T.J. Dillashaw pulled off one of the greatest upset in the UFC’s 20-plus-year history when he stopped Renan Barao in the fifth round of their bantamweight title fight at UFC 173.

Dominating from start to finish Dillashaw inflicted the Brazilianai??i??s first defeat since his pro debut in April 2005, ending Barao’s 22-fight winning streak and 34-fight unbeaten record.

Dillashaw, a college wrestler, utilised his hands to defeat Barao, at the MGM Grand event, finishing the bout in the third minute of the fifth round when referee Herb Dean stopped the contest after Barao was sent to the canvas.

“He’s the best of the world and that’s what brought it out of me,” Dillashaw said. “I had to bring my A-game because I was fighting the best in the world.”

Despite Dillashaw using a lot of lateral movement and kicks early in the fight, Barao still stalked forward. But Dillashaw began to land his punches midway through the round and it was clear they were taking a toll on the Brazilian.

Barao had been knocked down with a right hand late in the first which nearly finished him, but his sheer resilience kept him in the fight.

But Dillashaw fought with great poise and never got rattled. He didn’t take unnecessary chances and stuck to his plan and repeatedly – blasting Barao with a barrage of hard and accurate shots.

The fight finally ended when Dillashaw landed a punch, a kick and another punch that put an exhausted Barao flat on his back.

Dillashaw immediately pounced and landed several hard shots on the ground until Dean stepped in to call an end to proceedings.

Faber v Caceres Confirmed for UFC 175

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) officials have confirmed Urijah Faber will face Alex Caceres at UFC 175 on July 5.

According to a report from ESPN.com, verbal agreements are in place for the match up, which will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas.

UFC 175 is headlined by a middleweight title showdown between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida.

Ten years younger than his opponent, Caceres will step back into the Octagon after winning four of his last five fights, while ai???Bruce Leeroyai??? last competed on January 25th, when he upset Sergio Pettis via third-round submission at the UFC on Fox 10 event.

Kevin Casey will meet Andrew Sanchez at RFA 15

Kevin Casey will meet Andrew Sanchez for the vacant belt at RFA 15. The middleweight title clash will headline Resurrection Fighting Allianceai??i??s next event, as the event takes place at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City, California on June 6^th.

It will also feature Alan Jouban taking on with Ricky Legere Junior for the welterweight title.

The eveningai??i??s main card will see once-beaten James Moontasri take on the undefeated prospect Dashon Johnson.

The event also hosts karate ace Chinzo Machida, who faces Dmitry Gerasimov.

No Surgery for Teixeira

UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira will not require surgery on his injured right shoulder as first feared.

He injured his shoulder during the opening round of his UFC 172 title fight with champion Jon Jones in Baltimore at the end of April.

Though an MRI on May 2 confirmed the tear, and the 34-year-old was expected to require surgery, doctors confirmed that Teixeira would not have to go under the knife after all.

ai???Whole UFC Cardai??? to be Drug tested

UFC President Dana White has spoken out following the random drug testing of Jon Jones and title challenger Glover Teixeira to announce that the UFC will now be testing the entire fight card.

“We’re testing the whole card now.ai??? White told reporters in Los Angeles. ai???Everyone is getting tested.”

He explained that the increased scrutiny is the only way to further the evolution of the sport in the long term.

“Obviously, doing away with performance-enhancing drugs not only helps us run our business, but it also helps the fighters,” White said.

“If you can make sure you take a hard enough stance and you can keep these young, talented kids off these drugs, their careers are going to last longer.ai???

Jon Jones offers $1,500 reward for missing rare cat

Jon Jones, the UFCai??i??s light heavyweight champion, has offered a $1,500 reward for the return of his pet cat Mufasa.

He explained that Mufasa, apparently named after the father lion in the Disney animated classic ai???The Lion King,ai??? weighs about 20 pounds and a cross between an African serval and a domestic house cat and is known as a Savannah cat.

Jones is currently preparing for his latest title defence later this month at UFC 172 against Glover Teixeira on April 26 in Baltimore.

ai???If anyone sees him, they would know right away that heai??i??s not your typical house cat,ai??? Jones said.

Are 5 on 5 Bouts the Future of MMA?

Fox Sports have recently reported on a something called the ai???Team Fighting Championships,ai??? which is ultimately a 10 man MMA mass brawl.

