Even with the McMahon family storyline, Raw moved back into normal non-football territory with 3.54 million viewers, down five percent from last week.
The audience total was also down about 8 percent from the same week last year as the March 9, 2015 edition did 3.86 million viewers. The 3.54 million should equate to a rating between 2.45 and 2.5, which is down from the 2.63 that last week’s show and the 2.85 the show did last year.
This week’s show also returned to the normal pattern with a declining audience throughout the show and the big third hour drop.
It was the highest rated show on cable for last night, beating Major Crimes on TBS which did 3.49 million viewers and The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News at 3.32 million viewers. The three hours of RAW were also the top 3 rated programs in the highly desirable 18-49 demo, doing 1.29, 1.27 and 1.23 respectively. The 3rd hour was percentage points ahead of the 4th rated program, Love and Hip Hop.
Viewership totals for each hour:
8 p.m. 3.76 million viewers 9 p.m. 3.61 million viewers 10 p.m. 3.28 million viewers
The new WWE WrestleMania 32 magazine in the list of the 2016 Hall of Fame class confirmed Jacqueline Moore and Stan Hansen as the final two inductees for this year.
Moore had been on the list that had leaked several months back. Hansen was not. Hansen had two runs in WWF, once challenging Bruno Sammartino in 1976, including the match where he broke Sammartino’s neck by dropping him on his head on a bodyslam, which inadvertently ended up making his career when the return match saved the Ali vs. Inoki show at Shea Stadium.
He also had a run with Bob Backlund as champion.
Hansen is generally considered the greatest foreign star in Japan, for his long tenure as a fixture for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Moore was in as the female inductee that they want in every year.
This would mean that plans for John Layfield were changed, which had been obvious when they announced he would be helping induct The Godfather.
It is now official that WrestleMania 33 will be on April 2, 2017, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
WWE will hold a press conference tomorrow morning in Orlando to make the announcement.
The Orlando Sentinel and Brian Fritz were given the story to break including quotes from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who is expected to attend the press conference along with Florida Governor Rick Scott and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. John Saboor of WWE credited the improvements in the Citrus Bowl as a key reason for Orlando getting the show for the second time in ten years.
Orlando won out over more than a dozen other locations when the decision was made not to go with Minneapolis.
Also announced is that the Hall of Fame ceremony and the post Mania Raw will take place at the Amway Arena, while Fan Axxess will take place at the Orange County Convention Center.
Dyer was part of the team that went to Stamford in December to clinch the deal and said the city would like to get WrestleMania every five years.
Tonight’s Raw from Chicago will be highlighted by Shane McMahon’s 2nd Raw appearance since his surprise return. It’ll be interesting to see if the huge reception he received in Detroit was just a one-week pop or something sustainable until WrestleMania. Tonight’s show will serve a dual purpose of building WrestleMania along with Road Block this Saturday, where HHH will headline against Dean Ambrose for the WWE title. The WWE website has teased Kevin Owens not having a match set for WrestleMania, so he may factor into that finish to resume his program with Ambrose. Also tonight, the New Day will defend the tag team titles against Y2AJ. Now that the Divas Championship is a three-way match with Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, there will likely be an angle to start that build, as well.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big Takeaway: Shane McMahon returned to continue the buildup for WrestleMania with a verbal dual with his father. Highlight of the show was the New Day beating Y2AJ to retain the World Tag Team Titles in an awesome match. Afterwards, Chris Jericho turned heel on A.J. Styles by giving him three Codebreakers and stuffing a Y2AJ t-shirt down his mouth. The show should have ended at that point, but they had another 75 minutes to fill.
Show Recap:
Shane McMahon came out to another big reception. He said he heard what Vince McMahon had to say last week, and he’s lost respect for his father after he renounced his son. Shane said Vince had lost his touch with his business, his fan base, with reality, with him and his grandsons. Shane said it was his destiny to be in control of Monday Night Raw. That got “Yes” chants. Shane said the backstage politics would stop with him. And also, every baseball umpire will have the same strike zone. (I added that last part).
He mentioned guys who get breaks who have no talent would end. He repeated that it was his destiny to defeat the Undertaker and start a new legacy in the WWE in control of Raw. Then the Undertaker’s gong hit, but Vince came out. After getting no reaction last week, Vince got lots of heat. Then they chanted for C.M. Punk. Vince said Shane looked scared when the Undertaker’s gong hit, and he would feel terror at WrestleMania. Vince mentioned writing Shane out of his will and Stephanie McMahon would get everything. Vince stumbled on a picture of him and a little Shane just before they went to their first WWE event in Worchester, Massachusetts. He held up a framed copy of the picture, then threw it down and smashed on the ramp.
Vince said Shane grew up thinking his father was invincible. He was Vince McMahon, and Shane was just Vince’s son. Vince turned his attention to his grandsons, who would watch their father fail them. Vince said Shane’s dreams would be shattered, and so would theirs. The only solace would be once Shane is placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital, Vince would take Shane’s children, hug them and say “At least you have one father figure you can be proud of.” Vince said its totally ironic his greatest creation will put to rest his greatest failure.
Vince then brought out security and escorted Shane out of the building. Four guys came down Shane told security not to touch him because he was amped up. One of the security guys got in the ring on Vince’s orders. Shane threw some bad looking punches on the guy. Then other three ran in, but Shane cleared house with knees and punches. The stuff didn’t look good, but Shane was so over it didn’t matter. Shane’s music just started to end the segment.
Kevin Owens (C) defeated Neville in a nontitle match (10:19)
Another very good match where Neville had the crowd thinking he had it won after a Flaming Star Press from the second rope. Kevin Owens kicked out in a great near fall. Neville turned to do the Red Arrow, but Owens grabbed his trunks and held them for the pin with a schoolboy cradle. Earlier, Owens avoided a Neville dive out of the ring and threw Neville into the steps. Neville made the comeback with an enzuigiri. Michael Cole mentioned Owens boasting about being the greatest the Intercontiental Champion of all time and wanting to have a better WrestleMania match then Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat.
Owens jumped Neville after the match, throwing his shoulder into the post. He was about to give Neville a power bomb on the floor when Sami Zayn made his return, running out for the save. Zayn got a big reaction. Owens took a few punches and tried to walk out, but Neville kicked him in the head and Zayn sent him packing. Crowd was elated with the segment. Byron Saxton mentioned the possibility of Neville vs. Owens at WrestleMania, but this segment teased otherwise.
They aired a video tweet from the Rock (I guess Touts have gone the way of the WBF, the World and the XFL) promoting WrestleMania for free on the WWE Network.
Stephanie walked up to Dolph Ziggler. Stephanie mentioned a tweet that Dolph made putting down the authority that was deleted. Dolph brought up the Survivor Series from November 2014 when he fought back from a 3-on-1 deficit after the Big Show’s 2014 heel turn to put the Authority out of action forever. Well, for four weeks. And we’re supposed to take the stipulations at WrestleMania seriously because…? Anyway, Stephanie ordered Dolph to face three members of the League of Nations in an elimination match tonight by himself.
Summer Rae defeated Brie Bella (2:05)
Summer Rae won when Lana came out to distract Brie Bella, and Rae pinned her with a schoolgirl cradle in a finish we saw 15 minutes ago. Lana was wearing her 1988 Whitesnake video blue jean skirt outfit. She gave Brie a Bella Buster, trying to get heat for giving Brie her own finisher.
Dean Ambrose came out and said he has overthrown all plans for WrestleMania when he beats HHH at Road Block and becomes the new face of the WWE. He mentioned the new face of the WWE, going to be on Oprah (She’s off the air now), being on the cover of People magazine and going to various charity functions with HHH. Ambrose said he would make HHH buy him a new shiny suit, then said he would never wear a suit. He rambled on in this scripted rant when HHH came out.
HHH showed up and said reality is he would be WWE World Heavyweight Championship as long as he wanted. He said Roman Reigns thought he could take the championship, but his face is getting glued back together. HHH said maybe Ambrose should take another trip to the announce table to understand he can’t beat HHH. Ambrose said after he beats HHH for the championship, he’ll stand on the table, hold the championship up high and HHH could suck it. HHH said Road Block was something some idiot in marketing came up with. Ambrose was nothing more than a speed bump or a pot hole. HHH said Ambrose was just like Reigns, they both had problems with authority. And how is that working for Reigns? HHH told Ambrose should stop with delusional thinking.
They bickered back-and-forth until Ambrose demanded HHH come to the ring. HHH said he doesn’t fight on Ambrose’s time, just on his time. HHH said Ambrose would face Bray Wyatt tonight. He said Ambrose would come face-to-face with reality on Saturday, and reality is the Authority always wins. Well, that’s reality more than HHH even knows.
Sheamus, Rusev and King Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler in an elimination match (6:33)
Sheamus pinned Ziggler after a Brogue Kick following a roundhouse kick by Rusev. Earlier, Ziggler pinned King Barrett at 5:45 with a Superkick to narrow the odds to 2-on-1, briefly. The tweet from Ziggler than Stephanie brought up earlier was shown where Ziggler welcomed Shane back and said he would send the Authority out of power just like he did at Survivor Series 2014, but the Authority punished him again.
They showed a video package of Shane’s wrestling career with the Big Show, JBL, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins putting over how tough he is. The videos were mostly from the late 90s-to-early 00s, and the majority of the highlights were Kurt Angle selling for him.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks were backstage bickering. They’re tagging tonight but argued over who would win in their triple threat match against Charlotte at WrestleMania. Lynch talked about somebody getting an Lass kicking.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks defeated Tamina and Naomi via submission (1:52)
Lynch made Naomi tap to the Bank Statement. Charlotte and Ric Flair were at ringside. Charlotte ran in and attacked both of her opponents, including an exploder suplex on Lynch.
R-Truth walked in to the building dressed as a pizza delivery man and walked past Mark Henry, who wondered what he was up to. Truth told Goldust he wanted to do dress like someone crazy and gave Goldust a Chicago deep dish pizza. Goldust wondered “What in the Blue Blazer are you thinking?” Goldust said he was lactose intolerant and if he had any pizza, his butt would explode. Goldust walked off. Truth said he had no idea about Goldust’s exploding butt and left the pizza sitting so Henry could help himself, proclaming his love for Chicago.
The New Day came out. Kofi Kingston mentioned they had held the WWE tag team titles for 197 consecutive days. Xavier Woods said Y2AJ would never last as a team and end up as the zombies in “Left For Dead.” Big E. mentioned they each got matching tattooes. Kingston and Woods acted like they didn’t know what he was talking about. Big E. said he was just kidding (though he wasn’t), saying he never got a blue and white tattoo on his butt cheeks. Chris Jericho came out with a Y2AJ t-shirt.
The New Day defeated Y2AJ to retain the WWE Tag Team titles (11:30)
Big E. pinned jericho after the Big Ending. Jericho tried a Codebreaker, but Big E. caught him and placed him on his shoulders. The best tag team match on Raw in ages. Jericho had Kingston in the Walls of Jericho and the crowd was begging for a tapout. Woods tried to push the bottom rope closer for Kingston to grab, but A.J. Styles knocked Woods down. Big E. took out Styles by slamming him into the barricade, then tagged in. Earlier, Jericho hit a lionsault on Kingston. Styles made a blind tag and followed with a springboard 450, but Big E. pulled Kingston out of the ring. Even better than Owens-Neville.
Postmatch, Styles helped Jericho to his feet. After Jericho got up, he turned heel on Styles by giving him a codebreaker. Styles barely got up before Jericho gave him another Codebreaker, then followed with another one. Jericho, who got good heat for this turn, then got the Y2AJ t-shirt and stuffed it down Styles’ mouth as he was down. Excellent execution from all parties involved.
They announced that the Rock would appear at WrestleMania.
Jericho did an interview with Renee Young saying everyone in Chicago, the town where Y2J was born, was doing but chanting for Styles. Now, they won’t be chanting his name anymore.
Kalisto (C) defeated Tyler Breeze in a nontitle match (2:11)
Kalisto pinned Tyler Breeze with Salida del Sol. Kalisto really doesn’t come across as anything special as U.S. Champion. He’s just feels like another Luchador that doesn’t stand out. At least Breeze got to do his ring entrance.
