Chris Weidman had to stop the skid. Would home cooking help him do the trick?
Two years ago, Weidman was the UFC middleweight champ, with a 13-0 record, two wins over GOAT candidate Anderson Silva and a high perch on pound-for-pound lists everywhere to…
Chris Weidman had to stop the skid. Would home cooking help him do the trick?
Two years ago, Weidman was the UFC middleweight champ, with a 13-0 record, two wins over GOAT candidate Anderson Silva and a high perch on pound-for-pound lists everywhere to his name.
It was a quick and precipitous fall.
Various injuries hampered him. Then there was that knockout loss to Luke Rockhold that saw him relinquish his belt. Then he lost his next two—both by knockout.
So as Weidman came into UFC on Fox 25 Saturday—taking place on his native Long Island, New York—he had to stop the torrent of bad news. He still had the great pressure and wrestling and ground-and-pound. But when he faced Kelvin Gastelum, would it matter? Or would Gastelum be able to use his hands and his own pressure game to hand Weidman another thump on a suddenly suspect chin?
This was only one of 13 fights on the card. As always, the final stat lines don’t reveal it all. These are the real winners and losers from UFC on Fox 25 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Santiago Ponzinibbio has power.
That was the biggest takeaway as the Argentine welterweight took out Gunnar Nelson in the first round in UFC Fight Night 113’s main event from The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Nelson—who is known for his world-…
Santiago Ponzinibbio has power.
That was the biggest takeaway as the Argentine welterweight took out Gunnar Nelson in the first round in UFC Fight Night 113‘s main event from The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Nelson—who is known for his world-class grappling—actually stunned Ponzinibbio with an early combination and left hand. However, Ponzinibbio wasted little time in showing his ability to stop a fight with a single punch.
As Nelson attempted to land a looping left hand, Ponzinibbio hammered home a straight right that shut out the lights on his opponent:
Winning in the first round is nothing new for Ponzinibbio, who is now on a five-fight win streak. He’s now racked up 15 wins inside the first round.
Meanwhile, defense has not always been Nelson’s strong suit, as noted by Connor Ruebusch of Bloody Elbow:
After the bout, Ponzinibbio didn’t shy away from putting the rest of the division on notice:
Ponzinibbio is a bit of an under-the-radar contender coming from Argentina. As the Guardian‘s Josh Gross notes, the country has a history of developing boxers, but Ponzinibbio is one of few MMA threats from the country:
The welterweight clash was just one of many fights from Scotland, though. The card offered an eclectic array of fights. From an emotional performance from a lightweight veteran to the emergence of a new challenger in the women’s strawweight division, this card had a little bit of everything.
Here’s a look at the complete results and a closer look at each of the main card bouts.
UFC Fight Night 113 Quick Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Gunnar Nelson by KO at 1:22 of the first round
Paul Felder def. Stevie Ray by KO at 3:57 of the first round
Jack Marshman def. Ryan Janes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Khalil Rountree def. Paul Craig by KO at 4:56 of the first round
Justin Willis def. James Mulheron by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Danny Roberts def. Bobby Nash by KO at 3:59 of the second round
Alexandre Pantoja def. Neil Seery via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:31 of the third round
Galore Bofando def. Charlie Ward by KO at 2:10 of the first round
Danny Henry def. Daniel Teymur by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-26)
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
Brett Johns def. Albert Morales by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
Leslie Smith def. Amanda Lemos by TKO at 2:53 of the second round
Joanne Calderwood vs. Cynthia Calvillo
The co-main event was a high-stakes bout in the women’s strawweight division. No. 8 Joanne Calderwood was fighting for a win in her home country, while No. 14 Cynthia Calvillo was fighting to prove that she belongs in the next tier of title contenders.
Calvillo’s blend of athleticism and ground skills turned out to be the deciding factor in a unanimous decision win.
The first round showcased just how fun this matchup could be. Calderwood’s gritty stand-up took the early parts of the round, but a Calvillo takedown opened up grappling exchanges that ended with her working for an armbar to close out the round:
The second round was a collision of combinations as both fighters went to work on the feet. Calderwood controlled much of the round in terms of pace and spacing, but Calvillo proved she could hang with her in the stand-up department.
Calvillo’s speed was enough to land hard shots and create a difficult round to score. Brett Okamoto of ESPN gave the round to Calderwood but acknowledged it could have gone either way:
The third round looked a bit more like the first round as Calvillo engaged in the striking exchanges before finally moving on a takedown late in the round. After taking Calderwood’s back, it was clear that the 30-year-old was going to secure the decision win.
The win makes Calvillo a perfect 6-0 in her career with three of those wins coming in the UFC. It’s safe to say she’ll be making a significant jump from No. 14 when the new UFC rankings come out. It might be time to see what Calvillo can do against elite competition.
