Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including tons of thoughts on the WWE Wellness Policy failures this week, Undertaker and the UK tour, a potential TNA sale, your calls, texts and emails and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
1941
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Lee Wyckoff defeated Orville Brown in 2 out of 3 falls to win the Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title
– Jay Steele beat Al Lafoon
– Mysterious Mr. S beat Dobie Osborne
– Abe Coleman and Rudy Strongberg drew (30:00)
1952
Chattanooga, Tennessee:
– Golden Hawk and Johnny Kostas defeated Henry Harrell and Rex Mobley for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1959
Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
– Gene Kiniski defeated Whipper Billy Watson for the Toronto NWA British Empire Heavyweight Title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Dick Gunkel (Dick Steinborn) defeated Fred Blassie to win the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1965
San Francisco, California:
– Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens defeated The Destroyer and Billy Red Lyons to win the American Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles
1969
Jacksonville, Florida:
– Boris Malenko defeated The Gladiator (Rick Hunter) for the NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Title
Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
– Mitsu Sito defeated Bob Kelly to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title
1970
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Nick Bockwinkel defeated Assassin #1 (Tom Renesto) for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title
1972
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett defeated The Interns in a hair vs. title match to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Title
Portland, Oregon:
– Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title from The Royal Kangaroos (Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles)
1974
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
– Gene Kiniski and Mr. X (Guy Mitchell) defeated Flash Gordon (George Gordienko) and Leo Madril to win the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Mr. Kamikaze and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Nick DeCarlo and Frank Monte for the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Titles
1976
Caguas, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colón defeated Bob Ellis to win the WWC North American Heavyweight Title
St. Petersburg, Florida:
– Jack Brisco defeated Pak Song for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title
Wichita, Kansas:
– Mike George defeated Bob Brown for the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1978
Augusta, Georgia:
– Dusty Rhodes ddq Abdullah the Butcher
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Mr. Wrestling II
– Stan Hansen beat Tommy Rich
– Helmut Schmidt & Wolfgang Schmidt beat Raymond Rougeau & Pez Whatley
– Paul Ellering beat Ken Dillinger
1979
Raleigh, North Carolina:
– US Champion Ric Flair beat Dino Bravo
– Non Title Match: Ricky Steamboat beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel
– Pedro Morales & Jay Youngblood beat Moose Morowski & Kim Duk dq
– John Studd beat Skip Young
– Leo Burke beat Mr X I
– Chris Colt, Dennis Condrey and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Bobby Eaton, George Gulas and Mexican Angel for the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Titles.
1980
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Takachiho (Great Kabuki) & Pak Song defeated Bulldog Bob Brown & Dick Murdoch to win Central States Tag Team Titles
1983
Nagasaki, Japan:
– Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta won the NWA International Tag Team Title from Ron Bass and Stan Hansen
1984
Allentown, Pennsylvania:
– The North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch) defeated Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson to win the WWF Tag Team Titles
Tokyo, Japan:
– Gran Hamada defeated Perro Aguayo for the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title
1985
Barron, Wisconsin:
– Savannah Jack and Ed Roberts defeated The Terminators (Rigs and Wolf) to win the Pro Wrestling America Tag Team Titles
1987
Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
– Owen Hart defeated Mahkan Singh (Mike Shaw) to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title
Daytona Beach, Florida:
– Mike Graham and Steve Keirn defeated The MOD Squad (Basher and Spike) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Porkchops Cash & Ken Timbs beat AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers dq
– Lights Out Match: Earthquake Ferris beat Bulldog Bob Brown COR
– Rufus Jones beat Warlord dq
– Rip Rogers beat Stoney Burke
1992
Yokohama, Japan:
– The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated George and Shunji Takano for the Super World of Sports Tag Team Titles
Tokyo, Japan:
– Stan Hansen defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to win the annual AJPW’s Champion’s Carnival tournament
1994
WCW Spring Stampede: Chicago, Illinois:
– Johnny B. Badd pinned Diamond Dallas Page (with The Diamond Doll)
– WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal (with Sir William) fought Brian Pillman to a 15-minute time-limit draw to retain the title
– WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne in a Chicago Street Fight to retain the title.
– WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Steve Austin (with Col. Robert Parker) defeated The Great Muta by disqualification to retain the title
– Sting pinned WCW International World Heavyweight Champion Rick Rude to win the title
– Vader (with Harley Race) pinned The Boss
– WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat fought to a no-contest due to a double-pin (title was vacated due to the finish)
1995
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Brian Lee defeated Brian Christopher to win the USWA Heavyweight Title
1999
Buffalo, New York:
– D-Von Dudley defeated ECW World Tag Team and Television Champion Rob Van Dam to win RVD and Sabu’s ECW World Tag Team Title for he and Bubba Ray Dudley
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico:
– Ray González defeated Pierroth, Jr. for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Jerry Lawler defeated Derrick King and Kid Wikkid in a handicap match to win the PPW Tag Team Title for he and Bill Dundee, who no-showed the event
Newport, Delaware:
– Mark Schrader and Christian York won the ECWA Tag Team Title from Ace Darling and Devon Storm
2000
State College, Pennsylvania:
– Chris Jericho pinned WWF Champion Triple H to win the title
– Scotty 2 Hotty pinned WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko to win the title
Osan, South Korea:
– Big Bubba Bain and L.A. Stephens defeat The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles
2001
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Kane and The Undertaker defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian in a no-disqualification match to win the titles
2004
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
– Rockin’ Rebel and Jack Victory defeated The Blue Meanie and Roadkill
– Mike Kruel defeated Monsta Mack
– Ruckus defeated Damian Adams
– Jerry Lynn defeated Sabu
– Joey Matthews defeated 3PW Heavyweight Champion Raven to win the title
2005
Belleville, Michigan:
– Petey Williams defeated champion Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley in a three-way match to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Television Title
2007
Milan, Italy:
– Deuce and Domino defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London to win the titles
2009
ROH Caged Collision: Chicago, Illinois:
– Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kevin Steen
– Necro Butcher & Jerry Lynn defeated The Age of the Fall’s Delirious and Brodie Lee
– Tyler Black defeated Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Jacobs, Austin Aries
– ROH champ Nigel McGuinness defeated El Generico to win the title
– Steel Cage Warfare: Brent Albright & Ace Steel & Erick Stevens & Roderick Strong & Jay Briscoe defeated Sweet N Sour Inc
2011
TNA Lockdown: Cincinnati, Ohio:
– Brother Devon defeated Anarquia in a Steel Cage match
– Max Buck defeated Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Jeremy Buck, Robbie E (with Cookie) and Suicide in an escape match
– Ink Inc. (Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore) defeated The British Invasion (Douglas Williams and Magnus), Crimson and Scott Steiner and Eric Young and Orlando Jordan in a four-way tornado tag team steel cage match
– Mickie James defeated Madison Rayne in win the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship
– Samoa Joe defeated D’Angelo Dinero
– Matt Morgan defeated Hernandez (with Anarquia, Sarita and Rosita)
– Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett) defeated Kurt Angle “Ultra Male Rules” Two out of Three Falls Steel Cage match
– Sting defeated Rob Van Dam and Mr. Anderson in a three-way Steel Cage match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
– Fortune (Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Robert Roode and James Storm) defeated Immortal (Ric Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray and Matt Hardy) in a Lethal Lockdown match
Last night’s UFC on FOX event did 2.13 million viewers based on the overnight ratings, but led FOX to winning a weak night overall in the 18-49 demo.
The number is about as good as you’d hope for considering it was an April show where two of the top three fights changed late in the game.
The 0.8 in the overnights beat ABC’s 0.6 with rerun programming, beat CBS’ 0.5 with rerun programming and NBC’s 0.3 with live Premier Boxing.
