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Paulo Costa was expected to bring the fight to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253.

Instead, the hulking Brazilian spent the majority of the middleweight championship bout either absorbing pinpoint strikes or taunting his opponent before falling via second-round technical knockout at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi this past Saturday night. All told, “Borrachinha” landed just 12 significant strikes before the contest was called at the 3:59 mark of Round 2.

It was a far cry from the blitzing middleweight whose aggressive style had resulted in 11 professional victories via knockout or technical knockout.

“So much for ‘Fight of the Year’ – it was ‘Domination of the Year,'” White said at the UFC 253 post-fight news conference. “It was weird because if you look at every other fight that Costa has had, he comes out and goes after…

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Makwan Amirkhani will step in for Sodiq Yusuff and face Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 179.

Combate was first to report the change to the featherweight bout. A reason for Yusuff’s withdrawal is currently unknown. UFC Fight Night 179 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 10 and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen.

Amirkhani, 31, enters the matchup with Barboza having won three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Mr. Finland” scored a first-round submission of Danny Henry at UFC 251 on July 11.

Barboza made his featherweight debut at UFC on ESPN 8, where he dropped a closely-contested split decision against Dan Ige on May 16. The 34-year-old Brazilian has lost five of his last six promotional outings, with his only win during that stretch c…

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Bobby Green will square off against Thiago Moises in a lightweight contest on the UFC’s Halloween bill.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the matchup. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall.

Green has enjoyed an active 2020 thus far, posting decision triumphs over Clay Guida, Lando Vannata and Alan Patrick. Prior to that streak, the former King of the Cage champion had been victorious in just one of his previous seven UFC appearances dating back to November 2014.

A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance title holder, Moises has alternated wins and losses in his first four promotional outings. Most recently, the 25-year-old American Top Team product submitted Michael Johnson in the second stanza at UFC Fight N…

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A lightweight showdown pitting Renato Carneiro against Rafael Fiziev is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Nov. 28 card.

Combate was first to report the booking. The event is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. A location for the card has not been announced.

After a successful stint at featherweight, “Moicano” made his 155-pound debut at UFC Fight Night 170, where he submitted Damir Hadzovic in just 44 seconds on March 14. He was scheduled to face Magomed Mustafaev on Oct. 17 but withdrew from that contest.

After dropping his Octagon debut, Fiziev has scored back-to-back decision triumphs against Alex White at UFC Fight Night 162 and against Marc Diakiese at UFC Fight Night 172. The 27-year-old Kyrgyzstan native is 8-1 as a professional, with six triumphs comin…

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UFC 254 will feature a larger-than-average pay-per-view lineup.

The promotion revealed on Saturday that main card for the Oct. 24 event will feature six bouts; usually UFC pay-per-views consist of five fights. The last pay-per-view to have a six-bout main draw was UFC 190, which took place on Aug. 1, 2015 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was headlined by a women’s bantamweight championship clash between Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia.

UFC 254 takes place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is topped by a lightweight title unification bout pitting reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against interim king Justin Gaethje.

The rest of the pay-per-view lineup is as follows: Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier at middleweight; Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris at heavyweight; Islam Makhache…

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It appears the Ultimate Fighting Championship has shifted gears when it comes to its plans for Jorge Masvidal.

The Las Vegas-based promotion was reportedly looking to book Masvidal in a “BMF” title rematch against Nate Diaz at some point in early 2021, but those plans have changed following Colby Covington’s dismantling of Tyron Woodley at UFC Fight Night 178. Now, a showdown between former American Top Team stablemates appears to be on the horizon.

“It’s very possible (Masvidal vs. Covington) is next,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference on Saturday. “… I don’t know if we’ve even talked to Nate yet. But yeah, after the Colby fight (vs. TWoodley), how do you not make that fight? That’s the fight that makes sense.

“The Nate Diaz rematch is going to be there no matter what hap…

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Saturday’s UFC 253 headliner was billed as a potential “Fight of the Year” contender, a clash of undefeated titans in the middleweight division.

In the end, it was little more than a showcase for reigning 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender” was never threatened by Paulo Costa on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, and he ultimately cruised to a technical knockout victory 3:59 into the second round. The City Kickboxing representative saw the writing on the wall early.

