Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Live, blow-by-blow updates for today’s UFC 241 preliminary card from Anaheim, which has lightweight prospect Devonte Smith in the featured slot.
Join us today (Saturday, August 17th) on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round by round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 241 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The big main event matches up reigning UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in a rematch against Stipe Miocic, whom Cormier knocked out in one round to win the title last year. In the co-main event, the ever-popular Nate Diaz takes on Anthony Pettis in a hotly anticipated welterweight clash.
UFC 241 kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at approximately 6:30 PM ET with three fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8 PM ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Remember that you can only order UFC PPVs now through ESPN+, so you have to sign up for that service beforehand if you haven’t already.
This post covers the entire preliminary card.
The full lineup and schedule follows.
Lightweight – Devonte Smith vs. Khama Worthy
Round 1 – Both men start out with lots of feints as they try to get reads on each other. Smith lands some good leg kicks and Worthy replies with a punch to the body. Smith stays just out of range so Worthy’s punches are falling just short. Another good leg kick from Smith. Worthy lands a lovely left right combination as Smith moves in which sends Smith tumbling to the mat. Worthy moves in to finish the fight and lands a few hammerfists until Herzog waves off the contest. We finally get a finish! Huge knockout win for Worthy in his UFC debut on short notice.
Khama Worthy defeats Devonte Smith by TKO at 4:15 of round one.
Bantamweight – Raphael Assuncao vs. Cory Sandhagen
Round 1 – Assuncao catches an early leg kicks and throws a one-two combination immediately after. Sandhagen lands a good uppercut after measuring the distance and fires an inside leg kick. Sandhagen throws and lands a punch to the body and is keeping distance really well at the moment. This is a fantastic start from Sandhagen as he mixes up his attack to keep Assuncao guessing. Sandhagen puts Assuncao on the cage before Assuncao pushes off. Sandhagen lands a nice right hand and still pushes forward to end the round. 10-9 Sandhagen.
Round 2 – Sandhagen comes out with kicks to begin the second round. Assuncao takes his back and drags him down to the ground. Sandhagen reverses and gets on top. Sandhagen now takes Assuncao’s back before a scramble is initiated which sees both men get to their feet. They both end up back on the mat where Assuncao landed some good punches while Sandhagen was fishing for a leg. Assuncao traps one leg and one arm of Sandhagen but Sandhagen ends the round on top. 10-9 Sandhagen.
Round 3 – Sandhagen starts the final frame by keeping a high activity rate as he follows Assuncao around the octagon. A solid Sandhagen jab stings Assuncao before he lands another good shot to the body. Assuncao grabs Sandhagen but Sandhagen gets separation. Sandhagen continues to control the fight on the feet before Assuncao gets a brief slam. Sandhagen got straight back up and attempted a flying knee. A very mature performance by Sandhagen where he always looked in control. 30-27 Sandhagen.
Cory Sandhagen defeats Raphael Assuncao by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Lightweight – Christos Giagos vs. Drakkar Klose
Round 1 – Giagos begins well on the feet, putting some good combinations together. Klose gets inside and looks to clinch but Giagos turns him and puts him on the cage. Solid leg kick landed by Giagos who follows up by putting Klose back onto the fence. Giagos lands a nice knee to the body who is moving around really well so far. Giagos changes level and lands a good punch to the body. Klose tries to land a takedown but Giagos stays upright. Klose lands a really good right hand as the buzzer sounds. 10-9 Giagos.
Round 2 – Both come out swinging in the second landing solid strikes before Giagos gets the takedown. Klose works back to the feet but gets returned to the mat. Giagos takes the back and works for a rear naked choke. Klose stays composed and escapes before getting back to his feet. Giagos continues to land good strikes on the feet but Klose lands a heavy punch which swings the momentum. Klose gets Giagos down and is landing some damaging blows from the top. A huge cut has opened up on Giagos’s forehead. Great fight this one. 10-9 Klose.
Round 3 – Klose pushes forwards again right off of the bat and lands some good uppercuts in quick succession. Giagos is still firing back although his strikes don’t look as impactful. Klose is utilising the leg kick now to mix up his attack. Both men continue to land on the feet as Giagos lands a solid right hand. Klose lands some more uppercuts before landing a knee to the body of Giagos. Both men look fatigued but Klose picks up Giagos and slams him to the ground. Giagos gets back to his feet and both men swing on the feet to the buzzer. That will definitely be a fight of the night contender. 29-28 Klose.
Drakkar Klose defeats Christos Giagos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Catchweight (140lbs) -Manny Bermudez vs. Casey Kenney
Round 1 – Kenney throws a nice leg kick and is darting in and out of range. Bermudez catches Kenney in a clinch coming in and takes Kenney down. Bermudez is in half guard but unable to inflict any damage. Kenney gets back to the feet and throws Bermudez down to the mat. Kenney passes to side control after looking wary of Bermudez’s guard. Both men get back to the feet after Bermudez was threatening to take the back. 10-9 Bermudez.
Round 2 – Bermudez shoots for an early takedown but Kenney defended it. Bermudez drags Kenney to the ground but Kenney gets on top. Bermudez has Kenney’s left arm hooked but is eating a few shots. Kenney looks to take the back and is working for a rear naked choke but Bermudez escapes. Kenney lands a nice elbow and is doing well at maintaining his position. This time, Kenney gets all the way to the back but was too high and Bermudez got back to his feet. Bermudez trips Kenney to take the fight back to the ground and takes the back. Kenney escapes and ends the round on top. 10-9 Kenney.
