Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 249 goes down in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The main event will be an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. The co-main is for a belt too, with Henry Cejudo putting up his bantamweight title against former champ Dominick Cruz, who returns after three-year layoff.
This post will cover the preliminary card. The featured undercard bout comes in the welterweight division, with Donald Cerrone fighting Anthony Pettis.
We’ll start on Fight Pass and ESPN+ at approximately 7pm ET with two fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8pm ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card at 10pm ET. The full lineup and schedule follows. The main card and both title fights will be covered in separate posts.
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Round 1 – Measured start from the two men. Pettis finally jumps in a with a right. Low kick from Showtime. Cowboy shoots but can’t get Pettis down. Pettis with a right to the body. Low kick from Cowboy. Right from Pettis. He misses a counter. Low outside leg kick from Cerrone. Cowboy gets a body lock but Pettis gets loose. Pettis with an overhand right that connects. Cowboy presses. Jumping kick lands to Cerrone’s chin right as he was taking Pettis down. Cerrone is working in side control. Pettis tries to get an arm. Cerrone stands over him, but he eventually gets up. Cerrone with two nice lefts. Pettis misses with a spinning back kick. Follows it with a nice leg kick though. Pettis with a beautiful counter right. Cerrone with a left and a jab. 10-9 Pettis.
Round 2 – They trade lefts. Pettis with a nice right. Head kick from Pettis. Cerrone wades in but eats a left. They throw kicks at the same time and laugh at each other. Cerrone with a hard left. Pettis with a hard counter left. High body kick from Pettis. Pettis with a spinning back fist that’s blocked. Cerrone landed a low kick just before that. Pettis looks for a jump knee but Cerrone cracks him with a left. He lands another low kick. Counter left again from Pettis. Both land low kicks. Cerrone flurries and they both land in an exchange. Cerrone with a body kick. 90 seconds to go. Low kick from Pettis. Cerrone shoots in, then adjusts and trips Pettis to the mat. Pettis tries to wall walk, and does. Cerrone lands a knee to the body. He looked for a head kick but Pettis blocked it. Pettis with a spinning back kick to the body. Body shot from Cowboy. 10-9 Pettis.
Round 3 – Pettis with a counter combo that connects hard. Cerrone wades in and rips Pettis with a left. Body kick from Cerrone. Cerrone looks for a leg but can’t get Pettis down. Short left from Pettis. Pettis lands a hard body kick, but Cowboy caught it and lands a knee to the body. Head kick from Pettis. Cerrone with a 1-2. Low kick from Cowboy. Cerrone with a hard left, but he ate two in return. Cowboy thinks he got eye-poked but it looked to be from a punch. Pettis just misses with a huge head kick. And he lands the next one! WHOA! No idea how Pettis took that, but he did. Beautiful counter left and a jab from Pettis. Cowboy shoots but can’t get anything done. Hard body kick from Pettis. They battle to the horn! Great ending! 10-9 Cerrone but 29-28 Pettis.
Anthony Pettis defeated Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
Round 1 – Werdum misses with an uppercut. Oleinik lands a right. Leg kick from Werdum. Another right from Oleinik. Another! Werdum finally responds with a right of his own. They battle in the clinch briefly. Big uppercuts from Oleinik. Body shots. Werdum with a knee to the belly in close. Oleinik is all over him! He lands probably 10 punches in a row! Werdum with a right and a knee. Another knee. Oleinik with a jab. Counters from Werdum. Another uppercut from Oleinik. Werdum looking for the Thai clinch to land knees. Oleinik with a left. Werdum misses with a head kick. Another left from Oleinik. Oleinik is relentless. They trade big shots. Oleinik tries to drag him to the ground at the horn. 10-9 Oleinik.
Round 2 – Spinning back fist from Oleinik as Werdum was throwing a kick. Werdum with a topside headlock as Oleinik looks for a takedown. Nothing there. Werdum with a big knee. They trade shots in close. Another knee from Werdum. Body shot. Low kick. Head kick from Werdum. Oleinik starting to slow. Or he was. He flurries again but Werdum with another knee. Werdum with a sloppy shot but he gets the takedown anyway. Werdum sinks hooks with 90 seconds to go. Werdum slipped off and they return to their feet. Spinning elbow from Oleinik. He has less steam on his strikes now, but he’s landing. He presses with a bevy of punches. Oleinik slides in behind Werdum but can’t get a takedown. Body kick and punches from Oleinik. 10-9 Werdum, but close.
Round 3 – Leg kick from Werdum. He shoots and gets a takedown. He gets the back and is looking for an armbar. Oleinik got it out and ends up on top. Werdum sets up an armbar from the bottom, then a kimura. He stretches it up, and sweeps to mount. Beautiful. He’s still looking for the arm and Oleinik gets to his back. Werdum sets up an armbar position and he just needs to break Oleinik’s hands. Oleinik manages to fight it off though. Werdum finally gives it up and they get to their feet. 90 seconds to go. They battle in the clinch. Knee from Oleinik. Oleinik with an uppercut. Hard knee to the head from Werdum. Werdum dumps Oleinik to the floor. Werdum falls back for a late guillotine, but it’s too late. 10-9 Werdum, but 29-28 Oleinik.
Aleksei Oleinik defeated Fabricio Werdum via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Round 1 – Measured start. A full minute of just feinting so far. Esparza wades in with a right. Front kick from Waterson. Head kick is blocked. Hard leg kick from Waterson. Esparza with a sloppy shot that Waterson easily defends. Waterson with a nice left. Waterson lands a body kick as Esparza lands a right hook. Esparza times a kick and double legs Waterson to the mat. Slow round. 10-9 Waterson.
Round 2 – Superwoman punch attempt from Esparza. Esparza wades in with a couple of punches that are blocked. Waterson with an inside leg kick. Waterson with two right hook counters. Hard outside leg kick from Waterson. Esparza charges in to scoop a single, but Waterson defends and lands a knee up the middle. Waterson with a body kick. Esparza flurries but doesn’t land anything. Esparza is faking takedown attempts. She actually does try but eats a knee to the belly again. Esparza lands a 1-2. Again. Waterson has a high kick caught but Esparza can’t do anything with it. 10-9 Waterson.
Round 3 – Both ladies land rights. Single shots from both. Waterson with a jab. Oblique kick from Waterson, and a kick to the body from Esparza. Jabs from Waterson. They trade low kicks. Esparza with two knees to the body. Waterson with some more leg kicks. They’re finally ramping up the action a bit. Esparza shoots but eats a kick. She keeps hold of the leg after though, and pushes Waterson into the fence. Waterson escapes quickly. Slapping leg kick from Waterson. Low kick from Esparza. Front kick from Waterson as Esparza presses. Esparza lands a big right. Esparza shoots but eats knees again. They run all over the cage as Esparza lands some shots. Slapping round kick from Waterson but she eats three punches. 10-9 Esparza, but 29-28 Waterson.
Carla Esparza defeated Michelle Waterson via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)
Round 1 – Inside leg kick from Luque. Again. An outside kick trips up Price a bit. Price with two counter rights. They’re both landing chopping kicks, but Luque is getting the best of it. Jab from Luque. Another nice counter from Price. Luque with a left. Price digs to the body. Luque checks a kick. They both land at the same time. Price with a big right and Luque is stunned! Luque fires back but gets taken down. Price looks for a choke but can’t get it. Luque gets back up. Luque with a couple of jabs. Nice right over the top from Luque. 10-9 Luque.
Round 2 – They trade low kicks. Nice jab from Price. Luque lands a low blow. Luque lands a hard left on the restart. Low kick. Price fires back with a kick. Counter right from Price lands glancingly. Luque with three counter shots. Hard low kick again. Price lands a right. And another. He presses against the cage and opens up with big shots! Luque fires back! Huge uppercut from Price. Luque takes it though. Both men are slowing down. Price with a low kick and a right. Body kick. Luque keeps kicking the front leg. They trade down the stretch. 10-9 Luque.
