UFC Fight Night 240 ‘Allen vs. Curtis’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Round 1

Consider tonight’s event a dress rehearsal of next week’s gala
event of UFC 300. The UFC will trot out 12 pairs of combatants
inside of the UFC Apex to keep the seemingly indefinite streak of
consecutive weekends going. It all begins with an international
catchweight contest, as both fighters failed to make weight and the
formerly bantamweight bout still stayed together. France’s Cornolle
(7-1, 1-0 UFC) eclipsed the weight limit by 2.5 pounds while
unbeaten Brit Mullins (6-0, 2-0 UFC) surpassed the 136-pound cap by
two pounds herself. Fines likely went straight to the commission
and promotion instead of to one another, but referee Chris Tognoni
almost certainly did not get a bump in pay because of it. The two
women, glad to still be fighting tonight, tap their gloves
together. Cornolle starts right out of the gate throwing hands, and
she gets Mullins’ attention very quickly. Mullins throws back with
an overhand right that scores, but Cornolle is not concerned as she
continues to swing. Cornolle double jabs her way in and follows it
with two heavy right hands, forcing the Brit to press her up
against the wall to slow things down. Cornolle muscles her way
around and away from the fencing, and she sneaks in a short strike
before Mullins drags her over to the other side of the Octagon.
Mullins grinds and brings up a few knees to the thigh to stay busy
in her position, and she uses a body lock to wrench Cornolle down
to the mat. Mullins moves from half guard on one side to the other,
with Cornolle preventing her from claiming full mount. Mullins
stays heavy on top and tries to pin Cornolle’s elbow down, but
Cornolle explodes and turns “No Mess” over. Mullins stands up,
giving up her back, and Cornolle cannot keep her grounded or do
anything with the position so she lets it go. Back in striking
range, Cornolle lands a solid body kick after a few punches,
forcing Mullins to rush at her and clinch again. Mullins has
another takedown effort thwarted, and she works short elbows and
knees on the inside. Mullins gives one back but takes several from
the other end along with an elbow to end the round.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Cornolle
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Mullins
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Cornolle

Round 2

There is a clap of hands to open the second round, and Mullins
comes out of her corner as if she had a fire lit in her belly.
Mullins strikes her way into a clinch situation, stifling the
Frenchwoman’s offense early. Cornolle turns her about and elbows
her, and Mullins spins her back around to push her back to the
wire. Mullins keeps her jammed up as time ticks off the clock with
little to show for it, with Mullins opting for control over any
sort of effective offense. As the lack of action continues, the
commentary booth harangues both women about failing to make weight.
Cornolle eventually fights her way out and smacks her opponent with
elbows and knees. Mullins measures her way in with a straight left
hand, and Cornolle rebounds off with a body kick and two punches up
top.
Cornolle drives a knee to the liver, and Mullins bends over,
compromised from the body blow. Cornolle watches Mullins fold, and
she boots her upside the head with her foot. Mullins wobbles back
to the wall, trying to keep herself in the game, but Cornolle kicks
her in the head again to force Mullins to turn around and
physically surrender. As soon as Mullins drops to her knees,
totally defeated, Tognoni steps in to save her from any further
punishment. Just like that, Mullins 0 has
disintegrated, and Cornolle may be a ranked competitor at
bantamweight next week despite missing weight.

The Official Result

Nora Cornolle def. Melissa Mullins R2 3:06 via TKO (Knee to the
Body and Head Kicks)

Round 1

A pair of pickups from Dana White’s Contender Series’ 2023 Season
will be making their debuts against one another. In the one corner,
“The Mindless Hulk” Budka (7-2, 0-0 UFC) aims to display his
above-average fight IQ while Almeida (4-0, 0-0 UFC) comes in with
just four bouts on his ledger. The middleweights will receive
oversight from referee Mark Smith, and they touch gloves to make
things official. Budka immediately takes to the outer edge of the
cage, strafing back and forth before loosing a head kick that gets
blocked. Almeida slowly works his way forward, eating a body kick
as he scores a left hook. Budka races forward, tackling Almeida
clean off his feet with a powerful double-leg entry. Almeida hits
his seat and scoots his way towards the fence, only for Budka to
interlock his legs around his foe’s to trap him. Any time Almeida
posts off his right arm, Budka yanks it out and keeps him down.
Almeida eventually explodes back to his feet, and Budka drops down
in pursuit of a single-leg takedown. Budka lifts his man up but
cannot ground him, as Almeida recovers his balance before hitting
the deck. Budka sells out for a double, and he scoops the Brazilian
up and dumps him to the mat. Once more, Budka traps Almeida’s legs
beneath his own. Almeida slowly wall-walks until he wriggles his
legs out and forces his way back to his feet, but Budka remains
stuck on him like a cheap suit. Smith asks for more action when the
two stall out, and Almeida delivers a few short punches to the side
of the head as Budka attempts another takedown. Budka switches from
double to single, and Almeida’s defense holds up well enough even
as he is otherwise nullified. Almeida looks for any punch he can
find from a strange angle, but no blow has any particular power
behind it. The round ends with the two tied up.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Budka
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Almeida
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Budka

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

Round 5

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round:
Brian Knapp scores the round:
Devin Tejada scores the round:

The Official Result