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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is already in the process of moving into full-capacity venues, but it might not be back to anything resembling a completely normal schedule until next year.

UFC 262 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday marked the promotion’s second event in front of fans since the COVID-19 pandemic altered protocol in March 2020. While the organization has pay-per-view events slated for Phoenix in June and Las Vegas in July that are likely to have little or no capacity restrictions, don’t expect to see the UFC’s smaller events following suit anytime soon.

“We’re not even looking at Fight Nights [for fans],” UFC president Dana White said on Saturday. “We didn’t even have gates in our budget until October and November. Right now, to start trying to find places for Fight Nights, it just makes no sense.

“We’ll stay at the cozy [UFC] Apex and do our thing for the rest of the yea…

Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos were involved in one of the most memorable bouts of the evening at UFC 262 on Saturday.

After a back-and-forth standup battle, Burgos was stunned by a Barboza right hand in Round 3, which resulted in a delayed reaction from the Team Tiger Schulmann representative. Burgos kept his footing momentarily but eventually tumbled to the canvas, and Barboza finished off the contest with a couple follow-up strikes 1:16 into the period.

“It was kind of crazy,” Barboza said of the finish. “I honestly didn’t really understand what happened at the time. After the fight was over, I was still moving forward and saw that he was dropping. I saw he couldn’t defend himself, but I didn’t understand what happened. I asked my coaches what had dropped him, because I didn’t see it. I want to rewatch the fight and see what exactly happened.”

Burgos, who appeared to be gaining momentum in the second frame before the stoppage in Round 3, released a statement…

Beneil Dariush was surprised as anyone that Tony Ferguson didn’t succumb to the heel hook he applied in the second round of their co-headlining about at UFC 262.

“How do you not tap to that heel hook? His knee popped, and it popped loud,” Dariush said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I saw his face change for a second, and then he went back to normal, and he started kicking me in the body. That upkick he hit me with? That was pretty good.”

While Ferguson did grimace briefly, he continued to fight until the final horn of the third round. His movement did appear to be compromised in the final five minutes, which hindered his ability to produce any type of rally after falling behind on the scorecards.

“I hope nothing happened to his knee because that’s where your ACL goes,” Dariush said. “When you go for a heel hook, and it pops like that, your ACL can be gone. I know he’s a super human, and we’ve heard it over and over again, but I don’t want that on a…

If Dana White truly is “Lookin’ for a Fight,” he surely found some on Sunday at Fury FC 46. The Ultimate Fighting Championship head man and his partners in scouting, Din Thomas and Matt Serra, witnessed a card topped by three Fury Fighting Championship title fights and stacked with UFC and Dana White's Contender Series veterans getting a second look, as well as a hearty helping of rising local prospects.

In the main event, Nikolay Veretennikov (9-3) needed less than a round to put away Anthony Ivy and capture the Fury welterweight title. Veretennikov, a Kazakhstani by birth but longtime Texas resident, fought off Ivy’s attempts to bring the fight to the floor and punished him with knees in the clinch. The beginning of the end came when Veretennikov shucked off a double-leg attempt, then landed a knee to the ribs that doubled “Aquaman” over. Sensing his foe was hurt, Veretennikov followed Ivy to the ground, but landed only a punch or two before referee Jacob Montalvo…

It doesn’t appear that the UFC is going to give in to Jon Jones demands for a higher payday to accompany his move to heavyweight.

Recently, UFC president Dana White proposed a matchup between Jones and ex-champ Stipe Miocic while Francis Ngannou defends his crown in a rematch against Derrick Lewis later this summer. Jones balked at that option in a series of tweets he later deleted.

At Saturday’s UFC 262 post-fight press conference, White claimed that Jones’ Octagon return is based primarily on the Jackson-Wink MMA representative’s desire to compete. If Jones doesn’t agree to the UFC’s terms, White made it sound like he’s at peace with the former light heavyweight champ never returning to the Octagon.

“Listen, that’s up to Jon Jones, whether he wants to fight or not,”White said. “There’s fights available. They’re here. I’m gonna keep making fights every weekend, doing fights.

“If Jon Jones wants to fight, he can. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t have to. Nobody’s gonna …

WOW @andremunizufc is able to earn a submission against Jacare at #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/45NMJCn4TF

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2021

Ronaldo Souza will underdo surgery after having his arm broken in a submission loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262 on Saturday night.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, “Jacare” suffered a fractured right humerus in the middleweight bout due to a Muniz armbar. That bout ended at the 3:59 mark of Round 1, as the decorated grappler’s upper arm audibly snapped.

Souza’s doctor, Rickson Moraes, described it as an “urgent procedure” while adding: “But in general he’s fine, despite the fracture.”

Souza will have surgery on Monday in the United States, per an ESPN report. The former Strikeforce champion is in good spirits after the injury.

“The UFC is giving me all the support,” he told ESPN. “When the world stopped, the UFC was moving and taking care of all the athletes.”

Souza has lost fo…

It feels as though Charles Oliveira has been around forever in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He debuted with the Las Vegas-based organization in 2010 and experienced an up-and-down tenure as a featherweight in which he flashed dynamic finishing ability but did not appear to be a serious contender. The narrative began to shift following his transition to 155 pounds in 2017, and that culminated in a title-clinching victory over Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 headliner at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night.

It only took 28 Octagon appearances, a nine-bout winning streak and one of the sport’s best ever to vacate the lightweight throne for Oliveira to finally reach the summit.

“When I got into the UFC, a lot of people said I was crazy and I said I wanted to be the best in the world and I wanted to break records,” Oliveira said. “Now I’m the biggest finisher, I’m the second in post-fight bonuses, I’m making history today becoming the lightweight c…

At UFC 262, Tony Ferguson looked to be far removed from the 12-bout winning streak he authored from 2013 to 2019.

“El Cucuy” was outgrappled and largely dominated over the course of three rounds in Saturday’s co-main event at the Toyota Center in Houston, as Beneil Dariush rolled to a unanimous decision triumph in their lightweight bout. That makes three straight defeats for “The Ultimate Fighter 13” winner, who also has fallen to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira in lopsided fashion over the course of the past year.

Ferguson took a tremendous amount of damage in the interim lightweight title against Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020 and he hasn’t been the same since. The Team Death Clutch representative is also 37 years old, which is an time when many high-level athletes begin to experience a decline. According to UFC president Dana White, both factors could have contributed to Ferguson’s recent woes.

“It could be (the Gaethje fight), it could be, just, time ge…

For a few fleeting moments, it appeared as though Michael Chandler was on his way to adding an Ultimate Fighting Championship belt to his trophy case.

On two separate occasions, the former University of Missouri wrestling standout rocked Charles Oliveira with punches in the opening round of their UFC 262 headlining bout at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. In both instances, the Brazilian managed to survive, which ultimately set the stage for “Do Bronx” to claim the vacant 155-pound belt with a second-round technical knockout.

“He showed that he had the gall to get through that,” Chandler said at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference. “He got dropped, got hurt. I was on top of him. He’s really long and he did a really good job of tying me up so I couldn’t rain down too hard of punches or elbows. He definitely got through some adversity tonight.

“He showed tonight that he is tougher than a lot of us thought he was. Hats off to him. He is our cham…

Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos delivered as advertised, and the featherweights were compensated handsomely for their efforts.

Barboza and Burgos received “Fight of the Night” honors and $75,000 apiece for their main card bout at UFC 262 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. In an entertaining back-and-forth striking battle, Barboza hurt Burgos with a right hand in Round 3, a blow that sent his foe staggering backward to the mat following a delayed reaction. The Brazilian sealed his win with a few follow-up blows on the ground 1:16 into the period.

Elsewhere, newly-crowned lightweight champion Charles Oliveira captured a $75,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his comeback win over Michael Chandler in the main event. After being on his heels on more than one occasion in Round 1, “Do Bronx” dropped Chandler with a left hook, then overwhelmed his foe with punches to secure the finish 19 seconds into the second frame.

Finally, Christos Giagos garn…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. After 28 Octagon appearances, Charles Oliveira can finally call himself an Ultimate Fighting Championship title holder. “Do Bronx” survived some early adversity, then rallied to knock out former Bellator MMA king Michael Chandler 19 seconds into Round 2 of their UFC 262 headlining encounter at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. With the win, Oliveira becomes the promotion’s 11th lightweight champion and claims the title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier this year.

“Michael, you’re a great champion, but today is my day,” a jubilant Oliveira said following his ninth consecutive UFC victory.

It looked as though Oliveira (31-8, 19-8, 1 NC UFC) wouldn’t last long against his heavy-handed foe. Chandler (22-6, 1-1 UFC) landed a solid left early, forcing the Brazilian to shoot for a takedown. Chandler responded w…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 262 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 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:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield …