Tag: UFC 260

Sean O’Malley announces fight vs. Thomas Almeida at UFC 260

Sean O’Malley is raring to get back in the octagon – and he apparently has his next fight booked. 

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] is raring to get back in the octagon – and he apparently has his next fight booked.

O’Malley announced Tuesday night on his YouTube channel that he will face [autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag] on March 27 at UFC 260. According to O’Malley, he received a bout agreement earlier Tuesday, which he was ready to sign.

O’Malley (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who earned his way into the UFC through “Dana White’s Contender Series,” opened his professional career with 12 straight wins, including four in the UFC, before suffering his first loss against Marlon Vera last August at UFC 252. O’Malley, 26, was finished by first-round TKO and was taken off on a stretcher after suffering a foot injury. O’Malley hasn’t fought since.

Almeida, 29, is on a three-fight losing streak after dropping decisions to Jimmie Rivera and Jonathan Martinez with a TKO against Rob Font in between. Almeida (22-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) opened his professional career with 21 consecutive wins, including four in the UFC. He hasn’t tasted victory since November 2016 when he TKO’d Albert Morales.

https://youtu.be/cYuHQ1dh5V8

With the addition, the UFC 260 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Hannah Goldy vs. Jessica Penne
  • Vicente Luque vs. Tyron Woodley
  • Thomas Almeida vs. Sean O’Malley

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Ex-champ Tyron Woodley meets Vicente Luque at UFC 260 in March

Tyron Woodley will attempt to snap his skid against one of the most dangerous rising stars in the welterweight division.

[autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] will attempt to return to the win column against one of the most dangerous rising stars in the welterweight division.

Woodley, a former longtime UFC champion at 170 pounds, is set to take on [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] at UFC 260 in March.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup between Luque (19-7-1 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Woodley (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) with multiple people close to the situation. The people requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement following an initial report from broadcast partner ESPN.

Woodley, No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, has experienced a rough patch since dropping gold to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. He’s in the midst of a three-fight losing skid to Usman, Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington, failing to win a round on the scorecards in all three fights.

“The Chosen One” will get his chance to bounce back against No. 10 Luque, who has won eight of his past nine octagon appearances. “The Silent Assassin” has frequently won in devastating fashion, finishing 89 percent of his career victories by knockout or submission. Now he’ll attempt to add a former champion to that list.

UFC 260 takes place March 27. The event does not have an official venue or location, but will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

With the addition, the latest UFC 260 lineup now includes:

  • Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Hannah Goldy vs. Jessica Penne
  • Vicente Luque vs. Tyron Woodley

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With USADA suspension over, Jessica Penne targeted to fight Hannah Goldy at UFC 260

Jessica Penne hasn’t competed in the UFC since April 2017.

[autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag] is back.

Having concluded a 20-month U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension, Penne (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) is being targeted for a return against [autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag] at UFC 260 on March 27. The event doesn’t currently have an announced location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the planned booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Initially a four-year suspension, Penne’s discipline was reduced to a 20-month order by USADA after she tested “positive at trace levels for two metabolites of stanozolol, 16β-hydroxystanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol” due to a tainted supplement. The suspension was made effective retroactively to the date of the test, April 8, 2019. It was Penne’s second career USADA suspension.

A former UFC women’s strawweight title challenge, Penne has lost three straight fights. After a loss to then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Penne was then defeated by Jessica Andrade and Danielle Taylor.

Goldy (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a Dana White’s Contender Series signee, was defeated by fellow UFC debutant Miranda Granger at UFC on ESPN 5 in August 2019. Goldy has not competed since then, though was booked for, and withdrew from, a fight vs. Loma Lookboonme in February 2020.

With the addition, the latest UFC Fight Night on March 27 lineup includes:

  • Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Hannah Goldy vs. Jessica Penne

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Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk joins UFC 260 on March 27

Light heavyweight prospects Modestas Bukauskas and Michal Oleksiejczuk will look to rebound on March 27.

A pair of light heavyweight prospects will look to rebound on March 27.

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (14-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) at a UFC event on March 27, which is expected to serve as UFC 260. A location for the card has not yet been announced.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.

After making a successful UFC debut this past July with a finish of Andreas Michailidis, former Cage Warriors champion Bukauskas saw his seven-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Jimmy Crute at UFC Fight Night 180 in October.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Oleksiejczuk is coming off back-to-back losses to Ovince Saint Preux and Crute. Prior to that, he picked up knockout wins over Gian Villante and Gadzhimurad Antigulov.

With the addition, the latest UFC Fight Night on March 27 lineup includes:

  • Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

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Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou rematch to headline UFC 260 in March

The heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou is on.

The heavyweight title rematch between champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] is on.

UFC president Dana White confirmed at Saturday’s UFC on ABC 1 post-fight news conference that Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) vs. Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has been finalized to headline UFC 260 in March.

After Miocic earned a unanimous decision win over Ngannou in their first meeting at UFC 220, he has since gone on to have a trilogy with Daniel Cormier, winning two of those three bouts.

Ngannou, meanwhile, is on a four-fight winning streak, all of which have come by first-round knockout.

The latest UFC 260 lineup includes:

  • Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

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UFC 260 adds Alexander Volkankovski vs. Brian Ortega title fight

The UFC featherweight championship will be on the line when the UFC hosts its second pay-per-view of March.

The next UFC featherweight title fight is set.

UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovksi[/autotag] will defend his title against [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] at UFC 260, which will take place at a location and venue still to be announced.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Saturday but asked for anonymity since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

The news was first reported by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which also reported the promotion is aiming for Volkanovksi (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) vs. Ortega (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) to be the co-main event to a UFC heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.

The pay-per-view event is expected to take place March 27 and will be the promotion’s second in March, with UFC 259 taking place three weeks earlier.

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Volkanovski, 32, is riding a 19-fight winning streak into his second UFC title defense attempt. Following six straight wins to kick off his UFC tenure, Volkanovski defeated then-champion Max Holloway by unanimous decision at UFC 245 in December 2019.

Seven months later, at UFC 251 in July 2020, Volkanovski and Holloway fought for a second time. Volkanovski successfully defended his title for the first time when he defeated Holloway by split decision.

In October, Ortega, 29, returned from a 22-month absence from competition. Over the course of five rounds, Ortega dominated surging contender Chan Sung Jung for a unanimous decision and reentered the win column following a devastating title shot loss to Holloway in December 2018.

With the addition, the UFC 260 lineup includes:

  • Champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for UFC featherweight title
  • Jim Crute vs. Johnny Walker
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

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