It’s time for UFC 199, and this card has plenty of marquee bouts to keep you entertained.
Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will defend his title against Michael Bisping in Saturday night’s main event at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. And before those two enter the octagon, rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will battle for Cruz’s bantamweight championship belt.
Here’s a tale of the tape for Rockhold-Bisping, via UFC.com.
And here’s one for Cruz and Faber.
The main card won’t start until 10 p.m. ET, but we will have results from all the prior bouts here.
Be sure to check back here for a live blog of Cruz-Faber and Rockhold-Bisping with round-by-round analysis. You can order it and watch with a live stream through NESN.com.
Rockhold vs. Bisping Live Round-By-Round Commentary
Round 1: We have a new champion.
Bisping, who took this fight on short notice after an injury to Chris Weidman, knocked Rockhold out at the 3:36 mark in the opening round.
The first few minutes of the bout were relatively even, but Bisping turned a Rockhold jab attempt into a left hand of his own. Bisping then capitalized on the opportunity with the knockout.
Cruz vs. Faber Live Round-By-Round Commentary
Pre-Fight: Cruz and Faber are in the octagon and ready to renew their rivalry.
Round 1: These two wasted no time going after each other.
Cruz scored the first takedown, and Faber had some issues with his shorts. Faber then had a takedown of his own, but Cruz scrambled through and gained position.
Faber then grabbed Cruz’s leg and landed a big punch. Cruz was bleeding under his left eye by the end of the round.
Round 2: These five minutes clearly belonged to Cruz.
The champion almost knocked out Faber with a brutal left hand, but the challenger extended the bout. But Cruz kept the momentum for the rest of the round.
Round 3: It was a stand-up war for most of these five minutes, and neither fighter landed any significant strikes. However, that’s good news for Cruz, who clearly still is winning this fight following his big left hand in the second.
Round 4: Faber is going to need to knock out or submit Cruz in the final round because a decision is certain to go the champion’s way at this point.
Cruz almost scored another knockout when he landed multiple punches and kicks near the side of the cage.
Round 5: This one is going to the judges.
There’s little doubt Cruz will retain his title, as he dictated the bout from the moment he almost knocked Faber out in the second round.
Result: Round 3 of this trilogy goes to Cruz.
Cruz retained his bantamweight title by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46).
Pay-Per-View Main Card
Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold, knockout (Round 1, 3:36)
Dominick Cruz def. Urijah Faber, unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
Max Holloway def. Ricardo Lamas, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dan Henderson def. Hector Lombard, knockout (Round 2, 1:27)
Dustin Poirier def. Bobby Green, knockout (Round 1, 2:53)
FS1 Prelims
Brian Ortega def. Clay Guida, TKO (Round 3, 4:40)
Beneil Dariush def. James Vick, knockout (Round 1, 4:16)
Jessica Andrade def. Jessica Penne, TKO (Round 2, 2:56)
Alex Caceres def. Cole Miller, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC FIGHT PASS Early Prelims
Sean Strickland def. Tom Breese, split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Henrique da Silva def. Jonathan Wilson, TKO (Round 2, 4:11)
Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic, majority draw (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Polo Reyes def. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim, knockout (Round 3, 1:52)
Order and watch UFC 199 on NESN.com >>
Thumbnail photo via Per Haljestam/USA TODAY Sports Images
