UFC 198 LIVE RESULTS: Penick’s report for “Werdum vs. Miocic” event

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC 198
MAY 14, 2016
LIVE FROM CURITIBA, BRAZIL

The UFC’s third significant stadium show comes to pay-per-view tonight as Fabricio Werdum puts his Heavyweight Championship on the line against Stipe Miocic. A number of Brazil’s bigger MMA names are taking part in tonight’s event, and we’ll have coverage of the event throughout the night as it airs live from Curitiba. Make sure to follow along with us throughout the evening and through the pay-per-view broadcast right here!

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=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims Quick Results=====

-Renato Moicano def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Note: Fun opener with a hot and massive crowd for the first fight of the night. Lots of striking exchanges, scrambling, and damage done from both. There was a case either way here, so all the scores were justifiable. Moicano took a bunch of damage, but he was effective in takedown defense, with his own strikes, and in his ground attacks and scrambles.

-Sergio Moraes vs. Luan Chagas ends in a split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)

Note: Chagas in his UFC debut had a hot start in the first, knocking Moraes down with a head kick and a later big strike, but he nearly got submitted in the second, and seemed to fade down the stretch. It was a close fight, so the draw isn’t shocking, just curious to know how that 28-28 scorecard looked. 10-8 first round off two knockdowns most likely?

-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Patrick Cummins via TKO at 4:52 of the first round

Note: One hell of a moment for Nogueira in front of this crazy home country crowd. He was patient with his strikes, caught Cummins just over midway through, and never let up. The fight could have been stopped much sooner as he hurt Cummins badly on several occasions, but it finally got stopped with a standing TKO when he landed several more big left hands against the cage to force the stoppage. Awesome moment.

=====Fox Sports 1 Prelims=====

-We’ve got Mike Goldberg and Brian Stann on commentary here tonight, and they run down what’s to come on the card before we get to our first of many heavily anticipated fights on this stacked card.

PRELIM FIGHT ONE: JOHN LINEKER VS. ROB FONT (BANTAMWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: It’s a shame Lineker has such struggles making flyweight, because both look like they’re in different weight classes as the fight begins. Lineker stayed patient on the outside, then landed a nice counter 45 seconds in. He landed another counter combination as Font tried to press in. Font landed a couple strikes using his range and avoided a counter. Font landed a front kick to the body. Lineker missed an overhand right, but took the center and tried to set up his range. He landed a combination to the body and Font circled out. Lineker threw out another short counter-combination. Much slower pace than we’re used to seeing from Lineker. Font landed a kick. Lineker connected to the body with an uppercut. He landed another body strike followed by a big left hand to the head. He continued trying to walk Font down. Font got in a few jabs. Lineker tripped Font with a leg kick but missed as he looked to throw a follow up strike. Font landed a couple more jabs. Lineker got in to the body with a bunch of strikes and Font was hurting. Lineker drove him back to the cage and Font went to the ground. Lineker got on top in half guard. He landed some ground strikes before Font got to his feet. Lineker landed several more body strikes. Font overshot a head kick and Lineker landed another combination. Lineker threw another big left hand late before the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Lineker. Once he found the range for body strikes he started taking over significantly. That’s going to continue paying off if he can keep that body attack up.

ROUND TWO: Lineker landed a kick to start the round. He popped in with a big left hook. He landed two hard leg kicks as Font tried to throw out the jab. Font landed some hard jabs from the outside. Lineker landed a significant combination to the body and head. He stepped in with another big left hook that was partially blocked. He landed it as a counter strike as Font engaged. Another strike landed to the body. Lineker popped in with another short combo several moments later. He continued trying to press Font back. He landed a big body strike but missed an overhand left. He started picking up the pace of the attack and he landed several strikes. Font tossed out some jabs, then got in a knee to the body to break the rhythm. Lineker continued pressing forward. He landed another body strike. Lineker shot in late but got stuffed. Font went for one of his own, but Lineker easily escaped. Font got in a strike. Lineker pressed back in with a big leg kick. Font went for a side kick late and Lineker just smiled.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Lineker. He’s the much more active fighter, but Font connected in the second half of that round well enough.

