UFC 255: Zabit vs Holloway
Hawaii, USA
Attendance: 13,677 (Gate: $3,446,604)
Critical Rating: 72%, Commercial Rating: 88%

MAIN EVENT

(#2) Max Holloway (23-5) defeated (#1) Zabit Magomedsharipov (19-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:36 of Round 3 to win the UFC Featherweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#15) Dominick Cruz (24-2) defeated (#4) Cody Garbrandt (12-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:23 of Round 1

MAIN CARD

(#2) Robert Whittaker (23-5) defeated (#4) Kelvin Gastelum (17-6-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
(#10) Gregor Gillespie (15-1) defeated (#5) Edson Barboza (21-9) via Unanimous Decision
(#9) Geoff Neal (15-2) defeated Michael 'Venom' Page (18-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:09 of Round 3

PRELIMS

(#17) Marcin Tybura (19-6) defeated (#16) Walt Harris (13-9-1NC) via Submission (Armbar) at 4:46 of Round 2
(#19) Petr Yan (15-3) defeated Kai Kara-France (20-10-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:21 of Round 3
Said Nurmagomedov (15-2) defeated Tim Elliott (15-10-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 2:46 of Round 3
Vagab Vagabov (21-0) defeated (#16) Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:55 of Round 3
Punahele Soriano (9-0) defeated Dusko Todorovic (8-1) via Unanimous Decision
Martin Day (9-3) defeated Jose Alberto Quinonez (8-4) via KO (Punch) at 4:44 of Round 3
Boston Salmon (9-3) defeated Jenel Lausa (7-5) via Unanimous Decision
Gadzhimurad Antigulov (21-6) defeated Mike Rodriguez (10-6) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:44 of Round 1
Peter Barrett (12-3) defeated Rodrigo Vargas (11-4) via Split Decision
Marvin Vettori (15-4-1) defeated Bevon Lewis (6-3) via Unanimous Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Geoff Neal vs Michael 'Venom' Page
Knockout of the Night: Martin Day (vs Jose Alberto Quinonez)
Submission of the Night: Said Nurmagomedov (vs Tim Elliott)


Notes:

- Marvin Vettori extends his win streak to 3 after his win over Bevon Lewis, then called out Punahele Soriano for his next fight.
- Chris Wade callouts continued on this fight card, with Peter Barrett adding himself to the list of candidates for Wade's return opponent.
- After going 2-0 outside the UFC, Boston Salmon made a successful return to the Octagon, defeating Jenel Lausa by Unanimous Decision.
- It was 8-0 vs 8-0 in the Middleweight division, with Hometown Hawaiin, Punahale Soriano beating Dusko Todorovic to remain undefeated in a fantastic fight.
- Vagab Vagabov was a +660 underdog in his fight against #16 ranked Omari Akhmedov, who was 6 fights undefeated, but pulled out a big upset, remaining undefeated in his career. This was Vagabov's UFC debut and he moves to 21-0 and proved the doubters wrong, who wrote off his record as a joke against journeymen.
- Marcin Tybura called out former UFC Heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar for his next fight.
- Geoff Neal moves to 7-0 in the UFC with his 4th straight TKO victory. This put a stop to the MVP hype train on his UFC debut. Neal was asked who he wants to fight next, and said he didn't care as long as they're top 5 ranked at Welterweight.
- Gregor Gillespie says as much as he wants to fight a top contender at Lightweight, he really wants to fight Al Iaquinta next after Iaquinta not only called him out after his last fight, but also theres been some social media beef between the two.
- Robert Whittaker earned his rematch against Israel Adesanya for the Middleweight title with a Unanimous Decision over Kelvin Gastelum.
- Dominick Cruz got his revenge on Cody Garbrant with a 87 second TKO destruction.
- Max Holloway regained his Featherweight Title, being the first man to beat Zabit Magomedsharipov in the UFC. This is the second straight fight that the Featherweight Title has been dropped in the first defense after Alexander Volkanovski's loss to Zabit in the last Featherweight Title fight.
- What a night for the Hawaiin crowd, as they saw Hawaiin fighters go 4-0 on the night, including a title win.
- Jose Alberto Quinonez and Rodrigo Vargas were released from the UFC.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura up to #9, Walt Harris down to #20
Light Heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov enters at #19
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Geoff Neal up to #7
Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie up to #5, Edson Barboza down to #9
Featherweight: Max Holloway up to #1, Zabit Magomedsharipov down to #7
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt down to #8, Dominick Cruz up to #9, Petr Yan up to #11

UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs Rumble
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Attendance: 7,059 (Gate: $1,397,682)
Critical Rating: 73%, Commercial Rating: 86%

MAIN EVENT

(#8) Anthony Johnson (24-6) defeated (#10) Alistair Overeem (45-20-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:43 of Round 1

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#3) Yoel Romero (15-4) defeated (#5) Darren Till (19-4-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:08 of Round 3

MAIN CARD

Ben Sosoli (9-2-2NC) defeated Rico Verhoeven (2-1) via Submission (Kimura) at 4:51 of Round 1
(#20) Brett Johns (18-2) defeated Sean O'Malley (11-1) via Submission (Heel Hook) at 2:15 of Round 2
(#23) Stefan Struve (30-13) defeated (#17) Alexey Oleynik (57-15-1) via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

(#19) Sergey Pavlovich (16-1) defeated Tai Tuivasa (9-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:28 of Round 1
(#14) Michal Oleksiejczuk (16-3) defeated (#17) Tyson Pedro (8-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:47 of Round 1
(#24) Makwan Amirkhani (16-4) defeated Danny Henry (12-5) via Unanimous Decision
Michel Pereira (25-10-2NC) defeated Siyar Bahadurzada (24-10-1) via Unanimous Decision
(#21) Krzysztof Jotko (22-5) defeated Anatoly Tokov (29-4) via Unanimous Decision
Nasrat Haqparast (12-2) defeated Damir Ismagulov (19-2) via Unanimous Decision
Joe Cummins (6-1) defeated Joaquin Buckley (9-2) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:14 of Round 1
Sergey Spivak (11-1) defeated Adam Wieczorek (10-3) via Unanimous Decision
Dhiego Lima (17-7) defeated Peter Sobotta (17-7-1) via Unanimous Decision
Darren Stewart (12-5-1NC) defeated Marc-Andre Barriault (11-5) via KO (Punch) at 0:55 of Round 3


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Stefan Struve vs Alexey Oleynik
Knockout of the Night: Darren Stewart (vs Marc-Andre Barriault)
Submission of the Night: Brett Johns (vs Sean O'Malley)


Notes:

- Dhiego Lima moves to 5 wins in a row and will hope to enter the rankings at Welterweight.
- Joe Cummins was a late replacement and seen as a sacrifical lamb to Joaquin Buckley, but pulled off a massive upset with a first round stoppage. Cummins called out Court McGee for his next fight.
- Nasrat Haqparast extended his win streak to 4
- Michal Oleksiejczuk called out Ovince St. Preux after demolishing Aussie striker, Tyson Pedro. OSP is Oleksiejczuk's only blemish in his 4-1 UFC career, so avenging that loss is top of his priorities right now.
- Tai Tuivasa continued a bad night for Australian fighters, being the second Aussie in a row to suffer first round TKO losses. Sergey Pavlovich was the guy to TKO Tuivasa and moves to 4 wins in a row, all by stoppage.
- Stefan Struve was a +400 underdog, but managed to snap a 2 fight losing streak and overcome the odds, not giving Oleynik a chance to lock in a submission. Struve said he'd like to fight Justin Willis next.
- After calling out Sean O'Malley after his last fight, Brett Johns was delighted to end O'Malley's undefeated record, submitting his rival.
- Heavyweight Kickboxing champion, Rico Verhoeven lost his first MMA fight in his third fight, and has obvious areas where he needs to improve if he wants to evolve in the sport. Ben Sosoli was buzzing to get a win on the board, and dedicated the win to Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa and said they will all come back stronger.
- Yoel Romero announced his retirement after his victory over Darren Till.
- Anthony Johnson is now 2-0 at Heavyweight since his return, with 2 TKO victories over Andrei Arlovski and now Alistair Overeem. He called out fellow heavy hitter, Jair Rozenstruik for his next fight.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Anthony Johnson up to #4, Sergey Pavlovich up to #14, Alistair Overeem down to #16, Tai Tuivasa down to #19, Alexey Oleynik down to #20
Light Heavyweight: Michal Oleksiejczuk up to #9
Middleweight: Darren Till down to #9, Krzysztof Jotko up to #15,
Welterweight: N/A
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Makwan Amirkhani up to #23
Bantamweight: Brett Johns up to #18

UFC 256: Jones vs Anderson Press Conference

Jon Jones was asked about where he see's his future in the UFC, and Jones was very confident in how quickly he will defeated heated rival, Corey Anderson on Saturday. Jones predicts an early TKO and then says he'd love to fight Brazillian legend, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua next for his last Light Heavyweight Title defence, even recommending Brazil as a destination, before making his long awaited move up to Heavyweight to see how he stacks up with the 'bigger boys.'

