Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is ready to unleash its UFC 234 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card TONIGHT (Sat., Feb. 9, 2019) inside Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A middleweight title fight between current champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Kelvin Gastelum was expected to serve as UFC 234’s main event, but Whittaker was removed from the card with just hours left due to a hernia.
As a result, former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva will now square off with undefeated former kickboxer Israel Adesanya in the headliner. The bout was originally coined as the co-main event and will remain a three-round affair.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 234 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Silva vs. Adesanya.”
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 234 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC 234 QUICK RESULTS:
Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum — DETAILS!
Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva
Marcos Rosa Mariano vs. Lando Vannata
Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon
Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem — De La Rosa def. Kassem by submission (triangle armbar) at 2:37 of Round Two
Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey — Crute def. Alvey by TKO (punches) at 2:49 of Round One
Dong Hyun Ma vs. Devonte Smith — Smith def. Ma by KO (punches) at 3:53 of Round One
Austin Arnett vs. Shane Young — Young def. Arnett by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Kai Kara-France vs. Raulian Paiva — Kara-France def. Paiva by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Teruto Ishihara vs. Kyung Ho Kang — Kang def. Ishihara by technical submission (rear naked choke) at 3:59 of Round One
Callan Potter vs. Jalin Turner — Turner def. Potter by KO (punches) at 0:53 of Round One
Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez — Martinez def. Buren by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
UFC 234 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
185 lbs.: Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Marcos Rosa Mariano vs. Lando Vannata
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Rani Yahya vs. Ricky Simon
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Montana De La Rosa vs. Nadia Kassem
Round 1: De La Rosa marches her way into the clinch behind punches, then drags Kassem to the mat on the fence. Looking for half guard. One minute in. De La Rosa makes it to half guard after a good amount of effort. Short right hands land for her. Kassem regains guard. De La Rosa gets back to half guard. Two minutes to go.
Short punches from De La Rosa. Kassem regains guard. One minute to go. Side control, north-south. Looking for the armbar, switches to a kimura. 10-9 De La Rosa.
Round 2: De La Rosa again opens with punches until she can drag Kassem to the mat. Half guard. Solid elbows and now she’s in side control. One minute in. She transitions to mount and simultaneously locks up a triangle. She pounds for a bit before shifting to an armbar. Kassem survives, but is still in the triangle. Two minutes in. More elbows from De La Rosa and she switches back to the armbar, forcing the tap.
Final result: De La Rosa def. Kassem by submission (triangle armbar)
205 lbs.: Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey
Round 1: Crute tossing out kicks to start. Nothing from Alvey so far. One minute in. Crute just misses with a head kick, lands a leg kick. Body kick lands. More good leg kicks. Two minutes in. Alvey lands a left hand. Alvey steps in and gets destroyed by a chopping right. Crute tries to walk off but the ref lets it keep going, so Crute counters an Alvey takedown and lands ground-and-pound until the ref steps in.
Final result: Crute def. Alvey by TKO (punches)
155 lbs.: Dong Hyun Ma vs. Devonte Smith
Round 1: Patient start to the fight. Low kick from Smith. Another. Ma switching stance a minute in. Left hook by Smith. Head kick attempt. Body shot connects. Two minutes in. Low kick exchange. Jab connects for Smith. Low kick again and again Ma switches stance. Head kick attempt from Smith. Two minutes to go.
Smith checks a low kick and hurts Ma with a 1-2, stalking him and pouring on the hurt until the ref steps in.
Final result: Smith def. Ma by KO (punches)
145 lbs.: Austin Arnett vs. Shane Young
Round 1: Young on the front foot early. Inside low kick and jabs. 1-2 connects. Arnett fires a head kick, eats a right cross near the fence. One minute in. Combination from Young, jab from Arnett. Young lands another right hand, then one to the body. Arnett connects with a straight left. Good exchanges so far. Hard straight left by ARnett. Young digs another right downstairs, follows up with one to the head. Two minutes in. Young ties up on the fence, separates. Arnett lands some jabs. Young throwing 2-3s, Arnett still keeping up with him. Two minutes to go.
More good jabs from Arnett. Young to the body. Arnett picking him off on the way in. Young with a combination, eats left hands. Body kick from Arnett. One minute to go. Young with a right downstairs. Young finds the mark with a heavy combo near the end of the round, including a knee. He looks for a single-leg. 10-9 Young.
Round 2: Young continues to pressure. Arnett shifting stance, jabbing well. Body kick from Young. More jabs from Arnett, who eats a straight right. Young body kick, Arnett head kick attempt. One minute in. Low kicks and a body shot from Young. Arnett landing jabs, but not following up. Young still forcing him back. Straight left by Arnett. Low kick exchange. Two minutes to go. More lefts from Arnett. Both land low kicks. Counter right by Arnett lands clean. Leg kick. Young snaps his head back with a straight right. Hard body kick and a right hand behind it for Young. Two minutes to go.
Arnett lands a series of jabs and tries a head kick. Young marching after him, throwing in combination. 1-2 from Arnett, right hand from Young. Young steps in with a jab and a straight right to the ear. Another pair of rights. Heavy combination. Arnett taking the well but continues to retreat. Young shoots, takes his head out of a guillotine. Arnett with a nice left on the break and now he’s swinging big. Young obliges with some nice shots. Big counter right by Young as they slug it out. 10-9 Young.
Round 3: Young continues to advance. A series of jabs lands for Arnett. Arnett catches a body kick and lands a hard right hand. One minute in. Young with a jab downstairs, right hand up top. Right hand and kick to the body. Two minutes in. Counter left connects for Arnett. Young looks fr the body, lands a right upstairs. Another rush from Young lands. Arnett just not doing enough off the back foot. Two minutes to go.
Young finding the mark with right hands, Arnett with his jab. Head kick from Arnett glances off. One minute to go. Young with a nice uppercut inside, then a nasty combination. Right cross by Arnett. 2-3 connects. A three-piece combo and now it’s Arnett landing. Young moves in to meet him and both land massive punches, Young scoring a last-second knockdown with a cracking right hand. 10-9 Young.
Final result: Young def. Arnett by unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Raulian Paiva
Round 1: Both men tossing out kicks to start. Overhand right briefly drops Paiva, who pops right back up. One minute in. Low kick from Paiva, overhand from Kara-France and he limp-legs out of a single-leg. One minute in. Paiva popping his jab out. He flurries and shoots against the fence. Kara-France defends two minutes in. Both men jabbing. Overhand fright from Paiva, left hook from Kara-France. Paiva lands a leg kick. Two minutes to go.
Paiva avoids a 1-2-3, eats a straight right. Leg kick connects for him. He threatens a spinning back kick, lands a right but can’t complete the takedown. One minute to go. Paiva tries a flurry. 1-2. Head kick attempt. 10-9 Kara-France.
Round 2: Paiva the busier of the two. Kara-France shoots, stuffed and winds up on his back. Side control for Paiva. Kara-France scrambles to his feet and they trade on the break. Another shot from Kara-France, denied. Paiva landing knees in the clinch. Kara-France with a left hand on the break. Counter right by the Brazilian. Two minutes in. Paiva lands another leg kick. Flurry and another low kick. He easily stuffs another takedown and lands some hard body shots while standing over his man. Kara-France lands an upkick. He rolls to his feet. Two minutes to go.
Body kick lands for Paiva. 1-2 cracks Paiva and now they’re trading. Both land hard left hooks. Paiva with some good right hands, walking Kara-France down. He steps in with a knee. One minute to go. Leg kick connects. Kara-France steps in, gets teh worst of the exchange. Now he steps in with a right hand. Triple jab. Kara-France lands a good right and jumps guard on a guillotine at the bell. 10-9 Paiva.
Round 3: Kara-France lands a leg kick. Paiva with a nice combination low-high. Kara-France left hook, Paiva right hand. One minute in. 1-2 from Kara-France. Paiva eats a 1-2. He catches a leg kick, then boots the living daylights out of Kara-France’s cup. They resume with two minutes to go. Paiva continues to walk him down, landing combos. Nasty body shots and he looks for a guillotine. Kara-France drags him to the mat in response to a guillotine attempt. Paiva scrambles back to his feet, eats shots in the center with two minutes to go.
Paiva threatens to spin. He lands a body shot, takes an overhand right. One minute to go. Trading in the center. It’s still Paiva walking him down. Big left hooks by Kara-France. Paiva rips the body. Hard left from the Brazilian. Kara-France shoots in the waning seconds and completes it. 10-9 Paiva.
Final result: Kara-France def. Paiva by split decision
135 lbs.: Teruto Ishihara vs. Kyung Ho Kang
Round 1: Ishihara opens with low kicks. Body kick from Kang. Another and a straight right behind it. Ishihara comes back with a leg kick and check hook. Good overhand left and a monster counter drops Kang. Kang shoots, denied. He lands a right hand and knee, then another right hand that stings Ishihara. Lead right connects. Two minutes in. Kang goes downstairs, then drops Ishihara with a knee. Another right hand and another. Uppercuts in the clinch. Ishihara slugging it out with him. Kang getting the better of it, lands some blistering knees. Now he changes levels and completes a single-leg. He tries to take the back with no hooks. Two minutes to go.
Now both hooks in and he’s got the choke locked up. Ishihara goes to sleep.
Final result: Kang def. Ishihara by technical submission (rear naked choke)
155 lbs.: Callan Potter vs. Jalin Turner
Round 1: Potter opens with a leg kick. Right hand into a takedown attempt. Turner gets an underhook and shoves him to the mat, posturing out of an omoplata and limp-legging out of a leglock. Back to the feet. Two right hands sting Potter and Turner pummels him into unconsciousness.
Final result: Turner def. Potter by KO (punches)
135 lbs.: Wuliji Buren vs. Jonathan Martinez
Round 1: Martinez opening with inside low kicks. Both men firing head kicks. Buren changes levels against the fence and lands an inside trip into guard. One minute in. Buren looking for half guard, setting up a guillotine. Martinez scrambles into his own takedown attempt as Buren looks to cinch it up and dumps him to the mat. Two minutes in. Martinez moves to side control and looks for a Von Flue choke. Not there. Buren turns to his knees and is in danger of having his back taken. Two minutes to go.
One hook in for Martinez. Buren moving, can’t quite dislodge him. Martinez whacks him with a hard left as he stands and loses the hook in the process. Pressing Buren against the fence with a minute to go. Martinez exits with a knee, then slips on a high kick. Buren stands over him and looks to drop punches, gets tied up in guard. Martinez spins for an armbar, then a leg. 10-9 Martinez.
Round 2: Buren hops in with a knee and body kick after taking some low kicks. Two-piece counter from Martinez. Left cross connects. One minute in. Shift right hand by Buren, oblique kick from Martinez. Martinez with a body kick and left cross behind it. 1-2 and front kick attempt. Buren hits a reactive shot, avoiding a guillotine as he does. Half guard. Martinez trying to regain guard, instead sweeps his way into top position. Buren using butterfly guard. He hits a sweep of his own to regain half guard. Two minutes to go.
Martinez forces a scramble, nearly gives up his back, can’t wrench Buren down but forces him to a knee. Good knee to the body from Martinez. One minute to go. Elbow connects. Martinez threatening a choke. He ends the round landing knees to the thigh. 10-9 Martinez.
Round 3: Buren hits an early trip directly into mount. Martinez uses the cage to roll free, only for Buren to latch onto an arm. Martinez escapes, takes the back, and starts dropping punches a minute in. Maintaining back control. Two minutes in. Martinez transitions to mount, then the back again. Mount, left hands, back. Good punches. Two minutes to go.
Martinez appears to consider an arm triangle, which allows Buren to sweep into guard. Martinez kicks him off, can’t make enough space. Buren clamps onto an anaconda choke, can’t complete it and shoots in. One minute to go. Martinez sprawls on it and forces him to his back. Buren with two butterfly hooks in. Martinez opens up with ground-and-pound, nearly getting a finish before the bell. 10-9 Martinez.
Final result: Martinez def. Buren by unanimous decision