Daniel Cormier knocks out Stipe Miocic to hold both heavyweight and light heavyweight titles
If there were any doubts of Daniel Cormier’s credentials as one of MMA’s greatest fighters of all time, you cannot deny him now.
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who had the most heavyweight title defences in UFC history before UFC 226, looked to have edged the early stages of the opening round.
Miocic landed a few stinging shots on Cormier, which kept the decorated wrestler at bay. Miocic even scored a takedown.
But Cormier set Miocic up with faked clinch initiation to throw a devastating right hand to send the Croatian-American crumpled on the canvas.
Cormier finished the fight with some accurate ground and pound before referee Marc Goddard called a stop to the action.
“DC” now has both the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles to his name concurrently and is the second man to hold two bets at once after Conor McGregor. The second champ champ.
Former UFC champion Brock Lesnar – who is currently the champion over at WWE in the world of professional wrestling – stormed the cage during Cormier’s victorious post-fight interview, shoving the new double champion in the process.
It looks like Lesnar could well be the next opponent for Cormier as he looks to round off his career with a number of big-money fights.
Derrick Lewis defeats Francis Ngannou in oddly uneventful fight
The less said about this fight, the better.
Francis Ngannou, the man behind numerous highlight reel knockouts, lost a unanimous decision to Derrick Lewis essentially due to inactivity.
Lewis was understandably hesistant in exchanging strikes with Ngannou, but still managed to land more punches and kicks with meaning than his totally uninterested opponent.
The Las Vegas crowd of UFC 226’s patience quickly waned, leading to camera phone lights being waved in the air, numerous choruses of boos, and a Mexican wave to keep themselves entertained as the pair refused to engage in the Octagon.
Lewis essentially won the fight by default, because he was the only fighter who really attempted to initiate a fight.
Mike Perry wins three-round war with Paul Felder
It’s easy to see why both Mike Perry and Paul Felder are fan favourites.
The pair threw strikes with reckless abandon for all three rounds to put on a real show for the fans in attendance at UFC 226.
Just seconds into the contest, a head clash saw Felder bleed profusely from the top of his forehead. Later in the first round, a Perry left hook caused a golf ball-sized welt to grow on the right temple of Felder’s head, as well as opening another cut which thankfully didn’t stop the fight.
Despite Felder stepping up a weight class on reasonably late notice, he remained competitve with Perry throughout.
Philadelphia’s Felder broke his arm in the middle of the fight but still threw his damaged limb in an attempt to take the win back home with him, but Perry was ultimately given the nod by two judges to one.
Great fight and both fighters should be proud of the performances they put in the cage.
Anthony Pettis returns to form in impressive submission win over Michael Chiesa
Fans have been yearning to see Anthony Pettis return to the kind of fighting form we saw in the WEC and during his UFC title reign.
On Saturday night, we got a taste of that against a tough opponent in Michael Chiesa.
Chiesa, who missed weight ahead of what was supposed to be a lightweight bout, was clearly the bigger man on the night, but it was Pettis who dictated every aspect of the fight.
Pettis outstruck Chiesa with both his hands and his kicks, keeping his opponent backing up. In the second round, Pettis stunned Chiesa with a right hand before diving for a guillotine choke.
The Milwaukee native didn’t get the choke, but eventually threw up his legs for a triangle choke and got it synched in quick. Pettis then transitioned the submission into a triangle armbar, forcing the tap from talented submission artist Chiesa.
This is the type of win which sends Pettis back up the UFC lightweight rankings. Perhaps we are beginning to see the career resurgance of the former lightweight champion.
Khalil Rountree Jr. knocks out Gokhan Saki in 90 seconds
Kickboxing mainstay Gokhan Saki – a former Glory kickboxing champion – was largely expected to win a bout against fellow striker Khalil Rountree.
But, as you will know by now, MMA is a whole different ballgame.
The pair traded kicks and punches from the off, but Rountree’s power quickly told.
Rountree landed a powerful left straight down the pipe to send Saki to the floor. The American followed up with some crunching ground and pound to get the quick finish and seal a win which will put the UFC light heavyweight division on notice.
UFC 226: Miocic vs Cormier full results
Heavyweight championship bout: Daniel Cormier defeats Stipe Miocic (c) by KO (punches) at 4:38 of round one.
Heavyweight bout: Derrick Lewis defeats Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Welterweight bout: Mike Perry defeats Paul Felder by split decision after three rounds.
Catchweight bout: Anthony Pettis defeats Michael Chiesa by submission (traingle armbar) at 0:52 of round two.
Light Heavyweight bout: Khalil Rountree Jr. defeats Gokhan Saki by TKO (punches) at 1:36 of round one.
Middleweight bout: Paulo Costa defeats Uriah Hall by TKO (punches) at 2:38 of round two.
Bantamweight bout: Raphael Assuncao defeats Rob Font by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight bout: Drakkar Klose defeats Lando Vannata by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Welterweight bout: Curtis Millender defeats Max Griffin by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight bout: Dan Hooker defeats Gilbert Burns by KO (punches) at 2:28 of round one.
Women’s Strawweight bout: Emily Whitmire defeats Jamie Moyle by unanimous decision after three rounds.