Tyron Woodley and Santiago Ponzinibbio were fairly respectful towards each other at the press conference. Both men know they are one win away from another shot at becoming UFC Welterweight champion, and don't want to lose focus on the bigger picture.

The same could not be said for an extremely heated altercation between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The usually calm Masvidal was really annoyed by some of Colby's comments and the two were seconds from coming to blows before being separated by security. This Welterweight fight may not have the title implications right now of the Woodley/Ponzinibbio fight, but there's definitely a lot more bad blood.

Another fight on this stacked card that does have title implications is Junior dos Santos vs Jair Rozenstruik. Both men are heavy hitters and predict nothing but a KO to finish this fight. Whoever is the better man on the night will face off against Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou in their next fight.

In the first main card fight of the evening, veteran UFC Bantamweights will face off, as Joseph Benavidez takes on John Dodson, with both men ranked in the top 10 and on decent win streaks and hoping to put themselves in contention for the Bantamweight title in the coming months.

UFC 256: Jones vs Anderson
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Attendance: 23,949 (Gate: $6,994,305)
Critical Rating: 75%, Commercial Rating: 100%

MAIN EVENT

(#1) Jon Jones (27-1-1NC) defeated (#3) Corey Anderson (14-5) via KO (Elbow) at 3:13 of Round 1 to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#2) Tyron Woodley (22-4-1) defeated (#5) Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-4-1) via Submission (Kimura) at 4:36 of Round 1 to win the Interim UFC Welterweight Title

MAIN CARD

(#9) Colby Covington (16-3) defeated (#8) Jorge Masvidal (35-15) via Split Decision
(#2) Junior dos Santos (23-6) defeated (#3) Jair Rozenstruik (12-1) via Unanimous Decision
(#4) Joseph Benavidez (30-5) defeated (#6) John Dodson (21-12) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:52 of Round 3

PRELIMS

(#13) Arnold Allen (18-1) defeated (#10) Shane Burgos (14-2) via Submission (RNC) at 4:03 of Round 3
(#5) Jimmie Rivera (24-4) defeated (#12) Ricky Simon (16-4) via TKO (Body Kick) at 2:52 of Round 2
Mickey Gall (8-2) defeated Lyman Good (22-6-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
Abdul-Kerim Edilov (18-5) defeated Karl Moore (10-3) via Unanimous Decision
Max Nunes (19-4) defeated Ivan Shtyrkov (18-2-1) via Unanimous Decision
Ray Borg (13-4) defeated Matt Schnell (14-6) via Unanimous Decision
Sean Brady (13-0) defeated Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-1) via Submission (RNC) at 3:47 of Round 1
Devin Clark (12-4) defeated Fabio Maldonado (25-13) via Unanimous Decision
Joe Soto (20-7) defeated Marlon Vera (17-7-1) via KO (Knee) at 4:58 of Round 1
(#22) Niko Price (16-3-1NC) defeated (#25) Michel Prazeres (27-4) via Unanimous Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Joseph Benavidez vs John Dodson
Knockout of the Night: Jon Jones (vs Corey Anderson)
Submission of the Night: Tyron Woodley (vs Santiago Ponzinibbio)


Notes:

- Sean Brady remains undefeated in his career at 13-0 and moves to 3-0 in the UFC. He also snaps Khizriev's undefeated record with this win.
- Swede Max Nunes was a big underdog for his fight against Ivan Shtyrkov but took home a Unanimous Decision to hand Shtyrkov only his second career loss in his 21st fight. Nunes said a fight against Gian Villante next would be a great fight for the fans.
- Mickey Gall called out Lyman Good after his last fight, and it worked out well for him, defeating the very tough New Yorker by Unanimous Decision despite being a +300 underdog.
- Arnold Allen moves to 9-0 in the UFC and hopes to finally crack the top 10 at Featherweight.
- Tyron Woodley made quick work of Santiago Ponzinibbio to win the Interim Welterweight Title, and book a unification fight against either Kamaru Usman or Leon Edwards.
- Jon Jones kept to his word, quickly finishing Corey Anderson, then welcoming Shogun Rua into the cage after the fight for a respectful staredown, setting up Jones' next title defense.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Jair Rozenstruik down to #5
Light Heavyweight: Corey Anderson up to #7
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Colby Covington up to #6, Jorge Masvidal down to #10, Santiago Ponzinibbio down to #11, Niko Price up to #20
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Arnold Allen up to #4, Shane Burgos down to #14
Bantamweight: Joseph Benavidez up to #2, Jimmie Rivera up to #3, Ray Borg enters at #17, John Dodson down to #19, Ricky Simon down to #23

UFC 257: Khabib vs Lee
Minnesota, USA
Attendance: 25,161 (Gate: $4,981,878)
Critical Rating: 75%, Commercial Rating: 100%

MAIN EVENT

(#3) Kevin Lee (21-5) defeated (#1) Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:12 of Round 1 to win the UFC Lightweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#15) Brock Lesnar (7-3-1NC) defeated (#11) Cain Velasquez (15-4) via Unanimous Decision

MAIN CARD

(#8) Robbie Lawler (30-14-1NC) defeated (#4) Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) via KO (Punch) at 2:08 of Round 2
Greg Hardy (6-4-1NC) defeated Deontay Wilder (0-1) via KO (Punch) at 1:45 of Round 1
Nick Diaz (27-9-2NC) defeated Jason 'Mayhem' Miller (24-11-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:40 of Round 2

PRELIMS

(#19) Nik Lentz (32-10-2-1NC) defeated (#22) Jim Miller (32-14-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
(#16) Kyoji Horiguchi (30-2) defeated (#21) Alex Perez (24-6) via KO (Punch) at 1:18 of Round 2
Maurice Greene (11-3) defeated (#17) Justin Willis (10-3) via Unanimous Decision
(#17) Kevin Aguilar (19-2) defeated (#5) Jeremy Stephens (29-19) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:53 of Round 1
(#24) Tony Martin (19-5) defeated (#17) Ismail Naurdiev (21-4) via Split Decision
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (16-4-1) defeated Bryan Barbarena (15-8) via Unanimous Decision
(#5) Brad Tavares (19-6) defeated (#7) Jared Cannonier (13-6) via TKO (Body Kick) at 2:04 of Round 2
Jordan Johnson (14-3-1) defeated Khalid Murtazaliev (15-3) via Unanimous Decision
(#18) Marc Diekiese (17-3) defeated (#17) Mairbek Taisumov (28-7) via Unanimous Decision
Aiemann Zahabi (9-2) defeated Brad Katona (8-4) via Submission (Triangle) at 3:31 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Brad Tavares vs Jared Cannonier
Knockout of the Night: Greg Hardy (vs Deontay Wilder)
Submission of the Night: Aiemann Zahabi (vs Brad Katona)


Notes:

- Marc Diakiese extends his winning streak to 5 with a Unanimous Decision victory over higher-ranked Austrian, Mairbek Taisumov.
- In his UFC return after a stint in PFL, Jordan Johnson moves to 5-0 inside the Octagon, after his initial 4-0 run in his previous stint.
- Brad Tavares called out Kelvin Gastelum after his impressive TKO win over Jared Cannonier. Look for the UFC to likely make this as a first round matchup for the upcoming Middleweight No.1 Contender Grand Prix.
- Khabib's brother, Abubakar Nurmagomedov finally picked up his first UFC win in his third fight inside the octagon, defeating Bryan Barbarena. Abubakar was a +550 underdog for the fight.
- Another underdog, Kevin Aguilar picked up a hugely impressive TKO over a rarely-finished Jeremy Stephens, shooting him up the rankings in the process. He called out the Korean Zombie for his next fight.
- Maurice Greene continued the run of underdog victories, going into his fight against Justin Willis at +470 at the bookmakers, but managed to neutralise Willis' wrestling on route to a Unanimous Decision. Greene was seen as just a clown while in the TUF house, but has proved himself to be a possible contender at Heavyweight.
- Kyoji Horiguchi continued his incredible win streak, with it now standing at 11, including 5 straight wins in Rizin, one in Bellator and now 2-0 in his current UFC run. He called out Petr Yan after this fight, but whoever Horiguchi faces next will likely earn him a title shot if he walks out victorious.
- Nick Diaz snapped a 3 fight losing streak after 5 years away from the cage, finishing old rival, Mayhem Miller in the second round. The grudge between the two has been ongoing for over 10 years, and even after the fight, didn't look like it was settled.
- Deontay Wilder's much hyped crossover to MMA ended in a very bad way for the Heavyweight Boxing champion, getting knocked clean out by Greg Hardy, who was booked in this fight to likely be on the wrong end of a KO. Hardy snapped a 3 fight losing streak and shown that because your world class in one discipline, it doesn't mean you'll excel in MMA. The bookmakers actually had Hardy as a +580 underdog, but the odds were remeniscent of the McGregor vs Mayweather fight, being unrealistic for a fighter who'd never fought professionally in the sport.
- Brock Lesnar evened the score with Cain Velasquez, but dissapointingly retired from MMA to focus on his WWE career after the fight, leaving his gloves in the cage. Despite having just into double figures for career fights, Lesnar has left a big legacy in MMA, and more specifically the UFC. Brock was a +300 underdog going into the fight.
- In one of the most shocking title fights of all time, Kevin Lee did the unthinkable and not only beat the previously undefeated Lightweight GOAT, but in less than half a round! No one really saw Khabib ever losing let alone being finished in the first round. This was yet another fight where the underdog prevailed and the card as a whole had an unprecedented amount of underdog victors.
- Charles Oliveira stepped into the cage to face off with the newly crowned Lightweight Champion after Lee's post fight interview.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Cain Velasquez down to #14, Justin Willis down to #20, Maurice Greene enters at #22
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: Brad Tavares up to #3, Jared Cannonier down to #12, Nick Diaz enters at #18
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler up to #2, Rafael dos Anjos down to #8, Tony Martin up to #19, Ismail Naurdiev down to #21
Lightweight: Kevin Lee up to #1, Khabib Nurmagomedov down to #7, Marc Diakiese up to #16, Nik Lentz up to #18, Mairbek Taisumov down to #19
Featherweight: Kevin Aguilar up to #10, Jeremy Stephens down to #14
Bantamweight: Kyoji Horiguchi up to #7