JoJo interviewed Kalisto. She was almost as tall as he was. Kalisto brought up Rey Mysterio and Eddy Guerrero as legends he saw at WrestleMania. Ryback stepped in and wondered how he doesn’t have a match in WrestleMania, or isn’t in the main event. He put Kalisto over as one of the best in the WWE pound-for-pound, but he doesn’t understand why people go to Superhero movies like Deadpool and think little guys can go around and save the world. Ryback said he makes Ryan Reynolds and Robert Downey Jr. look like Antman. He makes Nate Diaz and Connor McGregor look like Antman, too. However, Diaz’s PPV paycheck from Saturday night compared to Ryback makes his look like Little Beaver. Ryback went on forever about how being in a tag team only holds you down, which does wonders for putting over the tag team titles that just stole the show.
Social Outscasts came out. They’ve added a group cheer like “Wooo Bundy” from “Married with Children.” Bo Dallas said Ryback doesn’t want to be part of a team, which mean he can’t be one of the new Ghostbusters. Adam Rose said you have to be a woman to be a Ghostbuster. Curtis Axel screamed “Tonight, the Axeman cometh” and started chanting “Ye” like he was Mark Lewin. Rose, Heath Slater and Dallas started doing it and they danced in a circle until Ryback came out.
Ryback pinned Curtis Axel (2:06)
Ryback won with a Shell Shock. His new psuedo-heel gimmick where he brawls like a MMA Superheavyweight looks DOA as the crowd spent the match chanting for Punk again.
Vince was backstage on the phone saying how the old WrestleMania record was 93,000. Too bad he wasn’t on the subpoena list in St. Petersburg, Florida today. Stpehanie wondered in expressing concern that Shane would win at WrestleMania. Vince calmed her by saying “Don’t worry. I got this.” She said “But what if you don’t?”
Bray Wyatt did a prematch promo about his match against Brock Lesnar on Saturday at Road Block.
Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt by DQ (11:47)
Crowd was dead again as this show peaked at the tag title match and the Jericho turn. Ambrose gained the upper hand with his flying elbow when Luke Harper, Braun Strowman and Erick Harper showed up. They jumped Ambrose, and Wyatt gave him Sister Abigail.
HHH came out for an odd sequence. He nooded in approval at the Wyatt Clan for taking out Ambrose. Then as HHH was about to start pounding on Ambrose, Wyatt got in HHH’s face and they had a staredown that got the crowd’s attention. Wyatt smiled, rubbed his hands on HHH’s championship belt and left with his group. Sure did seem to tease a potential program between the two, which may finally get Wyatt to turn face. Then again, if that happens, we’ll be seeing Strowman do Hillbilly Jim spots in no time.
HHH cleared the announcer’s table teasing another beatdown of Ambrose. But Ambrose recovered and gave HHH Dirty Deeds, and a babyface was left standing at the end credits for a change.
SUMMARY: Ambrose has run out of top guy capital with the fans. They’ve seen him lose too many big matches to take him seriously as someone who can win the big one, especially the month before WrestleMania. Last year, at least his top matches had heat. That hasn’t happened recently. I understand JBL has to be a heel announcer, but his rant about what a travesty it would be if Ambrose became world champion sounds exactly the same every three months. It’s beyond monotony. Considering the main event of this show featured Lesnar’s next two major match opponents, it doesn’t feel like the company is maximizing his potential box office.
Ring of Honor announced that Kenny Omega has been pulled from Saturday’s show in Philadelphia, but that to make up for it, Kushida would be defending the IWGP jr. heavyweight title on the show.
“Due to circumstances out of his or Ring of Honor’s control, `The Cleaner,’ Kenny Omega, will not be in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 12 to compete at The Conquest Tour event,” the company announced ths morning.
Later an announcement was made that Kushida would defend his title against ACH.
The lineup for the show is:
Jay Lethal vs. Matt Sydal for the ROH title Kushida vs. ACH for the IWGP jr. title Adam Cole & Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly Briscoes & Cheeseburger vs. War Machine & Moose Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin Mandy Leon & Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose vs. Kyoko Kimura & Veda Scott & Taeler Hendrix B.J. Whitmer & Cedric Alexander vs. Adam Page & Jonathan Gresham Will Ferrara vs. Joey Daddiego
WWE through CBS Sports today announced that Ray Taylor, better known as the Big Bossman, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on 4/2 in Dallas.
Traylor, who really was a prison guard in Cobb County, GA who got his break as an enhancement talent for Jim Crockett, was a surprise and likely a late addition as on the various lists that had gotten out his name wasn’t mentioned. It’s also a surprise since the company likes to not have too many wrestlers who passed away young on the same docket due to wrestling’s issues with young deaths, and this year’s class included Terry Gordy, who passed away at 40.
