Light heavyweight championship belt sticking with Jon Jones
The man they call "Bones" created further separation between himself and any other fighter in the 205-pound division. Jon Jones didn't brutally dispatch former training partner Rashad Evans like he did the other three opponents he's faced in championship fights. But Jones pulled off something just as scary in thoroughly controlling Evans for 25 minutes in a unanimous-decision victory. If Evans was truly Jones' greatest test as advertised, then no one will challenge the 24-year old champion anytime soon. Read more »
UFC on FUEL TV 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva
Alexander Gustafsson soars in Sweden
The first UFC card to ever take place in Sweden sold out in less than an hour, at least partly because of light heavyweight headliner Alexander Gustafsson. The 25-year old prospect made his countrymen proud at UFC on FUEL TV 2 at the Ericcson Globe Arena in Stockholm, winning every round to take a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Silva. Gustafsson flew up the 205-pound ranks with the victory, leading some to believe he's a threat to champion Jon Jones. Siyar Bahadurzada and Brian Stann used first-round knockouts to grab victories in the other two fights at the top of the card.Read more »
Ronda Rousey ascends to championship throne in fifth professional fight
After a two-moth hiatus, Strikefore fired back with a card that delivered plenty of action in Columbus, Ohio. In perhaps the second-biggest female fight ever, Ronda Rousey submitted Miesha Tate with an armbar at 4:27 of the first round. The former Olympian in judo offered no remorse for appearing to badly injure the former champion's arm. Rousey now holds the women's bantamweight championship belt, but bad blood remains between her and Tate.Read more »
UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann
Martin Kampmann pulls off comeback to remember in Australia
With 48 seconds to go in Sydney, Australia's main event, Martin Kampmann pulled off the near-impossible. The Las Vegas-based welterweight choked out Thiago Alves after enduring a beatdown for the entire fight. Alves made an ill-advised decision to shoot for a takedown late in the third round of a bout he dominated. Kampmann went to the ground, but grabbed a hold of Alves' neck in the process. Knowing it was his only chance for a win, Kampmann cranked as hard as he could until Alves tapped out.Read more »
Ben Henderson brings an end to Frankie Edgar's lightweight reign
In his fifth lightweight title fight, Frankie Edgar once again gave fans a classic five-round battle. But this time it was in a losing effort. Ben Henderson wrested the lightweight championship belt away from Edgar in Saitama, Japan with a unanimous decision victory. Edgar's time at the top of the 155-pound division lasted just less than two years.Read more »
UFC on FUEL TV 1: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger
Jake Ellenberger makes it six straight wins by beating Diego Sanchez
"The Juggernaut" powered himself past yet another big-name opponent. Jake Ellenberger beat down Diego Sanchez for the opening 10 minutes of their bout, which was enough to score a unanimous decision victory. Sanchez came alive late, nearly finishing Ellenberger in the final round, but it wasn't enough. Ellenberger thrilled his hometown crowd in Omaha, Neb.Read more »
Judges side with Carlos Condit in close fight for interim welterweight title
Approximately half the crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center took no issue when octagon announcer Bruce Buffer read the scores after the UFC 143 main event. The other half was stunned. Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in a fight that produced a variety of scores from fans and media.Read more »
Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans fight their way to long-awaited championship bouts
The UFC's second date on network television was the rare card where the main event wasn't really the main event. During fight week media activities, Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping garnered far more attention than their main event counterparts, Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. The trend continued on fight night when Sonnen and Bisping engaged in a far more captivating bout. Sonnen got past Bisping by unanimous decision — the same way Evans beat Davis — but many disagreed with the judges.Read more »
UFC on FX 1: Miller vs. Guillard
Jim Miller puts Melvin Guillard away in the first round
Melvin Guillard fed Jim Miller a couple of big shots early in Nashville, Tenn. It wasn't nearly enough. Miller took Guillard's back about a minute-and-a-half into their lightweight fight. Thirty seconds later, Miller celebrated as he forced Guillard to tap out to a rear naked choke. With the victory, Miller climbed back towards the top of the 155-pound divisional rankings. Guillard fell way down the same list.Read more »
Jose Aldo, Edson Barboza light up Rio de Janeiro
Two ghastly knockouts started the UFC's new year off right in South America. Brazilians Jose Aldo and Edson Barboza left the packed crowd at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena amazed with deadly finishes. Aldo threw a knee into featherweight top contender Chad Mendes' forehead that ended their title fight before it ever entered the second round. It took Barboza a bit longer, but his knockout is bound for even more future highlight shows. Barboza put Terry Etim out cold with a spinning back kick in the third round of their lightweight bout.Read more »
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine
Luke Rockhold, 'King Mo' Lawal cruise in Strikeforce's return
The first event since the renewed deal between Showtime and Zuffa, the parent company of UFC and Strikeforce, wasn't a rousing success. In front a sparse crowd at the Joint inside the Hard Rock, all four headlining contests ended in lopsided fashion. Luke Rockhold held on to his middleweight title belt with a first-round knockout of overmatched Keith Jardine. Welterweight Tyron Woodley and light heavyweight 'King Mo' Lawal, uncrowned Strikeforce champions in their divisions, similarly downed fighters who weren't quite on their level.Read more »
Jon Jones becomes the youngest ever UFC champion
So much for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua being too strong for Jon Jones. It was the other way around. Jones scored a TKO victory over Rua in the third round of their light heavyweight title fight from Newark, N.J. He did it after an interesting day of fighting crime before the fight. At 23 years old, Jones is the youngest fighter to ever wear a UFC belt. Read more »
Neither Fitch nor Penn does enough to win in Australia
Jon Fitch wrestled B.J. Penn to the mat and pounded away on him during the third round of their main event from Sydney. But one dominant five-minute stretch wasn't enough for Fitch to score a decision victory, as two of the three judges gave Penn each of the first two rounds. One judge gave Fitch a 29-28 win, but the other two saw it as a 28-28 after awarding Fitch a 10-8 in the final round. The UFC 127 main event went down as a majority draw.Read more »
Anderson Silva and Jon Jones make it look easy
Anderson Silva showed why most consider him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a first-round knockout of Vitor Belfort to retain his middleweight title. Silva caught Belfort with a front kick to the chin that floored him and set the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd into a frenzy. Likewise, Jon Jones displayed why many think he'll someday join the ranks of the elite with an easy victory over Ryan Bader.<.Read more »
Edgar and Maynard battle to a draw
Las Vegas' Gray Maynard knocked lightweight champion Frankie Edgar down multiple times in the first round, but couldn't finish him off. Edgar willed himself back and won at least three of the final four rounds, resulting in a draw to start the year. One judge scored it 48-46 in favor of Edgar and one gave the same score to Maynard. The third score was 47-47.Read more »
UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2
St. Pierre silences Koscheck
Josh Koscheck promised the world he’d put an end to George St. Pierre’s reign as UFC welterweight champion. In the end, he wasn’t even able to beat the champ in a round. St. Pierre thoroughly dominated Koscheck from bell to bell for five rounds at UFC 124 in Montreal, Canada, successfully defending his title and silencing his rival.Read more »
Rampage Jackson edges Lyoto Machida
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson admitted he wasn’t a fan of Lyoto Machida’s elusive fighting style before their clash at UFC 123. As it turned out, Machida’s style may have helped Jackson win the fight. Taking the role as aggressor for the majority of the fight, Jackson outpointed Machida in a narrow, split decision victory.Read more »
Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito
Manny Pacquiao extends record to eight world titles
Manny Pacquiao rewrote boxing history again at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, easily defeating Antonio Margarito for a world title in his record eighth weight division. Pacquiao had the momentum from the fight’s very first round, beating up Margarito so badly throughout he fight that it appeared he mercifully cruised through the final round when Margarito refused to allow his corner to throw in the towel.Read more »
Okami earns title shot
