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Check out the fight card and bout order for UFC Columbus.

The final UFC event of March is the first US-based Fight Night outside of Las Vegas since February 2020. Fans in Columbus, Ohio will be treated to a very compelling card on March 26th. The original main event was Jan Blachowicz against Aleksandar Rakic, but that bout has been postponed and now we get heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus as the new headlining act.

Co-main event action comes from the women’s flyweight division between former strawweight contenders Joanne Wood and Alexa Grasso. On the men’s flyweight side, Askar Askarov against Kai Kara-France has immediate title implications for both men and it feels like it should be a five-rounder and not a three-rounder. Ohio’s Matt Brown returns to action against fellow fan favorite Bryan Barberena, Ilir Latifi heads back into the cage for a showdown with heavyweight submission specialist Aleksei Oleinik, and if we’re lucky someone will step in on short notice to take on featherweight prospect David Onama.

Here’s the lineup for Saturday’s show:

Main Card (10 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN+)

Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus

Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso

Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France

Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena

Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik

TBD vs. David Onama

Preliminary Card (7 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN+)

Jennifer Maia vs. Manon Fiorot

Neil Magny vs. Max Griffin

Marc Diakiese vs. Viacheslav Borschev

Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa

Chris Gutierrez vs.

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Anthony Smith reflects on what went wrong for Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272.

Anthony Smith doesn’t think Jorge Masvidal did himself any favors in the leadup to UFC 272.

Masvidal, the UFC BMF champ, dropped a lopsided decision loss to former teammate turned rival Colby Covington in the main event, failing to deliver on his promise to send ‘Chaos’ back to the prelims.

Things got personal between Masvidal and Covington before the fight, and Smith believes all the pre-fight drama took its toll on ‘Gamebred’ and played a major role in his defeat.

‘Lionheart’ is empathetic towards Masvidal but says his ‘hate and rage’ for Covington ultimately cost him the fight.

“I could tell all week that there was something off,” Smith told UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping during a recent episode of Believe You Me (h/t MMA News). “But I thought that it was just a big fight, he hates him or whatever. But there was something off all week and I couldn’t put my finger on it. So I didn’t talk about it on the pre-fight show all week long because I couldn’t really figure out what it was.”

“But I figured it out afterward after seeing him fight,” Smith continued. “He talked about being flat, but I think he was so mentally and emotionally exhausted from his absolute hate and rage. That kind of anger and hate, even if you’re holding it in and you’re not letting it come out in your fight style, that’s so much stress. And it’s exhausting, it’s mentally and emotionally exhausting, and that’s always gonna kinda transfer to your fight style and to your own conditioning. I think he hated him too much.”

Masvidal, a two-time UFC title challenger, fell to #7 in the welterweight rankings following the fight but is still considered one of the most entertaining fighters in the division.

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Ilia Topuria continues to push for a fight against UFC rising star Paddy Pimblett.

Even after his sensational knockout win over Jai Herbert on Saturday in his lightweight debut at UFC London, Ilia Topuria’s focus remained on Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett. The two men had a physical altercation during fight week, stemming from Pimblett’s unflattering comments about Georgian people.

The number-15 ranked featherweight is aching to settle the score with the UFC’s rising star. During his post-fight media scrum, Topuria once again pushed for a fight with Pimblett. This time, he’s saying weight classes don’t matter.

“With Paddy, I don’t give a f—k about any weight class,” Topuria told the media. “Even if he wanna come and don’t make the weight, I’m gonna fight him. I don’t care about the weight with Paddy.”

The 27-year-old Pimblett already rejected the Topuria fight by taking a page out of Sean O’Malley’s book. But for Topuria, the tides can change if push comes to shove.

“Maybe if Dana stay with him, like, with a gun, maybe yes (the fight could happen),” he said. “And they force him to go inside the cage with me, maybe.

“Otherwise, I don’t think so. I don’t think he has the balls to fight me.”

With the win over Herbert, the 25-year-old Topuria improves his record to 12-0. Three of his last four wins have now ended by knockout, two of which ended in the first round.

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See what happened when Bjornsson and Hall finally met in the ring. 

The feud between two of the strongest men in the world is over — for now.

