MMA: McGregor breaks leg in latest UFC loss to Dustin Poirier

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Conor McGregor suffered a broken leg in another crushing defeat to Dustin Poirier at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, with the fight stopped by doctors at the end of the first round.

As a thrilling first five-minute frame drew to a close, both fighters were still trying to land as McGregor stumbled backwards, trapping his foot under himself and breaking his leg.

Medics were immediately called into the octagon and it was clear that McGregor could not continue, prompting referee Herb Dean to declare a stop to the bout on the instructions of the doctor.

Interviewed in the octagon with his leg in a cast, McGregor raged about his misfortune.

"I was boxing the head off him, kicking the leg off him, (he was doing) the usual, diving to close the distance. This is not over - if I have to take this outside with him, it's on outside," he roared.

With McGregor having won at featherweight in 2014 and Poirier extracting revenge at lightweight in Abu Dhabi in January, the run-up to the third fight was punctuated by bad blood between the pair, in marked contrast to a face-off earlier this year where the pair paid each other compliments.

Though American Poirier was fighting on home turf, his entrance to "The Boss" by James Brown was greeted with boos from the sizeable portion of the crowd that was there to support McGregor, and there was no friendly touch of gloves before the fight began.

McGregor came out fast, switching between high and low kicks and dancing in and out of range as both fighters maintained a furious pace.

The Irish fighter tried a guillotine choke as the fight went to the mat with Poirier in top position, and when he had escaped the choke he rained down thunderous punches and elbows on McGregor.

Though McGregor struck back, Poirier looked set to finish the fight before abruptly breaking off his attack in the final seconds of the round to complain to referee Dean that the Irishman was grabbing at his gloves.

As McGregor swung and tried to back away, his footwork let him down, snapping his leg.

"He fractured it in one of the checks at the beginning of the fight and he broke it on a punch, for sure ... I felt something, he was kicking me hard," Poirier said in a post-fight interview.

The doctor's stoppage is chalked up as a win for Poirier and a loss on McGregor's record, his third defeat in his last four fights in the UFC. 

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Stockholm; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and William Mallard)

-reuters-

MMA: McGregor-Poirier Part 3 is official, capacity crowd expected

UFC 264 will feature a Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier main event and another rarity in sports: a capacity crowd.

The July 10 event is official as of Wednesday and UFC announced the event in Las Vegas is permitted to sell tickets to capacity. Nevada drops many coronavirus-related restrictions as of May 1 with another benchmark on June 1, although the statewide mask mandate is to remain in place.

"I'm so happy to finally be able to say Vegas is back," UFC president Dana White said in his tweeted video. "This summer Las Vegas is back open for business and on July 10, UFC 264 will be at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 100% capacity. Ladies and gentlemen, that's 20,000 fans."

Poirier defeated McGregor by TKO in the second round of their UFC 257 bout in January.

McGregor was a -300 favorite in the January fight and opened on Wednesday as a favorite again. PointsBet and FanDuel opened McGregor at -120 over Poirier (-105).

McGregor signed the bout agreement for a trilogy fight against Poirier on Wednesday morning, he told ESPN.

Poirier (27-6) officially signed earlier this week for the fight against McGregor at T-Mobile Arena.

McGregor (22-5) reportedly agreed to the fight weeks ago. McGregor, 32, previously said that he wanted another shot at the 32-year-old Louisiana native after losing to him in January in Abu Dhabi.

McGregor won the first encounter between the two with a first-round TKO at UFC 178 in 2014.

-reuters-

MMA: Poirier, McGregor agree trilogy fight - reports

LOS ANGELES -- Dustin Poirier has signed on to face Conor McGregor in a third meeting between the two mixed martial arts rivals, US media reports said Friday.

Multiple reports said Poirier had agreed to face Irish star McGregor at UFC 264 on July 10.

The trilogy fight comes after American brawler Poirier demolished McGregor with a second-round technical knockout during their second meeting in January.

That one-sided bout followed McGregor's first-round knockout victory over Poirier in their first meeting in 2014.

ESPN reported that the fight would be a five-round bout at 155 pounds -- the same conditions for January's rematch.

McGregor, 32, will be chasing his first victory since January 2020, while the 31-year-old Poirier (27 wins, five defeats) will be looking for a third consecutive victory.

