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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 …

HE BROKE HIS ARM@AndreMunizUFC submits Jacare Souza in Round 1!! #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/dH6tn41xhZ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) May 16, 2021

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.

Andre Muniz won’t soon forget his third Ultimate Fighting Championship triumph.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum scored the most significant victory of his career to date at UFC 262, submitting eight-time world jiu-jitsu champion Ronaldo Souza in the opening round of their middleweight clash at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. Muniz (21-4, 3-0 UFC) locked in an armbar 3:59 into Round 1, with an audible snap bringing an immediate end to the contest. Muniz has won his last seven professional bouts.

Souza, who is mired in a four-fight losing streak, was submitted for the first time in his 37-bout professional tenure.

“I’m a fan…

One Championship has crowned its second ever heavyweight king.

The main event of the tape-delayed event One Championship “Dangal” saw former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound and heavyweight contender Brandon Vera (16-9 1NC) put his title on the line against fellow UFC vet Arjan Singh Bhullar (11-1). “The Truth” approached the battle with a cautious gameplan as he kept scoring with his jab and switching stances, as to not to offer any window for Bhullar to showcase his wrestling skills. The Canadian fighter was satisfied with keeping the center of the cage and throwing his jab early. Shortly after the midpoint of the first frame, Bhullar faked a punch before duping his opponent into a successful takedown that led to the Canadian fighter keeping the top position for the rest of the frame, completely unconcerned and unthreatened by Vera’s kimura attempts from the bottom.

The defending champion looked quite fatigued entering into the second stanza. Bhullar made the…

.@TheJawaiian vs. @DanielSwainMMA is now up next in the main event of #LFA107!@ShellsDotCom@Drink9mm@KoiCBD@GLCDirect2000@SanfordPentagon@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/0hqkflHfj6

— LFA (@LFAfighting) May 15, 2021 Lightweights Kamuela Kirk and Daniel Swain went to battle in the LFA 107 main event, but only one of them wanted to go three rounds inside the Legacy Fighting Alliance Octagon.

A wild first round saw Kirk (11-4) hurt Swain (20-11-1) with punches and land some damaging knees. Swain would lock in an armbar, but Kirk would slam his way out of the submission. The second round saw Swain once again look for an armbar but a few slams forced the grappler to let go, and "The Jawaiian" ended the frame in mount. In between rounds, Swain decided not to continue and said that he's retired giving Kirk a TKO victory via retirement. After the bout, Kirk expressed a desire to go to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ricardo Dias scored a knockou…

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 one Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender, a four-fight win streak is about to come to an end. Per ESPN on Friday, the promotion is putting together a 185-pound scrap between Uriah Hall (17-9) and Sean Strickland (23-3) for UFC 265. The event, which does not currently have a venue set although it may be held in an arena and not the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, will go down on Aug. 7.

Hall is currently riding his longest win streak since beginning his career at 4-0, with knockouts of Bevon Lewis and Anderson Silva along the way. In his last time out, Hall rematched Chris Weidman in April. In just 17 seconds, Hall checked a leg kick that broke Weidman’s leg, thereby awarding Hall the TKO win without ever throwing a single strike. Hall’s career finish rate sits at 82 percent after this run.

Strickland also finds h…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilD7VdIGNl8&w=640&h=360] 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. A new Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion will be crowned after the unstoppable Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped away from the sport last year. Headlining UFC 262 is a vacant 155-pound title fight between the streaking Charles Oliveira and former Bellator MMA king Michael Chandler. The UFC's latest pay-per-view card is now official after the weigh-ins took place. All but one fighter made weight, although the "hoop" to cover fighters was needed multiple times.

Having won eight straight fights, Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) is finally living up to his potential. "Do Bronx" most recently bested Tony Ferguson via decision, but had finished all seven of his prior opponents. Along the way, he tapped out names like Kevin Lee, Jim Miller and Clay Guida. The 31-year-old…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JqREYwK2g&w=640&h=360] Two fighters failed to make weight for the Legacy Fighting Alliance's first card of May.

Headlining LFA 107 is a lightweight bout between Kamuela Kirk and Daniel Swain. The main eventers had no trouble making weight, showing their professionalism on the scales. However, Samarbek Sabyrzhan and L.J. Smith Portee both failed to make their contracted weights. Despite each coming in 1.6 pounds heavy, their respective fights are still on.

An LFA mainstay, Kirk (10-4) is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Guilherme Santos. This was a bounce-back win for "The Jawaiian," who dropped a decision to Bruno Souza in his last bout and lost via TKO to Billy Quarantillo prior to that. Kirk stepped on the scale at 155.8 pounds.

