UFC 277 LIVE: Nunes vs Pena stream, latest updates and results tonight
Re-live updates and see all results from the event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
Amanda Nunes restored her status as a dual-weight UFC champion on Saturday night, dominating Julianna Pena to regain the women’s bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 277.
Pena submitted Nunes in December to win the belt from the Brazilian, who also holds the UFC women’s featherweight title, in what is seen as one of the biggest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts. Nunes, however, put things right as far as she was concerned on Saturday, dominating a brave, resilient Pena to secure a unanimous-decision victory (50-45, 50-44, 50-43) over the American and recapture the bantamweight gold.
Nunes, fighting out of a southpaw stance at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, dropped 32-year-old Pena to a knee twice in the first round, before scoring three knockdowns in Round 2. The second of those three was the most significant, Nunes clipping Pena with a powerful lead right hook from southpaw and sending her tumbling to the canvas. The remainder of the five-round fight saw Nunes, 34, take down Pena with ease and land heavy strikes from above – particularly slicing elbows that opened a severe cut along Pena’s hairline – while the American tried to throw up submissions in response.
Re-live updates and see all results from UFC 277, below.
UFC 277 LIVE
Next up is Don’Tale Mayes vs Hamdy Abdelwahab at heavyweight.
UFC 277 LIVE
That third round, and fight therefore, could have gone either way – but that felt a fair result.
Klose proceeds to call out Tony Ferguson.
UFC 277 LIVE
Drakkar Klose def. Rafa Garcia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
UFC 277 LIVE
Klose vs Garcia – Round 3
We are probably looking at one round apiece. Klose comes forward once again, switching stances still.
Garcia with another double-leg takedown attempt... and he’s successful, getting Klose to the fence and down against the cage wall. Klose bounces back up, however, and moves into space.
The pair engage in a Thai clinch and trade hooks to the body and uppercuts to the head. Klose gets off the better strikes as the lightweights separate, but Garcia is still throwing back with a decent amount of accuracy.
Klose swings a heavy leg kick into the body of Garcia, who tries for a takedown in response but is denied. Klose goes for a takedown himself, but this time Garcia defends.
We’ll go to the judges’ scorecards.
UFC 277 LIVE
Klose vs Garcia – Round 2
Klose just about connects with a right hand as he closes distance to Garcia, who then defends a takedown attempt well.
The pair move back into the open, with Garcia now on the front foot for the first time tonight. Klose stands southpaw, and both men throw plenty of feints.
Garcia ducks under a hook and drives a double-leg takedown! Perfectly executed. He moves into half-guard and tries to get off some strikes. The referee deems that Garcia isn’t doing enough with the position, however, and stands up both fighters.
Klose comes forward with a flurry of punches, with a right hand appearing to trouble Garcia, who tries for a takedown late in the round to stem the tide. He’s not quite successful with it, but he makes it to the buzzer.
UFC 277 LIVE
Klose vs Garcia – Round 1
Klose presses forward early on. Garcia tries to fend him off with an overhand right, but Klose defends well against it.
Again Garcia misses with an overhand right, and he’s grazed by a counter uppercut from Klose. Harsh outside low kick from Klose; it lands high.
Klose keeps coming forward, switching stances all the while. He tries for a takedown against the fence, but Garcia is able to create space, landing an elbow off the break.
Klose closes the distance and gets a body lock, swiftly taking the back and wrapping up one of Garcia’s legs. Klose secures the takedown, but Garcia is quickly back up to his feet. Klose trips Garcia, though, to get him down again.
Some solid punches here from Klose, who still has the back.
UFC 277 LIVE
While we wait for the next fight, here’s some light reading: our exclusive interview with Julianna Pena from December, just before she took the women’s bantamweight title from Amanda Nunes.
The pair rematch tonight in the UFC 277 main event, as featherweight title holder Nunes looks to become a dual-weight champion once more.
Julianna Pena: ‘I’m not Nostradamus, but I predict a win against Amanda Nunes’
Exclusive interview: At UFC 269, bantamweight Pena challenges the consensus greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time
UFC 277 LIVE
And with that, it’s time to move from the early prelims to the standard prelims!
From first to last in time order, they look like this:
Rafa Garcia vs Drakkar Klose (lightweight)
Don’Tale Mayes vs Hamdy Abdelwahab (heavyweight)
Drew Dober vs Rafael Alves (lightweight)
Alex Morono vs Matthew Semelsberger (welterweight)
We’ll be providing round-by-round updates.
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