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He’s had one of the best professional tenures a lighter-weight fighter could ever ask for, but Anthony Pettis’ career was largely in flux as he entered a new division heading into Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 148 main event.

Everything changed in the blink of an eye.

Pettis pulled off yet another amazing win, living up to his classic nickname by rocketing Stephen Thompson’s consciousness into the stratosphere. Bleeding from his nose and mouth and getting pelted by an array of kicks to the legs, body and head, “Showtime” literally backed himself against a wall. He was in peril of possibly being taken out, but in a split second, the Roufusport legend saw and opening and went for it.

Pettis unfurled a magnificent Superman punch by exploding forward with his back nearly against the Octagon’s fencing. His right hand landed cleanly on Thompson’s face, sending him to the canvas. “Wonderboy’s” head bounced off the canvas and Pettis followed him down, crushing two mor…

Anthony Pettis’ latest addition to the highlight reel proved to be quite lucrative.

“Showtime” appeared to be down on the scorecards as time ticked down in the second stanza of the UFC Nashville headliner before he launched himself at Stephen Thompson with a hooking superman punch, knocking “Wonderboy” out cold with five seconds remaining in the period. As a result, Pettis earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his successful welterweight debut.

Meanwhile, Bryce Mitchell and Bobby Moffett garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their back-and-forth preliminary featherweight scrap. In a competitive bout that featured a few momentum swings, Mitchell sealed his victory by threatening with a tight rear-naked choke late in the final stanza to sweep the scorecards by identical 29-28 counts.

Finally, Randa Markos received the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for her first-round submission of former Invicta FC ch…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Anthony Pettis knows how to leave jaws ajar. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight titleholder moved up to 170 pounds and knocked out Stephen Thompson late in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 148 headliner on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Thompson (14-4-1, 9-4-1 UFC) bit the dust 4:55 into Round 2, as the South Carolina-based karateka was finished for the first time in his 19-fight career.

Initially, Pettis (22-8, 9-7 UFC) found the going rough. Thompson kept him at bay with check hooks, jabs and kicks that ran the spectrum from traditional to exotic, all while alternating between orthodox and southpaw stances. He also bloodied Pettis’ nose with straight punches down the middle and appeared to be on his way to coasting to a…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

UFC Fight Night 148 airs live in its entirety on ESPN+. The prelims will begin at 5 p.m. ET and the main card starts at 8 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the …

Left hand from Mitchell drops Moffett! #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/iNrqAVCecu

— UFC (@ufc) March 23, 2019

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Rising featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell had to dig deep to prevail against Bobby Moffett in a fight that was fought tooth-and-nail until the very end.

It seemed as though “Thug Nasty” was going to crush Moffett (14-4) when he rocked him with a clean punch upstairs in the first, but “The Wolfman” never wavered and fought the Arkansas native with everything he had in the UFC Fight Night 148 featured preliminary bout. They traded takedowns, exchanged punches and threatened with submissions in every round. However, when Mitchell (11-1) scrambled from a takedown and seized the Illinois fighter’s back, he threatened with and nearly finished him with a rear-nake…

Get off my back! #Bellator218 pic.twitter.com/Y8BEVZmwgu

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 23, 2019 Aesthetically pleasing it was not, but Emmanuel Sanchez nevertheless laughed last.

The Roufusport standout won for the fifth time in six outings, as he posted a unanimous decision over former World Series of Fighting champion Georgi Karakhanyan in the Bellator 218 headliner on Friday at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. All three judges sided with Sanchez (18-4, 10-3 Bellator), awarding him 29-28 scores across the board.

Karakhanyan (28-9-1, 6-7 Bellator) -- who lost a majority decision to Sanchez in 2017 -- built a quick lead with a strong first round, where he secured a takedown, maintained a dominant position for three-plus minutes and mixed in some ground-and-pound for good measure. Prosperity was short-lived, however. Sanchez made the necessary adjustments in the second and third rounds, incorporated some takedowns of h…

Official Results: Kenney def. Cachero via KO at 1:38 into Round 1. pic.twitter.com/0nayEn9BTe

— AXS TV Fights (@AXSTVFights) March 23, 2019 The LFA has crowned its first-ever two-division champion.

Casey Kenney, the reigning LFA interim flyweight champ, snatched up the promotion's interim bantamweight title in the main event of LFA 62 on Friday night inside The Bomb Factory in Dallas. Kenney, an established jiu jitsu player and judoka, scored the biggest win of his career without the use of his throws or ground skills.

Vince Cachero wanted to stand and trade with Kenney, but that wound up being his downfall. Kenney, who hails from Tucson, got inside on Cachero (6-1) and briefly clinched. From there, Kenney (11-1-1) detonated his left knee square on "The Anomaly's" face, knocking him completely out. Cachero fell flat onto his back, forcing referee Aladin Martinez to intervene, ending the battle at the 1:38 mark of the first.

