UFC 254 play-by-play and live results

Round 1 – The morning fights are underway. Alvarez comes out with a leg kick. Both fighters are tentative early, feeling one another out. Yakovlev shoots for a takedown and Alvarez drops for a guillotine. Yakovlev looks like his head is slipping out but Alvarez is cranking. He’s squeezing so hard he’s physically shaking. I’m not sure that’s a smart move. He could gas himself. Yakovlev pops his head out and is in Alvarez’s guard. Yakovlev lands some short punches. Alvarez shoots up for an armbar. He has a good grip. Yakovlev is reacting like he’s in trouble. He’s sitting back. Alvarez is almost on top of him now, still cranking. There’s the tap! Another first-round submission for Joel Alvarez.

Result: Joel Alvarez def. Alexander Yakovlev via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:00
Records: Joel Alvarez (18-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), Alexander Yakovlev (25-11-1 MMA, 3-6 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Jason Herzog

Round 1 – The fighters come out and exchange right away. Both women are in orthodox stances. Jojua lands a good right hand counter – and again. She’s looking sharp early. Maverick tries a stepping sidekick to the stomach. Maverick lands a leg kick and Jojua feeds her another combination. A hard left-hand lands for Maverick as the two fighters exchange. Jojua is bleeding. “Hut, hut, hut,” says Maverick on each combination. Maverick is finding her range here but Jojua is still having success as well. Maverick lands another hard combination. Jojus continues to push forward. Maverick comes flying in with a leg kick. Jojua lands a punch and Maverick answers with a body kick. Maverick lands another leg kick. Jojua lands another punch. Maverick lands a nasty lead elbow that connects. That was slick. The sidekick has become a factor. Maverick is doing an excellent job of using it to keep Jojua at bay. Another elbow lands for Maverick. That one sliced Jojua wide open. It appears the cut is coming from the bridge of the nose. The round ends. 10-9 Maverick. Actually my scorecard is for not. The doctor has waived off the fight after taking a look at the cut. That’s it. Miranda Maverick wins in her promotional debut.

Result: Miranda Maverick def. Liana Jojua via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
Recap:
Records: Liana Jojua (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC), Miranda Maverick (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Lukasz Bosacki

Round 1 – Jung comes flying out of the gate. He meets Alvey three-quarters of the way across the cage. Alvey shakes off a glove-touch and smiles. Jung lands a kick. Alvey is circling around the outside of the cage. Jung pursues him. Jung falls over trying to throw a kick. Alvey fires a leg kick. Jung answers with one of his own – and another. Alvey fires a combination. Jung connects with a combination of his own. Alvey wings a wild series of punches. They miss. Alvey lands a leg kick. A hard left-hand connects for Alvey. Jung smiles and clinches him against the cage. They break. On the next exchange, Alvey holds his eye. He may have gotten poked but the action continues. Alvey blindly throws. Alvey is bleeding but lands a leg kick. Alvey lands a combination, then a jab. Alvey connects on a right hand. Jung pokes Alvey in the eye again but there’s still no timeout from the referee. The round ends. 10-9 Alvey.

Round 2 – Jung comes out aggressive again. Alvey is still on the retreat. He looks like he’s tiring. Jung lands a combination. Alvey throws back. Jung lands a leg kick. Alvey is having success counter-punching, exploding from time-to-time. Jung comes in and lands a left hook. Alvey returns with a leg kick. That strike has been money for him thus far. Alvey’s nose is busted. He fires a combination at Jung, who puts his hand up. Alvey connects on a hard uppercut. Alvey lands a combination. The round ends. 20-18 Alvey.

Round 3 – Jung floors Alvey with an elbow to start Round 3. Alvey falls over backward and Jung pounces. Jung lands some follow up punches. Alvey rolls to his stomach to get up. Jung grabs hold of his back as Alvey scoots to the fence. Alvey gets Jung off of him and lands an uppercut. In the next exchange, Alvey lands a massive combination that sends Jung backward. Alvey is unloading but Jung throws back. They separate and Jung lands another hard standing elbow. Alvey is all sorts of wobbled but he survives again. This is an awesome round of action. With 30 seconds left, Jung breaks the clinch with a vicious elbow. Alvey goes flying backward again but stays standing. Alvey fires back. The round – and the fight – ends. MMA Junkie scores it 28-28 even.

Result: Sam Alvey vs. Da Un Jung ends in split draw (28-29, 29-28, 28-28)
Records: Sam Alvey (33-14-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC), Da Un Jung (13-2-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Broadcast: ESPN2/ESPN+
Referee: Anders Ohlsson
Judging:

Round 1 – Rakhmonov throws a huge punch early, which Oliveira (to his benefit) avoids. Rakhmonov lands a leg kick. Oliveira lands a body kick. Rakhmonov connects with an overhand right. A knee from Rakhmonov cranks Oliveira, who steps back. Rakhmonov guns a series of punches at Oliveira. They clinch and Oliveira reverses position. Oliveira lands a knee to the body. Rakhmonov almost escapes the clinch but Oliveira strong-arms him back to the fence. Oliveira ducks in for a takedown and Rakhmonov grabs hold of his neck. Rakhmonov drops for a guillotine. This looks tight – and from Oliveira’s reaction, it is. There are only 30 seconds left on the clock but Oliveira is struggling. There’s the tap. What a debut for Rakhmonov!

Result: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Alex Oliveira via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:40
Recap:
Records: Alex Oliveira (22-8-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC), Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Broadcast: ESPN2/ESPN+
Referee: Lukasz Bosacki
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Round 1 –

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Records: Casey Kenney (15-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Nathaniel Wood (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC)
Division: 140-pound contract weight
Broadcast: ESPN2/ESPN+
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Round 1 –

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Records: Stefan Struve (29-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC), Tai Tuivasa (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Broadcast: ESPN2/ESPN+
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Round 1 –

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Records: Magomed Ankalaev (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Ion Cutelaba (15-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
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Round 1 –

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Records: Lauren Murphy (13-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC), Liliya Shakirova (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
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Round 1 –

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Records: Phil Hawes (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Jacob Malkoun (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
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Round 1 –

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Records: Walt Harris (13-8 MMA, 6-7 UFC), Alexander Volkov (31-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
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Round 1 –

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Records: Jared Cannonier (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), Robert Whittaker (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
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Round 1 –

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Records: Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC), Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Broadcast: Pay-per-view
Referee:
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