Looks like rather than a Middleweight Grand Prix to crown a No.1 Contender, we'll instead see a Light Heavyweight tournament to crown the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion, as this was just another of Jon Jones issues hes had in his career, and the final straw for him as champion. He will likely fight at Heavyweight for his return, but has been stripped of the title after this latest incident.



Another issue is newly crowned UFC Interim Welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley also failing a drugs test on the same card, and will now also be stripped of the belt. Leaving the next contender at Welterweight up in the air to face the winner of Usman vs Edwards.

The brackets have been announced for the Upcoming UFC Light Heavyweight Title Tournament.
With Jon Jones having another drug failure and a 1 year ban, the UFC brass have decided to strip him of his title and create this 16 man tournament to crown the next champion.
Corey Anderson has been set as a tournament alternate incase of injury, with Volkan Oezdemir, whos currently injured, also putting himself forward if needed.

The first fight of the bracket will see former title challenger, Anthony Smith (33-14) take on tough Polish fighter, Jan Blachowicz (25-8-1). Smith is currently on a 2 fight win streak, both stoppages, over Misha Cirkunov and Alexander Gustafsson. Blachowicz is 3 fights without defeat, but had a split draw in his last fight against Glover Teixeira.

The second fight sees former TUF winner and Bellator Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader (28-6-1), make his return to the UFC, taking on another former title challenger in Alexander Gustafsson (18-7). Bader lost his last fight in Bellator to Vitaly Minakov, but prior to that loss was 9 fights without defeat. Gustafsson is currently riding a 3 fight losing streak so will look for a change in his fortunes.

Two Brazillians will face off in the third fight, as legendary fighter, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (28-11-1) takes on top prospect, Johnny Walker (17-5). Shogun would've been next in line had Jones not failed a drugs test, but personally asked to be involved in the tournament. Shogun comes into the fight unbeaten in 4, while Walker has dropped his last two.

Fight four also features two Brazillians, as one of the G.O.A.Ts, Anderson Silva (34-11-1NC) faces off with Thiago 'Marreta' Santos (21-9). Unfortunately Silva is looking like his best days are behind him, losing his last 3, including his last 2 by stoppage. Marreta also carries with him a 3 fight losing streak, so both men will be trying to get back into the win column.

The first fight on the right side of the bracket will feature two excellent prospects at Light Heavyweight as Czech fighter, Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1), takes on the tallest fighter in the field, 6'5 Ryan Spann (18-5). Prochazka has won his last 10 fights, including taking a decision over Ed Herman in his UFC debut last time out. Ryan Spann is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC so far, including a KO over Lil Nog.

Another battle of Brazillians will take place in the second fight of the right side, as Glover Teixeira (30-7-1) takes on the world class BJJ expert, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza(27-8-1NC). Both fighters are the wrong side of 40, but still hope to have one last run in them to become the champ. Teixeira is 4 fights without defeat, while Jacare brings a modest 1 fight win streak into the fight.

From a fight involving fighters over 40, to a fight involving two up and coming contenders, as Russian, Nikita Krylov (25-8) faces off against former title contender, Dominick Reyes (12-1). Reyes went 12-0 before his loss to Jon Jones in his last fight, and will look to bounce back against Krylov, whos lost his last 2. Krylov has actually fought 4 of the tournament fighters in his last 4 fights, altho going 1-3 against them doesn't bode well for his chances.

