Author: Dan Hiergesell

Donald Cerrone continued his lightweight resurgence earlier tonight (Sat., May 4, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 9 live on ESPN+ from inside Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, when he outworked proven contender Al Iaquinta over the course of five hard-fought rounds to earn a unanimous decision win (scroll for highlights).

Cerrone started to score early with lead jabs and leg kicks. Iaquinta rebounded to stick “Cowboy” with a right hand and then an inside uppcercut later in the first round. Cerrone returned the favor with a huge knee that stunned “Raging Al” before the round came to an end.

Sticking leg kicks by Cerrone started to damage Iaquinta early in the second. That didn’t stop Iaquinta from stunning Cerrone with a big combination. Cerrone kept busy and landed more leads jabs on an incoming Iaquinta, but “Raging Al” eventually landed a big right hand that wobbled “Cowboy” towards the end of the frame.

The damage really started to show on Iaquinta’s face early into the third. Cerrone smelled blood (literally) and went back to the leg kicks to slow Iqauinta down. “Cowboy” soon landed a big left that stopped Iaquinta in his tracks. Body kicks by Cerrone followed. And then another lead jab put Iaquinta on his butt for the first knockdown of the fight.

Cerrone continued his onslaught in the fourth round with another knockdown of Iaquinta. This time it came from a perfected front kick to the face that sent “Raging Al” to the canvas. Iaqauinta regained some momentum in the final minutes by landing a few flush left hooks, but Cerrone was too persistent with lead combinations and kicks to the body.

The doctor’s checked Iaquinta’s bloody face entering the fifth round but the New Yorker demanded he continue. Iaquinta actually started to land some punches with good countering off of Cerrone’s flurries, but “Cowboy’s” precision and shot selection ultimately proved superior. Cerrone scored with forward combinations, more leg kicks, and a stinging head kick with 30 seconds on the click as both men swung for the fences.

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

For complete UFC Ottawa results and coverage click here.

The rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former titleholder Stipe Miocic has been officially booked for UFC 241 on Aug. 17 from inside Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The anticipated reboot was reportedly in the works, but UFC made it official during the ESPN+ broadcast of UFC Ottawa earlier tonight (results here). The news also made its way to Twitter.

Cormier, who is coming off a title defense over Derrick Lewis back at UFC 230, was expected to face WWE superstar and former UFC champion Brock Lesnar later this year. But now that Lesnar is hanging it up for good, “DC” will run it back against Miocic.

Remember, the two heavyweights first met at UFC 226 last July. Cormier was the light heavyweight champion at the time and moved up in weight to challenge Miocic, who had just set the UFC heavyweight record for most consecutive title defenses (3). “DC” ended up catching Moicic in the first round and finished him via TKO, becoming the UFC’s newest champ-champ.

Now that the rematch is officially set in stone, Miocic can breathe a sigh of relief. The former UFC champion is one of the best heavyweights of all time yet had to wait over one year to get his deserved rematch. Nonetheless, Stipe will have another shot at handing Cormier his first career loss as a heavyweight.

For complete UFC Ottawa results and coverage click here.

Sergey Spivak’s Octagon debut did not end well earlier tonight (Sat., May 4, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 9 live on ESPN+ from inside Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as the previously undefeated heavyweight prospect was run over by Walt Harris via TKO just 50 seconds into the very first round.

Evident by the time of stoppage, Harris wasted little time putting the pressure on the UFC newcomer. Harris landed big combinations from distance before backing Spivak into the cage. From there, “Big Ticket” landed two brutal knees followed by a few piercing punches that eventually crumbled the Moldovan fighter and forced the referee’s hand.

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

With this performance, Harris locks down his second-straight win in the UFC’s heavyweight division after battering Daniel Spitz via TKO back in December. The 35-year-old has now finished each and every one of his 12 professional wins by way of knockout and remains a divisional dark horse heading into the second half of 2019.

For complete UFC Ottawa results and coverage click here.

Fight fans got their first knockout finish earlier tonight (Sat., May 4, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 9 live on ESPN+ from inside Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, when women’s bantamweight contender Macy Chiasson ended Sarah Moras via second-round TKO (punches) in the “Prelims” headliner.

