Printable View
UFC 194 kicks off live tonight with a three-fight preliminary card on UFC Fight Pass starting at 6:30pm ET. / 3:30pm PT., and a four-fight preliminary card headlined by Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8pm ET. / 5pm PT. After the FS1 prelims, starting at 10pm ET. / 7pm PT., it will be time for the UFC 194 pay-per-view headlined by Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor.
UFC 194 Results — UFC Fight Pass Preliminary Fights
– Court McGee def. Marcio Alexandre Jr. via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
– Yancy Medeiros def. John Makdessi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
– Joe Proctor vs. Magomed Mustafaev def. Joe Proctor via TKO (body strikes) at 1:54 of round 2.
UFC 194 — FOX Sports 1 Preliminary Fights
– Leonardo Santos def. Kevin Lee via TKO (strikes) at 3:26 of round 1.
– Warlley Alves vs. Colby Covington via submission (guillotine) at 1:26 of round 1.
– Tecia Torres def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Urijah Faber def. Frankie Saenz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC 194 Results — Pay-Per-View Fights
Max Holloway vs. Jeremy Stephens
Round 1: Our first fight of the evening will be in the UFC Featherweight division. Both Stephens and Holloway have made their entrances and are inside the Octagon. Bruce Buffer is about to do his thing and then we will be underway with our first pay-per-view bout of the evening. Herb Dean is our referee. Here we go! Stephens comes out with a leg kick. Both guys are switching stances from southpaw to orthodox and getting different looks. The Irish fans are definitely in the MGM Grand Garden Arena this evening, as we’re just over one minute into the first PPV fight and the “Ole! Ole! Ole!” chants are already breaking out. Stephens throwing a lot of kicks early on. Holloway lands a nice two punch combo. Holloway lands a nice hook. Stephens gets an over-under clinch on Holloway and is bullying him up against the cage looking to take the fight to the mat. Herb Dean gives his first warning to Stephens to advance his position. Holloway finally gets loose and circles off the cage. He seems to have added energy, Heath Herring “get this dude off me and lemme at’m!” style. Holloway throwing more punches and taking more chances now as the round draws to an end, but doesn’t really score with much. The round ends with Stephens getting Holloway against the cage again and holding him there.
Round 2: Tough first round to score. Holloway landed a decent combo early and was busier later, so he should get the nod. Stephens’ corner telling him to stop throwing kicks in between rounds. We’re over a minute deep and it’s much like the first round without a lot of action. Holloway lands a nice uppercut. Holloway with a kick to the body that scores. Stephens reverts back to clinching on the fence with Holloway. The two separate and it’s back to a striking match. Stephens definitely has the heavier, more dangerous shots, but Holloway is more technical and consistent. The two have a couple of good exchanges, with Holloway landing more but Stephens landing harder. Holloway lands a nice, clean hook with just one minute remaining. Stephens looks for a takedown. No dice. Holloway with a kick and the buzzer sounds to end the round.
Round 3: Sense of urgency in Stephens’ corner, calmness in Holloway’s. Stephens’ corner outright tells him he lost second, not sure about first. Third and final round gets underway. The action is definitely busier here in the third. Holloway lands some good punches and now he gets Stephens, who has been looking to take it to the ground all night, down. Holloway looking for a choke from the top. Holloway seems to be setting up an arm triangle. Holloway switches to Stephens’ back and continues looking for the choke. Stephens tries to spin but Holloway rolls with him. Stephens manages to muscle his way back to his feet. Stephens holds Holloway against the cage but Holloway circles out and peppers with a jab. Stephens answers back with a left hook. Stephens with a nice leg kick. He goes for the takedown and almost gets it, but Holloway displayed excellent balance and kept it standing. Holloway breaks free and moments later goes for a flying knee but doesn’t land. We hear Stephens’ corner tell him to go all in and that’s exactly what he did. He was swinging for the fences and he didn’t land many of the shots, but it looked impressive.
Max Holloway def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Demian Maia vs. Gunnar Nelson
Round 1: The video package for Maia-Nelson airs and then the music hits for Gunnar Nelson. Nelson makes his walk as the Irish fans can be heard in force again. The Conor McGregor teammate makes his way to the cage with his Fedor-like non-facial expression and music that sounds like his face looks. Very quiet and slow music for an entrance song. Linkin Park’s “Numb” plays as the Brazilian submission specialist Demian Maia makes his way to the cage. The former middleweight title contender is now in the cage now as well for this welterweight contest. Bruce Buffer is doing what he does as we prepare for our second PPV fight of the evening. The Irish fans go nuts for Gunnar Nelson’s introduction. Maia is introduced and here we go. “Big” John McCarthy is our referee. The “Ole! Ole!” chants are immediate. Maia charges at Nelson looking for a quick takedown, however it is Nelson who gets Maia on his back. The crowd is going nuts when Nelson does anything. I can’t even begin to imagine the atmosphere for Aldo-McGregor later this evening. Gunnar looking to grab a standing guillotine and drop down with it, but Maia escapes. Gunnar gets Maia down to the ground for his second takedown of the round. This is turning into the grappling match that die-hard grappling fans were hoping it would be. Gunnar controlling the action well on the mat but Maia reverses into full mount. That was slick. Maia hammers down with punches. Gunnar looks to turn, but Maia is quicksanding him. Different level stuff. Gunner’s nose is busted and the blood is pouring as Maia keeps his strikes consistent as he is non-stop in looking to advance position and/or go for setups for submissions. Great offensive ground action from the Brazilian. Maia snatches armbar as fast as lightning, but Gunnar escapes and ends up on top throwing punches as the horn sounds to end the round.
Round 2: Hard first round to score in the sense Gunnar had two takedowns and ended in a favorable position, but Maia’s back control, close armbar attempt and overall ground work is hard to overlook. The two quickly end up in a scramble that hits the ground as the second round begins. Maia initiated, Gunnar wound up on top. Gunnar immediately starts punching like a forward-fighting robot. Maia gets Gunnar’s back again. Gunnar stands up, Hughes-Trigg style. Oh yeah, and Hughes-Trigg II style. Maia is a freak. He’s definitely proving why he has the grappling reputation he does. Maia begins to go after a submission and Gunnar manages to get on top. Seconds later, however, Maia sweeps Gunnar and is back on top. Blood pouring out of Gunnar again as Maia lands some hard, thudding elbows that landed pretty damn clean. Maia finishes the round in the mount elbowing Gunner to death some more. No arguing who won that round.
Round 3: Maia’s corner warns him to prepare for a desperate Gunnar knowing he needs a knockout to win. The third and final round begins as the two shake hands. Maia paws with a couple jabs and takes Gunnar down. Gunnar pops up and snatches a guillotine. Son of a bitch it looked like he might shock everyone for a second as he got it pretty tight, but Maia escaped like the true master grappler he is. Gunnar’s face starting to show the signs of being on the wrong end of an ass-whooping. Lots of lumps, swelling and dried up blood. Maia elbows away and eventually gets Gunnar’s back. Maia just rides Gunnar out for the rest of the round. Gunnar gets on top right at the end, but way too little, way too late.
Demian Maia def. Gunnar Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Yoel Romero
Round 1: The Jacare-Romero video package airs and Yoel Romero makes his way to the cage to some dance music. Remember Yoel, if you win tonight, Dana wants you to keep Jesus out of your promo! Jacare Souza makes his way to the Octagon now. Fabolous “My Time” plays as Jacare makes his way out smiling and dancing. Remember, the winner of this fight is probably the next guy challenging the Weidman-Rockhold winner for the UFC Middleweight title. Bruce Buffer introduces the two highly regarded middleweights and the first of our three “I can’t believe this is finally happening!” fights is underway. Marc Goddard is the referee for this contest. Romero comes out bouncing as Jacare plods forward. Jacare smashes Romero with a stiff, straight shot. Romero turns his hips for a kick but changes his mind in mid-motion. You get the sense with these two that if this stays standing, it’s definitely ending in a knockout. The “Ole! Ole” chants break out. That was a random. Jacare with a head kick attempt. A crazy spinning back fist drops Jacare and shocks the crowd. Romero dives in looking for a finish. He blasts Jacare with some huge bombs but Jacare is hanging on. Jacare looks to do something with the leg of Romero but Romero nearly puts him out with some disgusting shots. Jacare looks for the arm of Romero now as Joe Rogan nearly shits himself on commentary. This is is crazy. Romero is so close to ending this fight by Donkey Kong’ing Jacare and Jacare keeps threatening with dangerous, fight-ending submissions. Jacare is slow to return to his feet. He doesn’t have his legs yet at all.
Round 2: Replays of the spinning back fist look awesome. Should be a definite 10-8 round for Romero. While watching replays we hear Rogan about to lose his cool as they poured a lot of water in Jacare’s corner looking to Yoel Romero. It only lasts for a split-second and the round begins. Romero must be tired or something, because Jacare could barely get off his stool his legs were so “not there” yet and yet we’re two minutes into this round and he’s posing in front of him and moving. Jacare with a lucky break and plenty of time to recover. Jacare darts in on a leg of Romero but Romero defends. Jacare tosses Romero but Romero uses the fence and gets on top. Referee Marc Goddarz immediately calls for the action to be stopped and everyone is confused. He tells Romero that he used the cage to get top position. He warns him that he’ll take a point next time and restarts the fight standing. Good body shot by Jacare. Nice leg kick by Jacare. The round ends.
Round 3: Romero looks exhausted and Rogan is already complaining about the water pouring situation, this time in Romero’s round. Third and final goes on without incident. Jacare looks the fresher of the two coming in the final frame, something you would never had guessed when the buzzer sounded to end the first. Romero starts chopping away at the leg of Jacare. Good leg kicks, inside leg kicks. Slow paced action here in the third. Jacare with a three-piece combo that would get any fight fan out of their chair. Looked to be the start to a finishing sequence, but ends up on the ground with Jacare sprinkling some ground and pound on top of a submission agenda. Jacare breaks out the dreaded thigh punches before smashing Romero with some elbows. It’s Demian Maia The Sequel with 30 seconds remaining. Judges scorecards are going to be very interesting to see. We’ve got it even with the 10-8 first round. Lots of drama and storytelling in that fight.
Yoel Romero def. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza via split decision (29-27, 28-29, 29-28)
UFC Middleweight Championship
Chris Weidman (c) vs. Luke Rockhold
Round 1: Rockhold’s music plays and he comes out looking confident and ready. Chris Weidman comes out to Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” and the trademark American flag across his shoulders. Weidman looks pretty damn casual coming out. Like it’s just another walk to his job. Bruce Buffer does his thing and the crowd electricity picks up as they can tell we’re getting into the cream of the crop. Herb Dean is our referee. Rockhold tells Weidman “no touch” after touching gloves with him, indicating he doesn’t want to touch gloves once the fight starts. The fight begins and both guys come out slow, respecting each other. Weidman avoids a Rockhold punch and gets behind him. Weidman hops on Rockhold’s back and is maintaining back control from the standing position now. And Herb Dean is the referee. How ironic! Rockhold tries to throw Weidman off with a big spin and while he didn’t shuck him right off as intended, it led to it and now Weidman has Rockhold up against the cage. He blasts him with a solid shot and takes Rockhold down. Weidman grinding on Rockhold and smothering him. The fans erupt in “Let’s Go Weidman!” chants. Rockhold snatches a guillotine and drops down. Whoa. This looks like he might have something. He’s only got one leg control so Weidman can hang it out in discomfort as long as Rockhold wants to gas his arms out. Herb Dean stands it up. Joe Rogan doesn’t like that. Rockhold lands a hard kick to the body immediately, misses a head kick and Weidman dives in and takes him down. Rockhold grabs right onto another guillotine and takes top position. The buzzer sounds. Amazing first round. Tough to score because of how Rockhold finished.
