Author: Dan Hiergesell

Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre shared a moment earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) at UFC 266 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the two former foes shook hands backstage in the locker room.

Diaz, who returns to the cage later tonight after a six-year absence, has a storied history with St-Pierre. The two met all the way back in 2013 at UFC 158. St-Pierre, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame earlier this week, defeated Diaz by unanimous decision to win back his welterweight title.

There was also bad blood behind the scenes as Diaz believed that he was poisoned before his fight with St-Pierre, which was held in GSP’s home country of Canada. Insults were exchanged leading up to the fight and the feud never really settled after their five-round main event.

Surprisingly, the two legendary fighters seemed to bury the hatchet with a simple handshake behind the scenes at UFC 266. It was a nice touch to the official return of Nick Diaz.

Check out the backstage handshake between Diaz and St-Pierre below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 266 results and coverage click here.

Rising heavyweight contender Chris Daukaus scored yet another knockout finish earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) at UFC 266 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the former police officer battered Shamil Abdurakhimov with a nasty second-round TKO (punches and elbows).

Abdurakhimov seemed to be getting comfortable in the first round as he landed some good counter shots from the outside. That was until Daukaus snuck inside with a crisp left hook that dropped the Russian with about 30 seconds left in the round. Abdurakhimov survived, but Daukaus caught him again in the second with a monstrous right hand. Daukaus swarmed a badly hurt Abdurakhimov and finished the fight with nasty elbows.

Check out the full fight video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 266 results and coverage click here.

Jalin Turner kept things rolling earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) at UFC 266 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the talented lightweight contender scored another finish with a first-round submission (rear-naked choke) over the previously undefeated Uros Medic.

This was pegged to be one of the more entertaining fights of the night based on the striking of both fighters, but Turner quickly showcased a vast array of attacks with takedowns and ground-and-pound. Once the fight returned to the feet “Tarantula” unloaded heavy offense along the cage which softened Medic up and allowed Turner to find the submission finish.

Check out the finishing sequence below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 266 results and coverage click here.

Matthew Semelsberger scored another quick Octagon finish earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) at UFC 266 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Semi The Jedi” bounced Martin Sano Jr. with a devastating 15-second knockout.

Sano was a massive underdog coming into this “Prelims” affair, but nobody really thought he’d last less than 20 seconds inside of the cage. Unfortunately for the submission specialist, Semelsberger wasted little time rushing in and planted a flush right hand on Sano’s chin to claim the stoppage.

Check out the 15-second knockout below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 266 results and coverage click here.

UFC 266 results live online: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) with Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, defending his title against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 29 coaching rival, Brian Ortega, in a 145-pound showdown scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC 266’s co-headliner, women’s Flyweight roost ruler, Valentina Shevchenko, will lock horns with heavy underdog, Lauren Murphy, while Nick Diaz returns after a six-year hiatus to rematch fellow mixed martial arts (MMA) legend, Robbie Lawler, in a 185-pound showdown nearly two decades in the making.

Buckle up!

MMAmania.com will deliver bell-to-bell results coverage of UFC 266 online LIVE all evening (late) night, including latest fight updates, fight recaps, video highlights, winners, losers, press conference streams and all the other post-fight fallout you can handle well into Sunday. Buckle up! We’ll have all the news that’s fit to print and much, much more. We’ve got UFC 266’s entire card — including “Prelims” undercard matches on Fight Pass/ESPN+ and ESPNEWS/ESPN+ — all covered below in our comprehensive story stream.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 266 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPNEWS/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 266: “Volkanovski vs. Ortega” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Aljamain Sterling has been removed from his upcoming UFC bantamweight title defense against Petr Yan at UFC 267 this October due to injury, per a recent report by MMA Fighting.

According to the report, Sterling is experiencing lingering neck issues after underdoing surgery to repair an injury suffered back in his college wrestling days. It is unknown at this time how long “Funk Master” will be sidelined.

As of now, there has not been an official replacement announced to step in and fight Yan at UFC 267 on Oct. 30 from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, it seems as if UFC is leaning towards an interim title fight involving Yan in order to keep him on the card. Bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen would be the front runner for such a matchup as former division champion T.J. Dillashaw remains sidelined coming off of surgery.

Sterling, 32, took home the bantamweight belt in a controversial win over Yan at UFC 259 this past March. Yan was winning the fight entering the fourth round but ended up hitting Sterling with an illegal knee that rendered “Funk Master” unable to continue. Sterling was hoping to solidify his championship reign in a rematch with the Russian fighter, but he’ll have to wait a little longer to get back into the cage.

UFC 267 will feature a main event clash between reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and perennial contender Glover Teixeira. Surging contenders Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev are also expected to fight on the upcoming PPV card.

For more UFC 267 fight card news click here.