UFC 210 is now in the books! Buffalo, NY played host to an action-packed night of fights. Let’s go through the UFC 210 results and recap some of the highlights of the night.
UFC 210 Results & Highlights
Daniel Cormier defends title, chokes out “Rumble” Johnson
In the main event of UFC 210, light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier successfully defended his title. He took on knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. This was the second outting between the two; Cormier choked Johnson out to initially capture the vacant light-heavyweight belt a few years ago.
Their second meeting went down very similar to the first in terms of the result. We saw Cormier weather the early storm of Johnson which saw Cormier’s nose get mangled by a head kick. However, Johnson failed to follow up and instead opted to try and out-grapple the revered grappler in Cormier. This questionable tactic left many scratching their heads. Grappling only sapped Johnson’s gas tank and gave Cormier confidence as the fight went on.
Cormier may have lost the first round due to Johnson’s flurries, but Cormier quickly took control of the fight in the second round. It didn’t take long for Cormier to take Johnson down, land some nasty hammerfists from the top position, and ultimately get Johnson’s back. From there, it was all too familiar a sight for Johnson as he tapped quickly to the rear-naked choke just like in the first fight.
This now sets up a rematch between Cormier and former champion and pound-for-pound king Jon Jones. Meanwhile, “Rumble” gave the shocking announcement that he would be retiring. It was a disappointing night for Johnson, who left many fans purplexed with his grappling-heavy approach.
Gegard Mousasi controversially TKOs Chris Weidman
In the co-main event, we saw top ranked middleweights Mousasi and Weidman do battle in a highly anticipated match up. The fight lived up to expectations until a heavily debated sequence led to the stoppage of the bout. After losing the first round to Weidman (who secured a handful of takedowns), Mousasi came back to rock Weidman in the second. However, as Mousasi fought to defend a takedown attempt from Weidman, he landed two knees to Chris’s head that the ref thought were illegal.
Per the official rules, you can’t knee a grounded opponent. Grounded is now determined if you have both hands and both feet on the mat. However, the replay showed that the two knees were clean. After much confusion transpired between the doctors, the referees, and the fighters, the fight was stopped.
Mousasi was given the TKO victory as the doctor deemed Weidman unfit to continue. Neither Mousasi nor Weidman seemed thrilled at this result, but it was a big win nonetheless for Mousasi who now continues his barrage through the middleweight division. Weidman however has now lost three fights in a row, but has voiced his desire to appeal the loss.
Other UFC 210 results (main card)
Up-and-coming women strawweights Cynthia Carvalho and Pearl Gonzalez put on an entertaining scrap in their main card slot. Many fans wondered why two such inexperienced fightesr would get such a valuable spot, and they proved why. Carvalho submitted Gonzalez in the third round and displayed some very high-level submission fighting in the process. She made herself a name to keep an eye on at 125 lbs.
UFC vets Thiago Alves and Patrick Cote also put on an entertaining scrap. Alves took home a unanimous decision win as he was able to chop down and outstrike the Canadian for three rounds. After the fight, Cote announced his retirement from the sport. This is a big win for Alvez as he has been rather inactive lately due to injuries and a unsuccessful drop to 155 lbs. Hopefully Alves stays at 170 lbs and gets a streak going.
Speaking of staying at weight classes, former featherweight contender Charles Oliveira looked sensational in his performance over former Bellator champion Will Brooks. After missing weight several times at 145 lbs, Oliveira moved back up to lightweight for this fight. Many thought he was in over his head as Brooks is a massive lightweight, but Oliveira left everyone speechless as he ragdolled Brooks and choked him out in the first round. This marks Brooks’ second loss in a row, and what might be a new beginning for “Do Bronx” Oliveira.
Other UFC 210 results (prelims)
While the prelims didn’t feature many big names, they did play host to many exciting fights. Of note, Myles Jury made a succesful return to MMA. Last we saw him he made his featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira (noted above) and was finished in the first round. His stoppage win over Mike de la Torre could be the beginning of a new streak.
Meanwhile, welterweight prospects Kamaru Usman and Sean Strickland did battle. “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman dominated the fight, to much surprise. Additionally, he made the case why he should be considered a top contender. It was a very impressive performance in what was supposed to be a close contest on paper.
Prospects Magomed Bibulatov, Desmond Green, Gregor Gillespie, and Shane Burgos all notched victories last night at UFC 210. Like I said, a fun night of fights!