Traylor was a 350 pound plus prison guard who impressed Dusty Rhodes and others because of how agile he was and how he got up for Tully Blanchard’s slingshot suplex and was hired as Big Bubba Rogers, the huge bodyguard for Jim Cornette.
He left Crockett Promotions in 1988 for the WWF, and had a major feud with Hulk Hogan that was one of the best drawing programs of Hogan’s run on top, as well as frequently headlined against then-WWF champion Randy Savage. The Hogan vs. Bossman feud was blown off in a number of cage matches, including on a Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC, where Hogan superplexed Bossman off the top of the cage.
He then turned babyface after turning on Ted DiBiase and became Hogan’s tag team partner at times, and then had a run against various members of the Bobby Heenan family. His most memorable match was a jailhouse match at the 1991 SummerSlam card as the key match of his feud with The Mountie, played by Jacques Rougeau Jr.
He left the WWF in 1993, and had a brief run with All Japan, before signing with WCW later that year. He started as The Boss, but WWE legal sent threatening letters to WCW, so he became The Guardian Angel, a gimmick that didn’t fly, before reverting back to Big Bubba Rogers and at the end was using the name Ray Traylor. He wasn’t being used well, and returned to WWF in 1998 and worked there until being let go in 2002.
He briefly worked as a trainer for WWF, and passed away from a heart attack on September 22, 2004, at the age of 41.
After a lot of concern given the already taped TV was running out and nothing had been said, TNA finally announced today five days of tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando.
The current set of television taped at the end of January in the U.K. expires with tomorrow night’s show on Pop TV. The tapings were announced for five days, from 3/15 to 3/19. Talent had been told about the dates a few weeks ago but there were still concerns over the lack of announcement and lack of travel itinerary.
TNA announced today that over the five days they will be taping episodes of Impact, Xplosion and One Night Only PPV shows.
They will run 3/15 to 3/19 with all shows starting at 7 p.m. There will also be a 3/17 at 1 p.m. show, a Thursday afternoon event.
Tickets, as always, are free, although they are selling $99 VIP tickets or premium seating and meet and greets.
The names being pushed for the tapings are Matt & Jeff Hardy, Ethan Carter III, Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Gail Kim and Tigre Uno.
James Ranicar Blears, who later legally changed his name to Lord James Blears, and who was perhaps most famous for his story of being captured by the Japanese while serving in World War II, passed away this week. He would have been 92 or 93 years old.
At various times, Blears played snooty British pro-wrestler, commentator/announcer, troubleshooting referee for the AWA, figurehead president of the Pacific Wrestling Federation, and more. As the alleged head of the PWF he would often be brought in to read proclamations before Triple Crown matches in All Japan.
Blears’ story of being captured in World War II was the subject of many press stories later in his life, including a great article by Greg Oliver at Slam Wrestling. He was working as a British radio officer on the S.S. Tjisalak, which was torpedoed and sunk, and all of the survivors were pulled aboard the Japanese I-8 submarine. The captors began beheading passengers one-by-one.
“Two Japanese officers were waiting for us,” Blears said, “one with a sword and the other with a sledgehammer. … When these guys came at us, I kicked with my foot and pulled my hand out (of the rope) right away and stopped the guy and dived off the submarine and dragged Peter (Bronger) with me.” Blears survived for three days in the wreckage of the S.S. Tjisalak before being saved and fed canned peaches. He said that every years after that, he commemorated the day by eating a can of peaches.
Blears had been living in a nursing home in Hawaii, where his children had become world-class surfers.
We will have more on the life of James Blears in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and various audio shows this week. Our best to his family.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a much anticipated event headlined by UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor taking on Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout after Diaz replaced the injured Rafael Dos Anjos, who was scheduled to defend the UFC Lightweight Championship against McGregor on this card. In the co-main event, it will be UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm making her first title defense since defeating Ronda Rousey as she defends against Rousey’s long-time rival, top contender Miesha Tate. Also on the card is our very own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor as he takes on Corey Anderson. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in a middle along with a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com?subject=UFC%20196%20Feedback”>Dave Meltzer.