Because of viewership mostly with older viewers, when it came to overall viewers, ABC and CBS all beat FOX. NBC did not as the boxing only did 1.24 million viewers, which is a terrible prime time number, even for Saturday, for first-run programming.
It should be noted that the final number will be up somewhat for NBC and FOX because the number measures viewership for FOX stations from 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast, when they were airing other programming since UFC aired from 5-7 p.m.
The growth will be less than usual because the main event ended right around 10 p.m. due to Glover Teixeira knocking out Rashad Evans in just 1:48. Usually the final rating growth includes both the West Coast viewership and the post-10 p.m. viewership which is always the largest rated portion of the show. That’s why five round main events are so valuable when it comes to ratings and why they stalled to have the main event start past 9:50 p.m., hoping for it to go long.
The original card featured a top three fights of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, but Ferguson was injured and Nurmagomedov instead beat unknown Darrell Horcher; Teixiera vs. Evans and Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida, the ladder canceled when Machida was provisionally suspended on a PED violation for admitting use of a supplement that contained banned DHEA.
Last year’s show in April headlined by Machida vs. Luke Rockhold, which was a much stronger match at the time, did 2.43 million on the overnights and ended up with the West Coast at 2,745,000 viewers.
For this show, a final number of 2.35 million or greater should be considered okay.
Part 3 of our look back Wrestling Dontaku 2015, which took place on July 5, 2015, features two big title matches.
I forgot just how great this match was. Omega’s work on Kushida’s leg was great. Kushida made such a great comeback. Both of these guys are just simply phenomenal and showed that here. It’s worth going back and watching these title matches again as NJPW title matches are ALWAYS a big deal and this match came off as something important. Crowd heat was awesome towards the end too. Omega went for the One Winged Angel but Kushida went for the hoverboard lock and eventually got it, securing the submission.
Omega says that Kushida has now made the title garbage. Omega says he’ll clean him up. Kushida says lots of things have changed in the last year. He used to think the title was too far away for him, but now he wants to make sure it never leaves his grasp.
Hirooki Goto is interviewed this week. He mentions that before, he only went to Osaka Jo Hall for concerts. He doesn’t want to comment on the match but he would have loved to be in the main event.
Jim Ross made a good comparison at the start of this bout, comparing Nakamura and Goto to Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. It doesn’t fit perfectly, but there are some aspects here that work. This was a really great match. Everything just seamlessly clicked and these two were on a roll. Nakamura did everything well and got some cool nearfalls, including one where he straight up hit the boma ye and Goto kicked out. Finishes are so protected here that when people actually kick out of them, it’s a surprise. Goto powered back, hit his neckbreaker and walloped Nakamura with the shouten kai to retain the Intercontinental title. Another one of those matches where if you rewatch again, you kind of forget just how awesome it actually was.
Nakamura in the post match interview said you should be interviewing the champion. He says there is magic to that belt. Goto cuts a rather short promo to the fans after winning, simply saying “cheers”. Backstage, he feels things have calmed down. He destroyed his path, and that’s something to take pride in. There’s only one thing left, and that’s the G1. He’ll take it with his own hands.
Reflective interview: Goto says in the end, he broke Nakamura’s pattern, but there was still G1. He wants to fight in that tournament like they are all title matches.
Great show this week. If you’ve been missing out and want to check out just one show, check this one out. It’s really strong in two great title matches.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back today with tons to discuss — UFC on FOX, fighter allegedly pistol whips someone at strip club, UFC 200 weekend, Fedor fighting again, Undertaker and the European tour, WWE Wellness Policy violations, Lucha Underground, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Bellator MMA had it’s first overseas show Saturday from Torino Italy. The show took place at 3 pm eastern and aired on tape delay on SpikeTV with a late 10 pm start time. In terms of star power, it was one of the weaker shows that Bellator has put on since the MTV 2 days but in many ways, the promotion looked more “big league” than ever before.
The show took place in front of a hot crowd in a bigger building than they usually run. The fighters that they were hoping to showcase did what they were supposed to, particularly Alessio Sakara scoring an impressive TKO win in front of his home country. All of the walkouts aired in their entirety, which was a nice change from UFC.
Perhaps the best thing on the show was the opening video montage that was more of a promo for Spike Sports than Bellator MMA specifically but featured mainly Bellator fighters. The tag line of Fighters First was all over the video. Particularly memorable was a Josh Koscheck quote “I can say what I want and I can wear what I want”. This video is worth going out of your way to see although I’m sure it will air before all MMA, Kickboxing and Boxing events on Spike for the next while.
It wasn’t all good news. In the first three fights, the losers looked they belonged nowhere near a professional MMA cage, let alone on national TV. And the main event was a terrible fight with referee John McCarthy even stopping the fight midway through the second while both fighters were standing, warning them that they had to fight. Not sure what he would’ve done if they hadn’t picked it up a bit but they did….only slightly.
The show kicked off with two local fighters making their Bellator debuts. Daniele Scatizzi scored a first round TKO win over Daniele Miceli in a welterweight fight. Scatizzi looked okay but we’ll probably never see either of these guys in a Bellator cage again unless they come back to Italy.
In the second fight, Anastasia Yankova, who they’ve been promoting pretty heavily and could be the face of the new female flyweight division in Bellator dominated Anjela Pink, who was making her pro debut. It was her third submission win in her three fight career.
AJ McKee had a very impressive performance in dominating Italian fighter Danilo Belluardo on his way to a first round TKO win. It was his fourth straight first round finish with all four of his career fights going a combined 10 minutes. He had a great promo after the fight, basically putting the entire division on notice and saying he’s coming for the belt. McKee is the son of MMA vet Antonio McKee and Bellator has high hopes for his future and he did not disappoint on this night.
In what really should’ve been the main event of the show, especially with the benefit of hindsight, Alessio Sakara came out to the biggest pop of the night by far. He was fighting in his home country for the first time in over a decade and did not disappoint. After a first round which he may have lost, he came out strong in the second and stopped Bellator vet Brian Rogers with punches to score a TKO win. The win probably ensures him a few more Bellator fights and the promotion should really have him headline the next show if they ever return to Italy.
The main event was a terrible fight which Bellator mainstay Patricky “Pitbull” Freire won by unanimous decision over the debuting Kevin Souza, who was recently cut from UFC despite a 3-1 record there. Several times referee John McCarthy warned the fighters to pick up the action while on their feet and midway through the second round, he stopped the fight and warned the fighters they had to keep fighting. The fight was very close, despite Freire scoring 30-27 on all 3 judges scorecards, but neither guy impressed at all. Souza took the fight on short notice and Freire is a lifer in Bellator so they’ll probably both be back but after a long day of MMA after the UFC on FOX show, that was a hard fight to sit through.
Overall, I’d say the show was a minor success and something that Bellator should definitely do again. It came across much differently than the normal Friday night shows they run in casinos and more shows like this would make the promotion seem like a viable alternative to UFC in the world of MMA.
Bellator returns to Spike TV on Friday night with Bellator 153. Benson Henderson makes his promotional debut and challenges Andrey Koreshkov in the show’s main event.
For a play by play report of tonight’s show, check out my coverage from earlier tonight.
The WWE announced today that The Undertaker would not be appearing on the U.K. tour after all.
The Undertaker’s status has changed constantly over the past week, but the announcements yesterday that HHH and Shane McMahon would be appearing on the tour is because both were going in place of Undertaker.
Undertaker was originally going to do the entire tour, then his schedule was cut to three dates, then to two, then to zero.
The show in Newcastle on Wednesday, which was going to be his only house show, was announced as having a HHH vs. Dean Ambrose main event, plus A.J. Styles vs. Chris Jericho and Kalisto vs. Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio for the U.S. title.
The web site is also listing Kane, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens, King Barrett, Big Show, Paige, Natalya, Goldust, Eva Marie, Damien Sandow, The Miz, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Naomi, Tamina, R-Truth, Curtis Axel, Adam Rose, and Fandango for the show.
