UFC 213 results: Full fight card winners and reaction from Romero vs. Whittaker

UFC 213 saw its share of troubles, including the main event scrapped earlier on the day it was held, but it turned out to be a worthy card in the end. The promotion crowned Robert Whittaker as its interim middleweight champion after a unanimous decision win over Yoel Romero in the main event.

Now, Whittaker will wait for champion Michael Bisping to recover from an injury so he can try and unite the titles to become the undisputed champion. Bisping told Whittaker that he fought a good fight, but told him that the interim belt “makes me sick,” and told him to win the real belt, the one that he owns.

The first round was a back-and-forth affair, with Romero landing occasionally and Whittaker doing his best to stay out of trouble. But Whittaker took some damage to his left leg in that round, and Romero did some serious damage in the second round, securing a couple takedowns and doing more damage. The third saw Whittaker make a comeback, and he used effective striking to control and likely win the round. The fourth was more of the same, with Whittaker dominating the standup and Romero clearly out of gas.

In the fifth round, Romero fought back, and actually landed some hard shots. At one point, though, Romero slips and Whittaker gets on top of him. They were both so gassed, but Whittaker rode the rest of the fight on top and landed some ground-and-pound, sealing the round and fight win.

The main event was previously supposed to feature Amanda Nunes defending her women’s bantamweight championship against Valentina Shevchenko, but the bout was cancelled early on Saturday. Nunes claimed to be ill and had to be taken to the hospital, and the fight was scrapped, elevating Romero vs. Whittaker to the main event.

That elevated a bantamweight bout between Rob Font and Douglas Silva de Andrade to the main card opener. It was a good back-and-forth first round, but Font took the lead in the second and after some big strikes, finished Silva de Andrade with a guillotine choke.

Going into Saturday’s card, Romero had won eight consecutive fights in the UFC, with wins over Chris Weidman, Ronaldo Souza and Lyoto Machida over his last three fights. Whittaker struggled at welterweight when he entered the UFC, but after his switch to middleweight he also notched some big wins, including a knockout of Souza in his last fight and a knockout of Derek Brunson before that.

In the new co-main event between Fabricio Werdum and Allistair Overeem, fans were treated to be a back-and-forth counter-striking matchup. The first round saw very little action with nobody really getting a leg up. Overeem dominated the standup in the second round and it was clearly his. The third saw Werdum land a huge knee that almost knocked Overeem out, and he dominated the remainder of that round.

Werdum had the most dominant round of the fight, but a majority decision win went Overeem’s way due to the very close first round. One judge scored it a 28-28 draw while the other two had it 29-28 in favor of Overeem.

The second fight on the main card saw Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller fight a very back-and-forth fight. Miller, a longtime company man, landed some very good counter shots, but Pettis outworked him and ultimately did just enough to win all three rounds for a unanimous decision win.

Curtis Blaydes and Daniel Omielańczuk combined for a pretty boring heavyweight fight for the third main card bout. Blaydes attempted and failed a total of 14 takedowns in the fight and … still took a unanimous decision win, if that’s any indication of the lack of action.

Below, you can find the play-by-play from our live coverage of the main card and then a full list of results from Saturday’s card.

Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Round 1: Whittaker misses with a head kick, and Romero misses with one of his own. They circle, gauging the distance. Whittaker connects with a big left straight as Romero lands a kck to the body. Whittaker lands another jab. Romero ust misses with a huge spinning kick and almost landed a big right hand as well. They scramble and Romero briefly has a takedown, but they get back to the feet. Romero tries a flying knee that is blocked, and tries to turn it into a takedown, but Whittaker defends. Romero gets him up against the fence. They separate, and continue their outside shots, circling, with nothing big landing. Romero continues to come in with big shots that Whittaker blocks. Romero lands a huge leg kick, and Whittaker just missed with a head kick as the round comes to an end.

Round 2: Whittaker has taken some serious damage to his left leg, he tells his corner. Romero did the damage with a huge leg kick. Whittaker is disguising it well, and it’s unclear is Romero knows that he’s done the damage. Romero lands a short right punch, and lands a short oblique kick. Whittaker tries to rush in with a left hand, and even throws the hurt left leg, but it doesn’t land. There are a lot of violent collisions where nothing really lands from either fighter, but one of them ends with Romero scoring a takedown on Whittaker, ending up in full guard. Whittaker gives up his back and gets to his feet, but Romero is riding him. Romero lands a knee to the body. He wants to drag Whittaker down, but he can’t and the referee steps in and separates them. They scramble, and Romero wings a right hand from far outside that pushes Whittaker back, and they get up against the fence again. Romero gets a takedown just as the round comes to an end.

Round 3: Whittaker tries a front kick that Romero spins away from. The referee stops the fight briefly for Romero’s glove tape to be cut. They resume, and Romero attempts a takedown. He doesn’t get it. Whittaker does land a couple outside hooks as Romero comes in. He lands another big one that nearly drops Romero, butwhen he gets back to standing he’s shaken it off. Romero might be fading here in the third. Whittaker lands a body kick and misses with a hook. Whittaker keeps almost landing with a big hook in counter-exchanges, but he can’t quite land it. Whtitaker is pushing Romero back, and Romero isn’t countering. Whittaker connects with a left hand. Whittaker connects with a right hand and a knee to the body. Romero just misses with a left hook. Romero hasn’t really landed anything significant in this round, and he’s doing nothing much but dodge. Whittaker lands a body kick and just grazes him with a right hook as the round comes to an end.

Round 4: Whittaker clearly has more left in the tank going into the championship rounds. He’s bouncing around and using push kicks, despite the damage to his left leg. Romero’s corner hasn’t yet told him to target the leg. Romero eats a big body kick, and goes for the takedown. He gets Whittaker’s back, but no takedown as they get against the fence. Romero is trying very hard to drag him down, and he doesn’t get it. They clinch, Whittaker lands a knee to the body, and they separate. Romero tries for another takedown and doesn’t get it. Romero lands a jumping knee to the upper body. Romero blocks a head kick, and eats a big left hook on the jaw. Whittaker just misses with a massive left uppercut. Whittaker gets Romero to the fence and hits him with a big hook. He lands another big left hand and Romero is just eating them. Romero tries another takedown and it’s sloppy, he can’t get it. Whittaker shakes it off. Whittaker lands a right hook and Romero is gasping for breath as the round ends. It’s likely two rounds apiece, with Whitaker holding all the momentum.

Round 5: Whittaker lands a jab, then another as Romero telegraphs his wide winging hooks. Whittaker tries a spinning kick that misses. Romero tags Whittaker this time, stumbling him and this time it’s Whittaker circling to get away. Whittaker recovers though. Romero is still out of gas, he can’t swarm. Whittaker is sufficiently recovered, but also tired himself. Romer connects with a left hook, and Whittaker connects with a big body kick, and then another. Romero is walking forward into the strikes. Romero lands a big left hook. These two are very gassed, but they are still throwing. Whittaker connects with a right jab. Romero misses with a head kick. Another front kick from Whittaker.

Romero trips and he’s slow to get up, so Whittaker pounces on top of him. That wasn’t a takedown by any means, but Whittaker is on top with a minute to go and that’s probably going to be enough to win him the fight. Romero isn’t even trying to get to his feet, but is striking from his back. Whittaker gets to half guard and he starts landing some big shots. Romero tries to get to his feet, but can’t, and the fight comes to an end. It’s likely a Whittaker fight win.

Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Round 1: Overeem comes out with his hands low and a wide stance. Overeem throws a huge head kick that’s blocked. Werdum throws one of his own, but Overeem blocks his much better, and they clinch briefly. They separate and Overeem keeps his weird stance. Werdum tries a rushing punch combo followed by a head kick, but nothing lands as Overeem circles away. Overeem lands an oblique kick, and in another exchange Werdum ends up on his back, avoiding a huge shot from Overeem. He gets back to his feet. Overeem checks a leg kick and lands a big short right to the head. Werdum shakes it off though. Werdum attempts a pair of high kicks and Overeem circles away from them, and misses with a left hand. Werdum lands a good body kick but the follow-up punches hit only air. Overeem catches a leg kick and just misses with a right hand. Werdum shoots for a takedown and he doesn’t get it. Overeem lands a nice left jab and right hook. Werdum tries a flipping wheel kick and misses as the round comes to an end.

Round 2: Werdum tries a flying side kick to start the round but he’s only hitting air. Werdum throws a big overhand right that also misses. Overeem clips Werdum with a left hand, and then lands a body kick. Werdum kind of catches it and they clinch briefly, before Werdum pulls guard. He wants to work his jiu-jitsu. Overeem lands a big, big outside hand to the face that stumbles Werdum. It’s the biggest shot of the fight, and they end up on the ground again, with Overeem on top. It’s a dangerous place for Overeem, and after a few seconds, he gets up. Werdum has some blood on his nose. Overeem also landed a knee to the body in the scuffle that led to the last bit o nthe ground. Werdum lands a very big left jab, his only good shot of the fight so far. Overeem is right back in it though. Werdum tries a jumping kick that misses and Overeem plants, driving a big hand right into Werdum’s face. Werdum tries another spinning kick as the round comes to an end. It’s a clear Overeem round.

Round 3: Werdum is trying to rush Overeem, and overwhelm him. Overeem is counter striking, and Werdum is trying to prevent that with a flurry of strikes. They clinch briefly, and Werdum throws five or six strikes, but none of them really find a home on Overeem. Werdum lands a quick one-two jab combo and just like that, he lands a knee that has Overeem stumbling. Werdum tries to hook a guillotine, but Overeem rolls out of it. They get back to their feet, and Overeem is wobbly. Overeem is very groggy and Werdum tries to put him away, he lands a couple big shots and Overeem doesn’t know where he is. Werdum goes for and secures a takedown.

He ends up in full guard on top of Overeem. Werdum is trying to pass but Overeem defends. Werdum can’t land anything but very shot hammer fists from full guard, and they don’t do much damage. It’s possible Overeem took the first two rounds, so Werdum should try and get a finish here. It’s unclear why Werdum didn’t keep it standing with Overeem basically out on his feet. Werdum landed more shots in the first, but barely. Werdum continues to try and work the top game but he can’t land anything. He finishes out the round with a bunch of body shots. The fight comes to an end. It was definitely a Werdum round, but the second was definitely an Overeem round. The first is the big question.

Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielańczuk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Round 1: The referee takes away Blaydes’ early dominant position against the cage due to a pair of low knees. He warns him, and they restart. Blaydes gets him against the cage again and lands a couple of big right elbows. He also is trying to work the takedown, but Omielańczuk is fighting him off well. They separate as both throw uppercuts, but only Omielańczuk’s lands, a glancing blow. Omielańczuk lands a big body kick and lands a glancing overhand left. Blaydes tries for another takedown, and he can’t get it. They clinch briefly, and separate. Blaydes again tries for the takedown but he can’t get it, getting Omielańczuk up against the fence. They are like that for some time, and when they separate, Omielańczuk lands another snapping body kick. Blaydes again presses him against the cage. Omielańczuk lands a big left hook just as they disengage for the last time and the round ends.

Round 2: Omielańczuk can’t be taken down, but he also can’t work any offense with Blaydes pushing him against the fence. They are like that for the first minute before they separate. Omielańczuk connects with a leg kick and Blaydes connects with a right hand over the top. Omielańczuk just misses with a high kick and Blaydes trips going for a takedown attempt. Omielańczuk connects with a big knee. Blaydes tries for another takedown and they end up, again, against the fence. Omielańczuk is losing momentum, and Blaydes is trying to work an outside striking game. Blaydes lands a low kick in a bad place, and the referee separates them. He warns Blaydes again. When they restart, Blaydes tries his 10th takedown of the fight and, of course, he doesn’t get it. The round ends with little action.

Round 3: Omielańczuk connects with a big one-two combo, and Blaydes is thrown off balance. Blaydes recovers, and lands a pair of jabs. Then he goes for yet another takedown, his 11th of the fight, and he doesn’t get it. They separate, Blaydes lands a good jab or two. Omielańczuk is tired out. He just misses with a heavy hook. Blaydes misses with an uppercut, but lands a short right. A left jab from Blaydes lands. Omielańczuk throws another body kick. Omielańczuk lands a big left hand, and shoots for a takedown of his own but it goes nowhere. They stand and Omielańczuk lands a nice knee to the head. Blaydes goes for a big jab and stumbles he misses so bad. This is as sloppy as it gets, folks. They exchange leg kicks. Omielańczuk tries a spinning kick that just misses and he ends up on his butt. The fight comes to an end. That was ugly.

Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Round 1: Miller lands flush with a left straight right of the gate, and lands a pair of hard leg kicks. Pettis comes forward and connects with a knee to the body. They circle, and Pettis just misses with a right straight and Miller also misses with a right hook counter. Miller lands another big leg kick. Pettis tries a big overhand right that Miller avoids. Pettis with a leg kick this time. Pettis walks Miller into the cage, and Pettis lands a flying knee that staggers Miller.

