The fight UFC fans have been waiting for finally is here.
Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will put his title on the line Saturday night at Honda Center in the UFC 214 main event against heated rival Jon Jones.
The two were supposed to fight last summer at UFC 200, but Jones failed a drug test and later was suspended for a year. Jones got the better of Cormier when they faced off in January 2015, however.
In addition to that fight, there also will be the welterweight title bout between champion Tyron Woodley and contender Demian Maia, as well as the women’s featherweight title fight between Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Tonya Evinger.
The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET, but fans can enjoy plenty of preliminary fights in the meantime.
We will have real-time results for every UFC 214 fight, as well as round-by-round analysis for Cormier vs. Jones, Woodley vs. Maia and Cyborg vs. Evinger right here on our live blog. You also can watch all the action here.
Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones Round-By-Round Commentary
Round 1
They actually touch gloves. The fight is underway. Jones gets off to a fast start, but Cormier is catching his leg kicks. Cormier knocks out Jones’ mouthpiece. Jones gets a mini takedown. Cormier has a small cut on his face. Jones throws Cormier against the cage. Jones lands a knee to the body. Cormier catches him in the last minute with a nice flurry. Cormier lands a hard right hand over the top. That was a close first round.
Round 2
Jones starts the second round strong with a knee to the body. DC appears to be going for the legs. The fight gets temporarily paused for a headbutt. Cormier is bleeding from around his right eye. The champ is talking trash and keeps shaking his head. Cormier tries to get him down with a kick, but Jones has a great recovery. It was another close round, but Cormier finished strong again.
Round 3
Jones keeps adding to his advantage in strikes. It’s a nice start to the round for the challenger. Jones lands a huge kick, and Jones gets him down. Jones gets the win! Wow!
Result
Jones wins the light heavyweight title via KO at the 3:01 mark in the third round.
Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia Round-By-Round Commentary
Round 1
And the second title fight is underway. Maia tries to get Woodley against the cage, but the champion maneuvers out of it. Maia’s eye already is damaged, possibly as the result of an uppercut. Woodley avoids another takedown. Maia goes for the legs again, and Woodley is accused of grabbing the fence. Maia goes back to leg, and Woodley keeps avoiding. That’s 0 for 7 on takedowns for Maia. Maia tries once more with just under a minute left. Maia’s eye looks nasty.
Round 2
Woodley gets in some good strikes to begin the round. Woodley tags Maia and gets him down, but the champion welcomes him back up to his feet. Woodley continues to land significant strikes, and Maia has been unable to get the champion down. That’s really his only hope at this point.
Round 3
Maia goes for the legs, but quickly is denied. Woodley lands a partial right hand, but Maia blocks the next one. The fans start booing midway through, as both fighters seem a bit hesitant. Maia’s other eye is starting to look bad, too. There’s a good amount of blood on Maia’s face as the third round ends with a chorus of boos.
Round 4
Maia goes for a takedown along the cage, and Woodley uses some nice technical wrestling to get out of it. Not much action again, and the boos continue. But Woodley tags Maia late in the round to quiet the fans, at least for a bit.
This is pretty much the story of this fight:
Round 5
Woodley’s takedown defense was superb at the start of the final round, and Maia appeared to have one of his best shots to take him down. He’s now 0 for 17 on takedowns. Make that 0 for 21. These two are on pace to set the record for the least amount of strikes in a welterweight title fight — yikes. The fans are so disinterested that they are putting the flashlights on their phones on. Oh, and 0 for 23 for takedown attempts for Maia. And they are getting “boring” chants. Woodley probably is going to win this ugly fight.
Result
Woodley retains via unanimous decision, 50-45, 49-46, 49-46.
Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger Round-By-Round Commentary
Round 1
Cyborg drops Evinger right away with a quick hook. She then gets Evinger against the cage, and she lands some hard punches. Cyborg goes for the kick, but Evinger ducks out of the way and goes for a takedown. However, Cyborg gets out of it from along the cage. The fight is stopped momentarily for an eye poke by Evinger on Cyborg. She gets checked by the doctor, and the fight starts again with 1:52 left in Round 1. Cyborg tags Evinger a few more times, but the underdog makes it through the first round.
Round 2
Cyborg continues to go for the inside leg. Evinger tries to go for the clinch, but she’s be unsuccessful at it so far. She did tag Cyborg on her way up, though. Cyborg lands some hard strikes about halfway through the round, but Evinger continues to be just evasive enough to extend the fight. Cyborg certainly has won the first two rounds, but the fact that Evinger is pushing this to a third round is impressive.
Round 3
Cyborg gets a few significant strikes early in the round, and she knocks Evinger down. Cyborg goes for some hard kicks, but she allows Evinger to get back up. And Cyborg finally finishes her off with knees and gets a TKO win to earn the featherweight title. What an effort from Evinger, though.
Result
Cyborg wins the featherweight title by TKO in Round 3 at 1:56.
Main Card
Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier via KO (Round 3, 3:01)
Tyron Woodley def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Cris Cyborg def. Tonya Evinger via TKO (Round 3, 1:56)
Robbie Lawler def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Volkan Oezdemir def. Jimi Manuwa via KO (Round 1, 0:22)
FXX Prelims
Ricardo Lamas def. Jason Knight via TKO (Round 1, 4:34)
Aljamain Sterling def. Renan Barao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-26)
Brian Ortega def. Renato Moicano via submission (Round 3, 2:59)
Calvin Kattar def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexandra Albu def. Kailin Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/891446658688466944
Jarred Brooks def. Eric Shelton via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Drew Dober def. Joshua Burkman via KO (Round 1, 3:40)
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Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vazquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
