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The immortal Manny Pacquiao faces one of the best Welterweights this generation has to offer in Keith Thurman TONIGHT (Sat., July 20, 2019), headlining a four-fight FOX pay-per-view (PPV) from inside MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thurman (29-0, 23 KO) boasts wins over standout compatriots Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, while Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KO) was last seen handily out-classing Adrien Broner in January.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the main- and co-main events below. Meanwhile, The FITE.tv PPV begins at 9 p.m. ET, with our coverage picking up closer to 11 p.m. ET.

The co-feature sees talented unbeaten Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-0-1, 19 KO) look to finally put his out-of-ring struggles behind him against super-talented Cuban Yordenis Ugas (23-4, 11 KO), who was robbed of a victory over the aforementioned Porter in a bid for the WBC Welterweight title. The broadcast will also feature a Bantamweight clash between knockout artist Luis Nery (29-0, 23 KO) and former champion Juan Carlos Payano (21-2, 9 KO) and open with a battle of all-action Welterweight sluggers Sergey Lipinets (15-1, 11 KO) and John Molina Jr. (30-8, 24 KO).

Molina threw out his back on Thursday. Lipinets instead fights the Philippines’ Jayar Inson (18-2, 12 KO)

“PACQUIAO VS. THURMAN” QUICK RESULTS:

Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman — Pacquiao def. Thurman by split decision (113-114, 115-112 x2)
Yordenis Ugas vs. Omar Figueroa — Ugas def. Figueroa by unanimous decision (119-107 x3)
Luis Nery def. Juan Carlos Payano via knockout (liver shot) in round nine
Sergey Lipinets def. Javar Inson via technical knockout in round two
Caleb Plant def. Mike Lee via technical knockout in round three
Efe Ajagba def. Ali Eren Demirezen via unanimous decision

“PACQUIAO VS. THURMAN” ROUND-BY-ROUND COVERAGE:

Welterweight Championship: Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman

Round one: Pacquiao lands a left downstairs, fires a combo. Straight left upstairs, Thurman goes to the body in return. Straight right from Thurman. Pacquiao 1-2, Thurman body shot. Halfway through.

They exchange in the center, both landing. Thurman combo bounces off the guard. Straight right lands clean. Thurman steps in and opens up on the ropes, but Pacquiao roars back with a combo that puts Thurman on his back. Thurman beats the count with time to spare and looks steady. 10-8 Pacquiao.

Round two: Straight right lands for Thurman, Pacquiao comes back with a hard 1-2 after they trade. Overhand left by Pacquiao, pressing the issue. Thurman switches stance, lands a jab. Halfway through.

Quick right from Pacquiao, flurry blocked. Pacquiao gets backed to the ropes and fights his way out with a combo. Thurman digs a left downstairs. Thurman straight right on the ropes. Good combo by Pacquiao capped by a straight left. Thurman tries to throw back. 10-9, 20-17 Pacquiao.

Round three: Pacquiao staying aggressive, Thurman looking to regain momentum. Sneaky right jab lands for Pacquiao. Thurman backs him to the ropes and looks to open up, Pacquiao answers in kind. Halfway through.

Pacquiao bounces some straights off the guard. Two-piece to the body by Thurman. Pacquiao catches him with a right hand at the end of a combo. Thurman continuing to target the body. Clinch. They trade lefts. 10-9 Thurman, 29-27 Pacquiao.

Round four: Pacquiao forcing Thurman back, banging the body. Thurman answers with a left hook, backs Pacquiao to the ropes. Pacquiao punches his way back into the center. Thurman to the body on the ropes. Another left hook to the body. Pacquiao combination goes low-high. Trading power hands to the body. Thurman backs Pacquiao up, hits the body, has a long combination come back his way. Halfway through.

Right hands from Pacquiao, body shots. Sustained bursts of offense as he takes angles around Thurman. Thurman backs him to the ropes, can’t land clean. Thurman lands a jab in the center. Right hands to the body. 10-9, 39-36 Pacquiao.

