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Conor McGregor reacts to callouts from Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler after UFC 274

Conor McGregor entertains callouts from Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler following Saturday’s UFC 274.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is in high demand.

The former two-division champion had a couple of big players shout his name on the microphone following their respective victories at Saturday’s UFC 274 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler called out McGregor. It didn’t take long for the Irish superstar to take things to Twitter to give his thoughts on the callouts.

Check out McGregor’s reaction to the latest challenges below.

UFC 274 bonuses: Michael Chandler’s knockout of the year contender among winners

Check out who earned a bonus for their performance at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – Fans at Footprint Center and those watching across the globe were treated to a handful of phenomenal performances throughout UFC 274.

At the completion of the event, the promotion handed out a total of four post-fight bonuses, including two Performance of the Night awards and a Fight of the Night for the best battle of the evening.

In the feature bout of the evening, [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] faced former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. The two men typically connected to post-fight bonuses were sure to produce a fight with fireworks, and it resulted in a potential knockout of the year. Chandler took home a no-brainer Performance of the Night for his spectacular finish.

Check out below to see who all earned a bonus for their performance at UFC 274.

UFC 274 results: Charles Oliveira chokes Justin Gaethje in wild first round, now set for vacant title bout

Charles Oliveira taps Justin Gaethje in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] saved what seemed to be a disastrous week for his career.

The Brazilian lightweight submitted [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 274 at Footprint Center. Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) forced Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to tap with a rear-naked choke after wild back-and-forth exchanges in the first round of their contest.

The bout was supposed to be Oliveira’s second title defense, as he entered fight week as the reigning champion. However, he was stripped from the belt the day prior to the fight after he failed to make weight. Oliveira came in at 155.5 pounds, half a pound over the limit for lightweight championship fights.

The fight itself against Gaethje was pure chaos and ended in vintage Oliveira fashion.

Oliveira immediately pressured Gaethje as soon as the fight started. He connected and stunned Gaethje and then continued to look for the finish. In that process, Gaethje dropped Oliveira twice and cut him above his left eye. Oliveira stayed composed and continued to attack fearlessly.

The two kept going back-and-forth until Oliveira connected hard once again, but this time dropping Gaethje cleanly. From there, the former champion jumped on Gaethje, took his back, and sank in the rear-naked choke.

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Oliveira is currently on a stellar 11-fight winning streak that dates back to 2018. The Brazilian’s last defeat was back at UFC 218 in 2017 when he was stopped by Paul Felder in second-round TKO.

With this win, Oliveira is now the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds and will have to win his title again in a fight against whoever the UFC deems as the next in line.

Meanwhile, Gaethje finds himself now 1-2 in his past three bouts. The former WSOF champion was coming off a wild, Fight of the Year contender against Michael Chandler at UFC 268 last November. Prior to that, he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight championship fight in Abu Dhabi.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:

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Twitter reacts to Charles Oliveira’s submission of Justin Gaethje to make title vacant at UFC 274

See the top Twitter reactions to Charles Oliveira’s victory Justin Gaethje to make the lightweight title vacant at UFC 274.

The lightweight title is now vacant after [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] emerged victorious against [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] in the UFC 274 main event.

After missing weight prior to the event, Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) scored a first-round submission victory over Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) on Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix. It was the 11th straight win for “Do Bronx,” but it’s bittersweet because he is forced to give up the title, causing something of a reset at 155 pounds.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Oliveira’s victory over Gaethje at UFC 274.

UFC 274 results: Carla Esparza reclaims strawweight gold, defeats Rose Namajunas again in uneventful title fight

Carla Esparza reclaimed the UFC strawweight title by defeating Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – The first of two championship bouts at UFC 274 was not the most exciting bout, but the strawweight division has a new champion.

[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] entered Saturday’s contest with the goal of reclaiming the title she once held. Rose Namajunas looked to avenge a prior loss to Esparza in the first strawweight title in the promotion’s history. When it was all said and done, Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Namajunas (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) for the second time in an uneventful bout that left the judges split on who won the evening’s co-main event at Footprint Center.

The familiar foes started the fight off with a slow pace as they both tried to measure the other’s movements. A few strikes were offered from both, but virtually nothing of significance landed in the first three minutes. Namajunas found a home for a few left jabs as she avoided the intermittent attacks of Esparza, but the opening round certainly lacked action.

Esparza looked for a takedown early in the second, but Namajunas kept things standing. The action continued to stall and the fans became restless as they circled around each other in the center of the cage. After a largely uneventful round, the fighters returned to their corners seconds after fans broke out the wave.

The action heated up early in the third round. Esparza shot in for a takedown that was stuffed and both began letting their hands go more frequently. However, the action was short-lived and both fighters returned to feints and evaded the offerings from their opponent.

Esparza completed a takedown in the fourth round and took the back of Namajunas for the most significant moment of the fight up to that point. Namajunas, however, was quick to get back to her feet. Namajunas landed a few punches, including a nice right hand, but Esparza once again found her way on the champ’s back momentarily.

With just five minutes remaining, and the fight seemingly up for grabs, Esparza and Namajunas traded a few punches early. Namajunas pressed forward and landed a couple of punches and shucked away an Esparza clinch attempt. Namajunas scored a takedown with 10 seconds remaining and the fight came to a close.

Judges Rick Winter and Brad Frank saw the bout in favor of Esparza, issuing scores of 49-46 and 48-47 respectively. The dissenting judge, Eric Colon saw the bout for Namajunas with a score of 48-47.

With the win, Esparza becomes the second two-time champion in the division’s history. Esparza ran up a five-fight win streak over Virna Jandriroba, Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson, Marina Rodriguez, and Yan Xiaonan to earn another crack at gold, and walked away with her goal accomplished.

On the other end, Namajunas’ second title reign and three-fight win streak come to an end. The loss was also the first out of five rematches Namajunas failed to succeed in.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:

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Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier is headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] is headed into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ as a member of the class of 2022. The 2022 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“Daniel Cormier is one of the most badass competitors of all time,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement. “DC faced the greatest athletes in the world on every level of wrestling and MMA. He is also the ultimate professional. As an active fighter, he always took time for the media, which led him to become one of the best TV analysts in all of sports. DC is one of the greatest ambassadors UFC has ever had, and it’s going to be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Cormier retired in late 2020. He left the sport having won two UFC titles in different weight classes and four title defenses under his belt. Cormier joined the UFC in 2013 and competed under the promotion for seven years. During his tenure, he defeated many notable opponents such as Stipe Miocic, Anthony Johnson, Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva and others.

Cormier is also known for his heated rivalry with Jon Jones where he suffered two defeats with the last loss later overturned to a no contest after Jones tested positive for a prohibited substance.

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UFC 274 results: Michael Chandler brutally knocks out Tony Ferguson with insane front kick

Michael Chandler scored a high-light reel knockout over Tony Ferguson at Saturday’s UFC 274.

[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] picked up arguably the best knockout of his career on Saturday night.

The UFC lightweight contender and former Bellator champion brutally knocked out [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] at UFC 274. The official stoppage came 17 seconds into the second round. The lightweight bout was part of the UFC 274 main card at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) had to battle from adversity before putting away Ferguson (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC).

In the first round, both fighters started hot exchanging hard shots. Ferguson managed to connect flush and drop Chandler a minute into the round. Ferguson pressured Chandler and connected a few times before getting taken down halfway through the round. As usual, Ferguson maintained busy on bottom with submission attempts and strikes. He cut open Chandler with one of the shots. Chandler also fired back and connected some ground-and-pound and controlled the position until the final bell.

And to kick off the second round, Chandler came out with everything, throwing a soccer-like kick down the middle and connecting flush on Ferguson. Immediately, Ferguson dropped to the canvas and the fight was called off.

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With this result, Chandler snapped a two-fight losing streak. The former Bellator champion was coming off back-to-back defeats to Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. Chandler debuted for the UFC in 2021 after a decade of competing in Bellator. He stopped Dan Hooker in the first round of their contest. The win over Hooker was Chandler’s only victory in the octagon prior to tonight.

After the victory, Chandler cut an incredible promo, calling out the winner of the main event between Oliveira and Gaethje, or opting to welcome former champ-champ Conor McGregor back to action.

Meanwhile, Ferguson now finds himself in his worst career moment. “El Cucuy” is on a four-fight losing streak, having come up short against Gaethje, Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, and now Chandler. The 38-year-old’s last win came against Donald Cerrone back at UFC 238 in 2019.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:

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UFC 274 results: Ovince Saint Preux gets split call over ‘Shogun’ in dull rematch

It wasn’t particularly thrilling, but Ovince Saint Preux once again defeated Mauricio Rua in their UFC 274 rematch.

PHOENIX – It wasn’t particularly thrilling, but [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] once again defeated [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] in their UFC 274 rematch.

After scoring a 34-second knockout in their first meeting in November 2014, Saint Preux (26-16 MMA, 14-11 UFC) outpointed Rua (27-13-1 MMA, 11-11-1 UFC) over the course of three rounds to take a split decision by scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 30-27.

“Shogun,” a former UFC and PRIDE grand prix champion, said prior to the event that he only had two fights left in his career, and Saint Preux ensured he would not have the chance to go out on a winning streak.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the UFC 274 main card at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Both men started the bout by gauging the distance. Rua used his traditional high muay-Thai guard, while Saint Preux attempted to throw kicks underneath the elbows to the body. Rua pressed forward but was also looking to counter punch. Saint Preux didn’t give him many opportunities, however, because of his kick-heavy approach. The crowd got restless and began to boo late in the opening round, which was quite slow-paced.

There wasn’t much of a change in the second round. Saint Preux stayed disciplined with his kicking attack, mixing up shots to Rua’s body and occasionally going to the head. Rua stayed patient and kicked the legs and body of his opponent, while mixing in bursts of punches. Nothing major landed for either side, however, and the crowd kept expressing frustration in the low-action affair through 10 relatively uneventful minutes.

The start of the third round saw Saint Preux shoot for the first takedown of the fight. He was denied, and was unable to hold Rua against the fence. The fight went back to open space and continued to see both men have difficulty finding the big shot they wanted to close the shot. Saint Preux and Rua traded punches and kicks, but did not take any massive risks as an upset crowd waved their cell phone lights as the clock listlessly wound down to a final bell.

Ultimately the judges valued Saint Preux’s minimal work more, and he got his hand raised. However, he did not receive a post-fight interview in the octagon.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:

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UFC 274 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 274 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

PHOENIX – UFC 274 took place Saturday with 14 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the Footprint Center.

You can hear from all the UFC 274 winners, as well as some additional guest fighters, by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

Loopy Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274: Best photos

Check out these photos from Loopy Godinez vs. Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Check out these photos from Loopy Godinez’s unanimous decision victory over Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)