McGregor had questioned his own future after January's defeat in Abu Dhabi, when he left the venue using the help of a crutch.

The Irishman has been repeatedly linked to a boxing match against Filipino welterweight star Manny Pacquiao.

McGregor pocketed an estimated $30 million in 2017 after fighting Floyd Mayweather in a cross-combat bout in Las Vegas.

Agence France-Presse

MMA: Francis Ngannou beats Stipe Miocic to win heavyweight title

This time around, Francis Ngannou didn't let his big opportunity slip by.

The Las Vegas resident by way of Cameroon got the job done in his second attempt at wresting the UFC heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic (20-4) on Saturday night. 

Ngannou (16-3) used big left hands to set up the finish as he knocked out the two-time champion at the 52-second mark of the second round to claim the title in the main event of UFC 260 in Vegas.

Miocic had outwrestled Ngannou in their first fight at UFC 220. But Ngannou was patient from the start Saturday, using much-improved defense to avoid the takedown, and landing often enough to make Miocic second-guess himself.

In the second round, Ngannou went in for the kill, landing left hands over and over until the always tough Miocic finally dropped. A series of hammerfists on the ground finally brought things to an end.

Ngannou credited the lessons learned in his first fight with Miocic, which Miocic won via a one-sided unanimous decision, for helping him learn where he needed to improve.

"I have a great outcome from that fight," Ngannou said. "It was a great benefit from that fight and I believe that that benefit pushed me, rose me higher than this."

Ngannou followed his loss to Miocic by losing a decision to Derrick Lewis. Then he won four straight fights via knockout, with the longest lasting just 1:11, to earn his title rematch.

The evening's co-feature bout was a breakthrough performance for Brazilian native Vicente Luque (20-7-1). The exciting welterweight slugger used heavy hands to batter former UFC champion Tyron Woodley (19-7-1) of Ferguson, Mo., then used a D'Arce choke to earn the submission victory at the 3:56 mark of the opening round.

Luque has won nine of his past 10 fights, while Woodley has lost four in a row.

-reuters-

MMA: Blachowicz stuns previously-unbeaten Adesanya at UFC 259

LOS ANGELES -- Jan Blachowicz upset the odds with a grinding unanimous points decision over the previously unbeaten Israel Adesanya to retain his world light heavyweight title at UFC 259 in Las Vegas on Sunday.

"If I had knocked him out it would have been better, but anyway I love this win because he is one of the best in the world," said the 38-year-old Polish fighter after the judges scored it 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45 in his favour.

It was the first defeat inflicted on the 31-year-old Adesanya, who was stepping up in weight, in his 21-fight career.

The New Zealander, the middleweight title holder, was looking to become only the fifth double-weight world champion in UFC history.

The Nigeria-born fighter found the bigger size of Blachowicz difficult to handle, especially when the Pole drew his opponent into clinches and down on to the mat late in the bout.

Blachowicz only really became a contender after passing the age of 35 and had also been the underdog when he won the vacant title last year against American Dominick Reyes.

"I thought that he would be a little bit faster but he hit harder than I thought," said Blachowicz, who has spent his career being underestimated, after a successful first defence of the title. 

"He was slower and harder which is something I didn't expect. I knew that if I took him down, I'm bigger, stronger a little bit, so I would be better on the ground.

"I just had to wait for a good moment. I should have used my left hand more, put more pressure on him, but game plan is one (thing), fighting is a different thing."

Blachowicz, whose win-loss record improved to 27-9, initially looked for a one-shot punch to finish the fight early but Adesanya opted to score points by picking at Blachowicz from range.

Blachowicz began to take control in the fourth. A big left hand and a takedown saw him keep Adesanya under wraps on the ground.

He had Adesanya down again in the fifth for a sustained period of pressure that put the decision beyond doubt.

"Back to the drawing board," Adesanya said.

There were three world title fights on the card but no fans in attendance as the United States still battles with the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening championship fight made history when Russian Petr Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee to the head against American challenger Aljamain Sterling, who was deemed the winner -– the first time a UFC title had changed hands in that fashion.

Brazil's Amanda "The Lioness" Nunes strengthened her claim to be the greatest female fighter of all time when she forced a first-round submission from Australian Megan Anderson.

The 32-year-old featherweight world champion Nunes -– who also holds the UFC bantamweight belt -– is unbeaten in her past 12 fights, and recently became a mum for the first time.

"You know they say a lion is always dangerous but when she has a baby you can't stop her, ever," Nunes said.

Agence France-Presse

MMA: Former train welder back on track for UFC as China base reopens

Before becoming one of China's most feared MMA fighters, Song Kenan worked as a welder for the country's rapidly developing high-speed railway. He has no wish to return to assembling trains.

So the man nicknamed "The Assassin" was among the first through the door when the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) reopened its Performance Institute in Shanghai this week.

The multimillion-dollar facility shut at the height of China's coronavirus outbreak in February but is now welcoming back many of the country's best fighters.

They include Zhang Weili, China's first and so far only UFC champion, and Song, a welterweight with a 16-5 win-loss record.

In Song's last bout, in February in New Zealand, he flattened Australian Callan Potter in just two minutes and 20 seconds after a flurry of punches.

It is hard to marry that ruthlessness with the softly spoken athlete who gave an interview to AFP at the UFC's hub in China, a key growth market for the US-based organisation.

"First, if you don't hit your opponent, he will definitely hit you," said Song, who like Zhang is from Hebei, a province in northern China with a strong martial arts legacy.

"Then there are my dreams and all the preparation I put in. Training is very hard and I don't want to disappoint myself when stepping into the octagon.

"So I can only imagine myself as a wolf, tiger or lion."

Song's celebrations following his emphatic win over Potter were short-lived.

China largely shut down in February because of the coronavirus outbreak and he had to quarantine at home for 14 days on his return from Auckland.

Because of the virus he does not know when he will fight again, but hopes it could be at the end of the year.

Song harbours ambitions of becoming a world champion, but at the age of 30 he will need to make his move sooner rather than later and there is a queue of fighters ahead of him. 

- Factory work -
Being in the UFC was his long-held dream but Song's journey started in a very different environment.

From 2008 to 2012 he was a welder, playing his part in building China's bullet trains.

"Every day I had to arrive at work at 8:00 am and then the team leader would do a roll-call and assign tasks," he said.

"Our job was to put the small parts together and then fix them by welding. Then we'd polish them and they'd become part of the trains."

At first he felt proud to be involved in something that revolutionised domestic travel for hundreds of millions of Chinese people.

But it was tough work. Each part had a serial number that could identify who was responsible for it.

"If there was a problem with the part you did they could trace it back to you and you'd be fined, then you'd have to repair it," said Song, who practised martial arts in his spare time.

Now a fully fledged UFC fighter, those long days in the factory are over, but when Song travels on the trains which criss-cross China's vast landscape his mind is cast back.

He sometimes wonders if the train he is sitting on has one of the parts he made.

But the trains are motivation too.

"When I was in that job I really didn't like it," said Song.

"So when I quit and went out to do MMA I was thinking: I must practise well so I won't need to go back."

Agence France-Presse

Who’s not a fan of Pacquiao, McGregor boxing? UFC’s Dana White

If Manny Pacquiao and UFC superstar Conor McGregor do get inside a boxing ring, Dana White will certainly not be a spectator.

The UFC executive reacted to speculation that a boxing match is supposedly being negotiated between Pacquiao and McGregor after the Irish fighter posted a Tagalog message on Twitter apparently agreeing to one.

“I don’t care about any of that (expletive),” White said in an article posted on BoxingScene.com.

McGregor made his foray into boxing in 2017, when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It was a huge commercial success although the Irish fighter was stopped in 10 rounds.

As far as White is concerned, McGregor is "retired." 

"This year, he is retired," White said in a separate report posted on ESPN.com.

"He doesn't have a fight this year, and he won't have a fight this year. Conor McGregor will not fight in 2020 . . . I guarantee he will not fight in 2020."

The last time McGregor fought was in January when he easily disposed of Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds.

news.abs-cbn.com

MMA: Whittaker back to best as Fight Island draws to a close

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker bounced back to defeat Darren Till Sunday as UFC's first "Fight Island" drew to a successful close in Abu Dhabi.

"My brain is on overload," Whittaker said after throwing everything at England's Till in unanimous points win, with all three judges scoring 48-47 for the Australian. 

"That fight was so stressful," Whittaker added. "I hope the fans and everybody can appreciate it because that was one of the most technical fights I've ever had."

Whittaker's win brought the curtain down on the Ultimate Fighting Championship's successful excursion to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The 26 square kilometre Yas Island resort complex was sealed off as the Las Vegas-based UFC shielded its fighters from the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 2,500 staff and fighters set up camp under strict bio-secure protocols with constant testing for COVID-19 before, during and after arrival and then regular follow-up checks throughout.

Those who tested positive for coronavirus were excluded, with the biggest casualty being Brazilian Gilbert Burns, who lost his shot at Nigerian-American UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman two weeks ago as a result.

The 29-year-old Whittaker (22-5) said before the contest that the only thing that worried him was Till's powerful left fist, a weapon that had given the man from Liverpool 10 knockout victories in an 18-2-1 record coming into the fight.

But it was a left elbow from Till (18-3-1) instead that put the Aussie on the floor in the first. 

- 'Just got my head down' -

Whittaker shook it off quickly and then got down to work, lashing out constantly at Till's leading leg and picking away with jabs.

By the end the total strike count was 156-81 to Whittaker, who landed 52 to Till's 29 with Whittaker also showcasing superior wrestling skills.

Whittaker lost his belt when knocked out by Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya (19-0) in October.

But this was a welcome return to form for the Australian who had questioned his future in the sport because of the relentless grind of training.

"He felt me out. In the first round he caught me, he didn't do that again," said Whittaker.

"I had to really adapt on the go. It was such a dynamic fight. Things went his way then my way. I just got my head down and that got me across the line."

UFC will return to Las Vegas but boss Dana White said we might see more of Fight Island in the future, while the world continues to contain the pandemic.

Earlier, two veteran Brazilian light heavyweights rolled back the years with 38-year-old Mauricio Rua (27-11-1) taking a split decision over 44-year-old fellow Brazilian Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-10). 

It was Rua's third victory over his compatriot, but only by the narrowest of margins 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 after three torrid rounds. 

The main card opened with a glimpse into the possible future of the UFC welterweight division. 

Swede Khamzat "Borz" Chimaev (8-0) made it two wins in two weeks on Fight Island with a first-round knockout of Northern Ireland's Rhys McKee (10-3-1).

"Everybody in my division, I'm going to smash them," Chimaev said.

Agence France-Presse

MMA: Dominant Nunes defeats Spencer to defend featherweight crown

UFC featherweight champion Amanda Nunes dominated Felicia Spencer and scored a comprehensive decision victory on Saturday in retaining her crown, becoming the first two-weight UFC champ to successfully defend both belts.

The Canadian challenger went the distance at the UFC 250 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, but she was completely outclassed, as Nunes won every one of the five rounds on the judges' scorecards.

"I studied her very well, I know she's tough and I have to be sharp if I have to go five rounds, I have to be dominating," a beaming Nunes told commentator Joe Rogan after the fight.

"That was my goal, defending my two belts at the same time. I defended both belts, you know, I'm the greatest! I'm so happy right now!" she added.

Spencer fought bravely but her limitations were exposed early on as Nunes caught her with a stiff jab and then took her to the mat, where she controlled her with ease.

A flurry of punches by Nunes at the end of the second round almost put a stop to the contest, and Spencer somehow survived a late choke attempt at the end of the fourth, although her forehead swelled up heading into the final round.

With Nunes barely breaking a sweat, the doctor was called into the octagon late in the fifth to examine a cut on Spencer, but the 29-year-old was able to battle on to the end of a one-sided contest that cemented Nunes' status as one of the sport's most dominant champions.

After beating Miesha Tate to win the bantamweight belt in July 2016, the 32-year-old Brazilian has been on a tear for almost four years, defending that title with violent knockouts of former champions Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm.

She then stepped up to featherweight and added that title by demolishing the much-feared Cris Cyborg in just 51 seconds, knocking her unconscious with a superb display of boxing in December 2018.

The problem for Nunes and the UFC now is that there is no challenger on the horizon that looks capable of threatening Nunes, who hasn't lost since she was knocked out by Cat Zingano in September 2014.

"I don't know what is next, but I've proved (myself) already. Tonight I closed a cycle, and I'm proud of myself and my team," Nunes said. 

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Stockholm. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

-reuters-

UFC card brings sport back to Las Vegas

LOS ANGELES -- Combat sport returned to Las Vegas Saturday as Brazil's Gilbert Burns defeated former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts card.

As in the UFC's recent live events from Florida there were no fans in attendance at the UFC Apex and social distancing measures were in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But it heralded the return of combat sports to Vegas, where the Nevada State Athletic Commission last week gave the greenlight not only to UFC but also to boxing cards in June.

Promoter Bob Arum's Top Rank has lined up cards to be held at the MGM Grand Conference Center, starting with a June 9 event featuring Shakur Stevenson, unbeaten in 13 fights, taking on Puerto Rican Felix Caraballo in a non-title bout.

Stevenson, the World Boxing Organization featherweight champion, had been scheduled to make the first defense of his belt on March 14 against Miguel Marriaga in New York, but that event was canceled because of the pandemic.

"The goal was to start out with really good, competitive fights, with names that people are familiar with, who have been on ESPN shows," Arum told broadcaster ESPN on Saturday, adding they opted not to start with title bouts to streamline the logistics.

Arum said the health protocols put in place by Nevada officials offered "a sensible way to push ahead.

"You've got to make sure all the procedures are safe and so forth," Arum said. "Hopefully, what we're doing will serve as a template for other promoters to put on shows."

Agence France-Presse

MMA: Gaethje upsets Ferguson to win UFC interim lightweight title

Justin Gaethje put on a striking masterclass to score a surprise knockout victory over Tony Ferguson and win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday.

Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round.

With over 80,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, the UFC has come under fire for putting on the event, which took place with no fans in the stands and with stringent health and safety protocols in place.

Despite the absence of a crowd, the fights themselves lacked nothing in intensity, with Francis Ngannou scoring the knockout of the night, blitzing Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a left hook to force a stoppage after just 20 seconds of the first round.

Sam Alvey was the first fighter into the empty arena on the night, pointing and high-fiving the imaginary crowd as he made his way to the cage where he fell to a decision loss to Ryan Spann in the evening's opening fight on the prelim card.

Apart from the fighters, the referees and the commentators, event staff wore face masks and only one corner-man per fighter was allowed into the cage in the breaks between rounds.

"It was funny, I could hear a lot. Everybody out there I could hear really clearly, but at the same time ... it wasn't much different than if the crowd were there," Vicente Luque told reporters following his stoppage win over Niko Price.

Such was the silence that Luque was able to hear the commentators, and heavyweight Greg Hardy said he was able to take the advice of TV commentator Daniel Cormier to counter Yorgan De Castro's leg kicks en route to a decision victory.

In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo retained his bantamweight belt with a second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz before immediately retiring in the octagon. The 33-year-old, who won a gold medal for wrestling at the 2008 Olympics, has said he was happy with his career and that he wanted to start a family.

Returning after a long layoff, former champ Cruz was dropped with a knee to the head and suffered the first knockout of his career with just two seconds left in the second round.

However, the biggest prize of the night went to Gaethje, who is now next in line to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight crown.

"I'll wait for the real one," Gaethje said as he tossed the interim belt aside moments after it was put around his waist. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor)

-reuters-

MMA: UFC eyes fight card on May 9 - Dana White

The UFC is aiming to stage a fight card at an undisclosed location on May 9 featuring at least two title bouts, the promotion's president Dana White has told its broadcast partner ESPN.

White canceled the proposed UFC 249 event last week, which was due to take place on April 18.

Prompted by fears over the spread of the coronavirus, White came under pressure from politicians and ESPN's owners at Disney to postpone the event.

ESPN are now reporting that Tony Ferguson will face Justin Gaethje in an interim lightweight title fight at an undisclosed location on May 9 instead.

Also on the bill is a bantamweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz and a featherweight match-up between champion Amanda Nunes and Felicia Spencer, although it is unclear if Nunes' belt is on the line.

When asked by Reuters to confirm the title fights, the UFC responded in an email that they had no further comment "aside from what Dana has said to ESPN". (Reporting by Philip O'Connor Editing by Toby Davis)

-reuters-

UFC: McGregor gives one million euros for protective hospital equipment

LONDON -- UFC star Conor McGregor has spent one million euros on protective equipment for hospital staff treating patients with the coronavirus in Ireland.

McGregor sent a message to the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and revealed the contents on his Twitter page.

Donohoe had written to McGregor asking him to tell his 7.9 million Twitter followers to practise social distancing.

"Today I am purchasing myself, one million euro worth of personal protective equipment to be deployed to all the fighting hospitals in the Leinster region. Our most affected region, to this date," McGregor said.

"St James's, Mater, Tallaght, Beaumont, Vincent's (hospitals). Where we would be without these brave men and women, I do not know. May God bless over them and keep them safe!"

McGregor called on the Irish government to go further in their efforts to fight the virus and implement more stringent lock-down measures.

"I feel like we are moving in the right way, it just feels to me like it is not all the way," he said. 

"I urge all the way! 'All in' is the term we must use here. Bit by bit will cost us lives.

"To see what is happening here in Ireland and all across the globe is heartbreaking to me. I pray. 

"God speed Minister and thank you for the message, and your service to our nation."

Agence France-Presse

Conor McGregor: 'The whole world lights up when I fight'

It's been more than three years from Conor McGregor's last win on the mixed martial arts (MMA) stage. After taking a 15-month sabbatical, the former two-division UFC world champion returned in triumphant fashion.

Looking to bring back the luster of his highly-publicized professional career, the man from Dublin answered his critics with a rousing knockout of Donald Cerrone. The 31-year-old dispatched his American opponent in 40 seconds with a head kick and follow-up punches in last weekend's UFC 246, which was held in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Before this win, McGregor's last victory was over Eddie Alvarez to capture the UFC lightweight strap in November 2016.


Making his first appearance since October 2018, McGregor surprised Cerrone at the start of the scheduled five-round contest with a series of shoulder strikes from the clinch, inflicting damage to his left eye and nose.

While everyone was looking for McGregor's southpaw to get the job done, it was his left leg that secured the finish. Upon separation, he wobbled Cerrone with a left high kick and drowned him with a heavy downpour of punishing punches that compelled referee Herb Dean to call a halt to the bout and award the technical knockout win to the Irishman.


Afterward, McGregor knelt at the center of the Octagon and put his head in his palms. He then grabbed the Irish flag from his team, paraded around the cage with it, finally climbing up the fence to celebrate. It marked the second-fastest triumph of McGregor's celebrated MMA stint; his quickest was his 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo for the undisputed featherweight crown in December 2015.

“I made history here tonight. I’m the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockouts [in three divisions] at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight,” McGregor says in his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. The fighter improved his MMA record to 22-4 with the win. 

On the other hand, Cerrone fell to a 36-14. The New Mexico resident has lost three straight fights, also getting finished by top-tier lightweights such as Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. He was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons due to serious facial lacerations.

UFC president Dana White admitted that he was blown away by how McGregor performed as a welterweight against Cerrone. "He looked unbelievable. He won't hear another peep from me about fighting at 170 pounds. He looked fast, he looked sharp, and he looked strong. It was all about Conor. It has nothing to do with 'Cowboy' being shot or anything like that," the promotion’s head honcho says.


Aside from the guaranteed USD 3 million paychec that he would earn from his comeback bout, McGregor received an additional USD 50,000 for being one of the four athletes to claim UFC 246’s “Performance of the Night” bonus.

The stakes were incredibly high for McGregor. It was a chance to re-establish himself in the sport following a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. In the lead-up to that grudge match, he appeared more concerned with selling his Proper Twelve whiskey brand than fighting the Russian. As a result, he got mauled by the reigning UFC lightweight champion before an ugly post-fight brawl broke out.

Outside the cage, McGregor ran into several issues, including an incident in which he punched an older man in a bar back in Ireland and a reported ongoing investigation by Irish authorities into two alleged sexual assaults.

With this win, McGregor proved that he still has his head in the game. He promised to stay active this year, competing as much as three times or more. McGregor has expressed his interest in a rematch with Nurmagomedov, who is scheduled to defend the lightweight belt against Tony Ferguson in April. He could also be in line for a cage meeting with Jorge Masvidal if he stays at welterweight.

“The Notorious” looked like the fighter he used to be, with razor-sharp striking and a shark’s insatiable sense for blood. A lackluster victory would have ramped up talk of McGregor’s best days being behind him. A loss would have been disastrous for his drawing power.

"I'm excited about the future. I'm not going to dwell on this victory. It's back in the gym and back to work. Who is next doesn't matter. When I will be fighting again is more interesting," he says. "The whole world lights up when I fight, so I want to get back out there again. Soon enough, we'll see what happens."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

MMA: McGregor pummels Cerrone in return to octagon

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Former two-division champion Conor McGregor returned to the Octagon with a stunning knockout of Donald Cerrone in under a minute at UFC 246 on Saturday in his first fight since losing a lightweight title bout to Khabib Nurmagomedov 15 months ago.

The 31-year-old Irishman left 'Cowboy' Cerrone bloodied just seconds into the fight by ramming shoulders into his face from the clinch, and when they broke McGregor landed a head kick that wobbled the American and sent him scrambling back to the cage.

McGregor closed in and rained down strikes as Cerrone covered up, prompting referee Herb Dean to stop the fight after just 40 seconds.

McGregor served a six-month suspension and was fined $50,000 for his role in a brawl at the end of his loss to Nurmagomedov.

He was convicted of assault late last year for punching a man who had refused a shot of whiskey from him in a Dublin pub while in a separate case in 2018 he was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after police said he attacked a vehicle carrying UFC fighters.

He pleaded guilty to a reduced disorderly conduct charge in that case.

After his long absence, McGregor was glad to be back.

"I feel really good, but I came out of here unscathed. I'm in shape. We've got work to do to get back to where I was," McGregor said in his post-fight interview.

The victory was McGregor's first since November 2016 at Madison Square Garden where he beat Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title and become the organisation’s first simultaneous two-weight champion.

A crowd of over 19,000 packed out the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and an uninspiring undercard was quickly forgotten as McGregor made his way to the Octagon.

Fans waving Irish Tricolours roared support for their man as the introductions took place and McGregor leaped into action as the fight began.

Cerrone had made his name by going toe-to-toe with some of the heaviest hitters in the UFC, giving fans the fights they want to see, but he was caught cold by McGregor's unorthodox shoulder strikes.

"I had never seen anything like that," Cerrone said. "It threw me way off guard. He busted my nose and it started bleeding and then he stepped back and head kicked me.”

Despite a third straight defeat, Cerrone said he had no plans to retire.

“I’m going to keep fighting man. I love this sport.”

McGregor has said he planned to have three UFC fights this year and also revealed he has a lucrative boxing match against Manny Pacquiao in the pipeline.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump booed at UFC fight night in New York

NEW YORK -- President Donald Trump was loudly booed on Saturday for the second time in a week at a sporting event as he attended a UFC fight in New York.

Trump, wearing a dark suit and a red tie, pumped his fist and waved at the crowd as he walked into the city's iconic Madison Square Garden arena on Saturday night. 

There was no repeat of the loud chants of "lock him up" that greeted Trump when he attended a World Series baseball game last weekend, but loud jeers rung out. 

Many mixed martial arts fans also clapped and cheered as Trump took his seat just 15 feet from the cage where the UFC was set to award the "BMF" belt. 

Several dozen protesters carrying placards with slogans such as "Trump/Pence Out Now!" and "Headlock Him Up" demonstrated outside the 20,000-seat venue as Trump arrived for the pay-per-view spectacle. 

The president, 73, looked on in concern as lightweight Kevin Lee delivered a vicious left kick to rival Gregor Gillespie's face during the first bout on the main card.

The contact, which left the fighter sprawled on the ground for around 30 seconds, drew loud gasps from the capacity crowd as they watched the slow-motion replay of his face being squished.

Trump could be seen clapping in support when Gillespie finally got to his feet.

The president was attending the fight night with sons Donald Jr. and Eric. 

Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz were due to slug it out for the "BMF" belt later Saturday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

MMA: Miocic reclaims heavyweight title with knockout win over Cormier

ANAHEIM, California -- Stipe Miocic reclaimed the heavyweight title with a stunning fourth-round knockout of Daniel Cormier and Nate Diaz scored a dominant decision win against Anthony Pettis in his first fight in over three years at the UFC 241 on Saturday night.

Former Olympic wrestler Cormier ducked under the longer reach of Miocic to land some heavy punches early before scoring a single-leg takedown and dominating his opponent on the ground.

But Miocic, who lost the heavyweight belt to Cormier via first-round knockout in July 2018, threw caution to the wind in the second, landing a number of heavy shots of his own.

With both men visibly tiring, Miocic changed his tactics in the fourth round, ripping a series of devastating left hooks to the body of his opponent to set up the stoppage with 51 seconds left on the clock.

In the co-main event, Diaz showed no signs of rust despite a three-year layoff following his last bout against Conor McGregor, controlling the tempo against former lightweight champion Pettis.

Fighting at welterweight, California native Diaz landed a late takedown to finish the first round strongly before pressuring Pettis against the fence in the second and landing some heavy strikes to the head and body.

Pettis did well to survive an onslaught of blows midway through the third and final round, but he couldn't do enough on the ground in the closing minutes to stop his 34-year-old opponent from getting a unanimous decision win on the scorecards of the judges.

"The reason I was off is because everybody sucks," Diaz said in the octagon before calling for a bout against welterweight challenger Jorge Masvidal, rather than a lucrative trilogy fight with McGregor.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

MMA: McGregor hints at retirement U-turn after Khabib feud

LOS ANGELES -- Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor hinted he may not be retiring after all on Wednesday after a racially-charged exchange of insults with rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In a cryptic post on Twitter which came a week after he had vowed to hang up his gloves, the trash-talking Irishman indicated he was not done with fighting.

"I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds," McGregor wrote. "All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all. Now see you in the Octagon."

McGregor's tweet appeared to be a response to criticism directed towards him after an earlier post in which he insulted Nurmagomedov's wife and the couple's Muslim faith. McGregor swiftly deleted the post made late Tuesday.

Nurmagomedov however reacted furiously to the insult, raising reported sexual assault allegations which McGregor faces in Ireland according to the New York Times.

"You are a hypocrite who is not responsible for your actions," Nurmagomedov wrote. "Justice will find you. We will see."

The vitriolic exchange prompted an intervention from UFC chief Dana White, who urged both camps to dial back their rhetoric.

"I am aware of the recent social media exchange between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor," White said in a statement.

"The ongoing situation has escalated to a level that is unacceptable. As such, we are taking the necessary steps to reach out to both athlete camps and this situation is being addressed by all parties internally."

Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor in a bout last October in Las Vegas in a contest that was marred by a massive brawl at ringside.

In January, the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed McGregor a six-month suspension for his role in the post-fight melee, backdated to October.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

MMA: McGregor, Nurmagomedov suspended for post-match brawl

Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov were each fined and suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday for their roles in a post-match melee last October in Las Vegas.

Copies of the agreements showed the commission voted to hand Nurmagomedov a nine-month ban and $500,000 fine, while McGregor was given a six-month ban and $50,000 fine for a brawl that overshadowed Russian Nurmagomedov's successful title defense.

Both suspensions are retroactive to October 6, the date of their fight, and Nurmagomedov can have three months of his ban reduced if he delivers a public service anti-bullying message.

Nurmagomedov took to Twitter in response to his punishment saying only "politics forever" while McGregor's manager Audie Attar said in a statement: "We are grateful to the commission for their serious focus and the decision which will allow fans to see their favorite fighter return to the octagon."

Moments after McGregor submitted to a Nurmagomedov rear-naked choke, the Russian champion climbed the cage and launched himself at the men in his opponent's corner, setting off a prolonged brawl inside and outside the octagon.

Irishman McGregor then needed to be restrained from jumping out of the octagon himself and traded punches with some members of Nurmagomedov's camp.

The scuffles immediately dwarfed the title fight that was one of the most lucrative in UFC history. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: Former UFC champion Cris Cyborg visits Pacquiao in LA home

Manny Pacquiao recently met a celebrity visitor, one who is also familiar with the art of hand-to-hand combat.

Former UFC featherweight champion Cristiane Justino Venancio, more familiar to MMA fans as Cris Cyborg, visited the Filipino champion in his Los Angeles residence.

Cyborg, who lost to Amanda Nunes last week, was delighted to meet Pacquiao who is set to defend his world welterweight title against Adrien Broner on January 19.

source: news.abs-cbn.com