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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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Cleveland, the is official!

[ #UFC260 LIVE on #ESPNPlus PPV: https://t.co/BafF9Km8j8 ] pic.twitter.com/dyL6vZzpGY

— UFC (@ufc) March 26, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title will be on the line as the UFC 260 main event is now official after the weigh-ins took place.

As expected, both Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou made weight without issue as both came in under the 265-pound limit. There will be quite the size difference, though, as Ngannou weighed 29 pounds heavier than the champion. The rest of the weigh-ins weren’t as drama-free as both Fabio Cherant and Jared Gooden initially came in half a pound heavy for their respective bouts. Gooden made weight on his second attempt, while Cherant opted not to weigh-in again.

Having spent the past two years preparing an…

Spike gets it done! Chalk one up for whatever the bad guys are called in Star Wars. #LFA103 pic.twitter.com/rENkYwR0tz

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 27, 2021 Spike Carlyle made a triumphant return to the Legacy Fighting Alliance by winning the LFA 103 main event.

Carlyle (10-3) was given a stern test in his first bout since being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championship by facing Batsumberel Dagvadorj, who dropped down to lightweight after suffering the first defeat of his career. The "Alpha Ginger" was hurt early by a knee to the body thrown by Dagvadorj (7-2, 1 NC), which forced Carlyle to take down his Mongolian opponent. After the fight hit the mat, Carlyle was able to sink in a rear-naked choke that ended the fight at the 4:00 mark.

The co-main event saw former strawweight women's champion Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos return against Cynthia Arceo, who missed weight by 2.8 pounds. Demopoulos (6-3) made Arceo (5-3-1) …

Updates to our upcoming slate of events: https://t.co/EQYcxbxoaH

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) March 26, 2021 Two sections of the Bellator MMA light heavyweight grand prix are being pushed back, but the pairings are all still intact.

The organization announced via press release on Friday that two of the four light heavyweight tilts for the quarterfinals of its tournament had been pushed back. Corey Anderson (14-5) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (18-5-1), which was booked for Bellator 256 on April 9, has now been relocated to Bellator 257 one week later. Additionally, the highly anticipated battle between Anthony Johnson (22-6) and Yoel Romero (13-5) has been bumped from its previous placement of Bellator 257 to Bellator 258 on May 7.

The reasons for the changes were explained by Bellator President Scott Coker. He stated, “Like everyone, we had a few hurdles with travel issues and had to move some things around, but I'm pleased…

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 perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contenders will lock horns in July. Middleweight Omari Akhmedov (21-5-1) announced on Instagram that his contract had been signed for his next bout. The Dagestan native, per MMA Fighting, will be taking on Brad Tavares (18-6) at UFC 264. The two will throw hands on July 10, and there is no official venue or location in the books for this top-15 185-pound matchup.

Akhmedov rebounded from his first defeat since 2016, where he dropped a decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 in August 2020, by tapping out jiu-jitsu standout Tom Breese in the second round. The stoppage win for “Wolverine” was his first finish since 2015, and his first not by injury since 2013. Before tapping Breese, Akhmedov reached the scorecards in each of his last seven bouts, and had fought in…