The prelims for UFC 193 on Saturday night averaged 1,394,000 viewers on FS 1 up against College football and the Democratic debate. This was the highest viewership for a PPV prelims show since the UFC 183 prelims on January 31st. That was the show where Miesha Tate fought in the featured prelim fight. The main card was headlined by the Anderson Silva-Nate Diaz fight, which drew an estimated 650,000 PPV buys.
There is usually a correlation between the prelims number and the final PPV buys number, particularly when the prelims number is large. It should also be noted that on PPV shows where Ronda Rousey is fighting on the main card, the prelims number is up almost 50% over shows where she’s not on the main card.
It should also be noted that there was nothing even close to a big name fighting on the prelims, with the four fights all featuring Australian fighters against low-mid card fighters from the rest of the world, the most well-known being Gian Villante. The featured fight was Jake Matthews vs Akhbar Arreola, neither of whom has even fought on a televised main card in the UFC.
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era: 26 shows, 882,840 average viewers
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is on main card: 6 shows, 1,204,600 average viewers
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is not on main card: 20 shows, 802,400 average viewers
The theory behind this would be that Ronda Rousey is such a big name to the casual audience that the fact that she is fighting on the show raises awareness and brings up the prelims number.
Further evidence that the show did a very strong number of PPV buys is the following:
There have been 8 FS 1 PPV prelims shows that did at least 1 million viewers since the station started airing them in August 2013. Here are the PPV buys for those shows:
UFC 185 was the exception here and that was a show headlined by a main event of Anthony Pettis v Rafael Dos Anjos. The only show during this time period that did a strong PPV buys numbers coinciding with a relatively weak prelims number was UFC 189, which did about 825,000 PPV buys and 847,000 prelims TV viewers.
No estimates are available at this time for how UFC 193 did on PPV although Dana White today on Joe Rogan’s podcast said that the show was trending at well over a million buys. These numbers would suggest that to be a distinct possibility.
We’re looking for your thoughts on UFC 193 and also the Tenryu retirement show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer
We’re also looking for reports on the WWE show yesterday in Minehead, England and NXT shows in Winter Haven, Orlando and Sebring, Florida, and today’s Lucha Underground taping in Boyle Heights and ICW show in Glasgow to Dave Meltzer
Raw will be live Monday night from Greenville, SC. The show will feature the quarterfinals of the WWE championship tournament. The quarterfinals have Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto, Kevin Owens vs. Neville and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. I believe all four bouts will be on the show Monday but it’s possible they may hold one of them off until Smackdown. Undertaker and Kane will be back on Raw this week to build Survivor Series.
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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I’m sorry for being so shaken last night in the show about Nick Bockwinkel. Thanks to Bryan for doing a show so quickly after already completing a show.
Insane Championship Wrestling out of Scotland, the group Grado and Drew Galloway are the big stars of, announced after selling out a 4,000 seat arena today that they are going to take a much bigger step and try and run the 13,000 seat SSE Hydro Arena.
Roderick Strong didn’t wrestle last night in the ROH Survival of the Fittest match in Hopkins, MN, due to suffering a concussion in his Friday night match in Milwaukee, from a kick by Cedric Alexander. The impression we got last night is they don’t think it’s a bad concussion, but it is a concussion and you can’t be risking it.
Aside from needing plastic surgery on her lip that was split in two, Ronda Rousey was okay physically last night. Even though she was knocked out, the reports were that they don’t believe she suffered a concussion.
Ronda Rousey got more than 10 million searches on Google this weekend, more than anything but Paris. Usually that correlates to a buy rate number, which would be through the roof, but in this case I don’t think it predicts anything. Joanna Jedrzejczyk had 50,000 searches yesterday.
After Michael Elgin won Survival of the Fittest, which earns him a title shot, he said he’d like to get the shot in Tokyo. The plan is for 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome.
WWE
Congratulations to Randy Orton, who got married to Kim Kessler yesterday in Las Vegas.
Tickets for the 2/21 Fast Lane PPV in Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena go on sale to the public on 11/21.
Reader Reed Benson, who lives in mainland China, noted that the CCTV English news channel covered the Wayne Rooney appearance on Raw with King Barrett, on Friday. Then on Saturday, they showed it again and the anchor said he just wanted to see it again. Benson said that’s the only two times he’s seen anything wrestling related on CCTV’s news in either English or Chinese.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk suffered a broken hand in the co-main event last night where she defeated Valerie Letourneau by decision.
On Friday Meredith Vieira on her show talked about the thing in Ronda Rousey’s book about beating up her boyfriend when he shot nudes of her without her knowledge. She said the UFC should step up and do something and set a precedent like Major League Baseball.
In UFC 193 picks, David Bixenspan led the way again with 4-1. Dave Meltzer, Josh Nason, Jack Encarnacao, Front Row Brian, John Pollock, and Mike Sempervive all went 3-2. Steve Juon and Mike Sawyer were each 2-3.
Tim Kennedy said he’s positive Vitor Belfort is still using steroids and implies others are as well
Things I wish I hadn’t seen: “What I really think the world needs is another Holocaust, but this time for the Islams of the world…The ones who REALLY should be extinguished. HAIL TRUMP.” That was from Tammy Sytch.
St. Louis Anarchy from last night in Alton, IL: Christian Rose b Jojo Bravo, Matt Cage b Danny Adams, Trik Davis b Mike Outlaw, Devin & Mason Cutter b Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers, DJ Zema Ion b Everett Connors, Jordan Lacey b Gerald James-DQ in a 2/3 fall match, Mat Fitchett won Royal Rumble
St. Louis Anarchy from Friday night in Alton, IL: Paco Gonzalez b Steve O Reno, Alex Castle b Mike Outlaw, Matt Cage b Trik Davis, Jeremy Wyatt & Christian Rose b Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers, Gerald James b Davey Richards to retain title in a 2/3 fall match, Ricky Starks won four-way over Mallaki Matthews, Jordan Lacey and Jay Howard, Davey Vega b DJ Zema Ion, Mat Fitchett b Jojo Bravo, Evan Gelistico & Adam Caster & Danny Adams & Everett Connors b Devin & Mason Cutter & Alexandre Rudolph & Jake Parnell-DQ (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Santana Garrett retained her NWA women’s title today in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall over Holidead on the Stardom show. It was the first time the NWA women’s title was defended in Japan in a long time. One report dated it back to when Moolah went, and I don’t think Moolah went after the late 60s. Results saw Jungle Kyouna b Morno Watanabe, Haruka Kato & Saori Anou b Hiromi Mimura & Starlight Kid, Act Yasukawa & Kris Wolf & Kyoko Kimura b Alex Lee & Datura & Kaori Yoneyama, Kairi Hojo b Mika Iwata, Io Shirai retained her Wonder of Stardom title over Sendai Sachiko, Meiko Satomura retaied her World of Stardom title over Mayu Iwatani via ref stoppage after she passed out from a choke (thanks to Al Haft)
Acclaim Pro Wrestling on 11/21 in Ottawa at the SPK Dom Polski Polish Combatants Centre
Lucha Toronto on 1/24 in Scarborough, ONT at 3107 Danforth Ave. with L.A. Park, Pantera, El Hijo del Pantera and Lince Dorado.
