UFC

Tyron Woodley knows he can't afford to mess around in the ring in his second go-round with Jake Paul.

"I just feel like, definitely, I can't leave any doubt," the former UFC champion said to TMZ Sports.

Woodley replaced Tommy Fury for Saturday's event in Tampa, Florida, after Fury broke a rib and experienced a chest infection. Now, Woodley has an opportunity to avenge his August defeat to Paul by split decision.

The 39-year-old delivered an underwhelming performance this past summer. Outside of a left hand in the fourth round, he didn't apply much pressure to Paul and ultimately landed 19 fewer punches.

It looked like Woodley would be denied a rematch despite fulfilling the terms of their handshake agreement. Fate intervened instead, and he's clearly savoring the chance to be the first opponent to knock Paul out.

Israel Adesanya called "cap" on the UFC's announcement he will be fighting Robert Whittaker at UFC 271.

That was news to an irritated Dana White.

“Why would we lie?” White said in his press conference after UFC 269. “When have we ever f--king lied? This fight’s coming up...we lied about it? Twenty f--king years, have we ever lied about making a fight? Some fights are harder to make than others, but I don’t think we’ve ever lied about making a fight. Why would we lie about that fight?”

UFC and Adesanya's representatives both announced the bout Saturday night, but the reigning middleweight champ apparently isn't fond of a rematch with Whittaker.

Adesanya previously defeated Whittaker via second-round knockout at UFC 243.  Whittaker has since reeled off three straight victories to move into the top contender spot for the middleweight championship.

Adesanya has essentially vanquished all comers within the middleweight division but was unsuccessful in his attempt to unseat Jan Błachowicz as light heavyweight champ at UFC 259. He then moved back down to his natural fighting weight for a second victory against Marvin Vettori.

Jared Cannonier is the only top-five middleweight who has not yet lost to Adesanya. 

Consider UFC President Dana White just as stunned as the rest of the fighting world after Julianna Pena defeated Amanda Nunes by a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 269 on Saturday night, ending Nunes' 12-fight winning streak.

"It's up there with [Matt] Serra and [Georges St-Pierre]," White told reporters regarding the upset. "Julianna is a person who always believed in herself and believed that she could win this fight if she got it. You heard it at the press conference, you heard it in the months leading up to this fight—and she did it. She did it tonight. That’s one of the things that makes this sport so incredible."

As for a rematch, White said that was in Nunes' hands.

"Yes," he said when asked if she deserved a second shot at Pena. "It's a big rematch if she wants it."

And then there was two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, who was in the crowd for the fight. White said in his press conferences that there were talks to bring her to UFC, hinting that a matchup with Nunes would have been in the cards, at least before Pena's upset.

"For a Kayla Harrison, the Amanda Nunes fight was huge," he said. "If they would have faced off, it would have been a massive, mega-million dollar fight. ... Let me tell you, if Amanda Nunes had won tonight, the Kayla Harrison fight would have been one of the biggest fights that you would have ever seen."

If Nunes accepts a rematch with Pena, however, that will take priority. And if she wins, the UFC would likely push for a trilogy. That could move a potential Harrison-Nunes fight well into the future. 

There are plenty of other opportunities in the UFC for the two-time PFL champion, should she choose to sign. But a Nunes-Harrison matchup is an obvious one, at least once the new Pena-Nunes rivalry is settled.

One thing is for certain—there are some very exciting matchups in the works for the women in the UFC. 

Six different fighters earned bonuses for "Performance of the Night" at UFC 269, including the pay-per-view's biggest stars in Julianna Pena and Charles Oliveira, per MMA Fighting.

Bruno Silva, Tai Tuivasa, Kai Kara-France and Sean O’Malley also earned the $50,000 bonus for "Performance of the Night," an honor usually given to just two fighters after an event.

Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz earned bonuses for "Fight of the Night" for their undercard battle that went the distance. Cruz eventually won by unanimous decision after three rounds.

The last two bouts still earned the majority of headlines as Pena upset Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight title while Oliveira defended his lightweight belt against Dustin Poirier.

Nunes came in as the heavy favorite to defend her title with a 12-fight winning streak, holding her belt since 2016. The 33-year-old is considered one of the top female fighters in UFC history.

Pena was clearly unintimidated as she earned the second-round submission.

"Everyone slept on me and I shocked the world," she told reporters after the bout.

