Tag: UFC 194

New Champion Crowned at UFC 194: Luke Rockhold Batters Chris Weidman to Win Belt

Chris Weidman showed off a new wrinkle to his game at UFC 194, flicking kicks in the early moments of the first round in his matchup with Luke Rockhold.
Rockhold tried to fire back with kicks and punches, but Weidman charged through. After some wild sc…

Chris Weidman showed off a new wrinkle to his game at UFC 194, flicking kicks in the early moments of the first round in his matchup with Luke Rockhold.

Rockhold tried to fire back with kicks and punches, but Weidman charged through. After some wild scrambles and back-takes, he scored a big power double. Rockhold would escape without much trouble, but he was smothered in the clinch game, giving minutes, and possibly the round, away as a result.

The second round opened with Rockhold landing a punch that took some of the color out of Weidman‘s skin. He recovered quickly, but Rockhold started to assert his striking superiority and got the better of each exchange. Weidman tried to recapture the momentum by working his clinch, but Rockhold managed to maintain his preferred distance through the end of the round.

Weidman went back on the offensive in the third round and upped his volume, flicking soft (but point-scoring) leg kicks before tagging Rockhold with a left and taking him down. Rockhold got back up without absorbing any damage and tried to swing things back in his favor with long punches, but he ate some hard body kicks as a result.

Rockhold ended up scoring a takedown off a silly spinning kick, landing in back mount and quickly locking up a body triangle. That turned into a mount.

Rockhold started pouring down strikes and bloodied Weidman up in a big way. Rockhold continued pouring on the punishment. The fight could have easily been stopped, but referee Herb Dean was content to let Rockhold throw a solid 30 seconds of uncontested punches and elbows until the horn sounded.

The fourth round started with Rockhold smelling blood, opening up the round on offense and pressing Weidman to the cage. Rockhold stayed on him and managed to score a big body-lock takedown, despite some cage-grabbing by Weidman.

Rockhold held top position for a long while, working his way to side control before opening up with more elbows and punches. This time, Dean was relatively quick to stop the fight, ending it three minutes and 12 seconds into Round 4.

Weidman established himself as the Randy Orton of MMA, knocking off legendary fighters like Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, while demanding recognition as one of the greatest in the game today. That immediately made him a compelling champion, but Rockhold showed him little respect entering UFC 194.

Here are some notes and thoughts on this fight:

  • Rockhold was completely on-point here, but there were undeniably some shades of Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2 here. The fight was neck-and-neck until that point, but when Weidman threw the spinning kick…well, it was basically all over.
  • It’s tough to peg where Weidman goes from here. The man has been largely dominant as champ, but the nature of this loss makes it hard to justify an immediate rematch. 
  • We could see Belfort back in the title picture. While the Brazilian has more than a few detractors, he has a win over Rockhold and remains one of the biggest names in the UFC.

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UFC 194 Aldo vs. McGregor: Live Stream of Post-Fight Press Conference

UFC 194 has been delivering on the action, but we’re all really here for the main event; Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor. The bout will end in one of two ways; the end of an era of dominance that compares favorably with any other run in MMA history, or th…

UFC 194 has been delivering on the action, but we’re all really here for the main event; Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor. The bout will end in one of two ways; the end of an era of dominance that compares favorably with any other run in MMA history, or the end of one of the fastest and most lucrative rises in the sport.

The first taste of this brave new world will come shortly after the event, at the UFC 194 post-fight press conference. The stars of UFC 194 that aren’t rushed to the hospital will be in attendance to field questions about where they were, where they are now and where they are going.

As per usual, the presser will be streamed online, which you will be free to watch above. Be warned, you’re likely in for a tad bit of not safe for work language, and some sights of people with uncomfortably tenderized faces.

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UFC 194 Results: Yoel Romero Edges Jacare Souza by Controversial Split Decision

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (22-4, 1 no-contest) and Yoel Romero (11-1) took each other to the limit in their three-round UFC 194 contest.
But on Saturday, it was the Cuban Romero…

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (22-4, 1 no-contest) and Yoel Romero (11-1) took each other to the limit in their three-round UFC 194 contest.

But on Saturday, it was the Cuban Romero who walked away with a very contentious “W” and a likely title shot.

It was a result that will surely be a talking point with MMA fans for some time.

It was a tense few seconds, but Jacare got it started with a right hand. The Brazilian was content, working his striking as he kept Romero on the outside. Near the halfway mark of the first round, Romero got Jacare off-balance with a strong right hand of his own. Out of nowhere, Romero connected with a spinning backfist, but Jacare recovered with Romero going into his guard.

The power of Romero on top was a big difference-maker on the ground. Jacare did well to defend the brutal shots reigning down while remaining dangerous with his submissions. It was an electric first round.

