The Blog

 Introduction UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2. July 29, 2017. Honda Center, Anaheim, California. Three title fights on one card. Jon Jones appeared to knock out Daniel Cormier with a head kick and ground-and-pound at 3:01 of round three to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The result was later OVERTURNED to a No Contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Jones tested positive for turinabol. Cormier was reinstated as LHW champion. Cris Cyborg finally won UFC gold, stoppi

 Introduction UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2. September 9, 2017. Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada — the first UFC event in Edmonton. Amanda Nunes retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Valentina Shevchenko by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) in a controversial verdict. Shevchenko issued a lengthy post-fight statement blasting the judges. The event was originally headlined by Demetrious Johnson defending the FW title against Ray Borg. Borg was diagnosed with a vira

 Introduction UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker. July 8, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas (International Fight Week). Robert Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to win the interim UFC Middleweight Championship. It was an instant classic — five brutal rounds that saw both fighters hurt, rocked, and nearly finished. Whittaker became the first Australian UFC champion. Hours before the event, the planned main event — Amanda Nunes defending the WBW title against Vale

 Introduction UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway. June 3, 2017. Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Max Holloway became the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion, stopping José Aldo with a third-round TKO at 4:13. Holloway’s extended winning streak, begun in 2013, was now at 11. Aldo’s second reign ended in its first defence, in front of his home crowd in Rio. Both fighters had legitimate claim to the FW title. Aldo had reclaimed it as undisputed champion after Conor McGregor was stripped for inacti

 Introduction UFC 211: Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2. May 13, 2017. American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas. Stipe Miocic made his second UFC Heavyweight Championship defence by stopping Junior dos Santos with a TKO at 2:22 of round one. In their first meeting (UFC on Fox, December 2014), dos Santos had won by a close unanimous decision; the rematch took 2:22 to resolve. Joanna Jędrzejczyk made her fifth consecutive WSW title defence, defeating Jéssica Andrade by UD. Demian Maia submitted Jorge Masvi

 Introduction UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2. April 8, 2017. KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York. Daniel Cormier retained the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Anthony Johnson for the second time, submitting him with a rear-naked choke at 3:37 of round two — the same finish as their first meeting at UFC 187, one round earlier (UFC 187 ended at 2:39 of round 3). The event was surrounded by controversy: Cormier initially weighed in 1.2 lbs over the 205 lb limit and was allowed a second atte

MMA has rapidly grown in popularity, with key organizations like the UFC, Bellator, and One Championship shaping the sport.

 Introduction UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2. March 4, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Tyron Woodley retained the UFC Welterweight Championship against Stephen Thompson by majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) in the rematch of their UFC 205 draw. The fight was widely criticised as one of the most cautious WW title fights in years. The event’s most significant story played out the day before the fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov was hospitalised with weight management medical issues on Thursday eve

 Introduction UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie. February 11, 2017. Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to become the inaugural UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion — the first WFW title in the promotion’s history. The fight was immediately controversial. De Randamie landed punches clearly after the bell ending rounds two and three. Referee Todd Anderson issued warnings both times but deducted no points. Holm filed a

 Introduction UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey. December 30, 2016. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Amanda Nunes retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship by stopping Ronda Rousey with punches 48 seconds into round one. Rousey’s highly anticipated return after 13 months away ended in the third-fastest WBW title finish in history — behind only her own record finishes against Cat Zingano (0:14, UFC 184) and Bethe Correia (0:34, UFC 190). Rousey had done essentially no promotional media before the figh

 Introduction UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor. November 12, 2016. Madison Square Garden, New York City — the first UFC event in New York since the state’s professional MMA ban was lifted in 2016. Conor McGregor stopped Eddie Alvarez by TKO at 3:04 of round two to win the UFC Lightweight Championship. He became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously. Gate: $17.7M. Attendance: 20,427. Three title fights on one card — only the second time in UFC history. Tyron W

 Introduction UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis. December 10, 2016. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada. Max Holloway stopped Anthony Pettis by TKO (body kick and punches) at 4:50 of round three to win the interim UFC Featherweight Championship — becoming the first fighter ever to finish Pettis in the UFC. His 10th consecutive win extended a streak dating back to a 2013 loss to Dustin Poirier. Pettis missed weight at 148 lbs (3 lbs over the 145 lb championship limit) and was fined 20% of his purse. On