Martial Arts News

Sean O'Malley rebounded from his first career defeat in emphatic fashion at UFC 260.

The 26-year-old bantamweight nearly had a walkoff knockout victory against Thomas Almeida in Round 1 and when that didn’t quite come to fruition, “Sugar” put on a clinic until the finish did arrive 3:52 into the final frame.

After suffering a TKO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252 last August, O’Malley appears to be back on track as one of the top rising talents at 135 pounds.

“He looked good coming back in off of the ‘Chito’ Vera fight, he came in tonight against a real tough kid, durable, with serious punching power and he put on a masterpiece tonight,” UFC president Dana White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“He picked him apart, stayed on the outside and did whatever he wanted to do. He hurt him [in the first round], thought he finished him and then finished him again in the third round. You really couldn’t have put on a better performance than he did tonig…

It was a different version of Tyron Woodley at UFC 260, but unfortunately for the ex-welterweight champion, the end result was the same as his recent Octagon appearances.

Woodley suffered his fourth consecutive defeat in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as he tapped to a brabo choke from Vicente Luque 3:56 into Round 1 of their 170-pound encounter. While his previous three losses were characterized by a lack of aggression, Woodley brought the fight to Luque at the outset and rocked his adversary with a couple of his patented overhand rights in the early going.

Ultimately it wasn’t enough, because Luque, one of the most prolific finishers in the division, made Woodley pay for his aggression.

S--t was going really well until it wasn’t,” Woodley wrote on Instagram. “My camp pushed me in ways I haven’t been pushed in a while. I committed, and swore to myself I would bring the tiger out that earned me gold. I saw the opportunity for the KO and g…

You need to see this!

5.15amBatié, Cameroon

Incredible scenes from the hometown of @Francis_Ngannou as they celebrate the crowning of a new UFC Heavyweight Champion!

( Mathieu Pennella) pic.twitter.com/NSA57bUsmA

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 28, 2021

It may have been in the wee hours of morning in Batie, Cameroon, when Francis Ngannou captured UFC heavyweight gold, but that didn’t prevent his home country from launching into a raucous celebration.

Video footage shows Ngannou’s countrymen cheering wildly after “The Predator” knocked out Stipe Miocic in the UFC 260 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. At the time of Ngannou’s victory, it was 5:15 a.m. local time in Batie.

Ngannou was born in Batie and worked in the mines at a young age. After he became interested in combat sports, he moved to France with designs on pursuing a boxing career before he discovered MMA. Ngannou current lives in Las Vegas…

The trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor has a tentative date and venue.

During the UFC 260 post-fight press conference on Saturday, Dana White confirmed that the promotion is targeting July 10 for the third meeting between the two lightweights. That would set the stage for Poirier-McGregor 3 to go down at UFC 264, and as an added perk, the UFC wants to hold the card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which means the organization is optimistic fans will be allowed in the venue.

“That’s the plan,” the UFC president said. “I hope so. We all hope so.”

The Las Vegas-based promotion will hold an event in front of a capacity crowd for the first time on April 24, when UFC 261 heads to the 15,000-seat Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Tickets for that event quickly sold out, and the gate is believed to be the highest in the history of the venue. The promotion is also expected to hold UFC 262 in front of an audience with no capacity restrictio…

Vicente Luque has been quietly working his way up the ladder of the UFC’s welterweight division, winning nine of his 10 Octagon appearances since October 2017.

The Cerrado MMA product earned his most high-profile victory to date in the UFC 260 co-main event, as he submitted former 170-pound champion Tyron Woodley with a brabo choke in the opening stanza on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Woodley, who had been tentative during a three-bout skid heading into the matchup with Luque, pressed the action from the outset, attacking his opponent with heavy right hands while looking to secure takedowns.

“I have a tendency to bring the best out of my opponents every single time, so I’ve gotten used to not underestimating anybody and being ready for their best versions,” Luque said. “That’s what we saw tonight. I thought Woodley was much more aggressive than in his last fights, actually connected a good right hand on me. Once I realized that that was going to be the fight…

About three years ago, Francis Ngannou looked like he might be a fighter who falls victim to his own hype.

After beginning his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure with six consecutive victories, Ngannou was exposed in a five-round decision loss to Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title at UFC 220. His ensuing Octagon appearance was a baffling, action-starved loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226 that hurt the stock of both of the division’s most powerful knockout artists.

After the second of those defeats, UFC president Dana White speculated that Ngannou began to get a big head during his rise to stardom.

“I think that he had a pretty quick rise here and obviously the fight over Alistair Overeem catapulted him,” White said after UFC 226. “Everybody was talking about him. I thought he was going to be the next guy. I think his ego ran away with him. Big time. I can tell you that his ego absolutely did run away with him. And the minute that happens to you in the figh…

Jon Jones made the choice to move to heavyweight for a moment like this one.

Francis Ngannou’s emphatic knockout of Stipe Miocic in the UFC 260 headliner set the stage for a potentially lucrative showdown with Jones down the road. Jones vacated his 205-pound belt last year, and it has generally expected that “Bones” would get the first crack at the winner of Saturday’s title bout.

Jones’ initial reaction to Ngannou’s victory was to the point: “Show me the money,” he tweeted.

Show me the money

— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2021

Ngannou, meanwhile, appeared ready to book the matchup in his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

“Jon Jones is the greatest of all time for mixed martial arts and him moving up, he's a challenge that I would take and to put it on my record would be a very good thing on my resume,” Ngannou said. “This time he's gonna be the challenger, I am the champ.

“I’m ready. Any time. If it’s …

Vicente Luque and Tyron Woodley weren’t in the Octagon for long on Saturday, but the time they spent together was memorable enough to earn them an additional $50,000 apiece.

Luque and Woodley received “Fight of the Night” honors for their frantic welterweight scrap in the UFC 260 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A more-aggressive-than-usual Woodley did his best to take the fight to Luque in the early going and briefly rocked his opponent with a pair of right hands. However, Luque regained his bearings, hurt Woodley with a counter right of his own, swarmed with offense and drove his man to the canvas, where he locked in a brabo choke for the finish 3:56 into Round 1.

Elsewhere, Francis Ngannou was a relatively easy selection for a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award, as he avenged a previous loss to Stipe Miocic to claim heavyweight gold in the evening’s headliner. “The Predator” displayed improved takedown defense and dropped Miocic twice, ultimately f…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 260 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Francis Ngannou carries a different kind of power in his massive fists. The Xtreme Couture rep avenged a 2018 defeat in resounding fashion, as he blew away Stipe Miocic with punches and captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title in the second round of their UFC 260 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Miocic (20-4, 14-4 UFC) succumbed to blows 52 seconds into Round 2.

Ngannou (16-3, 11-2 UFC) fought at a frighteningly measured pace from the start, picking his spots while he probed for openings. He sprawled out of a Miocic takedown in the first round, punished him with crushing ground-and-pound and set the stage for what was to come. Ngannou put the Euclid, Ohio, native on unsteady feet with a short but devastating left hook early in Round 2, ate a right hand in return and then uncorke…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 260 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 260 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 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:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen C…

With the Von Flue!! @AlonzoMenifield locks in the early sub to close the #UFC260 prelims! pic.twitter.com/FpFP8NzHVQ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) March 28, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 260 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Alonzo Menifield exploited the narrowest of openings.

The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate submitted Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Fabio Cherant with a Von Flue shoulder choke in the first round of their featured UFC 260 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cherant (7-2, 0-1 UFC) capitulated 71 seconds into Round 1.

Menifield (10-2, 3-2 UFC) swooped into range and countered an attempted guillotine from the Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a high-amplitude takedown. Cherant failed to release his grip on the way down and wandered into the fight-ending choke. Once Menifield connected his hands, the co…

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