Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Take a look inside Priscila Cachoeira’s TKO win over Gina Mazany at UFC 262 in Houston.
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HOUSTON – [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] beat Gina Mazany with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 262 in Houston.
Take a look inside the fight with Cachoeira, who upset the biggest favorite on the card.
A disappointed Shane Burgos opens up about his bizarre knockout loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 262.
Win or lose, [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] always goes out on his shield.
In the UFC 262 pay-per-view opener on Saturday, Burgos (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was knocked out by Edson Barboza (22-9 MMA, 16-9 UFC) in the third round, in what was a rather peculiar ending. Barboza landed a right hand, but it took Burgos a few seconds to react to the blow, eventually sending him to the canvas. It was a delayed reaction which even confused Barboza, a testament to Burgos’ toughness.
Burgos (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) took to social media to open up about the loss and his desire to take some time off, before returning later in the year (via Instagram):
“Overwhelmed by all the love and support I’ve been getting. This sport can bring the highest highs of highs and the lowest of lows. Disappointed is an understatement for how I’m feeling but it is what it is, all I can do is learn and grow from it. Gonna take some time off to spend with my wife and daughters but excited to get back in there later in the year and show a better version of myself. It was an honor to share the cage with @edsonbarbozajr it was his night and he has all my respect! Thank u to my team, family, friends and all the fans for the support. This is all part of God’s plan and I trust it. I will keep chasing greatness.. #AlwaysForward”
Though he didn’t get the win, Burgos earned his second straight “Fight of the Night” bonus, this time, a special one-off $75,000. After winning three straight, Burgos has dropped two in a row for the first time in his career.
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See who Charles Oliveira should fight next after claiming the lightweight title against Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 headliner.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Michael Chandler after UFC 262 title-fight loss?)
[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]’s long road to gold came to a thrilling conclusion Saturday when he beat Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 main event.
After many ups and downs since his UFC debut in 2010, Oliveira (31-8 MMA, 19-8 UFC) realized his championship potential when he stopped Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by second-round TKO to claim the vacant lightweight belt in he headliner at Toyota Center in Houston.
The 155-pound weight class is arguably the most prominent on the roster, and now Oliveira sits on top of it with some big fights on the horizon.
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Will it be Dustin Poirier? Conor McGregor? Justin Gaethje? Or perhaps someone else?
Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Oliveira’s first title defense coming out of his historic win at UFC 262.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eS3cOyC5Dc
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See who Michael Chandler should fight next after falling short of the lightweight title against Charles Oliveira in the UFC 262 headliner.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Charles Oliveira after UFC 262 title win?)
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] fell short of his UFC title dream on Saturday when he lost to Charles Oliveira in the main event at UFC 262.
Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a former three-time Bellator champion, had his ideal scenario come to life when he entered the UFC and, after just one win, got a chance to fight Oliveira (31-8 MMA, 19-8 UFC) for the vacant lightweight title in the headliner at Toyota Center in Houston.
He had victory in the palm of his hand in the first round, but he couldn’t grab onto it and got stopped by TKO early in the second.
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The 34-year-old promised he’d get back to competing for the belt and win it before his career is over, but is that in the cards for Chandler?
Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Chandler’s future after his loss to Oliveira at UFC 262.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWlQbea3caE
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Call Beneil Dariush’s post-fight interview cringe-worthy if you want, but he got Elon Musk’s attention.
[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] scored the biggest win of his career Saturday night at UFC 262, where he dominated Tony Ferguson to earn a clean-sweep unanimous decision in their lightweight co-man event.
A big win on a big stage meant a big – not to mention bizarre – post-fight callout from Dariush, who was booed by the Houston crowd at Toyota Center for using a grappling-heavy approach that didn’t produce the fireworks we all expected.
First, there was the dedication of his victory to “all the people who’ve been hurt by Marxist ideologies” (odd), which led right into Dariush grabbing the microphone, looking at Joe Rogan, and calling out none other than … Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla.
Looks like @beneildariush's Tesla is on the way 😅 #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/6uispScLjf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2021
So what was that all about? Dariush explained backstage during his post-fight news conference with reporters.
“DECEMBER, I order my car,” Dariush said. “Bro, I ordered the safest car, they told me. It’s the best car for my pregnant wife. And I’m still waiting. Elon, bro, what’s the deal, man? You told me March. We’re coming up on June. I want my car. Come on, bud. Big fan, big fan, but this is disrespect.”
Good news for Dariush: Musk is aware of the situation and tweeted something on Sunday that should make him happy.
Coming soon. Sorry for the delay!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2021
Coming soon. Sorry for the delay!
Hey, you never know what can happen if you don’t shoot your shot.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
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Ronaldo Souza suffered the graphic injury in his loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262.
[autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag] is in good spirits after a graphic loss to Andre Muniz on Saturday at UFC 262.
“Jacare” had his losing skid extended to four fights with a first-round technical submission loss to Muniz at Toyota Center in Houston, but this was the worst one yet.
Souza (26-10 MMA, 9-7 UFC) was caught in an armbar by Muniz (21-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC) that ended the fight when an audible cracking sound could be heard. According to a report from MMA Fighting, Souza suffered a fractured humerus in his right arm, but his personal doctor described his condition as being “fine.”
Souza will need to undergo surgery to repair the damage, however, and a subsequent report from ESPN said he’s scheduled for a procedure on Monday.
WOW 🤯@andremunizufc is able to earn a submission against Jacare at #UFC262 pic.twitter.com/45NMJCn4TF
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2021
Souza briefly spoke to ESPN and said he’s not in serious pain, despite the injury.
“The UFC is giving me all the support,” Souza said. “When the world stopped, the UFC was moving and taking care of all the athletes.”
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Souza, 41, hasn’t won a fight since November 2018. His current losing kid comes against Muniz, Kevin Holland, Jan Blachowicz, and Jack Hermansson.
It’s unknown how the injury will impact Souza’s future, and he has yet to comment on any potential plans to keep fighting in the aftermath of UFC 262.
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The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 262, which saw Charles Oliveira make history with his title-winning TKO of Michael Chandler.
The UFC’s seventh pay-per-view of the year delivered in a big way on Saturday with UFC 262 at Toyota Center in Houston.
Charles Oliveira (31-8 MMA, 19-8 UFC) became the new lightweight champion in the main event when he scored a thrilling second-round TKO win over Michael Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), setting all types of UFC records in the process.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 55 post-event facts to come out of UFC 262.
Katlyn Chookagian addresses claims of having tapped out in UFC 262 bout against Viviane Araujo.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] says there was no tap on Saturday night.
The former UFC flyweight title challenger denies claims of having submitted in her bout against Viviane Araujo on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 262. Chookagian (16-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) defeated Araujo (10-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) by unanimous decision.
In the second round of the contest, Araujo shined best, as she had Chookagian in compromising positions on bottom. One of those positions had the Brazilian on top with a one-arm guillotine held for several seconds, and Chookagian, scrambling to get out, appeared to have tapped out. The alleged tapout was seen multiple times on the broadcast replay and debated among UFC commentators.
Chookagian attempted to put an end to the debate when asked during her post-fight news conference.
“What submission?” Chookagian said when reporters mentioned the tapout claims. “You have to have your hands locked to have the submission. She had a headlock because she doesn’t know her jiu-jitsu. Yeah, no (there was no tap). You have to have a submission to get the tap. Definitely not.”
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The controversy didn’t stop there. Chookagian went out to outpoint the Brazilian, and many thought Araujo had done enough to get the nod from the judges.
“I felt I won the fight,” Chookagian said. “But, of course with decisions, I’ve always watched fights on Saturday for hours, and every fight card you see a decision that you’re like, ‘What?’ So there is always that little part of you that’s nervous, but I was confident that I thought I had won.”
As far as what’s next, “Blonde Fighter” is looking to keep building momentum now that she’s on a two-fight winning streak, having bounced back from her TKO loss to former UFC champion Jessica Andrade last October.
“I’ve been in this division since it opened,” Chookagian said. “I’ve beat No. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, so obviously I’ll fight anyone. But the one girl that’s in the top 10 that I haven’t fought is Alexa Grasso.
“Everyone talks about how good her boxing is and when I watch that, I get a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I think I have the best boxing in the division, so that fight interests me, but I’ll fight anyone. I don’t care.”
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Beneil Dariush was in shock that Tony Ferguson didn’t tap out to his heel-hook attempts.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] did what he had to do to get his hand raised on Saturday night.
The UFC lightweight contender scored the biggest victory of is career, besting former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson in the co-main event of UFC 262. Dariush (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC) out-grappled and dominated Ferguson (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) over the course of 15 minutes to win a 30-27 unanimous decision across the board.
The lightweight clash perhaps didn’t have the fireworks that often pop in a Dariush or Ferguson fight, as it was a clean and controlled approach by Dariush. The 32-year-old had the urge to exchange with Ferguson on the feet, but he resisted and instead took a different tactic.
“At first, I had prepared for the standup, and I was going to show the world that it doesn’t matter who it is in terms of the standup, but I also want to be a champion, and to be a champion, you have to be able to stick to a game plan,” Dariush told reporters at the UFC 262 post-fight news conference. “It’s not always (about) being a bonus fighter. I really felt like after the first round, I felt his arms tire. So why am I going to strike with this guy if I have such an advantage here?”
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Dariush believed he had an easy time getting takedowns on Ferguson. Although the bout didn’t pack as much wild action as his previous bouts, Dariush did put Ferguson in danger on the ground and even seemed closed to getting the finish.
Deep into the fight, Dariush got a heel hook, locked it up and had Ferguson grimacing in pain. However, the tap never came.
“Shock is the first thing (I felt when I didn’t get the tap),” Dariush said. “And I saw him grimace, so I went for the same thing, and he was zombie mode and started kicking me. So I was like, ‘Fine, I’ll come on top, you jerk.’ That’s what I was thinking.”
Dariush hopes Ferguson is all right, as he heard pops from his legs once the submission was locked.
“I hope nothing happened to his knee because that’s where your ACL goes,” Dariush said. “When you go for a heel hook, and it pops like that, your ACL can be gone. I know he’s a super human, and we’ve heard it over and over again, but I don’t want that on anybody. I hope he’s fine.”
Dariush is now on a seven-fight winning streak – a run that includes several notable names and “Performance of the Night” bonuses. He doesn’t have anyone in mind for his next trip to the octagon, as he wants to see how the division shakes out in the coming months with some high-profile fights coming up.
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Edson Barboza recalls his bizarre-looking, delayed knockout of Shane Burgos at UFC 262.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] was as confused as man of the fans watching from home and the stands at UFC 262.
The UFC featherweight stopped Shane Burgos to open up the pay-per-view main card of UFC 262 on Saturday. It was a knockout that will go on Barboza’s highlight reel because of its execution – but also its bizarre nature.
Barboza (22-9 MMA, 16-9 UFC) connected with a right hand in the third round that sent Burgos (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) falling down – but several seconds after the shot landed. It seemed the punch took a few seconds to fully hurt Burgos. The delayed reaction made the knockout even more memorable.
The Brazilian is unsure how that finish came about.
“I really don’t understand,” Barboza told reporters at the UFC 262 post-fight news conference. “I know I connected a good one because I felt it – but I felt like he shook a little bit and something happened and he went again and then went down. So I was like, ‘OK, let’s go finish him.’ I need to watch it because I really don’t know what happened. I connected with the right overhand, but I don’t remember.”
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The knockout win put Barboza on a two-fight wining streak and gave him a $75,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus. With a big name and now building momentum at 145 pounds, Barboza thinks he’s nearing a title shot.
“I think I’m on the way – I’m on the way to a title shot,” Barboza said. “I have 24 fights in the UFC. I feel better and better. I truly believe I won the last three fights at 145. Dan Ige is a top 10. Burgos is a top 10. I’m really on the way to get the title shot.”
Barboza has been around the UFC for more than a decade. The 35-year-old said he doesn’t think he’s too old to make a run for the title and says he’s in his best career moment.
“Right now, I’m way healthier than a couple of years ago,” Barboza said. “Every training camp, something would hurt and I’d always kill myself training three times a day. Right now, I’m more moderate. If I want to rest, I rest. I respect my body and I feel stronger, faster and better than ever in my life.”
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