The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 248: “Adesanya vs Romero.” The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and challenger Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero.
In the co-main event, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Weili “Magnum” Zhang put her title on the line against former champ Joanna Jędrzejczyk. At lightweight, Beneil Dariush battled fellow contender Drakkar Klose. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 248 card.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya vs Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero
Round 1:
Adesanya landed a pair of leg kicks in a very tepid opening two minutes and Romero finally answered with one of his own. Adesanya moved forward and Romero cracked him with an overhand left. One more leg kick landed for Adesanya and he followed with another one in the final minute. 10-10.
Round 2:
Romero countered a right hand with a hard left cross to begin round two and he blocked an Adesanya head kick. Adesanya went high with another kick and followed with one to the body. Adesanya kicked at Romero’s lead leg, but the pace remained very measured and neither fighter committed to any meaningful offence. Finally, Romero rushed forward and landed three left hands before Adesanya circled away. Adesanya regained his footing and landed two body kicks while avoiding a counter left from Romero. Both men landed left hands late in another uneventful round. 10-9 Romero.
Round 3:
Romero ducked under a head kick and connected with a left hook to the side of Adesanya’s head in round three. He followed with a lead right hand and Adesanya ducked back to avoid a looping left. Romero landed a leg kick and the crowd began to boo the lack of action. Romero rushed in with a left hand and Adesanya countered with a right hook. He landed a hard body kick soon after and followed with a front kick to the face. Very lacklustre fight. 10-9 Adesanya by a small margin.
Round 4:
Adesanya kicked at Romero’s leg and jabbed from a distance in round four. Time was called after Romero was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Romero took Adesanya down. Adesanya quickly returned to his feet and the tepid pace continued. Romero eventually missed with a lunging left hook and Adesanya landed a hard leg kick in the final minute. Romero shot in for a takedown, which Adesanya stuffed, and Romero threw a one-two before the bell. 10-10.
Round 5:
Adesanya landed two leg kicks in the final round and Romero responded with a grazing left hook. He tried to take Adesanya down, but Adesanya sidestepped and he landed another leg kick. Romero landed one of his own and a liver kick soon after. Adesanya landed a leg kick and avoided Romero’s attempt to trip him. Romero connected with a left hook and he narrowly blocked a head kick. Power punches were exchanged in the final 30 seconds and Romero chased after Adesanya with looping hooks. 10-9 Romero.
Winner: Israel Adesanya by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 19-0-0 and remains the UFC Middleweight Champion.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Weili “Magnum” Zhang vs Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of leg kicks and Jędrzejczyk followed with a pair of overhand rights. She avoided a right cross from Zhang and countered with one of her own. Quick punches were exchanged and Jędrzejczyk finished with a leg kick. Zhang responded with a hard right hand, but Jędrzejczyk continued to find success with her leg kicks. Two right hands scored for Zhang and she followed with a side kick to the body before the fighters traded leg kicks. A left-right combo from Zhang forced Jędrzejczyk to circle away and Zhang kept the pressure on with a leg kick and a right cross. Zhang caught a kick and countered with a body kick. She followed up with a straight right hand and a three-punch flurry before the bell. 10-9 Zhang.
Round 2:
Quick punches were exchanged in round two and Jędrzejczyk connected with a right hook. She mixed in leg kicks and countered Zhang’s punches with quick hooks in return. The fighters clinched and battled for position, with neither able to take the other down. Jędrzejczyk landed knees to the body and Zhang answered with two hard elbow strikes over the top. A big right hand wobbled Jędrzejczyk and she circled backward. Zhang landed a knee and stuffed a takedown before the fighters separated. Jędrzejczyk jabbed, but Zhang repeatedly landed with her right hand. Jędrzejczyk landed leg kicks late in the round and the fighters clashed heads as Jędrzejczyk pressed forward to clinch. Zhang tripped her just before time expired. Closer round. 10-9 Zhang.
Round 3:
Zhang landed two right hooks and a standing elbow strike early in the third round, but Jędrzejczyk was unfazed and she pressed forward with jab-cross combos. She switched stances and began to throw high kicks with her left leg as Zhang’s damaged right eye continued to swell shut. Jędrzejczyk bloodied Zhang’s nose and the fighters continued to trade punches until Zhang clinched against the cage. She tripped Jędrzejczyk twice, but could not keep her down. Zhang caught a kick soon after and countered with a right cross. Jędrzejczyk’s forehead began to swell up badly, but she continued to mix up her strikes well with punch-kick combos from the southpaw stance. She landed two front kicks to the body and the fighters clinched late in the round. 10-9 Jędrzejczyk.
Round 4:
Jędrzejczyk countered a body kick with a combination in the fourth round that led to an exchange of power punches. Zhang stunned her briefly with a right hand and Jędrzejczyk fired back with straight lefts. Both women landed left hooks at the same time and Jędrzejczyk followed with a knee. She punched to the body and head, then grazed with a head kick. Zhang answered back with lead left hooks and jabs before tagging Jędrzejczyk with two right hands. Hard kicks and punches were exchanged and Jędrzejczyk clinched after landing an elbow in close. Zhang fought free with a slashing elbow and two looping punches. Jędrzejczyk missed with a head kick attempt and ate a right cross before the end of the close round. 10-9 Jędrzejczyk.
Round 5:
Jędrzejczyk landed a nice right hand one minute into the final round and Zhang responded with a one-two that appeared to damage Jędrzejczyk’s nose. Another right-left combo scored for Zhang, but Jędrzejczyk tagged her with two left hooks in return. Big punches were exchanged as the crowd roared and Jędrzejczyk clinched after eating a left hook. Zhang threw a quick combination and she countered a body kick with a right hand. Two more right landed for Zhang after she caught a Jędrzejczyk kick attempt. Two left hooks landed for Zhang in the final minute and she followed with an elbow. Jędrzejczyk landed a body kick in return and both women landed right hands before the final bell. 10-9 Zhang.
Winner: Weili Zhang by Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. She improves to 21-1-0 and remains the UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
Beneil Dariush vs Drakkar Klose
Round 1:
Dariush struck first with a straight left hand and a body kick, which Klose countered with right hooks. Dariush landed more left hands and he took Klose down against the cage. Klose stood and grabbed the fence, which resulted in a warning from referee Jason Herzog. Dariush hopped on Klose’s back and worked to set up a rear-naked choke. Klose separated Dariush’s arms and threw elbows to his right thigh. Dariush tried again for a rear-naked choke and Klose had to act quickly to defend. Klose fought off more rear-naked chokes in the final minute and he managed to make it to the bell. 10-9 Dariush.
Round 2:
Both men landed leg kicks in round two and time was briefly called after Klose was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Klose rocked Dariush with a big flurry. Dariush fired back with a looping right hook that staggered Klose and a renewed Dariush charged forward with more punches. He hurt Klose again and backed him up to the cage, then landed a final overhand left that sent Klose crashing to the canvas. Amazing fight-ending sequence.
Winner: Beneil Dariush by KO (Punch) at 1:00 of round two. He improves to 18-4-1.
Neil Magny vs Jingliang “The Leech” Li
Round 1:
Magny pressed the action with jabs and right hands early on and Li countered with a leg kick and a right hook. Magny remained the aggressor and he set up a one-two with a leg kick. A clinch followed and Li took Magny’s back. Magny stayed on his feet and turned into the clinch, only to be rocked by an overhand right. Li followed with more punches, but Magny recovered quickly and he took Li down. Li rose to his feet against the cage and he broke free from the clinch after an exchange of standing elbows. Magny closed in again and he landed a knee to the body before Li reversed the clinch. He got Magny down and Magny kicked him off. Back on the feet, Magny landed more knees and three stiff jabs. Close round. 10-9 Li due to damage.
Round 2:
The second round began with Magny using his jab to set up a jumping knee to the body. He clinched with Li and worked for a takedown against the cage. Hard right hands scored for Magny and he ultimately got Li down. Li rose to his feet with Magny on his back and Magny continued to punish him with right hands to the face. Li turned into the clinch and he landed his best combination of the round. Magny circled away momentarily before clinching again. Li tried to take Magny down, but Magny stuffed it and he blasted Li with flying knees and power punches. In the final seconds, Magny took Li down into mount. 10-9 Magny.
Round 3:
Li punched his way into a brief clinch in the final round, but Magny spun him around against the cage and countered with a right hook. Both men landed jabs and Magny used his to set up a combination. Li came up short with right hands and Magny kept him at bay with long jabs. He followed up on a quick combination by clinching with Li and taking him down into a partial back control. He threw knees to Li’s lower back and punched to the body before Li got back to his feet just as time expired. 10-9 Magny.
Winner: Neil Magny by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 22-7-0.
Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira vs Max “Pain” Griffin
Round 1:
Quick punches were exchanged in the opening minute and both men landed overhand rights. Oliveira followed with front kicks to the body and Griffin cracked him with a hard right cross. He took Oliveira down and struck from the top in half-guard. Oliveira tied him up from the bottom until Griffin tried for an arm-triangle choke in the final minute. Oliveira escaped to his feet and Griffin remained on his back. He dragged Oliveira down and Oliveira countered with a rolling kimura attempt late in the round. 10-9 Griffin.
Round 2:
Oliveira landed leg kicks in round two and the fighters continued to trade punches until Oliveira landed an uppercut that opened a cut above Griffin’s right eye. Time was called to check on the cut, but action resumed and Oliveira mixed up his strikes with jabs and leg kicks. The fighters clinched and Oliveira just missed with a spinning back elbow. He tried to take Griffin down, but Griffin stayed on his feet against the cage. Oliveira landed another front kick to the body and a straight right hand before shooting in for a takedown attempt late in the round. 10-9 Oliveira.
Round 3:
Oliveira scored with a right hand and a head kick in round three before clinching with Griffin against the cage. Griffin, bleeding from three cuts on his head and face, reversed the clinch and landed a knee, but Oliveira tripped him to the mat and landed on top in mount. Griffin got back to half-guard, but Oliveira mounted him again and landed punches with his left hand. Griffin secured a sweep into top position and he began to land punches of his own with just over 90 seconds remaining. Oliveira held on from the bottom and Griffin was only able to land a handful of strikes before the final bell. 10-9 Oliveira.
Winner: Alex Oliveira by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 21-8-1, 2 NC.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)