (11-3-1NC / 2 fight losing streak)
Chi Lewis-Parry (9-2-2-2NC / 2 fight losing streak)
Cyril Asker (10-5 / 4 losses in last 7 fights)
Denis Smoldarev (15-7 / 2 losses in last 3 fights)
Domingos Barros (7-3 / 3 losses in last 4 fights)
Jedrzej Mackowiak (8-4-1NC / 2 fight losing streak)
Justin Wren (15-3 / 1 fight losing streak)
Raphael Pessoa (10-4 / 4 losses in last 5 fights)
Tom Aspinall (8-4 / 2 losses in last 3 fights)
Ronny Markes (19-9 / 6 losses in last 7 fights)
Antonio Branjao (5-3 / 2 fight losing streak)


Predictions for the winner?

UFC on ESPN: Poland: Blachowicz vs Bader
Saturday, Week 3, April 2021
Krakow, Poland
Attendance: 6,955 (Gate: $1,530,100)
Critical Rating: 68%, Commercial Rating: 77%


MAIN EVENT

(#4) Ryan Bader defeated (#5) Jan Blachowicz via TKO (Strikes) at 0:54 of Round 1

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#14) Marcin Held defeated (#19) Justin Gaethje via Submission (RNC) at 4:05 of Round 3

MAIN CARD

(#9) Jim Crute defeated (#14) Michal Oleksiejczuk via Unanimous Decision
(#18) Mateusz Gamrot defeated (#12) Islam Makhachev via TKO (Strikes) at 2:24 of Round 3
(#12) Marcin Tybura defeated (#22) Junior Albini via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

Karol Bedorf defeated Thiago Silva via Unanimous Decision
Michal Materla defeated Bruno Santos via Unanimous Decision
Ivan Shtyrkov defeated Rafal Kijanczuk via Unanimous Decision
Oskar Piechota defeated Punahele Soriano via TKO (Strikes) at 2:32 of Round 3
(#14) Krzysztof Jotko defeated (#17) Rafael Carvalho via KO (Punch) at 4:39 of Round 2
Belal Muhammad defeated Bartosz Fabinski via TKO (Strikes) at 1:02 of Round 1
Martin Nguyen defeated Lukasz Sajewski via KO (Punch) at 2:45 of Round 2
Roman Szymanski defeated Norman Parke via TKO (Strikes) at 2:14 of Round 1
James Gallagher defeated Jakub Wiklacz via Submission (RNC) at 4:26 of Round 3
Aviv Gozali defeated Mateusz Legierski via (Submission (Armbar) at 3:02 of Round 2


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Marcin Held vs Justin Gaethje
Knockout of the Night: Martin Nguyen (vs Lukasz Sajewski)
Submission of the Night: James Gallagher (vs Jakub Wiklacz)


Notes:

- Norman Parke and Michal Materla missed weight, move up to Welterweight and Light Heavyweight respectively for next fights.
- 6-0 vs 8-0 as 19 year old Israeli, Aviv Gozali edged out Polish fighter, Mateusz Legierski by second round submission.
- James Gallagher was a +260 underdog but submitted home fighter, Jakub Wiklacz late in the fight, putting Polish fighters at 0-2 to start the night.
- Roman Szymanski made the Polish crowd happy, finishing Norman Parke in the first round to extend his win streak to 5.
- Former ONE FC Lightweight and Featherweight champion, Martin Nguyen came into the fight against Lukasz Sajewski as a +460 underdog, but knocked out the Pole in the second round in his UFC debut.
- Krzysztof Jotko moved to 3 wins in a row, adding Rafael Carvalho to wins over Anatoly Tokov and Zak Cummings.
- Oskar Piechota gained revenge on previously undefeated Hawaiin, Punahele Soriano, who had KOd Piechota previously, by TKOing him in the third round of the rematch. Soriano was 9-0 coming into the fight.
- After calling each other out on numerous occasions, Rafal Kijanczuk and Ivan Shtrykov faced off in the cage, with Shtrykov taking the unanimous decision. He called out Brazillian veteran, Fabio Maldonado for his next opponent.
- Michal Materla moved to 2-0 in his current UFC run, after a unanimous decison win over Bruno Santos, who he called out after his win over Emiliano Sordi.
- Marcin Tybura is now 4-1 in his last 5 fights after beating Junior Albini, and will hope for a ranked opponent in his next fight.
- Mateusz Gamrot went 2-0 since his first career loss, adding Islam Makhachev to his win over Clay Guida. He again reiterated his desire to squash the beef him and Marc Diakiese have been building by fighting the Englishman next.
- Marcin Held improves to 7 wins in a row, with easily his biggest career win, submitting Justin Gaethje late in the third round. This should push Held into the top 10 at Lightweight, maybe even top 5.
- The night ended on a sour note for the Polish crowd, as Ryan Bader stopped Jan Blachowicz in just 54 seconds of the first round.

