Darren Till won the co-main event at UFC 244 on Saturday night at the “World’s Most Famous Arena” at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Till defeated Kelvin Gastelum.
Till won the bout by a split decision after the fight went the distance. The judges scored the bout (27-30, 29-28, and 30-27)
Darren Till celebrates his victory against Bojan Velickovic after their welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night (Getty Images)
“I proved a lot of f*cking doubters wrong,” Till said. “I’m just happy to be here right now. I want to build myself back up. F*ck all them doubters!”
This was the second split decision on the main card. Derrick Lewis also won via a split decision over Blagoy Ivanov in the second bout of the main card.
“The Gorilla” improved to 18-2 in his MMA career with this win. This was his first bout as he returned to middleweight.
Till lost his previous two fights to Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley. Before this bout, his last win was over Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision in May 2018.
This is Till’s first split decision win. However, it is sixth decision win, as the previous five came via unanimous decision.
With the loss, Gastelum fell to 15-5 in his career. He has dropped decisions in his past two fights. He also lost to Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at UFC 236 in April 2019.
Four of his five losses have come via decision. Three of the four decisions have been split decisions.
Gastelum has not won a bout since May 2018 when he defeated Ronaldo Souza.
Jorge Masvidal’s rise continues. He defeated Nate Diaz in the main event of the UFC 244 card at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
The fight ended in controversial fashion. The fight was stopped due to a TKO (doctor’s stoppage) after Diaz had two cuts on his face — one below his eye and a more severe gash near his eyebrow.
Jorge Masvidal pours water over his head before his welterweight bout against Stephen Thompson at UFC 217 (Getty Images)
The doctor ruled that Diaz could not continue with the damage to his face. The Stockton, California native likely needed stitches to cover the wound to his face.
With the win, Masvidal won the BMF belt. The belt is named in honor of the baddest mother***er.
“I told Nate right now, I swear that we’re running it back,” Masvidal shouted after having the BMF belt wrapped around his waist by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “Let’s run it back. I don’t like to leave the ring like this with my opponent conscious. There’s only one way to do it and that’s to baptize them. I didn’t get to baptize Nate.
“We’re going to run it back. Don’t worry, its’s going to happen again.”
This is the first doctors stoppage since UFC 231. Max Holloway defeated Brian Ortega via a TKO (doctors stoppage) in their featherweight bout in December 8, 2018.
The 34-year-old Masvidal has improved to 35-13 in his MMA career. He has won his last three bouts, including wins over Ben Askren and Darren Till.
This was Masvidal’s second fight at Madison Square Garden, as he was on the 2017 fight. He lost via a unanimous decision to Stephen Thompson at UFC 217.
The loss dropped Diaz to 20-12 in his career. However, this is just his second knockout loss. His other knockout loss came via TKO (head kick and punches to Josh Thomson at UFC on FOX in April 2013.
This was Diaz’s first fight in New York. He; however, has fought in the New York area, as he fought in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 5, 2012 when he defeated Jim Miller by submission.
Gennady Golovkin defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday night in their middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. This was a controversial win for Golovkin, as it can be debated that Derevyanchenko could have easily won as well.
Regardless, Golovkin won by unanimous decision. Two judges had a 115-112 score, while the third judge had a 114-112 card.
Gennady Golovkin knocks out Steve Rolls in the fourth round of their Super Middleweight fight (Getty Images)
Golovkin is a title holder once again with the win. He won the vacant International Boxing Federation World Middleweight Title and the vacant International Boxing Organization World Middleweight Title.
Triple G, as he is commonly known, improved to 40-1-1 in his career. But one thing was evident in this bought that his power was not there.
He also had trouble with Derevyanchenko’s relentlessness throughout.
This was Golovkin’s first unanimous decision win since his fight against Daniel Jacobs in 2017. That fight was also at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Golovkin is 2-0 at The Garden this year. He defeated Steve Rolls at the facility back in June in his first bout back after losing a majority decision to Saúl [Canelo] Álvarez in Sept. 2018.
This is Derevyanchenko’s second career loss. He fell to 13-2 in his career with the loss. The Ukraine native — who now resides in Brooklyn, New York — has lost two his last three fights.