The second round started with errant strikes from both men. They were being tentative while seeking their openings. But a Romero fight is not a Romero fight without controversy. The Cuban held the cage on a Jacare takedown attempt that resulted in him gaining top position.

Referee Marc Goddard stood them up immediately but did not take a point.

It looked like it would all come down to the third round.

Round 3 saw some inaction at the beginning, but Jacare started to tee off on Romero at the halfway point, which resulted in a big takedown. Jacare used the remaining two minutes to work his ground game—and keep Romero on his back until the final few ticks of the clock.

While the fight was not action-packed from bell-to-bell, it did offer fans spurts of high-level excitement in each of the three frames. It provided a compelling middleweight title eliminator before the two championship main events. Perhaps, it just didn’t have the proper outcome.

 

What’s Next?

  • Romero will almost assuredly receive a title shot.
  • Jacare looked very good in this fight, and given the result, it is hard to imagine he will fall far. He should still have a top-five level opponent for his next fight, and that could very well end up being a title eliminator itself should it happen.
  • Romero is moving up the ranks for being an all-time controversial fighter. This loss did not help him in that regard. The point not being taken away in Round 2 directly affected the decision. This will be a talking point for some time.
  • The middleweight division is aging, but these two showed they still have what it takes to compete at an elite level. However, one must question how much longer they can go with the top two fighters being in their prime—and a few youngsters coming up. They need to capitalize on their shot sooner than later. For Romero, he’ll at least get his chance in 2016.

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UFC 194 Results: Yoel Romero Edges Jacare Souza by Controversial Split Decision

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (22-4, 1 no-contest) and Yoel Romero (11-1) took each other to the limit in their three-round UFC 194 contest.
But on Saturday, it was the Cuban Romero…

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (22-4, 1 no-contest) and Yoel Romero (11-1) took each other to the limit in their three-round UFC 194 contest.

But on Saturday, it was the Cuban Romero who walked away with a very contentious “W” and a likely title shot.

It was a result that will surely be a talking point with MMA fans for some time.

It was a tense few seconds, but Jacare got it started with a right hand. The Brazilian was content, working his striking as he kept Romero on the outside. Near the halfway mark of the first round, Romero got Jacare off-balance with a strong right hand of his own. Out of nowhere, Romero connected with a spinning backfist, but Jacare recovered with Romero going into his guard.

The power of Romero on top was a big difference-maker on the ground. Jacare did well to defend the brutal shots reigning down while remaining dangerous with his submissions. It was an electric first round.

The second round started with errant strikes from both men. They were being tentative while seeking their openings. But a Romero fight is not a Romero fight without controversy. The Cuban held the cage on a Jacare takedown attempt that resulted in him gaining top position.

Referee Marc Goddard stood them up immediately but did not take a point.

It looked like it would all come down to the third round.

Round 3 saw some inaction at the beginning, but Jacare started to tee off on Romero at the halfway point, which resulted in a big takedown. Jacare used the remaining two minutes to work his ground game—and keep Romero on his back until the final few ticks of the clock.

While the fight was not action-packed from bell-to-bell, it did offer fans spurts of high-level excitement in each of the three frames. It provided a compelling middleweight title eliminator before the two championship main events. Perhaps, it just didn’t have the proper outcome.

 

What’s Next?

  • Romero will almost assuredly receive a title shot.
  • Jacare looked very good in this fight, and given the result, it is hard to imagine he will fall far. He should still have a top-five level opponent for his next fight, and that could very well end up being a title eliminator itself should it happen.
  • Romero is moving up the ranks for being an all-time controversial fighter. This loss did not help him in that regard. The point not being taken away in Round 2 directly affected the decision. This will be a talking point for some time.
  • The middleweight division is aging, but these two showed they still have what it takes to compete at an elite level. However, one must question how much longer they can go with the top two fighters being in their prime—and a few youngsters coming up. They need to capitalize on their shot sooner than later. For Romero, he’ll at least get his chance in 2016.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 194 Results: Demian Maia Shows off Elite Grappling in Win over Gunnar Nelson

Saturday’s UFC 194 was filled with exciting matchups and served as one of the most anticipated events of the year. The welterweight bout between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson was no exception. Going into the fight, the o…

Saturday’s UFC 194 was filled with exciting matchups and served as one of the most anticipated events of the year. The welterweight bout between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson was no exception. Going into the fight, the odds favored Nelson—and the crowd’s favor proved dramatically misplaced.

Maia dominated for all three rounds, landing 218 strikes to Nelson’s six and controlling almost 11 minutes of the 15-minute fight. Nelson spent almost all of his time just trying to survive, with Maia clinging to his back like a monkey or raining down ground-and-pound from mount.

 

Round 1 

Maia shoots for a double leg and transitions to a single leg, but Nelson reverses and gets him down. They stand up almost immediately. Nelson is backed up against the cage. Maia shoots in for a single leg/ankle pick; they scramble, and Maia trips Nelson, who ends up on top in half guard. Maia manages to get to his feet and immediately gets another single-leg takedown. Nelson gets to his feet with his hands still on the mat, and Maia takes his back. Nelson rolls forward, and Maia ends up in full mount on Nelson.

Nelson has never been here before in MMA, and with someone like Maia on top, he’s lost at sea. Maia delivers ground-and-pound until Nelson bridges and comes up to his knees and then feet, with Maia still on his back. Maia has a body triangle as Nelson rolls forward again. They are now flat on the mat. Maia tries to sink in a rear-naked choke, but Nelson defends. Maia goes for an armbar, but Nelson escapes and comes up on top in half guard and gets in a couple of strikes on Maia right before the round ends.

 

Round 2

Nelson’s face shows the damage from Round 1, while Maia looks untouched. Maia shoots in for a single; Nelson sprawls, but they end up on the ground briefly. Maia tries to take his back and manages to get both hooks in as Nelson goes to his knees. Nelson stands again with Maia on his back, maintaining a two-on-one control to prevent chokes. Maia punches him from the back, and Nelson goes back to the mat on his knees and turtles, trying to survive with more than half the round remaining.

Nelson rolls forward and then ends up in Maia’s guard. From half guard, Maia secures control of a leg and reverses Nelson, ending up in Nelson’s butterfly guard. Maia has 104 strikes to Nelson’s five, with one minute left in Round 2. Maia stays on top, throwing punches as Nelson tries to block. Maia scoops the head and takes full mount to ground and pound for the last 10 seconds.

 

Round 3

Maia shoots for a double leg and turns it into a trip. They get back to the feet; Maia goes for a single leg, and Nelson closes up a guillotine, but Maia escapes and is in Nelson’s half guard. Nelson is somewhat inactive on bottom, while Maia throws some punches and elbows. Nelson gets to his knees, and Maia takes his back and closes the body triangle.

They are flat on the mat, and Nelson protects his face from punches. Maia goes for a rear-naked choke, but Nelson defends. The Brazilian goes for another after some striking and closes it on Nelson’s chin, which Nelson defends. Maia throws up a peace sign with his right hand while striking with his left. Nelson rolls into closed guard but can’t move much in Maia’s body triangle and doesn’t try anything before the bell rings. 

The fight was unequivocally Maia’s, as the scores of 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25 indicated. In his post-fight speech, he said:

I’m very happy with my performance. There were a couple of small mistakes but overall I think the scores from the judges showed how dominant I was. We knew that Gunnar was going to be very, very tough because he asked for this fight. Anytime a guy asks to compete against you they usually think they have the advantage. My jiu-jitsu is very good and any time I’m able to show what my coaches and my team are capable of doing I really enjoy it. I’m very healthy coming out of this fight. Hopefully the fans enjoyed the bout and I look forward to doing it for them again soon.

Maia, a fourth-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has a strong takedown game, particularly single legs, and is excellent at guard passing. He was so dominant on Saturday, however, that he barely had to use it. 

His last fight was a victory via rear-naked choke over Neil Magny, but it was his first submission win in more than three years. Lately, Maia’s game plan seems to entail achieving and maintaining mount as his opponent toils, often in utter futility, below him, and that’s what happened at UFC 194. Maia did seem more aggressive, with much more active striking and several submission attempts.

Maia has notable wins over Chael Sonnen, Rick Story, Jon Fitch and Dong Hyun Kim. This victory further solidifies his potential as a top-level contender, despite his lengthy career and older age (38) relative to MMA fighters on average.

Current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler fights fourth-ranked Carlos Condit in January. Could be Maia be next for the winner?

No. 12-ranked Nelson submitted Brandon Thatch with a rear-naked choke at UFC 189 in July and had established himself as a threatening grappler prior to this fight. His reputation is well-earned with 10 submission wins, and a loss to Maia doesn’t negate that much. The Icelander also trains at SBG Ireland with interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor and has a strong Irish fanbase. His only other loss came from a split decision with Story in July.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 194 Results: Demian Maia Shows off Elite Grappling in Win over Gunnar Nelson

Saturday’s UFC 194 was filled with exciting matchups and served as one of the most anticipated events of the year. The welterweight bout between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson was no exception. Going into the fight, the o…

Saturday’s UFC 194 was filled with exciting matchups and served as one of the most anticipated events of the year. The welterweight bout between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson was no exception. Going into the fight, the odds favored Nelson—and the crowd’s favor proved dramatically misplaced.