Paul Felder vs. Stevie Ray
Stevie Ray came into his fight against Paul Felder as a hometown favorite fighting in front of his native Scotland. But he fought Paul Felder in the clinch.
Never fight Paul Felder in the clinch.
Ray went for an early takedown of Felder but found himself clinched against the cage. Rather than look to separate and set up his takedown attempt again, Felder was content to remain in the clinch game.
That’s a place where Felder is great at attacking with elbows and knees. Ray found that out the hard way. Felder knocked out Ray with a vicious knee to the head, then followed up with even more strikes to create a somewhat late stoppage:
After the fight, Felder had nothing but positive things to say about Ray and the Scotland crowd:
It was a cool moment to see Felder win the fight. He dedicated the performance to his father, who died at the beginning of Felder’s preparations for the bout. In addition to being a great tribute, this win should give Felder some forward momentum.
For Stevie Ray, this is a disappointing setback. Wins against Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson had Ray ready to step up in competition, but the power and creativity of Felder are hard for any lightweight to deal with.
Jack Marshman vs. Ryan Janes
The middleweight bout between Jack Marshman and Ryan Janes was an all-out brawl.
There wasn’t a takedown to be found in this one as both fighters were looking for the knockout. Marshman played the role of shorter, stockier power puncher, while Janes controlled the pace and looked to back Marshman up against the cage.
The action was fast-paced from the first round on:
The difference between the two in this slugfest was defense. While Marshman was able to fend off a lot of Janes offensive, his opponent didn’t use much head movement. This allowed Marshman to tee off and take two of the three rounds on the judges’ scorecards.
UFC color commentator Kenny Florian noted the lack of defense from Janes:
This was a big bounce-back win from Marshman, as he was knocked out by Thiago Santos last time out. He’ll need to continue to put together performances like this if he wants to make his mark in the middleweight division.
Paul Craig vs. Khalil Rountree
Paul Craig is an excellent submission fighter. Khalil Rountree gave him very little time to prove this fact.
Rountree established his power early on, and it paid dividends as Craig did little to engage the 27-year-old. With Craig unable to close the distance and get the fight to the ground, the dynamic striking of Rountree was on full display.
Ultimately, that’s not a recipe for staying in the cage with the light heavyweight. UFC Canada passed on the finishing combination for Rountree, who stood over Craig’s body for a while after watching him crumble to the mat:
This is a big win for Rountree’s stock as a prospect. His UFC run got off to a rough start with back-to-back losses, but he seems to be figuring things out. He’s now won two fights in a row by first-round finish, with Craig representing one of his toughest outs yet.
The former BAMMA champion finds himself in a two-fight skid. After that showing, he’s going to need to show some promise his next time out. This was simply not a good performance for him, as he did next to nothing before getting knocked out.
Justin Willis vs. James Mulheron
The card was kicked off by a matchup between UFC newcomers in the heavyweight division where Justin Willis showcased some promise with a unanimous-decision win.
Willis—who is every bit of the 265-pound weight limit in the class—was able to pick up the win according to all three judges. The big man showcased strong wrestling to pair with effective striking as he smothered the smaller James Mulheron.
Ruebusch suggested that the 243-pound Mulheron might not want to call heavyweight home in the UFC:
Willis, however, looked like a fighter to keep an eye on. The heavyweight division is one void of prospects, so it doesn’t take much to make an impact. As the highlights provided by UFC on Fox show, Willis has a well-rounded game that should only get better against better competition.
The Scotland crowd saw the beginning of a heavyweight prospect’s career in the UFC that could very well become something if he continues to improve.
Bellator 181 was held on Friday night and headlined by Derek Campos knocking off Brandon Girtz in a bloody main event that was stopped after the second round due to a cut on Girtz’s forehead.
Campos was seeking revenge for his 37-second knockout loss a…
Bellator 181 was held on Friday night and headlined by Derek Campos knocking off Brandon Girtz in a bloody main event that was stopped after the second round due to a cut on Girtz’s forehead.
Campos was seeking revenge for his 37-second knockout loss against Girtz at Bellator 146 in November 2015. That fight did represent a turning point in his career as it was his third defeat in four fights, and he’s since gone on to win four straight matches.
This marked the third fight between Campos and Girtz in their respective careers. Campos now holds a 2-1 advantage, also winning their first matchup at Bellator 96 in June 2013.
Here are the full results from Friday’s Bellator 181 main card:
Lightweight: Derek Campos def. Brandon Girtz via TKO (second round)
Middleweight: John Salter def. Kendall Grove via choke submission (first round)
Bantamweight: Joe Warren def. Steve Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Women’s Flyweight: Emily Ducote def. Jessica Middleton, via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 29-27)
Even though the finish to Campos-Girtz was underwhelming since the doctor stopped it between rounds, the two men more than delivered during their 10 minutes inside the cage.
