UFC on FOX 25 News

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Rafael Natal and Eryk Anders took place on tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 prelims from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Natal lands an inside low kick to get things started. He circles and then lands a kick to the body. Anders is pressing forward here. Natal catches him with a counter right hand. He follows that up with a body kick. Anders with a right jab. He follows that up with a left hook and then another. He pushes Natal against the cage and lands another left. Natal survives the onslaught and circles out. Rafael with a left hand. Anderson presses forward and lands a high kick. He follows that up with a left hand that sends Natal staggering across the octagon. He jumps on top of Natal and begins raining down some ground and pound. Natal scrambles back to his feet. He leaps in with a left. Anders returns fire with a left of his own. Another massive left hook from Anders and Natal is sent falling face first to the canvas. This one is all over. Wow. That is some serious power from Anders. Keep an eye out for this undefeated prospect.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A welterweight scrap between Alex Oliveira and Ryan LaFlare took place on tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 prelims live from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Oliveira misses with a spinning back kick. LaFlare shoots in for a takedown but Alex is able to sprawl and defend the shot. Ryan presses “Cowboy” against the cage and looks to score a trip. He does but Alex rolls for an armbar. Ryan is able to pull out his arm and winds up in side control. This is not where Oliveira wants to be. LaFlare looks to lock in a choke but Oliveira is able to escape. Ryan is still working from side control here. Two minutes remain in the opening round. Alex is able to scramble back to half guard. Not much offence from LaFlare here. Ryan steps back in to side control. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between Chase Sherman and Damian Grabowski kicked off tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 televised prelims from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Grabowski misses with a left hook and Chase replies with a nice right hand. Sherman with a quick combination. He looks much faster than Grabowski early on here. Sherman with a nice kick to the body. Grabowski looks to shoot in for a takedown but it is not there. Sherman lands a nice low kick. He presses forward but eats a left hand from Damian. Grabowski scores with a right hand over the top. Sherman responds with a nice knee inside. Grabowski appears to be ok. Sherman presses forward and lands a leg kick. Grabowski lands a right hand over the top but Sherman replies with a nice combination. He continues to press forward and scores with a nice hook to the body. Grabowski lands a good right hand over the top. Chase replies with a hard low kick. Another right hand from Damian. Still, Chase presses forward. He lands a low kick followed by a combination. He throws a high kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A featherweight scrap between Kyle Bochniak and Jeremy Kennedy served as the featured bout of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 fight pass prelims from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Bochniak throws a wild hook. Kennedy ducks under the strike and scores a takedown. Kennedy begins working from full guard. Kennedy with some decent shots from the top now. He works in an elbow. Bochniak tries to scramble but Kennedy won’t let him. More shots from the top by Kennedy. Bochniak scrambles and this time is able to get back up to his feet. After a brief battle along the cage the fighters break. Kyle misses with a hook. Jeremy connects with a pair of knees and then shoots in and scores another takedown. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between Junior Albini and Tim Johnson served as the third fight of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 event on Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Johnson charges forward with punches in bunches. Albini circles off the fence and regroups. Albini with a nice kick to the body and then another. Johnson once again charges forward and presses Albini against the cage. He begins working some knees inside. Albini tries to break free but Johnson stays on him. More knees from Tim. Junior returns fire with some of his own. The fighters break and Johnson misses with an attempted uppercut. Albini with a nice right hand and then an uppercut. He throws a kick to the body of Johnson that lands. Another left hook finds a home from Albini. He follows that up with another left hook and then a straight right hand that floors Johnson. He lands a couple of hammer fists and this one is all over! What a debut for Albini.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A featherweight scrap between Shane Burgos and Godofredo Pepey served as the second bout of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 event on Long Island. Round one begins and Pepey misses with a wheel kick attempt to start thing off. Burgos presses forward but Pepey lands a right hand over the top. Burgos presses forward. Pepey lands a body kick but Shane replies with a crisp left jab. A good left hook from Burgos finds a home. Pepey shoots in for a takedown but it is not there. Burgos lands a huge knee and Pepey hits the deck. Burgos tells him to stand up. Pepey does and Burgos floors him with another uppercut. Pepey seems to be ok and once again Shane tells him to stand back up. Pepey gets back up and immediately shoots in and presses Burgos against the cage. Pepey drags him to the floor but Burgos gets right back up and breaks free. Shane comes forward and lands a left hand to the body and then a right hand over the top. Pepey replies with an uppercut. Both men land left hooks. Pepey shoots in but cannot secure the takedown. He presses Shane against the fence. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A lightweight scrap between Frankie Perez and Chris Wade kicked off tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 event in Long Island, New York. Round one begins and both men, Perez and Wade, trade body kicks early. Wade is applying a lot of forward pressure here. Chris shoots in for a takedown and presses Perez up against the cage. Wade continues to attempt a double leg takedown while trying to transition on to Perez’s back. Wade gets the takedown. He begins working some short shots. Perez scrambles and gets back up to his feet. Wade immediately drags Frankie back down to the floor. Perez again scrambles and is able to get back up. He presses Wade against the cage now and begins searching for a takedown attempt of his own. He gets it after scoring a trip. Frankie working some shots from top position now. Wade is able to scramble and get back up to his feet. He scores a throw and winds up on top. The horn sounds to end round one.

Tom Taylor - May 17, 2017

On July 22, the UFC will make its anticipated debut in Long Island with UFC on Fox 25. Over the last few weeks, the UFC has announced several matchups for this card, including its main event. This main event will pit struggling former champion and New Yorker Chris Weidman against surging former welterweight Kelvin Gastelum in a five-round middleweight contest. Now that this Long Island main event has been announced, the opening odds for it have been released. These odds were broken by MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa (via MMAJunkie.com).