![]() ![]() Baghdasaryan misses on a high kick, then lands on a high kick. Baghdasaryan lands a punch and Souza stumbles, though it may have been the result of a slip rather than damage. Baghdasaryan is warned about a fence grab. They’re still clinched, though, and Baghdasaryan turns him around. Baghdasaryan defends and knees Souza to the body. He’s pushing Baghdasaryan against the fence. Baghdasaryan responds with a kick of his own. Tap-tap Souza touches Baghdasaryan’s body with two short body kicks. Anyway, Baghdasaryan is moving forward with Souza rotating around him. He’s nothing throwing much while on the retreat – much like his mentor Lyoto Machida. Bruno Souza, who missed weight yesterday, has a very wide stance. Melsik Baghdasaryan lands the first leg kick – and the second one. Both fighters come out in karate stances. Judging: Dave Tirelli, Derek Cleary, Eric Colon (29-28, scoring Round 3 for Vergara) Records: Ode Osbourne (10-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC), CJ Vergara (9-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) The round, and the fight, ends with Vergara on top. Osbourne tries to cage-walk but Vergara advances to half guard. Vergara is throwing some ground-and-pound but nothing is really landing. Vergara looks to move to half guard but Osbourne has a very tightly closed guard. It’s anyone’s moment but Vergara capitalizes it by scrambling and landing on top. The two fighters tie up and tumble to the mat. Three minutes left on the clock and Vergara is still pushing, though exhausted. They tie up again and Osbourne lands a sneaky punch in the clinch. Vergara ties him up but Osbourne circles him around and separates. Vergara looks like the fresher fighter but Osbourne is still landing at a solid clip. Vergara easily avoids and misses on a bunch of punch attempts. Vergara gets up and Osbourne shoots for a double leg. ![]() Vergara runs right at him and lands three or four knees to the body in an impromptu plum clinch. Vergara lands a right hand and eats a big counter. He rips a body kick and eats a right jab. He’s fighting with a sense of urgency here. Osbourne finishes the round on Vergara’s back. A hard head kick from Vergara hits the mark, but Osbourne catches the kick and takes him down. Vitor Belfort, but he’s missed by a wide margin on all of his attempts. Vergara keeps looking for a front kick a la Anderson Silva vs. Osbourne looked hurt for half a second but they reset. They trade in the pocket and Vergara wins that exchange. Vergara throws, misses, and is tagged by an Osbourne punch. Osbourne connects on a short, punching combination. New York crowd is still tough after all these months off. A couple of boos drift down from the rafters. Round 2 – The fighters trade and Vergara lands a left hand. Vergara connects on a high kick, then a left hand to close out the round. Vergara keeps his balance and slips his leg out. Osbourne catches Vergara’s kick and walks his opponent back to the cage. After a lot of misses from both guys, Vergara has found his range. One body kick lands by Osbourne, then another. Vergara drops back and Osbourne doesn’t even touch him. A audible left hand glances Osbourne’s head but he doesn’t seem worse for the wear. Osbourne winds up and just misses with a flying knee. This is the second straight fight Ode Osbourne has fought someone heavier than they should be. Remember, CJ Vergara missed weight for this one. People are trickling in for the first of 14 fights. Round 1 – Bruce Buffer is back, as is Joe Rogan. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporters John Morgan ( and Mike Bohn ( on Twitter. To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC 268 discussion thread. In addition, former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) too on ex-UFC interim champ Justin Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a bout that will keep the winner in title contention In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ Rose Namajunas (11-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) put her belt up against Zhang Weili (21-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), whom she knocked out to win the title. ![]() Usman won their first fight with a fifth-round TKO. In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) put his title on the line in a rematch against Colby Covington (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC). The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+. UFC 268 took place at Madison Square Garden in New York. LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene at Saturday’s UFC 268 event. ![]()
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