Woodley retained the welterweight belt. (Photo: Getty Images)
Tyron woodley e Stephen Thompson they fought a real war in the second most important fight of UFC 205, held this Saturday (12), in New York. After five rounds played at a high level, a majority draw was declared (47×47, 47×47, 48×47), a result that keeps the title with the champion Tyron woodley, who successfully defended his first belt.
With a tie, the biggest loser could be Demian Maia, as Ultimate must schedule an immediate rematch between the two fighters. Therefore, the Brazilian, who would be the next challenger in the category, would have to wait a few more months.
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Thompson started the duel by unleashing his traditional high kicks. Changing the base, Stephen began to surround the champion, who was moving trying to escape the challenger's range of action. Woodley defended a telegraphed kick from Thompson and took the fight to the ground. From above, he began throwing punches to the body and elbows to Thompson's face, who was trying to defend himself. In the final seconds, Tyron opened a cut on his rival's forehead, which left him in the corner bleeding profusely.
The second round started in the same way as the first: always with his guard down, Thompson continued to corner Woodley against the fence. Tyron took advantage of an opening from his rival and took the fight to the clinch, where he controlled the fight for a few moments. With the fight back in the center of the octagon, Stephen launched a good round kick to the waistline. The two remained cautious and chose the blows they launched well.
Woodley returned with a more aggressive stance, making his opponent move backwards. However, it didn't take long for Thompson to return to the center of the octagon and put pressure on the champion with a good sequence of strikes. Woodley landed a good low kick on the counterattack, unbalancing the challenger. In the last seconds, Tyron even unleashed a good straight right.
The fourth round began with the challenger surrounding the champion. However, Woodley applied a counterattack and knocked Thompson down. With his opponent on the ground, Tyron went up trying to give final results to the fight and punished Thompson, who resisted bravely. With Stephen groggy, Woodley grabbed the guillotine and took guard, but the challenger resisted, managed to free himself from the blow and ended the round by hitting him on top.
Before the start of the decisive round, the two fighters hugged. Aware of the damage in the previous round, Thompson came back with pressure and fired high kicks. The fight moved to the center of the octagon and two adopted a more cautious stance, without many risks. Thompson continued to strike with rights, while the champion responded with counterattacks until the end of the fight.
Joanna beats Karolina and keeps strawweight belt
Joanna beat Karolina and retained the strawweight belt. (Photo: Getty Images)
In the first fight of the night involving a title fight, better for the champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (49×46, 49×46, 49×46) and retained the strawweight belt. The Polish women fought a very technical fight, with good exchanges of blows on both sides. In the end, Joanna defended her category title for the fourth time and remained undefeated in her career, with 13 victories. Kowalkiewicz lost his unbeaten record as a professional and now has a record with 12 triumphs and one setback.
“I remain champion because I am humble, I work every day and I challenge myself daily. She didn't want to disrespect Karolina, she knew it would be a difficult fight. Thank you Madison Square Garden, thank you for your support. This is all for the people of Poland. Thank you!”, said the champion in the post-fight interview.
Joanna started the fight measuring distance with low kicks, while the challenger alternated the base. The fight continued with striking, with the champion unleashing good combinations. Karolina tried to keep the fight in the clinch, but Joanna managed to free herself and the fight returned to the center of the octagon until the horn sounded.
The two returned for the second round looking for striking, with the champion landing a good elbow. As Karolina tried to close the distance, Jedrzejczyk frustrated her opponent with good combinations of blows to the body and head. Kowalkiewicz attempted the takedown, without success. In the center of the octagon, Joanna continued to punish the challenger's body with blows to the waistline. In the final seconds, the champion landed a beautiful high kick.
In the third round, more of the same: Karolina continued to surround Joanna, who responded with the counterattack and hurt her rival. The pace dropped and the two fighters started to play in the clinch, while the audience booed a few times. Pressing Karolina against the fence, Joanna threw two good knees.
Aware of the disadvantage in the previous rounds, Karolina returned more aggressive for the fourth stage. She landed a good kick to the waistline and tried to put pressure on Joanna, who released a strong low kick to push the challenger away. Karolina hit Joanna hard, which she felt and stepped back. Kowalkiewicz went all out trying to define the duel, but Jedrzejczyk defended well and managed to resist until the clock ran down.
Joanna returned for the final round with a huge bruise on the right side of her face. Karolina continued going forward, but received a cross on the counterattack. More conservatively, the champion began to rotate around the octagon and continued scoring with low kicks and straight right kicks. In the final minute, Karolina
Romero delivers brutal knockout to Weidman
Romero (right) knocked out Weidman in the third round. (Photo: Getty Images)
Yoel romero He is definitely a real threat in the middleweight category. The Cuban, who returned from suspension after being caught in an anti-doping test earlier this year, knocked out the former champion Chris Weidman with a violent knee at 24 seconds of the third round and qualified for a future title fight. This was Yoel's eighth victory in eight fights in Ultimate, while Weidman suffered his second consecutive defeat and distanced himself from a new title fight.
After the fight, the champion Michael Bisping appeared on the gym's screen and made obscene gestures at Romero, who responded. “You do this to me, but I say, “I love you, Mike. See you soon, boy”, said the Cuban.
The fight started with both fighters cautious, with little action. After a lot of study on both sides, Weidman took the center of the octagon and delivered a good kick to Romero's waistline, who responded in kind. Weidman goes for the single leg and gets the takedown, but Romero quickly gets back to his feet. The former champion continued to insist on kicking the Cuban's waistline. Chris, once again, tries the takedown, but Yoel defends well and takes the fight to the big one. At the end of the round, Weidman tried to get to his opponent's back, but he didn't have time to work.
Romero returned for the second round looking for more fight. He landed a huge kick to Weidman's waistline, which he felt. The American insisted on the takedown, but was unsuccessful. Romero continued to strike Chris, but ended up accidentally punching his opponent in the eye and the fight was stopped. With the fight restarted, Romero landed two beautiful takedowns on Weidman, which guaranteed him the advantage in the round.
In the last round, Weidman started taking the initiative and throwing some blows, but when he entered the Cuban's legs for a takedown, he received a violent knee. Weidman fell already surrendered, and Romero still had time to land a few punches before the referee stopped the fight.
UFC 205 CARD
Welterweight Weight: Tyron woodley x Stephen Thompson a majority draw was declared (47×47, 47×47, 48×47) (belt dispute)
Straw weight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk won Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision of the judges (49×46, 49×46, 49×46) (belt dispute)
Average weight: Yoel romero won Chris Weidman by technical knockout at 24 seconds of R3
Bantamweight: Rachel Pennington won Miesha Tate by unanimous decision of the judges ((29×28, 30×27, 30×27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Feather weight: Frankie Edgar won Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 29×28)
Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov won Michael Johnson via submission (kimura) at 2m31s of R3
Middleweight: Tim Boetsch won Rafael Sapo by technical knockout at 3:22 of R1
Welterweight Weight: Vincent Luque won Belal Muhammad | by technical knockout at 1:19 of R1
Lightweight: Jim Miller won Thiago Pitbull by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 30×27)
Bantamweight: Liz Carmouche won Katlyn chookagian by split decision of the judges (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
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