Israel Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title once again, beating Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision in their rematch at UFC 263 in Arizona.
UFC star Adesanya – who defeated Vettori by split decision in April 2018 – navigated five rounds with minimal difficulty, prevailing 50-45 on all three judges' scorecards in his third title defence since taking the belt with a knockout of Robert Whittaker in October 2019.
Adesanya's only potential trouble spot came early in the third round on Saturday when Vettori knocked down the Nigeria-born New Zealander, but he weathered that challenge and handled everything else the Italian threw at him.
A rematch with Whittaker seems on the cards as Adesanya (21-0) called out the Australian following his win, demanding a showdown in Auckland, New Zealand.
"You don't get to decide -- I get to decide," Adesanya said. "Because I'm the mother****** king, b****!"
Whittaker responded with a tweet that read "rest up, see you soon."
Moreno first Mexican-born champ
In the co-headline bout, Brandon Moreno dominated Deiveson Figueiredo to take the Brazilian's flyweight strap and become the first Mexican-born UFC champion.
Saturday's fight was in sharp contrast to the pair's draw at UFC 256 in December, as Moreno (19-5-2) had his way with the titleholder from the beginning.
The 27-year-old from Tijuana submitted Figueiredo with a rear naked choke at 2:26 of the third round and exulted in his victory.
"UFC released me," Moreno said. "I wasn't that proud of my life but watch me holding this belt. I feel so amazing."
Figueiredo (20-2-1) was gracious in defeat, saying Moreno was "the better man tonight."
Edwards holds off late Diaz flurry
Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz made UFC history with the first non-main event, non-title bout to be scheduled for five rounds, and Diaz nearly made the extended term pay off.
Edwards had his way for most of the fight but had to survive a furious flurry from the bloodied 36-year-old American in the fifth to win by unanimous decision, 49-46 on all cards.
The pair had been scheduled to face off at UFC 262 last month, but the bout was pushed back when Diaz got cut in training.
Conor McGregor to make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29
Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29 after nearly three years out.
Dana White confirmed that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion will fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June.
McGregor – who has 22 wins and six UFC defeats – has not competed in the UFC since July 2021 when he sustained a horrific leg break against Dustin Poirier, who he had previously fought and lost to six months earlier.
Speaking about the fight, White said on Saturday that McGregor’s return had been “all about timing”.
“There’s all kinds of things that go on behind the scenes and it’s all about timing. Chandler’s been ready but Conor hasn’t been ready,” White said.
“We talked about this in one of the press conferences recently, he had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with.
“What you don’t want him doing is accepting a fight when he’s got a ton of obligations and he can’t train 100 per cent for a fight, so here we are tonight.”
Vogel slams Suns after 'unacceptable' loss to Spurs
Frank Vogel hit out at the Phoenix Suns for an "unacceptable" defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio were shorn of star player Victor Wembenyama on Monday, yet ran out 104-102 winners over the Suns.
Phoenix have now lost three of their four meetings against the Spurs this season, despite San Antonio having been rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference.
And Vogel did not hold back in criticising his team.
"It's just unacceptable to lose that game," Suns coach Vogel said.
"For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half."
Bradley Beal added: "It's disappointment.
"We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our a** kicked.
"They came out aggressive, just like the coach told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches."
Devin Booker says the Suns knew what to expect of the Spurs, but just did not deliver.
"I'm not into disrespecting our opponents," Booker said.
"These guys are NBA guys. There are some talented young players over there. We weren't unprepared. We knew what to expect."
Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell both finished with 26 points for the Spurs.
"I was confident," Sochan said.
"Even at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like a couple of the last games the ball hasn't going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself."
The Suns sit eighth in the West, but are about to embark on what ESPN class as the toughest end to the season in the NBA, but Vogel dismissed those concerns.
"We like our chances against anybody. We don't worry about the schedule," he said.
Dana White awards first ‘Bite of the Night’ bonus in UFC history after Vegas 89
UFC Vegas 89 was overshadowed after Igor Severino bit Andre Lima on the arm during their flyweight contest.
Severino was disqualified for biting in the second round of their preliminary card bout at UFC Apex in Nevada between the previously-undefeated fighters.
UFC president Dana White later claimed Severino would be released from UFC for the bite and doubled the bonus money of mixed martial artist Lima.
The disqualification of Severino by referee Chris Tognoni ensured Lima won the contest and claimed the first ‘Bite of the Night’ bonus in UFC history after scenes reminiscent of Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in 1997.
Lima, who let out a yell after the incident, uploaded pictures of the bite and got a tattoo around the teeth marks on his bicep with the phrase, “I got f****** bit bonus”, hours after his victory.
UFC president White said on his Instagram story: “I was going to give him 25k. Now I’m giving him 50k. This is awesome.”
While Lima wrote on Instagram: “It was so insane I had to make it permanent. A debut to remember. Thanks boss Dana White! Ready for many more.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
