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Derrick Lewis’ massive knockout of Curtis Blaydes halted the championship aspirations of his opponent, and it made “The Black Beast” $50,000 richer in the process.

Lewis received a “Performance of the Night” bonus thanks to a finish of Blaydes 1:26 into the second round of their heavyweight headliner at UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After getting outstruck for a round, Lewis timed a Blaydes’ takedown attempt and blasted his foe with an uppercut. The Houston native sealed his win with a pair of brutal ground strikes.

Elsewhere, Chris Daukaus garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for making short work of Alexey Oleynik in a featured heavyweight matchup. Daukaus forced the submission specialist to remain standing and rocked the Russian with a right hand, then swarmed with punches and knees against the fence to secure a stoppage 1:55 into Round 1.

Tom Aspinall was the third heavyweight on the main card to take home a $50,000 “…

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 may sound cliché, but Derrick Lewis really does only need one. “The Black Beast” took a massive step forward in a bid for another Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title shot, as he knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 185 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lewis (25-7, 16-5 UFC) brought it to an emphatic and frightening close 1:26 into Round 2.

Blaydes (14-3, 9-3 UFC) enjoyed some early success with a penetrating jab and thudding leg kicks but struggled to safely close the distance. He ducked into an uppercut in the second round, froze where he stood and collapsed backward. Lewis trailed his defenseless opponent to the canvas and slammed two right hands into his exposed face before referee Herb Dean could intervene.

Lewis, 36, now finds himself on a four-figh…

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 185 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…

A barrage of strikes@SexiMexi135 gets it done with only 15 seconds to go in RD 1! #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/1lNeEc3l7P

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 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.

John Castaneda made his footprint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy rep took care of former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Eddie Wineland with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 185 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Castaneda (18-5, 1-1 UFC) sealed the deal 4:44 into Round 1.

Wineland (24-15-1, 6-9 UFC) countered effectively with right hands, answered a head kick with a takedown and pressured his adversary onto his back foot. Castaneda turned the tide with a right cross and followed with an accurate multi-punch volley that drove the D…

Angela Hill and Ashley Yoder will square off for a second time at UFC Fight Night 186 next Saturday.

The strawweight pairing was announced during the UFC Fight Night 185 broadcast. UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Hill and Yoder initially squared off at “The Ultimate Fighter 25” finale in July 2017, with Hill winning a unanimous decision. “Overkill” enters the rematch on a tough-luck streak after dropping back-to-back split decisions against Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson. Prior to that, Hill had won four of her previous five Octagon appearances.

Yoder, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid in her last outing, as she outpointed Miranda Granger at UFC Fight Night 182 this past November. The Team Quest product is 3-5 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and 8-6 as a professional overall.

POWER OFF THE CHARTS

@OttmanAzaitar needs just 94 seconds to call it a night!

[ Card concludes next on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/UCMWqi0FeG — UFC (@ufc) September 13, 2020

In yet another strange turn of events, lightweight Ottman Azaitar has been granted a second chance by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC president Dana White revealed to ESPN on Saturday that Azaitar will remain on the roster after previously announcing the fighter would be released due to breaking COVID-19 protocols in Abu Dhabi ahead of a UFC 257 matchup with Matt Frevola.

“So [Azaitar] and his team cut off their wristbands, gave them to somebody outside the bubble – I don’t know how they even did it – that guy taped them, showed up here with a bag, went into a room, shimmied across four balconies, went into his room, dropped the bag off, changed his clothes, and then left. Now, when security tried to stop him, he wouldn’t stop. Either way, it’s j…

A women’s bantamweight showdown pitting former champion Holly Holm against “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner Julianna Pena is set for UFC Fight Night on May 8.

ESPN was first to report the booking. The event does not yet have an official location, and Holm vs. Pena is not expected to serve as the evening’s headliner. The card also includes a clash between Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez.

The 39-year-old Holm is coming off an impressive five-round verdict over Mexican contender Irene Aldana in the UFC on ESPN 16 main event on Oct. 3. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout has won three of her last four Octagon appearances, also notching triumphs over former 135-pound title challenger Raquel Pennington and current featherweight No. 1 contender Megan Anderson.

Pena, meanwhile, has won six of her eight promotional appearances, with her only defeats coming at the hands of ex-featherweight queen Germaine de Randamie and reigning 125-pound title holder Valentina Shevchenko. In…

UFC Fight Night 185 is down to 13 bouts after a positive COVID-19 test resulted in the cancellation of a lightweight clash between Drakkar Klose and Luis Pena.

Pena revealed that one of Klose’s cornermen tested positive for the virus in a post on his Twitter account. The bout is expected to postponed until a future UFC event.

I hate this man but it’s with a heavy heart that must inform you guys that the fight has been called off,” Pena wrote. “One of Drakkar’s corner tested positive for [COVID] and out of the health and safety for us both, the [UFC] decided to pull the fight. Praying that he and his team remain healthy.”

I hate this man but it’s with a heavy heart that must inform you guys that the fight has been called off one of Drakkar’s corner tested positive for covid and out of the health and safety for us both the @ufc decided to pull the fight praying that he and his team remain healthy

— Luis Antonio Pena (@violentbobross) Feb…

Rafael Alves missed weight for his featherweight bout against Patrick Sabatini at #UFCVegas19, coming in at 157.5 pounds. pic.twitter.com/jRQacn1xNc

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Rafael Alves cried before stepping on the scales, but the tears he shed didn't make enough of a difference as he still came in 11.5 pounds over the featherweight limit. It appears that the UFC Fight Night 185 weigh-ins might wind up being more drama-filled than the actual fights. The weigh-ins for the latest UFC card saw four fighters fail to make weight. While the headlining heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis is intact, the fight card drops down to 14 after the weigh-ins took place.

The fighter with the dishonorable distinction of missing weight by …

Getting some serious Cool Hand Luke vibes in the final minute.#LFA100 pic.twitter.com/jm6Id89hHt

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 20, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new flyweight champion at LFA 100. Only one-half of the main event was fighting for the belt due to late-replacement Nate Smith missing weight, but Victor Altamirano made sure the belt didn't stay vacant.

Altamirano (9-1) opened the fight by landing damaging leg kicks and showcased a clear advantage on the feet. While Smith (6-2) proved he was the better wrestler by taking down "El Magnifico" several times, Altamirano was able to minimize damage and get back to his feet. Neither man came close to finishing the other over five rounds, and ultimately, the judges saw the fight in favor of Altamirano with marks of 50-45, 49-46 and 50-44.

The co-main event saw flyweight prospects Karlee Pangilinan and Charles Johnson clash. Both men came out throwing on the fee…

Brad Riddell finally has confirmation of his next bout.

He meets No15 lightweight Gregor Gillespie the Brunson x Holland card on March 22 (NZT) pic.twitter.com/h7LLx425oS

— Christopher Reive (@ChrisReive) February 19, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Gregor Gillespie is coming back after a long time away following his first career loss.

The NZ Herald first reported on Friday that Gillespie (13-1) would be making his long-awaited comeback against Brad Riddell (9-1) on March 20. The UFC Fight Night event on that date is not yet numbered, and could take place on ABC or ESPN as well as ESPN+, but it will be held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The news has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Gillespie will be competing for the first time since late 2019, when Kevin Lee ki…

Now that the #LFA100 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/rnK8WCvlYq

: https://t.co/AWK56nmShK@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@SheathUnderwear@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/Ag8bkqSoui — LFA (@LFAfighting) February 19, 2021 A one-way title fight will now cap off the Legacy Fighting Alliance's 100th numbered event.

The LFA is back for a second straight week, this time with another belt on the line. Headlining LFA 100 is a flyweight title bout between Victor Altamirano and Nate Smith for the vacant championship that was last held by Jimmy Flick. However, the title fight comes with a significant asterisk, as only Altamirano is eligible for the belt after Smith weighed 2.6 pounds over the flyweight limit.

Both flyweights are coming into the bout with plenty of hype. Altamirano (8-1) holds the record for most wins in LFA history as he …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZD_3FCcbiI?start=212&w=560&h=315] A fighter has come clean amid concerns that he threw a fight in Afghanistan last Thursday.

On Feb. 11 at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan, the 11th event of Truly Grand Fighting Championship titled “Champions Fight Night” took place, with a seven-fight card that brought finishes in its last six bouts. In the main event, local Ahmed Wali Hotak took on the well-traveled Brazilian Leonardo Barbosa Paes Barreto at a 73kg (160-pound) catchweight. The two engaged in a tense stand-up affair, even though Barreto had notched all but one of his career stoppage wins by submission.

