Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the hurt business this weekend with the upcoming UFC 213: “Romero vs. Whittaker” pay-per-view (PPV) fight card, which takes place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., July 8, 2017.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was originally slated to defend her title opposite top contender Valentina Shevchenko in the main event, but was pulled from the bout earlier today due to illness. With the absence of Nunes, Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker will now step in as UFC 213’s headliner.
UFC 213 will also feature a heavyweight trilogy fight between former promotional champion Fabricio Werdum and world-class striker Alistair Overeem, as well as a lightweight scrap pitting former 155-pound king Anthony Pettis against veteran Jim Miller.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 213 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 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 213) 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 “Romero vs. Whittaker.”
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 213 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.) Also Steve Juon will be here to cover the preliminary action.
UFC 213 QUICK RESULTS:
Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker
Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk — Blaydes UD 30-27 x3
Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis — Pettis UD 30-27 x3
Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade — Font sub 4:36 R2
Travis Browne vs. Oleksiy Oleinik — Oleinik sub 3:44 R2.
Brian Camozzi vs. Chad Laprise — Laprise TKO 1:27 R3.
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Thiago Santos — Santos TKO 2:04 R2.
Jordan Mein vs. Belal Muhammad — Muhammad UD 29-28 X2, 30-27.
Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware — Stamann UD 30-27 X2, 29-28.
James Bochnovic vs. Trevin Giles — Giles TKO 2:54 R2.
UFC 213 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
185 lbs.: Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker for interim middleweight title
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
265 lbs.: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
Round 1: OK, I like Curtis Blaydes because he came out to the Mortal Kombat theme song. Good for him. Daniel opens with a left hand shovel hook. Blaydes pushes forward for a clinch, but lands two knees to the groin. The ref breaks them up and starts them clean in the center. They land simultaneous lefts. Blaydes bulls forward again to get the Pole up against the cage again. He’s minding his P’s and Q’s this time and gets in some dirty boxing. Eventually they separate and it’s back in the open. Body kick from Omielanczuk. “Razor” Blaydes tries another takedown, but again, he can’t land it. They’re back on the fence, where we’ve spent much of this fight. Body knee from Curtis. They break. Takedown attempt fails again for the American. Short right in the clinch. D.O. complains again about a low knee, but that looked clean and the ref doesn’t stop it. Another failed takedown attempt from Blaydes. Body right from Daniel as the round ends.
10-9 Blaydes
Round 2: Blaydes with a body knee and a right hand to the body. Takedown from Curtis is again a zero. Omielanczuk goes for a neck, but Blaydes pops his head out, works a bit, then breaks. Curtis’s jab has looked sharp this round. There’s a left from Daniel. The non-full power straight punches are connecting for Blaydes, which he should be doing a lot, given he has a 6-inch reach advantage. Daniel hits a nice knee as Blaydes pushes forward. Another level change, another shot, another failed takedown, another clinch into the cage. They separate and Curtis gets in a left as he moves back. Rights from both men. Liver kick from D.O. Another pill kick from Blaydes. As we rejoin, we’re back to square one with a telegraphed failed takedown.
10-9 Blaydes
Round 3: Low kick from Blaydes, left from Daniel. Omielanczuk hits a left, then another and another. Takedown. Failure. Boos from the crowd. Failed single leg this time. Both men hit on the break. There’s a left from the shorter man. Right from Blaydes and a sweet jab. Daniel hits a body kick partially. Blaydes with better technical strikes letting him dictate the pace. D.O. with an ankle pick attempt, but Blaydes falls on top of him and hits some body elbows. They scramble and both men are back standing. Omielanczuk tries a rolling thunder! Sadly it didn’t connect. Right hand from Daniel as the fight ends.
10-9 Blaydes
Final result: Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielanczuk via decision (unanimous) 30-27 x3
155 lbs.: Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis
Round 1: Pettis in black with white trim, Miller in blue, Herb Dean is our ref. Miller opens with a kick to back up Pettis. He then counters a Pettis leg kick with a straight punch. Another big leg kick from Miller. Pettis times a right knee as Miller ducks a bit. Another leg kick from Miller. Jim also blocks a head kick from the former champ. Miller charges in with a combo, misses. Pettis misses the counter, too. Two inside leg kicks from Miller. Big body kick to the left side of Jim’s body. Halfway through the first stanza. Another body kick to the same spot from Pettis. That same right knee from Pettis as Muller dipped to his left. Miller is back against the fence and Pretty Tony is unloading on him. He connected a half a dozen shots among those that got blocked. Nice 1-2 from Pettis. Spinning backfist, too. Switch kick lands for Pettis. He’s taken overt the latter half of this round. Miller with a leg kick, Pettis lands a right hand. Body-head from Jim and a nice left.
