BOSTON -- UFC 292 takes place at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night, with the promotion returning to the city for its first pay-per-view event since UFC 220 in 2018.
Two championship belts are on the line, as Sean O'Malley challenges Aljamain Sterling for the men's bantamweight championship and Amanda Lemos faces Zhang Weili for the women's strawweight title.
Follow along for live updates throughout the night.
EARLY PRELIMS:
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Women's Flyweight: Karine Silva vs. Maryna Moroz
Winner: Karine Silva (Round 1 submission)
Fans were treated to a first-round finish with Saturday's opening fight in Boston. Both fighters landed early shots in the clinch before Silva landed a takedown. Silva began to work on a submission and earned the victory with one second left in the round via a guillotine choke.
Women's Flyweight: #13 Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva
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Winner: Natalia Silva (unanimous decision)
Silva made her last name a perfect 2-0 to start the night. In a unanimous decision win, Silva put on a striking clinic and kept Lee off balance throughout the fight with a flurry of punches and by changing levels with her kicks. Silva earns her fourth straight win.
Men's Middleweight: Andre Petroski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Winner: Andre Petroski (split decision)
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Petroski dropped Meerschaert in the second round, which could've spelled the end of the fight. But Meerschaert bounced back and pushed it to the judges' scorecards after a wildly entertaining third round that saw the two combatants trading blows on their feet in the final minute. The win improves Petroski's record to 5-0.
PRELIMS:
Men's Bantamweight: Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson ("The Ultimate Fighter" Finale)
Winner: Brad Katona (unanimous decision)
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This fight showed high-level striking in each round.
Gibson moved quickly defensively and was efficient with his punches in the opening round.
In the second round, Katona seemed to find a new gear and showed the better striking, making for a perceived even fight entering the final round. Katona continued his pace and had Gibson against the fence holding the right side of his face. Gibson stayed on his feet and proceeded to knock Katona back with a right cross.
The fighters engaged in a slugfest in the final minute of the fight to set up an interesting decision at the scorecards.
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Katona's striking in the final two rounds earned him a unanimous decision as the bantamweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" for Season 31, making him a two-time champion of the show.
Katona previously fought with Team Chandler before switching to Team McGregor in his victory to rejoin UFC after last fighting with the company in 2019.
Men's Lightweight: Kurt Holobaugh vs. Austin Hubbard ("The Ultimate Fighter" Finale)
Winner: Kurt Holobaugh (Round 2 submission)
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Hubbard started strong, controlling the pace, but Holobaugh came out firing in the second round. Holobaugh ultimately secured the victory with an impressive armbar he turned into a triangle choke.
Holobaugh, the lightweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," wasted no time after the bout in calling out Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett. So, perhaps those two will cross paths in the near future.
Men's Middleweight: Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin
Winner: Gregory Rodrigues (Round 1 KO)
Neither fighter took a shot for the first 30 seconds of the fight before Rodrigues completed a takedown and began landing ground-and-pound blows.
Rodrigues needed just one minute and 43 seconds to earn the stoppage finish for a first-round victory.
Men's Middleweight: Chris Weidman vs. Brad Tavares
Winner: Brad Tavares (unanimous decision)
The final prelim offered the return of a former UFC champion, as Weidman made his first UFC appearance since breaking his leg at UFC 261 in 2021.
Tavares started fast with plenty of leg kicks in a strong striking fight. With the high volume of kicks, there were three pauses throughout the fight for low blows.
Over the course of 15 minutes, Tavares definitively landed shots throughout the fight. Weidman did have significant moments, though, with big punches to his opponent up against the fence.
Ultimately, Tavares earned the victory with a unanimous decision on the scorecards.
MAIN CARD:
Men's Bantamweight: #6 Marlon Vera vs. #10 Pedro Munhoz
Winner: Marlon Vera (unanimous decision)
Vera outclassed Munhoz for the majority of this bout, which was reflected both on the judges' scorecards and Munhoz's face. Munhoz fought with energy, no doubt, but ultimately came away worse for the wear.
The Boston crowd definitely was pro Chito, showering the Ecuadorian with praise before, during and after the fight, which marked an entertaining start to the main card.
Men's Bantamweight: Da'mon Blackshear vs. Mario Bautista
Winner: Mario Bautista (unanmious decision)
Credit to Blackshear for not only showing up as a fill-in Saturday, just one week after fighting in Las Vegas, but also pushing Bautista to the limit in a technically sound showdown that featured a heavy dose of grappling. Bautista really pulled away in the final round to earn the victory, which bumps his record to 13-2.
Men's Welterweight: #11 Neil Magny vs. #13 Ian Machado Garry
Winner: Ian Machado Garry (unanimous decision)
Garry barely broke a sweat in dominating Magny for three rounds. He continuously worked Magny's legs, sending him to the canvas multiple times. Magny couldn't even mask the pain and it's actually amazing he lasted the entire fight.
It's safe to say Garry, who remains undefeated at age 25, could be a problem in the welterweight division for a long time. He called out Stephen Thompson after the fight in what would definitely be an entertaining brawl.
Women's Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili (c) vs. #5 Amanda Lemos
Winner: Zhang Weili (unanimous decision)
The first round of the co-main event offered arguably the most exciting opening round of the night. Weili took early ground control and went to work with left hooks and elbows.
In a major transition, Lemos set up a submission, locking in a strong choke and a potential guillotine attempt. Weili stayed resilient and worked out of the choke to take back control with more ground-and-pound shots. Before the horn, Weili finished a loud takedown by picking up Lemos and slamming her to the canvas.
Weili spent the next two rounds controlling the fight on the ground. To start the fifth round, the champion landed a massive right hand that knocked Lemos to the ground and controlled once again.
Per a UFC statistic shown in the arena, Weili tallied the largest striking differential in any UFC women's fight ever, finishing the bout with a 288-21 advantage.
With the unanimous victory, Weili remains the strawweight champion, now on a three-fight winning streak.
Men's Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. #2 Sean O'Malley
Winner: Sean O'Malley (Round 2 KO)
Wow. After barely any action in Round 1, O'Malley dropped Sterling with a heavy right hand in Round 2. He stepped back and popped Sterling as the champ leaned forward. Suga poured it on from there, delivering blows until the referee stepped in and called the fight. We have a new UFC bantamweight champion.
Featured image via Craig Kidwell/USA TODAY Sports Images