Thor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall were featured in a six-round amateur boxing match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night that was billed as the ‘heaviest boxing match in history’ in reference to their background in strongman competitions. Both men have earned the title of ‘World’s Strongest Man’ in recent years, with Hall edging out Bjornsson for it in the 2017 finals. The five-year rivalry began from there, and culminated in the highly anticipated showdown.

Hall was aggressive in the first round, connecting with a series of wild punches that found their target. Bjornsson remained composed and returned fire with left hands, one of which opened up a cut on the right eye of Hall. The second round saw Hall stun Bjornsson with a stiff right hand that saw his opponent stumble into the ropes. Bjornsson recovered and went to work with his jab. A brief exchange left Bjornsson on the canvas again, but that was ruled a push by the referee.

Bjornsson took over in the final four rounds, knocking down Hall three times before going to the judges’ scorecards. The 33-year-old was declared the winner by unanimous decision (57-54 x3) and awarded a ‘Titan Championship’ for his efforts.

Highlights of Bjornsson vs. Hall can be seen below:

When asked if he believed the feud between him and Hall was now over, Bjornsson said it was on his end, but did not shy away from a rematch in the future.

“On my behalf [it is over], understandably he seemed a bit angry still,” said Bjornsson. “He lost the fight, so that’s a bit understandable. There’s a lot of feelings going on right now. I’ve been there. But I’m happy. If he wants a rematch, I’ll take a rematch. No problem.”

Bjornsson, better known as ‘The Mountain’ for his role on the critically acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones, improved to 2-0-2 as an amateur. A replay of the boxing match is available on Segi TV.

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Pimblett has shut down the idea of a fight with Topuria after their altercation at UFC London. 

Ilia Topuria may have unfinished business with Paddy Pimblett, but the Scouser has shut down the idea of them sharing the Octagon anytime soon.

Both men were involved in an altercation on Tuesday after Topuria confronted Pimblett over past comments he made on social media regarding the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, which the Georgian experienced firsthand. ‘El Matador’ ran into and swung at ‘The Baddy’, who threw a bottle of hand sanitizer in return before they were separated.

Because of the bad blood and now-viral quarrel, a potential fight between Topuria and Pimblett was even more appealing, especially if they earned wins at UFC London on Saturday night. And they did, with Topuria starching Jai Herbert and Pimblett submitting Kazula Vargas. To the surprise of no one, Topuria used his time on the microphone to challenge ‘that blonde b—h’ to a fight, but Pimblett was left unimpressed and uninterested.

“Everyone wants to fight me,” said Pimblett during his post-fight press conference (video provided by MMA Fighting). “Everyone wants to hang on my coattails. No one knew who Ilia Topuria — or ‘hand sanitizer boy’ — was until he tried to start an altercation with me. No one knew who he was. I’m the draw. Everyone wants to fight me.”

Despite ruling out Topuria as an opponent, Pimblett did give him credit for his knockout. Having said that, the 27-year-old warned that if he connected with that near fight-ending kick Herbert did, Topuria would have been done for.

“I’ll give him his due, it was a good knockout,” said Pimblett. “It was a very good knockout, especially after taking that head kick in the first round. But if I hit him with that head kick, I would finish him. But as I say, he’s just ‘hand sanitizer boy’ to me. A lion doesn’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep.”

With two impressive wins under his belt, Pimblett will look to build on his momentum, but does not want to rush his ascension up the lightweight ranks just yet. When asked if he would accept a fight against a top ranked opponent next, Pimblett gave an honest answer: no. However, that could change if he gets a new, lucrative contract.

“I wouldn’t take a top 15 fight,” said Pimblett. “I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t. Add some more zeroes to my contract and then I will. I think I proved tonight that I deserve a new contract. Not this little standard one.”

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“Mr. Tai Tuivasa, next time you come to the U.K. Let’s do it. I’m ready for you.”

England’s Tom Aspinall has his sights set on a heavyweight showdown against Tai Tuivasa following his submission victory over Alexander Volkov in last night’s UFC London main event.

Aspinall, who got the better of Volkov both standing and on the ground, called out Australian fan-favorite Tuivasa in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

“I’ve been telling everybody all week I’m born for this!” an ecstatic Aspinall said following his first-round thrashing of Volkov (h/t MMA Fighting). “The secret is self-belief. I believe in myself. I believe in myself because of everybody around me.”

“We drink beer in the U.K., not just in Australia,” he added. “Mr. Tai Tuivasa, next time you come to the U.K. Let’s do it. I’m ready for you.”

Tuivasa, 29, is one of the most entertaining brawlers in the division, but ‘Bam Bam’ is perhaps most well known — and liked — for his post-fight ‘shoey’ celebration, where the Aussie chugs a beer from a shoe to celebrate his victories.

Aspinall, who likes a pint of beer or two himself, admitted to being a ‘shoey virgin’ at the UFC Fight Night 204 post-fight press conference but is open to a shoey faceoff with Tuivasa in the future.

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Kamaru Usman says he would dominate Conor McGregor in the Octagon.

Conor McGregor vs. Kamaru Usman, anyone?

Not a chance, says UFC welterweight champ Usman.

McGregor, who has put on some serious muscle mass over the past few months, doesn’t see himself fighting at 155 pounds again and has called for a welterweight title shot in his comeback fight.

“I believe myself vs. Usman for the 170-pound title for my comeback fight is the one I’m eyeballing at the minute,” McGregor told The Mac Life on St. Patrick’s Day.

Usman finds it hilarious that McGregor, who used to compete at featherweight, believes he would even stand a chance against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ let alone KO him.

Usman, 34, laughed off McGregor’s claims and joked that he would probably be charged with murder after disposing of ‘The Notorious’ in the Octagon.

“You guys want a murder scene in the octagon #p4p ,” Usman, the reigning UFC welterweight champ, wrote.

“He said he’s gonna do what???? ”

Usman is coming off a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Colby Covington in a championship bout that marked the Nigerian’s fifth defense of the welterweight title and second title victory over Covington.

McGregor, on the other hand, plummeted to #9 in the UFC lightweight rankings following his stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The fight was stopped after McGregor broke his leg in the first round, but the Irishman expects to return to the Octagon stronger than ever, predicting an easy knockout victory against Usman.

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Check out the full fight video highlights of Arnold Allen stopping Dan Hooker with strikes from the UFC London co-main event.

The co-main event of UFC London didn’t last very long. The UFC’s #7 ranked featherweight, Arnold Allen, scored himself a first-round standing TKO on the #8 ranked lightweight, Dan Hooker, to extend his winning streak to eleven.

Allen started swinging right away with combinations, and Hooker was getting tagged up. Hooker was rocked by those punches and started to back himself up to the cage. Under duress, Hooker managed to connect with a blow that dropped Allen to one knee. From there, Allen quickly recovered, and returned to throwing punches in bunches.

Once Arnold wobbled Hooker again, he didn’t let him off the hook. He kept pouring on the punishment, switching back and forth from punches, to elbows, and then back to punches. There were even a few knees thrown in there. This is as aggressive as Allen has ever looked, and he did it against a big name opponent.

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Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC London: Volkov vs. Aspinall

The O2 Arena in London, England was home to a great evening of fights at UFC London: Volkov vs. Aspinall. The card saw four (T)KOs, five submissions and three decisions, including one split-decision.

POTN: EVERY FINISH ON THE CARD RECEIVED A BONUS (per Brett Okamoto and the bonuses WILL be for the full $ 50K)

FOTN: NONE

The early portion of the event opened with a sensational performance from Muhammad Mokaev when he defeated Cody Durden by guillotine choke inside the first minute. What a way to kick off the card and what a way to introduce yourself to UFC fans. That was followed by Elise Reed taking a hard-fought split-decision win over Cory McKenna. Timur Valiev would go home winless after Jack Shore took the unanimous decision, extending his pristine record to 16-0. Nikita Krylov had Paul Craig in serious trouble early in round one, but as he’s proven in the past, Paul is very adept at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Krylov succumbed to a triangle choke, becoming the eighth man to fall into this particular trap of Craig’s. Sergei Pavlovich would be the man to notch the first knockout of the night when he finished Shamil Abdurakhimov in the first round. Makwan Amirkhani broke a three-fight losing streak when he secured an anaconda choke on Mike Grundy, handing the Englishman his third, straight loss to close out the prelims.

