This is the UFC 205 live blog for Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero, a middleweight bout at Saturday night's UFC event at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
Weidman, who will try to bounce back from the first loss of his career, will face Romero, who has won seven straight fights, on the main card.
Check out the UFC 205 live blog below.
More Coverage: UFC 205 Results | UFC 205 coverage
Round 1: Big middleweight fight, with a title fight potentially up for grabs, Weidman has the city behind him; Romero has never lost in the UFC. Mario Yamasaki is the third man. Big, big pop for Weidman on intros. They touch gloves. Romero to center, and Weidman with a leg kick. A USA chant right away. Front kick from Weidman misses. Now a body kick from Weidman, who is active early. Lots of kicks. Romero biding his time. Southpaw stance for Romero, who has yet to unleash. There's a solid body kick though from the Cuban that draws on "ohhh" from the crowd. Pawing now with Weidman in the middle. Weidman shoots for a single, and twists Romero down, but can't keep him there. That was a bit of excitement. Another body kick of a right hand for Weidman, who now shoots for another single, and again has Romero down for a brief moment. Straight right from Weidman lands. Romero doing a good job of being elusive, though, on whole. Uppercut from Romero misses, and Weidman changes levels. That gives Romero an opening to rush in, and he pushes the action to the fence. Single leg from Weidman, and he dumps Romero down, now snatching his back. Weidman bullish in the position, slams Romero into the fence as he stands. Round ends there. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Weidman, 10-9.
Round 2: Weidman was keeping a nice pace in that first round, see if he can keep it up. The referee wipes Romero down and that draws a boo. Weidman wastes little time in going for single, and this time it's stuffed. Counter left from Romero had some zest, but didn't hit flush. Now it's Romero changing levels, but he's deking. So far Weidman doing most of the initiating. Romero has his big right paw out there, respecting Weidman from range. Weidman a lot of head movement, doing a good job of mixing it up. Right hand from Weidman, and another. Now he falls trying for a body kick, and all Romero does is run away. Now it looks like he took a finger in the eye right after a hard knee. A brief moment, and we're back at it — Romero is fine. Right hand from Weidman, and now a single attempt into a head kick. Damn nice sequence. Crowd liked it too. Romero ducks in and hits the deck with a knee, and now he tosses Weidman down — what strength. He has Weidman's back, though NEw York's own is on his feet. Romero looking for another take down, has his arms around Weidman low at the waist. Weidman trying to bash home some backward elbows, but those aren't connecting. Romero just suffocating here, and he takes Weidman down — for a split second. Weidman back up. But Romero tackles him at the center of the Octagon. Weidman scrambling, but Romero still on him. He takes the back again, but that's the horn. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Romero, 10-9 (19-19 overall)
Round 3: Title shot comes down to this five minutes (probably). They touch gloves. Romero bouncing at center, and a low kick from Weidman. Whoa! Romero hit Weidman with a huge shot, and Weidman is down. It was a flying knee. And he finishes him on the ground! There is a ton of blood spilling out of Weidman's head. Romero goose-stepping and saluting. What a finish!
UFC 205 official results: Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman via TKO (knee) at :24 of R3.