Rose is obviously also off the show due to his being on a 60 day suspension for a Wellness policy violation.
Results from today’s show in Birmingham, England:
Cesaro beat Stardust
Sin Cara beat Tyler Breeze
Jack Swagger beat Tyler Breeze
Kane beat Rusev
New Day beat Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman to retain the tag titles
Charlotte won over Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch to keep the women’s title
Usos beat Dudleys
Roman Reigns beat Sheamus to retain the WWE title
The obligatory terrible pre-match promo centres around Bo calling Kalisto “sugar face”. Yeah, I have no earthly idea why that’s supposed to be funny either.
Rich Brennan mentions that Kalisto was “banged up” on RAW, but apparently it’s feasible to recover from “minor whiplash” in 24 hours. The match was about what you’d expect from these two; exciting when Kalisto was on offence and stultifyingly dull during the heat.
Kalisto hit his usual comeback sequence, before finishing a needlessly long 11 minute match with a Salida Del Sol. The US Champion used an interfering Curtis Axel for leverage in a repeat of the finish from his match against Bo Dallas on last week’s Superstars. Way to go, creative.
– We return from the second commercial break with the defeated Outcasts still in the ring, squabbling amongst themselves. Bo breaks it up by recommending that they take their frustration out on the next man that walks to the ring. That man is Apollo Crews.
Crews enters to one of CFO$’ better recent entrance theme efforts, a tune that seems to fit his buoyant personality perfectly. I was tempted to say it fits his character perfectly, but he doesn’t really have one; hence the nickname ‘Smiley Black Man’ that he enjoys in this household, which helpfully marks out his only three defining characteristics.
Crews, like Kalisto, is another athletic babyface that is doomed to cycle through the Social Outcasts at the minute. He adds to his recent victories over Axel and Adam Rose by putting away Bo Dallas in a three minute squash here, finishing him with the spinning sitout powerbomb deal.
Well now, this was something to behold; unquestionably the best match that this show has produced since I started covering it last year. Owens put on a heel clinic here, with the majority of the bout focused on burnishing his new self-gifted “headlock master” moniker.
A string of Owens side headlocks kicked us off, with the former IC champion desperate to convince the referee that Dolph was conceding defeat: “He said yes, I heard him!”. Owens’ attention then turned to the old reliable reverse chinlock, with one application of the hold engaged after running the ropes to fool the fans into expecting action (Owens: “This is my new thing!”).
Ziggler eventually fought up from one of these with a back suplex (Owens: “He broke my headlock!”), before commencing a hot comeback that the crowd very much went with. Owens cut him off with a boot to the chin, before hitting a massive frog splash from the top rope for two. The former Mr. Steen roared at Jerry Lawler to tell the ref that was three, to which The King shouted back: “I agree!”.
Owens signaled for his finish, but Ziggler leaped over his shoulders instead and planted him with a superkick for an excellent nearfall that everybody (including me) bit on. This prompted the lesser-heard “This is awesome!” chant from the watching San Diego crowd.
That led us into the finish, with Owens kicking out of a schoolboy before catching a frantic Ziggler on the rebound with the Pop-Up Powerbomb for the win.
After the bell, the always insecure bully heel ran to the announce desk to shout the odds at Rich Brennan, before stealing his phone to teach him a lesson! Hilarious.
Final Thoughts
What an absolutely amazing heel performer this company possesses in Kevin Owens. The fact that they prefer to use their anointed top babyface as a tweener rather than feature the best natural bad guy at their disposal makes no sense to me. Every heel in the business should sit down and watch what this guy did with restholds for 16 minutes here. And the little nuances he adds to his character – like the need for praise from babyface announcers – are something that very few others can bring to the table either. Watch this match and skip the Social Outcasts tripe.