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 1:30 PM ET)

• Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Grundy by technical submission (anaconda choke) at :57 of round 1
• Sergei Pavlovich def. Shamil Abdurakhimov by TKO (punches) at 4:03 of round 1
• Paul Craig def. Nikita Krylov by submission (triangle choke) at 3:57 of round 1
• Jack Shore def. Timur Valiev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
• Elise Reed def. Cory McKenna by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Muhammad Mokaev def. Cody Durden by submission (guillotine choke) at :58 of round 1

The main card opened with an action-packed fight between Ilia Topuria and Jai Herbert that saw Topuria in trouble early but he managed to turn it around in the second round when he put Herbert away with a series of ferocious punches. Molly McCann, not to be outdone, started off her fight with Luana Carolina like a house afire, lighting the Brazilian up with big punches. By round three, Carolina was doing much better but McCann had one last ace up her sleeve, a massive elbow that stopped Luana cold. MEATBALL! Gunnar Nelson looked none the worse for wear after a two-plus-year absence from action. He and Takashi Sato went toe-to-toe but it would be Gunna enjoying the control on the ground, and there was lots of it. He would take the lopsided unanimous decision easily. Paddy Pimblett survived a big shot and a couple minutes of control on the ground by Kazula Vargas, but managed to reverse his fortunes when he regained his footing, got into a more advantageous position to score his own takedown and then get a rear-naked choke sunk in, forcing the tap.

The co-main event saw Dan Hooker’s return to the division unsuccessful as Arnold Allen entered the cage with exactly one directive: Get this fight over as soon as possible. He did just that, silencing the “but he doesn’t have fun fights” crowd with a big TKO win via a barrage of punches. Please go back to 155, Dan.

The main event was all Tom Aspinall. He quickly got Volkov down, controlled him, and got the armbar easily. The changing of the heavyweight guard is well under way. What a way to end an absolutely stellar card.

Main Card (ESPN+, 4 PM ET)

• Tom Aspinall def. Alexander Volkov by submission (straight armbar) 3:45 of round 1
• Arnold Allen def. Dan Hooker by TKO (punches) 2:33 of round 1
• Paddy Pimblett def. Kazula Vargas by rear-naked choke 3:49 of round 1
• Gunnar Nelson def. Takashi Sato by unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
• Molly McCann def. Luana Carolina by KO (spinning elbow) 1:52 of round 3
• Ilian Topuria def. Jai Herbert by KO (punches) 1:07 of round 2

Announced Gate: $ 4.5M (highest gate in O2 Arena history and in UFC Fight Night history)

Announced Attendance: 17,081

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On the UFC London prelims, Paul Craig hit another flash submission with a triangle choke on Nikita Krylov, and Muhammad Mokaev tapped out Cody Durden in less than a minute.

The UFC London prelims are in the book and the matchups involved all sorts of submissions, including a cool club and sub, a flash submission, and one of the technical persuasion! The tech sub is actually what closed out this part of the card, when Makwan Amirkhani put Mike Grundy in 57-seconds with an anaconda choke. This was a massive win for Amirkhani as it breaks up a three-fight losing slump.

After being on the sideline since October of 2019, Sergei Pavlovich just made his return to competition to stop the UFC’s #10 ranked heavyweight, Shamil Abdurakhimov, with strikes in the first round. It was a massive right hand that sat down Shamil, and then a barrage of ground strikes forced the referee to step in and stop the contest. Aside from dropping his UFC to Alistair Overeem in 2018, Pavlovich has been perfect, plus all-twelve of his finishes have occurred in the very first-round.

The UFC’s #11 ranked light heavyweight, Paul Craig, ate some hard ground strikes before flash subbing the #9 ranked, Nikita Krylov, with a triangle in the opening round. It looked like Krylov was just moments away from scoring a knockout at one point, but the flash submission ability of Paul reared its ugly head yet again. Craig’s six-fight unbeaten continues on, and in his post-fight interview, he called for a five-round match with Anthony Smith in Glasgow.

Jack Shore took a tough unanimous nod over Timur Valiev. This was quite the thriller, with the grappling exchanges almost dead even, but the difference being in the standup. Valiev threw a bit of volume, but Shore scored a couple of knockdowns to help him maintain him unblemished record and move to 16-0.

