UFC 264 was headlined by the highly anticipated trilogy showdown between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. While Conor McGregor has found himself a betting favorite for most of his career, he was a slight underdog this time. The stakes went up even higher, with the winner likely to get the title shot next against UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
For the co-main event at UFC 264, Gilbert Burns and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson faced off in a welterweight contest. Burns' jiu-jitsu background and 'Wonderboy's' karate made it a unique clash of styles.
The UFC 264 main card featured an exciting heavyweight contest between Tai Tuivasa and Greg Hardy. Coming off back-to-back knockout victories in his last two outings, 'Bam Bam' went into the bout as a slight favorite against the former NFL defender.
Irene Aldana and Yana Kunitskaya also faced each other in a women's bantamweight contest on the main card at UFC 264. To start off the action, 'Suga' Sean O'Malley took on promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho in a bantamweight matchup.
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UFC 264 full fight card results
UFC 264 early prelims results:
Jennifer Maia def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Brad Tavares def. Omari Akhmedov via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Jerome Rivera via submission (ninja choke) (2:02 of Round 1)
UFC 264 prelims results:
Max Griffin def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Michel Pereira def. Niko Price via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Ilia Topuria def. Ryan Hall via KO (4:47 of Round 1)
Dricus Du Plessis def. Trevin Giles via KO (01:41 of Round 2)
UFC 264 main card results:
Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor via TKO (doctor stoppage) (5:00 of Round 1)
Gilbert Burns def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Tai Tuivasa def. Greg Hardy via KO/TKO (1:07 of Round 1)
Irene Aldana def. Yana Kunitskaya via TKO (4:35 of Round 1)
Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (4:33 of Round 3)
UFC 264 highlights
UFC 264 early prelims highlights
With hours to go before the event, UFC 264 lost its first fight of the night between Hu Yaozong and Alen Amedovski due to COVID-19 protocols. However, Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Jerome Rivera started the night with some flyweight action and lived up to the expectation.
After some back and forth exchanges, Zhumagulov caught Rivera with a left hook, forcing him to look for a desperate takedown. Absolutely dominant in the scramble, Zhalgas Zhumagulov controlled Jerome Rivera before submitting him via a ninja choke at 02:02 of round one.
Brad Tavares and Omari Akhmedov faced each other in a middleweight matchup on the early prelims card at UFC 264. In an impressive technical showing, Tavares repeatedly attacked the lead leg of Akhmedov, which eventually compromised the Russian's movement.
At the end of the third round, Brad Tavares reeled a split decision in his favor, with the scorecards reading 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.
Jennifer Maia took on Jessica Eye in a women's bantamweight matchup to close the early prelims card at UFC 264. In a bloody affair, Eye continued to fight despite a nasty cut opening up on her forehead due to an accidental clash of heads. While it was an evenly matched contest, Maia earned a clear unanimous decision victory.
UFC 264 prelims highlights
UFC 264 prelims kicked off with some middleweight action between Trevin Giles and Dricus Du Plessis. Both fighters went back and forth in the first round, initially on their feet and then scrambling for submission opportunities.
The fight ended during a stand-up exchange in the second round as Du Plessis dropped Giles with a huge right hand. A few follow-up shots later, referee Chris Tognoni called a stop to the contest at 01:41 of Round 2.
Returning to the octagon after a hiatus of two years, TUF 22 winner Ryan Hall took on rising featherweight prospect Ilia Topuria. An elite grappler, Hall desperately tried to set up submissions, even severely compromising his defense at times.
As Ryan Hall threw a hook kick, Ilia Topuria caught him off balance and threw a barrage of punches on the canvas, knocking Hall out at 04:47 of the opening round.
Niko Price faced Michel Pereira in a welterweight contest, providing a matchup of unorthodox styles. The absolute barnburner saw an eye poke, a groin strike, and even Pereira backflip into a controversial head stomp. While his empty gas tank began to show in the later rounds, the Brazilian did enough to earn a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the contest 29-28 in his favor.
Former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit took on the up-and-coming Max Griffin in the final fight of the UFC 264 prelims. After surviving an early scare, Condit bounced back in the second round, probably swaying it in his favor. Griffin once again came out stronger in the final round to earn an emphatic unanimous decision victory over the veteran.
UFC 264 main card highlights
Kris Moutinho made his promotional debut against Sean O'Malley in the first fight on the main card at UFC 264. In a display of immense heart and chin, Moutinho almost went the distance against 'Suga' Sean, suffering a lot of damage in the process. However, as O'Malley delivered a barrage of punches, referee Herb Dean called a controversial stop to the contest at 04:33 in the final round.
Veteran contenders Yana Kunitskya and Irene Aldana squared off in a women's bantamweight contest on the UFC 264 main card. Aldana pulled off a dominant first-round TKO win which is bound to put her on a title trajectory. After dropping Kunitskaya with a left hook, Irene Aldana gained position and pounded away on the ground, forcing referee Jason Herzog to intervene at 04:35 of round one.
Rising contenders Tai Tuivasa and Greg Hardy clashed in a heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC 264. As expected, the fight turned out to be an absolute barnburner, with both fighters trading heavy blows early on. However, Tai Tuivasa chugged yet another shoey as he shut the lights on Greg Hardy with a left hook at 01:07 of Round 1.
The co-main event of UFC 264 featured a welterweight showdown between top contenders Gilbert Burns and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. While there were some interesting stand-up exchanges, Burns managed to land a takedown in each round and dominated 'Wonderboy' on the ground.
In a contest deemed to be underwhelming by some, Gilbert Burns reeled in a unanimous decision victory over Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier clashed for a third time in the main event at UFC 264. One of the greatest rivalries in combat sports met with a rather unfortunate ending as McGregor broke his ankle at the end of the first round. Dustin Poirier was declared the winner via TKO as cageside doctors called a stop to the contest.
Watch the video of the injury below: [WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGERY]