UFC Fight Night 26 Undercard Live Blog: McGregor vs. Holloway, More

This is the UFC Fight Night 26 undercard live blog for the UFC Fight Night 26 event at the TD Garden in Boston.

There will be seven fights on the UFC Fight Night 26 undercard. Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald, Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway, Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler, Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda, Manvel Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller, Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux, and Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick will be featured on the prelims.

Check out the UFC Fight Night 26 undercard below.

Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick
Round 1: Here we go -- Kevin McDonald reffing. Nijem out with leg kicks, and then shoots for single leg. Vick sprawls and staves it off momentarily, but Nijem persists. They are along fence. Now Vick grabs ahold of Nijem's neck. And it's over! A quick submission victory for Vick. Wow. Guillotine.

UFC Fight Night 26 results: James Vick def. Ramsey Nijem via submission (guillotine) :58 marks of Round 1.



Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Round 1: Herb Dean is the third man in the cage.  They touch them up. St. Preux waving that right with the left coiled. Donovan pushes OSP along fence and works his body with some heavy shots, followed by a knee. OSP fending off that takedown on the fence. Still getting roughed up on the inside. Donovan sneaking that left through and landing it. Donovan finally gets the takedown, but is immediately reversed and all hell breaks loose. OSP throws some bombs from the top position and knocks out the supine Donovan! Another quick finish. OSP landed a series of big lefts through Donovan's guard and hit Donovan's black spot. It's over.

UFC Fight Night 26 results: Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan via KO at 2:07 of Round 1.


Manvel Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
Round 1: Big height advantage for Cole Miller (6-foot-1) against Manny Gamburyan (a generously listed 5-foot-5), but hey, that's usually the case for Gamburyan. Ronda Rousey in Manny's corner. Yves Lavigne is the referee. Here we go. They touch gloves. Leg kick from Gamburyan. They circle. Miller errant on a couple of early high kicks. Using the push kick early. Mostly feeling out in the early first. Isolated strikes. Gamburyan has twice come in with his a volley of lefts, but nothing big landed. But he throws a big overhand right that makes contact, mostly to Miller's shoulder. Good combination by Miller there, and he's beginning to establish the jab a little bit. Gamburyan cocks and throws that right again, this time missing everything. Manvil looking for that big equalizer. Miller playing the range. With a minute and a half left, Gamburyan shoots for a takedown—Miller resists, but when along the fence, he's dumped. Gamburyan working some shoulder strikes from Miller's guard. Some bullish ground and pound, but Miller doing well to tie him up. Late in the first round, Miller gets back up. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Gamburyan.

Round 2: Gamburyan was very slow to his corner, and was complaining about a blow to the back of the head. It's an extended time between rounds, but he's good to go. They are back at it. Again Miller keeping his range and waving the front kick at Gamburyan's head. Gamburyan stubborn, though, and sets up a takedown attempt with a hard leg kick. He has Miller on the fence again, with Miller sprawling and hammering him with knees and elbows. Now Miller has Gamburyan's back momentarily, which gets a rise from the crowd, but Gamburyan turns it back in his favor and dumps Miller on his back. Gamburyan is bleeding a little bit here. He has his head borrowed into Miller's chest and is working the top game. Miller finally able to stand back up. But he's still fending the takedown on the fence. Gamburyan tries for the single leg, then gives it up and dumps Miller through the hips. Miller's back up. Gamburyan doing a good job of making Miller toil. They finish the round at the center of the cage. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Gamburyan (20-18 overall).

Round 3: Miller's corner wants Miller to use his knees. Third round underway, and Gamburyan throws a big overhand right that looks like a pitcher throwing a fast ball. He glances Miller. Fight staying in the center of the cage, fighters trading jabs. Miller does bring his knee up but before it gets to Gamburyan's chin he gets tagged with a punch. Gamburyan bleeding in the ear. Miller brings the knee up again as Gamburyan rushes in and lands it square. Momentarily stuns Gamburyan, and the crowd responds, but then Gamburyan shakes it off and takes Miller down. Now working in Miller's guard again, and rough him up. More shoulder pressure that's frustrating Miller. It's all Miller can do to box his ears and stay active. He scoots to the fence and is trying to leverage himself up. Gamburyan tucks his arms behind Miller's kneecaps and keeps him compact. Tremendous, dogged pressure from Gamburyan, and as Miller finally gets to his feet, he is rewarded by getting slammed back down. Crowd reacts. The round ends with Gamburyan in Miller's guard, doing some ground and pound. Good looking fight from Gamburyan. MMA Fighting scores the third 10-9 for Gamburyan (30-27 overall)

UFC Fight Night 26 results: Manvel Gamburyan def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda
Round 1: Mario Yamasaki is the referee. Before the fight, Pineda is forced to remove the heavy tape on his right ankle. Pineda moving forward early, winging punches, but nothing serious lands. Kick exchange there, and Pineda took the worst of it. Brandao coming to life now, throwing kicks. He lands a big knee. And we're rolling. Pineda smiles and returns fire. Crowd into it. Very loud in the building. Brandao showing how explosive he can be, and how quick. Now he's standing in the pocket and throwing uppercuts. After the flurry both guys a little slower right now. Pineda again gets tagged but then counters with a combo and smiles. Pineda gets tagged again, and Brandao tries to deliver the knell while Pineda was floored, but nothing doing. Now Brandao on top of Pineda, and momentarily moves to full mount, but Pineda able to get up in a hurry. Quick paced action here. Both guys to the middle of the cage now. Pineda leads with a right jab and tries to throw some heat with the left behind it. He's getting his, but Brandao isn't going anywhere. Both guys put there arms out like airplanes for a minute there and the crowd boos the showboating. First round in the books. MMA FIghting scores the first for Brandao.

Round 2: Second round starts right where first left off, both guys swinging and standing in. Brandao waits for Pineda to commit to a punch and tackles him to the mat. He tries to advance his position, but Pineda is wily enough to squirm out. For a brief second, Pineda went for a triangle, but it slipped through. Now they are back up. A little exchange, and both guys smile at each other. Once again Brandao rushes in and takes down Pineda along the stencil of the Octagon. This time he postures up and works from the guard. Pineda staying busy on his back, and he's fishing for an arm to get a kimura. Instead, he ends up reversing Brandao and ends up in mount. Now he's dropping elbows in succession down on Brandao. This looks bad for Brandao. He's got his arms out like a man in a bad storm, trying to see. Now he grabs an ankle and begins to turn! Crowd lets up a roar, but he can't torque enough and lets it go. Pineda back in Brandao's guard. Brandao obviously fading a little bit. Big hammer fist flurry there at the end. Great stuff from both guys. Hell of a fight so far. MMA Fighting scores the second for Pineda (19-19 overall).

Round 3: Frantic fight. Third and final round, and Pineda waves the crowd on. Crowd obliges. Here we go. Brandao with a head kick that Pineda gets his hands up for just in time for. Now Brandao puts his head down and bull-rushes, dumping Pineda on his back. Long arched pinches land from the top, but they are now back up. For a moment, that is. Brandao once again puts his head into Pineda's stomach and takes him down. They get back up. Nice counter caught Pineda, a right to the nose. As with everything in this fight, Pineda walks right through it and keeps coming. Brandao goes to his default, and tackles Pineda once again. This time he catches his breath in Pineda's guard. Both guys are heaving, but the action is live. Pineda trying for that Kimura again, and again nothing doing. Back to the stalking in the middle, and again Brandao takes him down. Brandao tucks into Pineda's neck with a lapse in action, and the ref stands them up. Good combo from Pineda this time, and he shoots in for a takedown of his own. Brandao prevents it. Both guys clobber each other one more time and smile as the horn sounds. Great slobberknocker fight. Will be hard to top for the fight night bonus (and what a way to kick off the FS1 era). MMA Fighting scores the third for Brandao (29-28 overall for Brandao).

UFC FIght Night 26 results: Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28 three times).

Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler
Round 1: Yves Lavigne is the referee. They touch gloves and we're off. A little feel out process, as both deke and feint. Finally the engage. Big overhand right attempt put Brown and he catches a wicked counter shot that drops him. Siler moves in for the kill, and starts hammering away. BOOM! Lavingne steps in and waves Siler off, nearly tackling him in the process. Violent stuff from Siler; he reversed Brown's intentions in a blink of an eye. Beautiful counter right uppercut stunned Brown off that errant overhand right. It was academic from there. Siler dropped ellbows and hammer fists.

UFC Fight Night 26 results: Steven Silver def. Mike Brown via TKO (strikes) at :50 mark of 1st round.

Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
Round 1: The hype of McGregor is on display. Herb Dean gets the reffing call. And we're underway. Kicks from McGregor. High and low, working Holloway's kneecaps. He's whipping the legs pretty fast. Now he's throwing leather, and Holloway happily trades. Neither man scores on it. McGregor keeps his posture straight, almost MAchida like. He races to middle of cage and puts his hands up. Now he unleashes a combination that marks up Holloway a little bit. The dings are show. Holloway starting to bleed on his face, and his neck is red. Crowd loving the action from McGregor. He continues to come up top with the kicks. Twitch movement to get out of the way of Holloway's punches, which are isolated right now. Again McGregor lands a head kick. Each time he resets he does a little zen movement where he puts his hands up. Holloway returns a kick up top but it didn't land cleanly. Nice leg kick from Holloway bends McGregor a bit, but he then fires a head kick and it crashes into Holloway. Takedown attempt at the end by McGregor. MMA Fighting scores round one for McGregor, 10-9.

Round 2: Crowd with a nice ovation for McGregor as he comes out for the second. Lunging combination from Notorious, and he backs Holloway to the fence. Then he retreats to the center of the cage and sets up court again. McGregor has used both hands out as distraction to set up his head kicks. But he's mixing it up enough that Holloway is guessing. McGregor drops his hands and slaps his own face, egging Holloway on. Blood under Holloway's nose coming down. McGregor still looks in near mint condition. He is perhaps slowing a little bit though. He comes in for a flying knee attempt and catches a Holloway left right on the chin. Nice counter there from Holloway. Now McGregor with a big left of his own, and McGregor gets Holloway to the mat. He's trying to pass Holloway's guard. Nothing doing. Now McGregor postures up and lands a couple of shots from the top, but Holloway quickly hugs him back into guard. Repeat, but this time Holloway tries for an upkick and gets McGregor's shoulder and he power bombs back into guard. McGregor quickly to side control, but he's unable to advance things further as the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores round two for McGregor 10-9 (20-18 overall for McGregor).

Round 3: This and final round. Crowd once again revs up just before Dean brings the fighters back together. Nice exchange early of kicks. McGregor changing levels, and now shoots in on Holloway and dumps him on his back. Right back into guard, now with a mountain of time to do work with. Doesn't waste any movements, either—he goes immediately into side control. Now McGregor goes for mount, but can't quite get there. Holloway briefly stands up but McGregor imposes his will and drags him back down. Restart. Immediately McGregor goes back to work advancing his position, and this time he flattens Holloway out and is able to attain mount. Now he's being calculated and Holloway tries to buck him off. Boxing the ears of the young Hawaiian. Dean says something and McGregor shakes his head in understanding. Big right hands staight into the grill of Holloway, who has managed to get on his side but is twisted and vulnerable. McGregor dominant on top. He is trying desperately for the finish, it's clear. Holloway is tough, and hanging on, but he doesn't have anything for the Irishman. But, he is finally able to get back to his feet, and then catches McGregor with a kick. McGregor retreats momentarily and, not wanting to get cute, immediately takes Holloway back down. The fight ends with McGregor in Holloway's guard. His fight the whole way through. The two embrace after the fight in good sportsmanship. MMA Fighting scores round three for McGregor (30-27 overall).

UFC Fight Night 26 results: Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway via unanimous decisions (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald
Round 1: Kevin McDonald is the third man. McDonald and One Punch Pickett about to roll. They touch em up. McDonald orbits Pickett for a minute, then comes in throwing. Pickett digs in and returns fire. Now they are mixing it up. Big time exchange and McDonald lands the more severe shots. Down goes Pickett. McDonald (the ref) threatens to step in, but sees enough that he rocks back on his heels and doesn't. Good thing, as Pickett is still good to go. He was rocked again, but McDonald couldn't pounce. Wild action. Now back to the center. Nice bruise on McDonald's head. It's only dwarfed by the raspberry bunch that is forming on Pickett's. Hell of a fight, but its slowed in the middle here as both guys get their bearings. Another BIG punch from McDonald lands, and again Pickett falls back in survival mode as McDonald (the ref) poises to intervene. Once again he doesn't. And on we go. Pickett back to the center of the cage. His left eye is a mess. McDonald is a little winded, but it feels like he's just timing out his next sally. Shades of Guida/Sanchez here. Another rapid fire exchange, and again McDonald is the superior boxer in the squall. Round come to an end, and wow, what a round. MMA Fighting scores round one for McDonald, 10-8.

Round 2: Fighters are wiped off and back at it. Pickett still coming forward. He lands a good shot in a combination, and it looked like it hurt McDonald. McDonald doing a good job slipping the initial shots that Pickett throws, but Pickett is landing on the follow ups. Now it's Pickett taking McDonald down. He goes into guard and rams his forearm across the length of McDonald's face, pressing forward. With the little space he's created he's landing short punches to the body which resonate hollowly down press row. Pickett showing some authority now. Continues to hammer McDonald's side. Those punches to the body are accumulating. McDonald trying to scoot out from bottom, but Pickett maintaining well. Now McDonald latches on for triangle! Pickett rolls but now it's tight. And bang, he taps McDonald and the fight's over. Wow. McDonald once again shows off how diverse his game is. Once the breaks started going south, he still capitalized off his back. Pickett gets up in disgust.

UFC Fight Night 26 results: Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett via submission (triangle) at 3:43 of round 2.