“After the first round,” Adesanya said at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference. “I was so fresh. I looked over and I could see he was sitting down. In the second round, his antics, what they want — they want me to stand there. ‘Come, come, why you running, come here.’ They just want me to stand there so you can punch me.

“I’m not …

pic.twitter.com/jrkReoMDQl

— Kakutogi News (@KakutogiWorld) September 27, 2020

Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion Kai Asakura was simply too much for Shoji Maruyama.

Though his belt wasn’t on the line, Asakura was nonetheless in prime form in the Rizin 24 headliner on Sunday, as he defeated Maruyama via technical knockout 2:37 into Round 1 of their non-title affair at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Asakura has now been victorious in eight of nine appearances within the Japanese promotion.

Asakura took control from the outset, tagging Maruyama with a variety of punches and kicks before dropping his opponent with a one-two combination. As Maruyama attempted to hustle to his feet, the Tri-Force Akasaka product rocked his man with a soccer kick, forcing referee Yauhiro Tazawa to step in and wave off the bout. It was Asakura’s second consecutive victory by way of soccer kicks; he stopped Hiromasa Ougikubo with the maneuver…

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Dominick Reyes entered UFC 253 with the mindset of a champion defending his belt. He left the Octagon humbled by Polish power.

Coming off a narrow loss to Jon Jones that many observers thought he won, Reyes was a prohibitive favorite to claim the vacant light heavyweight crown against Jan Blachowicz, but it was the Polish veteran who ultimately emerged with a second-round technical knockout triumph at the Flash forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

Blachowicz adopted a measured approach from the outset, battering Reyes with powerful kicks to the body that left a gnarly bruise on the Californian’s side. In Round 2, Blachowicz appeared to break Reyes’ nose and then later dropped him with a left hand behind the ear. Follow-up punches sealed the deal at the 4:36 mark of the period, making Blachowicz the UFC’s 13th light h…

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Jon Jones didn’t have any backhanded compliments or snarky remarks for Jan Blachowicz following the Polish standout’s title-winning performance against Dominick Reyes at UFC 253.

Blachowicz claimed the 205-pound belt vacated by Jones earlier this year with a technical knockout of Reyes 4:36 into the second round of Saturday’s co-main event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Though Reyes was favored thanks to a near-miss against Jones earlier this year, Blachowicz was in control throughout, bruising his opponent’s side with wicked body kicks before unleashing a salvo of punches that broke Reyes’ nose and floored him in the decisive second frame.

In his post-fight interview, Blachowicz asked for Jones to come back to the light heavyweight division. Of course, the Jackson-Wink MMA standout is currently preparing for a move to h…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

There were no suprises when it came to bonus selections at UFC 253, as Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Brandon Royval and Kai Kara France eached received an extra $50,000 for their work in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

Adesanya earned a “Performance of the Night” award for an impressive stoppage of Paulo Costa in the evening’s middleweight headliner. “The Last Stylebender” chopped away at his opponent’s legs early before flooring the Brazilian with a left hook and sealing his victory with ground-and-pound at the 3:59 mark of Round 2 to retain his 185-pound title.

Meanwhile, Blachowicz garnered the evening’s other “Performance of the Night” check for a second-round technical knockout of Dominick Reyes in a matchup for the vacant light heavyweight crown in the co-main event. The Polish veteran appeared to break Reyes’ n…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The divide between Israel Adesanya and his top challenger was far greater than anyone realized. “The Last Stylebender” retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title with a scintillating stoppage of Paulo Costa in the UFC 253 headliner on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Costa (13-1, 5-1 UFC) met his end 3:59 into Round 2, the latest victim on Adesanya’s march to all-time greatness.

It was a blowout from start to finish. Adesanya (20-0, 9-0 UFC) wrecked the Brazilian’s lead leg with repeated kicks, frustrated him with quick movements and methodically dismantled him. He unleashed a multi-punch volley to the head and body in the second round, floored Costa with a compact left hook and closed the door on him with mounted ground-and-pound.

Blachowicz Fells Reyes, Strikes UF…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 253 “Adesanya vs. Costa” coverage begins Saturday at 7 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:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp …

THE EARTHQUAKE!

