Live, blow-by-blow updates for Saturday’s UFC event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which is headlined by a lightweight rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
Join us today (Saturday, July 28th) on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring and play-by-play as UFC on FOX 30 takes place at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The headliner is a great one, as former Bellator and UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez rematches Dustin Poirier, this time in a five-round scrap. They fought to a no-contest at UFC 211 last year, so this year they hope to settle the score, with the winner being dubbed “violenceweight champion.”
Also on the card is an intriguing featherweight co-main event between legendary former WEC and UFC champion Jose Aldo and rising heavy-handed contender Jeremy Stephens. Ex-strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk returns to action against top-10 ranked Tecia Torres, while lightweight prospects Alexander Hernandez and Olivier Aubin-Mercier begin the main broadcast.
Today’s event is a FOX card, so that means earlier start times. Fight Pass gets the action going with five bouts, starting at 4 PM ET/1 PM PT. The fights continues the rest of the afternoon-evening on FOX, with four prelims at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT, and the four main card fights at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.
Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup.
The full lineup and schedule follows:
Main Card (8 PM ET, FOX)
Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier
Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Tecia Torres
Alexander Hernandez vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Preliminary Card (6 PM ET, FOX)
Jordan Mein vs. Alex Morono
Austin Arnett vs. Hakeem Dawodu
Kajan Johnson vs. Islam Makhachev
Round 1 – Bit of a staring contest with some feints mixed in over this first minute. Makhachev throws a left hand from southpaw stance. Good body kick by Makhachev. Johnson misses on a left hand. Very slow-paced start and not a sign of a takedown attempt by Makhachev. They clinch up, Johnson puts Makchachev against the fence, but Makchachev gets in some body shots before they break. Johnson lands a body kick. They both miss on haymaker shots. Makhachev gets the takedown with just over 90 seconds left. He lands a sharp elbow before passing to full mount. Three straight lefts by Makhachev, and now he transitions to the armbar and gets it. Dominant performance on the ground by Makhachev.
Official result: Islam Makhachev def. Kajan Johnson by submission (armbar) at 4:43 of round 1
Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Ion Cutelaba
Round 1 – Antigulov instantly takes Cutelaba down with practically no resistance. Cutelaba finds the fences and finds his way back up, but the danger isn’t over yet. Antigulov clasps the hands and puts Cutelaba on his back again. Couple of ground strikes get through for Antigulov. Cutelaba again back to his feet, but Antigulov has the back, laces the legs and this time Cutelaba stays upright. Cutelaba with clinch strikes and then he eats a hard right hand before fending off another takedown. Cutelaba with a knee to the body and another one. Short right hands by Cutelaba in the clinch, as Antigulov is in on a single leg. Antigulov lands a short uppercut. Cutelaba with more knees. Cutelaba is relentless with those knees, but Antigulov still takes him down. A sweep by Cutelaba and he stands up, then stops the high crotch takedown. Cutelaba teeing off on Antigulov. Series of uppercuts have Antigulov hurt. Huge shot by Antigulov! Wow! But back comes Cutelaba with the knees. This is vicious clinch striking and Antigulov is exhausted and out on his feet. The referee steps in and stops the fight after some brutal elbows. Good call.
Official result: Ion Cutelaba def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO (strikes) at 4:25 of round 1
Preliminary Card (4 PM ET, Fight Pass)
John Makdessi vs. Ross Pearson
Round 1 – Aggressive start from the two lightweight veterans. Makdessi sticks out the jab after taking a leg kick. They trade kicks before Makdessi fires off a left hand that just goes by Pearson’s face. Left hook by Pearson. Makdessi with a solid inside leg kick. Sweet jab by Pearson. Head kick by Pearson is blocked, then Makdessi answers with a body kick and left hand. Pearson with a jab and then whiffs on a left hook. Body kick and right hand by Makdessi. Jab by Pearson, then Makdessi counters with a left. Strong right hand stuns Pearson momentarily. Good right underneath Makdessi’s guard lands for Pearson. Makdessi continues to have success with the leg kicks. Close round, but I shade it 10-9 Makdessi.