First round: Trading body kicks. Erosa front kick knocked Ishihara down. Nice high kick by Ishihara. Punch and knee by Ishihara and Erosa was down but quickly up. Low kick by Ishihara. Front kick by Erosa put Ishhara down. Now they are in a clinch against the fence. They were quickly separated. Left high kick and big punches by Ishiara. Ishihara hurt him with a left. Erosa took him down. Erosa’s left leg looks horrible. Close round. 10-9 Ishihara
Second round: Ishihara knocked him down and finished him with punches from the top right away. It was a left counter behind the ear that put Erosa down and good punches on the ground that finished him.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JASON SAGGO (10-2, 1-1 UFC) VS. JUSTIN SALAS (12-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Salas took him down off a kick. Saggo reversed to the top. Salas has a cheering section. Saggo working for an armbar. Now he’s got Salas’ back. Saggo is punching. Saggo continued punching him from that position until it was stopped.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- DIEGO SANCHEZ (25-8, 14-8 UFC) VS. JIM MILLER (25-7 1 NC, 14-6 1 NC UFC)
First round: Sanchez ran across the ring in and grabbed Miller’s leg and threw him down. Miller back up. Mlller started to land. Miller with counter right. He land some more. Sanchez took him down. Short slam by Sanchez while in guard. Sanchez landing some punches from the top. Sanchez landing some elbows. 10-9 Sanchez.
Second round: Miller made him stumble with a low kick. Miller continues to land low kicks. Miller with a body punch. Body kick by Miller but Sanchez took him down off it. Miller back up. Sanchez bleeding from the left ear from elbows by by Miller. Head kick by Miller. Nice left by Miller. Spin kick by Sanchez didn’t land solid. Miller went for a takedown but Sanchez sprawled. Sanches went for a takedown, Miller grabbed a guillotine and threw a knees. More knees by Miller. Sanchez popped out. Sanchez went for a takedown and Miller spun behind him. Miller’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Sanchez grabbed his leg for a takedown but Miller blocked. Miller with a right. Fans chanting for Sanchez. Sanchez is more active. Sanchez went for a takedown but it was blocked. Miller went for a takedown but didn’t get it but land a body kick. Left landed by Sanchez. Sanchez got a quick takedown but Miller up Body kick by Miller. Both swinging wildly at the end. Close fight but I’ve got Sanchez 29-28.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 Sanchez
Sanchez cut a promo putting over Miller and Fight Pass, as well as Jesus Christ and Yoga.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#11) DARREN ELKINS (19-5, 9-4 UFC) VS. CHAS SKELLY (15-1, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Elkins on top punching and Skelly going for heel hooks. Skelly continues going for a heel hook. Elkins throwing knees. Left by Elkins. Elkins landing a lot of uppercuts. Skelly with a right. Elkins with knees. Punches and knees by Elkins. Both swinging. Elkins 10-9.
Second round: Elkins landed punches. Elkins with a right and slammed him down. Elkins with knees to the body in the clinch on the fence. Elkins tripped him down and into side control. Skelly regained guard. Elkins landing punches from the top. Elkins 20-18.
Third round: Elkins took him down and got his back. Skelly back up. Takedown by Elkins. Elkins is working for a choke. Skelly out and back up. Both landing. Takedown by elkins and more punches on the ground Elkins connected on some good shots. Elkins 30-27.
Scores: 30-27, 29-27 and 30-26 for Elkins
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- VITOR MIRANDA (11-4, 2-1 UFC) VS. MARCELO GUIMARAES (9-1-1, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Guimaraes has him against the cage. They were separated. Both landing punches. Body kicks by Miranda. Guimaraes in with punches and going for a takedown. Los of elbows by Miranda as Guimaraes went for a takedown. Guimaraes fighting hard for a takedown but not getting it. The ref separated them again. Miranda starting to land and Guimaraes is tired. Guimaraes 10-9 but he’s the one tired at the end.’’
Second round: Guimaraes going for a takedown. Miranda landing a ton of elbows from that position and then separated, landed a head kick which stunned Guimaraes. After three solid punches standing it was called off. Good stoppage.
First round: Spin kick to the body by Silva. Silva with a low kick. Spin kick to the body and low kick by Silva. Silva missed a high kick. Takedown by Taleb and few punches. Silva wanted to touch gloves and then threw a hard right. He turned himself heel with that one. Taleb landed some punches. Low kick by Silva. Tale back with a calf kick. Silva shot in but the round ended. Close round 10-9 Silva.
