Author: Dan Hiergesell

The action unfolds later this evening (Sat., May 15, 2021) at UFC 262 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Tex., as Charles Oliveira meets Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight title in the main event.

In addition to the lightweight headliner, Tony Ferguson will meet Beneil Dariush in a sure fire co-main event, UFC veteran Edson Barboza will collide with Shane Burgos in an enticing featherweight scrap, and No. 2-ranked women’s flyweight contender Katlyn Chookagian will take on rising Brazilian fighter Viviane Araujo in main card action.

Take a look below at UFC 262’s complete fight card line up and start times:

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

Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler
Tony Ferguson vs. Beneil Dariush
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Viviane Araújo
Shane Burgos vs. Edson Barboza
Matt Schnell vs. Rogerio Bontorin

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

Ronaldo Souza vs. Andre Muniz
Lando Vannata vs. Mike Grundy
Andrea Lee vs. Antonina Shevchenko
Jordan Wright vs. Jamie Pickett

Early ‘Prelims’ Undercard (Fight Pass/ESPN+)
6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT

Gina Mazany vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Kevin Aguilar vs. Tucker Lutz
Christos Giagos vs. Sean Soriano

Online

• UFC 262: “Oliveira vs. Chandler” PPV main card can be viewed via the ESPN+ streaming app.
• Subscriptions cost $5.99 per month. The UFC 262 PPV will cost $69.99 for current subscribers.
• UFC 262: “Oliveira vs. Chandler” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN+ as well.

Television

• UFC 262: “Oliveira vs. Chandler” undercard “Prelims” can be viewed via ESPN. Check your local providers or click for instant access to ESPN.
• UFC 262: “Oliveira vs. Chandler” can also be streamed via Xbox One, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and ChromeCast.

Tablet/Mobile

• UFC 262: “Oliveira vs. Chandler” 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 262 there is a list of bars near you airing “Oliveira vs. Chandler” right here.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 262 fight card HERE, starting with the early Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by 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+.

We are just hours away from having a new UFC lightweight champion crowned later tonight (Sat., May 15, 2021) at UFC 262 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Tex., as former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler tries to capitalize on a main event bid opposite red-hot contender Charles Oliveira.

Ahead of tonight’s festivities the promotion has released the latest and greatest episode of UFC 262 “Embedded,” which can be seen in the above video player. This time around the action focuses on final weight cuts, a surprise visit from UFC legend Chuck Liddell, and final faceoffs at the ceremonial weight ins.

From the official YouTube description:

Lightweights hit their targets: Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, plus Beneil Dariush and Tony Ferguson. Chandler gets a boost from his dad; Oliveira from Jacare Souza. Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell visits backstage at the ceremonial weigh-in.

Fight fans will see a new UFC lightweight champion one way or another later tonight at UFC 262. It will either be Oliveira cashing in on a 11-year UFC career or Chandler coming in at the right time and stealing the show.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 262 fight card HERE, starting with the early Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by 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+.

If you thought the stoppage in the Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders fight earlier this month wasn’t called for then you’re sadly mistaken.

Saunders, who was undefeated entering his super-middleweight title fight with Alvarez on DAZN, did well for himself over the course of seven rounds. But in the eighth frame Canelo began to tag Saunders and landed a devastating uppercut that left the Englishman in serious trouble and forced his corner to throw the towel in entering the ninth round (highlights).

Some people initially thought the stoppage was premature as Saunders seemed good enough to continue and didn’t have any noticeable damage to his face, but the fact that he told his corner he couldn’t see raised immediate flags. Unfortunately, the damage was more severe than what we originally thought.

In a recent photo shared by MMA journalist Luke Thomas (show below), the damage sustained by Saunders in his loss to Alvarez was pretty significant. The 31-year-old boxer needed some serious work done on his face after eating all of the punches Canelo had to throw, specifically that monstrous uppercut.

Check out what Saunders’ face looks like now below:

This is why it’s never good to throw a fighter and a team under the bus before learning all the facts. It was easy to question why Saunders couldn’t continue his fight with Canelo considering he didn’t suffer any sort of knockdown or major cut, but know we know the severity of the damage he suffered to his face.

