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Leon Edwards’ first bout since June 2019 had an anticlimactic ending.

The British welterweight contender showed no signs of ring rust in the early stages of the UFC Fight Night 187 headliner against Belal Muhammad, as his striking looked crisp and he rattled his opponent with a head kick in the opening stanza. However, the action screeched to a halt when Edwards inadvertently poked Muhammad in the eye 18 seconds into Round 2. When Muhammad confirmed he could not continue, the fight was waved off and declared a no contest.

Edwards was understandly disappointed with the result.

“First, I want to apologize to Belal Muhammad. A long, long year for me and I prepped so hard. I wish him well, I wish him a full recovery,” Edwards said on the UFC on ESPN+ post-fight show. “Going into it, I said I didn’t believe in ring rust…I showed it tonight.

“I was just getting into the flow of it. To have that freak accident happen, I’m heartbroken. It’s been a long year and h…

The #UFCVegas21 bout between Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart has been declared a "No Decision, due to an illegal blow." pic.twitter.com/aFKWrSwda8

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 14, 2021

For the second week in a row, an illegal knee prematurely ended a bout on an Ultimate Fighting Championship card.

The stakes were significantly lower on Saturday, when Eryk Anders landed a knee to the head on a downed Darren Stewart at UFC Fight Night 187, than they were a week ago when the bantamweight crown changed hands due to a foul by Petr Yan against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259.

There also appears to be less bad blood involved, as Anders quickly took to social media to apologize for his transgression after the bout.

“1,000 apologies to [Darren Stewart]. I know he wanted to keep going,” Anders wrote. “I made a critical error in the heat of the moment and it cost us and the fans a barn burner.”

1000 apologies to @Darren_m…

Ryan Spann, Dan Ige, Davey Grant and Matthew Semelsberger all received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work at UFC Fight Night 187.

Spann rebounded from a September loss to Johnny Walker in the evening’s co-main event, as he defeated Misha Cirkunov via technical knockout 1:11 into the first round of their light heavyweight bout. The former Legacy Fighting Alliance champ dropped Cirkunov with a right hand and continued the assault with a barrage of punches to force the stoppage shortly after the contest began.

Meanwhile, Ige needed just one punch to dispatch short-notice foe Gavin Tucker in a featured 145-pound affair. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum wiped his foe out with a straight right hand in just 22 seconds for his seventh win in his last eight appearances.

Earlier, Grant earned some extra cash for his second consecutive KO, a Round 2 stoppage of Jonathan Martinez at bantamweight. “The Ultimate Fighter 18” finalist ended Martine…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. This was the one outcome for which no one was prepared. An inadvertent second-round eye poke from Leon Edwards led to a no contest in the UFC Fight Night 187 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, leaving both he and Belal Muhammad in a state of limbo within the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division. When a visibly and audibly distraught Muhammad (18-3, 9-3 UFC) indicated he could not see out of his damaged right eye, referee Herb Dean waved it off 18 seconds into Round 2.

Edwards (18-3, 10-2 UFC) controlled a majority of the exchanges up until the foul. He staggered Muhammad with a head kick in the first round and swarmed for a potential finish before resetting and relying on sharp one-twos. Not long after Round 2 began, the situation went awry for everyone involved.

Spann Shreds Cirkunov in 71 …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 187 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese sco…

IN ABSOLUTE CONTROL! #UFCVegas21 pic.twitter.com/O4SEVvizpV

— UFC (@ufc) March 14, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Everything went according to plan for Angela Hill.

The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder outstruck and outmaneuvered Ashley Yoder to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC Fight Night 187 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Hill (13-9, 8-9 UFC), who rebounded from back-to-back decision losses to Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson.

Yoder (8-7, 3-6 UFC) was woefully ineffective. Hill drove home one clubbing right hand after another, kept her honest with occasional leg kicks and blew up any efforts to turn the tide in the clinch. She enjoyed her clearest her success when she targeted the body with straight punches …

It's OVER! #LFA101 pic.twitter.com/4Pvja4fx38

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 13, 2021 LFA 101 "The Undefeated" lived up to its billing as six fighters tasted defeat for the first time during Legacy Fighting Alliance's latest event.

