Tag: Brad Tavares

UFC 292 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play from UFC 292 in Boston with Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley and Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos title fights.

BOSTON – UFC 292 took place at TD Garden. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) took on challenger Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC). Sterling holds the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses at 135 pounds. In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ Zhang Weili (24-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) met challenger Amanda Lemos (13-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the first test of her second reign as titleholder.

In addition, former middleweight champ Chris Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned from more than two years out after a severe broken leg in 2021. He took on Brad Tavares (20-9 MMA, 15-8 UFC) in a featured bout on the prelims. Plus, two new “Ultimate Fighter” winners will be crowned on the prelims.

UFC 292 results: Brad Tavares targets legs, spoils Chris Weidman’s return from injury by decision

Brad Tavares tested the surgically repaired leg of Chris Weidman while stuffing takedowns to sweep the scorecards at UFC 292.

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] returned to action for the first time since April 2021, but [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] played the role of spoiler in the former UFC middleweight champion’s return from a nasty leg injury.

The middleweight bout closed out the UFC 292 preliminary card at TD Garden in Boston, and the crowd was anxious for a feel-good moment for Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC). However, Tavares (20-9 MMA, 15-8 UFC) was hungry for a win as well, an ultimately got what he wanted after 15 minutes, earning unanimous 30-27 scores from the official judges.

As the fighters studied the distance in the opening seconds, the Boston crowd began chanting, “Let’s go Weidman.” An early takedown attempt from the former champion was stuffed, and Tavares landed a clean combination a moment later. Weidman continued to hunt for the takedown, but it wasn’t there for him. After a hard low blow from Tavares paused the fight momentarily, the remainder of the round was spent on the feet, where Tavares landed cleaner punches and leg kicks.

Tavares’ striking early in the second caused Weidman to limp severely on his damaged legs. For a moment, it appeared the fight may have been close to a stoppage, but Weidman was able to gather himself and return fire.

Weidman caught Tavares with a hard punch that buckled him momentarily. It seemed a fire was lit under Weidman, as he began marching forward, but his momentum was halted when he landed a low blow.

When the action resumed, Weidman continued to press the action, looking for takedowns and head kicks that Tavares was able to defend.

Unfortunately, a low blow from Tavares landed again in the first minute of the third round as both fighters threw kicks at the same time. After a short pause, Tavares began attacking the legs of Weidman with hard kicks, causing him to limp for a moment. Tavares charged forward with punches, but Weidman was able to regain composure and start moving forward himself. The former champ kept a good poker face for the remainder of the fight, as Tavares targeted the leg and got the better of the final exchanges.

Tavares returns to the win column, snapping a two-fight skid. Prior to his setbacks against Dricus Du Plessis and Bruno Silva, Tavares picked up a pair of decision wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and Omari Akhmedov.

The result of the fight marks two consecutive losses for Weidman. He broke his leg in the first round against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, prompting a lengthy recovery and multiple surgeries. The former champ’s last win was a unanimous decision nod over Omari Akhmedov in August 2020.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 292 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Brad Tavares def. Chris Weidman at UFC 292: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Brad Tavares’ unanimous decision win over Chris Weidman at UFC 292 at TD Garden in Boston.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]’ unanimous decision win over [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] at UFC 292 at TD Garden in Boston. (Photos by Bob DeChiara, USA TODAY Sports; MMA Junkie; and UFC)

Photos: UFC 292 official weigh-ins

Check out the best photos from the UFC 292 official weigh-ins including Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley and more.

Check out these photos of the UFC 292 official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel in Boston. (Photos by Nolan King, MMA Junkie)

UFC 292 press conference faceoffs: Neil Magny vs. Ian Machado Garry gets personal

Check out the UFC 292 news conference faceoffs including the two title fights and Ian Garry vs. Neil Magny.

BOSTON – The UFC 292 pre-fight news conference took place Thursday at TD Garden, the same venue that hosts Saturday’s event.

Before the faceoffs of the co-main event strawweight title fight of champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] vs. challenger [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag], and the main event bantamweight title fight of [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], the fighters from the other main card fights and the featured prelim came face-to-face.

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Among them, was brash Irish prospect [autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag], who remained intense with seasoned UFC veteran [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]. Bantamweight fighters [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] and [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] squared off after contenders [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] and [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag].

The featured prelim, a middleweight bout between [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] and [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] provided a respectful and laid-back faceoff.

Check out the UFC 292 news conference faceoffs in the video and photo gallery above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

UFC 292 pre-event facts: Do Aljamain Sterling’s stats confirm bantamweight GOAT status?

The best facts about UFC 292, which sees Aljamain Sterling bring a potentially GOAT-worthy resume into his title defense vs. Sean O’Malley.

The UFC returns to Boston for the seventh time in company history and the first time in nearly four years on Saturday with UFC 292, which takes place at TD Garden and has a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

A championship doubleheader takes center stage on the card. In the main event, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will seek his fourth consecutive bantamweight title defense when he takes on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), while the co-main event sees strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) look for the first defense of her second title reign against dangerous Brazilian challenger [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

For the numbers behind both title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 292.

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Video: UFC 292 ‘Countdown’ for Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman

Did you miss the debut of UFC 292 “Countdown” or just want to watch it again? Check out the featured bout preview now.

Did you miss the debut of UFC 292 “Countdown” or just want to watch it again? Check out the featured bout preview now.

The segment takes a special look at the middleweight fight between [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] (19-9 MMA, 14-8 UFC) and former champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC), who will make his return after an April 2021 broken leg.

UFC 292 takes place Saturday at TD Garden in Boston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

“Countdown” goes behind the scenes with the two fighters, and you can watch the full segment above. And don’t miss the entire episode in the video below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 5-11)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from June 5-11.

Former UFC champion Chris Weidman booked to return against Brad Tavares at UFC 292

Former UFC champ Chris Weidman is set to step back in the cage for the first time since his nasty leg break.

Finally, [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] will make his long-awaited return to the UFC.

The former UFC middleweight champion has been booked to take on veteran [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 at the TD Garden in Boston. The news was confirmed by MMA Junkie through sources, following an initial report by Newsday on Monday.

This pay-per-view event is headlined by two title fights: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight title in the main event, and Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos for the UFC women’s strawweight title in the co-main.

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Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) hasn’t competed since a nasty leg break back in April 2021 in a TKO loss to Uriah Hall. The 38-year-old has been recovering since, and he recently competed in a grappling match at Polaris 23 in March, losing by unanimous decision. Weidman is 2-5 since losing the UFC 185-pound title to Luke Rockhold in 2015.

Tavares (19-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) is coming off a TKO loss to Brazil’s Bruno Silva this past April at UFC Fight Night 222. He’s currently on a two-fight losing streak and 2-4 in his past six trips to the octagon.

With the addition, the current UFC 292 lineup includes:

  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley – for bantamweight title
  • Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos – for women’s strawweight title
  • Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
  • Mario Bautista vs. Cody Garbrandt
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Andre Petroski

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

UFC Fight Night 222 post-event facts: Sergei Pavlovich makes history with first-round KO streak

Sergei Pavlovich is firmly in the UFC record books after extending his first-round KO streak against Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 222.

The octagon was back in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 222, and a new heavyweight contender emerged from the main event.

[autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) made history when he recorded a modern company record sixth consecutive first-round knockout, this time against his most decorated opponent to date in fellow contender [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC).

Pavlovich has put his mark on the record books of the promotion, and for more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 222.