This is the UFC 205 undercard blog for the UFC 205 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night.
There will be six fights on the UFC 205 undercard. Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson, Rafael Natal vs. Tim Boetsch, Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad, Jim Miller vs. Thiago Alves, and Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian will be featured.
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Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Round 1: Here we go with the first fight of tonight's UFC 205. Both Carmouche and Chookagian move to the center of the octagon and the fight is on. Chookagian is staying on the outside landing leg kicks on Carmouche. Chookagian looks comfortable and patient, staying on Carmouche. Carmouche throws a big right hand, misses, closes the distance and takes down Chookagian. We're half way through the round. Carmouche keeps top control but she's not doing much with it. Chookagian gets on her feet, just to find herself pinned against the cage by Carmouche. A minute left and Carmouche gets a second takedown, landing in Chookagian's guard. Little action going on, as Chookagian is not looking to stand up and Carmouche is not looking to pass. The round ends with Carmouche on top.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Carmouche.
Round 2: No glove touch here. Chookagian attempts a takedown but fails, and Carmouche uses that to push Chookagian against the cage. Chookagian gets away and begins to land solid strikes on Carmouche, but nothing big. Carmouche gets Chookagian's back and slams her to the ground. Carmouche ends up on quarter guard and locks in a choke. Chookagian gets out and pulls Carmouche in her guard. Less than two minutes left. Very little action from both. Chookagian gets up and gets pinned against the cage by Carmouche. Less than a minute left and the fight resumes on the feet. Chookagian landing a nice jab and a few strong leg kicks at the end of the round.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Carmouche, overall 20-18 Carmouche
Round 3: Final round. Nice body kick by Carmouche. Whoa! Chookagian drops Carmouche with a head kick. Carmouche is in trouble and looks to takedown Chookagian. Carmouche survives, avoiding to get finished. The tide has completely shifted, as Carmouche is bloody and looks hurt. Chookagian putting on pressure here, landing good shots. Carmouche gets a takedown and controls Chookagian for a solid minute. The fight is back on the feet, and Chookagian is looking for the finish. A minute left. Chookagian pushing the pace, while Carmouche backs away. Takedown attempt by Carmouche, but end up against the cage. And the bell rings.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Chookagian, overall 29-28 Carmouche.
Result: Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagian via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Round 1: Alves looking big in this catchweight bout. Miller takes the center of the cage, while Alves circles on the outside. Nice one-two by Miler. Both guys are throwing conservatively, trying to find their range and rhythm. Alves lands a big head kick only to get taken down by Miller. Alves is looking to get back on his feet, but also being very careful of not letting Miller pass his guard. They're against the cage, and Alves gets back on his feet. One minute left. Alves pressuring forward. Hard body kick by Miller. Alves seems to be having a tough time timing Miller. The bell rings.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Miller.
Round 2: A minute in and both fighters are striking but not landing anything significant. Alves with a nice body kick, forcing Miller to look for the takedown. Miller fails to get the takedown and the fight is on the feet again. Miller returns the favor and lands a hard body kick on Alves. Solid takedown by Miller. Miller controls Alves, and passed his guard. Miller looking to lock up a choke but fails and Alves gets back on his feet. With a minute left, Alves is now looking to steal the round, putting pressure on Miller. Good stand up fight by Alves towards the end, but not enough to take the round.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Miller. Overall 20-18, Miller.
Round 3: Miller starts the round with a nice front kick to the body. Alves knows he need to finish Miller and turns up the pressure. Alves landing hard shots on the American. Miller land a blast double on Alves, and controls the Brazilian in the center of the cage. We're half way through the round and Alves gets back on his feet. Both guys continuing to land hard body shots on each other. Alves with a hard leg kick. Miller gets a double-leg takedown Alves. Alves stands up but gets caught in a guillotine, leaving him no option but to roll over and lose position. From the bottom, Alves reverses Miller with 30 seconds left and begins to throw heavy shot on Miller. Alves ends the fight on top.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Miller. Overall 30-27, Miller.
Result: Jim Miller def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
Round 1: The fight on. Both guys feeling out the stand up, being very careful with their strikes. Muhammad throws a left kick and Luque counters with a crisp left hook, dropping Muhammad to the canvas. Luque follows up with a few shots on the downed Muhammad, forcing the referee to spot the fight. Not bad for taking the fight on short notice.
Result: Vicente Luque def. Belal Muhammad via knockout (Round 1, 1:19)
Rafael Natal vs. Tim Boetsch
Round 1: Solid middleweight bout here. Boetsch pressuring Natal at the beginning of this round. Good leg kick by Boetsch. Natal already bleeding from his eye brow. Boetsch keeps connecting on Natal, it seems he's found his rhythm. Two minutes left. BOOM! Boetsch connects with a big right hand and drops Natal. 'The Barbarian' follows up with some punches and wins the fight in impressive fashion.
Result: Tim Boetsch def. Rafael Natal via technical knockout (Round 1, 3:22)
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson
Round 1: Johnson starts this fight with a leg kick. A minute in and tons of movement from both guys. Another nice leg kick by Johnson. Nurmagomedov eating a few left hands there. Nurmagomedov is hurt. He's wobbled. Johnson is looking flawless. Nurmagomedov shoots for a takedown, Johnson defends and gets put against the cage. Nurmagomedov gets the takedown and puts Johnson in the crucifix position. Johnson gets out and drags Nurmagomedov into his half guard. Man, Nurmagomedov staying busy, beating up Johnson. Tons of pressure here from Nurmagomedov. A minute left. Big shots by Nurmagomedov. From quarter guard, Nurmagomedov is wrecking Johnson. The bell rings, saving Johnson.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Nurmagomedov.
Round 2: Johnson looking a bit slower here in the second. On the other hand, Nurmagomedov looks very confident. Nurmagomedov pushes Johnson against the cage, goes for a takedown, and Johnson defends. Nurmagomedov re-shoots, Johnson defends again, but this time goes for the neck and drops to a guillotine choke. Bad news for Johnson, as Nurmagomedov gets out and is now on top of him. Nurmagomedov punishing Johnson with heavy shots. Two minutes left. Johnson looks helpless on the ground. Nurmagomedov completely dominating the fight, landing heavy ground-and-pound. One minute left. Nurmagomedov has Johnson's arm tied up with his right hand, while landing punches with his left. The round is over.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Nurmagomedov. Overall 20-17, Nurmagomedov.
Round 3: What a fight. Lets see how Johnson looks in the third. Quick takedown by Nurmagomedov close to the fence. This is brutal. Nurmagomedov pounding on Johnson from top position. Nurmagomedov gets full mount and traps one of Johnson's arm with his leg. Johnson tries to reverse the position and fails, but at least he gets Nurmagomedov off the mount. Nurmagomedov goes to north-south and locks in a kimura, tapping Johnson. Wow! incredible performance by Nurmagomedov.
Result: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson via submission (Kimura) (Round 3, 2:31)
Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Round 1:The fight is on. Right off the bat, Edgar goes in his famous stance and begins to more around Stephens. He shoots for a takedown and Stephens stuffs it. Edgar goes for a second one and Stephens defends it again. Two minutes have past. Edgar with a nice leg kick. Edgar shoots for a takedown, and pushes Stephens against the cage. Edgar is really making Stephens work. Edgar gets a takedown and Stephens gets immediately back up. Same thing happens again. Edgar pinning Stephens against the cage. They break away and head to the center of the cage. Stephens pokes Edgar in the eye and the fight in paused. Doctor checks Edgar, gives him the green light and the action resumes. Thirty seconds remaining. Edgar using a lot of movement like usual. The bell rings, signaling the end of round one.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Edgar.
Round 2: Again, Edgar with an immediate takedown attempt. Stephens defends. Nice right hand by Edgar. And good kick to the body by Edgar. Four minutes remaining. Edgar gets Stephens to the ground with a nice slam. Stephens with awesome defense gets back up to his feet. Stephens pressuring forward. What! Edgar gets dropped by a head kick. Stephens follows up with a knee. Edgar gets Stephens to the ground. Stephens gets back up. Man, Edgar is in trouble. Nice body shot by Stephens. Edgar is backing up and still looks hurt. One minute left. Good jab by Edgar. Beutiful takedown by Edgar. They get into a scramble and Edgar locks in a guillotine. The crowd goes wild. Stephens rolls to his back and gets out. Frankie is on top and goes for the guillotine again. The bell rings before Edgar can get the tap. Fun stuff.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-10, draw. Overall, 20-19 Edgar.
Round 3: Awesome fight here. Stephens with a solid light hand. Stephens throws a kick and gets caught by Edgar. Stephens is now in his back. Edgar being in half-guard gets caught in a kimura, but gets out. Edgar is now on Stephens' back, looking to get a rear-naked choke. Stephens gets to his feet, but to get slammed back down by Edgar. Stephens back up again, but this time is able to get away from Edgar. Stephens looking to finish Edgar, throwing bombs and moving forward. One minute left. Nice one-two by Edgar. Stephens having a hard time landing anything on Edgar. Ten seconds left and Stephens starts swinging for the fences. The bell rings and the fight comes to an end.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Edgar. Overall 30-28, Edgar.