Chaos for Canines on 11/22 at 2 p.m. in Toronto at the Longbranch Legion.
CWF on 11/20 at the Mid Atlantic Sportatorium in Gibsonville, NC with Shane Helms, appearing for a meet and greet and a 2/3 fall triathlon match.
Lucha Xtreme from last night on Fresno TV: Guerrero de la Muerta b Jesse Poole, La Mascara (not the CMLL wrestler) b Chad Dougals, Mortal b Brandon Groom to win the Lucha Extreme title. Next TV taping is Saturday in Merced, CA at the American Legion Post at 939 W. Main St. at 5 p.m.
Main Event Wrestling in Rushton, LA last night before 350 fans with Drew Gulak and Timothy Thatcher. Action Jackson b Soldier Ant, Safari b Devyn, Manimal b Rodney Mack, Matt Justice b Raphael King, Chase Stevens & Cassidy Riley b Timothy Thatcher & Drew Gulak, Big Daddy Yumyum b Moonshine Mansell (thanks to Charles Humprhreys)
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling from last night in Swansea, IL before 400 fans: Barracus b Brent Meyers, Gunner b Jimmy D, Sean Vincent & Chas Wesson b Bubba Troll & Curtis Wylde, Jake Dirden DDQ Ax, Chris Hargas & Brandon Espinosa b Bobby D & Ironman Ken Kasa, Bobby D won Battle Royal, Flash Flanagan b Gary Jackson-COR (thanks to Larry Matysik)
Maryland Championship Wrestling from last night in Joppa, MD: Bruiser b Fenix Fury, Kai Katana b Hoss Hagood, Hell Cats won three-way over Punk Rock All-Stars and Dixon Line, Renee Michelle b Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Smooth b Bo Nekoda, Eric Chapel & Dirty Money b C-Fed & G-Fed, Mickie James b Amber Rodriguez in a loser leaves town match, King McBride b Brandon Scott. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon and Baby Doll were there talking about their memories of their days wrestling in Baltimore. They have shows on 12/4 in Felton, DE at the Delaware Auto Exchange with Mick Foley and The Headbangers, and 12/26 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena with Chyna, Ethan Carter III and Ashley Massaro.
UPW November to Dismember in Rochester, NY from last night: Ryan Cassidy b Jordan Falco, Marc Hauss b Carter Mason, Cheech b Kevin Bennett, Ethan Page b Coconut Jones, Tigerslayer 08 b Home Wreckers and Rochester Wrecking Crew in three-way to win tag titles, Lionel Knight b Space Monkey, Venomous NC Rik Matrix, Mattlick NC Cloudy, Professor Wessler & Dewey Lee & Chip Stetson & LaDiva & Eric Rosecroft b Victor Lord & Ron Falco & Thomas Torrens & Yamaraj & Dave Jacobs in a Survivor Series match, Maximo Suave b Tito Santana-DQ (thanks to Todd Brantley)
I was at Etihad Stadium for UFC 193 today and saw the whole show from the first fight. A long day and the Struve fight took the wind out of the sails, but everyone left buzzed after the main event.
Thumbs up, even without the historical main event.
Best Fight: Ronda & Holly
Worst Fight: Struve & Rosholt (although at times this looked more like training and sparring)
Prior to the main event I wasn’t sure what I thought he best fight was, as there were several goods ones and several impressive performances, particularly from Nguyen, Matthews and Whittaker. The co-main event was also very good, although there was a mexican wave during round 4 for some reason.
Holly’s performance was stunning and near faultless. To see it unfold, see Ronda start to succumb to damage and fatigue and culminate in the KO was amazing. At the end of round 1 it looked like Ronda was in big trouble, but you still never bet against a champion with a reign like hers. Holly winning felt like a feel good moment too and the place erupted. This was a fight we won’t be forgetting.
Crowd reactions were good all day, although there were a few flat spots, so will be interesting to see how that translated to TV. Ronda got the biggest reaction for the day, but the biggest overall reaction was the finish to the main event and then the start of Holly’s interview. We couldn’t hear what she was saying at first.
Daniel Arnephy
UFC 193
Thumbs Up. This event didn’t have a classic back-and-fort fight but from a historical standpoint (first show on that part of the world, massive attendance, and the end of Ronda’s streak) this was a classic show. Saw the event at a local bar and like Ronda’s last few matches the place was packed with more women than ever. She, Floyd Mayweather and maybe Miguel Cotto, are the only ones who moves the needle that way, and the other two don’t draw as much young-single women. As for the future I think that UFC just hit the lottery; instead of just having Ronda vs. Cyborg as the next big fight, now they have all kinds of potential ones: Rousey vs. Holm 2 (UFC 200 with Ronda talking more than ever), Rousey vs. Cyborg (who now looks like the biggest idiot because of all the wasted opportunities to make the weight and face Ronda), and Cyborg vs. Holm, plus all the future combinations out of those matches. Fedor, Silva, Barao, and now Ronda; Aldo next?
Best Fight: Holm vs Rousey. Just because of the result. The reaction to that result was like when Lesnar beat Undertaker at Mania, total disbelieve. As to why it happened is anyone’s guess. Holm played her plan perfectly; Ronda walked into Holm’s forte instead of insist on her clinch and ground game strength. Also, and this is just trying to find out something where there is nothing, on the weigh-in Ronda looked skinnier than ever and in the fight she looked bigger than ever; maybe that weight change has something to do with her less than stellar performance. Again, Holm fought the perfect fight, so she deserves all the credit.
Best KO: Holm. Her name is Holly and she’s “The Preacher’s Daughter”, so maybe it was a miracle; we’ll see at the rematch.
Leonardo II Mendez
San Sebastian, PR
Dave,
I’m not going to get into details about the fight itself but Rousey didn’t look like herself.
However this was the first UFC PPV I have ever purchased and my wife was just as pumped as I was.
Thanks
Craig Staunton
Thumbs sorta down. Kinda lackluster card, even with the upset. Usual shitty homie local yokel officiating (and production work on this one. Lotta indy mistakes.)
Best fight: Matthews-Arreola, except the finish.