WrestleMania has come and gone. Japan has come and gone. But the world continues. The DKP continues. Three men stand tall, but for one of these men standing tall is not enough. For he must not just stand, he must SOAR!!! He must soar to new heights and take his place amongst the podcast Gods with a 2 hour tour de force that cannot possibly be matched. This week on the DKP, young Eamo was Just Eamonn for the stars with a mighty performance that left Alan and Justin standing and applauding……well, for a time, before Eamo’s outlandish egotistical showstealing needed to be taken care of. Yes it’s the official wrap up of the Just Eamonn For Mania series, it’s the story of Eamo’s travels, all he did, all he saw, all his uncensored hot takes (that’s a lie because most of those were off-air) and much more. A show for the ages! CHECK IT!!!
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On FOX 19: Teixeira vs. Evans from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the light heavyweight division as #4-ranked Glover Teixeira takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Also on the main card is the return of undefeated lightweight contender Khabib Numagomedov, who has been out of action for two years, plus a rematch between Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres in strawweight action. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 4:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
UFC On FOX 19 Weigh-In Results
UFC On FOX 19 DFS Playbook
UFC On FOX 19 Observer Picks & Preview
Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- ELIZEU ZALESKI DOS SANTOS (14-5, 0-1 UFC) VS. OMARI AKHMEDOV (15-3, 3-2 UFC)
First round: Right by Akhmedov., Akhmedov shot in with a double leg takedown. Dos Santos used a heel hook attempt to sweep to the top. Akhmedov working for a Kimura. He reversed to the top and now both on their feet. Low kick by Dos Santos. Left by Akhmedov and right by Dos Santos. Right by Akhmedov. Dos Santos with a body kick. Very close round. 10-9 Akhmedov.
Second round: Low kick by Dos Santos. Good right by Dos Santos. Akhmedov then took him down. Akhmedov with a lot of punches as Dos Santos got up. Left by Akhmedov. Low kick by Dos Santos. Good right by Akhmedov. Now Dos Santos back with a knee. Knee by Dos Santos. Another takedown by Akhmedov. Dos Santos went for a heel hook and got to his feet. Dos Santos went for a kneebar and now he’s on top. Spinning backfist by Akhmedov. Body kick by Dos Santos. Left by Akhmedov. Dos Santos went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Both swinging and not landing. Another close round. 20-18 Akhmedov.
Third round: Akhmedov went for a takedown by Dos Santos blocked it. Dos Santos with kicks and hard punches. He hurt Akhmedov. Knee by Dos Santos. Traded knees. Hard right by Dos Santos. Akehmedov couldn’t get the takedown. Hard right by Dos Santos. Both swinging wildly. Knees by Dos Santos. Body shots and head shots by Dos Santos. Knee by Dos Santos. Dos Santos pounding him. Knee by Dos Santos and one knee after another before Dan Miragliotta stopped it.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- OLUWALE BAMGBOSE (6-1, 1-1 UFC) VS. CEZAR FERREIRA (8-5, 4-3 UFC)
First round: Left by Ferreira. Low kick by Ferriera. Bamgbose with a low kick and landed some punches. Bamgbose dropped him with a right and landing hard punches on the ground. Bamgbose landing more punches from the top. Ferriera got back up. Ferriera with a double leg takedown and on top. Bamgbose may have blown his wad on that attempt to finish. Ferriera slipped avoiding a punch and was on his back as the round ended. Bamgbose 10-9
Second round: This is the first time Bamgbose has ever gone into the second round Ferreira with a knee to the body. Ferriera with a takedown. Bamgbose bleeding. Bamgbose with punches from the bottom. Ferreira landing elbows from the top. Another elbow by Ferreira. Ferriera with more elbows. Now he’s landing punches. More elbows by Ferriera. Bamgbose back to his feet. 10-8 Ferreira so 19-18 after two. Not sure many judges would go 10-8 here though.
Third round: Bamgbose has a nasty hematoma on his forehead. Bamgbose with a right. Ferriera took him down but Bamgbose back up. Ferriera took him down. A few punches by Ferriera. Bamgbose got up. Ferreria’s round so should win 29-27.
