Blackhawks showing progress in protecting third-period leads – Yahoo Sports

MMA Weekly

Stipe Miocic was the baddest man on the planet heading into Saturday night's event at The Apex in Las Vegas. Now that the UFC 260 results are in, there is a new baddest man on the planet. UFC 260 results: Francis Ngannou lands brutal KO Francis Ngannou showed massive improvement in his skill and his approach in taking out Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. It was evident from the opening bell that Ngannou wasn't going to let himself lose by running out of gas. Ngannou, fighting more patiently than ever, landed a huge punch in the first couple minutes of the fight, but Miocic ate it. Miocic then went for a takedown, but Ngannou stuffed it and pummeled Miocic with some heavy punches before they returned to the center of the Octagon. Ngannou cracked Miocic with a kick to the head. Having landed several big shots early, but not putting Miocic away, Ngannou fought smartly for the remainder of the round, measuring his effort and not jettisoning all of his fuel in the early moments of the fight. Miocic appeared off kilter, being cautious to avoid Ngannou's power. Ngannou's patience in the first round paid off in the second. He again started with a measured approach, but quickly caught Miocic with a stiff left cross that sent him reeling. Ngannou chased him, unloading with numerous punches, but didn't burn himself out. Miocic tried to fire back, but Ngannou caught him with a short left hook that sent Miocic falling backwards over folded legs. And just like, Francis Ngannou, who literally fought his way through the wilds to make it from his home country of Cameroon to Europe, is the new UFC heavyweight champion of the world. "It feels so amazing. I'm working to the greatness," Ngannou said in recounting coming from a background of challenges, of people doubting him, and a promise he made to himself to become something great. "There is a huge feeling of satisfaction." UFC 260 results: Francis Ngannou knocks out Stipe Miocic to become heavyweight champion UFC 260 results: Vicente Luque upsets Tyron Woodley, calls out Nate Diaz Coming off of successive losses to Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, and Colby Covington, former UFC champion Tyron Woodley needed a win against Vicente Luque at UFC 260. He didn't get it. Woodley started fast, rushing across the cage, but Luque defended well. Woodley then switched to his old approach of ripping right hands, trying to rip Luque's head off. He connected, staggering Luque, and kept after him. But just when it seemed that Woodley might score the huge knockout that he'd been looking for, Luque cracked him with a right hand, sending Woodley to the canvas. Returning to his feet, Woodley tried to throw bombs, but his legs were made of rubber. Luque kept after him, connecting with numerous shots, sending Woodley down again. This time Luque shifted gears and went for a submission, eventually forcing Woodley to tap out to a D'arce choke. It was a huge win for Luque, who not only defeated a former UFC welterweight champion, but also propelled himself into the upper echelon of the division. "He took a little of my balance away with the overhand right, but man, I have a hard chin," said Luque before zeroing in on his next opponent. "I want to take this time to call out Nate Diaz. I called him out in the past and he didn't respond. I think Nate is the perfect fight, let's go." UFC 260 results: Vicente Luque cracks Tyron Woodley and submits him UFC 260 results: Sean OMalley finishes with a sugar-sweet knockout "Suger" Sean O'Malley got some of his sweetness back with an important victory over Thomas Almeida on Saturday night. Coming off of the first loss of his career, O'Malley wanted to get back on track and erase memories of his loss to Marlon "Chito" Vera. O'Malley started catching fire in the first couple minutes of the fight, landing a spinning back kick to the midsection and following with a straight punch to the chin. A short time later, O'Malley kicked Almeida and dropped him to the canvas with a right hand. He started to walk off, but the referee didn't stop the fight. Almeida got up. O'Malley caught him with another kick, but the Brazilian marched through it. He fought back, eating another head kick toward the end of the round, but his chin held. O'Malley lit him up with punches as round two go underway. Almeida had a difficult time bridging O'Malley's range, but found some success with low kicks. All the while, O'Malley continued to attack with front kicks to the body and stinging jabs. O'Malley opened the final frame with a brutal low kick that nearly took Almeida's legs out from under him, but he almost made the same mistake in the final round as he did in the first. As the round wore on, O'Malley landed a short left hand that sent Almeida to the canvas. O'Malley started to walk off again, but Almeida rolled to his back, the referee again maintaining his distance. This time, O'Malley quickly realized the fight wasn't being stopped, stepped over Almeida, and dropped a bomb of a right hand to close the fight with a knockout. "That dude is legit. He's a tough dude," O'Malley said when questioned about missing out on the finish in the first round. "I only get 15 minutes to perform, maybe a couple times a year. When I get in there, I gotta do something sweet." UFC 260 results: Sean O'Malley knocks out Thomas Almeida UFC 260 results: Miranda Maverick outworks Gillian Robertson Miranda Maverick scored her fifth consecutive victory, her second in the Octagon, by routing Gillian Robertson. The fight started slowly, but Maverick began to hit her stride, scoring a huge takedown toward the end of the first round. Maverick seemed to continue the momentum as the second frame got underway, but Robertson took the fight to the canvas, dominating on the ground for the majority of the round. Maverick escaped to her feet in the final minute of the frame and landed several heavy shots trying to nullify Robertson's ground work. In the final round, Maverick stormed Robertson, dominating on the feet and taking her to the canvas. Maverick ground and pounded Robertson while on the canvas, never allowing her a chance to mount any offense as the fight went to the final horn. When the scorecards were read, Maverick took a unanimous decision with two of the three judges awarding her all three rounds. One judge scored the bout in her favor 29-28. UFC 260 results: Miranda Maverick dominates Gillian Robertson UFC 260 results: Jamie Mullarkey drops Khama Worthy The UFC 260 pay-per-view opened with a bang thanks to Australia's Jamie Mullarkey. Just as the bout was getting underway, Mullarkey stepped in and feinted with a right hand. Worthy bit on the fake and Mullarkey cracked him with a left hook that sent him face first onto the canvas. Mullarkey immediately dropped down to land a few more blows, but the referee was already waving it off as a knockout at the 46-second mark of the first round. UFC 260 results: Jamie Mullarkey defeats Khama Worthy RELATED > UFC 260 Live Results: Miocic vs. Ngannou UFC 260 Live Results UFC 260 Main Card Heavyweight Bout: Francis Ngannou def Stipe Miocic by KO (punch) at 0:52, R2Welterweight Bout: Vicente Luque def Tyron Woodley by submission (D'arce choke) 3:56, R1Bantamweight Bout: Sean OMalley def Thomas Almeida by KO (punch) at 3:52, R3Womens Flyweight Bout: Miranda Maverick def Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)Lightweight Bout: Jamie Mullarkey def Khama Worthy by KO (punches) 0:46, R1 UFC 260 Prelims Light Heavyweight Bout: Alonzo Menifield def Fabio Cherant by submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:11, R1Welterweight Bout: Abubakar Nurmagomedov def Jared Gooden by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)Light Heavyweight Bout: Michal Oleksiejczuk def Modestas Bukauskas by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)Featherweight Bout: Omar Morales def Shane Young by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) UFC 260 Early Prelim Middleweight Bout: Marc-Andre Barriault def Abu Azaitar by TKO (punches) at 4:56, R3 > Check out MMAWeekly.com's full UFC 260 video coverage on YouTube!

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Blackhawks showing progress in protecting third-period leads - Yahoo Sports