Despite having 31 professional fights, this is the first time that Swain (20-10-1) has stepped into the LFA cage. "Agent Orange" is coming off a loss to T.J. Laramie, but had won four of hi…

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 featherweight Julio Arce is hoping that a move down to 135 pounds will provide the spark he needs to move up the ranks. At an unnamed UFC Fight Night card on July 24, Arce (16-4) is planning on dropping to bantamweight to take on Andre Ewell (17-7). The news was first reported by MMA Fighting on Thursday. Arce later confirmed the pairing on his Instagram.

Arce surged into the UFC with a drubbing of Peter Petties on the first season of Dana White's Contender Series, and the New Yorker amassed a win streak of seven before meeting Sheymon Moraes in 2018. At UFC 230, Arce suffered a split decision loss, although he rebounded by head kicking Julian Erosa seven months later. Another split decision setback, this time to Hakeem Dawodu in November 2019, left him at a crossroads. A February matchup with T…

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 Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight grapplers with equal 92 percent finish rates will toe the line in June. Seventeen years will separate Alexey Oleynik (59-15-1) and Sergey Spivak (12-2) when they meet at UFC on ESPN 25 on June 19, per a report from Russian outlet Vetnik MMA on Thursday. Spivak has since confirmed the heavyweight pairing on his Instagram, with the two meeting at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The 43-year-old Oleynik is currently on a two-fight knockout loss skid, with Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus both putting him away with punches. Against Lewis, Oleynik very nearly had “The Black Beast” finished with a scarf hold, but Lewis survived and blasted him in the next round. The Russian submission magician sports an incredible 46 wins by submission over the years, as one of the very few MMA fighters in histor…

#2021PFL4 Featherweight and Lightweight matchups are OFFICIAL! pic.twitter.com/bFNqftIOZh

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 13, 2021 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 though Anthony Pettis lost his first Professional Fighters League fight, the promotion is placing him higher on his next card than the man that beat him. On Thursday, the PFL released its lineup for PFL 4: 2021 Regular Season, which takes place at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on June 10. Ten fights throughout the featherweight and lightweight divisions have been matched for this event, plus the previously announced women’s lightweight non-tournament battle between Claressa Shields (0-0) and Brittney Elkin (3-6) which will be high on the main card and possibly even the headliner. The tournament main event comes at lightweight, as Anthony Pettis (24-11) takes on…

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. The time may soon come where Ultimate Fighting Championship announcer Bruce Buffer has to say the words “Huggy Bear” at an event. A report from Fight Bananas came out on Thursday stating that Ben Rothwell (38-13) has a new opponent. Rothwell, once booked against Philipe Lins and then later Askar Mozharov, will now be meeting UFC newcomer Chris Barnett (21-6) at UFC Fight Night 188. Ukraine’s Mozharov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues. The news of this heavyweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Barnett, a frequent super heavyweight, has bounced around promotions like Road FC and Island Fights over the years. The man known as “Huggy Bear,” and more recently as “Beastboy,” is riding a six-fight win streak with four knockouts into his signing. His level of competition throu…

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 fan-favorite Jeremy Stephens is getting a new opponent for his return to lightweight. On Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) is still planning a trip back to 155 pounds, but it will not be against the previously planned Drakkar Klose any longer. Instead, Stephens will greet Mateusz Gamrot (18-1, 1 NC) inside the Octagon on July 17. The UFC Fight Night card on that date does not yet have a location or venue set, although it is expected to take place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to the pandemic still raging on. Gamrot has since confirmed the news of this booking on his Instagram.

Stephens was booked against Klose at UFC on ESPN 22 in April, but a weigh-in altercation where Stephens grabbed Klose’s neck, inflicting damage on Klose and forced the latter out of the fight. Kl…

A middleweight clash of contenders pitting Darren Till against Derek Brunson has nearly been finalized for the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship offering on Aug. 14.

ESPN initially brought word of the matchup. The booking is contingent upon Till recovering from a broken collarbone which forced him out of a proposed showdown with Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10. The location for the UFC Fight Night event has yet to be announced.

Till has lost three of his last four promotional apppearances. In his last outing, the Liverpool native fell to 1-1 at 185 pounds following a five-round defeat to Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner.

The 37-year-old Brunson is enjoying yet another resurgence thanks to a four-fight winning streak that dates back to May 2019. His last two appearances have been arguably the most impressive, as he has upended middleweight prospects Edmen Shahbazyan and Kevin Holland in consecutive fights.

A matchup between lightweight prospects is in the works, as Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises are expected to square off in a three-round bout on July 17.

The UFC is close to finalizing the 155-pound contest, according to broadcast partner ESPN. A main event and location for the card have yet to be determined.

A teammate of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 29-year-old Dagestani submitted Drew Dober with an arm triangle in the third round of their UFC 259 clash on March 6.