Maia dominated for all three rounds, landing 218 strikes to Nelson’s six and controlling almost 11 minutes of the 15-minute fight. Nelson spent almost all of his time just trying to survive, with Maia clinging to his back like a monkey or raining down ground-and-pound from mount.

 

Round 1 

Maia shoots for a double leg and transitions to a single leg, but Nelson reverses and gets him down. They stand up almost immediately. Nelson is backed up against the cage. Maia shoots in for a single leg/ankle pick; they scramble, and Maia trips Nelson, who ends up on top in half guard. Maia manages to get to his feet and immediately gets another single-leg takedown. Nelson gets to his feet with his hands still on the mat, and Maia takes his back. Nelson rolls forward, and Maia ends up in full mount on Nelson.

Nelson has never been here before in MMA, and with someone like Maia on top, he’s lost at sea. Maia delivers ground-and-pound until Nelson bridges and comes up to his knees and then feet, with Maia still on his back. Maia has a body triangle as Nelson rolls forward again. They are now flat on the mat. Maia tries to sink in a rear-naked choke, but Nelson defends. Maia goes for an armbar, but Nelson escapes and comes up on top in half guard and gets in a couple of strikes on Maia right before the round ends.

 

Round 2

Nelson’s face shows the damage from Round 1, while Maia looks untouched. Maia shoots in for a single; Nelson sprawls, but they end up on the ground briefly. Maia tries to take his back and manages to get both hooks in as Nelson goes to his knees. Nelson stands again with Maia on his back, maintaining a two-on-one control to prevent chokes. Maia punches him from the back, and Nelson goes back to the mat on his knees and turtles, trying to survive with more than half the round remaining.

Nelson rolls forward and then ends up in Maia’s guard. From half guard, Maia secures control of a leg and reverses Nelson, ending up in Nelson’s butterfly guard. Maia has 104 strikes to Nelson’s five, with one minute left in Round 2. Maia stays on top, throwing punches as Nelson tries to block. Maia scoops the head and takes full mount to ground and pound for the last 10 seconds.

 

Round 3

Maia shoots for a double leg and turns it into a trip. They get back to the feet; Maia goes for a single leg, and Nelson closes up a guillotine, but Maia escapes and is in Nelson’s half guard. Nelson is somewhat inactive on bottom, while Maia throws some punches and elbows. Nelson gets to his knees, and Maia takes his back and closes the body triangle.

They are flat on the mat, and Nelson protects his face from punches. Maia goes for a rear-naked choke, but Nelson defends. The Brazilian goes for another after some striking and closes it on Nelson’s chin, which Nelson defends. Maia throws up a peace sign with his right hand while striking with his left. Nelson rolls into closed guard but can’t move much in Maia’s body triangle and doesn’t try anything before the bell rings. 

The fight was unequivocally Maia’s, as the scores of 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25 indicated. In his post-fight speech, he said:

I’m very happy with my performance. There were a couple of small mistakes but overall I think the scores from the judges showed how dominant I was. We knew that Gunnar was going to be very, very tough because he asked for this fight. Anytime a guy asks to compete against you they usually think they have the advantage. My jiu-jitsu is very good and any time I’m able to show what my coaches and my team are capable of doing I really enjoy it. I’m very healthy coming out of this fight. Hopefully the fans enjoyed the bout and I look forward to doing it for them again soon.

Maia, a fourth-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has a strong takedown game, particularly single legs, and is excellent at guard passing. He was so dominant on Saturday, however, that he barely had to use it. 

His last fight was a victory via rear-naked choke over Neil Magny, but it was his first submission win in more than three years. Lately, Maia’s game plan seems to entail achieving and maintaining mount as his opponent toils, often in utter futility, below him, and that’s what happened at UFC 194. Maia did seem more aggressive, with much more active striking and several submission attempts.

Maia has notable wins over Chael Sonnen, Rick Story, Jon Fitch and Dong Hyun Kim. This victory further solidifies his potential as a top-level contender, despite his lengthy career and older age (38) relative to MMA fighters on average.

Current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler fights fourth-ranked Carlos Condit in January. Could be Maia be next for the winner?

No. 12-ranked Nelson submitted Brandon Thatch with a rear-naked choke at UFC 189 in July and had established himself as a threatening grappler prior to this fight. His reputation is well-earned with 10 submission wins, and a loss to Maia doesn’t negate that much. The Icelander also trains at SBG Ireland with interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor and has a strong Irish fanbase. His only other loss came from a split decision with Story in July.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com