Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 238 goes down in Chicago.
The main event will see flyweight champ Henry Cejudo attempting to become the latest champ champ when he takes on Marlon Moraes for the vacant UFC bantamweight title. In the co-main event, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will defend her title against Jessica Eye.
Also of note is a potential fight of the year candidate between Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone at lightweight.
This post will cover the main PPV card.
The show kicks off on Fight Pass at approximately 6:15pm ET with four fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8pm ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card. Remember that you can only order UFC PPVs now through ESPN+, so you have to sign up for that service beforehand if you haven’t already.
The full lineup and schedule follows. The preliminary card will be covered in a separate post.
(Mookie Alexander taking over from Cerrone-Ferguson to the main event)
Main card (10pm ET)
Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes
Round 1 - Moraes immediately attacks with a calf kick. Head kick is blocked by Cejudo. Henry tries one and it’s short. Moraes lunges in and lands a left hook. Rapid-fast combo by Moraes. Good counter from Cejudo but Moraes is off to a strong start. Vicious leg kick by Moraes again. Leg kick by Moraes and Cejudo’s reactive single leg is stuffed. Cejudo eats shots to the body and head. Henry has switched stances due to the kicks. Almost all the offense coming from Moraes thus far. Stinging inside leg kick twice by Moraes. Henry is feeling those on both legs now. Body kick by Marlon. Fast, hard leg kick by Moraes once more. Dominant round for Moraes. 10-9 Moraes.
Round 2 - Good left hand by Cejudo at the end of a combination. Thudding leg kick by Moraes. Counter uppercut connects for Moraes, then Cejudo clips Marlon. Henry’s right leg is taking an absolute battering. Head kick just barely avoided by Cejudo, who misses an overhand right. Leg kick by Moraes... rinse and repeat. Cejudo lands a lead leg kick... then gets his leg kicked right back by Moraes. Leg kick momentarily drops Cejudo. Henry lands a good right hand and an uppercut. Another big right hand! Moraes is taking those shots but Henry has found some success. Cejudo eats an uppercut. Knee by Cejudo! Left hook by Moraes. Another knee by Cejudo. Moraes eats three, four straight huge knees! And a fifth! Now Marlon shoots for a takedown. Big shots being traded! What a round as Henry got hurt by a right hand just before the horn sounded. 19-19.
Round 3 - Cejudo coming out much more aggressively. Straight right connects for the flyweight champ. Knee in the clinch by Cejudo. Moraes exits the tie-up and lands a leg kick. Clubbing right by Moraes and now Cejudo has been poked in the eye. Fight resumes and they touch gloves. Head kick by Moraes, Cejudo goes for the takedown but can’t get it. Good combo and clinch knees by Cejudo. Short inside elbow by Moraes. Cejudo is dominating in the clinch and maintaining a fast pace. Henry with a front headlock. He’s going for a choke! Moraes fends it off but Cejudo slams home a big knee to the body. Marlon threatens an armbar but now he eats big hammerfists instead as Cejudo pounds away on top. Cejudo dropping down the hard elbows! Thirty seconds left and Moraes is in trouble. Big ground-and-pound by Cejudo! Moraes is hurt and exhausted! He’s not defending these shots! Punches and hammerfists aplenty and Marc Goddard stops it! Henry Cejudo is a double-champion!
Official result: Henry Cejudo def. Marlon Moraes by TKO (strikes) at 4:51 of round 3 to win the UFC men’s bantamweight title
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye
Round 1 - Brutal body kick by Shevchenko. And another one. And a third one. Eye blocks the next kick. Body lock takedown for Shevchenko. Too easy. The champion is in half-guard. Steps into side control and moves to full mount. Eye at least regains half-guard. Eye throwing punches from her back while Shevchenko bides her time. Crowd is already booing. There’s not much offense being produced and Eye is working her way back to her feet, but absorbing punches along the way. Another takedown for Shevchenko as she tosses Eye directly into side control. Crucifix position for Shevchenko as she rains down punches and now switches onto a kimura but Eye gets out of it. 10-8 Shevchenko. Eye had zero offense of note.
Round 2 - Wicked body kick again by Shevchenko. MASSIVE head kick ends Jessica Eye’s night! She is out cold! That’s one of the knockouts of the year.
Official result: Valentina Shevchenko def. Jessica Eye by KO (head kick) at :26 of round 2 to defend the UFC women’s flyweight title
Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone
Round 1 - Oh man. Here we go! They touch gloves. Leg kick by Cerrone. Head kick by Cowboy is blocked. Ferguson with his own kick to the chest. Cerrone sticks out the jab and misses the left. Ferguson lands a jab. Good body shot by Ferguson. Jab by Ferguson. Cerrone responds with his own jab. Right hook by Ferguson connects. Nice inside leg kick by Cerrone. Body kick by Ferguson. They both connect hard shots on each other! It’s a toe-to-toe war but Cerrone is getting the better of the exchanges. Elbow by Ferguson! Cerrone eats a counter jab. Two-punch combo by Cerrone. Ferguson lands a left hand. Tony has been switching stances. Dodges a head kick. Good left hand by Ferguson and a body kick. Sharp punches by Cerrone but a counter right by Ferguson. Spinning elbow misses for Tony, who is cut. Body kick by Ferguson. Cerrone with a body kick and a clinch but no takedown. Ferguson answers with his own body kick. Two jabs by Ferguson. Body punch by Cerrone, front kick to the body by Ferguson. Good left by Cerrone and Ferguson felt that! Big exchange by both men! What a great round! 10-9 Cerrone.
