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UFC 226 was highlighted by a massive main event by the most successful Heavyweight Champion in company history, Stipe Miocic and his opponent, Light-Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier.
Miocic had successfully defended the Heavyweight crown, three times, once more than any other Heavyweight Champion before him. However, he was to prove over-matched by Cormier.
The bout did not last long. The pair exchanged a few sweet combinations before Cormier landed a huge right hand to switch off Miocic's lights before he even hit the floor. With that the UFC had a new Heavyweight Champion.
The real story though was the post-fight fracas that saw WWE Universal Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar storm the Octagon and shove over the new champion to apparently set up a Cormier/Lesnar title bout in 2019. Whether that ends up occurring or not though remains to be seen.
Derrick Lewis continued his ascent up the Heavyweight rankings with a hard fought victory over Francis Ngannou. However, the bout was not easy on the eye as both fighters spent most of the contest circling each other. At one point referee, Herb Dean intervened to rebuke them for timidity. That is something you do not see everyday.
The contest was finally put out of it's misery after three uneventful rounds with Lewis edging the bout via Decision.
Mike Perry edged Paul Felder via Split Decision in a hugely entertaining fight that saw Felder overcome a broken arm and a bucket load of blood loss to take Perry the full three round distance. It was a gutsy display but Perry's greater work rate in the second and third rounds meant there could only be one winner.
Anthony Pettis beat Michael Chiesa in a fight delayed from UFC 223 when Conor McGregor's immature publicity stunt injured Chiesa and others after "Notorious" launched a metal dolly through the UFC bus window. Chiesa was hurt by glass shards and had to withdrawn from the event. The rescheduled fight took place here and saw an impressive Pettis submit Chiesa with an armbar.
Khalil Rountree Jr. knocked out Gokhan Saki in double quick time with a massive left hand that dropped Saki. Hammerfists finished the massacre.
UFC 226 was an extremely memorable event thanks to the headline bout and the aftermath. It pulled a decent 380,000 buys on pay per view. But the big question is, six months on, will Cormier versus Lesnar ever happen?