Round 2 – Leg kick and a left hook by Makdessi. Spinning kick by Makdessi. Jab by Pearson. Left hook to the body by Pearson. Right hand by Pearson connects. He’s turning up the volume. Makdessi dodges and then lands a straight right. The Canadian doubles upon the jab but then absorbs a good body kick thrown by the Brit. Pearson digs the body and then pops Makdessi with a right. A right hand by Makdessi tags Pearson. Makdessi spins and misses on the backfist, but cracks Pearson with a left hook. Jab is there again for Pearson. Nice left hook by Pearson sweeps across Makdessi’s face. Right hand answer by Makdessi. Counter left by Makdessi is picture perfect. Right hand over the top by Makdessi. Short right by Makdessi as he moves around effectively. Left hook by Makdessi. This was looking like a Pearson round, but Makdessi came back strongly. 20-18 Makdessi.
Round 3 – Makdessi with a left hook. Pearson tries a shovel hook and misses. Beautiful right hand jars Makdessi. John sticks the jab and lands on Pearson, then lands a groin shot. Pearson takes a minute or so to recover and they resume fighting, and exchange some good shots in the pocket, then Pearson shoots for a takedown. Makdessi defends but they’re now against the fence. They separate and start striking again. Left hook by Pearson and Makdessi is backing up. Nice shot by Makdessi, but Pearson is charging back. Makdessi clips Pearson with a counter right. Gorgeous 1-2 by Makdessi. Double jab by Makdessi and Pearson just eats them. Hard leg kick by Pearson. Left hook by Makdessi as Pearson is bloodied up. Three-punch combo by Makdessi, then some brutal short shots on the inside. Hard right by Makdessi! Big shots by Makdessi! Pearson is hurt and wobbly after eating several unanswered shots! Makdessi just avoids a right hand, tries to spin and misses. Pearson slips after throwing a body kick. Pearson getting hit cleanly. Makdessi seems to think the fight should be stopped. Pearson hits a trip on Makdessi! He gets back up and then drills Pearson’s face with some more punches. Jab by Makdessi, whose face is a crimson mask. Final seconds tick away. Makdessi looks for the spectacular finish but it doesn’t materialize. Still, great fight! 30-27 Makdessi.
Official result: John Makdessi def. Ross Pearson by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-28)
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Alexis Davis
Round 1 – Chookagian with some early jabbing. Davis with an inside leg kick. Good right to the body by Davis. Left hand by Chookagian and a short left hook on the inside by Davis. Body kick by the Canadian. Jab by Chookagian answered by a Davis leg kick. Good exchange on the inside by both ladies. Straight right hand lands for Davis. Chookagian short on a front kick. One more outside leg kick by Davis. While Davis is the one bleeding, it looks like she’s landed the better strikes in this round. 10-9 Davis.
Round 2 – Pushing left hook by Davis as Chookagian also connected on a right hand to the head. Chookagian now bleeding on her left shin. Davis digs the body. Sneaky right hand lands flush for Davis. Chookagian with the left hook. Davis answers back with a combination. Hook kick by Chookagian. Buckling leg kick again by Davis, as Chookagian is just checking none of them. Chookagian catches a kick but misses on the right hand. Strong body kick by Chookagian. Straight right and then a looping right are on-target for Davis. Jab snaps Davis’ head back. Davis keeping up the forward pressure as Chookagian looks to counter. 20-18 Davis.
Round 3 – Left hand by Davis. Straight right by Chookagian. Two good countershots by Chookagian have got Davis on stiffened legs. Flush kick to the face of Davis! Chookagian eats a left hook. Right hand clips Davis. She moves forward and throws a three-punch combination. Takedown attempt by Davis is thwarted by Chookagian. Davis misses on a slow spinning backfist. Caught kick by Chookagian and this time she responds with a glancing right hand. Pace has slowed down, and Davis is not throwing as many kicks. Long right hand on the jaw of Davis. Final minute to go and they’re trading but missing many punches. Davis with some knees in the clinch but they don’t really do any damage. Takedown by Davis, as Chookagian attacks the arm just before time expires. 29-28 Davis.