Both of Derevyanchenko’s losses have come at The Garden in the Big Apple.
Anthony Joshua was knocked out on Saturday night. Andy Ruiz Jr. dominated the mega fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Ruiz Jr. — who was a massive underdog against Joshua — TKO’d Joshua in the seventh round. The referee waved the fight off Joshua ‘yes’ if he wanted to fight, but didn’t move forward.
Boxing Gloves (Photo by Pixabay)
The body language of Joshua showed that he did not want to continue. He also turned to his corner — potentially looking for a way out — and putting his gloves on the ropes.
Ruiz Jr. dominated the fight. He had more than four knockdowns and had Joshua off of his game throughout the entire fight.
The only highlight for Joshua is knocking down Ruiz Jr. in the third round.
“Because of the Mexican Warrior that I am,” Ruiz Jr. said. “I got that Mexican blood in me. People are talking about the Mexican style, but I just proved it.”
With the win, Ruiz Jr. is the first Mexican-American Heavyweight Champion. He won the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight Championship belts.
“That means everything,” Ruiz Jr. said of being a Mexican-American heavyweight champion. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about since I was six years old. If it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be here.”
This is Ruiz Jr.’s first title since retaining the NABF heavyweight title on Sept. 10, 2016 when he defeated Franklin Lawrence.
Ruiz Jr. — who got the fight on short notice after Jarrell Miller was banned from competing — improved to 33-1 in his career. He now has 22 wins by knockouts.
The Imperial Valley, California native has now won four straight bouts. But this is the biggest win of his career.
Joshua said after the bout that he wants an immediate rematch. The rematch will be in London, England.
This is Joshua’s first loss in his career. He fell to 22-1 in his career.
This was also Joshua’s American debut on the biggest stage in the Mecca of the World in The Garden.
“Big respect Andy,” Joshua said in defeat. “He’s a good fighter. Thank you America; thank you everyone, who came out this evening. Sorry I let my fans down. Sorry I let my supporters down. I’m going to be making a move — big respect and enjoy this move — but we’re going to be seeing each other soon.”
Andy Ruiz Jr. took Anthony Joshua's heavyweight championship 😤
2017 PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood won the first event of the season on Sunday. The Volborg, Montana native won the PBR Unleash The Beast’s Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden presented by Ariat.
Lockwood has won this event for the second-time in his career. He is the third Bull Rider to win this event more than once. J.B. Mauney, who is considered the best Bull Rider ever, won the event in 2007, 2009, and was tied for the win in 2014.
Rodeo Stock Photo (Photo by Pixabay.com)
Valdiron de Oliveira won at The Garden in 2008 and 2011.
“I was confident coming in (to last season), but there were times when I didn’t want to ride bulls at all,” Lockwood said. “I was pretty disappointed in myself. After the season, I thought to myself, ‘If you’re going to do this, do it right.’ This sport is just too gosh-darn dangerous to do it any other way.”
Lockwood began Sunday with an 85-point performance on Dream Catcher to begin Round 3. He then ridden Prayer Warrior to a 91.75-point performance.
He ended the event at the “World’s Most Famous Arena” with 895 points. He had an event-high 351.50 score. With the win, he received an $118,350 check and is now the No. 1 ranked rider in the world.
Lockwood beat out Claudio Montanha Jr., who finished second in the event. Montanha Jr. had an event aggregate of 344.25 and 405 overall points overall.
Cannon Cravens was the third-place finisher. He had an event aggregate of 264.00 and 325 overall points.
Alisson De Souza was the fourth-place finisher. He had an event aggregate of 340.00 and 245 overall points.
Matt Triplett rounded out the Top 5. He had an event aggregate of 261.50 and 225 overall points.
Behind Lockwood and Montanha Jr., Jose Vitor Leme is the World No. 3 Bull Rider after the first event of the season.
Jess Lockwood, the 2017 World Champion, leads after the second round of the PBR Unleash The Beast Tour’s Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden presented by Ariat on Saturday. Lockwood leads with 145 points.
He has a 174.74 event aggregate. He had an 88.25 and an 86.5 score. He also had two zero scores through four rounds.
Rodeo Stock Photo (Photo by Pixabay.com)
Lockwood rode White Lightning to the 86.5 score. It was the fourth-best score in Round 2.
Cravens was one of three Bull Riders, who finished tied for second-place after round. Cravens was tied with Stetson Lawrence and Emilio Resende with 100 points.
Cravens had an event aggregate of 88.25. Lawrence has an event aggregate of 169.25, and Resende has an event aggregate of 169.75.
Rubens Barbosa and Chase Outlaw are tied for fifth place after Round 2. Both Bull Riders have 60 points.
Jose Vitor Leme won the first round of the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden presented by Ariat on Friday night. He received the first 90-point performance of the season.
He received 91.25 points when he was aboard Cochise. He earned $7,000 for his night’s performance and 150 world points.
Jose Vitor Leme riding Cochise (Photo by Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media/PBR)
Leme beat out 2017 World Champion Jesse Lockwood and Cody Teel. Both riders finished with 82.5 points in the 15/15 Bucking Battle.
Cody Nance was the fourth-place finisher with 60 points. Eduardo Aparecido was the fifth-place finisher with 45 points.
The event also featured the first round of the PBR Unleash The Beast tour. Cannon Cravens and Lockwood tied with 100 points.
“That was a good bull,” Lockwood said. “That used to be one of H.D. and Dillon Page. Whenever you get one of theirs, you know they are going to buck their ass off. He sure did. He started out really good.
“I knew most of the time he was going to even out, but I just kept going at him. I wasn’t riding him like I was supposed to, but I kept moving my feet so it helped me finish.”
Chase Outlaw was the third-place finisher with 60 points. Claudio Montanha Jr. and Matt Triplett tied with 45 points.
The riders must stay on the bull for eight seconds in order to receive a score. If they fail to maintain being on the bull for those eight seconds, there do not receive a score.
There were 18 bull riders, who did not receive a score on the first evening. That includes J.B. Mauney, who won this event several times.
The second round of the event will take place on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The third round will conclude the event on Sunday.
This weekend, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) kicked off its 2019 season at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden presented by Ariat. The event will begin on Friday night, with additional shows on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
This is the 13th straight year that the PBR has kicked off their season at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The shows will begin at 7:45 pm EST on Friday, January 4th.
There will be a 6:45 pm show on Saturday, January 5th, before concluding with a Sunday, January 6th show at 1:45 pm EST.
Keyshawn Whitehorse attempts to ride Jane Clark/Gene Owen’s Cochise during the 15/15 Bucking Battle round of the Springfield PBR 25th Anniversary Unleash the Beast. (Photo by Andy Watson)
Last year, Gage Gay won the event. He was one of two riders, who went a perfect 4-for-4, as the North Carolina cowboy captured the No. 1 ranking for the first-time.
In order for a chance to win the event, the rider has to remain on the bull for eight seconds with one hand on the bull rope and one hand in the air. If they fail to reach the eight second-mark, their ride does not count.
The combination of the bull score and rider score will give the rider his overall score. The best overall score of the event wins.
There are two previous winners, who are expected to compete this weekend, who have won multiple times at MSG. J.B. Mauney won in 2007 and 2009, while tying for the win in 2014.
Valdiron de Oliveira won this event in 2008 and 2011.
One of the new faces that will be competing at Madison Square Garden for the first-time is reigning Rookie of the Year Keyshawn Whitehorse.
“It’s going to be great,” Whitehorse said. “There’s a lot of history in that building with great players and games, along with the people, who have played there with concerts. I’m going to love it. I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.
“I would say there’s no pressure. Everything I’ve been doing the same as before since I started getting on bulls. That’s putting my hand on the bull and trying to hold on for eight seconds. It would be good to have a good showing at a place that has so much history in it. That would be icing on the cake. It would be something amazing.”
This weekend, the PBR Major at MSG will be one of two events for the tour this weekend. The lower-level PBR Velocity Tour will kick off on January 5th at 7 pm PST with the Oakland Classic in Oakland, California.
“I’m very excited to get the season going,” Whitehorse said. “This is what I love to do. I love bull riding at events. I love every moment of it, so being able to get on a bull and kick off the season. I’m as excited as I can be.”
This will be the first event for the Unleash the Beast Tour since November 7th. Marco Eguchi won the 25th PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast on Smooth Operator.
“I think I’ve knocked all the rust off,” Whitehorse said. “I had gotten on some bulls earlier this week so I think everything will be worked out. I just need to go out to perform to my best abilities and everything else will take care of itself.”
Whitehorse ended last season as the Rookie of the Year. He also finished with a No. 19 ranking.
“Each and every bull I get on, I want to give 100%,” Whitehorse said. “As bull riders, we all seek to become a world champion — and that’s obviously something I have in the sights –but I want to be sure to go into each event with everything I got.
“Each and every one of us is the Top 35 in the World. We all deserve to be here for a reason. That’s what I play in my mind, I’m here for a reason. I was able to accomplish that goal with hard work and dedication. Yeah, there’s other guys out there, who ride good, but I’m here because I ride good, as well. I’m just trying to do good to separate myself from everyone else.”
Ronaldo “Jacre” Souza was a late substitute for Luke Rockholt. Yet, he dispatched Chris Weidman in the third-round of UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Dan Miragliotta called the end to the fight in the third-round at 2:46. The method was KO (Punches).
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza celebrates his win over Derrick Brunson at UFC Fight Night (Getty Images)
The 38-year-old Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil native improved to 26-6-1 in his MMA career. He picked up his eighth knockout of his career with 14 submissions. He also has four decision wins.
He picked up his first KO (Punches) win since August 18th, 2012 when he defeated Derek Brunson by KO (Punches) in the first-round at Strikeforce – Rousey vs. Kaufman.
Souza gets back on track with his win over Weidman after losing to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 224 on May 12th, 2018. He lost that fight via a split decision.
The Fusion X-Cel middleweight is now 2-1 within the 2018 calendar year. He also defeated Brunson at UFC on FOX 27 on January 27th, 2018.
Weidman — who was fighting in his home state — fell to 14-4 in his MMA career. He returned to the Octagon for the first-time in nearly a year-and-a-half.
The Baldwin, New York native has suffered all four losses by knockout. He has now lost four out of his last five fights.
This one; however, was the first-time he suffered a KO (Punches) in his career. He was also defeated by TKO (Knees), KO (Flying Knee), and TKO (Punches)
His only win during the last five fights came when he dispatched Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on FOX 25 on July 22nd, 2017. Weidman won via a submission with a (arm-triangle choke) in the third round.
“The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis is a knockout artist. He could end the fight with one punch.
However, Lewis did not have that opportunity against Daniel Cormier, as the San Jose, California native ended the fight in the second-round of UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The fight ended at the 2:14 mark in the second-round with a rear-naked choke.
Daniel Cormier celebrates after his win at UFC 226 over Stipe Miocic (Getty Images)
Cormier is the first fighter to defend the heavyweight and light heavyweight championship belts at the same time.
Lewis took the fight nearly a month after fighting at the UFC 229 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 39-year-old Cormier has improved to 22-1-1 in his MMA career. He has 10 knockouts in his career with seven decisions. He also now has five submissions in his career.
Cormier won his first fight by rear-naked choke since April 8th, 2017. On that night at UFC 210, he defeated Anthony Johnson in the second-round by rear-naked choke.
He has now won all three fights this year. He first defeated Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 on January 20th, 2018 by TKO (Punches) in the second-round. He then defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 by KO (Punches) in the first-round.
All five of his submission wins have come via rear-naked choke.
The 33-year-old Lewis fell to 21-6-1 in his MMA career. The Houston, Texas native suffered his first submission loss of his career.
The loss to Cormier snapped a three-fight win streak, all this year. He went through Marcin Tybura in February, Francis Ngannou in July, and Alexander Volkov in October before being dispatched by Cormier in the second-round.
This was Lewis’ first loss since he was defeated by UFC Fight Night 110 on June 10th, 2017 by TKO (Punches) in the fourth-round.
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