He then unloads with a flurry of punches, but Miller weathers the storm. Pettis lands flush with a one-two straight combo. Miller looked good early, but the pressure from Pettis is extreme and tough to deal with. Pettis lands a high body kick. Miller misses with a front kick and then an overhand right. He does land a big outside leg kick as Pettis throws a right hand counter over the top. An overhand left from Miller glances off Pettis’ head. Miller lands a left overhand right as Pettis lands a leg kick. It was definitely a back-and-forth round, but Pettis did more damage.

Round 2: An overhand left from Miller glances off. Miller is trying to push the action a bit more at the start of this round. Pettis pays forward with the jab, and just misses with a head kick. Miller catches the second head kick attempt and Miller gets Pettis to the mat. He gets on top of him in full guard. There is a big cut on Miller’s head is leaking blood. It came from a Pettis head kick. Miller wants to pass, but Pettis fights him off. Pettis eventually moves to his back and Miller takes it. Pettis gets to his feet though, slipping out Miller’s grip. And Pettis ends up on top with two minutes to go. Pettis stands, and tries to strike from above.

Pettis gets back on top, and into half guard. He tries to work some elbows from that position before passing to side control. They are both absolutely drenched in blood from the cut on Miller’s head. Pettis works a knee to the body and takes Miller’s back. Miller gets back to his feet though, and Pettis spins him, scoring a trip and getting on top with 10 seconds to go. The round ends with Pettis on top.

Round 3: Miller comes out with a big leg kick. And he lands an overhand left. He lands another, but Pettis is quick to respond with a powerful left jab. Another leg kick from Miller. Pettis throws a head kick that is blocked, and Miller counters with a hook that just grazes Pettis’ head. Pettis sneaks in a front kick that does damage. Pettis is backing up a lot more in the round. Miller attempts a takedown, but he can’t get it, and he ends up in the clinch with his back to the cage. They jockey for position, and Miller lands a nice elbow. Nothing of significance for over a minute. Pettis attempts a wheel kick but it glances off, and Miller does a flip of his own. Miller tries another step over kick and Pettis responds with a jumping kick of his own. The round comes to an end. It may have been a Miller round in all honesty, but it wasn’t definitive either way. This is probably a Pettis decision win overall.

Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via submission (guillotine) at 4:36 of Round 2

Round 1: Silva de Andrade opens with a leg kick, and Font tries affront kick that just misses. Both fighters wing overhands that just miss. Font shoots for a double leg and gets the takedown briefly, and Silva de Andrade looks like he’s going to walk the cage back to his feet, but this time Font drags him down and into guard. They stand and Font tries to work a standing guillotine. Silva de Andrade gets out of it and backs up as Font tries with a big right hook that misses. Font gets a very blatant eye poke in and the referee stops the action. Font gets warned and the fight resumes. Font connects with a left hook and a knee to the head. He’s countering Silva de Andrade’s strikes well. He lands a right hand over the top. The round comes to an end with Font trying to secure a guillotine.

Round 2: The left eye of Silva de Andrade is bothering him. It’s the same one that suffered the poke, and Font has landed shot after shot on it in this second round. There is irritation and swelling around it and Silva de Andrade has had to touch it more than once. Font is walking Silva de Andrade down and landing his punches. Silva de Andrade has landed a few glancing blows of his own, but Font is well in control. Font gets Silva de Andrade up against the cage and he throws two hooks to the body, then a knee to the body, a big knee. Silva de Andrade is in a bad way, but he manages to grab hold of Font, who ends up dragging Silva de Andrade to the mat. They get to their feet and Font gets ahold of another guillotine attempt. He drops to his back and he has it locked in. Silva de Andrade has to tap and Font gets the submission win.

UFC 213 Results

Main Card

Middleweight: Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes def. Daniel Omielańczuk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Anthony Pettis def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Rob Font def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via submission (guillotine) at 4:36 of Round 2

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Travis Browne via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:44 of Round 2
Welterweight: Chad Laprise def. Brian Camozzi via TKO (punches) at 1:27 of Round 3
Middleweight: Thiago Santos def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO (punches) at 2:04 of Round 2
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad def. Jordan Mein via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Featherweight: Cody Stamann def. Terrion Ware via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Light heavyweight: Tevin Giles def. James Bochnovic via KO (punches) at 2:54 of Round 2