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Lance Stephenson choking out Michael Beasley in MMA fight is craziest thing you’ll see today
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- Lance Stephenson choking out Michael Beasley in MMA fight is craziest thing you’ll see today
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Just when the NBA world thought the wildest action of the weekend would come from the Spurs-Thunder playoff series , Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley somehow stole the spotlight.
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In one of the more bizarre crossovers basketball fans have seen in a while, Stephenson submitted Beasley in the first round of an MMA fight Saturday night at Brand Risk 14 , a promotion run by influencer Adin Ross. The two former NBA teammates, who shared the floor with the Lakers during the 2018-19 season, traded punches early before the fight took a stunning turn.
Beasley briefly looked like he had control after attempting a guillotine choke, but Stephenson escaped, took Beasley's back, and locked in a rear-naked choke that forced the tap. Yes, that Lance Stephenson , the same player known for blowing in LeBron James ' ear and bringing chaos to every game he entered, now has an MMA submission win on his resume.
Beasley appeared stunned afterward, even joking about the finish, but said he would be open to boxing Stephenson next. Stephenson quickly agreed, suggesting this may not be the last chapter in one of the strangest post-NBA rivalries around. Their competitive history already included a BIG3 matchup and a heavily hyped one-on-one game for $100,000, which Beasley won last year.
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As entertaining as the Spurs-Thunder series has been, with San Antonio pushing Oklahoma City in a tense, physical matchup full of momentum swings, Stephenson and Beasley delivered a completely different kind of basketball-adjacent drama. The Thunder and Spurs are battling for playoff survival and Western Conference control, but for one night, two former NBA veterans turned the spotlight away from the postseason and into the cage.
That says plenty about Stephenson, who has never exactly followed a normal basketball path. Even in retirement from the league, he still knows how to command attention. And after choking out Beasley in the first round, he may have found the most unexpected second act of all.
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