While Chiasson had to fight off her back early into the first round, the undefeated fighter eventually turned the tides to land heavy ground-and-pound on Moras. Chiasson followed her efforts up in the second round by quickly gaining top control. Moraes threatened with a few Hail Mary submission attempts but Chiasson was too dominant. Once she moved into full mount she rained down brutal punches until the referee stepped in for the stoppage.

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

With this performance, Chiasson pushes her UFC record to an impressive 3-0 with all wins coming by way of knockout or submission. The 27-year-old bantamweight hasn’t really been tested since making her debut last year so expect her to land a top 10 opponent her next time out.

For complete UFC Ottawa results and coverage click here.

Combat superstar Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) will be back in action later this evening (Sat., May 4, 2019) live on DAZN from inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he puts his WBC and WBA middleweight titles on the line against IBF middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs (35-2, 29 KOs).

As one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best fighters in the world, Canelo commands global attention each and every time he steps inside of the ring. The 28-year-old Mexican fighter is coming off a blistering TKO win over Rocky Fielding in his DAZN debut this past December and will have the chance to win his third-straight overall with a victory over “Miracle Man.” Remember, Canelo defeated fellow P4P standout Gennady Golovkin in a rematch last September to win the WBC and WBA middleweight titles.

For Jacobs, this is another chance to knock off a pound-for-pound great after losing to GGG two years ago via decision. That defeat remains Jacobs’ lone loss since getting knocked out by former middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog back in 2010. “Miracle Man” has compiled a 14-1 record since then and will look to pull off the biggest upset of his career with a win over Canelo.

Tonight’s main event fight between Canelo and Jacobs will be one of the most talked about boxing matchups of the year so best not to miss it. Luckily, Mania is here to provide a potential start time for the DAZN headliner.

With a main card start time of 9:00 p.m. ET, there’s a good chance boxing fans don’t see Canelo and Jacobs make their respective walks to the ring until sometime around midnight (12:00 a.m. ET Sunday). Three other fights will take place before the main event, including a co-headliner pitting rising welterweight prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. against 32-fight veteran Mauricio Herrera, so there’s a chance Canelo vs. Jacobs gets bumped back even a little later.

If things do run late Mania will be sure to provide an updated start time for Canelo’s title unification bout with “Miracle Man.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of Saturday’s main event. The DAZN broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, with “Canelo vs. Jacobs” kicking off closer to midnight.

Brianna Van Buren dominated all three of her opponents last night (Fri., May 3, 2019) during Invicta FC’s strawweight tournament from inside Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, en route to claiming the vacant 115-pound title.

Van Buren, 25, entered the eight-woman tournament with just two Invicta FC appearances under her belt, but that didn’t stop the American Kickboxing Academy standout from taking over. In total, Van Buren went 3-0 with two submission finishes and a one-round decision win.

In her opening quarterfinal bout, Van Buren was able to quickly secure a takedown on opponent Manjit Kolekar and smother her with heavy ground-and-pound. After a few minutes of control time Van Buren was able to transition over and lock in the decisive armbar finish.

Check out the stoppage below courtesy of UFC:

Van Buren’s semi-final win came over veteran fighter Juliana Lima, who had defeated fellow UFC veteran Danielle Taylor via split decision in the opening round. While Van Buren wasn’t able to finish the Brazilian strawweight she still dominated Lima from the opening bell and easily won the one-round affair.

Check out the highlights below courtesy of UFC:

In the tournament final, Van Buren squared off with former UFC fighter Kailin Curran, who defeated Sunna Daviosdottir and Sharon Jacobson earlier in the night. After dominating Curran in the opening round, Van Buren turned the pressure up in the second. Following a takedown and ground-and-pound, Van Buren was able to transition to back mount and quickly sink in a rear-naked choke finish.

That stoppage can be seen above, courtesy of Invicta FC, along with some more tournament action.

It was quite the night for Van Buren, who pushed her overall professional MMA record to 8-2 after dominating Invicta FC’s strawweight tournament. The young champion should make another appearance later this year and try to lock down her first ever title defense.