Team Picks

Team Johnson

Ali Isaev
Arjan Bhullar
Brett Martin
Chi Lewis-Parry
Cyril Asker
Jedrzej Mackowiak
Justin Wren
Ronny Markes

Team Jones

Antonio Branjao
Cody East
Denis Smoldarev
Domingos Barros
Raphael Pessoa
Tom Aspinall
Walt Harris
Yorgan de Castro

UFC 268: LHW Tournament Final
Saturday, Week 4, April 2021
Nevada, USA
Attendance: 23,113 (Gate: $7,500,169)
Critical Rating: 69%, Commercial Rating: 100%


MAIN EVENT

(#4) Dominick Reyes defeated (#1) Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua via KO (Kick) at 4:47 of Round 2 to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#1) Joseph Benavidez defeated (#3) Dominick Cruz via Unanimous Decision to retain the UFC Bantamweight Title

MAIN CARD

(#4) Colby Covingtin defeated (#20) Carlos Condit via Unanimous Decision
(#6) Kamaru Usman defeated (#14) Jorge Masvidal via Split Decision
(#6) Charles Oliveira defeated (#18) John Lineker via Submission (Americana) at 4:35 of Round 2

PRELIMS

(#7) Al Iaquinta defeated (#8) Jeremy Stephens via Split Decision
(#13) Ovince St. Preux defeated (#18) Ryan Spann via TKO (Strikes) at 4:58 of Round 1
(#22) Justin Willis defeated (#14) Jair Rozenstruik via TKO (Strikes) at 3:33 of Round 1
(#5) Rafael Lovato Jr defeated (#13) Albert Duraev via Submission (Kimura) at2 :29 of Round 2
Movsar Evloev defeated Rogerio Bontorin via KO (Punch) at 3:06 of Round 1
Jon Tuck defeated (#23) Yancy Medeiros via Submission (Guillotine) at 4:34 of Round 1
Mihail Nica defeated Omar Antonio Morales via TKO (Strikes) at 4:59 of Round 2
Marcelo Golm defeated Yaozong Hu via TKO (Strikes) at 4:47 of Round 2
Deron Winn defeated Vladimir Mineev via KO (Knee) at 2:23 of Round 2
Maki Pitolo defeated Luke Jumeau via Unanimous Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Joseph Benavidez vs Dominick Cruz
Knockout of the Night: Dominick Reyes (vs Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua)
Submission of the Night: Charles Oliveira (vs John Lineker)


Notes:

- Movsar Evloev bounced back from his first career loss, to KO Rogerio Bontorin in the first round. Evloev came into the fight as a +350 underdog, and called out Tom Duquesnoy for his next fight.
- Rafael Lovato Jr was successful in his UFC debut, submitting Albert Duraev in the second round to remain undefeated at 14-0. Lovato said a fight against Brad Tavares would be a great fight.
- Charles Oliveira called out Jose Aldo for his next opponent after a second round submission win over John Lineker. Lineker will move down to Bantamweight for future fights.
- Joseph Benavidez got some revenge for his mentor, Urijah Faber, by successfully defeating Dominick Cruz in his second Bantamweight title defense. Petr Yan will be the next challenger for Benavidez's belt.
- Dominick Reyes ended the LHW Title Tournament with an emphatic headkick knockout over Legendary Brazillian and former Light Heavyweight champion, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. Reyes was delighted to beat the favourite for the tournament and will face the winner of Alonzo Menifield vs Volkan Oezdemir in his first defense of his Light Heavyweight Title.
- Yaozong Hu and Omar Antonio Morales released from the UFC.

First Round Fights:

Justin Wren vs Domingos Barros
Cyril Asker vs Raphael Pessoa
Yorgan de Castro vs Arjan Bhullar
Jedrzej Mackowiak vs Antonio Branjao
Denis Smoldarev vs Ali Isaev
Walt Harris vs Chi Lewis-Parry
Ronny Markes vs Tom Aspinall
Brett Martin vs Cody East

Predictions?

First Round Fights:

Justin Wren defeated Domingos Barros via Unanimous Decision
Cyril Asker defeated Raphael Pessoa via KO
Arjan Bhullar defeated Yorgan de Castro via Submission
Jedrzej Mackowiak defeated Antonio Branjao via Unanimous Decision
Denis Smoldarev defeated Ali Isaev via Unanimous Decision
Chi Lewis-Parry defeated Walt Harris via TKO
Tom Aspinall defeated Ronny Markes via Unanimous Decision
Brett Martin defeated Cody East via KO