Second round: Body kick by Slva. Taleb countered with a right that knocked Silva silly and it was immediately waved off. The place went bananas. That one should score 50G’s.
First round: Body kick by Thatch. Body kick by Thatch. Siyar moved in and landed punches. Body kick by Siyar. Siyar landing a lot of punches. Pretty wild action. Spinning elbow by Thatch and Siyar landing more punches. Siyar wth punches. Thatch with a knee and a takedown. Thatch went for a guillotine as Siyar reversed to the top. Thatch is working for a triangle but Siyar cleared it. Siyar landing punches on the ground. Good round 10-9 Siyar.
Second round: Thatch with a front kick and head kick. Siyar then took him down. Siyar landing punches. John McCarthy ordered a standup. Thatch landed punches. Siyar with knees and a takedown. Siyar landing punches. Siyar 20-18.
Third round: Siyar with punhes and took hij down again and hurtring him with punches on the ground. Siyar with more punches. McCarthy stood them up again. Takedown by Siyar. Siyar landing good punches on the ground. Siyar moved to side position and used a head and arm choke to finish.
First round: Body kick by Nunes while Shevchenko threw a punch. Nunes with a head kick. Shevchenko with punches. Body punch by Nunes. Shevchenko with more punches. Low kick by Nunes. Body kick by Nunes. Nunes with a takedown. She’s throwing weak body punches. Nunes 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Nunes and Shevchenko went for a takedown and kick to the body but Nunes scrambled to the top. Nunes landing punches and elbows from the top. More elbows by Nunes. Nunes moved to side control. Shevchenko is bleeding. Nunes is working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Nunes with a body triangle. Shevchenko turned and got on top. Crowd loved this. Nunes 20-18.
Third round: Shevchenko took her down into side control. Shevchenko is working for a wristlock. Nunes out and up. Nunes is tired . Chevchenko with two hard knees. Left by Shevchenko. Nunes ent for a takedown, Shevchenko blocked it and threw some punches. Reality is Nunes could get a title shot but he way she fades in the third doesn’t bode well in a five round fight. Nunes 29-28.
Scores: 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 for Nunes
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#12) COREY ANDERSON (7-1, 4-1 UFC) VS. TOM LAWLOR (10-5 1 NC, 6-4 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Anderson. Lawlor landed a lot of shots early. Andeson back with punches. Low kick by Anderson. Lefts by Lawlor Anderosn back with one. Low kick by Anderson. Anderson with another low kick. Action slowed midway through the round. Anderson with a right. Both landing. Right and left by Lawlow. Anderson with aleft. Both traded late. Very close round. 10-9 Lawlor.
Second round: Anderson slipped and went down but back up. Nice left by Lawlor. Both punched from close range. Right by Lawlor. Anderson back with a right. Low kick by Anderson. Anderson landing punches. Right by Anderson. Low kick by Anderson. Andeson with a low kick. Nice left by Lawlor. Front kick by Lawlor. Lawlor with a right. Lawlor with a good flurry late. Anderson tried a takedown and landed a knee late. Lawlor 20-18 but these rounds are close.
Third round: Body kick by Anderson. Right by Anderson. Anderson takedown into side control. Anderson landed a punch from the top. John McCarthy ordered a standup with 1:05 left. Right by Anderson and a low kick. Anderson’s round. Crowd lightly booed. 29-28 Lawlor but this could easily go either way.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 29-28 Anderson. Fans booed the decision a lot and through his promo.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#13) GIAN VILLANTE (14-6, 4-3 UFC) VS. ILIR LATIFI (11-4 1 NC, 4-2 UFC)
First round: Villante out with good body kicks. Latifi exploded for a takedown attempt that he didn’t get. Latifi landed a big left. Latifi landing several punches. Latifi on two had Villante hurt and then went for the takedown, which allowed Villante to recover. Latifi 10-9.
Second round: Villante landing kicks. Latifi with a German suplex. Left by Latifi. Latifi trying for a takedown. Villante was holding the fence bad and Yves Lavigne didn’t see it. He actually did use his body to shield it but it was really blatant. Crowd booing because they are just standing there. Latiifi with a spin kick. Left by Latifi. Latifi again has him against the fence going for a takedown. Latifi slammed him but Villante back up. Latifi 20-18.