Round 3 – Bermudez pushes forward on the feet and lands some good punches. Kenney attempts to clinch Bermudez and lands one or two solid knees. Kenney holds Bermudez against the cage and trip Bermudez. Lovely sweep off of the fence by Bermudez who winds up in side control. Bermudez looks to move to mount but Kenney defends well. Bermudez locks up a guillotine but couldn’t move to mount in time to get the necessary leverage. Kenney escapes but can’t get off of his back. Bermudez looks as though he could be setting up a kimura but Kenney still hangs tough. Another close one. Just 29-28 Bermudez on this scorecard.
Casey Kenney defeats Manny Bermudez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Women’s Strawweight – Hannah Cifers vs. Jodie Esquibel
Round 1 – Both women are feeling out the range in the early stages. Esquibel shoots for a takedown but Cifers defends it. Both are trying to work out their opponents reactions. Esquibel throws a nice high kick but neither are putting together any combinations. Cifers lands some good punches at range and stops another takedown attempt. Towards the end of the round, both are beginning to open up after a tentative opening. 10-9 Esquibel.
Round 2 – Cifers landed a leg kick that looked as though it really hurt Esquibel before Esquibel landed a takedown. Referee steps in to restart the fight on the feet. Cifers replies with an immediate takedown but Esquibel workks quickly back to her feet. Esquibel takes Cifers down and Cifers throws up her legs for an armbar attempt. Esquibel gets back to her feet. The round ends on the feet with Esquibel throwing high kicks. 10-9 Cifers.
Round 3 – Both are hitting the air to open the final round. Not a whole lot of action going on with both being hesitant. Cifers lands some good strikes and blocks a high kick from Esquibel. Esquibel drops below a Cifers punch and lands a well-timed takedown. Cifers keeps Esquibek in her guard and is limiting any offense from Esquibel. Jason Herzog separates the fighters once again and gets them back to their feet. Esquibel lands a nice left hand but Cifers returns with a good kick to the body. Very close fight this one. 29-28 Cifers just but could go either way.
Hannah Cifers defeats Jodie Esquibel by unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-27).
Bantamweight – Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brandon Davis
Round 1 – Davis opens with a leg kick. He fires with another to the left leg of Kang. Kang fires under a Davis right hand and looks for the takedown. Davis defends and gets separation. Kang is showing a nice jab but his left knee looks damaged. It isn’t affecting his clean jab though as he continues to land it. Davis grazes Kang with an overhand right and is landing the more significant strikes. Davis is dropped but it is unclear if it was entirely from a punch or whether he was partially off-balanced. Kang took the back and ended the round in half guard. 10-9 Kang.
Round 2 – No stance switch from Kang to try and protect his damaged leg. Davis stops a Kang takedown attempt and rolls for an armbar but ends up on the bottom. Kang takes the back but Davis reverses position and keeps Kang against the cage in a standing position. Davis attempts a big knee up the middle but Kang avoids it. Both men exchange strikes. Davis is mixing it up to the body and head, landing some good combinations. Davis gets some late success back with the leg kick. Close round. 10-9 Davis.
Round 3 – Davis slips after throwing a head kick and Kang jumps on top of him. Kang settles in side control but seems content to hold position. The referee separates the fighters. Kang lands a double leg and goes straight back to side control. Davis is trying to buck but that isn’t the most effect way of trying to change the position. Kang takes the back on the way to the feet but Davis shrugs him off. A third takedown is landed this round by Kang who winds up in Davis’s guard. Davis is looking to land elbows from the bottom but Kang is staying heavy. 10-9 Kang so 29-28 Kang overall on this scorecard.
Kyung Ho Kang defeats Brandon Davis by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Flyweight – Shana Dobson vs. Sabina Mazo
Round 1 – Both fighters exchange leg kicks early. Mazo hurt Dobson to the body with a left kick and crowded her. Mazo gets a takedown against the cage and is working in Dobson’s guard. Dobson is trying to control Mazo’s wrists but Mazo is landing elbows over the top. Dobson sweeps Mazo and nearly takes the back but ends up back on bottom. The elbows and working for Mazo as she begin striking the body too. Mazo moves to side control but Dobson works back to her feet. Dobson gets taken down again and eats a number of short right hands. Mazo advances to mount and Dobson can do nothing but hold on. Dobson is limited with what she can produce from the bottom. 10-9 Mazo.
Round 2 – Leg kicks are exchanged by both fighters from the outset again. Dobson attempts a takedown but gets shaken off easily. Mazo establishes the muay-thai clinch against the cage and fires some knees to Dobson’s midsection. Dobson can’t find any kind of separation so is constantly being controlled. Mazo gets another takedown and moves into half guard. Dobson really doesn’t know what she’s doing on the bottom and is merely hanging on. She eats a knee on the way back to the feet where Mazo keeps range by throwing body kicks. 10-9 Mazo.
Round 3 – Mazo keeps the jab in Dobson’s face to open the final round. A fairly high volume of strikes are being thrown by Mazo as Dobson continues to head hunt. Mazo lands a series of hard knees which puts Dobson in big trouble. Again, Dobson is just accepting position and absorbing everything being thrown. Mazo gets the takedown and lands straight into side control. Mazo ends the round on top throwing big punches. Total domination everywhere for Mazo. 10-9 Mazo so 30-27 Mazo overall.
Sabina Mazo defeats Shana Dobson by unanimous decision (30-24, 30-25, 30-25).