@BradQuakeRiddel erupts in the last two rounds for the UD!

[ #UFC253 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/8fLF134oOg — UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2020

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Brad Riddell may not be a household name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, but he appears to be moving in that direction.

The City Kickboxing standout weathered some early adversity, hit the accelerator and climbed another rung on the 155-pound ladder, as he took a unanimous decision from Alex da Silva Coelho in the featured UFC 253 prelim on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Riddell (9-1, 3-0 UFC), who now finds himself in possession of a six-fight winning streak.

Coelho (21-3, 1-2 UFC) secured two taked…

BIG takedown from Costello van Steenis on Fabian Edwards in round !

This tense main event is LIVE NOW on @channel5_tv. #BellatorMilan pic.twitter.com/DnlZVKGwMq

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) September 26, 2020 Costello van Steenis knocked Fabian Edwards from the ranks of the unbeaten at Bellator Milan on Saturday at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. It was Bellator’s first event in Europe since the COVID-19 outbreak.  

The middleweight contenders studied each other for the majority of the first stanza, but it looked like it was van Steenis (13-2) who deserved to take the round home, as he landed several brutal leg kicks on Edwards’ (9-1) lead leg. In the second frame, "The Spaniard" landed the first takedown of the match, dragging Edwards into a sticky situation thanks to an almost-closed guillotine choke attempt. In the last few seconds of Round 2, van Steenis landed several heavy shots of ground-and-pound that alm…

Mason 'The Dragon' Jones is THE MAN.

A TKO victory in the first round - he is now the double champ. DOUBLE DRAGON #CW116 pic.twitter.com/Pb2vev6E03

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 26, 2020 Mason Jones can now call himself a two-division champion in Cage Warriors.

The reigning lightweight king defeated Adam Proctor via technical knockout to claim the vacant 170-pound strap in the Cage Warriors 116 main event at BEC Arena in Manchester, England, on Saturday. Jones (10-0) brought a halt to the contest with a series of unanswered punches to the side of his opponent’s head 4:31 into Round 1.

“They look good on my shoulders,” Jones said of the belts. “Everyone knew I could do this. I knew I could get him out of there early, and I showed that.”

Jones ignored a visible size discrepancy to draw Proctor (12-2) into a fire fight. Although Proctor was able to sting the Welshman with long, rangy strikes on occasion, “The Dragon” l…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiIlguJ4I6I&w=560&h=315] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 253 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Although a pair of bouts have been transformed into 150-pound catchweights, the weigh-ins for UFC 253 are official and the championship bouts are set. The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to "Fight Island" for its latest pay-per-view. UFC 253 is headlined by a middleweight title tilt as champion Israel Adesanya takes on rival Paulo Henrique Costa. The co-headliner will also put gold on the line, where the promotion will see a new light heavyweight king crowned.

While his last fight against Yoel Romero was a dud, Adesanya (19-0) will look to put on an exciting bout in his second title defense. Adesanya’s incredible rise to stardom saw him knockout Robert Whittaker and win clear decisions over Kelvin Gastelum and Anderson Silva along the way. “The Last Styleben…

Conor McGregor says he is fighting Manny Pacquiao. PLEASE happen.

Opening odds @betonline_ag :

Pac-Man -1200Conor +700

Odds> https://t.co/Brb9nyMjEX

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) September 25, 2020 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. Manny Pacquiao has predictably opened as a massive favorite over Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor.

On Friday, McGregor (22-4 MMA, 0-1 Box) revealed that he was negotiating with the UFC and Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) to stage a boxing match towards the end of the year. Even though the matchup is far from official, betting lines have opened with McGregor as a huge underdog against his potential Filipino foe.

According to sportsbook betonline.ag, Pacquiao is a -1200 favorite against McGregor (+700) in their discussed bout. This same book has boxing lines of potential Flo…

A smooth transition to a submission victory for the champAll in two minutes #AndStill #CW115

Knockouts and submissions, whats next for Jack Cartwright? pic.twitter.com/Q8lp0xHlUM

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 25, 2020 It was a quick night at the office for the defending champion. The CW 115 card was headlined by the championship battle between Jack Cartwright (9-0) and Gerardo Fanny (9-2). It took just over two minutes for Cartwright to secure the victory, doing so with style points. The British fighter relocated the action to the floor as soon as the fight started, and after a few scrambles, he locked an arm-triangle choke that forced Fanny to tap. The win was Cartwright’s fifth by submission, and all five have come in the first round.

