As a precinct burned and cars were toppled in response to the killing of George Floyd and police brutality nationwide, smaller cities in America started conversations no less life-and-death than in Minneapolis or Detroit. They may be calm, silent, tumultuous or violent conversations outside U.S. major metros, but they all share something: black citizens driving…

By Nolan King | June 7, 2020 4:06 am For Amanda Nunes, it’s only up from here. Adding another promotional record to her career accolades, Nunes (20-4 MMA, 13-1 UFC) became the first woman in UFC history to successfully defend titles in multiple weight classes. On Saturday night, Nunes dominated Felicia Spencer in the UFC…

By Danny Segura | June 7, 2020 3:40 am Cody Garbrandt doesn’t want to see a championship fight for the vacant bantamweight belt. Instead, how about a tournament? Garbrandt (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), the former 135-pound champion, returned to the win column in a big way Saturday night, stopping veteran Raphael Assuncao in the co-main…

By Nolan King | June 7, 2020 3:25 am UFC president Dana White says Alajamain Sterling will get a bantamweight title shot – but he’ll have to wait for it. In 88 seconds, Sterling (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defeated fellow top contender Cory Sandhagen with a rear-naked choke Saturday night at UFC 250. The fight…

CLOSE Surveillance video in Minneapolis shows the first moments of George Floyd's police interaction. USA TODAYThere was no place to hide, no place to truly be safe. Across the U.S., black Americans lived in fear of law enforcement officials armed with weapons who monitored their every behavior, attacked them on the street and in their homes,…

By Nolan King | June 7, 2020 2:25 am Chase Hooper lost his undefeated status on Saturday – but he didn’t lose his sense of humor. Hours after his UFC 250 unanimous decision loss to Alex Caceres, Hooper (9-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) issued a statement on Twitter. He voiced an optimistic outlook, saying he’s focused…

By Danny Segura | June 7, 2020 2:21 am With many impressive finishes, the UFC didn’t see fit to award a “Fight of the Night” bonus, but instead handed out four “Performance of the Night” bonuses. On Saturday night, Cody Garbrandt, Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling, and Alex Perez each earned $50,000 bonuses for their respective…

By Mike Bohn | June 7, 2020 1:44 am Felicia Spencer was on the wrong end of a one-way beating from Amanda Nunes in Saturday’s UFC 250 main event. The extent of the beating got a strong reaction out of of several fighters on social media, who thought Spencer (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) should’ve been…

By Nolan King | June 7, 2020 1:21 am No stranger to “announcing” his retirement on Twitter, Conor McGregor has done it again. Shortly after the conclusion of UFC 250 on Saturday night, McGregor announced that he’s “decided to retire from fighting.” “Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” McGregor wrote in a caption…

By Dave Doyle | June 7, 2020 1:00 am Amanda Nunes added another marker in her claim for the title of greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time on Saturday night. Defending her UFC featherweight title for the first time since she dethroned Cris Cyborg in December 2018, Nunes (20-4 MMA, 13-1 UFC) rolled over…