Morning Report: Javier Mendez believes Islam Makhachev ‘needs to clear everyone out’ to earn P4P ranking

Watch Serghei Spivac vs. Derrick Lewis full fight video highlights from the main event of UFC Vegas 68, courtesy of the UFC. UFC Vegas: Lewis vs. Spivac took place February 4 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC heavyweight veterans Serghei Spivac (16-3) and Derrick Lewis (26-11, 1 NC) collided in the night’s main event. The fight aired live on ESPN+.

Serghei Spivac may have just hammered the final nail into the coffin of Derrick Lewis’ run as a UFC title contender. The 28-year-old Moldovan heavyweight steamrolled over Lewis on Saturday night, tapping out “The Black Beast” with a first-round arm-triangle choke in the main event of UFC Vegas 68, which took place at the UFC APEX. Spivac (16-3) dragged Lewis (26-11, 1 NC) to the mat at will, scoring at six takedowns in the brief contest, before going to work and securing the fight-ending submission. The official time of the stoppage was 3:05 of the opening round.

Watch Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader 2 full fight video highlights from the main card of Bellator 290, courtesy of CBS and other outlets. Bellator 290: Fedor vs. Bader 2 took place Feb. 4 at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Fedor Emelianenko (40-7, 1 NC) took on Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (31-7, 1 NC) in the main event. The fight aired live on CBS.

Sean O’Malley will remain with the UFC for the foreseeable future. The bantamweight contender, who got his start on Dana White’s Contender Series, has inked a new eight-fight contract extension with the UFC. UFC president Dana White announced the news on Saturday with O’Malley also confirming the deal...

There were contracts to hand out with the winners of Road to UFC crowned at UFC Vegas 68. But four fighters also took home $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses, including headliner Serghei Spivac. Spivac steamrolled one-time title challenger Derrick Lewis to notch his biggest career win and...

Bellator 290, the promotion’s first-ever card on CBS, averaged 1.068 million viewers for its two-plus hour broadcast. The card, which took place at 9 p.m. ET this past Saturday and featured Fedor Emelianenko’s retirement fight, averaged 1.068 million viewers. That was good enough for a .18 rating in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic, ahead of college basketball but well behind the NBA.

The second episode of UFC 284 Embedded features Alexander Volkanovski grinding through a brutal training session, Islam Makhachev winding down in the Australian water, Randy Brown taking in the wildlife at a zoo, and Josh Emmett reflecting on his journey to an interim featherweight title fight with Yair Rodriguez. Check...

Johnny Eblen isn’t pulling any punches: He thinks he would smash Alex Pereira. This past weekend, Eblen continued to impress, dominating Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 290 to retain his middleweight title. Following the win, the discourse quickly turned to where Eblen fits among the top middleweights in the world, and “The Human Cheat Code” has an answer: Firmly at the top.

Jon Jones has packed on some extra muscle, and according to the former UFC light heavyweight champion, his bank account is about to as well. Jones is set to return to the octagon for the first time in over three years, and as a heavyweight, as he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 285, which takes place March 4 in Las Vegas. Recently, UFC president Dana White revealed Jones signed a new eight-fight deal with the promotion. On Monday during a Twitter Spaces with Kanpai Pandas, “Bones” said the deal he already had was for the same amount of fights, but when asked if White was paying him more, Jones emphatically confirmed.

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: We recap another wild weekend in combat sports. 1:30 p.m.: Michael Chandler returns to...

Johnny Eblen is going to be a serious problem for anybody he faces in the middleweight division. In his first title defense in the Bellator 290 co-main event, Eblen put on a clinic as he just continued getting stronger with each passing minute to eventually overwhelm Anatoly Tokov en route to a unanimous decision victory. The final scorecards read 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 with Eblen securing the victory and moving his record to a perfect 13-0 overall.

One of the greatest women’s boxing matchups of all-time is getting run back this spring. On Saturday night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Amanda Serrano defeated Erika Cruz via unanimous decision. Following the victory, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that the highly anticipated rematch between Serrano and Katie Taylor will take place for the undisputed lightweight title on May 20 in Dublin, Ireland.

Dana White and Fedor Emelianenko never managed to do business, which is just fine with the UFC president. On Saturday, the legendary Emelianenko competed in his retirement bout in the main event of Bellator 290, where he lost by first-round knockout to heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Afterward, Emelianenko was celebrated in an in-cage ceremony that included other legends of the sport, including former UFC champions Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Quinton Jackson, Frank Shamrock, and Mark Coleman.

Michael Chandler has already been a part of some huge fights since joining the UFC roster, but he’ll reach a new stratosphere with his upcoming showdown against Conor McGregor. The ex-Bellator lightweight champion is preparing to film the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite McGregor, then the two...

One-time interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is once again a UFC fighter. Lee, 30, has re-signed with the promotion one year after being released from contract, a person with knowledge of his new deal confirmed to MMA Fighting after an initial report from ESPN.com. In a statement to ESPN.com,...

Glover Teixeira entered the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21 with one goal in mind: Beat Jamahal Hill and reclaim the UFC light heavyweight championship. Win or lose, he didn’t plan on laying down his gloves and retiring that night — until he realized that a 25-minute war for the belt was the perfect way to end a legendary career.

Robert Whittaker thinks Israel Adesanya’s second knockout loss to Alex Pereira could take some pressure off the former champion for their rematch. Or it could add even more. Pereira and Adesanya have a storied history in combat sports, with Pereira twice beating Adesanya in kickboxing, the second time by devastating knockout. That pair of fights led to Pereira getting fast-tracked to Adesanya in MMA, where at UFC 281, it happened again. Pereira scored a fifth-round comeback TKO over “The Last Stylebender” in one of the best fights of 2022, and even Whittaker, who has his own history with Adesanya, was left impressed.

Tatsuro Taira picked up his second submission win in as many UFC appearances by forcing Jesus Santos Aguilar to tap at UFC Vegas 68. Taira rolled into a triangle and then went belly-down with an armbar to get the win at 4:20 of the opening frame in the first bout of Saturday’s fight card at UFC APEX.

Conor McGregor always feels one win away from a title shot. “The Notorious” former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion hasn’t fought since July 2021 when suffering a nasty broken leg opposite Dustin Poirier. Seemingly all healed up and good to go, McGregor’s return is set for the second half of 2023, coming at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 31’s finale.

Fedor Emelianenko went out on his shield. “The Last Emperor” made his final walkout for a fight on Saturday at Bellator 290 in Inglewood, Calif., to challenge Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title. This was the second meeting between the two and like the first, which ended in a 35-second knockout for Bader, Emelianenko found himself overwhelmed.