Bantamweight con…

The Main EventChamp vs. Champ@phildefriesmma vs. @TomaszNarkun!! #KSW47 live around the world tomorrow on https://t.co/F6vAzlDmE2!! pic.twitter.com/X2ExKsVsbL

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) March 22, 2019 Join DAZN free for 30 days and live-stream fight night anywhere!

KSW is making a splash in their first event of 2019 by putting on a superfight, with light heavyweight champ Tomasz Narkun moving up to heavyweight to challenge the divisional king Philip De Fries.

De Fries hit the scales at 257 pounds, as he prepares to defend his heavyweight strap against light heavyweight kingpin Narkun (230) in the KSW 47 main event this Saturday at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. Co-headlining the card is a bout titled "The Strongest MMA Fight of All Time" between five-time World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski (257) and 2008 Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Szymon Kolecki (226), and all four made weight without issue at Friday's weigh-ins.

KSW 47 airs …

We got ourselves a title fight TOMORROW at #LFA62! @CKMMA125 (134.6)vs.@VinceTheAnomaly (133.8)

TICKETS: https://t.co/cdUkQEghx5@IncaKolaUSA@USENDmoney@ButcherBox@FredLoyaIns@GLCDirect2000@buyVPNservice@TheTerpHouse@ZebraMat@Cambria_Hotels@BombFactoryDFW pic.twitter.com/n7IkRMvy1p

— LFA (@LFAfighting) March 22, 2019 The Legacy Fighting Alliance is ready to explode at the Bomb Factory, bringing with it a fighter attempting to become the promotion's first simultaneous two-division interim champ, as Casey Kenney moves up in weight to face Vince Cachero at bantamweight.

Interim flyweight champion Kenney hit the scales at 134.6 pounds, as he contends for the interim bantamweight title against Cachero (133.8), in the LFA 62 main event this Friday at the Bomb Factory in Dallas. Co-headlining the card will be a catchweight bout between Levi Mowles (136.8) and Ahmet Kayretli (137.8), with the two agreeing before the weigh-ins that they would both co…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Frank Shamrock is under investigation for animal cruelty, according to Dallas, Texas police.

The 46-year-old Shamrock is accused of abandoning his mother’s dog, Zelda, in a pickup truck left at Love Field airport in Dallas earlier this month. Police believe the dog was alone in the truck for at least five days, starting March 2.

For his part, Shamrock does not deny any of the allegations thus far. In a telephone interview with Dallas television outlet WFAA, he said “They can charge me with whatever. I will show up. It is what it is. I'm not hiding in any way. It's an unfortunate and terrible thing. I'm an animal lover and I ran away crying.”

The longtime California resident claims that he had only been in Dallas to help his ailing mother move out of her home, and had tried to find someone to take in the dog. In a public Facebook post on March 2, Shamrock wrote, “Need help. Can anyone take a dog today in Dallas, Texas…

Antônio Cara de Sapato enfrenta Ian Heinisch no UFC Rochester, no dia 18 de maio | combate | Sportv https://t.co/oQKu9Pp96y

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) March 21, 2019

Losing his opponent on fight day before their UFC Fight Night 147 meeting, Ian Heinisch is electing for a short turnaround to take a new matchup against Antonio Carlos Jr. this May.

According to Combate on Thursday, Carlos Jr. (10-2) and Heinisch (12-1) will be squaring off at UFC Fight Night 151 on May 18 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. Heinisch was originally scheduled to face Tom Breese at UFC Fight Night 147 but Breese pulled out the day of the fight due to a medical issue.

Carlos Jr. has tapped his last three foes by rear-naked chokes, and is riding a five-fight win streak dating back to 2016. With his last win a submission over Tim Boetsch, Carlos Jr. currently holds the third most rear-naked choke wins in UFC history with five, and the most of any midd…

A pair of former lightweight standouts will square off at welterweight in the main event of UFC Rochester.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed to the Democrat and Chronicle on Wednesday that Rafael dos Anjos will meet Kevin Lee in a 170-pound affair at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., on May 18. UFC Rochester airs in its entirety on ESPN+ and will also include a women’s bantamweight tilt pitting Aspen Ladd against Sijara Eubanks.

A former UFC lightweight champion, dos Anjos began his welterweight tenure with successive triumphs against Tarec Saffiedine, Neil Magny and Robbie Lawler. Since then, the Brazilian has encountered some struggles going against the division’s top wrestlers, dropping five-round decisions to Colby Covington and current champ Kamaru Usman in his last two Octagon appearances.