10-9 Pettis
Round 2: Left hand lands from the New Jerseyan. Miller catches a kick and takes down Pettis. Tony almost immediately tries a triangle, but there’s blood coming out of the head of Miller and that helps him squirm out of that. Nice elbow from Miller. Left hand, too. Pettis scrambles and Miller jumps on his back. He’s got one hook in, now two. Pettis rotates off the cage and manages to escape out the back door. Now he’s on top. Elbows from the Wisconsonite. He’s in side control. Pettis stands, gets in a punch and then goes back down into half guard. Pass to side again. Miller gets to his knees, but that lets Pettis jump to his back. He stands and Pettis slips off. Pettis trips him back down and lands on the top in half.
10-9 Pettis
Round 3: 1-2 leg kick from Miller. Inside leg kick. and a right hand, too. Miller being aggressive early. Pettis gets in a jab, eats another leg kick. Jim blocks a head kick. Lands that inside one again. Front kick from Anthony. On an unrelated side note as the pace slows, chunky monkey is the greatest ice cream flavor of all time. All time. Back to the action, right hand lands for Pettis as he counters. Miller gets in a trio of leg kicks, but to Pettis’ credit, he seems unfazed by them. Miller tries for a takedown, but Pettis gets in underhooks and stuffs it. Pettis has Miller up against the cage and is grinding a bit. Nice elbow from Miller. Left on the break, too. Pettis tries a wheel kick that misses, Miller rolls for a knee, but that misses. Miller tries a cartwheel kick of his own and Pettis with a jump kick at the end.
10-9 Miller
Final result: Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller by decision (unanimous) 30-27 x3
135 lbs.: Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Round 1: Evening folks, Braiterman here, taking over for the esteemed Mr. Juon. Font in black and white trunks, Andrade in yellow, Buffer in the very classy maroon lounge jacket. Andrade with a loud leg kick to open the bout. Font ducks under for a nice double leg takedown into the cage. Andrade attempts to wall walk, and either trips, drops down for a leg lock or was brought down by Font – I couldn’t tell. Font in half guard, hitting some busy ground shots. Full guard. Andrade opens his legs and attempts to stand up. Font grabs a head and nearly gets a guillotine, but Andrade wiggles out. Nice back and forth ends with a knee from Font and an eyepoke. The ref stops the fight to let the doc check out DSdA. We’re back and a nice shot from the Brazilian. Font gets a left in, but Andrade lands one in return, too. Lefts from both men. Font surging forward, misses a flurry, but gets a Thai clinch and hits a right hand as they break. Rob hits a nice double jab. Right from Font. Douglas tried a takedown, directly into a guillotine, but the round ends.
10-9 Font
Round 2: Rob punches into a clinch and throws a knee before there’s separation. Good left hand from Font. Cup check lands on Font’s groin, but he’s ok and the ref lets them go after inquiring about his welfare. Rob catches a kick and backs Doug into the cage. He fights off the cage with an uppercut. Good right hand from Andrade finally lands clean. Font gets in a left. Nice combo from Times New Roman. Knees to the body as well. Right hand to the temple stumbles the Brazilian. He’s mauling him up against the cage a bit before going for and landing a takedown. Font has the neck of DSdA and after a pickup and slam, Font gets the tap.
Final result: Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via submission (guillotine) in round two
265 lbs.: Travis Browne vs. Oleksiy Oleinik
Browne comes in on a three fight losing streak, still ranked No. 9 in the Heavyweight division, career record of 18-6-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Oleinik is 51-10-1 overall, won his last fight in January against Viktor Pesta with an Ezekiel choke, and he fights out of Moscow, Russia as the No. 14 ranked Heavyweight. Red trunks and blue gloves for Oleinik. Black trunks and red gloves for Browne. Our referee in charge is John McCarthy.
Round 1: Both men tap gloves to start. Oleinik is pressuring early and Browne is content to circle on the outside. Browne fires a left head kick and a right knee and two more left head kicks. Right leg kick. Oleinik pushes him into the cage after eating enough of those kicks. McCarthy has to pull Oleinik’s hand off the top of the cage when he grabs hold. Browne rocks Oleinik with a left. Oleinik stumbles to the ground and Browne lets him back up at 1:55 then misses with an uppercut. He misses with a right hook too. Oleinik seems recovered now on his feet with half a round to go and he drops Browne with a right hand. Browne gets up but he’s a little wobbly. Oleinik digs into the body as Browne tries to hold him close and recover. Oleinik tries to get a headlock but Browne breaks free. Browne gets off the fence at 3:46. Oleinik stalks him and gets a takedown at 4:03 as Browne threw a knee. Oleinik moves to side control and works his way up then looks to take the back as Browne turtles. Oleinik flattens Browne out but there’s short time left in R1. He can’t get the submission but he gets the round. 10-9 Oleinik.
Round 2: Oleinik digs for the body to open this round. Browne backpedals and circles. Oleinik keeps digging for rights to the body. Browne responds with knees. Front high kick by Browne. Oleinik is touching the chin as they move toward the fence. Browne grabs a clinch for some knees. Browne throws Oleinik to the ground at 1:40. McCarthy calls for more work repeatedly as action stalls out. Browne stands back up at 2:50 but Oleinik grabs his back and drags Browne to the ground, landing some hard lefts and rights from behind and looking for a submission again. Oleinik gets the tap at 3:44.
Final result: Oleksiy Oleinik via submission at 3:44 of the second round.
170 lbs.: Brian Camozzi vs. Chad Laprise
Camozzi comes in 7-3, having lost his UFC debut to Randy Brown last December via TKO. He’s the younger brother of Chris Camozzi and fights out of Englewood, Colorado in the blue trunks and gloves. Laprise is the winner of TUF: Canada vs. Australia, 12-2 overall, having won his last fight with Thibault Gouti via TKO. He fights out of Chatham, Ontario, Canada in the red trunks and gloves. Our referee in charge is Herb Dean.
Round 1: Camozzi lands the first head kick. The height and reach advantage is obvious right away but Laprise still tags him with a right hook. Camozzi pushes Laprise backward and Dean warns Laprise to watch his extended Fingers. Leg kick by Laprise. Laprise with a 1-2 combo. Camozzi with a body kick. Laprise with more solid hands in the exchanges. Right head kick by Camozzi. Laprise decks him with a hook but Camozzi keeps coming forward. It’s easier to see because Laprise has a tan and Camozzi doesn’t, but Camozzi is really getting bruised up. Laprise sweeps him to the ground on a kick with 30 seconds left. 10-9 Laprise.
Round 2: Laprise opens R2 with a left high kick. Camozzi with a leg kick and a left hook. Laprise shifts side to side as Camozzi tries to find his approach. Laprise lands a combo and gets out of the way of the response. Laprise with a right, they clinch, no advantage gained either way. Hard shots are traded at 1:45. Camozzi tries to back Laprise up to the fence but Laprise keeps getting in and out on shots and avoiding big blows. Left head kick by Camozzi is checked. Laprise tags with jabs. Body kick by Camozzi. Another at 3:59. Camozzi may be slightly even or ahead this round thanks to the number of kicks to the body and leg he’s landed. Laprise with a right hook at 4:47. Laprise jabs away to the horn. It’s a close round.
Round 3: Both men stay in the center for the first 30 seconds before Camozzi starts to pressure Laprise backward. Backpedaling so much may cost Laprise on the scorecards. Laprise huts Camozzi with a right hand liver shot at 1:15 lands the right knee as Camozzi is faltering against the fence and pours it on on the ground with shot after shot. Herb Dean waves it off as Camozzi is doubled over and turtled up in pain.
Final result: Chad Laprise wins via technical knockout at 1:27 in the third round.
185 lbs.: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Thiago Santos
Meerschaert comes in 26-8 on a seven fight win streak, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the blue gloves and trunks. Santos is 14-5 and fights out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the red gloves and black trunks. Our referee in charge of this contest is Marc Goddard.