Moises, meanwhile, is on a three-bout winning streak in the Octagon. After submitting Michael Johnson, the 26-year-old American Top Team representative has earned consecutive decision triumphs over Bobby Green and Alexander Hernandez.

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier will headline a UFC event on Aug. 21.

ESPN was first to report the middleweight booking, which is expected to be finalized soon. The location for the card has yet to be determined.

Costa hasn’t competed since suffering a second-round TKO loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight championship bout at UFC 253 last September. “Borrachinha” was slated to face Robert Whittaker on April 17 but was forced to pull out of the bout due to illness. The 30-year-old Brazilian was victorious in his first 13 pro outings before falling to Adesanya.

Cannonier was tabbed as a title contender in waiting following a trio of TKO victories against David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. That momentum was derailed, however, in a decision defeat to Whittaker at UFC 254 in October.

The whiskey business has been quite lucrative for Conor McGregor.

The former UFC two-division champion checked in at No. 1 on Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes for 2021. McGregor’s ranking was due in large part to selling a majority stake of Proper No. Twelve for $150 million.

According to Forbes, McGregor earned a total of $180 million the past 12 months, and that includes $158 million outside of his fighting career. The Irish superstar joins Tiger Woods and Roger Federer as the only athletes to garner in excess of $70 million outside of their sport while still actively competing.

While whiskey was the main source of McGregor’s rise to the top of the list, he also secured endorsements with DraftKings, the video game Dystopia: Contest of Heroes and Roots of Fight. McGregor previously made the Forbes Top 10 in 2018 with $99 million in earnings following his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

McGregor, who ranked just ahead of soccer stars Lionel M…

A matchup of Brazilian light heavyweights has been targeted for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Sept. 25.

Former 205-pound title challenger Thiago Santos is expected to lock horns with Johnny Walker on the card, which hasn’t been official announced by the promotion. While verbal agreements are in place for the fight, contracts have not been signed. Combate was first to report the booking. The event doesn’t have an official location or headliner at this time.

Santos will look to end a three-bout losing streak when he squares off against Walker. After fallling to then champion Jon Jones in a competitive split decision at UFC 239, “Marreta” returned from multiple knee surgeries to drop back-to-back fights against Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. The 37-year-old Brazilian was victorious in eight of nine Octagon appearances from February 2017 to February 2019.

Walker, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round knockout of Ryan Spann at UFC…

Charles Oliveira’s coach is confident that his fighter will be able to finish Michael Chandler inside the distance at UFC 262.

Diego Lima, the leader of Chute Boxe Sao Paulo, spoke to Sherdog.com shortly after arriving in Houston for fight week along with Oliveira and Jorge Macaco. He said that preparations for the lightweight title bout have gone much smoother than they did for “Do Bronx’s” last Octagon appearance.

“Our last fight against [Tony] Ferguson was such a stressful atmosphere due to the short notice of one week,” Lima said. “Besides not having a normal camp, we had a pretty tough weight cut, plus [dealing with] all the visa and COVID-19 processes.

“This time, everything went perfectly. We tested negative in Sao Paulo and here in Houston. And, besides being very well trained, Charles just needs to cut 11 pounds by Friday.”

Lima revealed that the whole Chute Boxe team collaborated in helping Oliveira prepare for his title fight with Chandler.

…

Have peace in the process and joy in the journey! @RoSimonJr @Fast7v7 @Deestroying @KevinLamarCole1 @vitorbelfort pic.twitter.com/d84AsY9mdT

— Davi Belfort (@DaviBelfort) March 7, 2021

Davi Belfort, the 16-year-old son of former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, has drawn the attention of several colleges thanks to his quarterbacking abilities.

“He followed me in the gym since he was very young. Certainly that routine helped him to fall in love with football, because I never forced him or my daughters to fight,” Belfort told Sherdog.com.

According to the elder Belfort, Davi drew interest ahead of schedule for his abilities on the gridiron. The quarterback prospect attends Cardinal Newman in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I was really impressed how focused he is and how he uses social media to make good connections to improve,” Vitor said. “Now, for example, he is training with (University of Alabama quarterback) Bryce Young in Costa Mesa. Bryce in…

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

Rizin Fighting Federation has once again shuffled its upcoming event schedule.

The Japanese promotion has postponed Rizin 29 from May 30 to June 13 in order to allow fan attendance at the event. Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced the news during a press conference.

“I have made the decision to postpone the event after consulting with the fighters, staff and organizers,” Sakakibara said. “Everyone was willing to adapt and put on the show for fans a month later.

“It has been nearly a year with reduced attendance, but the fans’ presence and support is what pushes the fighters to put on the best shows.”

Rizin 29 takes place at Maruzen Intech Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan and features four bouts in the opening round of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix. The latest postponement comes after the organization rescheduled Rizin 28, slated for the Tokyo Dome on May 23, to June 13 due to a “sta…