Round five: Pacquiao moving well, forcing Thurman to pivot constantly. Overhand left. Thurman to the body on the ropes. Looping rights land for him. Pacquiao lands a jab in return, eats a 1-2. Straight right splits Manny’s guard. Halfway through.

Right hook slips around Pacquiao’s guard. Pacquiao combinations. Solid right hands through the guard, flurry to the body, right hook upstairs. Thurman backs him to the ropes. Jabs from Thurman, walks into a jab and a looping left. Pacquiao on the attack. The onslaught continues until the bell. 10-9, 49-45 Pacquiao.

Round six: Thurman fires hooks as he forces Pacquiao back. Counter 1-2 from Thurman. They trade power hands near the ropes. Body shot from Thurman. Pacquiao backs him off with jabs. Right downstairs by Thurman, jab connects upstairs. Right cross lands clean. Halfway through.

Pacquiao wakes up, starts throwing combos again. Right hook from Pacquiao. Thurman avoids a rush. Right hand downstairs. Counter right. 10-9 Thurman, 58-55 Pacquiao.

Round seven: Thurman comes out aggressive. Clinch. Thurman to the body, right hand upstairs. Counter right dings Pacquiao. 1-2 from Thurman. Jab lands halfway through.

Pacquiao straight left, Thurman 2-3 on the ropes. Hard 3-2, clinch. Low-high right-left. Pacquiao tries an uppercut on the ropes, clinch. Right hook from Pacquiao, uppercut kicks off a combo. Thurman forces him back with a clean cross. 10-9 Thurman, 67-65 Pacquiao.

Round eight: Straight left lands for Pacquiao before he angles out. Three-piece from Pacquiao, tacks on some more afterwards. Thurman goes low-high with rights, eats an overhand left. Lead right by Thurman. Halfway through.

Southpaw jabs from Thurman, check hook soon after. Hard left by Pacquiao, hard right by Thurman soon after. Pacquiao backs him to the ropes, opens up. Hard left catches Thurman backing up. clinch. Left hook by Thurman, straight left by Pacquiao. Thurman to the body. Jabs, right cross. They trade on the ropes. Close round. 10-9, 77-74 Pacquiao in a swing round.

Round nine: Thurman starting the round well, forcing Pacquiao back. Good body work by Thurman. Clean 1-2. Heavy counter right. Halfway through.

Pacquiao has yet to throw this round. Straight left lands for him. Thurman right hand kicks off a combo. He avoids Pacquiao’s hook. Body shot, forcing Pacquiao back. 1-2-3, lengthy combo on the ropes. Pacquiao comes back with a combo, lands an uppercut. Thurman bangs the body with a right and they exchange. 10-9 Thurman, 86-84 Pacquiao.

Round ten: Pacquiao seems to be taking some rounds off and he can’t afford to do so. Double right from Thurman Good combo from Pacquiao, right hand lands. Hook exchange. Again. Thurman straight right. They trade. Halfway through.

Pacquiao backs him to the ropes and opens up. Some blow has Thurman reeling. Pacquiao backs him to the ropes, looks to open up. Clinch. Thurman bangs the body with a right, eats a combination. Thurman backs him up, lands a pair of hooks around the guard. Pacquiao to the body, uppercut upstairs. Left hand downstairs. Thurman comes forward, nearly eats a left. 10-9, 96-93 Pacquiao

Round eleven: Looks like it was a liver shot that hurt Thurman in the last round.

Thurman looking for right hands early. 1-2 lands. Pacquiao answers with a left to the body. Left uppercut on the ropes and Thurman’s backing off. Check hook. Thurman combination on the ropes. Halfway through.

Hard 1-2 by Thurman backs Pacquiao off. Right uppercut by Pacquiao. 1-2 just misses. Thurman swings, misses, clinch. Lead right by Thurman, lead left by Pacquiao in return. Thurman body shot, Pacquiao hook, Thurman shifting right. 10-9 Thurman, 105-103 Pacquiao.