Lee will be making his 170-pound debut on the heels of a unanimous decision defeat to Al Iaquinta at UFC on Fox 31 this past December. “The Motown Phenom” we…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8taM-td_EA&w=560&h=315]

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When he left Bellator MMA in January 2018, Georgi Karakhanyan never expected to be back. The Moscow-born Armenian-American was leaving the promotion for the second time, heading to Russia to fight in Absolute Championship Berkut.

However, things didn’t work out in ACB, to put it mildly. At ACB 90 last November, Karakhanyan was part of one of the most controversial matches of 2018. His opponent, Timur Nagibin, punched Karakhanyan in the face seconds after referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, believing Nagibin had submitted to Karakhanyan’s guillotine choke. The now-disqualified Nagibin claimed that Karakhanyan had told Dean, falsely, that he had tapped. A few weeks later, the promoter overturned the fight result to a no-contest and gave Karakhanyan his walking papers for good measure. In the wake of the firing,…

Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will move up in weight to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239.

ESPN was first to report the light heavyweight bout. UFC 239 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 6 as part of the promotion’s International Fight Week. The main card airs on pay-per-view, available only via ESPN+, while prelims air on ESPN and ESPN+. A headliner for the card has not been announced.

Rockhold hasn’t competed since February 2018, when he suffered a third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero in the UFC 221 main event. The American Kickboxing Academy product won five of his first six Octagon appearances, claiming 185-pound gold with a four-round stoppage of Chris Weidman at UFC 194. He is just 1-2 since, relinquishing the title in an upset loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 199.

Blachowicz, meanwhile, had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 145, where he suffered a third-round techni…

After last weekend’s main-event bout at UFC London had concluded, an ugly altercation between Jorge Masvidal and Britain’s Leon Edwards broke out after Edwards called out to the Floridian as he was in the middle of an interview.

A clearly incensed Masvidal ended his interview and approached Edwards with his hands behind his back. “Gamebred” then threw several punches before being restrained by security.

Masvidal has gone on record with his side of the story, and Edwards was a guest on on Eurobash this week to provide his version of what transpired.

“Masvidal’s a rat…I don’t know what f*ckin’ happened,” Edwards said. “He was doing media, I was doing media, we both locked eyes together. I think I said, ‘We’ll go in July,’ or something like that and he said, ‘Maybe July, or maybe not,’ and blah, blah, blah.

“So he started walking over… I’m walking over,” he continued. “He says in that f*ckin’ video that I walked over with my hands up… if I walked over with my …

It may be some time before Tony Ferguson gets back into the Octagon.

The former UFC interim lightweight champion’s wife, Christina, recently filed a restraining order against him due to due a string of unusual and disturbing behavior.

Incident reports describing Ferguson’s actions included mention of him and his wife getting into arguments, Ferguson's father asking him to leave his house, Ferguson staying up for days at a time and smashing their fireplace, Ferguson claiming there was a microchip implanted in his leg and a man living in his walls, and splashing his wife with "holy water.”

The reports also state that Ferguson was not violent at any point during the incidents, nor was his wife concerned for her or their child’s safety. However, the restraining order was filed after Ferguson refused to seek treatment.

In the meantime, when Ferguson learned that the UFC had booked Max Holloway to face Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight crown in Atlanta o…

It appears as though the much-hyped Donald Cerrone vs. Conor McGregor matchup will not come to fruition. Instead, “Cowboy” will square off against Al Iaquinta in the UFC Ottawa headliner.

ESPN reported on Tuesday that both Cerrone and Iaquinta have verbally agreed to the lightweight bout. The Las Vegas-based promotion has not yet formally announced the pairing. UFC Ottawa takes place on May 4 and also features a middleweight clash pitting Derek Brunson against Elias Theodorou. The card will stream on ESPN+.

Cerrone returned to lightweight at UFC Fight Night 143, where he scored a second-round technical knockout of lightweight prospect Alexander Hernandez in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 19. The popular veteran has won three of his last four Octagon appearances.

Iaquinta, meanwhile, is coming off a five-round verdict over Kevin Lee in the UFC on Fox 31 headliner. Prior to that, the Serra-Longo Fight Team member lost a decision to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title bout at U…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6j2O22u5B0&w=560&h=315]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship extended its contract with ESPN on Monday, and it seems as though Dana White also got a new deal to remain as UFC president in conjunction with that announcement.

“We had a five-year deal with them. Now we have a seven-year deal. And [UFC parent company Endeavor CEO] Ari Emanuel and I just signed a seven-year deal too,” White said in an interview with Megan Olivi. “So we’re here for seven years, ESPN is here for seven years. The incredible things that we’re gonna work on, I can’t even tell you for how pumped I am.”

When Zuffa sold the UFC to WME-IMG in 2016 for more than $4 billion, White signed a five-year contract to remain as promotion head and reportedly sold his nine percent share in the company for $360 million. It was also reported that White would receive nine percent of the promotion’s net profits going forward. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.

Re…

BREAKING:

UFC Pay-Per-Views are now available for purchase exclusively through ESPN+ (US Only).

More information here: https://t.co/mFoIKzAoTn pic.twitter.com/HboOBaecZM— UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2019

ESPN is pretty close becoming a one-stop shopping destination for fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On Monday, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced an agreement that will make ESPN+ the sole provider of UFC pay-per-views through 2025. In other words, ESPN+ — not various cable or satellite providers — will be the single point of purchase for every UFC pay-per-view event throughout the year.

Additionally, the original five-year, multi-platform agreement between the UFC and ESPN has been extended through 2025.

“Today’s announcement further establishes the strength of the partnership between UFC and ESPN,” said UFC President Dana White. “Now our fans will be able to watch all UFC events exclusively on ESPN platforms, incl…

One Championship’s upcoming flyweight tournament has undergone a change after Andrew Leone had to withdraw from the bracket due to injury.

The promotion announced Monday that Senzo Ikeda will replace Leone and face Danny Kingad in a quarterfinal bout on March 31 in Tokyo. One “A New Era” takes place at Ryogoku Kokugikan and features four championship bouts. Additionally, former UFC flwyeight king Demetrious Johnson will make his promotional debut in another 125-pound quarterfinal, while ex-UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will make his first One foray in the ongoing 155-pound tournament.

Ikeda, 36, is a former Pancrase flyweight champion who owns an 8-0 record as a professional boxer. The Paraestra Matsudo product will enter his first One appearance on a four-fight winning streak. Most recently, Ikeda defended his Pancrase title with a fifth-round technical knockout of Yuya Wakamatsu in February 2018.

Kingad has won nine of his first 10 professional bouts…

Demetrious Johnson may have moved on from the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division he once dominated, but he’s still a keen observer of what’s happening there, and still wary of "superfights."

After bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw’s failed experiment in dropping down in weight to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title, the question remains of where Dillashaw’s next fight will be, and against whom.

Former UFC flyweight king and current One Championship fighter Demetrious Johnson, who was strongly linked to his own superfight against Dillashaw before losing his title to Cejudo, believes the bantamweight champ should stay in his natural 135-pound weight class and defend against Brazilian contender Marlon Moraes (transcribed by MMANews.com):

“In my personal opinion, if I were to say what would be the best thing to happen, if T.J. went off and defended the belt against Marlon Moraes, who’s the No. 1 contender in my personal opinion, and t…

The lineup for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s trip to Rochester, N.Y., is beginning to take shape.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently revealed three new bouts to the Democrat & Chronicle: Patrick Cummins vs. Ed Herman at light heavyweight, Grant Dawson vs. Michael Trizano at featherweight and Zak Cummings vs. Trevin Giles at middleweight. Additionally, a previously reported women’s bantamweight clash pitting Aspen Ladd against Sijara Eubanks was also confirmed.

UFC Fight Night takes place on May 18 at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial and streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Cummins, 38, went 0-2 in 2018, falling to Misha Cirkunov by submission at UFC Fight Night 138 and Corey Anderson by decision at UFC Fight Night 128. Herman, meanwhile, is looking to halt a three-bout skid, including a split-decision setback against Gian Villante in his most recent outing this past October.

Dawson improved to 13-1 as a pro by outpointing…

Tony Ferguson has released a statement in light of recent events that led to his wife filing a restraining order against him.

“Thank you all for the great support!” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “I'm in a great spirits, UFC [and] management are helping me find the help we need,” Ferguson wrote. “I'm getting all of your messages, keep ‘em coming!!! Thank you very much for the kind words, my family [and] team appreciates it.

“Lots of love my social media fam, keep the faith couldn’t do this s--t without you.”

Incident reports describing Ferguson’s unusual behavior included mention of him and his wife getting into arguments, Ferguson's father asking him to leave his house, Ferguson staying up for days at a time and smashing their fire place, Ferguson claiming there was a microchip implanted in his leg and a man living in his walls, and splashing his wife with "holy water."

The reports also state that Ferguson was not violent at any point during the incidents, n…

In what was expected to be a candidate for “Fight of the Year,” Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday made it look astonishingly easy against Mikey Garcia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) used a superb jab early to keep his aggressive counterpart at bay, and once he got his straight left going, the situation became hopeless for Garcia. Spence peppered his opponent from all angles, moving backward and forward, and it seemed as though he could not miss with his left hand. Whether it was a lead or a counter, “The Truth” drove his left fist into the Californian round and after round.

Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) never stopped trying to turn the tide against the Texan, but Spence was virtually perfect for 12 rounds. Spence turned up the heat in the latter stages of the welterweight contest and battered Garcia badly in the ninth round, with one judge scoring it 10-8. However, Spence was unable to finish off Garcia and had to settle for a lopsided unanimous decis…