The final fight sees Aussie prospect, Jim Crute (11-1) take on veteran Ovince St. Preux (25-12). Crute is never involved in a boring fight, and is 3-1 in the UFC, all via stoppages. St. Preux has won his last two fights, his last fight being against fellow tournament fighter, Johnny Walker

UFC on ESPN: Maia vs Wonderboy
Minnesota, USA
Attendance: 5,254 (Gate: $1,040,292)
Critical Rating: 77%, Commercial Rating: 71%


MAIN EVENT

(#15) Demian Maia (29-10) defeated (#16) Stephen Thompson (15-6-1) via Submission (RNC) at 4:41 of Round 2

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#8) Yair Rodriguez (15-3) defeated (#18) Josh Emmett (15-4) via Submission (Triangle with Armbar) at 3:21 of Round 3

MAIN CARD

(#23) Fabricio Werdum (25-8-1) defeated (#11) Shamil Abdurakhimov (21-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:02 of Round 1
(#1) Anthony Smith (34-14) defeated (#5) Jan Blachowicz (25-9-1) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:39 of Round 3
(#20) Henry Cejudo (16-4) defeated (#13) Raphael Assuncao (27-9) via Submission (RNC) at 4:49 of Round 1

PRELIMS

(#24) Deiveson Figueiredo (18-2) defeated (#14) Pedro Munhoz (18-6-1NC) via Submission (Armbar) at 1:06 of Round 1
(#15) Ryan Spann (19-5) defeated (#20) Jiri Prochazka (27-4-1) via Unanimous Decision
Karlos Vemola (28-6) defeated Tom Watson (17-10) via Unanimous Decision
John Phillips (23-10-1NC) defeated Dalcha Lungiambula (10-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:10 of Round 1
Alexey Kunchenko (22-2) defeated Khusein Khaliev (20-3) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:00 of Round 3
Chas Skelly (19-5) defeated Enrique Barzola (16-6-1) via Unanimous Decision
Arjan Bhullar (13-1) defeated Brett Martin (11-2-1NC) via Submission (RNC) at 4:57 of Round 2
Jake Matthews (17-4) defeated Emil Meek (10-5-1NC) via Submission (D'Arce Choke) at 2:41 of Round 3
(#22) Aleksandar Rakic (13-4) defeated Marcin Prachnio (13-6) via Submission (Kneebar) at 1:45 of Round 1
Ali Bagautinov (19-7) defeated Rob Font (17-6) via Submission (Kimura) at 4:19 of Round 2


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett
Knockout of the Night: Anthony Smith (vs Jan Blachowicz)
Submission of the Night: Yair Rodriguez (vs Josh Emmett)


Notes:

- Aleksandar Rakic overcame the toughest run of his career, bouncing back from a 3 fight losing streak to get back in the winning column, with a 1st round submission over Marcin Prachnio. Prachnio falls to 0-4 in the UFC and is released from the company.
- Young Aussie prospect, Jake Matthews extends his winning streak to 3 with a submission win over tough Norwegian fighter, Emil Meek.
- Indian-Canadian Olympian, Arjan Bhullar made a successful UFC re-debut, and is now unbeaten in 6, altho 5 of those wins have come via decision.
- Welsh slugger, John Phillips overcame the odds as a +480 underdog to quickly finish Congolese powerhouse, Dalcha Lungiambula. This fight was expected to be a fight of the night brawl, so it was a shock to see the Welsh underdog end the fight in just 70 seconds. This also ended a 4 fight UFC losing streak for Phillips.
- Ryan Spann became the first fighter to advance in the Light Heavyweight Title Tournament, taking a Unanimous Decision over Czech contender Jiri Prochazka. Spann is now 5-0 in the UFC and moves on to face the winner of Jacare and Glover Teixeira. Spann called out Ovince St. Preux after the fight, a matchup which could happen as a semi-final fight if the results go that way.
- Deiveson Figueiredo said a war against Eddie Wineland would be something he'd love for his next fight.
- Anthony Smith TKOd tough Polish fighter, Jan Blachowicz to be the second fighter advancing in the Light Heavyweight Title Tournament, extending his win streak to 3, and booking a quarter final fight against the winner of Ryan Bader vs Alexander Gustafsson.
- Yair Rodriguez called out another top prospect at Renato Carneiro as his next fight, that fight will only be likely if Carneiro loses to Mirsad Bektic next, as a win there would earn him a title shot. Rodriguez had such an impressive showing that he took home both the Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses.
- Evergreen BJJ Legend, Demian Maia won the classic striker vs grappler main event, by submitting former title challenger, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson to cap off a night of impressive submissions throughout the card. The Brazillian took the microphone after the fight to announce that at 43 years old, this was his last appearance in the octagon, and thanked the fans for their support.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum up to #14, Shamil Abdurakhimov down to #19, Arjan Bhullar enters at #24
Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz down to #10, Ryan Spann up to #14, Aleksandar Rakic up to #17, Jiri Prochazka down to #25
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Stephen Thompson down to #24
Lightweight: N/A
Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez up to #4, Josh Emmett down to #20
Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo up to #8, Ali Bagautinov enters at #12, Deiveson Figueiredo up to #15, Raphael Assuncao down to #23

Was looking through the game news and noticed Anthony Smith was now the P4P no.1 so had a look at the P4P list and i'll post it below, very strange!