Round twelve: Thurman coming on aggressively, walks into some counters. Pacquiao’s using angles again. Counter left lands. Throwing heavy leather at Thurman, stings him with a left and a 1-2 behind it. Halfway through.

Thurman marches forward, bangs the body, eats a straight left when Pacquiao fires back. Quick exchange, neither lands. Overhand right by Thurman. Right hook. Lead right lands. Thurman attacks and they trade at the bell. 10-9, 115-112 Pacquiao. I can’t see it being any closer than 114-113.

Final result: Pacquiao def. Thurman by split decision

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Welterweight: Yordenis Ugas vs. Omar Figueroa

Round one: Figueroa already marching forward. Ugas working his jab. Overhand from Ugas. Figueroa looks for the body, clinch. One minute in. Ugas to the body. Tight right cross lands for Figueroa. Ugas doing well with the jab so far. BIG uppercuts, Figueroa comes back with an overhand right. Good inside work by Figueroa. HUGE right cross sends Figueroa stumbling to the ropes and that’s a called knockdown with a minute to go. Ugas rips the body when they resume. Another big overhand right against the ropes. Clinch. 10-8 Ugas.

Round two: Early clinch. Sharp right cross. Figueroa bullying his way in. Ref warning Ugas for holding. Again. 1-2 and an uppercut by Ugas. Infighting from both. Halfway through.

Nasty uppercuts by Ugas. Right hand to the body. Clinch. Hard warning to Ugas for holding. Uppercut from Figueroa, body shots from Ugas. Ugas backs him to the ropes and they exchange. Figueroa landing well inside but the bigger shots are Ugas’. 10-9, 20-17 Ugas.

Round three: Figueroa still just walking into the clinch, chipping away inside. Right hand lands for Ugas; he’s swinging for the fences, which may not be ideal. Clinch. Trading body blows against the fence. Left hook by Ugas. Short blows by Figueroa halfway through.

Ugas digs a right to the body. Hard hooks downstairs. This is mostly taking place at point-blank range. Ugas presses him against the ropes. They trade lefts to the body in the center. Big combination on the ropes by Ugas. 10-9, 30-26 Ugas.

Round four: Figueroa jabbing now. Ugas lands an uppercut as Figueroa steps into the clinch. More clinching. 2-1 and a hard body shot by Ugas. Two body blows. Figueroa looks for an uppercut inside. Halfway through.

Ref pauses the fight to check out a cut Figueroa got from a headbutt. No issues. Figueroa steps back into the clinch, lands a right on the break. More clinching. They trade body shots inside. Good left hook downstairs by Ugas in the corner. Right cross, lengthy combination. He whiffs on an overhand and clinch. 10-9, 40-35 Ugas.

Round five: Straight left from Figueroa, coming out southpaw. Clinch. Ref takes a point from Ugas; Ugas protests that Figueroa was grabbing his upper arm. More clinching. Hard combo by Ugas after Figueroa gets warned for holding. Halfway through.

Hard right cross and combination by Ugas. Another lead right, then another. Figueroa straight lefts. Clinch. Ugas with a right downstairs. Left hook upstairs. Body shots from Ugas, Figueroa left upstairs. Ugas opens up on the ropes. 9-9, 49-44 Ugas with the point deduction.

Round six: Trading jabs. Infighting from Figueroa. Ugas with an uppercut downstairs. More short punches by Figueroa. More body shots by Ugas when they separate. Clinch. Figueroa lands a left downstairs between clinches. Halfway through.

Ugas body shot, clinch. Back to the corner. Figueroa with a right downstairs, answered in kind. Ugas lands another quick combination. Clinch. Figueroa punches his way out, eats a two-piece to the body and a left hook upstairs. Overhand right, chopping right, two more right crosses. 10-9, 59-53 Ugas.

Round seven: Early clinch in the center. Combination lands for Figueroa. He throws a two-piece, eats a right downstairs. Right shovel hook lands clean for Ugas. Clinch. Counter body shot halfway through.

Shoulder-to-shoulder. Broadcast dies for a sec and when it comes back Ugas is teeing off in the corner, landing well to the head and body. More body shots. Ugas sitting down on some heavy blows. Clinch. 10-9, 69-62 Ugas.

Round eight: Ugas landing the better shots at range behind his jab. Big left hook in the corner. Figueroa lands a jab. Trading jabs. Ugas lands some nasty body shots. Clinch. Halfway through.

Left-right low-high hooks from Ugas as Figueroa steps in. Clinch. Ugas left hook strays low. Back to exchanging at close range and again it’s Ugas landing better. Heavy straight rights upstairs, switching levels excellently. Borderline late 2-3. 10-9, 79-71 Ugas.

Round nine: They trade body blows en route to the first clinch of the round. 1-1-2 from Ugas. Trading jabs, more right hands. Figueroa struggling to connect at range, eats a pair of body shots. Another right cross. Figueroa with an uppercut. Halfway through.

Left hook from Ugas, uppercut by Figueroa. Two huge body shots by Ugas, clinch. Figueroa rabbit punch. Figueroa combo blocked. Clinch. Left hook by Ugas, opens up on the ropes. Overhand right stings Figueroa, uppercuts behind it. Heavy combinations. 10-9, 89-80 Ugas.

Round ten: This doesn’t need to continue. Figueroa isn’t taking a huge beating but he’s completely outclassed and has yet to land a telling blow. More clinches. Two-piece to the body by Ugas. Clinch. Halfway through.

PPV stream having all kinds of issues at the moment. Back to the clinch when they resume. Jabs and a right cross from Ugas. Clinch. Lengthy combo, hard low-high shots. Body shot from Ugas, flurry to the head. 10-9, 99-89 Ugas.

Round eleven: They trade rights upstairs. More stuttering from fite.tv. Clinching. PPV stream won’t run for more than a few unbroken seconds. Halfway through.

Yeah, this stream is just busted for me. I’m going to extrapolate. 10-9, 109-98 Ugas.

Round twelve: Ugas body shot, clinch. Jabs, right cross. Big left shovel hook, then another on the counter. clinch. Halfway through.

Clinch. Right hook and 1-2 from Ugas. Clinch, short punches by Figueroa. Clinch. Figueroa lands a left hook after taking a right cross. Clinch. Ugas opens up with some nasty blows in the waning seconds. 10-9, 119-107 Ugas.

Final result: Ugas def. Figueroa by unanimous decision

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Earlier in the week, Jorge Masvidal’s manager, Abraham Kawa, explained that Masvidal would only accept two possible fights: a championship showdown with Kamaru Usman or major money fight with Conor McGregor. After his massive flying knee knockout at UFC 239, Masvidal was certainly has some leverage, but UFC president Dana White pretty quickly shot down the idea of McGregor vs. Masvidal.

As a result, Kawa told MMAJunkie earlier today that he believed the promotion was protecting the Irishman from Masvidal, saying “God bless Dana, he’s protecting Conor. He wants to make sure Conor doesn’t get his ass whooped. And that’s fine.”

Luckily, hope is not lost for Masvidal, who Kawa states has “crossed over into that sphere of Conor and Nate.” There’s still hopes that he’ll be the next title challenger, largely dependent upon the upcoming result of Colby Covington’s main event slot opposite Robbie Lawler. Seeing as Covington and Masvidal are room mates and close friends, it certainly seems like one of the Floridian duo is destined for a title shot in 2019.

As for McGregor, the Irishman has not yet answered Masvidal’s callout, likely because he’s busy retiring on Twitter and awaiting the result of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier. It may not be his first choice, but it’s definitely a high-profile option for McGregor if he’s unable to secure another immediate shot at Lightweight gold.

Insomnia

This is a new level of trash talk: Greg Hardy’s baby mama is in Juan Adams’ DMs talking about how Hardy is a bad father.

Contrary to what the Internet says, not all wildlife in Australia is deadly.

There’s a lot on the line tomorrow for “Rocky.”

All gold everything.