Midway through the second round, after a prolonged clinch exchange, Hotak struck his opponent with a knee to the chest, and the impact of the strike made Barreto fall back in an unusual way that instantly drew ire from the MMA community. Referee Yousuf Momand leapt in to stop the match after less than three hammerfists h…

Just announced!! TWO Canadian bouts are official for March 13th!

@MishaC911 vs @Superman_Spann@MeanMachine505 vs @JourdainAir pic.twitter.com/XHtwUKf69n

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 18, 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. An intriguing Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight battle has been rebooked for an upcoming March event.

At UFC Fight Night 183 in December, Misha Cirkunov (15-5) and Ryan Spann (18-6) were slated to square off against one another, only for the match to fall through when Cirkunov suffered an injury. The promotion promised the pairing would be maintained for a future event, and on Thursday, the UFC announced that Cirkunov vs. Spann has been placed on UFC Fight Night 187. The two will meet at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13.

Latvian-Canadian finisher Cirkunov has alternated firs…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXMvUv3rwaA?start=6&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. Two top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights looking to separate themselves from the pack will come to blows in May. Combate first reported the story that Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) will take on Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) at the UFC Fight Night event on May 1. This event is expected to take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but its location has not been formalized.

Abdurakhimov will be competing for the first time since September 2019, with a pair of scrapped 2020 matchups against Ciryl Gane nixed for various reasons. The Dagestan native’s last appearance came against Curtis Blaydes, and he was pounded out by ferocious ground-and-pound to snap a three-fight win streak. Prior to getting clobbered by Blaydes, Abdurakhimov rattled off a trio of wins on…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB4lXDV70TA&w=560&h=315]

Fifteen votes will determine the new rankings for Bellator MMA in every weight category.

The organization officially released its fighter rankings panel on Thursday via press release, which will allow for 15 MMA media members to select the top-10 fighters in each Bellator division: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women's featherweight and women's flyweight. Beyond selecting fighters from seven men’s categories and two for women, the voters will be picking pound-for-pound fighters for both men and women. Bellator will be using a third-party firm called Combat Registry to count the votes and prepare the lists, which will come from votes following every Bellator event. Sherdog.com was asked to join the panel, but opted not to participate in the process.

Twenty percent of the panel will be constituted of MMA Junkie staff members, with Geo…

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. For the first time in nearly three years, Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Johnny Eduardo will be back in action. Per a report initially from MMA Junkie on Thursday, Eduardo (28-12) will be squaring off with Anthony Birchak (16-7) on the March 20 UFC event. The Fight Night card, which does not currently have a designation as it could air on ESPN or the ESPN+ streaming service, is slated to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pairing has since been confirmed by Birchak on his social media.

Eduardo will take his first trip to the Octagon since an unsuccessful outing against Nathaniel Wood at UFC Fight Night 131 in June 2018. Since then, the Brazilian has not been booked in any UFC match, nor has he publicly suffered from any illnesses or injuries to keep him out of the cage for this long. Although he inten…

No guts no glory MAIN EVENT MUHAMMAD pic.twitter.com/gqZbHiOzTN

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 18, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Belal Muhammad is striking while the iron is hot. Courtesy of an ESPN announcement on Thursday, Muhammad (18-3) will be stepping in on short notice to take on Leon Edwards (18-3) atop UFC Fight Night 187. The two 170-pounders will come to blows at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13, with Muhammad replacing the COVID-afflicted Khamzat Chimaev. Muhammad quickly confirmed this booking on his social media.

The bout will be a very quick turnaround for the man known as “Remember the Name,” who bested Dhiego Lima across three rounds on Feb. 13. The win lifted Muhammad to a four-fight win streak that has seem him defeat Lyman Good, Takashi Sato and Cu…

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

Even with money tight internationally, the Professional Fighters League has added a significant investment to its already sizeable war chest.

On Thursday, the promotion sent out a press release announcing that a new investment from Ares Capital, Elysian Park Ventures and Knighthead Capital totaling $65 has been added to the PFL’s budget. This addition to the PFL’s funding that already combined for $110 million now totals a whopping $175 million. Per broadcast partner ESPN, a significant amount of this figure will be spent on free agent acquisitions.

The tournament-centric league, which took off the whole of 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic, has bolstered its ranks in its extended offseason. In addition to retaining the services of its previous champions like Lance Palmer, Ray Cooper III and Kayla Harrison, it has al…

Anthony Hernandez soumet l’invaincu (7-0 en MMA jusque là, 100% de finish) quadruple champion du monde de JJB, champion de l’ADCC en 2015, Rodolfo Vieira #UFC258pic.twitter.com/TT7gWaJoX3

— La Sueur (@lasueur_off) February 14, 2021

The UFC 258 preliminary card attracted 794,000 viewers to ESPN on Saturday night, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The two-hour prelims aired on ESPN from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and saw Anthony Hernandez submit Rodolfo Vieira in the featured matchup on that portion of the card. The prelims also aired on ESPN+, but viewership figures aren’t available for the streaming platform.

UFC 258 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Kamaru Usman retain his welterweight crown with a third-round stoppage of Gilbert Burns in the evening’s headliner. Outside of the main event, the card didn’t have the usual star power of a pay-per-view offering.

As expected, the ratings for the UFC 258 prelims came in below thos…

Dana White’s recent revelation that Jon Jones would get to face the winner of the Stipe Miocic-Francis Ngannou bout didn’t come as a surprise to Curtis Blaydes.

Miocic and Ngannou will square off in the UFC 260 headliner on March 27, and if all goes as planned Jones will get a chance to vie for heavyweight gold against the winner sometime in the summer. That leaves a contender like Blaydes, who will be gunning for his fifth consecutive triumph in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event agianst Derrick Lewis, on the outside looking in.

“I expected it. It’s Jon Jones. He's a money fight," Blaydes told ESPN. "If he wants to fight for the belt, yeah, he gets to fight for the belt. I'm not shocked. Do I think it's the most fair thing? No, but that's not what this business is about. It’s not about fair and who’s earned what.”

Jones, who is widely regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all-time, vacated his belt last year in anticipation of a move to heavyweight. I…

A pivotal women’s flyweight showdown between Katlyn Chookagian and Viviane Araujo is in the works for a UFC event on May 15.

ESPN was first to report the matchup, which is close to being finalized by the Las Vegas-based promotion. A location and headliner for the card have not been confirmed.

A former title challenger at 125 pounds, Chookagian has been victorious in four of six Octagon appearances since 2019. Most recently, “Blonde Fighter” outpointed Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. The Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu representative’s resume also features wins over the likes of Jennifer Maia, Joanne Calderwood, Irene Aldana and Lauren Murphy.

Araujo, meanwhile, has earned victories in four of five promotional outings. The 34-year-old Brazilian enters the matchup with Chookagian on the strength of back-to-back decision triumphs over Montana De La Rosa and Roxanne Modafferi. Her lone defeat in the Octagon came against Jessica Eye at UFC 245.

UFC veteran Bryan Caraway is facing multiple charges after allegedly stealing an ATV from ex-girlfriend Miesha Tate and filing fraudulent insurance claims on the vehicle.

According to a report from the Tri-Cities Herald, Caraway is expected to enter a plea on March 11 forgery, making a false statement on a vehicle application certificate of title, false claims of proof in excess of $1,500 and first-degree attempted theft.

Caraway allegedly forged the title for a 2015 Polaris RZR and reported the vehicle stolen from his home in December 2018. Per court documents, Caraway bought the insurance policy just days before filing the claim. In the claim, Caraway valued the vehicle and its contents at $18,500.

After missing a Feb. 4 court hearing, Caraway appeared on the Washington state Officer of the Insurance Commissioner’s “Most Wanted” list. Caraway was removed from the list when he contacted the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office to schedule a new arraignment date on his c…

The last time Curtis Blaydes was in the Octagon, he landed a whopping 14 takedowns en route to a five-round verdict over Alexander Volkov in the UFC on ESPN 11 headliner this past June.

Considering Volkov’s most recent performance against Alistair Overeem, the victory looks even more impressive in hindsight. However, UFC president Dana White didn't seem to appreciate the means by which Blaydes had his hand raised, especially since the heavyweight contender fatigued somewhat down the stretch.

“He won. He talked a lot of s—t coming in this week,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I don’t think you can talk the s—t that he talked this week and come in and perform like that. Talking about ragdolling people and not getting paid. Yada yada. He should be getting a title shot. He gassed out at the end of the third round, made it to the fifth and won the fight. Yeah, he won.”

As he heads into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 185 main event against Derrick Lewis…