Worst fight: Walsh-Kennedy & Rosholt-Struve
Best performance: Holm
Worst performance: Rousey
KO: Holly (HM to Moontasri)
Sub: Nguyen by default
Ben Nguyen remains impressive blowing away Ryan Benoit with a clean quick KD, mount, backtake and RNC. Late sub Anton Zafir gasses doing 1stR top control and James Moontasri coming up from 155 to 170 takes him out with a SBK/SBF combo that breaks some bones. Patrick Walsh and Steve Kennedy go three almost comically inept rounds that have the Ozzie crowd booing both homies. Kennedy loses. Dan Kelly dominates Steve Montgomery early and late and should take a 29-28 and does on all cards.
Danny Martinez just too strong for Richie Vaculik and takes a competitive but clear 30-27. Very easy night for Gian Villante, paint job on Anthony Perosh, who suffers his second consecutive quick KO and at 43 might wanna rethink things. Kyle Noke blows Peter Sobotta away, dropping him quickly with a front kick to the floating rib and finishing with G&P. In a smelly finish to the most dramatic and competitive fight of the night, veteran Akbarh Arreola drops local phenom Jake Matthews with a HK in the 1st and has him in trouble but Matthews survives and finishes the round on top. Matthews gets the early TD in the 2nd and busts Arreola up with elbows till the bell. The Ozzie cut guy doesn’t use the Enswell and the Ozzie doctor stops the fight in the corner with Arreola clearly still able to see out of the eye.
Jared Rosholt plop and schmops Stefan Struve for 2R then Struve sort of wakes up and probably wins the 3rd. The joint with great force is stunk out. 29-28 UD. Dreadful.
Uriah Hall steps in late again this time with nothing to gain and everything to lose, having just beaten a much higher profile guy in Mousasi and Robert Whittaker being no gimme. Whittaker keeps Hall off balance most of the fight. Uriah makes a few too many mistakes than you can with this guy. Hall gives his best shot to pulling it out in the 3rd but too little too late. 30-27 or 29-28 and it’s 2 column from A and 1 column B.
Bigfoot Silva looking visibly aged and Mark Hunt looking comparatively lean, for him. WAY anticlimactic after their war a couple years back as not much action for 3+ minutes then Hunt scores a KD with a right to the temple and the Ozzie ref VERY quick to jump in and stop it. Feh.
Valerie Latourneau more competitive than expected with Joanna J and stays in the fight all the way. Doesn’t come close to winning but shows JJ may not be as all that as she looked the last couple times out (against smaller fighters, Valerie is bigger.) I had 50-47 (3-0-2 in rounds), cards were 49-46 x 2, 50-45 (VL appeared to at least draw the 1st.)
The main has already been beat to death so here’s the 20/20 hindsight. Like I and many others said going in, Holly Holm was the right style to trouble Ronda Rousey. Like was obvious, Ronda wasn’t her usual self mentally or physically. And obviously Holly’s MMA cred was a big question mark. But here’s what the key turned out to be: the assumption going in was was the the question was, has Ronda’s striking improved to the point where she could neutralize Holly’s enough to impose the clinch or ground game where she would have an overwhelming advantage, or rather how long would it take. It turned out that the answer was Holly’s grappling was more than good enough to neutralize Ronda’s and that the overwhelming advantage was Holly’s on the feet, or it was last night anyway. Ronda’s gotten away with that stupid side headlock on everybody else (except McMann blocked it and it didn’t matter anyway). Holly was the first one to use the basic counter every wrestler knows, the Greco Roman Backdrop, successfully. Edmund was no help and Ronda needs better wrestling, better Muay Thai, and somebody in the corner who’ll tell her that she just got her ass kicked when she did, not that she ‘did great’, and that if you’re getting countered to STOP FUCKING LEADING. Bad part for business is obviously that Holly has the personality of Wonder Bread but oh well.
Crimson Mask
First…I LOVE HOLLY HOLM!
Now, onto business… What do you do if you’re UFC? Putting on my Promoter/Fantasy Booker hat for a minute…
The plans, as I understood them, was to do Rousey V Cyborg at UFC 200 in July. That’s now out the window. So now, it’s the Holly v Ronda rematch/ Scrap that too, and do THIS instead…
HOLM v CYBORG -and- ROUSEY v CARANO
–Gina “retired” with 1 loss. Rousey has 1 loss. –Gina was the absolute darling of MMA. But left before the explosion. UFC, open your pocket book/do whatever it takes to compel Gina to come back. –Ronda: chance to rehabilitate your holier-than-thou attitude. –“Embedded” –and the media of course– could build THIS fight to be bigger than an immediate rematch of Rousey v Holm could ever be –On the same card, the “indestructible” bad guy (well, bad girl) Cyborg invades to attempt to destroy the now also-seemingly-indestructible-but-everyone’s new darling Holly Holm. –The winners face one another later in the year. And oh yeah, now that Rousey is no longer the call-all-the-shots-boss, if weight is an issue –for any of these ladies– go to catch at 140lbs., which is probably better for all 4 anyways. –Now, you have a division with real depth and fan and media appeal. And that’s BEFORE you get to Zingano and Meisha (which –all due respect Dana– feels lackluster at this point)
You’re welcome Dana. If you wanna throw me 10 cents for each PPV buy, I won’t turn it down.
Rick Bassman
Good show overall. For what it’s worth the place I watched the fight at tonight had close to about 300 people packed in. Would say 3/4’s of the crowd stood and cheered the finish of the Holm fight. Very few left with their heads down. Hall/Whitaker was my favorite fight aside from the main event
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
On a day like this it is difficult to find the words, so I will keep this short. A lot of innocent people in Paris lost their lives to senseless acts of violence. They didn’t deserve it. It is hard to fathom why this happened.
All of us at F4WOnline.com send our condolences, prayers and positive thoughts to those who were effected by this tragedy in Paris.
Joint statement from UFC and Etihad Stadium, the location of tonight’s UFC Rousey vs. Holm event tonight:
Etihad Stadium and UFC jointly send their thoughts and sympathy to those impacted by the terrible incidents which occurred in France.
Regarding tomorrow’s scheduled UFC 193 card at Etihad Stadium, officials from Etihad Stadium, UFC, and Victoria Police have come together to review all major safety protocols and procedures prior to this major event. This risk assessment and planning process takes place before all events held at Etihad Stadium, and the venue, promoter and police will remain diligent in this process in light of today’s tragedies in France.
We have been advised by Victoria Police there is nothing to suggest that tomorrow’s event will in any way be impacted by the events in France, it is important to note that precautions are being taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all in attendance.
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE show in Nottingham, England, NXT in Orlando, ROH in Milwaukee (A.J. Styles & Young Bucks vs. Jay Lethal & Donovan Dijak & Joey Daddiego, Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for tag titles plus Survivor of the Fittest matches with Mark Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Hanson vs. Kenny King, Jay Briscoe vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Ray Rowe vs. Rhett Titus, Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose, Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young vs. Adam Page and Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander), NXT in Orlando and House of Hardcore in Philadelphia shows.
******
We’re also looking for reports on yesterday’s WWE shows in Newcastle, England and Bologna, Italy, yesterday’s NXT in Winter Haven, FL and Wednesday’s show in Rome at Dave Meltzer
We’ll be doing polls this weekend on both UFC 194 and the Tenryu retirement show.
UFC SATURDAY NIGHT FROM ETIHAD STADIUM IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRAILA
Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m. Eastern time
Ryan Benoit vs. Ben Nguyen
Steven Kennedy vs. Richard Walsh
Steve Montgomery vs. Daniel Kelly
James Moontasri vs. Brendan O’Reilly
FS 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Richie Vacuik vs. Danny Martinez
Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante
Kyle Noke vs. Pete Sobotta
Jake Matthews vs.
PPV AT 10 p.m. Eastern
Jared Rosholt vs. Stefan Struve
Uriah Hall vs. Robert Whittaker
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Bigfoot Silva
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valerie Letourneau for strawweight title
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm for bantamweight title
TENRYU RETIREMENT SHOW FROM SUMO HALL IN TOKYO AT 1 A.M. EASTERN LATE SATURDAY/10 P.M. PACIFIC TIME
Suwama & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuyuki Fujita
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kazuchika Okada
This show features world champions from three different offices, Big Japan (Okabayashi), NOAH (Suzuki) and New Japan (Okada).
Sunday has Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow, Scotland with Drew Galloway vs. Grado in what will be the most attended show from a UK based promotion in 33 years, as well as the second day of the Lucha Underground tapings in Boyle Heights, CA.
Raw will be live Monday night from Greenville, SC. The show will feature the quarterfinals of the WWE championship tournament. The quarterfinals have Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto, Kevin Owens vs. Neville and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler. It’s possible all of these matches will be on Raw, or that some may be taped for Smackdown.
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com” target=”_blank”>dave@wrestlingobserver.com
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
The Bellas were in Paris yesterday. The were within 6km of some of the attacks. They posted on their twitter and instagram.
Fusion has an article blaming WWE for the political rise of Donald Trump. Trump hosted two different WrestleMania events in the 1980s and also appeared as a cornerman for a Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga match which, at the time, was the biggest-money WrestleMania event in history. Trump had his hair on the line against the hair of Vince McMahon, which, of course, led to Vince being shaved bald.
Danny in the UK wrote in to talk about the “WHO ARE YOU?” chants at the Raw and Smackdown shows for guys like Braun Strowman and Tyler Breeze. “We do not use this chant because we don’t actually know who he is, it’s more of an insult for someone who is new or rather insignificant. It has been popularised at football matches here for example if a big club such as Manchester United played a smaller club such as Doncaster Rovers, everyone here knows who Doncaster are and where they are located but they would use the chant as an insult towards the smaller club. The NXT show will be awesome when it comes to the UK and the crowd will be on fire.”
Information on the next WWE Performance Center All Access weekend in January is up on the WWE.com website.
Here’s a column on Hulk Hogan speaking about the potential of John Cena someday turning heel.
Steve Austin got a mention in this WSJ article about podcasting. (Thanks to Nick DeLeon)
Smackdown was up slightly this week to 2.3 million viewers from the 2.1 million last week.
UFC/MMA
Dana White tweeted the reverse angle of the Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm weigh-in staredown/confrontation.
Here’s the entire thing complete with Ronda’s fiery promo after their altercation at the weigh-ins.
Ronda Rousey was announced as the cover athlete for EA Sports UFC 2 in an extensive trailer talking about how she grew up loving EA Sports games and now gets to be on the cover of one. EA Sports’ site has a list of the new features in the game, while Shaun Al-Shatti at MMAFighting has an interview with game director Brian Hayes.
Ronda on Thursday said that Miesha Tate’s best bet for a title shot was to just wait around for her to retire. She’s been talking retirement a lot lately, and she claimed she had more miles on her body than Miesha did with all of the surgeries and arthritis she said she was battling. She said if Miesha just waited around, she probably could face Holly at some point in a title match. As far as Holm getting the title shot and not Miesha, she noted she’d already beaten Miesha’s ass twice.
A couple of fights recently announced for upcoming UFC cards – For UFC 195 in Vegas on January 2nd, unbeaten Brian Ortega takes on Diego Brandao in a Featherweight bout. For Fight Night 81 in Boston, the loaded FS 1 show headlined by the Dillashaw/Cruz Bantamweight title fight, Lightweight prospects Beneil Dariush and Mairbek Taisumov square off.
Ray Sefo of the World Series of Fighting announced Jake Shields vs. Jon Fitch for the vacant WSOF Welterweight Title on April 1st. The last champion, Rousimar Palhares, was stripped of the title following the fight with Shields earlier this year where he held onto a Kimura too long and allegedly raked Shields’ eyes. Shields was so upset after the fight that he punched Palhares, which ended up with him being disciplined as well.
Other Wrestling
Rey Mysterio called into Busted Open Radio Friday on the anniversary of Eddie Guerrero’s death. On being ready to be World Champion at the time he got the title, Mysterio said, “No, especially not under those circumstances. I guess my career was heading in a different direction. We had just finished our feud with my son, Dominic, and the great story that Eddie put together and how much passion he threw behind that, that character that he was. He was ready to move on with Batista and I really don’t know where I was going, but that changed direction completely for, I believe, for everyone. So I really wasn’t ready at the time, but of course you’ve got to make the best out of it. This was a big opportunity for me and the people knew. The people knew that it was going down for Eddie. I was put on the spot, but I was there representing Eddie.”
Remember Glacier? He did an interview talking about Dusty Rhodes, Lou Thesz, his WCW run, and more.
Pete Gas joins the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. On Shane McMahon returning to WWE: “I think it’s one of those things where you don’t want to live in your Dad’s shadow. To be honest with you the only person who can truly answer that is Shane. It will always be in his blood to be in the business, whether or not he ever comes back. I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you. But he’s one of those guys that truly loves the business, he loved everything about it but maybe it was something he had to prove to himself.”
The ESPN 30-for-30 documentary Prince Of Pennsylvania that focuses on the Schultz brothers is now available on Netflix.
Maryland Championship Wrestling results (11/13) in Waldorf, MD: G-Fed and The Hell Cats defeated The Kings, Oakley Woods w/Colonel Calihan defeated Rayo, Tessa Blanchard defeated Renee Michelle, MCW Rage TV Champion Brandon Scott defeated Money Green, The Bruiser defeated Paul Jordane, Kimber Lee w/ The Dixon Line defeated Mickie James for the MCW Woman’s Championship after Amber Rodriquez interfered, Lio Rush defeated Eric Chapel w/ Kevin Eck in a no DQ, falls count anywhere match, MCW Champion King McBride defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain. Ric Flair appeared on the show as well. MCW runs Saturday with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Baby Doll & Tessa Blanchard on the show.
SDW returns to the Richfield American Legion with a Holiday Spectacular on Saturday, December 19.
In case you missed it, UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa dropped by the set of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out this week to help analyze UFC 193, talk about his December fight against Jim Miller, and shoot the breeze in general. It’s free for everyone, so give it a listen here and tell your damn friends.
Our panel:
– Jack Encarnacao (95-37 | .719): Sherdog Rewind host, The Lapsed Fan podcast co-chair
Lots of alliteration going on for this main event, eh? Assuming Rousey decimates Holm, the only fight that makes sense is Lady Cyborg. That’s it, that’s all. No other women in the division is going to test Rousey like Cyborg could in July, and ultimately, that’s what we need. She’s the equivalent of Anthony Davis sent back to the 1945 version of the NBA — so far ahead of her time that no one can stop her.
How the public will take to this fight is interesting. Holm has done nothing to promote other than get a fist up in Rousey’s face during Friday’s weigh-ins that Rousey sold like she was training for another WWE appearance. Legit or showmanship? Given the buzz this week, you can figure that out just as well as I can.
Will the mainstream/casual Rousey fan plunk down the money to watch or will they just wait to hopefully see the fight on Instagram like many got conditioned to do this year? The UFC is worried about that, proactively sending out a notice to media members about not sharing any GIFs or videos of the event, missing that it’s the general social media loving DGAF public that should be the focus of their proactive approach.
I’m more excited for what happens after the fight than the battle itself which I think will wrap up in less than a round. Holm is unbeaten and a former boxing champion in an era long ago, but she’s getting the shot due to a lack of options rather than a truly earned opportunity.
To say the weigh-ins for these two was awkward to watch Friday is an understatement. Seeing nearly emaciated 115-pound women step on the scales isn’t my idea of a fun time.
To the fight itself, Letourneau represents a speed bump on the way to Double J’s eventual title defense with Claudia Gadelha. After two straight decision to open her UFC ledger, Jędrzejczyk has two straight wins by T/KO, two straight bonuses, and a piece of shiny metal and leather around her waist. How the 28-year-old resonates with the mainstream Rousey crowd will be something to watch in the months ahead.
The 32-year-old Letourneau has won all three of her UFC fights by decision, and with all three of her career losses comes against more well-known fighters (Sarah Kaufman, Gadelha, Alexis Davis). She can’t see the image of Jessica Penne’s bloodied face before she steps in the cage, even though the oddsmakers seem to think a similar fate awaits the Canadian.
> Mark Hunt (10-10-1) vs. Bigfoot Silva (19-7-1) II Heavyweights
Rematches of classics rarely, if ever, live up to the hype of the predecessor. With heavyweights, there’s a little more of a chance because if someone gets knocked out, you at least have that to point to. Can Hunt and Silva give us anything close to what they had on that night 2 years and one month ago? Doubtful.
The 41-year-old Hunt is just 1-3-1 since a four-fight win streak brought him to Junior dos Santos’ violent doorstep in 2013. In all three losses, he’s been knocked out by JDS, now-heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, and Stipe Miocic. Any fight could be his last and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Hunt hangs them up after tonight.
Strangely, Silva is also 1-3-1 in his last four after a two-fight win streak brought him to a title shot against then-champion Cain Velasquez. We all know what happened there. In his losses, he was also knocked out all three times (Velasquez, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski). He could also retire at any time. What time to be a UFC heavyweight!
> Robert Whittaker (14-4) vs. Uriah Hall (12-5) Middleweights
The fight that Mike Chiesa is looking forward to this most is an interesting scrap between two middleweight prospects. Hall is fresh off his short-notice fill-in fight against Gegard Mousasi, one he won in, ahem, SPECTACULAR FASHION. We all still want to understand what Hall we have now (vicious striker vs. passive decision-maker), and if he wins via a T/KO finish for the third straight time, we might have our answer.
This is already the eighth UFC fight for the 24-year-old Whittaker and since he decided to stop cutting to 170, he’s won two in a row by T/KO and three straight overall. Brad Tavares was his last victim, knocked out in just 44 seconds earlier this year.
> Stefan Struve (26-7) vs. Jared Rosholt (13-2) Heavyweights
Struve kept his UFC career alive with a decision win over the now-retired Rodrigo Nogueira in August. Before a heart issue and a two-fight losing streak (Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem) derailed Struve, Double-S had won four straight in 2011-12 and was moving into title contender category. He’s still just 27 which is truly insane.
This is the biggest fight of the 29-year-old Rosholt’s career. A winner in five of his six Octagon tilts, his biggest enemy has been apathy over those wins due to bland, wrestling-filled decisions. This is an interesting fight for both guys as Struve hasn’t fought a wrestler like Rosholt in years, if ever.
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…”
It’s the second straight weekend for a UFC event, and more chances to cash in if you play Draft Kings. UFC 193 comes our way on Saturday night from Melbourne, Australia, with two title fights and the two most dominant women in their respective weight classes defending their championships. Below are our studs, value plays, and fighters to avoid to help you fill out your UFC 193 DraftKings lineups:
STUDS
Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($11,300)
I could easily pick both Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk to occupy these two stud slots, but for the sake of the article, I’m only going one. I suggest you draft both, and it is possible to draft both and keep a solid team as I will show you later. I expect Rousey to win quickly, but she may have a much harder time, so I’m putting Jedrzejczyk as my top stud for this event. She has dynamic striking and lands a lot of significant strikes, and her opponent, Valerie Letourneau, leaves herself open to eat a lot of punches. Jedrzejczyk has underrated takedown ability as well, and she looks to finish every second of the fight. I sense both women getting early finishes, which grabs a lot of points. Jedrzejczyk’s significant striking ability will likely net more points for you, and that could make up a big difference. Do yourself a favor- draft both, or if you only wanna stick with one, I’d go Jedrzejczyk over Rousey, but only slightly.
Uriah Hall ($9,800)
Uriah Hall is coming off the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Gegard Mousasi in September. He took that fight on short notice and takes another short notice bout against Robert Whittaker on Saturday at UFC 193. He looks like he is finally living up to his potential, and he gets a stout test in Whittaker. Whittaker can be finished in his career, as evidenced to his February 2014 loss to Stephen Thompson. Hall is a similar striker to Thompson and could give Whittaker the same type of fits with his kicks. Hall is flashy and likes the spin kick, much like Thompson displayed against Whittaker. I hope that is a fight Hall watched over and over in preparation. Hall can be an enigma at times, as there have been moments when he hasn’t lived up to expectations. With the recent performance against Mousasi, he seems mentally into it and another big win could be coming his way on Saturday. He has a good chance at scoring a finish.
