Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., May 12, 2018) inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featuring Amanda Nunes in her latest women’s bantamweight title defense against Octagon veteran Raquel Pennington. Top-ranked middleweight contender Ronaldo Souza takes co-headlining duties opposite welterweight import Kelvin Gastelum, while Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) legends Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida collide for 185-pound bragging rights. Plus, Mackenzie Dern looks for her second UFC win when she tangles with the venerable Amanda Bobby Cooper.
That’s not all. Not by a long shot.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 224 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on FX at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the televised fisticuffs to share their thoughts on all the exciting action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment (or 224) before you split and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after “Nunes vs. Pennington”
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 224 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC 224 QUICK RESULTS:
135 lbs.: Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington
185 lbs.: Ronaldo Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum
115 lbs.: Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper
135 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher
185 lbs.: Vitor Belfort vs. Lyoto Machida
185 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira vs. Karl Roberson
265 lbs.: Junior Albini vs. Aleksei Oliynyk — Oliynyk def. Albini by submission (Ezekiel choke) at 1:45 of Round One
155 lbs.: Nick Hein vs. Davi Ramos — Ramos def. Hein by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:15 of Round One
170 lbs.: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Sean Strickland — Zaleski dos Santos def. Strickland by KO (wheel kick and punches) at 3:12 of Round One
170 lbs.: Warlley Alves vs. Sultan Aliev — Alves def. Aliev by TKO (corner stoppage) at 5:00 of Round Two
185 lbs.: Jack Hermansson vs. Thales Leites — Hermansson def. Leites by TKO (punches) at 2:10 of Round Three
170 lbs.: Ramazan Emeev vs. Alberto Mina — Emeev def. Mina by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
185 lbs.: Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic — Perez def. Bochnovic by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:28 of Round One
UFC 224 LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY:
135 lbs.: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
185 lbs.: Ronaldo Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
115 lbs.: Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
185 lbs.: Vitor Belfort vs. Lyoto Machida
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
185 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira vs. Karl Roberson
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
265 lbs.: Junior Albini vs. Aleksei Oliynyk
Round 1: Oliynyk ties up and takes Albini to the cage. They separate; Oliynyk already cut under his left eye. Low kick from Oliynyk, Albini stuffs a takedown and lands a body kick. Oliynyk ties up, eats a knee a minute in. Overhand right by the Russian. Left hook by Albini in return. Oliynyk shoots into the clinch and Albini takes him down into half guard. Oliynyk already looking to set up his ezekiel and he’s got it. Wow.
Final result: Oliynyk def. Albini by submission (Ezekiel choke)
155 lbs.: Nick Hein vs. Davi Ramos
Round 1: Ramos sends out a front kick. They trade inside. One minute in. Hein counters a naked kick with an overhand left, knocking Ramos to the mat. Hein waves him back up. Ramos tries a head kick. Combo lands for him. Ramos hits a blast double two minutes in and moves to half guard. Ramos looking to isolate Hein’s left arm. Two minutes to go.
Ramos hops over and takes the back, looking for the choke as Hein stands. Hein tries to sling him off, can’t do so and Ramos locks up the body triangle. Working on the choke. Ramos clamps down, putting enough pressure on the chin to get the tap.
Final result: Ramos def. Hein by submission (rear naked choke)
170 lbs.: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Sean Strickland
Round 1: Strickland on the front foot early. Zaleski throwing hard, lands a right hand. One minute in. Strickland just jabbing so far. He catches a body kick, can’t use it. More jabs. Two minutes in. Left hand for Zaleski, right by Strickland. Strickland catches another kick and lands a right hand. Zaleski shoots, eats an uppercut and left hook. Zaleski with a glancing head kick. More jabs by Strickland. Low kick with two minutes to go.
Suddenly, Zaleski catches Strickland with a flush wheel kick that sends him to the mat. He jumps on Strickland and pounds away until “Tarzan” goes to sleep.
Final result: Zaleski dos Santos def. Strickland by KO (wheel kick and punches)
170 lbs.: Warlley Alves vs. Sultan Aliev
Round 1: Aliev falls short with a left hook. Hard right hand and body kick connect for Alves. One minute in. Two more body kicks and Aliev ducks into the clinch. Pressing Alves into the fence. Alves uses head pressure and reverses, landing knees to the body. More knees. Keeping Aliev against the cage. Two minutes to go.
Yet more knees. Hard short elbow. Aliev lands on the break. Low kick by Alves. Aliev lands a left hook. Overhand right stings Aliev, then a hard knee to the body. Aliev comes back with good punches. One minute to go. Low kick from Alves, Aliev lands a right hand and ties up on the cage. He hits a throw at the bell. 10-9 Alves.
Round 2: Alves tries an early combination. Alves hops into the clinch, Aliev presses him against the fence. One minute in. Jockeying for position on the cage. Alves pressing him against it now. Two minutes in. Ref wants more action. Same, honestly. Aliev reverses and looks for a knee. Two minutes to go.
Alves reverses in turn. Aliev’s right eye is swelling shut. Aliev reverses and completes his first takedown, but can’t keep him down. Ref separates them. Alves steps in for a body kick. One minute to go. Aliev lands a counter right. Alves opens up in the last few seconds, hurling kicks to the body. 10-9 Alves.
Aliev’s eye is totally shut and the ref calls it between rounds.
Final result: Alves def. Aliev by TKO (corner stoppage)
185 lbs.: Jack Hermansson vs. Thales Leites
Round 1: Hermansson on the advance early, both men hurling low kicks. Hermansson landing more than Leites to start, can’t quite land a combo. Leites catches a kick and takes him to the fence. One minute in. Hermansson fighting off a single-leg, lands a short elbow but that allows Leites to get in deeper. Leites doing good work chipping away at his base, gets him to the mat two minutes in. Hermansson uses an underhook to stand and throw Leites to the mat. Leites regains guard and stands. Good counter throw by Hermansson. Leites working to sweep from half guard. Two minutes to go.
Leites gets into a takedown attempt of his own and goes to work with chain wrestling. One minute to go. Hermansson hits a throw from the whizzer into half guard. Leites regains guard and Hermansson goes for ground-and-pound. Close round. 10-9 Hermansson.
Round 2: Leites eats a right hand, takes Hermansson down and Hermansson looks like he’s in agony for some reason. He’s hurt. Leites moves to mount and Hermansson looks like he wants to die. He easily surrenders the arm triangle. Hermansson fighting it off as best he can. Two minutes in. Amazingly, he manages to survive and regain half guard. Two minutes to go.
Leites staying heavy. One minute to go. Leites moves to north-south, then mount. 10-8 Leites.
Round 3: Hermansson hurls a flying knee, then clamps down on a guillotine. Leites staying patient as Hermansson squeezes for dear life. Leites escapes and sprawls on him. One minute in. Leites secures an anaconda choke and rolls. Hermansson survives and takes top position. He lands an elbow and rides an elevating hook into mount. Hard elbow and punches from Hermansson. Leites is hurt and in comes the referee! Jack Hermansson with an incredible comeback stoppage!
Final result: Hermansson def. Leites by TKO (punches)
170 lbs.: Ramazan Emeev vs. Alberto Mina
Round 1: Emeev opens with a low kick. Hard overhand right connects for him. Mina looks for a leg kick. Head kick comes back at him. Mina lands a left hook and tries an ankle pick a minute in. Good jab by Emeev and they trade rights. Emeev ducks a spinning elbow and drags him to his knees. Mina works his way back up and grabs a kimura grip. Emeev slams him back down, has to fight off a takedown afterwards and does so. Another stiff jab from Emeev. Two minutes to go.
Emeev keeping up the jab. Mina looks for a high kick. Slick knee tap works this time and Mina stands over him. Emeev attempts de la Riva guard and has to fight off leglocks. One minute to go. Emeev gets his leg out and sets up in guard. Mina spins from an armbar to a kneebar, can’t get it. Emeev lands some solid punches before the bell. 10-9 Emeev.
Round 2: Mina lands a leg ick as Emeev keeps the jab coming. Emeev wades into the clinch, avoids a head-and-arm throw and moves to the rear waist lock, forcing Mina to his knees. One minute in. Emeev looking for the back. Mina makes it to his feet. He spins to face Emeev and looks for knees. They separate two minutes in. Both look for punches in the center. Mina ducks in for a single-leg, tries a spinning elbow and gets hurled to the mat. Emeev with some solid right hands. Mina again looks for a leglock without success. Two minutes to go.
Emeev looking to work from closed guard. One minute to go. Mina turns for a kneebar, gets thumped with right hands. Again. 10-9 Emeev.
Round 3: Mina’s busted up, looking for a hail mary. One minute in. Emeev overhand just misses. Mina still wading after him, jumping body kick. Two minutes in. Lead right lands clean for Emeev. 1-2 by Mina. Emeev ties up and takes him to the fence. They separate with two minutes to go.
Mina in pursuit, not much happening. One minute to go. Jab from Mina, leg kick. Zaromskis-esque Somersault kick attempt met by an Emeev right hand. Emeev lands another before the bell. 10-9 Emeev.
Final result: Emeev def. Mina by unanimous decision
185 lbs.: Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic
Round 1: Bochnovic comes out throwing and dicks in for a quick takedown attempt. Perez sprawls on it and moves to the back. One hook in, fence denying the other. Bochnovic avoids it and Perez looks for a takedown as they rise. One minute in. Bochnovic pressing him against the fence now. Perez spins to the rear waist lock and slams him down, looking for the back again. Bochnovic tries to roll, surrenders half guard. Perez threatening an arm triangle, abandons it. Elbow from Bochnovic off his back and he regains guard. Hard right hand by the Brazilian, who locks up a d’arce as Bochnovic tries to stand. Japanese necktie now, loses it with two minutes to go.
One hook in for Perez. Both hooks in. Perez looking for the choke, can’t quite get it under the chin. One minute to go. Perez gets it under and fights to lock his hands. He’s got it.
Final result: Perez def. Bochnovic by submission (rear naked choke)