Author: Dan Hiergesell

The Octagon action returns later tonight (Sat., Feb. 26, 2022) at UFC Vegas 49 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as lightweight contender Islam Makhachev puts his nine-fight win streak on the line in a catchweight main event showdown with fan favorite and short-notice replacement Bobby Green.

In addition to the makeshift headliner, UFC Vegas 49 will feature a co-main event clash pitting former light heavyweight contender Misha Cirkunov against Brazilian submission artist Wellington Turman in an exciting middleweight affair. Not to mention the card will also feature young talent such as Arman Tsarukyan, Rong Zhu, Terrence McKinney, and Josiane Nunes.

Take a look below at UFC Vegas 49’s complete fight card line up and start times:

Main Card (ESPN+)
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT

Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green
Misha Cirkunov vs. Wellington Turman
Ji Yeon Kim vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Joel Álvarez
Armen Petrosyan vs. Gregory Rodrigues

‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN+)
4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT

Zhu Rong vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Josiane Nunes vs. Ramona Pascual
Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam
Alejandro Perez vs. Jonathan Martinez
Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Micheal Gillmore
Victor Altamirano vs. Carlos Hernández

Here are all the ways to catch the action:

Online

• UFC Vegas 49: ‘Makhachev vs. Green’ entire fight card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $6.99 per month.

Television

• UFC Vegas 49: ‘Makhachev vs. Green’ entire fight card can also be streamed via Xbox One, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and ChromeCast.

Tablet/Mobile

• UFC Vegas 49: ‘Makhachev vs. Green’ entire fight card can be viewed via ESPN+ streaming app through Google Play and iTunes stores.

Bars

• Check out a list of sports bars and pubs near you that will most likely be showing tonight’s fights CLICK HERE.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 49 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET. Full odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

One of the biggest middleweight rematches of all-time is officially in the books as Israel Adesanya outlasted Robert Whittaker to a unanimous decision at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, 2022 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. You can now take an in-depth look at UFC 271 courtesy of UFC’s most recent edition of ‘The Thrill and the Agony’ video series.

As expected, Adesanya and Whittaker delivered the goods atop UFC 271’s main card. The rematch didn’t offer the same devastating knockout finish that “Last Stylebender” captured in their first meeting back at UFC 243, but both middleweights showed up for the championship reboot. In the end, Adesanya was able to outlast Whittaker on the feet and steal more rounds than he lost. It was quite the fight and one that allowed Adesanya and Whittaker to bury the hatchet and call an end to their feud after the final bell.

In the co-main event, streaking heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa shocked the MMA world by putting a stop to knockout king Derrick Lewis in the second round. Lewis was connecting quite a bit but his legendary power wasn’t working the same against “Bam Bam” that it has opposite so many other fighters. Tuivasa was able to withstand the punishment from “Black Beast” and dished out his own offense. After landing a few punches Tuivasa connected on an elbow from hell that sent Lewis crashing to the canvas for the knockout stoppage. It was the fifth-straight knockout finish for Tuivasa under the bright lights of the Octagon. Of course, a shoey was done afterwards to celebrate the victory.

Check out all of the pre-fight, mid-fight, and post-fight action above and let us know your thoughts. Where do you think UFC 271 will rank among 2022’s biggest PPV events?

For complete UFC 271 results and coverage click HERE.

There’s nothing like a good old fashioned grotesque eye injury to get your Saturday morning started. Hopefully you can keep your eggs down.

The incident in question occurred last night (Fri., Feb. 25, 2022) at PFL Challenger Series 2 live on fuboTV from inside Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., during a co-main event clash between Dilano Taylor and Mark Martin. The entire card offered four fights so Taylor vs. Martin was expected to deliver some fireworks. It so did, but in all the wrong ways.

Martin was actually the one scoring early, but once Taylor landed a few good shots Martin’s eye ballooned and he began to what appeared to be massive swelling. In between the first and second round the cageside physician was called in to take a look at Martin’s eye and immediately waved the fight off. Martin eye’s was bulging out of his socket and another blow could have caused serious damage.

Check it out above courtesy of PFL.

Luckily, the doctors in place saw Martin’s injury before anything else happened. You hear stories of fighters having corneas damaged or eyes scratched from kicks or finger pokes, but rarely do you see an eyeball almost pop out of the socket.

It was pretty intense, but a not-so-subtle reminder that this sport is a dangerous game of violence, blood, and unpredictable bodily damage. Even in a fight that is a back-and-forth affair can end in dramatic fashion like this.

The legendary Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will return to action against light heavyweight veteran Ovince Saint Preux at the upcoming UFC 274 card on May 7 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from a city and venue yet to be named. This is according to a report by AG Fight early Friday.

Rua, 40, was rumored to be leaning towards retirement following his recent TKO loss to Paul Craig back in Nov. 2020. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is widely regarded as one of the best fighters of all-time so it’s nice to see him making at least one more Octagon appearance. Rua previously met “OSP” back in 2014 and ended up losing via first-round knockout. The rematch was scheduled for a main event spot in 2017, but an injury forced “Shogun” out of the fight.