UFC 258: Adesanya vs Whittaker II
Arizona, USA
Attendance: 23,089 (Gate: $4,571,622)
Critical Rating: 67%, Commercial Rating: 98%


MAIN EVENT

(#1) Israel Adesanya (21-0) defeated (#2) Robert Whittaker (23-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:11 of Round 2 to retain the UFC Middleweight Title

CO-MAIN EVENT

(#1) Aljamain Sterling (20-3) defeated (#5) Cory Sandhagen (13-2) via Unanimous Decision to retain the UFC Bantamweight Title

MAIN CARD

(#4) Gregor Gillespie (16-1) defeated (#5) Justin Gaethje (22-4) via Submission (RNC) at 1:59 of Round 2
(#13) Urijah Faber (37-11) defeated (#9) TJ Dillashaw (16-6) via Submission (RNC) at 2:39 of Round 3
(#7) Mirsad Bektic (16-2) defeated (#3) Renato Carneiro (14-4-1) via Split Decision

PRELIMS

(#14) Vicente Luque (19-7-1) defeated Matt Brown (23-17) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:36 of Round 2
(#21) Rafael Carvalho (18-5) defeated (#13) Elias Theodorou (17-4) via TKO (Strikes) at 4:54 of Round 1
(#21) Neil Magny (22-9) defeated (#20) James Vick (13-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 3:17 of Round 1
Magomed Bibulatov (16-2) defeated Hector Sandoval (14-5) via Submission (RNC) at 2:42 of Round 1
Sean O'Malley (12-1) defeated Pingyuan Liu (16-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:09 of Round 1
Juan Adams (8-2) defeated Raphael Pessoa (10-3) via KO (Punch) at 0:41 of Round 1
Chris Wade (20-6) defeated Darrell Horcher (15-6) via Submission (Kimura) at 3:57 of Round 3
Eryk Anders (15-4) defeated Artur Astakhov (15-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:40 of Round 2
Alonzo Menifield (12-0) defeated Shamil Gamzatov (14-1) via Submission (Armbar) at 3:10 of Round 3
Julian Marquez (8-3) defeated Karl Roberson (9-4) via Unanimous Decision


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Urijah Faber vs TJ Dillashaw
Knockout of the Night: Juan Adams (vs Raphael Pessoa)
Submission of the Night: Gregor Gillespie (vs Justin Gaethje)


Notes:

- Julian Marquez called out Trevin Giles after taking a Unanimous Decision over Karl Roberson.
- Alonzo Menifield won the battle of the undefeated fighters, and moved to 5-0 in the UFC. He should expect to enter the top 25 rankings at Light Heavyweight after this win.
- Eryk Anders extended his win streak to 4, and called out the victor of the last fight, Alonzo Menifield for his next fight.
- Chris Wade made his return to the UFC, after over 3 years away, and submitted Darrel Horcher to earn a win. Wade went 7-2 in the 3 years away from the UFC cage, and this victory extended his winning streak to 6.
- Neil Magny ended a 3 fight losing streak with a win over James Vick, whos now dropped his last 6 fights and will unfortunately be released from his contract. Magny said Niko Price would be an opponent he'd like to face next.
- Former Bellator Middleweight champion, Rafael Carvalho made a successful debut in the UFC, defeating Canadian, Elias Theodorou in the first round via TKO.
- Mirsad Bektic edged Renato Carneiro by Split Decision to earn the next Featherweight Title shot against the winner of champion, Max Holloway vs challenger, Arnold Allen.
- In a real genuine grudge match, Urijah Faber submitted his former pupil, TJ Dillashaw. The beef goes back a number of years after Faber helped Dillashaw with his MMA training, only for TJ to turn his back on Team Alpha Male. Faber celebrated emphatically with his team afterwards and in his post-fight interview, invited Cody Garbrandt to speak and he called out TJ for a future fight between the two former teammates. Shortly after, Faber announced his retirement, saying he'd love to focus on teaching MMA now rather than fighting.
- Aljamain Sterling made a successful first defense of his Bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen, before facing off with next challenger, Joseph Benavidez after the fight.
- Israel Adesanya remained undefeated, moving to 21-0, with a second victory over Robert Whittaker, again by stoppage. His next challenger is still up in the air at the moment.


Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield enters at #22
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker down to #3, Rafael Carvalho up to #13, Elias Theodorou down to #21
Welterweight: Vicente Luque up to #11, Neil Magny up to #15
Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie up to #3, Justin Gaethje down to #11
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: Magomed Bibulatov enters at #19, TJ Dillashaw down to #20

UFC on ESPN: Asia: Choi vs Ortega
Beijing, China
Attendance: 3,111 (Gate: $699,975)
Critical Rating: 72%, Commercial Rating: 62%


MAIN EVENT

(#6) Brian Ortega (15-2-1NC) defeated Doo Ho Choi (14-6) via Submission (Kimura) at 3:45 of Round 5

CO-MAIN EVENT

Jingliang Li (19-5) defeated (#13) Mike Perry (15-7) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:29 of Round 2

MAIN CARD

Ilir Latifi (15-8-1NC) defeated Brandon Vera (17-9-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:04 of Round 2
Takanori Gomi (38-15-1NC) defeated (#12) Francisco Trinaldo (25-8) via Submission (RNC) at 4:04 of Round 2
Yoshihiro Akiyama () defeated CB Dolloway (17-11) via Unanimous Decision

PRELIMS

Yushin Okami (38-13) defeated Gerald Meerschaert (30-13) via Unanimous Decision
Ben Nguyen (20-9) defeated Kyung Ho Kang (18-9-1NC) via TKO (Strikes) at 1:01 of Round 2
Teruto Ishihara (12-7-2) defeated Martin Bravo (11-5) via Unanimous Decision
Jung Young Lee (9-1) defeated Jay Cucciniello (9-2) via Submission (Americana) at 1:21 of Round 3
Dong Hyun Ma (18-11-3) defeated Drew Dober (21-11-1NC) via Unanimous Decision
Clint Hester (12-6) defeatead Jun Yong Park (11-6) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:01 of Round 2
Shinsho Anzai (15-4) defeated Chad Laprise (14-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 0:34 of Round 3
Brad Riddell (9-1) defeated Xie Bin (10-2) via KO (Punch) at 1:15 of Round 2
Darko Stosic (14-4) defeated Da Un Jung (13-4) via Unanimous Decision
(#15) Yadong Song (17-4-1-1NC) defeated Joby Sanchez (12-5) via TKO (Strikes) at 2:32 of Round 1


Bonuses: ($50,000)

Fight of the Night: Takanori Gomi vs Francisco Trinaldo
Knockout of the Night: Brad Riddell (vs Xie Bin)
Submission of the Night: Jung Young Lee (vs Jay Cucciniello)


Notes:

- Yadong Song made a bold, but unlikely callout for his next fight - former Bantamweight champion, Demetrious Johnson.
- Brad Riddell overcame the odds as a +570 underdog to beat 22 year old Chinese debutant, Xie Bin via second round KO. Riddell is now 3-0 in the UFC.
- Shinsho Anzai was another underdog victor on his UFC return, at +450, he was expected to lose to Chad Laprise, but TKOd the Canadian early in the third round. This puts Anzai on a 4 fight win streak after his 3 wins in the DEEP promotion.
- Dong Hyun Ma said he'd like to face Ottman Azaitar in his next fight.
- Road FC Featherweight champion, Jung Young Lee was victorious on his UFC debut, submitting Conor McGregor's teammate, Jay Cucciniello via a rarely seen Americana.
- Japanese Legend, Takanori Gomi continued his resurgence, submitting Brazillian Francisco Trinaldo, continuing on from wins over Melvin Guillard and Tatsuya Kawajiri in RIZIN. Trinaldo retired after the loss.
- One FC Heavyweight champion, Brandon Vera, was upset in his UFC return, being TKOd by his much smaller underdog opponent, Ilir Latifi.
- Jingliang Li continues to beat ranked opponents, this time TKOing Mike Perry after the same result in his last fight against Michael Chiesa. Li should enter the rankings now after his 4th win in a row, all via TKO.
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Rankings Changes:

Heavyweight: N/A
Light Heavyweight: N/A
Middleweight: N/A
Welterweight: Jingliang Li enters at #17, Mike Perry down to #22
Lightweight: Gregor Gillespie up to #3, Justin Gaethje down to #11
Featherweight: N/A
Bantamweight: Ben Nguyen enters at #24