Oliveira was also doubted entering Saturday despite being the reigning champion in his division. The 32-year-old won a vacated belt with a win over Michael Chandler, but many considered Poirier to be the tougher opponent after consecutive wins over Conor McGregor.

A third-round submission was enough for Oliveira to prove his worth as a legitimate champion in one of the toughest divisions in UFC.

O'Malley and Kara-France also deserved recognition for earning first-round knockouts on the main card, defeating Raulian Paiva and Cody Garbrandt, respectively. Tuivasa defeated Augusto Sakai by second-round knockout on the preliminary card.    

Nate Diaz was not impressed by Dustin Poirier during UFC 269 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

After Charles Oliveira submitted Poirier in Round 3 to retain the UFC lightweight title, Diaz turned his attention to Conor McGregor:

Poirier notably earned back-to-back TKO wins over McGregor earlier this year, leading to his title fight against Oliveira.

Diaz, meanwhile, split a pair of memorable bouts against the Irish superstar in 2016.

McGregor defended his losses to Poirier on Saturday, saying on Twitter that Poirier "got lumped around and got lucky twice. That's it. Is what it is."

The 33-year-old McGregor has just a single competitive win since 2016. Diaz, 36, has just one win since 2016 as well.

Dustin Poirier is not a sore loser.

Poirier offered Charles Oliveira a $20,000 donation to the charity of his choice after being submitted by the UFC lightweight champion at Saturday's UFC 269 pay-per-view.

"I saw a video this week of him showing where he grew up and where his mom cooked dinner for him. I think it was an old video and saw some of the sights of where he grew up and just how little they had," Poirier told reporters after the fight (24:17 mark). "It came to me this week, I thought I was going to let him know—win, lose or draw—that me and the Good Fight Foundation would donate $20,000 to his city in Brazil and put the money wherever they think it needs to be. He's a good guy, and he knows where the money would go the furthest."

Oliveira is from Guaruja, Sao Paulo, Brazil, a nation ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States is the only country with a higher death toll from COVID than Brazil.

Move over, Matt Serra. Happy trails, Holly Holm. The MMA world has a new all-time underdog, a new author of one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, and her name is Julianna Pena.

On Saturday night at UFC 269, Pena beat the unbeatable. Making the walk as a massive +700 underdog per DraftKings in the main event, Pena shocked the regal and brutal Amanda Nunes to capture Nunes' women's bantamweight title. (Nunes remains the featherweight champ.) The end came via a rear-naked choke submission at 3:26 of the second round. 

"I'm not surprised, motherf--kers," Pena told broadcaster and podcasting luminary Joe Rogan after the fight, invoking the famous Nate Diaz line. "I told you. You don't ever doubt me again. Willpower, strength, and determination will take you places."

Three cheers for the new champ, but perhaps the biggest news here is Nunes' apparent mortality. This was (still is?) the consensus MMA GOAT, the Lioness who melted a Cyborg. She hadn't lost since Barack Obama was president. Coming in she had seven consecutive title defenses between the two belts she owned. It doesn’t get more dominant than Nunes.

And yet, there we were. After the fight, the Brazilian was gracious in defeat and notably candid with Rogan in her post-fight interview. 

"Honestly, no surprise at all," she said. "I know she's a warrior, I know she's gonna come forward, I know she can get hit and keep moving forward. I just, today, like, checked out. I have to work on a couple things. I'll keep working to fix it." 

Are there things to unpack? You better believe it. But first let's back up a second and tackle the actual fight.

The first round was fairly uneventful, with Nunes likely taking a 10-9 on the average judge's scorecard. According to UFC stats, Nunes landed 10 of 14 significant strikes, with Pena landing just five of 20. Nunes also controlled ground sequences, at one point coming close to a rear-naked choke. More Nunes dominance, ho hum.

In the second round, things picked up.

Pena began to force the issue, getting inside and initiating a brawl. It was classic Wanderlei Silva stuff: taking two to give one. Pena fired sweeping left and right hooks, with the right hand in particular rocking the champion. Nunes fired back behind a damaging jab, but Pena was not deterred.

It was around this time that Nunes' gas tank meter started to flash.

With exhaustion and flat-out concern registering on Nunes' face, Pena pushed her back and clinched her up. As they stood along the fence, Pena crouched and executed a gorgeous and surprisingly effortless throw, rag-dolling Nunes to the canvas. Pena got her back from there, found the choke and squeezed. Nunes tapped and a champion was born.