Saint Preux, 38, has experienced a bit of a rough patch of late as well. The former UFC light heavyweight title challenger is coming off back-to-back knockout losses to Jamahal Hill and Tanner Boser. While Rua is far from what he used to be a win for “OSP” this May will do wonders for his UFC stock. The veteran fighter has been dabbling in the land of heavyweights of late so maybe a win will let him sink his heels in at 205 pounds for the rest of the year.

UFC 274 is expected to be headlined by a lightweight title fight pitting current champion Charles Oliveira against streaking contender Justin Gaethje. The PPV card will also feature a light heavyweight title bout featuring current champion Glover Teixeira and red-hot finisher Jiri Prochazka.

For more UFC 274 fight card news click here.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is doing everything in his power to prepare Islam Makhachev for his main event clash with Bobby Green tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 26, 2022) at UFC Vegas 49 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Makhachev, who is riding a nine-fight win streak in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division, has been searching for his first UFC title shot for quite some time. The Russian contender is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nurmagomedov — who is a long-time teammate and friend of Makhachev — and become one of the most dominant forces in mixed martial arts (MMA) today.

While Makhachev’s success inside of the Octagon suggests he’s ready to take the next step in his career and forge a lightweight title reign just like Khabib did a few years back there are still some issues to correct heading into this weekend’s main event clash. Makhachev may be ranked No. 4 at 155-pounds, but that doesn’t mean the streaking fighter is ready to shoulder the load of becoming a division star or eventual champion.

Luckily, Khabib has Makhachev’s ear heading into UFC Vegas 49’s main event. Earlier this week, Nurmagomedov released a video on his YouTube channel (shown above) and spoke about Makhachev’s mental state ahead of just his second UFC headliner. Khabib may have had to speak a little more direct to get through to Makhachev, but he’s trying to prepare his successor for the big spotlight.

“I think this is like big preparation before fight for the title,” Nurmagomedov told the camera (transcribed via Bloody Elbow). “I think [Makhachev] little bit complain about too much media. Like coach Javier [Mendez] said, ‘If you don’t want [this attention], just lose. Nobody gonna come.’ very simple.”

Nurmagomedov, who is one of the more stoic fighters in UFC history, was even more direct later in the video: “This is your job, brother. Who cares about you’re tired. Nobody cares. You have to do this.”

Makhachev, 30, has lost just one fight in his 12-year professional career. This includes an overall UFC record of 10-1 and his recent nine-fight win streak. If he’s able to harness the pressure this weekend and defeat Green in Las Vegas he’ll have done enough to lock down his lightweight title shot. What he does beyond that is anyone’s guess, but Khabib will be trying to lead the way.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 49 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

Israel Adesanya has become one of the biggest superstars in combat sports today. In just a matter of four years “Last Stylebender” has produced an undefeated 11-0 record in the UFC’s middleweight division, claimed the undisputed middleweight strap, and racked off four-straight dominant title defenses.

Adesanya, 32, has years of dominance ahead of him and that’s why UFC just inked him to a highly-lucrative contract. He’ll be competing inside of the Octagon for the foreseeable future and try to catch the great Anderson Silva to become the greatest middleweight in UFC history. It’s going to take some time and additional title defenses, but Adesanya is sitting pretty right about now.

That said, “Last Stylebender” isn’t satisfied. He’s always reaching for the stars — evident by his failed attempt to capture the UFC’s light heavyweight title back in 2021 — and never seems complacent about his results inside of the cage or his training outside it. Adesanya is also the type of fighter who likes to push the envelope and broaden his horizons, which is why the UFC champion is interested in a potential crossover to professional wrestling before it’s all said and done.

“I looked up to those guys as a kid. I used to jump off the couch armrest and backflip onto David [his camera guy],” said Adesanya in a recent interview with talkSPORT.

“I broke my arm a couple of times. We was taking bumps back in the day [laughs]. But definitely I will do that before I’m done.

“You might just see me sneak up from under the ring one day like ‘what the f***!’ That’s not Hornswoggle!’

Of course, Adesanya’s crossover dream would be to compete under the bright lights of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which has provided a home for former UFC superstars like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey. The premier wrestling organization also produced one of the most iconic sports personas of all time: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Adesanya recently had the pleasure to meet The Rock and it absolutely blew him away.

“The Rock, that will take a few meetings to go away. I still get starstruck by him, but I’m cool. I’m not going to like jump him or anything,” Adesanya said.

“Even with Joe Rogan, when I first met Joe I was starstruck. It probably took two or three interactions until you humanise them to you.

“But The Rock will take a while to go away because it’s still The Rock!”

What say you, Maniacs? Do you think Adesanya would do well in WWE? Should he be thinking about a potential crossover or just focused on defending his UFC title?

Sound off!