ROUND THREE: Lineker threw a couple kicks and Font moved ahead. Font landed a couple jabs as Lineker kept the leg kicks coming. Font landed another hard jab and stayed out of range of some of Lineker’s strikes. Lineker finally connected with a left and then a right hand to the body. Lineker connected to the body again. He pressed in and landed a hard leg kick. Font got in a couple of quick uppercuts. Lineker got in a flurry late as Font found himself stuck on the cage. Font tried to cover up and avoid some strikes, but got kind of thrown to the ground. Lineker got on top in his guard and landed some heavy strikes. He got in an elbow as Font tried to control his wrist. Lineker landed some knees to the body. Font scrambled to his feet and separated. Lineker caught a kick and took Font back down, getting right back into his guard. He landed a couple elbows and looked to posture up. He kept working well offensively and passed to half guard. He then easily passed to side control. Font again scrambled well to get out to his feet with just over 30 seconds left. Lineker wanted Font to fire at him as he got him to the cage. Lineker hurt Font late. He nearly locked on a guillotine, lost it, but ended the round on top in half guard. Very good overall performance from John Lineker. Not his most thrilling fight, but a good, clear win.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Lineker. His strongest round of the fight, which is impressive for him moving forward. This is a building block fight for Lineker at bantamweight right now, and he showed he can handle a taller, rangier opponent fairly well.

WINNER: Lineker via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)

STAR RATING: (**+) So one judge gave Font that second round and another gave Lineker a 10-8 in the third. Can’t see the second for Font, but Lineker’s output was less than in the other two frames. Regardless, this was a good win for Lineker, and a good fight that’s only slightly disappointing in that it didn’t provide a highlight reel finish or anything truly thrilling like in some past Lineker bouts.

PRELIM FIGHT TWO: FRANCISCO TRINALDO VS. YANCY MEDEIROS (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Medeiros looked to work on the outside, but Trinaldo immediately closed distance and wrapped him up. Medeiros managed to avoid the takedown and turned into Trinaldo on the cage in the clinch. Things stalled out as Medeiros defended despite Trinaldo holding a body lock. Medeiros finally turned things around in the clinch and briefly dropped for his own takedown attempt. They continued jockeying for position, each getting in a solid knee to the body. Trinaldo finally backed out after eating a few short strikes. Trinaldo came back in with an inside leg kick. He landed a left hand, but Medeiros clinched up. Trinaldo separated again. Medeiros connected on a nice left. Trinaldo landed a left hand after a shot was stuffed. They traded big kicks. Trinaldo landed a nice left hand. Medeiros missed a few strikes and Trinaldo fired off a few. He landed two big strikes in the center. Medeiros got in a body kick, but ate a few more strikes. Trinaldo walked him down and hurt him badly at the cage with two big left hand strikes to the jaw. Medeiros got in a spinning back kick to the body. Trinaldo started teeing off agianst the cage. Medeiros was on wobbled legs, but continued taking the strikes. Trinaldo got in a big knee right at the horn. He needs to hope he didn’t punch himself out.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-8 Trinaldo. The final minute of that round was nothing but brutality from Trinaldo, and it’s very surprising Medeiros is still standing right now. With that said, if he recovers, Trinaldo may have left everything in that round there.

ROUND TWO: Trinaldo opened with a body kick. They traded some strikes and Medeiros seemed to be recovered. Medeiros landed a strike but ate a big counter. Medeiros again connected, but ate several strikes in return as he got driven back to the cage. Medeiros went to the spinning kick. He landed a couple strikes of his own. Trinaldo landed a few strikes in combination, but ate another counter return. Trinaldo was breathing out of his mouth already and Medeiros tried to press in. He ate a few big strikes for his trouble. He ate a body kick and an elbow. Medeiros connected to the body. They traded and Medeiros didn’t like the left he took to the eye. He fired back and then shot in out of a clinch. Trinaldo tried to set up a front choke, but Medeiros got out. He ate a big kick on the way up, then a right hand. Trinaldo landed a couple of big left hand strikes and Medeiros was wobbled a bit. Trinaldo landed a big body kick as Medeiros tried to fight back. Trinaldo slowed a bit. Medeiros blocked a rush. Medeiros connected on a few strikes. He missed a spinning kick to the head. He got in a hard hook to the body. He landed again to the body. Medeiros was swinging wildly but not landing a ton flush. Medeiros got in a big left late and then dropped Trinaldo with a right hand late! What?! He got in a few more strikes as Trinaldo survived the round.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Medeiros? How to you score that round? Trinaldo did a lot of significant damage, but Medeiros scored the late knock down that could have stopped the fight with another 20 seconds to work with. 10-10? Could still go to Trinaldo 10-9. Crazy fight.

ROUND THREE: Medeiros seemed much fresher as he tried to press early. He landed a few big strikes. Medeiros caught a kick, then pulled Trinaldo forward to land a body strike. He landed a few more punches. Trinaldo landed with a hard punch to the body. Medeiros kept moving forward as the aggressor. Trinaldo rocked him with a left hand. He got rocked hup against the cage but fired back. He fell as he threw a strike on wobbly legs, but popped back up. Trinaldo kept firing but Medeiros was still on his feet. He finally fell as the attack continued and Trinaldo got on top in side control. Medeiros tried to scramble to stay alive and he got to his feet! He was falling backwards though, and Trinaldo came right back ahead with a brutal assault. This could easily be stopped. Trinaldo just powered him down and continued throwing strikes. Medeiros continued to defend, and he kicked Trinaldo off to get to his feet again. This is insanity. Medeiros tried to lock on a choke but got taken down again. Medeiros scrambled andwound up on top in Trinaldo’s half guard. Trinaldo just locked him up. Medeiros got in a few elbows late, and ended with strikes on top, but that’s going against him big. What a round. What a fight.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-8 Trinaldo. Medeiros isn’t human. While the referee could have easily stopped that, the fact that Medeiros had it in him to continue escaping to his feet and then finally scramble to top position after nearly getting stopped was crazy. Insane toughness.

WINNER: Trinaldo via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-27, 30-26)

STAR RATING: (***+) Just a complete spectacle of violence and toughness, though Medeiros took way too much damage for comfort in that last round. It should have been stopped well before he managed to get late top position, and the fact that he got to that spot isn’t evidence otherwise. He didn’t need to keep taking the beating that came before then.

PRELIM FIGHT THREE: THIAGO SANTOS VS. NATE MARQUARDT (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Santos worked from the center and tried to walk Marquardt down. He threw a few kicks. He got in a big kick high but Marquardt blocked it. He missed a spinning head kick. Santos threw an outside leg kick. Marquardt wasn’t throwing much of anything in the first minute and a half. Santos got in a knee to the body. Marquardt landed an inside leg kick. His back was red from one of the body kicks. Santos got in more body kicks. Marquardt again threw to the legs. Santos landed a nice front kick to the body. Marquardt tried to get in close, but then got dropped with a nice left from Santos. Santos didn’t do a ton on the ground, allowing Marquardt to recover and work to his feet. Santos landed a hard high kick. He hurt Marquardt with that, then teed off on him until Marquardt went down, causing the ref to step in. That was just a matter of time in this fight.

WINNER: Santos via KO at 3:39 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**) Nice finish, but methodical and slowly paced from Santos when he seemingly had Marquardt completely out-matched.

PRELIM FIGHT FOUR: DEMIAN MAIA VS. MATT BROWN (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Brown tried to work on the outside to avoid the rush. Maia wound up shooting in and getting him to the ground, fighting off a fence grab. Brown defended, but Maia stayed on him, getting his hooks in and taking Brown’s back as Brown stood up. Brown tried to stay upright to buck him off, but Maia dragged him down and locked on a body triangle. Brown avoided some early choke attempts as Maia was high on his back. He sat up, but Maia held the body triangle and continued to look for attacks. Brown avoided an armbar attempt and managed to turn into Maia to get into his guard. He managed to ride out the round on top, though he got no offense in.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Maia. Dominant, but Brown’s gotten better in his defensive game. Still, could be two more rounds of this at this pace unless Brown can do something drastic here.

