UFC 209 News

Chris Taylor - March 5, 2017

Middleweight fighter Dan Kelly (13-1 MMA) improved his UFC record to an impressive 6-1 yesterday in Las Vegas by scoring a split-decision victory over former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans on the UFC 209 main card. Both Evans and Kelly had their own respective moments in the fight, but it seemed that Kelly’s forward pressure and willingness to go after Evans swayed the judges in his favor.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

Last night the UFC returned to Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 209. In the card’s co-main event, we saw welterweight champion Tyron Woodley narrowly defeat Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in a rematch of an exciting, 2016 draw. In the co-main event, we saw David Teymur score a close decision over Lando Vannata in an exciting lightweight war. Other highlights of the main card, finally, included Alistair Overeem’s crushing KO of Mark Hunt, Dan Kelly’s foiling of Rashad Evans’ middleweight debut, and Cynthia Calvillo’s abrupt submission defeat of Amanda Cooper. As always, the 22 fighters on this 11 fight card were compensated for wearing Reebok in the Octagon, which is the product of the UFC’s oft-criticized outfitting deal with the sports apparel company.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

Last night, in the first bout of the UFC 209 main card, former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 champ Alistair Overeem separated himself from a failed UFC heavyweight title shot against Stipe Miocic by dominating Mark Hunt to a crushing, third-round knockout. He earned this knockout with a beautifully timed knee and several followup punches. “I am very proud, but I am also very proud of my team,” Overeem said of his performance against Hunt (via Sherdog.com). This is a great group of guys surrounding me and we might be old, but we’re not done yet. We see a lot of things [when we watch film], we studied my opponent very extensively, all my coaches do, and I think that combined with my ability, technical ability, athletic ability, I’m able to put these guys away.” 

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

On Saturday night, on the main card of the stacked UFC 209, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans made his long-awaited debut in the middleweight division. His opponent in this middleweight debut was Australia’s Dan Kelly – a tough opponent, but certainly a surmountable challenge too. Though Evans enjoyed plenty of success over the course of this three-round middleweight debut, it didn’t go the way he planned, as the judges ultimately gave Kelly a split decision win.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC 209, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley scored a majority decision win over challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, who he first fought to a majority draw back in November. While Woodley’s win was extremely important for his career, however, it was not particularly thrilling. The slow nature of Woodley and Thompson’s welterweight title rematch generated ample criticism from many notable members of the MMA community, including UFC President Dana White. Woodley, unsurprisingly, was not especially pleased with these comments from the UFC boss. The champ fired back at the UFC 209 post-fight press conference, defending his strategy in the fight, and challenging White to step into the cage and fight Thompson.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in glimmering Las Vegas, Nevada with the stacked UFC 209. This action-packed card was crammed to the edges with exciting moments. Perhaps the most exciting moment of the entire card, however, occurred in the first fight of the pay-per-view, when former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem scored a crushing knockout over fellow striking veteran Mark Hunt. This knockout, which occured in the third round, was dealt with a knee and a handful of punches.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2017

Back in November, in the co-main event of UFC 205, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson battled to a thrilling majority draw. With this result, Woodley hung onto the welterweight crown – though surely not in the fashion he had hoped. Last night, in the main event of UFC 209, Woodley and Thompson met again, with the goal of producing a clearer, more decisive result. Unfortunately, this welterweight title rematch was perhaps even closer than the pair’s first fight.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

