On Wednesday night, ESPN announced its nominees for this year’s ESPY awards, the winners of which will be announced on the live July 13 show from Los Angeles where John Cena will be the host.
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is nominated along with Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim, and Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns in the category of Best Breakthrough Athlete.
Holly Holm’s win over Ronda Rousey was nominated for Biggest Upset, along with Middle Tennessee over Michigan State in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and Roberta Vinci over Serena Williams in the U.S. Open. Because fans vote for the awards, Holm could have a good shot at winning.
Holm was also nominated for Best Play Of The Year for her November 2015 knockout of Rousey in Australia.
McGregor and Robbie Lawler were nominated for Fighter of the Year which is weird since McGregor last lost in a fight against Nate Diaz, while many thought Lawler lost in his last outing against Carlos Condit, a fight he won via a razor-thin split decision.
The UFC is working on a number of fights for July involving big names including Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, as well as former champions TJ Dillashaw and Holly Holm.
As reported on UFC Tonight and MMA Fighting Wednesday night, a number of fights are in the planning stages:
Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao, a rematch of their 2013 fight that Assuncao won via close decision, is being targeted as the “main event” for the Fox Sports One portion of UFC 200. They are also planning on adding one more big-name fight to that card which will round out the five-fight PPV show.
Rumble Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira is being worked on for the company’s July 23rd show in Chicago, a big FOX show. After Teixeira’s recent quick win over Rashad Evans, he called out Johnson who was game for the fight. The winner would determine the No. 1 contender for the winner of the light heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. That fight could be part of the first Madison Square Garden show this fall.
Also in the works for that FOX Chicago show and a possible main event is former bantamweight champion Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko had a 58-2-1 record as a kickboxer before going into MMA, where she is now 12-2. However, she did lose her last UFC fight to Amanda Nunes.
As if that wasn’t enough for the FOX Chicago show, Globo reported Wednesday that former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gil Melendez will return after a year off due to testing positive for PEDs to face Edson Barboza, he of the recent big win over Anthony Pettis.
The company also announced that UFC 201 would take place on July 30th in Atlanta, GA, with an anticipated main event of welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley.
We’ll talk more about these fights and the rest of the news in wrestling and MMA on Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
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
UFC 197 is still over a month away, but with tickets going on sale this week, UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos, UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will be involved in today’s UFC 197 Press Conference from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which hosts the event on March 5. Dos Anjos will defend the UFC Lightweight Championship against McGregor, who will be looking to become the first fighter to hold two titles in two different weight classes at the same time when he goes for 155-pound gold in the main event of UFC 197. In the co-main event, Holm will make her first title defense against Tate, winner of four straight fights. Hear from those four, along with UFC President Dana White, at 2 PM eastern time by watching above.
Also announced for the UFC 197 card is Filthy Four Daily co-host and our very own Tom Lawlor taking on Corey Anderson in a light heavyweight bout, Erick Silva taking on Nordine Taleb in a welterweight bout, and a featherweight clash between Darren Elkins and Chas Skelly.
Dana White is spending the day at ESPN in Bristol, CT and has made two announcements thus far.
The first is that he said a Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey rematch is imminent.
“I think that if we didn’t make the rematch, me and Lorenzo should probably lose our promoters’ license,” White said on the Mike & Mike show. “Yeah, that fight’s going too happen. I don’t know when, but that’s the fight that will happen.”
White also said on Sports Center that the winner of the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight on 12/12 would be sharing the upcoming video game cover with Rousey, saying that he believed it was the first time in major sports that a result of a match would determine who is on the cover of the new video game.
Holm knocked out Rousey in an historic upset in 59 seconds of the second round in the main event of UFC 193 from Melbourne, Australia on November 15th. The show drew one of the three biggest buyrates in company history. A properly-promoted rematch should beat that number, perhaps handily.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back tonight to talk tons of news topics including our full review of Raw from Monday night with the go-home angles for Survivor Series, World Title tournament matches, that terrible main event segment and more! Plus, ROH’s new TV deal, fallout of Holly Holm beating Ronda Rousey, tons of questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm from the Ethiad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The event is headlined by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey putting her championship, and status as the most dominant female fighter on the planet, on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. In the co-main event, it is a second womens’ title fight as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends against Valerie Letourneau. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:15 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off at 10 PM eastern time on pay-per-view. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
FLYWEIGHTS- BEN NGUYEN (13-5, 1-0 UFC) VS. RYAN BENOIT (8-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: This isn’t an early arriving crowd at all. Real noticeable in such a huge stadium. Nguyen is from Australia so he’s the crowd favorite. Nguyen hurt him with a left and right and took him down. Now he’s in full mount. Benoit gave up his back. He’s got him flattened out near the cage. He’s now working for a choke. Benoit is protecting his neck. Nguyen landing punches now. He flattened him out again and working for a choke Benoit tapped out.
WELTERWEIGHTS- JAMES MOONTASRI (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ANTON ZAFIR (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hard body kick by Moontasri. Good right by Zafir. He went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Takedown by Zafir. Zafir with punches and a knee to the body. Moontasri back up. Moontasri briefly tried a guillotine. Moontasri moved away. High kick by Moontasri. Front kick by Zafir Spinning backfist by Moontasri put Zafir down and finished him with punches on the ground. It was a spinning back kick to the ribs and then the spinning backfist. Zafir said his ribs were broken.
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. STEVE KENNEDY (22-7, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Walsh from Sydney is the big babyface here. Walsh with low kicks. Kennedy’s leg is about to give out. Walsh landing a lot of punches. Kennedy’s left leg is all bruised up. Kennedy got a takedown and got his back. Walsh back up. Kennedy took him down again. Kennedy is working for a choke. Kennedy now working for a Kimura. Hard round to score 10-9 Walsh.
Second round: Crowd super hot at the start of round two. Walsh landing punches. Kennedy went for a takedown but Walsh landed on top after sprawling. Walsh backed off and wanted him to stand. Good right by Walsh. Kennedy failed another takedown. Kennedy tried a triangle but lost him. Walsh blocked another takedown and Walsh on top landing punches. Walsh landing a lot of punches from the top. Walsh backed off and Kennedy had to get up. Takedown by Kennedy. He’s staying on top. 20-18 Walsh but first round could go the other way.
Third round: Body kick by Kennedy. Walsh with a left. Walsh landing punches and on top. Walsh has his back. Walsh let him up and landed a punch. Kennedy staying on his back. The ref ordered Kennedy to stand. Nice uppercut by Kennedy. Kennedy laid on his back again. Walsh punching and kicking the the left leg Walsh landing punches. Walsh landed a right on the ground. Walsh with a few more punches on the ground. Walsh 30-27, although 29-28 would be okay, but Walsh easily took this
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Walsh.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. STEVE MONTGOMERY (8-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Kelly the hometown hero but he’s 38 years old. Nice left by Kelly. Knee by Montgomery to the body. Body kick by Montgomeruy. Big left by Kelly. Kelly landing a lot of punches from close range. Judo takedown by Kelly and he’s landing elbows. Kelly landing punches on the ground. Montgomery back up. Another judo hip toss by Kelly. Kelly landing more punches on the ground. Kelly thinkng a choke. Elbow on the ground by Kelly. Another takedown by Kelly. Kelly 10-9.
Second round: Montgomery landing punches but Kelly got a clinch. Kelly didn’t get the takedown and an elbow by Montgomery. Good left by Montgomery. Both trading punches. Knees by Montgomery from close range. Left by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery from the clinch. Judo whip by Kelly. Kelly working for a guillotine. Now he’s looking for a D’arce choke. Montgomery back up. Left by Kelly. Another left by Kelly. High kick by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Montgomery landing punches. Uppercut by Montgomery. Kelly is clearly tired. Punches by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Kelly missed a throw. Another knee by Montgomery. Montgomery’s round so 19-19 going into the thrid.
Third round: Knee by Montgomery. Accidental low knee by Montgomery. Left by Montgomery. Montgomery landing all kinds of jabs. Kelly got a clinch. Kelly went for a takedown but Montgomery blocked it. Montgomery landing but Kelly with a good left. Body kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Kelly got a clinch but Montgomery escaped. Montgomery with jabs. Kelly with a left. Body kick by Montgomery and more punches. Big left by Kelly, Good low kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Big left by Kelly. Knees by Kelly. Kelly threw him down That may have won him the fight. Kelly has his back. Kelly working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Kelly bleeding. Kelly spun to side mount and into full mount. Kelly landing punches from the top and Kennedy moved. Kelly working for a head and arm choke. He doesn’t have it. Time is running out. But that won him the fight. Good fight. Kelly 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Kelly
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- RICHIE VACULIK (10-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. DANNY MARTINEZ (16-7, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Martinez throwing punches. Vaculik fought at 155 on TUF and is now fighting at 125. Takedown by Martinez. Elbow by Martinez. Both swinging. Martinez landing punches. Vaculik with a takedown. Martinez escaped. Martinez 10-9.
Second round: Martinez landing punches early. Takedown by Maritnez. Martinez has him against the fence. Martinez dropped him He landed a knee and hard punches. Hard left by Martinez. Takedown by Vaculik and he’s got his back. Martinez reversed to the top. Takedown by Martinez. Martinez landing some punches from the top. 20-18 Martinez.
Third round: Takedown by Vaculik. Takedown by Martinez. Knee by Martinez as Vaculik got up. Vaculik started landking but Martinez took him out again. Another takedown by Martinez. Martinez with punches. Martinez with punches on the ground. Vaculik got up.
Scores: 30-27 across the board for Martinez.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- ANTHONY PEROSH (15-9, 5-6 UFC) VS. GIAN VILLANTE (13-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Villante hurt him with a right. High kick by Villante. Villante is a lot more patient than in the past after the Tom Lawlor fight. Villante with right. Good uppercut by Villante. Perosh is wobbly. Body kick by Villante. Left by Villante. Perosh with a right. Villante knocked him out with a right to the jaw.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (21-7-1, 5-3 UFC) VS. PETER SOBOTTA (15-4-1, 2-3 UFC)
First round: Noke is from Australia, one of their veteran stars. Sobotta landing punches. Noke landed a great kick to the body and Sobotta collapsed. That was a perfect sick kick. Noke is landing punches on the ground. And it’s over. It was a front kick right to the ribs.
First round: Left by Arreola. Right by Arreola. Left by Arreola. Matthews with punches in the clinch. Arreola tripped him up and landed a good left. Arreola hurt him. He dropped him with a head kick and now has his back He’s working for a choke. More punches by Arreola and he’s again working for a choke. He’s again working for a choke. Matthew escaped and got on top and Mathew pouding the hell out of him Matthews with elbows. Hard round to judge. 10-9 Arreola
Second round: Matthews with a body kick. Takedown by Matthews. Matthews with elbows from the top. Matthews with more elbows and Arreola bleeding. Matthew swith a hard punches and elbows. Now body shots by Matthews. 10-8 round for Matthews so up 19-18.
Third round: The doctor stopped the fight because the cut so Matthews won. The cut over the right eye was pretty deep and was swelling really badly. Arreola was really upset by it.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#14) STEFAN STRUVE (26-7, 10-5 UFC) VS. JARED ROSHOLT (13-2, 5-1 UFC)
First round: Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt with a low kick. Fans booing the lack of action. Rosholt got the takedown. He’s in side control. Fans booing. Rosholt back on top. He moved to side control. Struve kicked him off but Rosholt back on top. Rosholt 10-9. Crowd booing.
Second round: Struve’s s left leg is all bruised up. Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt moved in to try and takedown. Rosholt got the takedown. He got up but Rosholt dragged him down. Rosholt in side control. Struve throwing nasty elbows late in the round with both on their back. Rosholt 20-18.
Third round: Low kick by Struve. Struve landed a left. Right by Struve. Another right by Struve. Low kick by Struve. Rosholt tried for a takedown but Struve blocked it. Rosholt moved in for another takedown. Head kick by Struve. Front kick by Struve. Right and left by Struve. Struve landed a few punches but Rosholt took him down and moved into side control. Struve up and Rosholt shoved him into the fence. Rosholt running away. Struve took him down. Struve landed elbows. Crowd booing. Struve won the round but Rosholt should have it 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Rosholt
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#10) URIAH HALL (12-5, 5-3 UFC) VS. (#14) ROBERT WHITTAKER (14-4, 5-2 UFC)
First round: Whittaker came out aggressive. Hard right by Whittaker. High kick by Hall. Body kick and left by Hall. Low kick by Whittaker. Hall went for some Ricochet double spin kick and Whittaker took him down. Left and right from the top by Whittaker. Whittaker got mount but Hall kicked him off. Whittaker landing punches from the top. Whittaker has his back. Hall reversed to the top. 10-9 Whittaker.
Second round: Whittaker rocked him with a right. Whittaker got behind him and stomped his foot. Hall got lucky. He got punched in the eye but the ref called it an eye poke so he got off the hook. Right by Whtitaker. Whittaker bleeding from the nose. Whittaker landed a nice left. Whittaker 20-18.
Third round: Hall out aggressively but Whittaker landing punches that hurt Hall. Whittaker stomping his foot. Hall landed a head kick. Flying knee and another head kick by Hall. Hall with knees the body. Hall coming back. Whittaker just trying to tie him up. Great front kick and head kick by Hall. Whittaker landed a left. Left by Whittaker. Nice right by Whittaker. Hall with a right. Whttaker with a body kick and punch. Whittaker got behind him. Whattaker took him down. Hall’s round so Whittaker 29-28. Really fun fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 Whittaker
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#8) MARK HUNT (10-10-1, 5-4-1 UFC) VS. (#11) ANTONIO SILVA (19-7-1, 3-4-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Hunt. They exchanged punches. Hunt with a low kick. Hard body kick by Hunt. Knee by Silva. Another low kick by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and it’s over.
First round: Letourneau punched her and got her down and punching on the ground. Joanna back up. Both throwing knees. Great kick to the face by Joanna which turned Letourneau around. Exchanging punches. Letourneou with high kick. Letourneau 10-9.
Second round: Both exchanging punches. Low kick by Joanna. Joanna threw a kick but Letrouneau caught the leg. Letourneau pushed her against the cage. Elbows by Joanna. Exchanges. Letourneau landed the best shot. Letourneua landed a few. Joanna with a right. Joanna with a series of punches. Joanna’s round close 19-19.
Third round: Nice front kick by Joanna. Joanna with a low kick. Joanna now landing a lot. Letourneau looks tired now. Joanna landing a lot now. Letourneau’s face is all bruised up. Joanna’s round she’s up 29-28.
Fourth round: Good right by Joanna. Front kick by Joanna. She went for another one but Letourneau caught the leg. Both trading shots. Joanna busting her up now. Joanna landing kicks and punches. The crowd is starting to boo now. Letourneau landed some punches. Front kick by Joanna. Joanna landed a lot of punches late in the round. 39-37 Joanna.
Fifth round: Joanna has thrown more than 200 strikes. Body kick by Letourneau. Joanna is too quick at this point. Low kicks by Joanna. Letourneau’s left leg is all red. Low kick and rihg by Joanna. Joanna landing a lot of punches. Letourneau back with a punch. Joanna messed up her left eye and left leg. Very good fight. 49-46 Joanna. Joanna landed 258 total strikes in the fight.
First round: Ronda wouldn’t touch gloves. Holm landed a left. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda landed with a right. Ronda locked up with her. It’s turning into a kickboxing match. Right by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda locked her up. Rousey got her down. Holm escaped the armbar. Holm kicking the knee and dancing away. Left by Holm. Big left by Holm. Hard left by Holm. Anothrer left by Holm Ronda with a left. Holm took her down. Crazy. Back in a clich. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Ronda is tired and her nose is all bloody. More lefts by Holm. Side kick by Holm. Rousey missed a punch and fell down. Left head kick by Holm knocked Rousey down and she’s in trouble. Punches on the ground and it’s over. Wow. :59
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm weigh-ins from the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. This will be the UFC’s third stadium show and the first visit to Melbourne, Australia.
The event is headlined by two title fights in each of the UFC’s womens’ divisions topped by dominant champions. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey looks to continue her reign as the best female fighter in the world as she puts her 12-0 record and title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to continue her dominance of the 115-pound division as she puts her title and undefeated record on the line against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout that is a rematch of an all-time classic fight as Mark Hunt takes on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Ronda Rousey (134) vs. Holly Holm (134) – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk (114) vs. Valerie Letourneau (115) – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship Mark Hunt (265) vs. Antonio Silva (263) Uriah Hall (185) vs. Robert Whittaker (185) Stefan Struve (265) vs. Jared Rosholt (239)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Jake Matthews (155) vs. Akbarh Arreola (155) Kyle Noke (169) vs. Peter Sobotta (169) Anthony Perosh (205) vs. Gian Villante (205) Richie Vaculik (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT): Dan Kelly (185) vs. Steve Montgomery (185) Richard Walsh (170) vs. Steve Kennedy (169) James Moontasri (170) vs. Anton Zafir (170) Ben Nguyen (126) vs. Ryan Benoit (125)
*Ronda calling Holly’s niceness all fake, and Ronda can see through her. Ronda is ready!
*Ronda gets right in her face. Holly didn’t back down. Awesome!
*Joanna pre-stared her down before even getting on the scale, Dana stepped in. Joanna said, “Her lucky day was yesterday…”
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Raw ratings from Monday, the slow and steady collapse, the WWE Title tournament and Survivor Series, Seth Rollins update, latest tournament brackets, Smackdown spoilers, UFC Saturday with Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, Mirko Crocop retires and then gets popped by USADA, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