Precision and pressure, James Webb gets the W and is on the road back to the top

A first round submission #CW115 pic.twitter.com/jUn5fWJ5CS

— Cage Warriors (@…

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. After calling out practically everyone in his division and a few others, Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Marvin Vettori finally has a fight in the form of a previous opponent. The story first breaking from MMA Junkie on Friday, Vettori (15-4-1) confirmed on his Instagram page that he will be squaring off with Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1) at UFC 256. The two middleweights will come to blows for the second time on Dec. 12, and the expected venue for this pay-per-view card is at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. They first fought at UFC 219 in 2017, where the bout was scored a majority draw.

Vettori last competed in June, when he tapped Karl Roberson in the first round to settle their grudge match. The win put Vettori on a three-fight win streak, which tied the record for the longest win streak of any Italian fighter in UFC his…

Anyway all water under the bridge who gives a fook.I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 25, 2020 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. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Conor McGregor has his sights set on boxing again. In a lengthy string of tweets from “Notorious” on Friday, McGregor posted several text messages sent back and forth between UFC President Dana White earlier this year. Among topics the Irishman discussed on Twitter included his intent on fighting UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez, his disinterest in serving as an injury replacement and his desire to put on a blockbuster event. McGregor concluded his series of messages by putting the sport on notice that he was going to box again, and that his opponent of choice is all-time great Manny Pacquiao…

.@LFAfighting brings a #Bantamweight Showdown to #Kansas at #LFA92! @KevinWirthMMAvs.@AK_MMA94

Friday, October 2@HartmanArena#ParkCity, #Kansas#MMA#LFANation@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/CL5mLzXjyW

— LFA (@LFAfighting) September 25, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance has announced the lineup of its first of three cards in October. The promotion made official in a press release on Friday that three events would take place on Oct. 2, Oct. 16 and Oct. 30 all at the Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The LFA recently ended a stretch of events in Sioux Falls, South Dakota earlier in September. It is unclear if the LFA will stay in Kansas after October, but these three will be held in the same arena in October. Each of the events will air on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on their respective dates.

LFA 92 will be topped by a sure-fire bantamweight thriller between Kevin Wirth (8-1) and Askar Askar (10-1). Since a split verdict loss a…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaaEdAbv_04&w=640&h=360] Bellator MMA’s return to Europe has started off right, with a weigh-in ceremony with no complications.

Bellator closes out an eventful September with its latest event from Milan, Italy. The European Series card is headlined by a middleweight bout between Costello van Steenis and Fabian Edwards. All 13 fights are now official after the weigh-ins took place Friday morning.

The undefeated Edwards has been perfect throughout all nine fights in his mixed martial arts career. His well-rounded nature has been shown as his wins are evenly split between knockouts, submissions and decisions. “The Assassin” most recently won a split decision over Mike Shipman and will look to impress in his first main event. The English fighter looked prepared on the scales and weighed 185 pounds.

Looking to rebound from a disappointing decision loss to John Salter is van Steenis (12-2). "The Spaniard" had won six fights in a row p…

Congratulations to the NEW Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion, Luke 'The Apocalypse' Shanks

We have a new king in the flyweight division #CW114 pic.twitter.com/JC1Ns5Cgvd

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 24, 2020 “The Apocalypse” has come for Cage Warriors Fighting Championship’s flyweight division. The CW 114 main event featured Samir Faiddine (11-7) putting his 125-pound title on the line against Luke Shanks (7-1). The defending champion looked competitive in the first round, but things went downhill quickly. By the second frame, Shanks exposed all Faiddine’s gaps in his takedown defense. From there, “The Apocalypse” took his opponent down practically at will, where he mauled Faiddine with relentless ground-and-pound. This strategy repeated itself throughout the remaining rounds without mercy. After one of the most one-sided fights in Cage Warriors history, Shanks was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scorecards tallying …