Current UFC welterweight title holder Tyron Woodley took on top division contender Stephen Thompson in the main event of tonight’s UFC 209 fight card in Las Vegas. Both men were very tentative for the better portion of 25 minutes, excluding a last minute surge from Woodley which almost resulted in a fight ending stoppage.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A lightweight scrap between Lando Vannata and David Teymur served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 209 fight card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Teymer and Lando trade kicks early. Body kick and low kicks from both men. Lando is pressing forward here. Vannata with a body kick. David replies with two low kicks. Teymur circling here and working kicks on Lando’s front leg. Lando leaps forward with a switch kick. It lands to the body of Teymur. He misses with a spinning back fist and David lands a left hand. Lando continues his forward pressures but Teymur counters with a leg kcik and then a left. Vannata with a flashy kick. He lands a big follow up punch. Davis is rocked. Lando charges forward with punches. Both men throwing now. Teymur lands a big shot and then another left. Vannata is backing up now. Teymur with follow up punches. Lando circles out. He throws a high kick and then one to the body. Teymur with a nice kick to the body. That hurt. Vannata dives in and lands a takedown but David gets right back up. Teymur charges forward and lands a left and then a big right. He rocks Lando. Both men are throwing heavy punches here. Lando lands a high kick as the horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and veteran Dan Kelly took place on tonight’s UFC 209 main card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and both men paw with the jab early. Rashad lands a leg kick. He comes forward with a right. Kelly takes a low stance and presses forward with a right. Evans avoids and then charges forward with a high kick that is blocked. He lands a hard leg kick. Kelly circles and then comes forward. Rashes catches him with a leg jab. Kelly lands a nice counter right while Evans charged forward. Rashad takes a step back but seems to be ok. Rahsad circles and then pumps two jabs in the face of Kelly. He goes to the body with a right hand. Kelly catches Rashad with a left hand that appears to stun him. Evans takes a couple of steps back but then charges forward in an attempted takedown. Kelly defends and then almost gets Evans to the floor. They break free from the clinch and Kelly presses forward with a left. Evans lands a nice counter uppercut. Still, Kelly presses forward and lands a right. Evans circles and then leaps in with an uppercut. He is circling back and forth so Kelly chooses to go after him with a takedown. It is not there but they engage in the clinch. Kelly lands a good left on the break. Evans lands a hard leg kick to end round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A women’s scrap between Amanda Cooper and Cynthia Calvillo took place during tonight’s UFC 209 main card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Cynthia Calvillo circles to avoid an early jab. Calvillo presses forward but eats a right hand. Low kick from Calvillo. Calvillo with another low kick, she follows up with a high kick. Calvillo catches it and forces her to the floor. Cooper scrambles up to her feet, but Amanda drags her back down and lands an anaconda choke. It’s not there, but she executes a beautiful transition. The body lock is in, and Calvillo is looking for the choke. She gets the left arm under but Cooper pulls it away. Calvillo still on the back. Cooper is belly down and Calvillo squeezes down on a rear-naked choke forcing Cooper to tapout.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A key heavyweight bout between former title challengers Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt took place on tonight’s UFC 209 main card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Hunt lands a massive leg kick to start. He presses forward and misses with a left hand but connects with another leg kick. Overeem returns fire with a leg kick of his own. Hunt is bleeding badly from his shin. Alistair circles and lands a left hand. Hunt presses forward and lands a right. Overeem connects with a front kick and then a leg kick. Hunt absorbs the kicks and continues to press forward. Hunt responds with a nasty kick to the body. The fighters clinch but Hunt quickly breaks free. Alistair throws another front kick to the body followed by a leg kick. Alistair circles and lands a right. Hunt fires back with a leg kick and then a right that connects. Overeem circles and then lands a leg kick. Hunt partially lands a counter right. Overeem with a leg kick but Hunt quickly responds with a hard body kick. Overeem moves to his right and then pushes forward with a jab and then a low kick. Hunt chases after him and presses him against the fence. He lands a pair of hard shots before the horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A featherweight scrap between Mirsad Bektic and Darren Elkins took place during tonight’s UFC 209 prelims on FS1. Round one begins and Bektic starts out quickly with a combination. He connects with a left and then a nice right hand over the top. Another big left and then a hard right from Bektic. He shoots in and scores an easy takedown on Elkins. Mirsad quickly moves to side control and begins raining down some hard elbows. Darren is already busted open and bleeding badly. Bektic with some right hands. He begins working some elbows. He gets Darren in a crucifix position and begins raining down elbows and punches. Elkins is able to scramble and get back to half guard. Still, Mirsad continues his assault with some big punches and elbows. Bektic postures up and delivers some heavy shots. Darren Elkins is a bloody mess and there is still a minute remaining in the opening round. More huge shots and hammer fists from Bektic. He is mauling Elkins here. The horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A bantamweight scrap between Iuri Alcantara and Luke Sanders took place during tonight’s UFC 209 prelims on FS1. Round one begins and Alcantara scores a quick takedown but Sanders quickly reverses the position and gets back to his feet. Alcantara lands a looping left hand. He follows that up with a leg kick. Sanders lands a hard left hand and then another. Both men miss with wild right hands. Iuri scores with a left jab. He circles out and then charges forward with a combination. He scores with a left hook that opens up a cut on Sanders. Luke scores a takedown and instantly begins raining down some huge left hands. Iuri is bleeding now. Sanders is just relentless with these left hands. He switches to the right. Iuri scrambles but cannot get back to his feet. More huge shots from Sanders. Iuri is against the cage and trying to wall-walk. Luke continues to batter him with right hands and elbows. Alcantara is in all sorts of trouble. Luke Sanders throws a knee to the head of Iuri while Alcantara was clearly down. The referee instantly steps in and puts a halt to the action. Before we restart the referee deducts a point from Sanders. Alcantara connects with a hard shot before the horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A heavyweight bout between Mark Godbeer and Daniel Spitz kicked off tonight’s UFC 209 prelims on FS1. Round one begins and Godbeer quickly presses forward with a right hand. Spitz grabs a hold of him in the clinch and throws a couple of good knees. The fighters break and Godbeer lands a kick. He circles and then lands a left jab followed by another leg kick. Mark connects with a nice right hand. He charges forward with a shot to the body followed by a kick. Spitz returns fire with a push kick. Mark leans in and lands another right hand. Spitz circles out and lands a nice leg kick. Godbeer fires back with a leg kick of his own that drops Spitz momentarily. Mark charges forward with a combination and the fighters clinch against the cage. Spitz with a knee and then they break. Godbeer lands a nice low kick. Spitz returns fire with one of his own. Daniel just misses with a high kick. He follows up with a good jab to the body of Godbeer. He catches Mark with a knee inside. Both men exchange leg kicks. Godbeer presses forward and lands a nice combination. Spitz with a left jab but Godbeer answers with a hard right hand to close out round one.