Round 1: Meerschaert applies the pressure early and connects with a left hand. Santos throws a leg kick and Meerschaert goes for a takedown. Santos pops back up at 44 seconds. A clinch puts Santos on the fence and he’s tripped to the ground at 1:14, eating left hands as he stands. Right elbow from Meerschaert before he drops for a double. Santos sprawls and blocks it, getting up throwing heavy hands, and Meerschaert is in big trouble. Santos blocks a defensive takedown attempt by Meerschaert then backs up to force Meerschaert to stand at 2:33. Santos has a cut on the top of his forehead. Goddard calls time as Santos pokes Meerschaert in the left eye. The time actually benefits Meerschaert by giving him time to recover, but he catches another hand to the head and a hard knee to the body. There’s a scramble as it nearly goes down and Meerschaert gets popped with a left when they get back up. High kicks from Santos. They wing punches at each other at 4:12. Blood is streaming down the right side of Santos’ face. Meerschaert loses this round 10-9 but he may be poised to take advantage of a tired Santos in R2 or R3.
Round 2: Meerschaert shoots for the takedown 10 seconds into R2 but can’t keep Santos down. He shoots for a single but Santos is pounding on him as the attempt fails and Meerschaert is covering up. Goddard is warning Meerschaert to fight back or improve. Santos is trying to take the back. Santos is drilling Meerschaert with lefts and rights. Meerschaert takes a knee to the body as he stands back up. He shoots and Santos sprawls then gets on top again. Meerschaert is taking hammerfist right hands unabated and Goddard decides he’s seen enough.
Final result: Thiago Santos wins by technical knockout at 2:04 in the second round.
170 lbs.: Jordan Mein vs. Belal Muhammad
Mein is in the red gloves and trunks for this fight. Muhammad is in the blue gloves and green trunks. Mein is 29-11 overall, Muhammad 11-2. Muhammad fights out of Chicago, Illinois. Mein fights out of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Our referee in charge is Mark Smith.
Round 1: Muhammad looks for a takedown at 16 seconds and doesn’t get it. Muhammad lands a hard right. Mein pushes forward and Muhammad shoots again, both men stumble to the ground and pop back up. Mein throws a left high kick. Both men trade leg kicks. Mein with a push kick. Leg kick by Mein. Muhammad with a jab. Body kick from Mein. Muhammad shoots again and doesn’t get the takedown. Leg kick for Mein. Right hand from Muhammad. A lot of hand movement as both fighters are trying to psych each other out. Mein continues to punish the left leg with kicks. Muhammad shoots again. He tries to spin away with an elbow when he can’t get it, then pushes Mein into the fence again to throw knees. Muhammad with a couple of good elbows. 10-9 Mein.
Round 2: Mein opens R2 with a cut over one brow from some of the late elbows by Muhammad. Muhammad shoots at 43 seconds and is throwing more knees. Muhammad nearly has the takedown at 1:18, gets it seven seconds later, but Mein pops right back up. Body kick for Muhammad. Body head combos from Muhammad. Clean 1-2 combo as we near the halfway point. Left hook by Muhammad. Leg kick by Mein. Another left for Muhammad. Mein shoots and gets blocked. Muhammad shoots and puts Mein on the cage. Muhammad gets a takedown with under 40 seconds left and moves to full mount with short time. 10-9 Muhammad.
Round 3: Muhammad shoots 21 seconds into R3. Mein blocks it but he’s pressed into the fence as Muhammad continues to pursue a takedown if it’s there, and punish Mein with hands if it’s not. He gets the takedown at 1:14. Mein tries to sweep as he goes for a kimura but in the scramble Muhammad gets right back on top. He takes the back with one hook in at 1:47. Both hooks are in 10 seconds later. Both men are warned to stay busy. Muhammad gets a body triangle on and tries to get the left arm under Mein’s chin. Muhammad uses his free right hand to pound away on the body and the head. Mein shakes Muhammad off with 90 seconds left but is still pressed into the fence eating hard knees. Mein fails at another kimura attempt, goes for a single leg, Muhammad gets back up with 20 seconds to go and Mein fails at one takedown attempt at the horn. 10-9 Muhammad.
Final result: The judges score this contest 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for Belal Muhammad.
145 lbs.: Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware
Ware is 17-5 coming into tonight’s UFC debut on a four fight win streak, hailing from Hawthorne, California. His opponent Stamann is 14-1 with a six fight win streak, hailing from Wayne, Michigan. Ware has on the blue gloves and trunks tonight. Stamann has the red gloves and black trunks. He’s a Michigan Top Team fighter who comes highly touted by Daron Cruickshank. Ware has a 71” to 64.5” reach advantage. Our referee in charge is Marc Goddard.
