Tag: UFC 260

With Khabib in corner, Abubakar Nurmagomedov earns dominant UFC 260 win

Abubakar Nurmagomedov picked up his first UFC victory against Jared Gooden.

With his brother Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] picked up his first UFC victory Saturday.

At UFC 260, Nurmagomedov (15-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dominated a fellow promotional sophomore, [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag], on the feet and on the ground en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

UFC 260 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

After some fouls in Round 1, Nurmagomedov and Gooden (17-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) each had their moments. It was a close round, but Nurmagomedov found slightly more success in the striking department. In Round 2, Nurmagomedov found success in the striking including one big punch on a clinch break that hurt Gooden.

Nurmagomedov found his takedown in Round 3 when he dragged Gooden to the canvas. From there, he remained in dominant top position. Gooden was unable to get up and the fight ended.

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The fight wasn’t just Nurmagomedov’s first UFC win, it was his first in-cage appearance since November 2019, when he was submitted by David Zawada. Gooden has come up short in both UFC outings. Prior to UFC 260, Gooden lost a unanimous decision to Alan Jouban this past November.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 260 results include:

Video: Marc-Andre Barriault opens UFC 260 with TKO, stops Abu Azaitar with 4 seconds left

Marc-Andre Barriault got his first official UFC win Saturday when he battered Abu Azaitar to a late stoppage at UFC 260.

[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag] got his first official UFC win Saturday when he battered [autotag]Abu Azaitar[/autotag] to a late stoppage in the opening fight at UFC 260.

After an exhausting back-and-forth first two rounds to start the middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Barriault (12-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) took a commanding lead on Azaitar (14-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the third round.

Barriault rained down punches and elbows from various dominant top control positions, cut Azaitar open and had him teetering on the verge of a stoppage. It seemed it was going to go to the final bell, but Barriault poured it on until referee Jerin Velel finally stopped it at the 4:56 mark of Round 3, making it the second latest finish in UFC middleweight history.

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Check out the replay of the stoppage below (via Twitter):

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1375961405757784068

The victory was a crucial moment in Barriault’s career. He lost his first three UFC fights. Then after winning his fourth, he had the result overturned due to a positive drug test due to a tainted supplement.

He said he knew he had to put the foot on the gas pedal late to secure the nod, and that’s what he did.

“Between Round 2 and 3 I just said, ‘I have to take all I have and show what I’m made (of),” Barriault said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Thank you everybody back home in Canada. … See you soon.”

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UFC 260 discussion thread

UFC 260 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas, and you can discuss the event here.

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LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC 260 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

Be sure to follow along with the latest card updates in our UFC 260 live results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.

Round-by-round updates and official results begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET for the preliminary card and 10 p.m. ET for the main card.

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UFC 260 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC 260 in Las Vegas, featuring heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC 260 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT).

UFC 260 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) puts his title on the line in a rematch with Francis Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), whom he beat by unanimous decision in January 2018.

Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET for the early prelims on ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET for the prelims on ESPN, and 10 p.m. ET for the main card on pay-per-view.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC 260 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporters John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) and Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway) on Twitter.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

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Video: UFC 260 post-event press conference live stream on MMA Junkie

You can catch a live stream of the press conference at the conclusion of UFC 260 right here.

LAS VEGAS – UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex, and you can watch a live video stream of the post-event news conference here on MMA Junkie after the night of fights concludes.

Expected to take part in the press conference are UFC president Dana White, main event title fighters [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], and at least the co-main event winner between former welterweight champ [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] and [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag].

The full UFC 260 post-event news conference will be available on YouTube in the video above.

Video: A history of faceoffs between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou before UFC 260

Before Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou rematch at UFC 260, take a trip down memory lane with all of their faceoffs.

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Heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] are set to run things back at UFC 260. Their fight will be a rematch from January 2018, when Miocic won a unanimous decision to retain his title at UFC 220.

Before they go at it a second time, take a trip down memory lane by watching all of their faceoffs – from before UFC 220 to the UFC 260 weigh-ins – in the video above.

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UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

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UFC 260 live streaming watch-along with MMA Junkie Radio on SportsCastr

Join MMA Junkie Radio hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” for a watch-along of UFC 260 headlined by Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou.

UFC 260 takes place Saturday with a heavyweight title fight atop the bill, and MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will host a live streaming watch-along via SportsCastr that kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.

In the main event, champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] in a rematch of a January 2018 title fight won by Miocic.

UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Here are the seven fights included in the watch-along:

  • Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Vicente Luque vs. Tyron Woodley
  • Thomas Almeida vs. Sean O’Malley
  • Miranda Maverick vs. Gillian Robertson
  • Jamie Mullarkey vs. Khama Worthy
  • Fabio Cherant vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Jared Gooden vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Be sure to check back and follow @MMAjunkie, @MMAjunkieRadio and @SportsCastrLive on Twitter to be notified when the guys go live.

Daniel Cormier: Francis Ngannou should ‘blitz’ Stipe Miocic for best chance to win at UFC 260

Daniel Cormier breaks down the championship rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.

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[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] feels [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] needs to end the show early if he wants to get ahold of UFC gold.

The former two-division UFC champion turned commentator sees Ngannou’s (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) best chances of dethroning champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) being early in the fight. The two heavyweights clash in a highly anticipated championship rematch this Saturday in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 260 in Las Vegas.

Cormier, who commentates the pay-per-view event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas alongside Jon Anik and Joe Rogan, feels it’s clear that Ngannou’s opportunity to win the rematch is early in the fight.

“The reality is that fight No. 1 (with Miocic) was the anomaly,” Cormier told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Friday following the UFC 260 weigh-ins. “The norm is what happens to most people. Let’s see if he can find away to stay within himself.

“I don’t think he can and honestly, I don’t think he should. I think he should try to blitz Stipe and really try to get him out of there because I don’t know if he wins the fight over 25 minutes.”

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Ngannou lost a unanimous decision to Miocic at UFC 220 in January 2018. It was his first defeat inside the UFC. They meet a second time under different circumstances, and big one being that they’re fighting in a smaller cage.

“I honestly believe that it plays to Francis early,” Cormier said regarding the smaller octagon. “Again, it’s all bout it’s a tale of two fights, man. It’s minutes where the danger is extremely high. The danger is as daunting as anything you can ever think of. It’s like being locked in a cage with a tiger. How long can you survive? That’s what you do when you fight Francis. How long can Stipe survive to start imposing himself in the fight?

“Early, the small octagon plays to Francis because when he starts to go down hill it’s a terrifying sight. You saw it against Jairzinho (Rozenstruik). It started a bit slow, Francis made up his mind and he was just going to go and when he did the fight was over 5 second later. It’s just not much room to run as a smaller guy.”

But it’s not only the fact that Ngannou might be the most dangerous early in the fight, but also that Miocic might not be the same fighter he used to be the fight time the two fought.

Since the first fight, Miocic lost to Cormier and then came back to beat him twice to seal a grueling trilogy. And on the other hand, Ngannou lost a action-less fight with Derrick Lewis and then four consecutive first-round finishes.

Cormier believes Miocic needs to be very cautious this time around.

“He’s got to be more careful early than he had to be in fight one,” Cormier explained. “In fight one, he was 35 years old, maybe 34. Him and I beat each other up for three fights, so he’s got to be careful. The octagon is small, so if he finds himself trapped against a big guy like Francis early, it could be lights out”

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UFC 260 ‘Embedded,’ No. 6: Kamaru Usman gives final tips to Francis Ngannou

Go behind the scenes of UFC 260 as heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou, and others on the card prepare during fight week.

The UFC’s heavyweight title is on the line Saturday in a bout the promotion is billing as the “biggest, baddest rematch” when reigning champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] faces the hard-hitting [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag].

The bout is the UFC 260 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) and Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) first met in 2018, in the main event of UFC 220. That night, Miocic dominated over the course of five rounds to prove himself the baddest man on the planet. But Ngannou has since strung together four consecutive knockouts to earn himself another crack. The highly anticipated rematch features the top two fighters in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings bidding for the UFC belt.

Ahead of the blockbuster matchup, the UFC’s traditional pre-fight series, “Embedded,” has returned. The fifth episode features Miocic and Ngannou, as well as Tyron Woodley, Vicente Luque, and Sean O’Malley. Here’s the UFC’s description from YouTube:

Francis Ngannou trains with Kamaru Usman, and Sean O’Malley starts his weight cut. Vicente Luque peels off the final pounds, and champ Stipe Miocic plays cards with his team. UFC 260 foes face off after they weigh in on Friday morning.

Also watch:

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UFC 260 weigh-in highlights, faceoffs and photo gallery

All the pre-fight activities are in the books for UFC 260 following Friday’s official weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs.

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All the pre-fight activities are in the books for UFC 260 following Friday’s official weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs.

The organization’s fourth numbered card of the year features a heavyweight championship rematch in the main event. After winning the first meeting in January 2018, reigning titleholder Stipe Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will again attempt to defend the strap against feared knockout specialist Francis Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC).

At the conclusion of weigh-ins, the athletes came face to face for a final staredown.

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UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. The event has a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Check out the highlights in the video above, and a photo gallery from all of Friday’s happenings below.

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