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2017

A light heavyweight scrap between Tyson Pedro and Paul Craig served as the featured bout of tonight’s UFC 209 Fight Pass Prelims in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Craig charges forward and throws a kick to the body. Pedro circles out but Craig catches him with another left high kick. Paul charges forward and applies the clinch. Pedro catches him with a hard knee to the body. He pushes Craig against the cage and begins working some short shots. Paul fires back with some uppercuts of his own. Craig lands a judo throw but Pedro pops right back up to his feet and presses Paul back against the cage. Both men are landing shots in the clinch. They break and Pedro lands a right hand. Craig replies with a kick but Pedro catches him with a punch that sends Paul to the canvas. Pedro lets Craig back up and then begins landing some violent knees on his Scottish opponent. Pedro scores a trip and gets Paul to the floor. He begins raining down some elbows from side control. These are some brutal strikes. The referee steps in to stop the contest.

bjpenndotcom - March 4, 2017

Unable to tune in to UFC 209 tonight? BJPenn.com has you covered with all of the UFC 209 Results as they happen! Stay glued to this page for live results updates, and stay tuned to BJPenn.com for full recaps from every fight. Main card (PPV) (c) Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – Woodley def. Thompson via majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) Lando Vannata vs. David Teymur – Teymur def. Evans via decision (30-27 x3) Rashad Evans vs. Dan Kelly – Kelly def. Evans via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Amanda Cooper vs. Cynthia Calvillo – Calvillo def. Cooper via submission (rear-naked choke) round 1 Alistair Overeemvs. Mark Hunt – Overeem def. Hunt via knockout at 1:44 of round 3

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2017

https://youtu.be/fYfmCIH3Gq8 On Saturday night, the UFC will return to the combat sports mecca of Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 209. The card is packed to the edges with talented fighters.