Tit-for-tat

Problem-solving in the WME-IMG era.

#BlackGuysWithHands

Perspective is everything!

One of perhaps a dozen classic Urijah Faber speeches.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A fundamental principle in wrestling — displayed in this sumo match — is that if the head is looking downward, the body will follow.

Big man with a big jump knee.

The use of the teep to set up the knee (and vice-versa) here is pretty brilliant.

Random Land

After the comments of Monday night’s post, I feel obligated to end the week with one last China post.

Can’t we all just get along?

Midnight Music: On a friend’s recommendation, I listened to the new Drugdealer album Raw Honey and liked it. For anyone who loves the ‘70s and is looking for some psych pop, it’s worth a listen.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Top Rank screenshot

Something entertaining to watch on a Friday night.

Usually boxing preliminary cards aren’t worth paying particularly close attention to, but when a portly heavyweight gets knocked out of the ring…. well you have to at least watch that, right?

On the undercard of Friday’s Top Rank on ESPN+ show in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Joel Caudle (8-3-2, 5 KOs) fought undefeated Cassius Chaney (16-0, 10 KOs). It didn’t take long for Chaney to have Caudle on skates, as he socked his opponent repeatedly with power shots. When Caudle’s balance finally betrayed him, he went head-first out of the ring.

When you fall out of the ring on a knockdown, the fight isn’t automatically over, but instead you get a 20-count. Caudle had enough of his wits about him to get back up, re-enter the ring, and continue fighting. Unsurprisingly, Chaney hit him with a right hand that had him jelly-legged again, so the referee had no choice but to stop the fight in the opening round.

Watch the videos below to see this unusual ending from multiple angles:

Sometimes these things happen in boxing.

Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“I cry a little bit always. I’m a crybaby sometimes.”

Gegard Mousasi suffered his first defeat in over three years at Bellator 223, losing his middleweight title to Rafael Lovato Jr. in the main event at London’s SSE Arena.

Rather than credit his opponent for the win, however, the usually soft-spoken Mousasi accused Lovato Jr. of using performance-enhancing drugs to gain an unfair advantage.

“I should have won this match even with him using PEDs,” Mousasi said on Vechtersbazen Podcast last month. “I told the commission that it’s clear that he was on PEDs. (The commissioner) gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me that he was going to get tested on fight day and walked away.”

Mousasi has come under fire for his accusatory comments towards Lovato and, speaking to MMA Junkie in a recent interview, ‘The Dreamcatcher’ admitted to being a ‘crybaby’ in defeat.

“I’ve done always comments about losing to certain opponents,” Mousasi said. “I cry a little bit always. I’m a crybaby sometimes. Like Uriah Hall, I said ‘lucky.’ It was not lucky, but it got me the rematch. Machida, I said he cheated. I felt like he did. You can be honest about certain people. It is what it is. Machida, I lost because he was better. I’m a realistic guy. Lovato, I said it before. I don’t think I need to repeat it. People say I’m a bad loser. Whatever.”

The 33-year-old MMA veteran and former multi-promotion champ will look to spring back into the winners column, however, in his upcoming rematch with Lyoto Machida at Bellator 228.

Mousasi dropped a unanimous decision to Machida back in 2014, under the UFC banner, but the Iranian-born talent says he has learned from his mistakes and plans to go out and give it his all in the rematch.

“He was a lot better than me [at the time of the first fight], but I learned,” he said. “Sometimes with me, when I’m mentally there, I put flawless victories like ‘Mortal Kombat.’ I look really good. I look unbeatable. Like Rory (MacDonald), (Rafael) Carvalho, I beat them easy. We won Round 1 in a couple minutes. Machida, had a difficult fight with him.

“I know when I’m not in it, I f**k it up. This fight I’m in it. We’re going to go, and we’re going to fight him. We’re going to leave it all out there. If he’s better, he wins. I’m not going to cry about it. I’m going to go out and give it all.”

Bellator 228, which will feature Machida vs. Mousasi in the co-main event, is scheduled to take place later this year, September 28 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.