Author: Dan Hiergesell

Lightweight contender Paul Felder caught the MMA world by surprise last night (Sat., May 22, 2021) when he announced his official retirement from the sport during the broadcast of UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+.

Felder, who is ranked No. 9 in the UFC’s lightweight division right now, believes it was time to hang up his gloves because a UFC title shot was nowhere in sight. The decision was certainly a shock to fans tuning into UFC Vegas 27 to see some Saturday fights, but Felder is making the right choice if he no longer feels the desire to compete.

Following the conclusion of UFC Vegas 27, UFC president Dana White was asked about Felder and his career with the promotion in an interview with ESPN (shown below). White had nothing but good things to say about “Irish Dragon” the fighter, but he also paid tribute to Felder’s skills as a color commentator.

“Yeah he’s had an incredible career here and now he’s starting, well I shouldn’t say starting. But, he really is starting his new career after fighting. He’s a great commentator. He’s done an amazing job here and I am happy for him. Congrats on what he has done for us in the past and I look forward to working with him in the future,” said White.

Felder, 36, will leave a 9-6 UFC record behind after losing his last two Octagon appearances against Dan Hooker and Rafael dos Anjos. With fighting out of the way “Irish Dragon” will be able to solely focus on his broadcasting career and help build on an already successful commentary gig with the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

The return of Kevin Lee has been set, as the former lightweight contender will move back up to welterweight to challenge undefeated prospect Sean Brady at UFC 264 this July, per ESPN.

Contracts have not officially been signed but the two sides have verbally agreed on the “Sin City” showdown.

Lee, 28, hasn’t competed since a submission loss to Charles Oliveira all the way back in Mar. 2020. Prior to that, “Motown Phenom” locked down one of the biggest wins of his career when he knocked out lightweight contender Gregor Gillespie with a monstrous head kick at UFC 244. This will be his first contest at 170 pounds since a loss to Rafael dos Anjos back in 2019 and an intriguing matchup that will let us know if Lee is ready to make another push towards UFC gold.

Brady, 28, has turned in a 4-0 record since making his UFC debut against Court McGee back in 2019. The Philadelphia fighter is coming off an impressive submission finish over Jake Matthews at UFC 259 this past March. A win over Lee this July will give Brady the big name on his resume that he needs to climb into the welterweight top 10.

UFC 264 will go down on July 10 live ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor trilogy bout serving as the main event.

For more UFC 264 fight card news click here.

The action delivered throughout UFC Vegas 27’s card last night (Sat., May 22, 2021) live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Rob Font out-classed Cody Garbrandt to a dominant main event win (highlights HERE).

In addition to the bantamweight headliner, a collection of main card and “Prelims” fights produced memorable Octagon carnage. Check them out below and let us know which one stood out the most:

• Rising flyweight contender David Dvorak pushed his UFC record to 3-0 with a dominant one-armed submission victory over newcomer Juancamilo Ronderos (highlights HERE)
• Bruno Silva earned another brutal knockout finish when he smashed flyweight prospect Victor Rodriguez in just 60 seconds
• Heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell spoiled the Octagon debut of Chris Barnett with a strong second-round guillotine choke (highlights HERE)

• Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza captured her fifth-straight win with a brutal TKO finish over Chinese contender Yan Xiaonan (highlights HERE)
• Heavyweights Jared Vanderaa and Justin Tafa collided in a wild main card matchup that saw both men swing for the fences for 15 minutes, with Vanderaa coming out on top

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 27 bonus winners below:

Fight of the Night: Jared Vanderaa vs. Justin Tafa

Performance of the Night: Carla Esparza

Performance of the Night: Bruno Silva

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

Rob Font looked championship ready earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he outlasted former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt to the tune of a unanimous decision.

There way a long feeling out period before Font caught Garbrandt behind the ear and briefly wobbled him. “No Love” rebounded to score his first takedown inside of the Octagon since his fight against Dominick Cruz and scored some top time. Garbrandt took the fight to the ground again in the second, but Font threatened with a nasty kimura to get free. Font regained momentum with a consistent barrage of combinations and strikes from range that bloodied Garbrandt for the final minutes of the round.

Font continued to lead the dance in the third round as Garbrandt struggled to stay off his back foot. Font used his jab to set up bigger combinations as “No Love” absorbed the shots and stood in harm’s way. The fourth round was much of the same as Font pushed forward and unloaded on Garbrandt at will. Font didn’t go in for the kill but he really started to batter Garbrandt’s face.

Garbrandt came out firing in Round 5 but it wasn’t enough to stop Font’s forward movement. Font was able to control the exchanges again and cruised to the decision win.

Check out the full fight video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

Former champion Carla Esparza cemented her bid for a UFC women’s strawweight title shot earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when she stopped red-hot contender Yan Xiaonan via second-round TKO (punches).

Esparza wasted little time shooting in for a takedown and methodically working her way into side control. “Cookie Monster” started to land some nasty elbows and punches towards the end of the first that really bloodied Xiaonan. In Round 2, Esparza went back to the well, scored another easy takedown, and bashed her way to a bloody TKO finish.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

This is Esparza’s fifth-straight win in the 115-pound division and a finish that will put her in position to challenge current champion Rose Namajunas later this year. Esparza choked out “Thug” back in 2014 to win The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 and the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title so it will be interesting to see what the rematch looks like.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

As soon as UFC Vegas 27 wraps up later tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, fight fans can check out the live post-fight press conference video above for all the best reaction and official bonus winners.

On a night that features a bantamweight headliner pitting rising contender Rob Font against former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt, a women’s strawweight co-main event between former titleholder Carla Esparza and the red-hot Yan Xiaonan, and a middleweight scrap featuring Jack Hermansson and young contender Edmen Shahbazyan, there will be a lot to discuss when the action winds down.

The post-fight presser is scheduled to go live at 10:15 p.m. ET, featuring the biggest winners and losers from the card.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.