Amanda Nunes made a statement at UFC 207, and Ronda Rousey was the pulpit.
Nunes ousted the former dominant figure in just 48 seconds. The victory leaves a giant question mark on Rousey’s future as well as her legacy.
In the co-main event, Cody Garbran…
Amanda Nunes made a statement at UFC 207, and Ronda Rousey was the pulpit.
Nunes ousted the former dominant figure in just 48 seconds. The victory leaves a giant question mark on Rousey’s future as well as her legacy.
In the co-main event, Cody Garbrandt defeated one of the most dominant champions in UFC history with a stellar performance against Dominick Cruz. Now he will prepare for his first title defense, which comes in 2017.
Where do they go from here? Along with the winners and losers from the other bouts, this is where we are here to examine.
Jump into what fights the UFC should book next for each UFC 207 participant as we look at the matches to make after the final UFC event in 2016.
World Series of Fighting will get in on the New Year’s MMA action with a special event from Madison Square Garden.
The event features four title fights.
Justin Gaethje headlines by defending his title against Luiz Firmino. Jon Fitch defends the welterw…
World Series of Fighting will get in on the New Year’s MMA action with a special event from Madison Square Garden.
The event features four title fights.
Justin Gaethje headlines by defending his title against Luiz Firmino. Jon Fitch defends the welterweight strap against Jake Shields in the co-main event. The fun doesn’t stop there, as Marlon Moraes defends his bantamweight championship against Josenaldo Silva to open the four-fight main card.
The fourth title fight is the featured prelim: David Branch’s middleweight strap will be on then line against Louis Taylor.
Bleacher Report’s coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with the start of the televised prelims. Check back for coverage of the event.
World Series of Fighting 34 Main Card (NBC, 4 p.m. ET)
Justin Gaethje vs. Luiz Firmino
Jon Fitch vs. Jake Shields
Yushin Okami vs. Paul Bradley
Marlon Moraes vs. Josenaldo Silva
NBC Sports Network Prelims (2:30 p.m. ET)
David Branch vs. Louis Taylor
Jared Rosholt vs. Caio Alencar
Shane Kruchten vs. Jeremy Mahon
Smealinho Rama def. Jake Heun by TKO at 3:30 of the second round
Bruno Santos def. Vagab Vagabov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Andre Harrison def. Bruce Boynton via submission (rear naked-choke) at 1:54 of the first round
Tom Marcellino def. Matt Denning via submission (guillotine) at 3:34 of the first round
World Series of Fighting will get in on the New Year’s MMA action with a special event from Madison Square Garden.
The event features four title fights.
Justin Gaethje headlines by defending his title against Luiz Firmino. Jon Fitch defends the welterw…
World Series of Fighting will get in on the New Year’s MMA action with a special event from Madison Square Garden.
The event features four title fights.
Justin Gaethje headlines by defending his title against Luiz Firmino. Jon Fitch defends the welterweight strap against Jake Shields in the co-main event. The fun doesn’t stop there, as Marlon Moraes defends his bantamweight championship against Josenaldo Silva to open the four-fight main card.
The fourth title fight is the featured prelim: David Branch’s middleweight strap will be on then line against Louis Taylor.
Bleacher Report’s coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with the start of the televised prelims. Check back for coverage of the event.
World Series of Fighting 34 Main Card (NBC, 4 p.m. ET)
Justin Gaethje vs. Luiz Firmino
Jon Fitch vs. Jake Shields
Yushin Okami vs. Paul Bradley
Marlon Moraes vs. Josenaldo Silva
NBC Sports Network Prelims (2:30 p.m. ET)
David Branch vs. Louis Taylor
Jared Rosholt vs. Caio Alencar
Shane Kruchten vs. Jeremy Mahon
Smealinho Rama def. Jake Heun by TKO at 3:30 of the second round
Bruno Santos def. Vagab Vagabov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Andre Harrison def. Bruce Boynton via submission (rear naked-choke) at 1:54 of the first round
Tom Marcellino def. Matt Denning via submission (guillotine) at 3:34 of the first round
UFC 207 is here, and the return of Ronda Rousey is upon us.
The former UFC bantamweight champion returns after more than a year away following her knockout loss to Holly Holm. In her absence, Amanda Nunes surged toward the gold and stands atop the divi…
UFC 207 is here, and the return of Ronda Rousey is upon us.
The former UFC bantamweight champion returns after more than a year away following her knockout loss to Holly Holm. In her absence, Amanda Nunes surged toward the gold and stands atop the division Rousey once dominated.
The co-main event features the men’s bantamweight championship on the line as well. Dominick Cruz defends against Cody Garbrandt. The two have much animosity between them, which adds a little spice to the contest.
Bleacher Report will be on the call all night long. The action begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Check back for full coverage.
UFC 207 Main Card (PPV, 10 p.m. ET)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey
UFC Men’s Bantamweight Championship: Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt
Ronda Rousey was not wasting any time on Thursday morning for the official UFC 207 weigh-in. She was the first to show up.
The former UFC bantamweight champion tipped the scale at 135 on the dot. She did not pose on the scale, she did not smile and sh…
Ronda Rousey was not wasting any time on Thursday morning for the official UFC 207 weigh-in. She was the first to show up.
The former UFC bantamweight champion tipped the scale at 135 on the dot. She did not pose on the scale, she did not smile and she did not stay. She was in and out as quickly as possible.
Amanda Nunes, the reigning champion, was also there early to make the bout official. She weighed 135 on the button as well.
The real drama came from a backstage altercation between the camps of the men’s bantamweight title clash. It occurred while Nunes was on the scale.
Jeremy Stephens, a member of Dominick Cruz’s team, went after challenger Cody Garbrandt, according to his coach Justin Buchholz (per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto). The situation was quickly diffused. Okamoto also noted that this is the not the first time Garbrandt, or his team, has been involved in a backstage scuffle.
Both title fights are on.
There was no additional drama regarding actual weights in the first hour. Shortly after 1 p.m. ET, Neil Magny made weight, standing in at 171 pounds, leaving only Ray Borg and Johny Hendricks to come to the scale.
Hendricks hit the scale looking worried, and he had reason to be. He weighed 173.5 pounds ahead of his 170-pound contest. He immediately stormed off.
Borg was the final man up. He, too, missed weight by coming in at 129.5 pounds for his 125-pound contest. A rough end to an eventful early weigh-in.
UFC 207 Weigh-In Results (Main Card, 10 p.m. ET)
Amanda Nunes (135) vs. Ronda Rousey (135)
Dominick Cruz (135) vs. Cody Garbrandt (135)
T.J. Dillashaw (136) vs. John Lineker (135.25)
Dong Hyun Kim (171) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (171)
Louis Smolka (125.5) vs. Ray Borg (129.5)’
Fox Sports 1 Prelims (8 p.m. ET)
Johny Hendricks (173.5) vs. Neil Magny (171)
Mike Pyle (170) vs. Alex Garcia (170.5)
Antonio Carlos Junior (186) vs. Marvin Vettori (186)
UFC 207 has lost its heavyweight showcase, but the show continues on with 10 fights.
Cain Velasquez didn’t get the Christmas present he wanted. The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) pulled Velasquez from UFC 207, as first reported by ESPN.com&rsq…
UFC 207 has lost its heavyweight showcase, but the show continues on with 10 fights.
Cain Velasquez didn’t get the Christmas present he wanted. The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) pulled Velasquez from UFC 207, as first reported by ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto.
Executive director Bob Bennett declared the former UFC heavyweight champion “unfit to fight” in a statement released on Saturday.
Velasquez has a surgery scheduled for the new year on his back. He mentioned the note during the conference call for the new Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Association three weeks ago (h/t Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog). The former champion, in a prior interview with ESPN.com’s Okamoto, admitted to managing the pain with cannabidiol (CBD). Pain severe enough that if standing for 10 minutes or more he would be forced to sit down.
Bennett, in the statement, said the determination to remove Velasquez was reached after reviewing medical records, interviews, and the best judgement of the NAC.
Velasquez was slated to face a familiar foe in Fabricio Werdum. No replacement will be contacted and the fight is off. There is no word on if the fight will be re-booked or if Werdum will be rescheduled for a different event in 2017.
The UFC has yet to release which fight will move up to the main card to fill the void left by the heavyweight tilt.