Canelo, who captured Saunders’ WBO super-middleweight title with the win, is now 14-0-1 in his last 15 trips to the ring. The Mexican superstar is getting better each and every time we see him and continues to prove why he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today.

After all, Saunders had never been beaten before, let alone having his face mangled like this.

Fighters will be competing for a little extra cash later tonight (Sat., May 15, 2021) at UFC 262 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Tex., which will be led by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.

According to an original report by Combate, UFC officials have decided to increase the post-fight bonus awards to $75,000 instead of the typical $50,000. It is the first time in eight years that the promotion is dishing out some extra cash for “Performance of the Night” and “Fight of the Night.”

Believe it or not but UFC 262 fighters owe Tony Ferguson big time for this change. Ferguson, who meets Beneil Dariush in a lightweight co-main event, called for the bonus increase during UFC 262’s press-fight press conference on Thursday (see it HERE) and ultimately got his wish.

“(Last time when I fought in Houston), we were here for the performance-bonus meeting,” Ferguson said to UFC president Dana White at the presser. “(Travis Browne) said, ‘You know, everything is bigger in Texas, Dana, right?’ Right, you remember that? He said, ‘How about a bigger bonus?’ So, I’m going to ask you, Dana. Since we are here, like last time, can we have a bigger bonus this time?”

For now, UFC officials will be increasing the post-fight bonuses just for tonight’s event. But if things go swimmingly and the extra cash leads to more finishes the promotion may decide to do this more moving forward. Maybe it’s something that is reserved for PPV cards only.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 262 fight card HERE, starting with the early Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by 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+.

Amanda Ribas is not doing so well after being removed from UFC Vegas 26 earlier this month due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Ribas, who is one of the most promising names in women’s MMA today, was expected to fight Angela Hill as part of the UFC Vegas 26 main card on ESPN on May 8. Unfortunately, the Brazilian fighter was removed from the card hours before the event started after testing positive for the coronavirus along with a team member. It is the second time Ribas has tested positive for the widespread virus.

While Hill took the cancelation in stride and made her push for a change of opponent over the next few weeks Ribas is still experiencing issues from her battle with COVID-19. We are just one week removed from Ribas’ positive test and the symptoms keep rolling in.

“I’m here in quarantine in the room in Las Vegas,” Ribas told MMA Junkie earlier this week. “I’m still here. I was feeling the symptoms since Wednesday but thought it was the air conditioning. I was coughing and felt weird and was just coughing. I (struggled) walking. I’m just waiting here in the quarantine, drinking water to get better. (This is) the second (time) I’ve had COVID. It is rare, but happened. I hope you guys send vibes for me and my dad to get better.”

Ribas, 27, was on her way to a women’s strawweight title shot before getting knocked out by Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257 this past January. She was hoping to right the ship entering the second half of 2021 and remind the division why she’s one of the most dangerous contenders around.

As it stands right now the promotion is looking to have Ribas vs. Hill take place on June 5, but if Ribas continues to deal with COVID-19 symptoms the bout is likely to get canceled again.

Former UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been sentenced to one year in jail dating back to a felony vandalism charge in Aug. 2020, per a report by CBSLA.

Miller, 40, was arrested last August for suspicion of residential burglary and car theft. “Mayhem” was serving probation for a previous domestic violence charge at the time of his arrest. The former UFC fighter has been in jail since Aug. 21.

On Tuesday, Miller plead guilty to the felony vandalism charge and sentenced to 364 days in jail. In exchange for his plea, the one count of felony grand theft auto was dismissed and Miller was handed out an additional two years of probation.

Miller, who last competed under the UFC banner in a decision loss to C.B. Dollaway back at UFC 146 in 2012, has been in trouble with the law for nearly the past decade. From fighting off an “army of police” at his home to being discovered naked inside of a church, Miller has been unable to keep his life in order.

Miller tried to return to fighting back in 2016 at Venator FC 3 in Milan, Italy, but ended up missing weight by an astonishing 24 pounds for his middleweight fight with Luke Barnatt. As a result of his weight miss Miller was then paired up with Mattia Schiavolin and ended up losing via second-round submission, which essentially put the final nail in his MMA career.

What do you think, fight fans? Is this the last time we hear of Miller getting in trouble with the law?

Sound off!