Round 3 – Price with a hard low kick. Luque with a three-punch combo. Price with a right over the top. Low and high kicks from Price. Jab from Luque. They trade jabs. Body shot from Price. Price is bloodied. He shoots in but can’t get Luque to the floor. Price with two big shots. Luque fires right back. Great action. Jab from Price. Uppercut. Another hard right from Price. Winging right from Price. Luque with a picture perfect left hook at Price goes down! Luque jumps on him, but gets back up. Price’s face is jacked up. The doctor looks at him, but his vision is impaired from an eyelid cut and he waves it off. Serious damage. Great fight.
Vicente Luque defeated Niko Price via TKO (cut), 3:37 of round 3
Charles Rosa vs. Bryce Mitchell
Round 1 – Mitchell takes the center. Rosa throws and awkward kick and gets taken down right away. Mitchell secures an arm-triangle choke. It’s very tight. Rosa almost tapped but changed his mind. Mitchell gives it up. Wow. He’s still on Rosa’s back. Rosa spins over and looks to secure an inverted triangle from the bottom. Mitchell fights it off and looks to secure a twister! They’re still fighting for position, as Mitchell lands a back elbow to Rosa’s face. They’re stalled out now. Mitchell is still trying to secure it. Mitchell gives it up but takes mount. He lands some punches. He looks for the arm triangle again. He gives it up. Huge round for Mitchell. 10-8 Mitchell.
Round 2 – Rosa looks to throw a kick again, and he gets taken down again. He looks to mount right away. He looks for yet another arm triangle briefly. Rosa tries to use the cage to escape but Mitchell threatens an armbar. He’s in side, then takes mount right back. Arm triangle attempt. Shocker. He’s got space this time though. Mitchell gives it up. He looks for the twister again. Hard elbows to the body and head. He secured it right at the horn! Too late. 10-8 Mitchell.
Round 3 – Rosa throws a spinning head kick this time, and got taken down. Again. Mitchell looks for the twister yet again. Rosa almost turned into it but Mitchell managed to keep a hold of him. He’s on top in side. Now in mount again. Mitchell takes his back, then spins into mount again. Mitchell gets bucked off but Rosa couldn’t get to his feet. Crucifix. He spins to the back. Rosa gets up with about five seconds before the horn. 10-8 and 30-24 Mitchell. Absolute domination.
Bryce Mitchell defeated Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
Round 1 – Spann comes forward. He looks for a takedown and gets it. Alvey gets up, but he’s dragged right back down. Back up. Spann secures a standing arm triangle. Alvey’s face is turning red as he lands some body shots. Alvey is in big trouble. He finally escapes and lands a short right. Back at range. Spann with a nice right. Alvey with a right hook and a leg kick. Spann with a hard right, Alvey misses with the counter. Low kick from Alvey. Another right and a knee from Spann. Alvey with a knee. 10-9 Spann.
Round 2 – Head kick from Spann is blocked. He presses with punches and looks for the takedown again. Can’t get it. Spann with a counter right. Low kick from Alvey. Front kick to the belly from Spann. He presses but eats a counter. Alvey with a hard left and he follows up. Front kick to the body again from Spann. Right scores for Spann. Low kick from Alvey. Big left from Spann. Alvey with a pretty counter as Spann charges in. Spann just misses with a big right. 10-9 Spann.
Round 3 – They battle in close. Spann almost secured a Thai clinch and landed a shot. Front kick again from Spann. Alvey with a combo. Huge head kick from Spann! Alvey trying to evade and just gets out of the way of a flying knee. Front kick again. Alvey with a low kick but eats a right hook counter. Alvey with two lefts. Big combo from Spann. Jab from Spann. Alvey with a straight left. Alvey with his own head kick. Alvey lands a right hook and Spann is hurt! One minute to go and Alvey looks for a choke on the ground. Spann escapes and gets up. They reset and Spann is still wobbly. Another left from Alvey and Spann is stunned again! Alvey runs out of time. 10-9 Alvey, but 29-28 Spann.
Ryan Spann defeated Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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