The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to United Center in Chicago, Illinois tonight for UFC 238: “Cejudo vs Moraes.” The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between flyweight titleholder Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo and top contender “Magic” Marlon Moraes.

In the co-main event, UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko put her title on the line against Jessica “Evil” Eye. Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson made his return to battle Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at lightweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC 238 card.

 

UFC Bantamweight Championship

Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo vs “Magic” Marlon Moraes

Round 1:
Moraes landed leg kicks and combinations in the opening minute while avoiding Cejudo’s counters. Cejudo caught one kick, but Moraes pulled his leg free. He fired off a combination and followed with another leg kick and one to Cejudo’s head. Moraes picked Cejudo apart with kicks to his lead leg and body in the final minute. 10-9 Moraes.

Round 2:
Cejudo opened round two with a quick combination and Moraes resumed throwing leg kicks. Cejudo knocked him off-balance with a right hook, but Moraes recovered quickly and he continued to score with kicks. More leg kicks were exchanges and Moraes knocked Cejudo down with one. Cejudo stood and unloaded with heavy punches that stunned Moraes, but Moraes stayed on his feet and he landed an uppercut and a head kick. Cejudo began to bleed from beside the right eye, but he picked up the pace and tagged Moraes with an uppercut and a flurry. Huge knees landed for Cejudo and a dazed Moraes looked for a takedown. The wild round ended with both men throwing big punches. 10-9 Cejudo.

Round 3:
Moraes missed with wild strikes in the third round and Cejudo initiated a clinch. Moraes broke free and Cejudo landed punches and a knee. After a brief pause due to an apparent eyepoke, action resumed and Cejudo landed punches and knees as he looked to take the fight to the mat. Cejudo locked on an Anaconda choke, but Moraes managed to spin free and Cejudo punished him with a knee to the chest. Moraes attempted an armbar from the bottom and he ate a barrage of punches for his efforts. Cejudo rained down elbows and hammerfists until the fight was stopped.

Winner: Henry Cejudo by TKO (Elbows & Punches) at 4:51 of round three. He improves to 15-2-0 and becomes the new UFC Bantamweight Champion.

 

UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko vs Jessica “Evil” Eye

Round 1:
Shevchenko landed three hard body kicks right away and scored a takedown from a body lock. She worked from the top in Eye’s half-guard, but Eye defended well and prevented her from doing much of anything. Shevchenko landed a few short punches to the side of Eye’s head and Eye regained full guard in the process. She scrambled up to her feet and Shevchenko quickly slammed her back down to the mat. Shevchenko moved to a top-side crucifix and landed elbows that set up a rolling keylock into an inverted triangle choke attempt at the bell. 10-9 Shevchenko.

Round 2:
Shevchenko opened the second round with another vicious liver kick. Seconds later, she flattened Eye with a devastating head kick that ended the fight and left Eye unconscious for several minutes.

Winner: Valentina Shevchenko by KO (Head Kick) at 0:26 of round two. She improves to 18-3-0 and remains the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.

 

Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson vs Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

Round 1:
Ferguson closed the distance with kicks early on and both men landed stiff jabs and right hands. Ferguson landed more jabs and a right hook, but Cerrone cracked him with a counter combination. The fighters traded leg kicks and more jabs. Ferguson targeted the body with a left hook and Cerrone quickly countered with a head kick and a one-two. Another flurry landed for Cerrone and Ferguson, bleeding from beside the right eye, fired back with a body kick. Cerrone landed punches and a body kick of his own. He stunned Ferguson with two lunging hooks in the late stages of the round, but Ferguson stayed on his feet and threw back punches until the bell sounded. 10-9 Cerrone.

Round 2:
Cerrone was wobbled by the first jab that Ferguson threw in round two, but he regained his footing and the fighters traded leg kicks once again. Ferguson’s jabs caused Cerrone’s nose to bleed, but that did not slow down Cerrone’s offensive output and the fighters continued to unload with combinations in close. Ferguson blocked a head kick and immediately responded with a spinning back elbow. A spinning backfist also landed for Ferguson, but Cerrone walked through it and he scored with punches and a takedown. Ferguson stood back up and he battered Cerrone’s face with jabs and right hands. A series of body kicks and a standing elbow landed for Ferguson. He connected with a right hand just after the bell sounded and was given a strong warning. 10-9 Ferguson.

Cerrone blew his nose between rounds, which caused his right eye to completely swell shut and the fight was waved off at the advice of the cageside doctor. The illegal strike was deemed to have not been the cause of the eye issue.

Winner: Tony Ferguson by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round two. He improves to 25-3-0.

 

Petr “No Mercy” Yan vs Jimmie “El Terror” Rivera

Round 1:
Rivera scored with early kicks to Yan’s calf and Yan answered back with a nice combination and a knee to the body. More kicks landed for Rivera and one spun Yan around. Yan broke free from a clinch and both men landed hard right hooks. Rivera followed with an uppercut on the break and he continued to mix in kicks. Rivera used jabs to set up more combinations, but Yan landed a body kick and he pulled Rivera down to the mat with a flying scissor heel hook attempt. Yan floored Rivera with a huge left hand very late in the round and he landed punches until the bell. 10-9 Yan due to the last-minute rally.

Round 2:
The second round began with an exchange of punches and Rivera stunned Yan with a right cross. Yan recovered, but Rivera hurt him seconds later with a chopping leg kick. Yan switched stances to protect his damaged leg and he landed a liver kick soon after. Rivera continued to find success with leg kicks and punches until Yan scored with a head kick and a knee. Rivera began to bleed from the bridge of his nose and Yan landed a knee and a huge right hand that dropped him before the bell. 10-9 Yan, once again due to the late rally.

Round 3:
Rivera shot in for takedown attempts in the final round and Yan stuffed them. A combination landed for Rivera and Yan began to score with kicks. Both men fired off winging punches to the body and head. Rivera got the better of the exchange, but Yan landed more kicks. Time was called after Yan was poked in the eye. Action continued and Rivera ducked under a head kick. The fighters clinched and Rivera broke free with a left hook and an uppercut. He stuffed one takedown, but Yan got him down on his second try. 10-9 Rivera.

Winner: Petr Yan by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-1-0.

 

Blagoy “Baga” Ivanov vs Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa

Round 1:
Tuivasa rushed forward in the opening minute and ate a counter one-two. The fighters clinched soon after and Tuivasa landed short punches. Ivanov dropped him with a right hand after the break and attempted a guillotine choke as Tuivasa got back to his feet. Tuivasa recovered and both men landed punches in close. Ivanov connected with a straight left and a looping right hook. He followed with stiff jabs and a huge left cross. 10-9 Ivanov.

Round 2:
The fighters traded punches in the second round and Tuivasa stunned Ivanov with a flurry. A brief clinch ensued and Ivanov bought time to recover. The pace slowed way down, but Ivanov managed to land a decent one-two and he clipped Tuivasa with short jabs and left hands as Tuivasa looked to initiate. More jabs landed for Ivanov and Tuivasa responded with occasional leg kicks. Ivanov used a front choke to drag Tuivasa down to the mat and time expired soon after. Close round. 10-9 Ivanov.

Round 3:
Tuivasa landed hard kicks to Ivanov’s lead leg in the final round. Ivanov countered with punches and he followed with knees in a clinch. Ivanov locked on another front choke and dragged Tuivasa down to the mat. He looked to take Tuivasa’s back, but Tuivasa scrambled up to his feet. He created distance for a split second and landed three short punches before Ivanov latched on to him again and secured a front headlock. He threw knees to Tuivasa’s face and the fighters separated after trading punches. Tuivasa hurt Ivanov with a leg kick and Ivanov answered with hard left hands. Tuivasa landed two more kicks and the fight ended with an exchange of hooks. 10-9 Ivanov.

Winner: Blagoy Ivanov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-2-0, 1 NC.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)