Author: Dan Hiergesell

Francis Ngannou will lean on the wrestling expertise of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in order to get past heavyweight king Stipe Miocic later this evening (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) at UFC 260 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ngannou, who lost a decision to Miocic in his first title shot back in 2018, has brought Usman into his camp and will have “Nigerian Nightmare” corner him for UFC 260’s main event. Seeing as Miocic defeated Ngannou with his wrestling the first time around it’s a smart move by “Predator” to bring in someone like Usman to help with his takedown defense.

After all, if Miocic is unable to get Ngannou down in the rematch it only increases the challenger’s odds of landing one of his patented knockout punches.

Usman, who is the reigning UFC welterweight champion and fresh off his third-straight title defense, is no stranger to big moments inside of the Octagon. He’s hoping to bring some experience into Ngannou’s corner and help the challenger avoid a similar outcome against Miocic.

“I think it’s just experience,” Usman told ESPN. “Because me being in there, I’ve been in championship fights, and I think that’s one of the things that sets me apart from a lot of fighters is my mind as far as how I react to other fighters and how I think and how other fighters think, and I think he trusts that. But make no mistake, he has great coaches that have been coaching for a while so whatever he needs, I’m there to help.”

Ngannou has decimated the competition of late to fight his way back into this spot. The terrifying heavyweight finisher has stopped his last four opponents by way of first-round knockout and hasn’t seen a second round since his decision loss to Derrick Lewis back in 2018. It’s important for Ngannou to maintain his confidence heading into his second UFC title fight but also to take things slow against a champion who already beat him.

“I think he has to be relaxed because we put so much pressure on ourselves because we understand what us being champion does to where we’re from,” Usman said. “We understand that, and that’s a ton of pressure to put on yourself, and I just think he needs to relax. If he’s able to relax, I mean, we’re probably looking at one of the scariest men on the planet to date. So if he’s able to relax, I think he’ll shock a lot of people with all his newly acquired skills.”

Only time will tell if Usman is able to help Ngannou from his corner and if “Predator” has made the proper adjustments to hand Miocic just his second loss in the past six years.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 260 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

For much more on this weekend’s UFC 260 PPV event click here.

Bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley is rolling out a special new haircut for his clash with Thomas Almeida later tonight (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) at UFC 260 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

O’Malley, who is coming off a disappointing TKO loss to Marlon Vera back in Aug. 2020, is hoping to right the ship tonight at UFC 260 and regain any momentum he may have lost at 135 pounds. While “Sugar” has likely made the necessary adjustments in training to give Almeida a run for his money the rising star is also showcasing a new haircut for his Octagon return.

Being the weed advocate that he is it’s only fitting that O’Malley sports a marijuana leaf in his hair for UFC 260’s festivities. That’s exactly what O’Malley has done and it looks pretty damn sick. Check it out below via Instagram.

High on life. So lucky to be able to perform on the biggest stage in the world. @ufc

O’Malley, 26, caught some flack for his handling of his recent loss to Vera so the young fighter will have to prove himself again tonight in Las Vegas. Almeida is a very dangerous striker and a contender capable of ending a fight at any moment, but he should give O’Malley the openings he needs to shine in his return to action.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 260 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

For much more on this weekend’s UFC 260 PPV event click here.

The action will unfold later tonight (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) at UFC 260 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., as Stipe Miocic defends his heavyweight title in a main event rematch with No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou.

In addition to the massive heavyweight rematch, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will try to end a three-fight losing streak when he meets Vicente Luque in the co-main event, and bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley will lock horns with fellow striker Thomas Almeida in a potential Fight of the Night scrap.

Take a look below at UFC 260’s complete fight card line up and start times:

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)
10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT

Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
Tyron Woodley vs. Vicente Luque
Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida
Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Khama Worthy

‘Prelims’ Undercard (ESPN/ESPN+)
8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT

Alonzo Menifield vs. Fabio Cherant
Jared Gooden vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Shane Young vs. Omar Morales

Early ‘Prelims’ Undercard (Fight Pass/ESPN+)
7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT

Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Abu Azaitar

Online

• UFC 260: “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” PPV main card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $5.99 per month. The UFC 260 PPV will cost $69.99 for current subscribers.
• UFC 260: “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN+ as well.

Television

• UFC 260: “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN. Check your local providers or click for instant access to ESPN.
• UFC 260: “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” can also be streamed via Xbox One, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and ChromeCast.

Tablet/Mobile

• UFC 260: “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” PPV main card and undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN+ streaming app through Google Play and iTunes stores.

Bars

• Stay home, be safe. But if you really, really need to go out and watch UFC 260 there is a list of bars near you airing “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” right here.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 260 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

For much more on this weekend’s UFC 260 PPV event click here.

It all goes down later tonight (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) at UFC 260 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, as reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic meets knockout sensation Francis Ngannou in a rematch three years in the making.