VALUE PICKS
Dan Kelly ($9,000)
I’ll admit there aren’t a lot of value plays on this card. I expect a lot of the favorites with high salaries to win here. There are a couple of solid value picks, and one of them is Dan Kelly. Yes, he was involved in arguably the worst fight in the UFC in 2015 against Patrick Walsh. Yes, he lost in under a minute in his last bout. However, he has scored seven wins by stoppage in his career, including a first-round submission win in his UFC debut. He fights Steve Montgomery, who is coming off being finished in the first round in his UFC debut. Kelly is worth taking a chance on, especially if you wanna go after some of the higher salary fighters on the card.
Anton Zafir ($8,800)
Anton Zafir is making his UFC debut on Saturday on short notice, being an injury fill-in and taking his debut fight against James Moontasri on eight days’ notice. Zafir was being targeted for the UFC roster in the near future and was headed to the event to meet with UFC officials on what he needed to do to get on the roster. Luckily for him, a spot opened up and his UFC signing came sooner than expected. He is inexperienced, having fought just eight times, but he has won seven of those, and six of the wins have come by stoppage. His opponent, Moontasri, is coming off being finished in the first round in his last fight. Plus, Moontasri is also taking the fight as an injury replacement, though he had adequate training time, but he is also moving up in weight for this fight. Zafir is another solid option for those wanting to spend on bigger names.
AVOID
Antonio Silva ($8,900)
I’m avoiding Antonio Silva as much as possible at this event. First of all, I don’t expect him to defeat Mark Hunt. Even if he is able to, I don’t see him finishing Hunt. I actually see Hunt finishing him, so selecting Hunt for your roster might not be a bad idea. Silva’s best shot at winning is taking the fight to the judges and staying out of striking range. He might not maximize your point-scoring abilities on this card, so I’m saying to just avoid “Bigfoot” this time around due to his tough opponent and bad chin.
Valerie Letourneau ($8,100) & Holly Holm ($8,000)
I’m grouping these two together. They’re fighting the two most dominant women in the sport. I actually think Holm has a decent chance if she has an excellent gameplan. That gameplan, though, means staying as far away from Ronda Rousey as possible, and thus not maximizing point-scoring ability. Letourneau almost feels like she is being led to a slaughter. I’m finding a way to have both Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk on my roster, and I think they score finishes over their opponents rather easily. That means avoid the challengers.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK: Ronda Rousey ($11,400), Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($11,300), Uriah Hall ($9,800), Anton Zafir ($8,800), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
I found a way to get both dominant champions in my line-up, selecting Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. I see them getting the finishes in their title fights, and I don’t see either fight going past the second round. First-round wins won’t be surprising as well. I like Uriah Hall to continue to live up to his potential and get the finish win. The gameplan and blueprint for finishing Robert Whittaker is out there, Hall just has to execute. Anton Zafir is a sneaky play in his short-notice UFC debut, and he could make a big impression against James Moontasri, who can be finished. I rounded out my team with Steve Kennedy. Kennedy makes his second UFC appearance, but he has 22 professional wins in his career, with 17 by knockout or submission. His opponent, Richard Walsh, was brutally knocked out in his last bout. I give Kennedy a decent shot, and someone had to fill out my roster going with the two women.
PAUL FONTAINE: Joanna Jedrezejczyk ($11,300), Mark Hunt ($10,500), Richie Vaculik ($9,700), Robert Whittaker ($9,600), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
This is a tough week for this. I really tried hard to figure out a way to get both Rousey and Joanna on my team but I cant’ find a combination that makes me happy so I’m let with this. I picked JJ over Ronda due to the fact that I think both will win by quick stoppage but Joanna will probably land more strikes in doing so and thus earn me more points. I also like Mark Hunt to rebound from his beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic to score a quick knockout over Bigfoot Silva. My third choice is Richie Vaculik. He should be motivated by the rabid home country crowd and his opponent Danny Martinez is on a 3 fight losing streak. My next two picks are also Australians with Robert Whittaker being next. The popular opinion is Uriah Hall but Whittaker shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s got a lot of power and again will be a huge favorite to these fans. Uriah Hall is either really bad or really good and we haven’t seen the bad one in awhile. With the short turnaround between fights and the long trip to Australia, it could be a recipe for disaster. My final pick is Steve Kennedy, who took his UFC debut fight on short notice. He’s had a proper training camp here and will hopefully rebound and score me some points.
PEACH MACHINE: Ronda Rousey ($11,400), Jake Matthews ($11,000), Robert Whittaker ($9,600), Ryan Benoit ($9,400), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
Rousey is definitely worth the price tag. Automatic. Ryan Benoit is going to keep winning, especially against Ben Nguyen. Jake Matthews is a hometown hero. I saw him fight live in Australia and it was awesome. I expect him to roll through Arreola. I like Robert Whittaker moving up to 185. He’s a fast middleweight, but so is Hall. However, I’m expecting the uncertain, cautious Hall to come out here once he starts dealing with Whittaker’s complete game. Steven Kennedy is my sleeper pick… Because he was all I could afford, so I’m hoping he does something besides go to sleep!
The UFC heads back to Australia this weekend for the third stadium show in company history, headlined by the two most dominant women in the UFC today each defending their championships in front of a potential record-setting crowd. UFC 193 takes place on Saturday night on pay-per-view with the main card airing at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before heading on over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time for more prelim action.
The most dominant woman in MMA today, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, defends her title in the main event against undefeated challenger, Holly Holm, in a fight that could end up being the toughest test to date for Rousey. In the co-main event, the most dominant woman at 115 pounds, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, defends her title against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who meet in a rematch of their epic encounter from December 2013. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on at UFC 193 on Saturday night.
1. Can Holly Holm be the woman to dethrone Ronda Rousey?
Ronda Rousey has been, arguably, the most dominant champion in UFC history, or at the very least, of the last couple of years. She is undefeated in her career at 12-0, and she has only been out of the first round once in her career. She has scored eight wins in less than a minute, three wins by knockout, and nine wins by submission, with all nine coming by her signature move- the armbar. She has amassed just under 26 minutes of total fight time in her twelve career fights. Everything about her fighting has been dominant. She has become a mainstream star unheard of in the sport, due not just to the attention she has received from being a fighter, but also due to her new-found status in Hollywood. She may not be long for the sport at this rate, but every time she steps foot inside the Octagon, you get the feeling you are about to see something special yet again.
Holly Holm is 9-0 since moving over to MMA from boxing, where she won 19 world titles in her career while putting together a 33-2-3 career record. She also has some professional kickboxing experience. She was impressive early in her MMA career, winning six of her first seven fights by knockout, leading to negotiations with the UFC. It was a long process, but she finally signed in July 2014. Injuries kept her from debuting for a while, but she was coming into the UFC with a lot of hype. She also works with one of the best fight camps in the world, the Greg Jackson camp in New Mexico, and under a lot of great coaches and with some of the best training partners in the world. She has been somewhat underwhelming in her two UFC bouts, scoring solid, yet overall unimpressive, wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. She was selected as Rousey’s next opponent, likely before she was fully ready, because it was what Rousey wanted. Holm now has the chance to show she is the one that can dethrone the champion.
