LAS VEGAS – Months of work, hours of poring over film, long days of torturing his body, preparing for the biggest fight of his life, was rendered useless in 15 seconds.

Antonio Silva was down on his back and split open by a Cain Velasquez elbow between the eyes that instantly began gushing blood.

When the fight was stopped three minutes, 36 seconds after it began with Velasquez the one-sided winner, Silva looked as if a madman had hacked him in the face with a meat cleaver.

One mistake against Cain Velasquez turned Antonio Silva into a bloody mess. (Getty Images)It wasn't the cut, or the blood, or the pain from the punches and elbows that Velasquez pummeled him with that bothered Silva so much. He knew what he was in for when he signed the contract for the fight.

What he didn't expect, though, was that only seconds after the bell sounded, against arguably the greatest heavyweight in the world, he'd be essentially blind and unable to see shots coming at him.

Velasquez is a fearsome opponent for any man, let alone one whose sight is not just blurred but almost entirely gone.

Read More »from Antonio Silva eager to prove he's a cut above in UFC 160 rematch with Cain Velasquez

LAS VEGAS – Junior dos Santos stretched out his entire 6-foot-4 frame, filling an oversized chair in a locker room at the MGM Grand Garden. Minutes earlier, he'd completed a surprisingly intense workout, just days from his three-round heavyweight bout Saturday against Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 160. 

He furrowed his brow and took a deep breath as he pondered a seemingly bizarre, but now pertinent, question: Would he quit, or at least change his methods, if he knew for certain that his job could create health issues that would last the rest of his lifetime?

He wiggled in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head.

"That's a good question," he said. "That's a really good question."

A period of silence ensued before dos Santos shifted in his chair and began to answer. A smile began to crease his face.

"You know, I think it's worth it," he said. "This is my life. This is everything I have. People don't know how hard we [work] and what we sacrifice to [be successful]. MMA

Read More »from Junior dos Santos: Fighting is worth the health risks because it's 'everything to me'

LAS VEGAS – T.J. Grant chuckles at the thought that he may someday become known as the most famous resident of his hometown.

Maybe in some other sleepy ocean-side town of 25,000, a statue of him would be erected in the town square and he'd be celebrated throughout the years for his athletic feats.

T.J. Grant, left, defeated Evan Dunham last September at UFC 152. (Getty Images)But Grant is from Canada and was born and still lives in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. That pretty much guarantees that, no matter what he's able to accomplish in the UFC, his ceiling is pretty much becoming the town's second-most famous resident.

Cole Harbour, you see, is the birthplace of Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, the NHL's greatest player. And while a popular championship fighter may become more widely known worldwide than a hockey player, it's a massively different story in Canada.

"You know what? Anywhere else in the world, maybe I'd have a shot," he says. "But this is hockey country. This is Canada. Not much chance of [ever surpassing Crosby]. But maybe if things go

Read More »from UFC 160 could be launching pad for Canadian T.J. Grant, but he'll never be top star in hometown

Manny Pacquiao will look to break a two-fight losing streak when he returns to the ring on Nov. 24 (Nov. 23 in the U.S.) at The Venetian in Macau, China, to fight Brandon Rios in a 12-round welterweight bout, Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz exclusively told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. 

Manny Pacquiao throws a right at Juan Manuel Marquez. (Getty)The bout will be distributed on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S. Significantly, though, Koncz said it is going to be sold online in China in something of a test run for the American equivalent of $5 or $6. 

Pacquiao had also been considering Mike Alvarado, but Koncz said the choice to go with Rios was made because of the style matchup. Rios is a straight-ahead fighter who loves to get into a slugfest and it should make for a sensational television bout.

"Rios isn't going to get in there and dance around and run around," Koncz said. "He's going to come to fight. He'll move straight forward and try to brawl with Manny, and that's the kind of fight that will be very entertaining for the fans. Anyone who knows these

Read More »from Manny Pacquiao to fight Brandon Rios in Macau, China, on Nov. 24

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather showed yet again why he is, conclusively, the greatest fighter of his generation.