In preparation for tonight’s massive PPV event, the promotion has released the latest and greatest episode of UFC 260 “Embedded,” which can be seen in the above video player. This time around the action focuses on final weight cuts, official staredowns, and a last-minute training session between “Predator” and UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

From the official YouTube description:

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.

If you missed episodes 1-5 of UFC 260 “Embedded” click here, here, here, here, and here.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 260 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

For much more on this weekend’s UFC 260 PPV event click here.

Tyron Woodley has a big fight ahead of him against Vicente Luque this weekend at UFC 260, but the former UFC welterweight champion still can’t get over his most recent loss to Colby Covington.

Woodley, who lost his UFC welterweight title just over two years ago, is coming off a disappointing loss to Covington at UFC Vegas 11 in Sept. 2020. The two welterweights shared some serious beef prior to the matchup — mostly due to Covington’s trash talking and pre-fight antics — so it was important for Woodley to showcase that he’s still a top dog at 170 pounds.

Unfortunately for the former champ, Covington was too much for Woodley on that night. “Chaos” pushed the pace, utilized his strong wrestling, and eventually found a TKO finish in the fifth round (highlights HERE). The outcome left Woodley scratching his head and thinking of a way he can end the worst losing streak of his MMA career.

Even though Woodley has a massive fight ahead of him he can’t help but think about his lackluster loss to Covington. In a recent interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter (shown below), Woodley expressed his frustration and explained why a win over “Chaos” would have meant so much.

“He wasn’t really disrespecting me. He was doing an act. I know about the act,” said Woodley. “I even talked to him about it, I told him there’s a different way to do it and that he looked stupid and silly. But if that’s what he wants to do, go ahead and do it.

“He was like, ‘Man, I’m just trying to get money and I’m just trying to build this up. We can make money at the end.’

“It hurt to lose to him just because he was willing to use an act to stir up some negative controversy with some things that were very sensitive, whether it was Brazilians, whether it was the political debate, whatever he was doing.

“It was all a game, and I think certainly you shouldn’t play with. And just for someone that I used to pay as a training partner that had never even thought about winning a second against me in any training format, ever in life.”

Woodley, who went undefeated in the sport from 2014-2018, still believes he’s one of the best welterweights in the world today. The former UFC champion may have missed out on his chance to earn a big statement win over Covington, but at least he’s hanging around to claw his way back to the top and deliver a good message to his fans along the way.

“To lose to a guy like that when I had the chance to go out there and beat him sends a strong message to the division, sends a strong message to America that we should stand together,” he said. “And also just… to kind of silence him a little bit. It kinda hurt more for those things than anything else.

“But looking back, I never lost the opportunity to still reach out to those people and send a positive message. In victory or defeat, it’s still the platform.”

UFC 260 will go down later tonight (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., with Woodley vs. Luque serving as the co-main event.

For more UFC 260 fight card news click here.

Thomas Almeida believes Sean O’Malley has no credibility entering their bantamweight matchup this weekend at UFC 260 because “Sugar” still considers himself undefeated.

O’Malley, who meets Almeida tomorrow night (Sat., Mar. 27, 2021) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., is coming off a TKO loss to Marlon Vera in Aug. 2020 that he doesn’t consider a defeat. O’Malley had injured his leg before getting finished by Vera and believes that’s a good enough reason to consider himself perfect inside of the Octagon.

It’s not the most agreeable outlook, but O’Malley is a confident fighter through and through. He’s going to do whatever it takes to put himself in the right mental space entering his clash with Almeida, who doesn’t understand how “Sugar” is not accepting his loss to Vera.

“He says he is still undefeated. What credibility does he have? He can’t even own up to his mistakes, to the bad things he goes through,” Almeida told Ag Fight. “He talks too much, but I think it’s funny, I just laugh. I focus on what I can control. I’m delivering 100%. He can say whatever he wants. When the door closes, it’s just me and him. My mind is bulletproof.”

Almeida, who once possessed the same sort of hype that O’Malley carries, is looking to rebound from his own loss. The former bantamweight contender returned to the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years in Oct. 2020 and ended up losing to Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision. It wasn’t the best representation of Almeida’s skill set so the Brazilian is hoping UFC 260 gives him a better opportunity to prove he’s one of the best 135-pound fighters in the world.

“I’m anxious for this fight. I have a great fight against O’Malley ahead of me.” Almeida continued. “He’s a popular guy, he likes to talk, that’s cool. This hypes up the fight, makes people interested. He’s talented, but I trust my weapons. My mindset is good, I’m happy and I’m coming for him. When I push the pace, I’m sure he won’t handle it. I enjoy a brawl and so do the fans. If the fight stays on the feet, it could be a great show. He’s a showman, too.”

Almeida will be a betting underdog entering his matchup with O’Malley but he has the striking and finishing ability to really give “Sugar” issues. Of course, Almeida will have to elevate his own output to get past O’Malley’s longer reach and mixture of offensive attacks.

For more UFC 260 fight card news click here.