Third round: Latifi with a body shot. Latifi again going for the takedown. Tried a belly to belly but didn’t get it. Big left by Latifi. Another left by Latifi. Side kick by Latifi. Body kick by Villante. Another slam by Latifi with 20 seconds left. Latifi 30-27
Scores: All three judges have it 30-27 Latifi. Really he won all three rounds solidly.
They showed Jon Jones, Joanna, GSP, Diaz and Conor and GSP got by far the biggest reaction, even above Conor.
First round: Holm got a really big reaction. Tate was cheered a ton but not at the level of Holm. This has a very intense feel about it, very much like a world title fight. Crowd really psyched. Miesha chant. Left and a kick by Holm. Tate tried a takedown and didn’t get it. Holly chant. Much louder than Miesha chants. Now loud Miesha chants unti Holm shoved her backwards. Left by Holm. Very little happening and crowd is still into it. Holm forward with punches. Holm with a flurry ending with a side kick. Tate landed some punches. Head kick by Holm. Tate missed on a big kick. Side kick by Holm. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Tate took her down. She’s in side controil. Place popped huge for that. Holm got guard. Tate with a punch. Miesha chants super loud. Elbows to the body by Tate. Hard elbows by Tate. Another good elbow by Tate. Tate has her back She’s working for a choke. She gave it up. Tate working for it agan. Crowd going nuts. Holm survived the round. 10-8 round for Tate so 19-18 Tate. This crowd is going nuts like few fights I’ve seen.
Third round: Head kick by Holm. Big shots by Holm. Tate tried a takedown but didn’t get it. Side kick by Holm. Body kick by Holm. Kick and punch by Holm. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Tate landed some punches and Holm with a body kick. Tate tried a takedown but couldn’t get it. Holm tried a head kick but it was blocked. Holm’s round so 28-28 after three.
Fourth round: Tate with a left. Holm with a combo. Tate again tried a takedown but couldn’t get it. Holm threw her off. Tate shot in but Holm blocked her. Holm with punches and threw an elbow when she let her up. A series of punches by Holm. Front kick by Holm and more punches. Holm 38-37 going into the final round.
Fifth round: Left by Holm. Holm with two side kicks. Holm with a left. Tate pushed her against the fence. Holm turned her. Holm threw an elbow to break the clinch. Holm with punches and a high kick. Tate is too slow to grab the leg when Holm is throwing her side kicks. Tate got her down and got her back again. Tate is working for a choke. Holm flipped her over but Tate held on and got the choke tighter. Holm went out without tapping. Unreal. This is one of the best finishes you’ll ever see. This match was so intense live. 3:30
WELTERWEIGHTS- (FTW C) CONOR MCGREGOR (19-2, 7-0 UFC) VS. (#5 LW) NATE DIAZ (18-10, 13-8 UFC)
First round: The place is still electric. Not nearly the Irish contingent as in the past but McGregor is still the big crowd favorite. Big left by McGregor. Diaz has him against the fence. McGregor out and landed a left and a right. McGregor landing punches. Good body punch by Diaz. Diaz starting to land. Spin kick missed by McGregor. Diaz is starting to land. Both are landing good shots. Diaz with a body kick. Diaz bleeding from the right eye. McGregor is targeting the eye. Diaz took him down but McGregor is on top. McGregor landing punches from the top. McGregor 10-9.
Second round: Spin kick by McGregor. Spin kick landed by McGregor. McGregor landing to the body. Left by McGregor. McGregor with a spin kick. Big fight by McGregor. Diaz is bleeding badly now. Big right by McGregor. Diaz tied him up against the fence. McGregor is really going to work on him now. Diaz’s face is a mess. Diaz slapped him in the face. Right by Diaz. Knee by McGregor. Uppercut by McGregor. McGregor landing a lot of shots and Diaz back with punches. Diaz actually missing most but now he’s landing. Diaz is starting to take over. Diaz has McGregor in trouble Diaz landing a ton of punches. Diaz with a ton of lefts. McGregor now coming back with punches. Diaz back with punches and has him hurt. McGregor went for a takedown and is on top. Diaz is punching the hell out of him and he’s got the choke and McGregor is not getting out of this. 4:20