Round 1: Ware takes the center and pushes the pace early, but the former state level Golden Gloves champion Stamann shows no fear of the reach and is also landing solid knees. He takes Ware to the ground but Ware is back to his feet at 1:39. Ware pins Stamann against the fence and lands a big right hand. Goddard stops the fight at 2:18 due to a low blow by Ware on a right knee. They’re restarted at the center and Ware continues to try and press the reach advantage. Stamann gets another takedown into full guard. Stamann stands up looking to land something over the top and then goes back down into half guard. He stands up again with 13 seconds left to stack Ware and throw some ground and pound. 10-9 Stamann for the takedowns and offense on top when he got it to the mat.
Round 2: Ware comes forward right away throwing hands. Stamann lands a solid knee, Ware lands a solid hand, they talk some smack to each other and Stamann gets a takedown at 45 seconds. Ware rolls back to his feet at 1:12, Stamann tries and fails to take the back, Ware clinches up and lands some knees, Stamann throws a hard left hand. Ware responds with a right. Stamann goes upstairs with a left head kick. Push kick for Stamann. Left body kick. Overhand right for Stamann. Ware tries to back Stamann up into the fence. More trash talking. Stamann takes Ware down again. Ware gets up at 3:58. Stamann misses on a single leg but the next takedown attempt connects. He’s five out of eight attempts overall. Another 10-9 for Stamann which is finished with some strong blows on top.
Round 3: A tap of the gloves starts R3. Ware is once again coming forward looking to use his hands. Stamann lands a leg kick and throws a front kick to the face. Ware shakes a finger at him. Ware is trying to go head body at 1:30. Stamann throws out another front kick. Another leg kick for Stamann. Ware blocks one takedown attempt but the second gets through at 2:15. Ware gets up at 3:02 but gave up his back doing so and Stamann easily took him back down. Stamann gets full mount at 3:29. Stamann briefly looks to take the back for a RNC and Ware fends it off. Stamann drills Ware with an unchecked series of left hands as he gets up with short time left. They slug it out for a few seconds on the feet, Stamann takes Ware down again, then pounds away on top until the horn. Stamann should easily get a unanimous decision.
Final result: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Cody Stamann by unanimous decision.
205 lbs.: James Bochnovic vs. Trevin Giles
Giles is an undefeated 9-0 prospect out of Houston, Texas. Bochnovic is 8-1 out of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Bochnovic hasn’t lost a fight since his pro debut, and no fight since then has gotten out of the first round. He trains at Rothwell MMA as a protege of Ben Rothwell. Tonight he’s wearing the blue gloves and blue trunks. Giles is equally dangerous with three knockouts and five submissions to date. He’s wearing red gloves and black trunks tonight. Our referee is Mark Smith.
Round 1: Bochnovic comes forward aggressively to start, forcing Giles to back up as his opponent tests the range. Bochnovic lands a couple of hard leg and body kicks. Giles ties him up and drives a knee to the body. Giles takes Bochnovic down at 1:15. Bochnovic gets stacked up against the fence as Giles tries to drop hard right hands. Bochnovic tries to find a submission off his back but Giles transitions to side control. Giles moves to take the back and fire some hard lefts and rights from behind. Bochnovic tries to get up and Giles takes him right back down to side control. Bochnovic tries to push off the cage with his feet and gets back up but gets suplexed back to the ground and Giles is landing HEAVY blows. Once again Giles stacks Bochnovic up and lands a gigantic left elbow. The second half of the round turned a 10-9 into a 10-8 for Giles.
Round 2: This time it’s Giles who opens the round coming forward aggressively, connecting with his hands to the already battered face of Bochnovic. Giles hurts Bochnovic with a body shot and he drops defensively for a takedown he can’t get. Giles takes over and turns it into a possible North-South choke. He lets it go to maintain control from behind, pounding away to the body and dumping Bochnovic again at 2:10 when he tries to scramble. Full mount at 2:30 and Bochnovic gives up his back. Smith is warning him to fight back as he turns over eating left hand after left hand, and he stops it at 2:54 to improve Giles to 10-0. Bochnovic is still out cold from the ground and pound a minute after the fight ends.
Final result: Trevin Giles wins via technical knockout at 2:54 of the second round.