The Blog

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 189: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai took place on June 5, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 28. The heavyweight main event saw Jairzinho Rozenstruik, looking to bounce back from his comprehensive loss to Ciryl Gane, take on Brazilian contender Augusto Sakai, who himself had been beaten by Overeem in 2020 and was fighting his way back into contention. Rozenstruik delivered one of the most dramatic finishes of his career: a buzzer-beating TKO with just one second l

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 188: Font vs. Garbrandt took place on May 22, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 27. It was also the first UFC event held under the new Venum apparel partnership, replacing the Reebok deal that had run since 2015. The bantamweight main event featured Rob Font, the number-three ranked contender, against former champion Cody Garbrandt making his comeback after over two years away. Font delivered one of the most comprehensive performances of the year, outlan

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 187: Edwards vs. Muhammad took place on March 13, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 21. The card was headlined by one of the most anticipated welterweight bouts of early 2021: Leon Edwards, returning after over 600 days away due to the pandemic, facing Belal Muhammad in a match originally intended to be Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev — a fight that had been cancelled three times due to COVID-19. The main event ended controversially: an accidental eye poke b

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 186: Rozenstruik vs. Gane took place on February 27, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 20. The heavyweight main event featured a fascinating contrast in styles: Jairzinho Rozenstruik, the powerful Surinamese knockout artist entering unbeaten in his last five, against Ciryl Gane, the undefeated French heavyweight phenomenon who was just 7-0 and making his first UFC main event appearance. Gane delivered one of the most technically dominant performances in

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 185: Blaydes vs. Lewis took place on February 20, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 19. The heavyweight main event was one of the most compelling style clashes the division could offer: Curtis Blaydes, the UFC’s all-time leader in heavyweight takedowns and one of the most dangerous top contenders in the division, against Derrick Lewis, the all-time UFC heavyweight knockout leader, whose entire strategy was built around surviving to land one devastating p

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 184: Overeem vs. Volkov took place on February 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 18 and the UFC’s first Las Vegas event of the new year. The heavyweight main event pitted Alistair Overeem, on a run that seemed to be building toward one final title shot, against the towering Alexander Volkov, who had been steadily establishing himself as one of the most dangerous contenders in the division. Volkov TKO’d Overeem in round two to announce himself at the v

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 183: Thompson vs. Neal was the UFC’s final event of 2020, taking place on December 19 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 17. Originally headlined by Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev, both men tested positive for COVID-19 and were removed, leaving the promotion scrambling for a new main event just weeks out. The welterweight clash between Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Geoff Neal filled the gap. Thompson outclassed Neal across five rounds with a masterful str

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 182: Felder vs. dos Anjos took place on November 14, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 14. The card was built around a lightweight main event that came together less than a week before fight night: Islam Makhachev pulled out, and veteran Paul Felder — who was working as a colour commentator — stepped off headset and into the Octagon on short notice to face former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos returned to lightweight for the first t

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 181: Hall vs. Silva took place on October 31, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 12, the first UFC event ever held on Halloween. The card was headlined by a genuinely emotional main event: Uriah Hall facing Anderson Silva, the greatest middleweight champion in UFC history, in what was widely acknowledged — and later confirmed — to be The Spider’s final fight in the organisation. Hall, who had idolised Silva throughout his career, stopped him in round four

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 180: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie took place on October 17, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi — UFC Fight Island 6, the final event of the second Fight Island bubble. The main event had been years in the making: Brian Ortega, the featherweight contender who had been out of action since his December 2018 loss to Max Holloway, returned after 679 days away to face the relentless Chan Sung Jung. Ortega delivered one of the most composed performances of his c

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 179: Moraes vs. Sandhagen took place on October 11, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi — UFC Fight Island 5, the promotion’s return to the UAE bubble after its September run at the Apex. The event was headlined by a pivotal bantamweight clash between number-one ranked Marlon Moraes and resurgent contender Cory Sandhagen, with a title shot on the line. Sandhagen won with one of the finest spinning wheel kicks ever thrown inside the Octagon, stopping Moraes

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 178: Covington vs. Woodley took place on September 19, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas — UFC Vegas 11, the fourth consecutive Saturday card at the facility in September. The event headlined one of the most intensely personal rivalries in welterweight history: Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley, former teammates turned bitter enemies, settling scores in a fight that had been building for years. Covington stopped Woodley in round five via TKO after Woodley was unable