For the second time in 2010, Nate Marquardt stood one fight away from receiving a shot at the UFC middleweight title. And for the second time in 2010, he let it slip through his fingers. Japanese middleweight Yushin Okami did enough to earn a unanimous decision win at UFC 122 in a fight many expected Marquardt to win. The win earns Okami a future title shot and potentially a rematch against current champion Anderson Silva. Read more »
Velasquez beats up Lesnar
Brock Lesnar planned to make it a short night for Cain Velasquez in their heavyweight title fight at UFC 121. The plan backfired. After weathering an early attack from Lesnar, Velasquez turned the tables, stunning Lesnar with a few well placed shots and earning the TKO finish just four minutes inRead more »
Nick Diaz gets his revenge on K.J. Noons
It took nearly three years, but Nick Diaz finally avenged his loss over K.J. Noons. The Strikeforce welterweight champ avenged the only loss of his previous 13 fights in San Jose, Calif., defeating Noons by unanimous decision to hang on to his 170-pound belt. Read more »
Jose Aldo checks off another featherweight
The WEC keeps throwing it’s top 145-pound fighters at defending champion Jose Aldo. And Aldo keeps rolling right through them. The 24-year-old Brazilian made it eight consecutive wins in the WEC with a successful title defense over Manny Gamburyan in Broomfield, Colo. After patiently studying his opponent in the first three minutes of the fight, Aldo turned it on towards the end of the first round and ended up with the second round finish. Read more »
Frank Mir stuns Cro Cop with late knockout
In a fight that had the majority of UFC 119’s sellout crowd booing throughout, Frank Mir managed to land a late knee and knockout Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic with 58 seconds remaining on the clock. Despite the explosive finish, Mir admitted it was one of the more ugly wins of his career. Read more »
Frankie Edgar shows he’s the real deal
Frankie Edgar proved his first win over B.J. Penn was no fluke, defeating the MMA legend by decision for a second time at the Boston TD Garden. Although Edgar was unable to finish the fight, he dominated Penn in every sense of the word, taking all five rounds on all three scorecards to defend his lightweight title.Read more »
Feijao Cavalcante hands King Mo first loss
A battle for the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt between Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal and Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante turned into an all-out slugfest when Cavalcante landed a hard straight in the third round. Lawal tried to respond to the big hit aggressively but Cavalcante caught him again with a knee and then a right hook which the previously undefeated fighter couldn’t recover from. Read more »
Dominick Cruz defends WEC belt
In a rematch every bit as entertaining as their first fight, Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez went the distance in a five-round battle for Cruz’s WEC bantamweight belt. When the dust had settled, a familiar hand was raised as Cruz edged out Benavidez in a split decision. Read more »
Late submission hands Sonnen devastating loss
Chael Sonnen came within two minutes of becoming the UFC middleweight champion, but in the end it was still Anderson Silva who took the belt home. After being dominated throughout the entire championship fight, Silva found a way to lock in a tight triangle choke midway through the final round that forced Sonnen to tap. Read more »
UFC on VERSUS Jones vs. Matyushenko
Jon Jones impresses again
Rising light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones passed another test in San Diego, finishing off veteran fighter Vladimir Matyushenko in the very first round of their main event fight. Just 23-years-old, it appears Jones has certainly earned the right to face one of the sport's best in his next fight. Read more »
Marquez dominates rematch
Juan Manuel Marquez made it two-for-two over Juan Diaz at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, defeating him by unanimous decision in a rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year. Following the performance, Marquez made it known that of all the opportunities that lie ahead of him, he still wants to fight Manny Pacquiao the most. Read more »
Lesnar survives beating, submits Carwin
In his toughest fight to date, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar survived a nasty start to his first title defense before mounting a comeback submission win over Shane Carwin in the second round. It was Lesnar's first fight since returning from a stomach ailment that threatened to end his fighting career in 2009. Read more »
Fedor falls to Werdum