Official result: Katlyn Chookagian def. Alexis Davis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Matheus Nicolau vs. Dustin Ortiz
Round 1 – Nicolau drops Ortiz with a leg kick, but he springs back up. Three-punch combination stuns Ortiz. Jab by Nicolau is countered by an outside leg kick by Ortiz. Body kick by Nicolau, about chest-high. Ortiz lands a jab, then Nicolau jabs to the midsection. Head kick drops Nicolau! Ortiz finishes the fight with punches on the ground.
Official result: Dustin Ortiz def. Matheus Nicolau by KO (head kick and punches) at 3:49 of round 1
Nina Ansaroff vs. Randa Markos
Round 1 – Hard leg kick to start things off for Ansaroff. Markos looking for the single leg takedown. Ansaroff defends up against the fence, Markos tries to run the pipe but can’t get her down. Randa finishes the takedown with a trip this time. Markos with some left hands to the face as she transitions to the back. Ansaroff is preventing Markos from getting that second hook in. Markos now in Ansaroff’s guard and getting off some nice ground-and-pound. Ansaroff appeared to threaten with a triangle choke but now it’s just a closed guard. Good right hand by Markos and then a left, as she continues to beat up Ansaroff on the ground. Ansaroff tries to push Markos off with the legs and does just that, and they’re back to their feet. Two more leg kicks by Ansaroff as round 1 approaches its end. 10-9 Markos.
Round 2 – Markos continues to have problems defending Ansaroff’s leg kicks. Ansaraoff easily shuts down Markos’ takedown attempt. More leg kicks by Ansaroff going unchecked. Markos off-target on a right hand, then she takes a body kick. Ansaroff mixes up her strikes well and forces Markos to lift her lead leg after landing another kick. It’s purely a striking matchup in this round and Ansaroff lands another body kick, then Markos fires off three straight counter right hands to back Ansaroff off. They trade jabs with a minute left in the round. Markos closes the distance, puts Ansaroff against the fence, but can do hardly anything about it. Good 1-2 by Markos, but this round is clearly Ansaroff’s. 19-19.
Round 3 – Leg kick connects but then the head kick by Ansaroff is blocked. Markos pushing forward, getting Ansaroff to the fence but can’t get the head-and-arm throw. She does land a head shot on the exit. Leg kick by Ansaroff for the umpteenth time. Short right hand and a hard jab by Ansaroff. Back to the fence they go and Markos is looking for the takedown, but Ansaroff has an underhook. Good jab by Markos, as Ansaroff is bleeding out of her nose. Markos searching for the takedown again. She switches to a double leg and lifts, but doesn’t have the hands locked. Ansaroff defending with less than two minutes to go. Markos tries for the single and Ansaroff fends it off, forcing Markos to strike again. Outside leg kick connects for Ansaroff. Markos trying the head-and-arm throw and it backfires, as Ansaroff is on top and she lands a strong elbow. Ansaroff spends the rest of the fight throwing ground-and-pound. 29-28 Ansaroff.
Official result: Nina Ansaroff def. Randa Markos by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Devin Powell vs. Alvaro Herrera
Round 1 – Body kick by Powell but Herrera cracks him with a left. Herrera stuffs a weak shot from Powell. Nasty left hook to the body by Herrera. Powell closes the distance but Herrera has the Thai clinch. Powell grabs a single and tries to get the fight to the ground, but Herrera wants none of that. Two body shots and then another body shot drops Powell. Great start by Herrera as he lets him back up. Herrera ripping the body again. Powell hurts Herrera with a body kick! Another body kick puts Herrera down! What a comeback and Powell wins! That was crazy!
Official result: Alvaro Herrera def. Devin Powell by TKO (body kicks) at 1:52 of round 1