Holm’s two UFC bouts have almost been like walk throughs in anticipation of a chess match with Rousey. Holm moves around a lot on her feet, and she picks her attacks rather nicely. She throws a lot, but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She’s methodical in her approach. Rousey is much the same. Rousey doesn’t make mistakes, and she is much better on her feet than she has gotten credit for. She is also a master of gameplans. Holm’s coach, Greg Jackson, is also a gameplan master. Holm has shown good takedown defense, and it is going to need to be on point against Rousey. Both women fight very smart and Holm isn’t going to rush in right after Rousey. This fight may be different than any Rousey fight we have seen to this date, but it is hard to envision the outcome being any different. It’s not a matter of if Rousey will win, but how long will it take. We are in store for another special moment on Saturday, but Holm will be a very tough test for Rousey to pass.
2. Does Valerie Letourneau have a chance against Joanna Jedrzejczyk?
Valerie Letourneau enters UFC 193 on Saturday night challenging Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. She is doing it on the heels of four straight wins and is coming off a win over Maryna Moroz in August. She has been declared an undeserving challenger by most, but at the same time, they needed someone to challenge Jedrzejczyk, and she was likely the best option available at the time due to injuries and bookings to others. She enters as the biggest underdog in a title fight in history, and a simple $100 bet on her would win you $1,335 if she were to pull off the upset. Quite frankly, she is being counted out before the two women even step foot inside the Octagon. The big question is does she even stand a chance against Jedrzejczyk?
Letourneau has some solid striking and comes from a good camp in the American Top Team camp. The only losses in her career have come to Alexis Davis, Sarah Kaufman and Claudia Gadelha. Two of those have won and fought for titles, and the other, Gadelha, is next in line when she returns from the injured list. Jedrzejczyk is a different beast, though. She is undefeated in ten career fights, and she is likely the best striker in women’s fighting, no matter the weight class. She tees off on opponents, and her dominant win over Jessica Penne in her first title defense in June shows how great her attack is. She has overwhelmed both Penne and Carla Esparza in their title fight, and Gadelha has been the only one to give her a tough fight. Gadelha arugably beat Jedrzejczyk. Letourneau is going to need to be on the offensive and use her reach advantage. She won’t be able to outstrike Jedrzejczyk, so she should mix in some grappling. However, the champion is strong there. This is all set up for a showcase win for Jedrzejczyk, and it’s only a matter of how long it takes the champion to win.
3. Can Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva recapture the magic of their first fight?
Depending on who you ask and when you ask them, Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva were involved in the greatest fight in UFC history when they met each other in December 2013. It was an amazing heavyweight battle that surprisingly went 25 minutes, with over 320 strikes landed between the two of them. They were bloodied and battered, and when all was said and done, the fight ended without a winner. It ended in a draw, in one of those rare occurences where a draw is determined without a point deduction to factor in. It was a magical moment on that December night in Australia, and the two big heavyweights will step back into the Octagon again on Saturday night in Australia looking to recapture the magic of their first encounter. More importantly, after a draw, they, and fans alike, want a definitive winner.
When you are involved in one of the best fights in history, if you try it again with the same components, rarely does it ever live up to the first fight. Both men are different since that war. Hunt is coming off two straight losses, one of which was a brutal beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic. Silva lost his next two fights in bad fashion, but is coming off a big win over Soa Palelei. At this stage in their careers, it is unsure if either man has much left to give to the top contenders. Both still have that power that can make a difference in the heavyweight division, but their days of challenging for titles are likely long gone. That is why this is a perfect moment for a rematch. Hunt has the biggest difference maker in his right hand, but the beating he took at the hands of Miocic may be the beginning of the end for him. Silva’s chin can hardly take a punch these days, as his last five losses have all been first-round knockout losses. They are only going three rounds this time, and I sense a different outcome this time, with a winner truly decided. Who will that be? I like Hunt getting a knockout win.
4. Will Uriah Hall continue his surge up the UFC’s middleweight rankings?
Uriah Hall steps into the Octagon for fifth time on Saturday night, and he does so for the second straight time on short notice against a dangerous opponent. Last time it was Gegard Mousasi, and most thought Hall was headed to Japan to collect a paycheck and a beating. In the first round of their bout, it was looking like it was going to be a long night for Hall. However, in the second round, Hall pulled off a highlight-reel finish that he became known for during his time on “The Ultimate Fighter”. A spinning back kick landed to Mousasi’s face, then a flying knee, and before you know it, Hall finished Mousasi in a stunning upset to collect a performance bonus, a huge win, and the number ten ranking in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. It finally looked like Hall was going to start to live up to his potential as he has now won five of his last six fights.
He gets another tough foe on Saturday night as he steps in to fight Robert Whittaker, who has been looking great himself since moving up to 185 pounds. Whittaker is a former TUF winner, but after winning his first two UFC bouts, he dropped his next two. He has since won three straight, including two straight knockout wins after deciding to make the move up from 170 pounds. He has established himself as a formidable threat in the middleweight division, and he has moved to number 14 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He has a lot of power in his hands and can finish fights quickly with his punches. He doesn’t have the overall striking prowess of Hall, and when Whittaker faced a similiar striker when he took on Stephen Thompson, it was Thompson finishing Whittaker. Hall has a lot of momentum, and with taking another short notice fight, while it’ll be his third fight in three months, he has a lot of confidence after the win over Mousasi. It’ll likely be a highlight-reel win in either direction, but Hall gets the job done here.
5. What else on the card is there to look out for?
The UFC 193 main card on pay-per-view rounds out with a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Jared Rosholt. It will be Struve’s 16th appearance inside the Octagon, and after a long list of setbacks, he got back into the win column in scoring a decision win at UFC 190 in August over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which will be notable in history as the last fight in the legendary career for Nogueira. For Rosholt, it will be the first pay-per-view appearance for him as he looks to extend his two-fight win streak and move into the heavyweight rankings. He is 5-1 during his stint in the UFC, but it hasn’t been an overly impressive five wins as four of them have come by decision, and in not-so-pretty fashion. If there is one thing about Struve, it is that he can be finished, as all five of his UFC losses have come by knockout. It is the chance for Rosholt to score an impressive win, or for Struve to pick up his 11th triumph inside the Octagon.
In preliminary card action, each fight will feature a fighter hailing from Australia. It is not the most-stacked preliminary card in terms of name value, but features some solid fighters. One of the big names to watch is Jake Matthews, a 21-year-old lightweight looking to bounce back from the first loss in his career. He has been impressive in his short career, scoring seven of his eight wins by stoppage, but he gets a durable opponent in Akbarh Arreola, who has 22 wins by stoppage. In welterweight action, Kyle Noke looks for his second straight win against Peter Sobotta, holder of a seven-fight win streak. UFC veterans Anthony Perosh and Gian Villante will meet in a light heavyweight bout as both men look to rebound from setbacks in their previous bouts. A fight on the UFC Fight Pass portion to keep an eye on is the night’s opening bout, a flyweight contest between Ben Nguyen and Ryan Benoit. Nguyen has won seven straight fights, while Benoit is coming off an impressive second-round TKO win over Sergio Pettis at UFC 185 in March.
Full UFC 193 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. (#7) Holly Holm Betting Odds: Rousey (-1900), Holm (+1200) Prediction: Rousey by submission in round 1
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: (C) Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. (#8) Valerie Letourneau Betting Odds: Jedrzejczyk (-2150), Letourneau (+1300) Prediction: Jedrzejczyk by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#8) Mark Hunt vs. (#11) Antonio Silva Betting Odds: Hunt (-265), Silva (+225) Prediction: Hunt by knockout in round 1
Middleweights: (#10) Uriah Hall vs. (#14) Robert Whittaker Betting Odds: Hall (-130), Whittaker (+110) Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#14) Stefan Struve vs. Jared Rosholt Betting Odds: Struve (-125), Rosholt (+105) Prediction: Struve by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Lightweights: Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola Betting Odds: Matthews (-900), Arreola (+600) Prediction: Matthews by submission in round 1
Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta Betting Odds: Noke (+145), Sobotta (-165) Prediction: Noke by decision
Light Heavyweights: Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante Betting Odds: Perosh (+325), Villante (-400) Prediction: Villante by knockout in round 1
Flyweights: Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez Betting Odds: Vaculik (-105), Martinez (-115) Prediction: Vaculik by decision
7 Number of title defenses made by Ronda Rousey since becoming women’s bantamweight champion, which includes one in Strikeforce and six in the UFC
8 Number of wins in less than a minute for Rousey in her professional career, she also had three wins in under a minute in her amateur career
9 Number of wins by armbar scored by Rousey in her career
25:46 Total fight time for Rousey in her 12 career fights
100 Finishing rate percentage for Rousey, who has never gone the distance in a fight
44 Number of professional wins, between boxing, kickboxing and MMA, for Holly Holm in her fighting career
100 Takedown defense percentage rate for Holm in her MMA career
19 Number of title reigns in Holm’s boxing career
7 Current ranking in the women’s bantamweight division for Holm
28 Significant striking accuracy percentage rate for Holm, among the lowest in the division
10 Straight wins to start the MMA career for UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk
126 Significant strikes landed in Jedrzejczyk’s successful title defense against Jessica Penne in June
4.9 Significant strikes landed per minute by Jedrzejczyk
9 Current ranking of Valerie Letourneau in the women’s strawweight division
3.73 Significant strikes absorbed per minute for Letourneau as she heads into the fight against one of the best strikers in the sport in Jedrzejczyk
3 Inches of reach advantage that Letourneau will have over Jedrzejczyk
10 Number of wins and losses in the career of Mark Hunt, and also the number of stoppage losses in Hunt’s career
529 Total number of strikes landed in Hunt’s UFC career
1:54:11 Total Octagon fight time for Hunt, seventh-most in UFC heavyweight history
6:46 Average fight time for Antonio Silva, seventh-lowest in UFC heavyweight history
8 Inches of reach advantage that Silva will have over Hunt
6 Losses by knockout for Silva, whose last five losses have come by knockout
200 Combined number of significant strikes landed by Hunt and Silva in their first bout in December 2013
49 Days between fights, the quickest turnaround of anyone on the card, for Uriah Hall, who scored a knockout win over Gegard Mousasi on September 26
75 Win percentage rate by knockout for Hall, who has scored nine of his 12 wins by knockout
10 Current ranking for Hall in the middleweight rankings after winning five of his last six fights
14 Current ranking for Robert Whittaker in the middleweight rankings after just two fights in the division
4.83 Significant strikes landed per minute by Whittaker in UFC competition
4.29 Significant strikes absorbed per minute by Whittaker as he heads into a fight against a versatile striker in Hall
84 Inches in height and reach of Stefan Struve, the tallest fighter on the UFC roster
19 Submission attempts by Struve in, second-most in UFC heavyweight competition
2.86 Submission attempts per 15 minutes by Struve, most in UFC heavyweight competition (min. 5 fights)
12:46 Average fight time for Jared Rosholt in the UFC, highest in the UFC heavyweight division
9 Number of takedowns landed by Rosholt during his UFC career
125 Wins in NCAA college wrestling competition by Rosholt, which makes him the winningest heavyweight in the history of the Oklahoma State wrestling program
19 Age at which Jake Matthews made his UFC debut in June 2014
87.5 Career finishing rate percentage for Matthews, who has scored seven of his eight wins by stoppage
33 Career fights for Akbarh Arreola, making him the most experienced fighter on the card alongside Stefan Struve
95.6 Career finishing rate percentage for Arreola, who has scored 22 of his 23 wins by stoppage
16 Number of wins by Kyle Noke in his native Australia
3.14 Significant strikes landed per minute by Noke
93.3 Career finishing rate percentage for Peter Sobotta, who has scored 14 of his 15 wins by stoppage
83.3 Percentage of takedowns defended by Sobotta during his UFC career
43 Age of Anthony Perosh, making him the oldest fighter on the UFC 193 card
100 Career finishing rate percentage for Perosh, who has scored all of his 15 wins by stoppage
298 Significant strikes landed by Gian Villante in UFC competition
5.81 Significant strikes absorbed per minute by Villante, among the highest in the UFC light heavyweight division
90 Career finishing rate percentage for Richie Vaculik, who has scored nine of his ten wins by stoppage
5 Wins by rear-naked choke for Vaculik, who has six submission wins in his career
3 Consecutive losses for Danny Martinez, who finds himself in a must-win situation
0 Number of times Martinez has been finished in his career as his seven losses have all been by decision
4 Number of times Dan Kelly competed in the Olympics, representing Australia in judo
5 Inches of reach advantage Steve Montgomery will have over Dan Kelly
2 Consecutive losses for Richard Walsh, who likely finds himself in a win-or-be-cut fight
22 Professional wins for Steve Kennedy, who seeks his first UFC win
80 Takedowns defended percentage rate for James Moontasri during his UFC tenure
8 Days notice for Anton Zafir in making his UFC debut as an injury replacement
7 Consecutive wins for Ben Nguyen, who won his UFC debut in May
100 Career finishing percentage rate for Ryan Benoit, who has scored his eight wins by stoppage (7 by KO/TKO, 1 by submission)