ROUND TWO: Maia immediately shot in. Brown stuffed it and got separation. Maia came right back ahead and drove Brown to the fence. Brown landed a couple strikes, but Maia got him down with a foot sweep. He again took Brown’s back as Brown stood up at the fence. Maia lost his hooks as Brown continued to hold it off standing, but he tripped him up again to get his hooks back in. Right back to the body triangle, and Maia landed some strikes as he tried to open Brown up. Brown looked at the ref wanting them to get stood up, but Maia dragged him back down and landed some strikes. The body triangle is good for control, not so much for locking on the choke. Brown again tried to get up and out, but Maia continued holding back mount. Brown again managed to turn back into him late in the round. This time he landed a series of strikes to end the round.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Maia. He’s not doing a ton with it, but he’s completely shut Brown down. It’s not the most thrilling fight, but Maia’s continuing to showcase his elite level ground game.

ROUND THREE: Maia shot in but failed. Brown landed a couple of strikes after Maia tried to flop to his back. Maia shot in again, this time he got Brown down off a high half guard, then turned into him to bring him to the cage. He tried to scoot up to mount as Brown’s back was on the cage. Brown got to his feet but Maia once again snuck behind him and took his back with a body triangle. Brown was simply frustrate more than anything else. Maia went for the choke/neck crank, but Brown held it off. Maia dragged him back down again. Maia locked on the choke late and finally had it secure, forcing Brown to tap out. Dominance.

WINNER: Maia via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:31 of the third round

STAR RATING: (**+) Masterful performance. Maia only needs a small opening to get a finish like that, and he continued working patiently and effectively until he got it. Not the most thrilling at all times, but it showed once again how elite he is on the ground.

-Maia called for a title fight after the win, and he’s certainly got an argument for one at this stage.

=====Pay-Per-View Main Card=====

Goldberg and Stann run down the fights still to come on this pay-per-view card before sending to the first fight video package.

MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: WARLLEY ALVES VS. BRYAN BARBERENA (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Alves wasted little time getting Barberena to the cage. He landed a hard body kick, then jumped a guillotine and pulled guard. Barberena gave the thumbs up and defended, eventually breaking free and taking top position himself. Alves looked for another guillotine but Barberena popped out again. Alves worked up to his feet, eating a few strikes on the way up. Barberena landed some knees to the legs as held Alves in a clinch. Alves backed out and barely missed a spinning kick. He threw a few more hard strikes that were partially blocked. He landed a big body kick, then landed a right hand behind it before clinching up. Barberena landed a couple elbows with his back on the cage. Alves landed a couple hard punches to the body before clinching up again. Barberena landed the elbow again, but ate another uppercut to the body. Barberena again landed the elbow out of the clinch. Alves landed another nice right hand as he pressed forward. Alves landed another big body kick, then an uppercut, then another body kick. He continued attacking, then shot in. Barberena held it off. Alves landed a hard inside leg kick that tripped Alves up as he came forward. Alves landed a few hard strikes up against the cage again. Alves reset after a brief clinch. Barberena landed a hard inside leg kick, then a right hand. He got in a late knee, though Alves landed an elbow. They separated before the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Alves. Barberena had some good offense of his own, especially with the inside leg kicks and some elbows in the clinch, but Alves was far more active and had the early sub attempt.

ROUND TWO: Alves tried to press forward early, but Barberena connected on a few hard combinations. Alves pressed back in and connected on a real nice combination at the cage. They traded strikes in the center. They traded kicks. The pace slowed considerably. Barberena pressed in, but he got hit by several strikes. Barberena landed a few strikes. They traded in the center. Alves had a few strikes connect as he drove Barberena to the cage. Barberena turned him around in the clinch. Barberena landed a body kick. Alves was looking quite tired. He landed a body kick. Barberena landed one in return, but ate a right hand as he pressed in. Barberena landed another body kick. Alves backed up to the other side of the cage, but Barberena chased him down and landed several kicks. He landed a hard combination. Barberena landed another two-punch combination. Alves just looks like he has nothing left, and it’s kind of sad given his past performances. He clinched up, but ate a few more elbows allowing Barberena out. Barberena landed a body kick. Alves landed two hard leg kicks late before the horn.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Barberena. Alves looks exhausted, while Barberena seems to be getting in more of a rhythm. Could be the first Brazilian loss coming up if Alves can’t turn it around.

ROUND THREE: Alves came out immediately with a few strikes. He landed a couple more. Barberena slipped on a kick and Alves nearly took him down, but Barberena moved back up to his feet. Barberena landed a couple more strikes as he turned Alves around in the clinch. He nearly pulled off a trip and then circled out. Alves landed a jab. Alves landed a kick to the body. Barberena returned fire. Barberena landed a solid combination in the center. Alves went for a flying knee but was out of range. Barberena landed several more clinch elbows as Alves pressed him at the cage. Alves got in a knee to the body. Barberena backed him off with another elbow. Alves landed a kick. Barberena landed a right hand. He landed a few more hard strikes. Alves returned fired. Barberena landed a big combination in the center of the cage. Alves got in a knee, but ate another big strike. Barberena connected again. Alves landed a jab. Both were extremely tired as they continued to throw. Barberena landed another left. He connected again after Alves missed. They traded again. Barberena again beat Alves to the punch. Alves landed a left hook. They traded once more. Barberena pressed in late with a big combination at the cage, though he was so tired it was fairly ineffective. Alves landed a couple big left hands late. He kind of spun his body around and grazed an elbow before the horn. This wasn’t a good fight.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Barberena. Far too much disparity between the offense landed in that round to go any other way, but it’s going to come down to the second round score.

WINNER: Barberena via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (*+) Yeah, that wasn’t really much of an entertaining fight despite the action that was happening down the stretch. Both were quite tired and throwing labored strikes, and it was sloppy throughout. Still, big upset for Barberena in this one.

MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA VS. COREY ANDERSON (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Shogun landed a low leg kick. Anderson tagged him with a jab. Shogun again went to the legs, but ate a couple punches. Back to the leg kick. And again. Shogun got in an uppercut as Anderson continued to work on the outside. Shogun slipped on a kick. Shogun connected on a short combo that got the crowd up a bit. Anderson landed a couple punches in return. Shogun continued to attack the lead leg. Anderson again landed the jab. Shogun slipped off a kick and Anderson nearly took his back. He scrambled out, then landed a left hook as Anderson got in for a clinch. Anderson tried to drop levels but got stuffed.He backed off and landed a few hard strikes. Anderson again landed the jab. Shogun landed a nice left hook. They exchanged in a wild center-cage flurry. Shogun missed a right hand and barely blocked a counter left.Anderson landed a hard right hand. Shogun landed another leg kick late. Anderson with the jab. Shogun rocked Anderson late and dropped hammerfists to the horn but Anderson was saved by the end of the round. Alright then.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Rua. It wasn’t a great round for Shogun until that late knock down. Still, most significant offense of the fight so far.

ROUND TWO: Anderson landed an early jab. They exchanged some wild strikes though neither was landing much in that flurry. Shogun landed a couple of leg kicks, but Anderson fired back with several punches and kicks in combination. Anderson then timed a takedown well and took the fight to the ground. Shogun scrambled out nicely to his feet getting a big response from the crowd. Anderson tried to take him back down but got stuffed. They traded strikes as Anderson backed off. Shogun connected on a left hand. Anderson shot in but Shogun defended it well. Anderson finally backed off with a few strikes, though Shogun covered up well. Shogun grabbed for a front head lock as Anderson shot in, forcing Anderson to back out. Shogun missed a few strikes. Anderson shot in again, this time briefly securing it, but Shogun popped back up. He got separation again. Shogun caught a kick and landed another big right hand to drop Anderson, though that was more off the caught kick than the punch.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Anderson. Not enough to steal that one for Shogun, and this has been kind of a sad version of him to watch.

ROUND THREE: Shogun moved ahead with an early kick. Slow pace to start the final round. Anderson landed a left hook, but he ate a counter-strike. Anderson shot in and dragged Shogun down. He did very little with the position. Shogun tried to get to his feet, and finally did with just over two minutes left. Shogun landed a leg kick. Anderson shot in again, this time getting stuffed at the cage. He briefly finished it, but Shogun got to his feet. Shogun continued to hold off the takedown, but nothing much more was happening. They stalled out in the clinch, and Anderson just rode out the round late, briefly backing off for a knee before shooting in again. Bad fight.

Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Anderson. This will come down to what the judges scored in the second round, but this was a predictably awful fight.

WINNER: Rua via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (*) It was a predictably terrible fight (especially that third round), and it’s sad watching “Shogun” Rua fight at this level in 2016. He stole a win here essentially because of two strikes, and one of the knock downs wasn’t even a legitimate knock down.

-Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is announced as the first inductee into the 2016 UFC Hall of Fame.

MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: CRISTIANE “CYBORG” JUSTINO VS. LESLIE SMITH (140 LB. CATCHWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Cyborg immediately advanced and landed a big right hand. She landed a solid combination as she advanced. She landed an inside leg kick and followed with a hard right hand. She landed a hard body punch. Big right hand landed as Smith continued to swing and miss. Cyborg landed a big combination and dropped Smith. She followed up with strikes on the ground. She rolled over, ate a few more strikes, and the ref stopped it. Necessary stoppage, that was only going to get uglier.

WINNER: Justino via TKO at 1:21 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**) Exactly what was expected, but still good to see Cyborg’s accurate striking on display after she made weight at 139 lbs. A push to get to 135 could come given how close she came this time around, but regardless of what’s next this was a big spot for her.

MAIN CARD FIGHT FOUR: RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA VS. VITOR BELFORT (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Souza was the early aggressor, walking Belfort down and throwing a big body kick. Belfort jumped in with a knee but was out of range and needed to sprawl to avoid a takedown. Souza walked him to the cage and shot in. Belfort stuffed it and tried to get separation from the clinch. He eventually worked free and circled out. Very slow pace early. Belfort jumped up again. Souza shot in again and this time dragged Belfort to the ground with a nice ankle grab, tripping him up and immediately working to half guard. Souza postured up with an elbow and a couple of punches. He got in some elbows that cut Belfort up. He postured up and rained down several big strikes. The ref stopped the fight to check on the cut. What a freaking awful momentum halting stop there. They checked the cut and thankfully at least reset them in the half guard. Souza tried to pass, Belfort scrambled, and Souza stayed with him to clinch on the cage. He managed to take Belfort down again. Belfort landed some up kicks, but Souza fought threw the and landed some massive strikes. He passed down into mount and continued landing strikes. He rained down punches from mount and Belfort was just covering up. The ref finally put a mercy kill on the fight as he stepped in. Belfort just stopped fighting back.

WINNER: Souza via TKO at 4:38 of the first round

STAR RATING: (***+) Fantastic work from Souza. Completely dominant on the ground, he didn’t get in any trouble on the feet, and he just destroyed him with his ground attack. Great victory, and he should get the Rockhold-Weidman winner.

MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: FABRICIO WERDUM VS. STIPE MIOCIC (HEAVYWEIGHT)

-Massive boos rain down on Miocic as he walks out to the cage.

ROUND ONE: Miocic landed an inside leg kick and Werdum returned fire with a body kick. Miocic checked a leg kick. Werdum landed a couple front kicks. Werdum ducked under a strike, then ate a short elbow as he popped his head up. Werdum got in a left hand in a short combo. He landed a right hand and reset. Werdum connected on a jab. He landed a big right hand as he drove Miocic back. Werdum threw an ugly knee. He reached down for a leg but got stuffed. They traded brief combinations. Miocic pressed in and they traded kicks. Miocic landed a hard jab that popped Werdum’s head back. Werdum fired out a right hand.Werdum rushed in with a combination and then just got floored with a right hand! It’s all over! The crowd went deathly silent. That just happened. We have a new UFC Heavyweight Champion.

WINNER: Miocic via KO at 2:47 of the first round

STAR RATING: (***) The shock factor elevates this, but that was such an odd fight. Werdum seemed off, sloppier than normal, and that was far from the man we saw take the title from Cain Velasquez last year. This heavyweight division is absolutely insane.

Thanks for joining us here tonight! We’re going to have a ton of reaction to what just went down throughout the weekend and the rest of the week as we continue to move on through this spring schedule!

 

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