The final fight of a night filled with action was between Tee Cummins and Anthony Kalani, who missed the light heavyweight limit by 4.4 pounds. Both men started the fight looking to trade strikes with Cummins (3-0) landing a number of leg kicks. Kalani (5-1) was throwing the heavier punches, but Cummins' speed advantage saw him land at a higher frequency. Cummins' capped off an impressive performance with a beautiful left hook that knocked Kalani (5-1) down. After a series of punches, the fight was mercifully stopped at 1:20 of Round 3.

The second-to-last match saw Treston Vines face Jalin Fuller, who unprofessionally was 6.2 pounds over the welterweight limit. Vines (4-1) clipped Fuller (5-0) early but…

The long awaited return is here...

@Leon_EdwardsMMA makes our main event official! #UFCVegas21 pic.twitter.com/yOTziFGjBW

— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. It's all systems go for UFC Vegas 21, as every fighter has now officially made weight.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's busy march through March continues with 13 fights on Saturday. UFC Fight Night 187 is headlined by a pair of 18-3 welterweight contenders, Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. The card is now official after the weigh-ins took place this morning, and every fighter eventually made weight.

Edwards is riding one of the more impressive active win streaks inside the Octagon currently, having had his hand raised eight straight times. Victories over Rafael dos Anjos, Gunnar Nelson and Donald Cerrone have placed “Rocky” in a pr…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Two fun matchups have been added to the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event in June. On Friday, MMA Junkie reported that Youssef Zalal (10-4) would be facing Sean Woodson (7-1) at the UFC Fight Night card on June 5. The event does not officially have a location set, although it is anticipated to be held in either the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Zalal confirmed the matchup on his social media. There is no headliner set for this event, but an expected main card tilt comes at heavyweight between Marcin Tybura and Walt Harris.

Zalal came into the UFC and blasted off with a three-fight win streak in 2020, recording wins over Austin Lingo, Jordan Griffin and Peter Barrett. When attempting to approach the record later set by Kevin Holland for appearances in 2020, Ilia Topuria ha…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLp9fkCLJgk&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champ Jessica Andrade truly believes she has what it takes to upset Valentina Shevchenko. Training hard to face UFC flyweight queen Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 261, Andrade spoke with Sherdog about what could be the toughest challenge of her 10-year MMA career.

“I’ve always said Valentina is the most frightening woman in this sport,” Andrade admitted. “Besides strong, fast and sharp, she is good everywhere, but MMA is not an exact science. In our sport, knockout power and a good hand in the right place can surprise all the odds.”

Using Shevchenko’s last performance against Jennifer Maia as an example, “Bate Estaca” guaranteed that her Brazilian countrywoman’s losing effort helped her master Gilliard…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Chalk up one more acquisition for the Ultimate Fighting Championship from the Invicta Fighting Championships ranks. On Friday, Mexican outlet Milenio reported that Montserrat Ruiz (9-1) would be stepping up on short notice to compete at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20. The fighter out of Mexico will be replacing Kay Hansen, as the latter suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw from the contest. Ruiz will meet fellow debutant Cheyanne Buys (5-1), and she confirmed that she would be making her Octagon debut on this card on her Instagram.

Ruiz made her Invicta debut in 2018, where she dropped a decision verdict to UFC vet Danielle Taylor and suffered her first career loss in the process. Some 19 months later, “Conejo” returned to face former Invicta strawweight title challenger Janaisa Morandin, and she pulled off a thrilling …

The currently unnamed Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view in May has just made some major additions.

Three bouts were added the last few days to UFC 262, which will take place on May 15 presumably at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event does not have a headliner, but it has a few significant matches to bolster it including a lightweight clash between Tony Ferguson (25-5) and Beneil Dariush (20-4-1), as reported by MMA Junkie on Friday. UFC’s broadcast partner ESPN subsequently confirmed that this booking was being finalized shortly after the news broke.

Ferguson, once the proud owner of a spectacular 12-fight win streak where he captured an interim lightweight belt only to lose it due to injury, has fallen on hard times in 2020. “El Cucuy,” who is currently on the first multiple-bout skid of his career, vied for the interim strap once again against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, only to fall short while suffering his first career knockout loss. Ferguson returned to…