Scores: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 for Ferreira
BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#3 FLW) JOHN DODSON (17-7, 6-2 UFC) VS. MANVEL GAMBURYAN (15-8 1 NC, 6-6 1 NC UFC)Manvel Gamburyan (18-9, 1 no contest) vs, John Dodson (18-7), bw
First round: James Warring referee, one of the few guys ever to do pro boxing, kickboxing, MMA and pro wrestling. He was ranked in boxing and kickboxing as well. Dodosn landing a ton of lefts and finished Gamburyan in seconds. He hurt him on the first left and followed it up with about a 16 or so more in seconds. :47
Dodson said you’re looking at the new bantamweight champion.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX- 6 PM ET/3 PM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- RANDY BROWN (7-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. MICHAEL GRAVES (5-0, 1-0 UFC)
First round: Graves moved in to attempt a takedown. Brown went for a trip but Graves back up. Both throwing knees that are borderline. Big elbow by Graves. Brown has some good balance. Another knee by Brown. Ref Dan Miragliotta speared them. Wild action with Brown punching and he threw a kick, Graves caught him and took him down. Graves with some punches from the top. Brown went for a triangle late. Graves 10-9.
Second round: Graves took him down again. Graves landing elbows. Graves got his back. Graves got the choke and it’s over.
WELTERWEIGHTS- COURT MCGEE (17-4, 6-3 UFC) VS. SANTIAGO PONZINIBBIO (21-3, 3-2 UFC)
First round: McGee moved in right away. Nice right by McGee. McGee landed another. He failed on a takedown attempt. Santiago with a low kick. Santiago landed a right. McGee back with a right. Right by Santiago. Another right by Santiago. Santiago landing shots. Low kick by Santiago. McGee landed a right. McGee landing. Right by McGee. Santiago dropped him with a right and Santiago landing punches and kicks. Santiago landing more punches and the fight was stopped. Very exciting while it lasted.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#8) BETHE CORREIA (9-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. (#12) RAQUEL PENNINGTON (6-5, 3-2 UFC)
First round: Slow open. Pennington landed a right and pushed her against the fence. Left by Pennington. Pennington with a low kick. Nice left by Correia. Body kick by Correia. Right by Pennington. Right by Pennington. Correia landing punches. Pennington 10-9.
Second round: Both landing punches. Nice left by Correia. Pennington went for a takedown and it was easily blocked. Pennington with a knee. Correia starting to land. Both landing shots. Pennington landed a right. Correia moved in with punches. Both trading punches. Both continue to trade elbows. Low kick and left by Correia. Elbow and knee by Pennington. Pennington again trying for a takedown but not getting it. Knee by Pennington. Elbow by Pennington. Close round. Correia’s round, so tied 19-19.
Third round: Left and rihg by Correia. Body kick by Correia. Nice right by Pennington. Elbow by Pennington. Both landing punches. Correia with a big right. Low kick by Correia. Correia going for a takedown but Pennington blocking it. Left by Pennignton. Left by Pennignton. Correia landing shots. Pennington trying for a takedown. Pennington landed several shots. Really good fight. 29-28 Correia but this could go either way.
Scores: 29-28 Pennington 29-28 Correia 29-28 Pennington
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#7) BENEIL DARIUSH (12-1, 6-1 UFC) VS. (#14) MICHAEL CHIESA (13-2, 6-2 UFC)
First round: Nice low kick by Dariush. Body kick by Chissa. Great low kick by Dariush. Left by Dariush. Dariush landing more. Cheisa with a left. Low kick by Chiesa. Low kick by Dariush. Another low kick by Dariush. Right by Dariush. Another low kick by Dariush. Dariush went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Chiesa landed some punches. Dariush again going for a takedown and Chiesa blocked it again. Chiesa with knees to the body. Dariush landing elbows. Dariush finally got a takedown late in the round and had his back. 10-9 Dariush.
