Into every life, a little rain must fall. MMA fans are pretty accustomed to packing their umbrellas, and they needed them this week.
UFC 209 lost a good deal of luster when Khabib Nurmagomedov, the fast-talking, ultra-talented, undefeated Russian lightweight. Nurmagomedov fell ill while cutting weight Friday and was forced to pull out of his interim lightweight title fight with the streaking, super-aggressive Tony Ferguson.
That let the air out of many a balloon and pay-per-view buy estimate, but UFC 209 shouldered on. Toeing much of the line was the main event, a welterweight rematch between champ Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
In the new co-main event slot, high-octane Lando Vannata tried his luck against anonymous-but-dangerous striker David Teymur.
As always, the final stat lines only tell part of the story. These are the real winners and losers from UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the literal-minded among us, full card results appear at the bottom.