He brilliantly outboxed Robert Guerrero on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, cruising to a wide unanimous decision in their WBC welterweight title fight that probably would have been a stoppage had he not injured his right hand in the middle of the fight.

Mayweather is far beyond being judged against his peers, but the lack of depth and quality among them keeps him from seriously being regarded as one of the 10 best fighters ever.

[Related: Fans boo Floyd Mayweather's 'boring' style]

Sugar Ray Robinson is, without question, the greatest fighter who ever lived. He was 128-1-2 before he suffered his second defeat, and he beat enough Hall of Famers to fill a football team. Floyd Mayweather avoids a Robert Guerrero punch on Saturday. (USA Today)

The thing that Robinson, and more recent superstars such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, had over Mayweather was elite opposition.

"Let me tell you this right here about the

Read More »from Floyd Mayweather Jr. can't be considered greatest of all-time due to lack of elite competition

LAS VEGAS – The countdown to the end of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s legendary career began on Saturday with a brilliant performance in a victory over Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden.
Mayweather rolled his record to 44-0 and kept alive a dream to end his career with a perfect mark.

He signed a six-fight, 30-month contract with Showtime in February –  likely his final contract – and he started it off on the right foot.

Floyd Mayweather punches Robert Guerrero their WBC welterweight title fight. (USA Today)

He won a unanimous decision, with all three judges seeing it 117-111, to keep his WBC welterweight title.

Though Guerrero's trainer and father Ruben Guerrero shouted at the conclusion, "He ran like a chicken, baby," it was a masterful boxing performance by Mayweather.

Guerrero tried to pressure Mayweather, but Mayweather had none of it. Guerrero had some success pinning Mayweather in the corner in the first two rounds, but after that, Mayweather used his lateral movement and a laser accurate right hand to pummel Guerrero.

He landed more than 60 percent of his

Read More »from Still 'Money': Floyd Mayweather Jr. picks apart Robert Guerrero to win unanimous decision

LAS VEGAS – It's impossible to improve upon perfect, but when the subject is Floyd Mayweather Jr., the normal rules don't apply.

An outsider might say the 36-year-old boxer lives a perfect life. He's among the greatest ever to have competed in his sport. He owns a fleet of luxury cars, a massive and stylish home in a tony, golf-course community, wears hand-tailored custom suits and accentuates his wardrobe with more diamonds than Elizabeth Taylor could dream of having.

He employs a gaggle of assistants to take care of his every need, real or imagined. If he wants to go to the movies, he rents out the entire theater. He stays in the finest hotels and flies on a sleek private jet. Women throw themselves at him; men dream of being him.

It's some people's idea of a perfect life. In life, as in sport, however, perfection is very elusive.

And so, even with a 43-0 record, even with a spot among boxing's all-time greats long ago assured, even with every material thing he might want at his

Read More »from Perfect in the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still pursuing that quality in his personal life

(Warning: Video contains strong language so viewer discretion is advised.)

LAS VEGAS – It's hard to pinpoint when it first happened, perhaps late in 2009 or early in 2010. Robert Guerrero was an anonymous lightweight fighting even more anonymous opponents, yet, after nearly after bout, in almost every public appearance, his message was the same:

I want to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next.

Guerrero had the audacity to call out the best fighter in the world even though said fighter was competing several weight divisions above him. 

Few took Guerrero seriously and reporters struggled to change the topic to something more grounded when he'd bring up his desire to fight Mayweather. There was no point, the logic went, of talking and writing about a fight that was almost certainly never going to happen.

Guerrero and his team were nothing if not determined, though, and they never gave up hope. In late 2011, Guerrero's publicist solicited reporters' opinions about a potential Mayweather-Guerrero

Read More »from Following dad's rant, Robert Guerrero confident as ever before showdown against Floyd Mayweather