The fights all take place simultaneously, so once a fighter is eliminated, either by knock-out or submission, his team is left to fight on with a huge numerical disadvantage.

Take a look at a video of a 5 v 5 bout between Poznan of Poland and Gothenburg of Sweden if you donai??i??t believe it.

St-Pierre to Have ACL Surgery

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will have surgery to repair his torn ACL. He will see the same physicians with whom he had his last ACL surgery in 2011.

St-Pierre told FOX Sports that he injured his left knee last week towards the end of one of his training sessions when his foot got caught in the training mats..

Prior to tearing the ACL in his left knee, St-Pierre tore the same ligament in his right knee in 2011, forcing him out of the Octagon for several months after. Upon his return, he defeated interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit in November 2012.

Henderson to Face Cormier at UFC 175?

MMAFighting.com has reported that a UFC Light Heavyweight bout with title implications could be on the card at UFC 175.

That match-up could see Dan Henderson facing Daniel Cormier on the July PPV event, the same card that will feature a UFC Middleweight title bout between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida.

Although the fight has not been officially sanctioned, sources close to the fighters have confirmed the fight will take place, with an official announcement in the coming days.

Siver Issued with Temporary Suspension

UFC featherweight Dennis Siver has been issued with a temporary suspension by the Nevada athletic commission after testing positive for the banned substance Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) following UFC 168 in December.

The suspension came as the state prepares to make a case against Siver in an upcoming commission hearing, perhaps as early as next month. At that time, state deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles will present Siver’s lab report. Siver will also have the opportunity to voice his defence.

Siver has recently blamed a supplement recommended to him by a new trainer that was assisting him with his diet and weight-cutting efforts. In that statement, Siver said he was “shocked” by the positive result.

Cormier takes title in first

Daniel Cormier needed just 79 seconds to knock out Patrick Cummins at UFC 170 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas.

The win over Cummins, who was a last minute replacement, means Cormier is now undefeated in his 14 fights and was made even sweeter by the fact that his former sparring partner Cummins had claimed before the fight that he had once made Cormier cry during wrestling practice.

“It had to happen this way,” Cormier said. “It could not have gone the distance. I’m mad he even hit me twice because of all the talking he did. When you talk, you’ve got to be able to back it up. That’s what I do.”

Cummins had accepted the fight on 10 days’ notice, when injury forced Rashad Evans off the co-main event (Image: Fansided.com).

Rousey takes a minute to show her class

Despite being billed as one of the biggest events of her career, UFC 170 proved to be a relatively easy night for Rhonda Rousey.

A knee to the midsection caused former ex-Olympic wrestler Sara McMann to collapse to the canvas and the fight was stopped after just 66 seconds.

The crowd booed what it deemed was an early stoppage. But referee Herb Dean had little option after Rousey hit McMann with a knee to the body followed by an elbow, another knee, another elbow ai??i?? and then a final knee that put McMann on the floor (Image: AP).

For the first time in her career, Rousey had ended a fight without her trademark arm-bar in this, the fastest knockout in UFC women’s history.

MacDonald Punishes Maia

Rory MacDonald threw his hat into the ring as a contender once again, following a hard-fought decision over a veteran opponent in Demian Maia.

MacDonald (16-2) suffered a takedown in the early seconds of the bout, which led to him losing the first round. But as the fight wore on he picked Maia apart on the feet while defending a constant string of takedown attempts in the later rounds.

All three judges scored it the same, 29-28 for MacDonald.

MacDonald continued to land effectively with kicks to the body and straight, two-punch combinations into the latter stages of the fight and his momentum continued into the final round, where he continued to pick Maia apart with the jab, right hand and kicks.

Pyle Ends it in three

Mike Pyle rebounded from a heart-breaking knock-out loss in his last performance by defeating TJ Waldburger via TKO late in the third round.

The Las Vegas-based welterweight was at his best on the inside. Fending off Waldburgerai??i??s takedown attempts while frequently landing knee shots and elbows from the clinch.

Six of the best for Thompson

Kickboxer turned MMA fighter Stephen Thompson, earned the sixth finish of his career thanks to a TKO victory over Robert Whittaker, with the stoppage coming just 3.45 into the first round.

A straight right hand Ai??had initially dropped Whittaker but the welterweight managed to get back to his feet, with Thompson eventually putting him down again with another decisive right.