The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts tonight for UFC Fight Night 59: “McGregor vs Siver.” The event was headlined by a featherweight contender’s bout between outspoken fan favourite “The Notorious” Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver.
Also on the card tonight, former WEC rivals Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and “Smooth” Benson Henderson clashed for the third time in the lightweight co-feature. Uriah “Primetime” Hall met late replacement Ron “Choir Boy” Stallings at 185. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
“The Notorious” Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of leg kicks and McGregor countered a leg kick with a left cross. Another left hand landed for McGregor, but Siver answered with a right hook. Both men scored with power punches and McGregor attempted a jumping switch kick. His punches caused Siver’s left eye to swell up and he backed Siver up with a straight left.
Time was called to replace Siver’s mouthpiece. Action resumed and Siver countered a head kick with a takedown attempt, but McGregor stuffed it. More kicks and a jumping knee scored for McGregor and Siver got him down for a split second. The round ended with McGregor swarming on Siver with punches to the head and body. 10-9 McGregor.
Round 2:
McGregor opened the second round with head kicks and spinning back kicks to the body. He kept Siver backing up with straight left hands and dropped him with a big left hook. McGregor mounted Siver on the ground and landed punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Conor McGregor by TKO (Punches) at 1:54 of round two. He improves to 17-2-0.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs “Smooth” Benson Henderson
Round 1:
Cerrone jabbed and landed lead left hands early in round one. Henderson replied with quick punches including a powerful right hook. The fighters traded leg kicks and Henderson landed a hard kick to the body. He threw a series of side kicks to Cerrone’s lead leg and Cerrone countered with a right cross. More kicks were exchanged and Cerrone scored with a combination. Close first round. 10-9 Henderson.
Round 2:
Henderson landed more side kicks and a combination in the second round. Cerrone ducked into a knee and Henderson landed another punch-kick combo. Cerrone cracked him with a counter hook, but Henderson mixed up his kicks well by targeting Cerrone’s lead leg and midsection. A big left hook and a glancing head kick landed for Cerrone and he took Henderson down into half-guard. Henderson scrambled up and he continued to press the action with kicks and a jumping knee. 10-9 Henderson.
Round 3:
Cerrone mixed things up with kicks and punching combinations early in round three. Henderson wobbled him with a head kick and he followed with a big knee to the body soon after. A left hook to the body and a grazing head kick followed from Henderson, but Cerrone briefly took him down. Back on the feet, both men landed leg kicks and Henderson jumped in with another flying knee to the body. The fight ended with both men landing leg and body kicks. 10-9 Henderson.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 27-6-0, 1 NC.
Uriah “Primetime” Hall vs Ron “Choir Boy” Stallings
Round 1:
Hall jumped in right away with a flying knee and Stallings replied with a liver kick. Hall missed with a spinning hook kick and he followed with a leg kick, head kick combo. The fighters traded leg kicks and left hands. Stallings stunned Hall with a one-two, but Hall recovered and dropped Stallings with a right cross. He dove in with more punches on the ground. Time was called to check on Stallings’s left eye. The doctor deemed a cut above his eye to be too deep and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Uriah Hall by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:37 of round one. He improves to 10-4-0.
Gleison Tibau vs “Stormin'” Norman Parke
Round 1:
Parke kicked from a distance early on and avoided Tibau’s lunging punches. Tibau landed an overhand left and he began to score with combinations. A big left hook backed Parke up, but he fired back with a spinning back kick to the body. More left hands landed for Tibau and Parke answered with a pair of body kicks. The fighters traded knees to the body and Tibau fought off a takedown attempt. 10-9 Tibau.
Round 2:
Tibau ran forward with punches that missed the mark in round two. Both men landed kicks and Tibau scored with a lead right hook. Parke landed a winging left hook, but Tibau clinched and took him down. Parke stood and Tibau got him down again. Parke used the cage to get back to his feet and the fighters traded knees to the body. Tibau landed a body kick and stuffed a takedown attempt. 10-9 Tibau.
Round 3:
Tibau countered Parke’s punches with one-two combos in the final round and both men landed left crosses in an exchange. Parke kicked to the body and Tibau countered with a standing guillotine choke attempt. Parke escaped and landed a standing elbow in the clinch. He pressed forward with left hands and jabs. The pace increased in the final minute and both men landed hard left hands. Tibau bloodied Parke’s nose and stuffed a takedown. Parke clinched before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Parke, barely.
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 40-10-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Cathal “The Punisher” Pendred defeated Sean “Black Magic” Spencer by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-2-1 with the highly controversial decision win.
– Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin defeated John “Doomsday” Howard by TKO (Punches) at 2:17 of round one. He improves to 15-4-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Chris Wade defeated Lipeng “The Warrior” Zhang by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
– Patrick “The Hooligan” Holohan defeated Shane Howell by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-1 with the win.
– Johnny “Hollywood” Case defeated Frankie Perez by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 1:54 of round three. He improves to 20-4-0 with the win.
– Charles “Boston Strong” Rosa defeated Sean Soriano by Submission (Brabo Choke) at 4:43 of round three. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
– Sean “The Real OC” O’Connell defeated Matt “Gutter” Van Buren by TKO (Punches) at 2:11 of round three. He improves to 16-6-0 with the win.
– Joby Sanchez defeated Tateki “Tech” Matsuda by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 7-1-0 with the win.