Brazilian heavyweight Fabricio Werdum became the first man in 10 years to defeat Fedor Emelianenko, locking in a tight triangle choke that ended the fight in just 69 seconds. It was only the second loss of Emelianenko's storied career and left the entire HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. in shock..Read more »
McGee wins UFC contract
An emotional Court McGee dedicated his win in the TUF 11 Finale to anyone watching going through a rough time. The former drug addict completed an amazing comeback in his life in Las Vegas, defeating Kris McCray in the second round to win a contract with the UFC.Read more »
Liddell's last stand
A soldout crowd packed into the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia to see the return of Chuck Liddell to the UFC. In the end, what they saw was likely the former champion's last fight. A counter right hook thrown by Rich Franklin was enough to end Liddell's night in the very first round at UFC 115.Read more »
Evans, Rampage settle rivalry
Using a combination of speed and wrestling ability, Rashad Evans seized control of a grudge match with Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson early and survived a scare in the final round to come out with a unanimous decision victory. The rivals later admitted they built a mutual respect for one another inside the cage but wouldn't be spending the holidays together any time soon.Read more »
Shogun knocks out Machida
After dropping a controversial decision to Lyoto Machida in October 2009, Rua left nothing to the judges in their rematch six months later, knocking out the previously untouchable Machida in the first round.Read more »
Mayweather stays perfect
Floyd Mayweather Jr. kept his perfect record intact with a dominant performance over Shane Mosley in a unanimous decision win. Mosley landed two hard rights hands in the second round that brought the crowd to its feet but Mayweather remained calm, survived and went on to win every round the rest of the way.Read more »
Aldo dominates in Faber's backyard
In the first pay-per-view in WEC history, 23-year-old phenom Jose Aldo flew to his opponent's backyard of Sacramento, Calif. to dominate Urijah Faber in his first WEC featherweight title defense. Faber became the first WEC fighter to go the distance against Aldo, but it was a small consolation prize as he had to be assisted out of the cage afterward due to the amount of damage he'd taken in his legs.Read more »
St. Pierre defends title again, Carwin knocks out Mir
Dan Hardy promised it would only take one clean punch to take the UFC welterweight belt away from Georges St Pierre. With arguably the best takedowns in the MMA, St. Pierre made sure that punch never connected. The welterweight champion dominated Hardy through all five rounds of their championship fight to hang on to the belt. In the co-main event, heavyweight Shane Carwin made easy work of Frank Mir, knocking him out in the very first round for the interim title.Read more »
Jon Jones lives up to the hype
In what was supposed to be the toughest challenge of his young career, Jon Jones breezed past Brandon Vera in a first-round TKO win in the main event of the first ever live UFC card aired on the VERSUS network. Jones took Vera down in the opening seconds of the fight and never let up, delivering a vicious elbow that ended Vera's night early and moved him even further up the light heavyweight ladder.Read more »
The Event: Pacquiao vs. Clottey
Pacquiao cruises past Clottey
Manny Pacquiao didn't become the first fighter to stop Joshua Clottey in their WBO welterweight bout but he made a statement nonetheless. In the first main event boxing match ever held in the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao dominated a defensive-minded Clottey through all 12 rounds en route to a unanimous decision win.Read more »
Velasquez floors Nogueira
Cain Velasquez delivered the performance of his life in front of a sellout crowd at the UFC's first ever event held in Australia. The 27-year-old fighter used a blistering combination midway through the first round to put Antonio Nogueira away and solidify himself as one of the top heavyweights in the world.Read more »
One for the ages
Randy Couture has delivered many dominant performances in his stories career. He gave another one at UFC 109, beating Mark Coleman to every punch before eventually taking the wrestler down and submitting him in the second round.Read more »
Evans survives Silva
Rashad Evans ended up getting the comeback win he had hoped for after suffering his first professional loss in May 2009. Barely. Evans controlled the action through the first and second rounds against Thiago Silva, but nearly lost it in the third when he got caught late with a couple big shots.Read more »
Penn dominates Sanchez
B.J. Penn looked as dominant as ever Saturday night, defending his lightweight title for the third consecutive time with a TKO win over Diego Sanchez. Sanchez had never been stopped in his professional career, but Penn took care of that, dominating him in every aspect of the fight before finishing his opponent in the final round.Read more »
Kimbo Slice wins UFC debut
Kimbo Slice stayed patient despite a puzzling strategy from Houston Alexander, en route to a unanimous decision in his first fight in front of a live UFC crowd. Las Vegas fighter Roy Nelson claimed the UFC contract with a knockout win over Brendan Schaub.Read more »
Forrest Griffin gets revenge in rematch
Forrest Griffin waited over three years for a chance to beat Tito Ortiz after a very close split decision loss to the Huntington Beach Bad Boy in 2006. On Saturday night, at UFC 106 at Mandalay Bay Events Center, Griffin got his revenge.Read more »
Jose Aldo ends Mike Brown's championship run
Jose Aldo entered Wednesday night's main event with Mike Brown as a slight underdog challenger, he emerged as the undisputed WEC featherweight champion. Aldo delivered a dominating performance in a second-round TKO win over Brown, who had recently been billed as possibly the best featherweight mixed martial artist of all time by WEC general manager Reed Harris.Read more »
Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto
Pacquiao TKOs Cotto, sets up mega-fight
Manny Pacquiao won a world title in his seventh different weight class when he beat Miguel Cotto by a TKO in the twelfth round. Referee Kenny Bayless called the fight after Pacquiao landed a straight left to Cotto's face. Pacquiao is officialy the WBO welterweight title holder.Read more »
Couture bounces back with narrow win over Vera
Randy Couture won a tightly contested light-heavyweight match against Brandon Vera at UFC on Saturday in Manchester, England, taking all three cards, 29-28. The UFC veteran avoided his first three-fight losing streak thanks to continually getting Vera into clinches against the cage. Read more »
Machida defends UFC championship with controversial win
Boos filled the Staples Center in Los Angeles when Lyoto Machida’s hand was raised over Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua’s following a very close UFC light heavyweight championship fight. Following the bout, UFC president Dana White suggested both fighters had made the mistake of not pushing the action enough and said he was in favor of scheduling an immediate rematch. Read more »
Mayweather dominant in comeback
Floyd Mayweather Jr. said all week that he was the same fighter. He's the guy nobody can figure out. Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mayweather proved his point once again — winning his first fight in 21 months with a unanimous decision victory over Juan Manuel Maruqez. Read more »
Belfort looks phenomenal in UFC return
It took four and a half years for Vitor Belfort to get back in the Octagon, but it took him just three minutes and two seconds Saturday night to prove that “The Phenom" had truly returned as the former light heavyweight champ scored a TKO win over Rich Franklin in front of 17,428 fans at the American Airlines Center. Read more »
Nogueira spoils Couture's homecoming
If there was any notion the two heavyweight legends were past their prime, someone forgot to tell Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The two former UFC champs put on an absolute show for the 16,088 fans inside Portland's Rose Garden Arena. But it was the Brazilian Nogueira, who spoiled the hometown hero's homecoming by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Couture — taking the bout by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Read more »
Cyborg wins female superfight
The first female title fight in women's mixed martial arts history ended with one second left in the first round and plenty of second guessing from the 13,000 fans in attendance. But the one thing that was clear when ref Josh Rosenthal pulled Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos off Gina Carano a split second before the bell sounded was that Carano was in tons of trouble as the Brazilian striker was reigning down punch after unanswered punch. Read more »
Bowles shocks Torres
A day after two of MMA's most dominant champs defend their pound-for-pound status, WEC king Miguel Torres, arguably the top American mixed martial artist, could not do the same. Undefeated challenger Brian Bowles shocked Torres and snapped his 17-fight win streak with a first-round TKO tonight at The Joint at the Hard Rock. Read more »
Silva, Penn put on show
The two fights were each spectacular in their own way. UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva dominated former UFC light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin, ending the one-sided contest with a first-round knockout. Fans had little time to catch their breath as lightweight champ B.J. Penn came out and defended his title with a rear-naked choke of Kenny Florian in the fourth round. Read more »
Lesnar roughs up Mir, riles up crowd
Moments after pounding out Frank Mir in the main event, Brock Lesnar, the former WWE sensation turned mixed martial artist provided a return performance to his pro wrestling days when he had to be restrained after going after Mir again in the Octagon — before turning his attention to the booing crowd of 11,000 fans. Read more »
Machida KOs Evans for crown
Moments after Lyoto Machida claimed the UFC light heavyweight title, he delivered a message to the buzzing crowd of 12,606 still on its feet inside the MGM Grand: "Karate is back!" And after the explosive performance the undefeated Machida (15-0) had just displayed in his win over Rashad Evans, the martial art may be around for quite some time to come. Read more »
It's 'Bad Chad — again
Deja vu? Different night, same outcome. Chad Dawson is still the IBF/IBO light heavyweight champion after defeating Antonio Tarver by unanimous decision, the same result of the fight last October that saw the title switch hands from Tarver to Dawson. Read more »
'Pac-Man' KOs Hatton in second round
After months of promoting "The Battle of East and West," pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao stopped the megafight in a matter of moments. Pacquiao dropped Ricky Hatton twice in the first round, and quickly finished the the IBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight champ off in the final second of the second round. A vicious left hand left "The Hitman" on the canvas for several minutes while Pacquiao quietly celebrated in his corner. Read more »
Williams outpunches Wright
Winky Wright had the crowd on his side. But Paul Williams had speed and energy. In the end, Williams' activity won out as he scored a 12-round, unanimous decision victory over Wright Saturday night at Mandalay Bay. "My 12th round felt like my first, and that was due to my hard training," Williams said. "We went 12 hard rounds and I anticipated it would be a tough fight." Read more »
St. Pierre dominates Penn
Georges St. Pierre left little doubt this time. After winning by decision in his first bout with B.J. Penn three years ago, the UFC welterweight champ dominated the lightweight champ Saturday night at the MGM Grand, winning by TKO after Penn could not continue after the fourth round. Read more »
The Ultimate 2008
It was a night for the underdogs at UFC 92. Rashad Evans stunned the sellout crowd by winning the light heavyweight title over fan favorite Forrest Griffin. Las Vegas' own Frank Mir pulled off an even bigger upset when he dismantled Antonio Nogueira. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson got the revenge he longed for by knocking out Wanderlei Silva. Read more »
Pacquiao defeats De La Hoya
This was no dream. Manny Pacquiao, boxing's pound-for-pound champ, proved it once again as he did everything but put the sport's "Golden Boy" to sleep in front of 15,001 adrenaline-filled fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Pacquiao dominated the fight from the start and forced a TKO after the eighth round as De La Hoya's corner said he could not continue. Read more »
Lesnar pounds out win over Couture
When Lesnar — who was a full 50 pounds larger than Couture — didn’t dwarf the UFC legend with his sheer body mass, the former World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler dominated the 45-year-old with his speed, strength, and of course, size. “They are some big-ass ham hocks coming at you,” said Couture, after losing his title via a second-round TKO at the hands of Lesnar’s specialty-made XXXXL-gloves. Read more »
Silva KOs Irvin in 61 seconds
The man they call "The Spider" wasted no time spinning webs Saturday night. He showed his explosive power and pinpoint precision by knocking out Irvin after just 61 seconds in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,100 that included movie star Jamie Foxx, singer Usher, Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce and, of course, Palms owner George Maloof. Read more »
Round 1 goes to Forrest Griffin
Fighting in mixed martial arts competitions, as opposed to scoring them, remains the true metier of Forrest Griffin and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Both men acknowledged as much after Griffin became the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ by winning the belt that had belonged to Jackson in a five-round unanimous decision at UFC 86. Read more »