"I thought she was going to fight longer, but she tapped," Pena told Rogan. "I asked the [referee] if it was over, and he said, 'Yeah, you won.' And I said, 'Oh, great.' … I definitely expected a win, I'm so grateful and the world is my oyster."

So where does this really rank among the UFC's greatest upset victories? There's no official ranking or methodology, but a list from Tapology shows that Serra was a +850 dog to defeat welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69. Holm was +830 to upend another seemingly unbeatable women's bantamweight champ, someone named Ronda Rousey.

There are a few other randoms here and there, but if you're talking about the biggest fights and the biggest stakes, even if Pena isn't atop every mock draft, she's certainly on Mount Rushmore.

As for Pena and Nunes, what happens from here? The upset unlocks a few interesting possibilities.

For starters, new blood at the top of the bantamweight division instantly creates at least one new contender. Fittingly, that contender is Holm.

Sitting in the division’s No. 1 slot, Holm likely never would have gotten another chance at Nunes, who knocked her out in spectacular fashion in the first round of their contest in 2019. But she's never faced Pena.

The picture for Nunes is a little cloudier. It's hard to know what exactly "checked out" means. Was it a lapse in concentration or preparation? Was the hotel unsatisfactory in some way? It's the kind of comment that invites interpretation, even when it clearly won't lead anywhere. 

In terms of fighting, this could channel Nunes back to featherweight, where her weight cut is easier and she rules with an iron fist. This reality could create a very sought-after bout at 145 pounds. Will Kayla Harrison, the two-time judo Olympic gold medalist currently shopping for a new promotional home, make the move to the UFC? Although she's competed mainly at 155 pounds to this point, Harrison has repeatedly indicated she a) can and will cut to 145, and b) wants big fights. After UFC 269, will Nunes still be a bigger fight than, say, Cyborg in Bellator? We'll see, but if Harrison jumps to face Nunes, that's worthy of a pay-per-view main event.

The final and most likely option is a Nunes-Pena rematch. It could be announced quickly. But is it really the fight to make immediately? Adding at least one fight to their ledgers in between this one and the rematch has the power to let the matchup marinate while further stirring things up in two different divisions that both, quite frankly, could use a little stirring.

That said, an instant rematch has to be the odds-on favorite of all these options. But Pena just reminded us what that can be worth sometimes. The underdogs had their day Saturday, no matter what comes next. 

Charles Oliveira solidified his status as the UFC's lightweight champion with a successful title defense via third-round submission over Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 269 from Las Vegas. 

After an epic first round and a dominant second round, Do Bronx found a rear-naked choke to lock up the title and close out the night. 

This fight had the makings of a classic on paper, and those ingredients came to life in the first round. Both fighters started with a ridiculous pace. Poirier found a home for some serious punches and even scored a knockdown, while Oliveira landed some good knees to the body. 

While the first round took place in Poirier's world on the feet, Oliveira got the fight to his turf on the ground in Round 2. Do Bronx secured a takedown and spent most of the round in top position. While Oliveira was looking to land heavy damage, Poirier was happy to wear out the storm and live to fight another round. 

That turned out to be an ill-advised strategy for the Diamond. Oliveira worked his way to the back and once again went for the rear-naked choke and got it to ensure he held onto the belt. 

While Oliveira won the title against Michael Chandler, this win brings a whole other level of credibility as champion.

The division has been in a state of flux since the retirement of undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but with Oliveira successfully defending the title against Poirier, we have officially entered the Do Bronx era. 

Oliveira's evolution from a somewhat one-trick pony into a bona fide UFC champion has been fascinating. The 32-year-old has been in the UFC since 2010 and certainly didn't look like a future champion when he had a 2-4 streak from 2015-17. 

But he has since become a much more well-rounded and championship-caliber fighter. He's made that much clear and is now the target on his back is clear. 

The lightweight division has plenty of contenders, and Justin Gaethje has already begun campaigning for the next crack at Oliveira. 

If he has anything to say about it, he wants it to go down in Brazil. 

"That was my dream when I first came into the UFC...to go into Brazil, fight their champion," Gaethje said, per Simon Samano and Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. "That was the chaos that I wanted Day 1. That's something I want."

Whether it's Gaethje or any of the other qualified fighters in the lightweight division, Oliveira has certainly earned the respect of a champion.