Both fighters were trading heavy blows back and forth. The big shot was a knee delivered from Campos that caught Girtz square in the head and left a huge cut running down the middle of his forehead that would not stop bleeding.
In the middle of the second round, the referee briefly halted things between the two fighters so the doctor could examine the cut on Girtz’s forehead. The doctor allowed the fight to continue at that point since the cut wasn’t near his eye.
After the fight was called, Campos and Girtz earned high praise from fellow fighters on social media:
The semi-main event was a middleweight showdown in which John Salter submitted Kendall Grove with a rear-naked choke with 23 seconds remaining in the first round.
Salter has been unstoppable since making his Bellator debut in January 2015. The 32-year-old is 4-0 with the promotion, and all four of his victories have come via stoppage, including three straight in the first round.
The MMA Report’s Jason Floyd thinks Salter has done enough to put himself in title contention:
Rafael Carvalho is currently Bellator’s middleweight champion and will reportedly defend the crown against Alessio Sakara in December, per MMA Today’s Nolan King.
Because of Carvalho’s schedule, Salter may be forced to win one more fight if he wants a title shot. Based on his current run of success, it shouldn’t be a problem too great for him to overcome.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor entered the third day of their world press tour Thursday to hype up their Aug. 26 superfight at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Having already hit Los Angeles and Toronto, Mayweather and McGregor continued eastw…
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor entered the third day of their world press tour Thursday to hype up their Aug. 26 superfight at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Having already hit Los Angeles and Toronto, Mayweather and McGregor continued eastward to occupy Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The pair didn’t disappoint in their first two stops, with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani scoring the first day in favor of Mayweather and the second for McGregor.
After watching Wednesday’s event, Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless and MMAjunkie’s Chamatkar Sandhu thought the two stars have already used their best stuff:
Before they traded verbal jabs, McGregor earned a knockout in the fashion category. Showtime Boxing showed him entering Barclays Center:
Rather than McGregor, the Brooklyn crowded landed the first blow on Mayweather, referencing the back taxes he owes the federal government. Helwani shared a clip of the fans chanting “pay your taxes” at the unbeaten boxer:
At one point, Mayweather showered a seated McGregor with dollar bills after calling him a stripper. The stunt made the crowd hassle Mayweather even more about his taxes, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Greg Bishop.
During his time on the microphone, McGregor added to a controversy he created when he told Mayweather to “dance for me, boy” during their stops in Los Angeles and Toronto, per Yahoo Sports’ Ryan McKinnell. Some saw the remark as racially insensitive, and McGregor seemed to dig himself in a deeper hole Thursday.
He denied that he was racist and told the crowd he’s half-black.
“Do they not know I’m half black?” McGregor said, per MMAFighting.com. “I’m half-black from the belly button down.”
He also said he has “a present for my beautiful, black female fans” in Barclays Center before thrusting his hips in a suggestive manner, according to Mike Coppinger of The Ring Magazine.
Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s event, McGregor offered a more nuanced response to the story, per Bleacher Report’s Alex Larsen:
Mayweather and McGregor will head to their final stop on their world tour Friday in London at SSE Arena.
UFC 213 didn’t have its expected headliner, but that didn’t keep the night from ending with a memorable fight as Robert Whittaker took a close unanimous decision over Yoel Romero to become the UFC middleweight interim champion.
The combatants eac…
UFC 213 didn’t have its expected headliner, but that didn’t keep the night from ending with a memorable fight as Robert Whittaker took a close unanimous decision over Yoel Romero to become the UFC middleweight interim champion.
The combatants each turned in strong performances. Romero held the advantage in the early rounds, slowing the fight to his pace and scoring takedowns early, such as the one the UFC posted in the second round:
However, Romero couldn’t do much with those takedowns. While he was in control, he didn’t inflict fight-changing damage outside of a leg kick. The Cuban landed a front kick that buckled Whittaker’s knee but didn’t follow through to continue the damage.
Ultimately, Whittaker found himself down 2-0 before he started finding his rhythm. But once he did, he gradually took over in Rounds 3 and 4. He poured it on, frustrating Romero with takedown defense and landing clean, effective combinations:
The fifth round saw a small burst of energy from Romero before The Reaper took advantage of a slip and pounced on Romero to finish the final round strong and claim the victory on the judges’ scorecards.
After the bout, current middleweight champion Michael Bisping wasted no time in hyping a fight with Whittaker to unify the championship in the 185-pound division, per MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani:
UFC 213’s main event was supposed to be a women’s bantamweight title bout between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko, but Nunes pulled out of the fight hours before the card started for undisclosed medical reasons, perBrett Okamoto of ESPN.
Still, the night produced intriguing results as the lightweight division saw a familiar face return, a heavyweight prospect took another step toward legitimacy and old foes met in a trilogy that could have a major impact on the heavyweight title picture.
Here’s a glance at the results and a closer look at the main card fights.
UFC 213 Quick Results
Main Card
Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielanczuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via submission at 4:36 of the second round
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Aleksei Oleinik def. Travis Browne via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:44 of the second round
Chad Laprise def. Brian Camozzi by TKO at 1:27 of the third round
Thiago Santos def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO at 2:04 of the second round
Belal Muhammad def. Jordan Mein by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
Cody Stamann def. Terrion Ware by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Trevin Giles def. James Bochnovic by KO at 2:54 of the second round
Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum are both great—and oftentimes exciting—heavyweights.
However, they might not be capable of putting on a good fight with one another. The two famously had a bizarre bout that went to a decision in Strikeforce in 2011.
Time has not changed the matchup.
Overeem and Werdum engaged in a glorified staring match at times, as neither was willing to engage. The result was a difficult fight to score that had one definitive round in which Werdum wobbled Overeem in the third but chose to take him down rather than pursue the finish on the feet.
Ultimately, that decision cost Vai Cavalo, as two judges thought The Reem did enough in Rounds 1 and 2 to take the decision.
It was the kind of result that had people questioning the 10-point must system used by athletic commissions to judge MMA. Ben Fowlkes of MMAjunkie openly criticized the system:
It’s hard to say what this means for Overeem. He came into this bout ranked third in the UFC’s heavyweight division and just defeated the No. 1 contender.
In most cases that might mean a title shot, but he’s already lost to the champion in a first-round knockout. Rising heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou might be the biggest winner of all, as Helwani noted:
Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
Curtis Blaydes came into UFC 213 with the best chance to win and the perfect opportunity to build buzz about his prospects as a heavyweight contender.
He might have won, but it wasn’t the resounding statement he would have liked.
Blaydes subdued Omielanczuk, but it was the audience that he threatened to put asleep. The fight was light on action, and Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting had a theory on why neither fighter was all that effective with his striking:
Rather than work his reach advantage and showcase any new striking skills, Blaydes was content to try takedown after takedown. According to The MMA Report‘s Jason Floyd, Blaydes went 0-of-14 on takedown attempts:
A win over a Top 15 heavyweight is never a bad thing, but Blaydes will have to make extreme changes in the striking department to become a legitimate prospect in the heavweight division.
Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller
Anthony Pettis is back.
After losing his title shot at featherweight against Max Holloway, Showtime made his return to the lightweight division and netted a unanimous decision over Jim Miller.
It was the kind of performance that reminded fans of how good Pettis can be when he creates space. Miller made it a dogfight, but Pettis got the better of the exchanges.
The UFC tweeted a highlight from Round 1 that encapsulated the bout:
The holes are still there in Pettis’ game. Miller was successful in getting Pettis to the ground multiple times, including this trip takedown from Round 2:
Ultimately, Pettis’ underrated grappling game was huge in getting his hand raised as he threatened Miller with submissions and won the ground exchanges. That’s an impressive feat against a submission artist of Miller’s caliber.
Lightweight is still a stacked division, and this win doesn’t erase the fact that Pettis left the division on a three-fight losing streak.
There’s still work to be done in reclaiming his status as a contender, but this was an important first step.
Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
When UFC 213 lost its main event, Rob Font and Douglas Silva de Andrade moved their scrap up to the main card.
Font didn’t let the opportunity in the spotlight go to waste.
The 30-year-old overwhelmed Silva de Andrade with volume and pressure that never let him take a break. Ultimately, that pressure led to the opportunity to take down his opponent and sink in the guillotine choke in the second round.
Connor Ruebusch of Bloody Elbow praised Font’s pressure game while giving his opponent props for looking promising in the loss:
Font has now scored back-to-back finishes since losing to John Lineker at UFC 198. A win over D’Silva isn’t necessarily something that will launch him into the division’s top level, but it was a nice performance in front of a pay-per-view crowd that could be enough to get him a step up in competition.
Well, this was an interesting one.
Hours before UFC 213 was set to go down in Las Vegas, one half of the evening’s main event, women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes, was confirmed out of her bout with Valentina Shevchenko.
Nunes was hospitalized with…
Well, this was an interesting one.
Hours before UFC 213 was set to go down in Las Vegas, one half of the evening’s main event, women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes, was confirmed out of her bout with Valentina Shevchenko.
Nunes was hospitalized with undefined illness and ruled out of the contest, leaving a charismatic challenger in Shevchenko without a dance partner and moving the co-main event between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker into the prime slot.
So here we are. Without a potentially great champion in Nunes to headline the card, would UFC 213 survive? It’s an especially pertinent question when you remember this card also lost Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw and Donald Cerrone vs. Robbie Lawler.
As always, the final stat lines don’t reveal everything. These are the real winners and losers from July 8 in Las Vegas.
For the literal-minded among us, full card results appear at the end.