Second round: Two hard low kicks by Dariush. Dariush shot for a takedown. Chiesa got the takedown and got Dariush’s back and he’s going for the choke. He’s not under the neck. Chiesa is squeezing and Dariush tapped out to a facelock. This was the first time Dariush had tapped in MMA.
Chiesa issued a challenge to Tony Ferguson after the match. Joe Rogan then asked him what he wanted next.
MAIN CARD (FOX- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#6) CUB SWANSON (21-7, 6-3 UFC) VS. (#10) HACRAN DIAS (23-3-1, 3-2 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Dias. Low kick by Swanson. Low kick by Dias. Low kick by Swanson. Right by Dias. Body kick by Dias. Low kick by Swanson. Swanson with a body kick. Low kick by Dias. Both missing. Dias with a low kick. 10-9 Dias.
Second round: Swanson put him down with a left hook. Swanson throwing big punches on the ground. Swanson wth a left hook. Low kick by Swanson. Left by Dias. Nice right by Dias. Swanson put him down more like a trip. Nice scramble and Dias landed a hard right. Dias with a knee. Swanson with a body kick. Swanson’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Dias with a left. Left to the body by Swanson. Left by Dias. Dias with a right. Spin kick by Swanson but didn’t land it clean. Nice right by Swanson. Nice uppercut by Swanson and dropped him with a left head kick right after getting up. Swanson all over him. Swanson landing punches on the ground. Knee to the butt. Swanson on top. Swanson standing and kicking the legs of Dias who is laying on his back. Swanson with hard shots on the ground. Swanson’s round 29-28, could be 30-27 but Swanson has to win.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 for Swanson.
160-POUND CATCHWEIGHT- (#2 LW) KHABIB NURMAGOMED
First round: Horcher landed a left. Another left by Horcher. Low kick by Horcher. Another left by Horcher. Khabib with a running Stampede. Nurmagomedov moved to side control and landing elbows. Now he’s throwing punches. Nurmagomedov spun to the back, now moved to full mount. Now he’s got Horcher’s back and throwing hard punches. 10-8 Nurmagomedov.
Second round: Horcher bleeding from the back of he head. Judo takedown by Khabib into side control. Khabib landing punches. More punches by Khabib. Now Khabib is pounding on him. Khabib landing punches. Now he’s got Horcher’s back. He’s throwing punches. James Warring stopped it a little late.
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- (#3) ROSE NAMAJUNAS (4-2, 2-1 UFC) VS. (#4) TECIA TORRES (7-0, 3-0 UFC)
First round: Namajunas staying on the outside and landing. Torres landed several punches when she got inside. Both landing as Torres moved in. Torres landing a lot of punches on the inside. Torres trying to muscle a takedown but not getting it. Namajunas got the hip toss. Good round. 10-9 Torres.
Second round: Low kick by Torres. Front kick by Namajunas. She’s going Diaz with her mannerisms. Nice punch by Torres and Namajunas back with a counter. Namajunas landed a left. Namajunas landed a left again. Left by Namajunas. Front kick by Namajunas. Namajunas with a front kick Namajunas slipped and went down but got back up. Torres moving forward and landed. Nice left by Namajunas and another. Namajunas’ round so 19-19 after two. Good action.
Third round: Overhand right by Namajunas. Left by Namajunas. Another left land by Namajuans as Torres jumped in. Torres landed a combo. Namajunas with a body kick. Namjunas got the takedown. Close round 29-28 Namajunas.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 Namajunas
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#4) GLOVER TEIXEIRA (24-4, 7-2 UFC) VS. (#7) RASHAD EVANS (19-4-1, 14-4-1 UFC)
First round: Teixiera landed some punches. Body kick by Teixeira. Teixiera landed a left and followed with a right and it’s over. The left hurt him and the right put his lights out. Good stoppage.
Teixeira challenged Rumble Johnson, saying since Cormier is fighting Jon Jones, let’s make some money, let’s do business. It’s the fight that makes sense.