Elise Reed picked up her first UFC victory by out-boxing Cory McKenna to take a split decision. One judge somehow gave McKenna a questionable scorecard of 30-27, but it felt like the right person won the fight. Reed is back in the win column and advances get record to 5-1.

The UFC London event opened up in style when promotional newcomer Muhammad Mokaev club and subbed Cody Durden in just 58-seconds. Mokaev connected with a flying knee that dropped Durden, and then wrapped up the neck until he got the finish. At just 21-years-old, Mokaev extends his young record to 6-0-1.

**See complete results below

Prelims:

Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Grundy by technical submission (Anaconda) at :57 of round 1: Featherweight

Grundy shot in right away to get things going, but Amirkhani instantly attacked the neck. Makwan was able to lock up an anaconda choke, and made all of the proper adjustments to finish the hold. He didn’t get a tap because Grundy went to sleep. Eek!

Sergei Pavlovich def. Shamil Abdurakhimov by TKO at 4:03 of round: Heavyweight

The heavyweights met in the middle and began exchanging combos. Pavlovich seemed to be the crisper puncher out there, catching Abdurakhimov off guard multiple times. A huge right hand connected for Pavlovich that sat down Abdurakhimov, and then the followup ground and pound sealed the deal. Abdurakhimov protested the stoppage, but covering up wasn’t enough defense for the ref to allow the beating continue.

Paul Craig def. Nikita Krylov by submission (Triangle) at 3:57 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Krylov came out and closed the distance behind his punches. It wasn’t long before he was on top in the half guard of Craig. Several flush punches landed from the top, some of which seemed to badly daze Craig, albeit briefly. Then out of nowhere, Craig aggressively threw up a triangle before Krylov knew what hit him. A few seconds later and Krylov was tapping!

Jack Shore def. Timur Valiev by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 29-27): Bantamweight

Shore put Valiev on his heels right away, forcing Timur to fight at his pace. As Valiev would crash in with his combos, Shore would try and cut him off with a counter. Valiev punched through a kick to get on top, but Shore immediately used his butterfly hooks and double unders to stand up. Shore was doing the better work with his hands, while Valiev was doing better with the leg kicks.

Shore came out and blasted a takedown to begin the second round, but Valiev stood right back up. Valiev then hit a takedown of his own, and was able to keep it for a little bit. Shore found a way to use the cage to get up and free himself, and the striking continued. The volume was flying for Valiev, but it seemed like Shore had the power advantage. The fight drifted into the clinch, and then the bantamweights jockeyed back and forth for position until the bell.

Shore sat down Valiev with a smooth one-two to open up the final round. Valiev recovered and fought his way back to his feet, and back to throwing his combinations. Shore shot in but found himself caught in a guillotine attempt, After patiently waiting it out, Shore was able to escape, but couldn’t do anything with the position before Valiev stood back up. They went back to banging it out, with Shore dropping Valiev with a nasty left hook behind a cross-hook. Valiev again recovered, but Shore hit a takedown to get back on top. The round ended with Valiev attacking with an armbar, but getting elbowed in the face by Shore at the same time.

Elise Reed def. Cory McKenna by split decision (29-28 x2, 27-30-27, 28-29): Strawweight

Reed opened up with a series of quick right hands. McKenna came back with some rights of her own, but Reed was landing with a bit more gusto. McKenna shifted gears and closed the distance, pining Reed against the cage. She then hit a takedown, and landed a few blows before Reed got back to her feet.

Reed returned to landing her right hand to begin the second act. The punches of Reed were much quicker than McKenna’s, so Elise was the one landing first and moving away before McKenna could land more than one at a time. McKenna did hit a takedown in the final 10-seconds of the round, but Reed scrambled up and landed two more punches before the bell.

McKenna got her takedown much earlier in the final round. She got on top and started to land some ground and pound, but Reed was able to tie her up to slow down the assault. Reed worked to get back up to her feet, and landed a big right hand that caused McKenna to stumble. McKenna tried for another last second takedown, but Reed was able to remain vertical this time.

Muhammad Mokaev def. Cody Durden by submission (Guillotine) at :58 of round 1: Flyweight

Mokaev struck first here, dropping Durden with a gorgeous flying knee. He then grabbed ahold of a guillotine, and after maintaining the grip on the neck while being slammed, Durden was tapping out. Well then!

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