UFC 226 went down live on pay-per-view (PPV) last night (Sat. July 7, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic dropped his title in the main event to 205-pound champ Daniel Cormier. Cormier made history by becoming the second fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in separate weight classes at the same time.
The co-main event was one of the worst heavyweight bouts of all time. Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis had an extremely uneventful fight that was very poorly received by mixed martial arts (MMA) fans.
Check out MMA News’ UFC 226 coverage below:
Main Card:
- Heavyweight: (C) Stipe Miocic vs. (C-LHW) Daniel Cormier
Round 1:
Cormier looks for the clinch and lands a few uppercuts. Miocic clinches against the cage with Cormier now and lays against him on the cage and looks for strikes. Some knees from Miocic now and Cormier is getting off some small shots too. A knee to the head lands for Miocic and he gets a nice strike in before they break up. Cormier responds with a combination of his own.
Miocic is smothering Cormier with pressure. Now Cormier gets Miocic against the cage but he rolls out. A jab lands for Cormier and he follows up with a leg kick. Another hook for DC and he’s landing jabs and eats an elbow from Cormier. Cormier gets a nice combination in now. Something poked Miocic’s eye.
A kick to the body land for Cormier. Cormier is landing some nice hooks inside the pocket and he drops Miocic. Cormier swarms on him with the ground-and-pound and the fight is over.
Official Result: Daniel Cormier def. Stipe Miocic via R1 KO (punches, 4:33)
- Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis
Round 1:
Lewis misses on a high kick. Both men playing it very safe early on. Another high kick from Lewis is barely blocked. Lewis with a switch kick that is barely blocked. A front kick misses for Lewis and his follow-up hook misses as well. Lewis clinches up and attempts a takedown but he’s shrugged off. A leg kick from Lewis lands and Ngannou misses on a jab to the body. A pair of heavy hooks that are blocked back Ngannou up.
Another switch kick from Lewis is blocked. The round comes to an end.
Round 2:
Faints from Lewis to open the round. A high kick from Lewis is blocked. Fans are booing as both men are being extremely conservative. An overhand from Lewis is blocked and he goes in for a takedown but it’s stuffed. A leg kick lands for Lewis and Ngannou misses on a front kick. The referee warns both men to engage because they’re doing next to nothing. Lewis begins to throw now but isn’t landing. The round comes to an end.
Round 3:
A high kick from Ngannou is blocked. Some overhands from Lewis and he goes in on a takedown attempt but is stuffed. A high kick from Lewis is blocked. Lewis catches an Ngannou kick and comes in with some hooks. Ngannou misses on a wild hook. Ngannou misses a high kick. Lewis gets caught with a left hand and he fires back with some knees. A body kick lands for Lewis and after a takedown attempt from Ngannou that fight comes to an end.
Official Result: Derrick Lewis def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Welterweight: Paul Felder vs. Mike Perry
Round 1:
Felder opens up with a leg kick and after an exchange inside the pocket Perry already cut Felder’s head open. Apparently the head was from a headbutt. Now inside the clinch they exchange hard elbows. Perry is connecting with some hard shots. Felder lands a spinning elbow in return. An uppercut lands for Perry.
A front kick to the body lands nicely for Felder and he follows up with a nice high kick. Felder just misses on a spinning back kick. Perry clinches up with Felder against the cage now and he breaks it up with an elbow. A spinning elbow lands for Perry now and he lands a body shot afterwards. Felder shoots in for a stuffed takedown to end the round.
Round 2:
Perry closes distance in the opening minute and gets a huge takedown. Felder gets to his feet and Perry pressures him against the cage. Perry lands a big elbow before they separate. A spinning kick to the body lands for Felder and he follows it up with a hook. Felder lands a leg kick and hits an elbow as Perry comes inside.
A hook from Perry opens up Felder badly. Referee immediately stops the fight to have the doctor take a look. The doctor allows the fight to continue. Perry resumes from his dominant position against the cage and he gets a takedown via German Suplex. Felder gets to his feet but Perry unleashes strikes on him. The round comes to an end.
Round 3:
A big lead hook from Perry to start the round. Felder is throwing elbows inside the clinch before they separate. Felder is fighting with a broken arm. Another big lead hook from Perry and Felder throws leg kicks now. An elbow lands for Felder as Perry comes inside. A spinning kick to the body lands for Felder as well.
Perry gets in a jab and he slips in a nice right hand. Felder is able to respond with a nice uppercut but his cut is reopened. A high kick for Perry lands and he follows up with a front kick to the body. Felder lands a nice combination and nearly has a kick caught. Perry comes in on a takedown against the cage, and is also throwing some big knees to Felder’s thigh. Perry separates and they start throwing bombs in the center of the cage. The fight comes to an end.
Official Result: Mike Perry def. Paul Felder via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Catchweight (157.5 pounds): Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Round 1:
Chiesa catches a kick from Pettis and gets a takedown. Pettis attempts to threaten with a guillotine but Chiesa fights out of it. Pettis is next to the cage and is using it as much as he can but Chiesa is keeping dominant position. Pettis now gets dominant position and takes Chiesa’s back and Chiesa threatens with a Kimura.
Chiesa catches a kick from Pettis and throws one of his own bu tit’s blocked. Pettis stuffs a takedown attempt from Chiesa but now Chiesa is working a takedown against the cage. A nice trip takedown for Chiesa now and Pettis immediately throws up a Triangle attempt. Chiesa with nice round-and-pound from top position.
Pettis gets to his feet now and lands a leg kick. Pettis tries one of his flying techniques and misses to end the round.
Round 2:
Nice kick to the body lands for Pettis and he gets a shot that rocks Chiesa. Pettis tries to pull guard and lock in a guillotine but Chiesa escapes. Pettis then locks in a Triangle choke and adjusts into an armbar for the win. Excellent performance from “Showtime.”
Official Result: Anthony Pettis def. Michael Chiesa via R2 submission (Triangle-armbar, 0:52)
- Light heavyweight: Gokhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Round 1:
Saki lands a leg kick and has a high kick blocked. Rountree misses on a few hooks as Saki comes inside. A big left hand from Rountree drops Saki and he swarms on him for the ground-and-pound to end the fight. That’s it.
Official Result: Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Gokhan Saki via R1 KO (punches, 1:36)
Preliminary Card:
- Middleweight: Paulo Costa def. Uriah Hall via R2 TKO (punches, 2:38)
- Bantamweight: Raphael Assuncao def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lightweight: Drakkar Klose def. Lando Vannata via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Welterweight: Curtis Millender def. Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC Fight Pass Exclusive Prelims:
- Lightweight: Dan Hooker def. Gilbert Burns via R2 KO (punches, 2:28)
- Women’s strawweight: Emily Whitmire def. Jamie Moyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