Round 2 - Immediate body kick by Ferguson. Hard left by Ferguson buckles Cerrone momentarily. Body kick and right hand by Tony! Uppercut and another punch and two body kicks and a left by Ferguson all land clean! Leg kick by Ferguson scores. Sneaky right hand by Ferguson but a sharp counter by Cerrone! Head kick by Ferguson and a right from Cerrone! Stinging jab by Ferguson! This is as good as advertised. Vicious left by Ferguson but Cerrone takes it. Cerrone’s nose is busted up. Head kick by Cerrone is blocked. Spinning elbow lands this time for Ferguson and a jab thuds home shortly thereafter! Cerrone is getting crushed with jabs. Cerrone charging back! Ferguson maintaining his composure. Spinning elbow leads to a takedown for Cerrone, but Ferguson scrambles up. Cerrone looks a little tired from the body blows and the jabs. Good right by Ferguson. Head kick by Cerrone grazes Ferguson. Great straight right by Ferguson. One minute left in the round. Another right lands! Body kick by Ferguson and a sharp inside elbow. Cerrone is getting busted up. And Ferguson lands a right after the horn! Not good. But he gets a hard warning and nothing more. 19-19.
Round 3 - There is no round 3. Cerrone’s eye is badly, horrendously swollen after blowing his nose. Fight over.
Official result: Tony Ferguson def. Donald Cerrone by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
Round 1 - Yan with a slapping leg kick. Rivera with a right. Rivera with a low kick. Yan with a left over the topy kick. He tr while Rivera lands a right. Low kick and body shot from Rivera. Inside leg kick from Rivera. Yan keeps missing with an overhand right. Rivera with an uppercut. Yan with a glancing knee up the middle. Rivera with another leg kick. So far this is kind of awkward. But Yan hasn’t done anything of note. He tries to take Rivera down but can’t. Yan with a body kick. Yan tried to grab a leg but Rivera scrambled away. Yan with a huge left that drops Rivera! He swarms but the round is over! WOW! 10-9 Yan.
Round 2 - Rivera looks okay and is jabbing.Yan lands the left again. Rivera with his own left, and a right. Outside leg kick wobbled Yan a bit. Rivera with a right. Yan’s leg might be compromised. Body shot from Yan. Right from Rivera. Body kick from Yan. Another. Rivera with a right over the top. Rivera with a combo. Rivera looking to wrestle but it’s not happening. Rivera with a left hook. Rivera with a leg kick again. Uppercuts score for Rivera. Head kick from Yan! Rivera took it well then. Rivera is cut from the kick. Yan with a knee against the cage. Yan drops him with a right! He’s trying to point him out but the horn saves Rivera again! 10-9 Yan.
Round 3 - Yan catches a leg but cant do anything with it. Now Rivera catches a kick and the same deal happens. Rivera is trying to wrestle but Yan is fighting him off. Body kick from Yan. An uppercut knocks a mouthpiece out so the ref steps in to put it back in. Yan with a right. Rivera with a left. Rivera with a clean right that lands hard. Body kick from Yan. Right over the top from Yan. Eye poke, but they get back to it quick. Yan misses with a head kick. Rivera with a combo off the break. They brawl to the horn. Yan with a quick takedown 10-9 Rivera, but 29-28 Yan.
Petr Yan defeated Jimmie Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Round 1 - Ivanov goes to the body. Tuivasa wades in but can’t land. Ivanov lands with a left to the body. Tuivasa with a hard straight right. They clinch against the fence. Short elbow from Tuivasa. Not much going on. Tuivasa misses with a spinning elow as he separates. Ivanov with a big right that drops Tuivasa! He’s up but Ivanov has his nec. Tuivasa gets out of it and lands a big right of his own! He holds Ivanov against the cage. Ivanov with a front headlock. Tuivasa pops his head out. Tuivasa with an elbow and they exchange in close. They separate. Tuivasa with a knee but he gets clipped coming in. Ivanov with a straight left. Big right as Tuivasa ands a leg kick. 1-2 from Tuivasa. Ivanov with a right. Two lefts from Ivanov! 10-9 Ivanov.
Round 2 - Low kick from Tuivasa. Another. Ivanov with a glancing right. Tuivasa with one of his own. Body/head puts Ivanov on wobbly legs! He’s trying to hold on. Inside leg kick from Tuivasa. Tuivasa with two rights. Left from Ivanov. Another. Big shots from both men. Right from Ivanov. Tuivasa swinging wildly, he might be tired. Leg kick from Tuivasa. Right from Tuivasa. Inside leg kick. Left from Ivanov. Left for Ivanov. They trade elbows. Big left scores again for Ivanov. Ivanov with a jab. Low kick from Tuivasa. Ivanov looking for the front headlock again. He had a guilotine but it was too late in the round. 10-9 Ivanov.
Round 3 - Jab from Tuivasa. Big left from Ivanov. Leg kick from Tuivasa. Ivanov with one as well. Tuivasa with a much harder one. Tuivasa with a right. Ivanov appeared to land low but the ref missed it. Ivanov looking for that guillotine again. He drags Tuivasa down briefly. Nothing there though. Knee from Tuivasa. They’re just holding in the clinch. Few punches from Ivanov. Tuivasa with a hard right inside. Back to the guillotine. Knee from Ivanov. And again. Another. Tuivasa gets his head out. Tuivasa wit ha right. 90 seconds to go. Leg kick from Tuivasa. Another. Big right is blocked. Left from Ivanov. Another. Ivanov checks a kick. They’re just landing one punch at a time, but they’re heavy. Right from Ivanov. They throw down with 10 seconds to go. 10-9 and 30-27 Ivanov.
Blagoy Ivanov defeated Tai Tuivasa via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
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