Round 2: Amazing first round. Tough to score because of how Rockhold finished. Rockhold had the more dangerous fight-ending moments. Second round begins with Rockhold blasting Weidman with a huge shot that rocks him. Weidman covers up and Rockhold charged in for the kill. Rockhold lands a nice shot in his follow-up attempt but Weidman stays with it and appears to be recovering. Weidman with a nice body kick now. Rockhold is definitely fighting like a guy confident he’s going to win. Weidman still in it, but Rockhold is starting to set a trend that doesn’t bode well for Weidman if Rockhold can maintain it. We hear “Come on Chris, he’s open!” from a passionate/desparate Ray Longo in Weidman’s corner. Accent and all. The fans now chant “Let’s Go Rockhold” as he continues to put it on Weidman with kicks that would cripple an elephant. Just as I say that, Weidman lands the best kick of the round, making Rockhold wince and turn. Rockhold lands a nice punch. The round ends.
Round 3: Great second round with Rockhold in clear control throughout but Weidman proving he’s still dangerous late. Rockhold comes out with kicks again in the third. Weidman looks not fresh, but keeps showing he’s not only not going to be dominated, he’s going to threaten. Weidman now putting together some more consistent offense for the first time in a while. Weidman lands a clean punch and gets Rockhold on the ground. Rockhold works his way back up and now appears to be determined to change the momentum back in his favor. It’s starting to show now as he starts to score with shots. Weidman lands a nice body kick that Rockhold acknowledged facially. Rockhold takes Weidman down off a wild kick attempt. He’s got oe hook in as Weidman rolls. Rockhold switches to top position and is immediately in full mount. One minute left in the round.
Rockhold throws down elbows and starts going into beast mode with punches. The crowd noise picks up as Rockhold’s onslaght does. Herb Dean is taking a closer look as blood squirts out of Weidman. Rockhold is literally teeing off non-stop for the entire minute and Herb Dean just watches it. Weidman didn’t even seem alive when Rockhold got up. Weidman has trouble getting to his feet. He stumbles back to the fence.
Round 4: That last sequence was crazy. Too many clean shots allowed to be landed, but we’ll see if Weidman can come alive again. Fourth round begins. Weidman lands a nice body kick. Weidman goes for a takedown. Rockhold takes Weidman down. Rockhold in Weidman’s half guard, but Weidman’s head and neck are stuck against the cage. Rockhold lands a shot that opens up Weidman again and Weidman is bleeding Paige VanZant style as Rockhold continues to Rose Namajunas him. Not quite that one-sided, but it’s getting close.
Rockhold gets mount, pounds away again, Herb Dean rightfully stops it.
Rockhold completely dominated Weidman.
Luke Rockhold def. Chris Weidman via TKO (ground and pound) at 3:12 of Round 4 to become the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
UFC Undisputed Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (c) vs. Conor McGregor
Round 1: Now it’s time for the real deal. The main event. The one everyone has been waiting for. To UFC’s credit, they did not stall or do much hype bullshit at all. They went from Rockhold and Weidman interviews to Conor McGregor’s entrance in just a few minutes. “Notorious” by Notorious B.I.G. plays as “The Notorious” Conor McGregor wraps up in the Irish flag and makes his walk to the Octagon. Can he really get it done against the best in the world, or is he just really good? We’re about to find out! McGregor settles in the cage as the camera pans and “Run This Town” by Jay-Z, Kanye West & Rihanna plays as the only UFC 145-pound champion in history, Jose Aldo, begins his walk to the cage. The dude looks ready as hell, folks. Bruce Buffer does his thing. Seconds, people. SECONDS away. McGregor is introduced and takes to the center of the cage like a boss. Aldo is introduced and swings side-to-side with his head down the entire time like a killer. Staredown time. Aldo walks up with his head down and continues what he was just doing. McGregor just stares at him. Here we go! Holy shit it’s over. McGregor face planted Aldo with his first shot. One follow up. Aldo was out stiff, face-first.
Conor McGregor def. Jose Aldo via knockout (punch) at 0:13 of Round 1 to become the new undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion.