Lance Stephenson chokes out Michael Beasley in first round of wild MMA fight between ex-NBA teammates

Nypost · 🇮🇳 public India · May 24, 2026 · 285 words · By Jake Nisse

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What to know about Lance Stephenson chokes out Michael Beasley in first round of wild MMA fight between ex-NBA teammates

Lance Stephenson might have found his next career move.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Lance Stephenson might have found his next career move.

Why it matters

The former Indiana Pacer entered the cage on Saturday night for an MMA scrap against fellow NBA alum Michael Beasley — and it was Stephenson who decidedly came out on top.

Common ground

Just one round into the pair’s fight at Brand Risk 14, a promotion run by influencer Adin Ross, Stephenson choked out his basketball rival and former Lakers teammate and got him to tap out.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Lance Stephenson chokes out Michael Beasley in first round of wild MMA fight between ex-NBA teammates?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Stephenson and Beasley last played in the 2021-22 and 2018-19 NBA seasons, respectively?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/24/sports/lance-stephenson-chokes-out-michael-beasley…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 4

help Insufficient Evidence 3

info Single Source 1

schedule

Claim 1: “Stephenson and Beasley last played in the 2021-22 and 2018-19 NBA seasons, respectively.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Stephenson decidedly came out on top.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Lance Stephenson won the fight, including reports of a first-round submission victory.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of people from Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Omaha,_Neb…

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web search NEUTRAL — Beasley vs. Stephenson at Brandrisk Promotions 14 on Tapology. View Beasley vs. Stephenson fight video, highlights, news, Twitter updates, and fight results.
https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/bouts/1136143-brandrisk…

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web search NEUTRAL — Lance Stephenson can scrap a little bit. On Saturday night, Stephenson squared off with Michael Beasley in the co-main event of Brand Risk 14, Adin Ross’ influencer fight promotion.
https://www.mmafighting.com/latest-news/490468/video-lance-s…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 3: “Beasley, 37, arrived as the second overall pick in 2008”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “Beasley attempted a guillotine choke on Stephenson.”

CORROBORATED

Three separate web search results explicitly mention that Michael Beasley attempted a guillotine choke during the fight but was unsuccessful.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dime Magazine is an American basketball magazine that was created by Patrick Cassidy and Josh Gotthelf and began circulation in 2001. The magazine publishes six issues a year for its worldwide readers…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_Magazine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gunnin' for That #1 Spot is a 2008 documentary film directed by Adam Yauch, founding member of the Beastie Boys. The movie premiered at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival in April 2008 and opened i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnin'_for_That_No._1_Spot

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2018–19 Los Angeles Lakers season was the franchise's 71st season, its 70th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 59th in Los Angeles. Following the signing of LeBron James …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_Los_Angeles_Lakers_sea…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “starred for Indiana before moving on to other stops around the league, including Charlotte, New Orleans and Memphis.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “Stephenson and Beasley both enjoyed lengthy careers in the NBA, including the 2018-19 season together with Lakers.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No specific evidence was provided in the search results to confirm they were teammates on the 2018-19 Lakers, although the Lakers season Wikipedia page was mentioned without specific player rosters in the snippet.

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Claim 7: “is best known for his productive stints in Miami and Minnesota.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Stephenson managed to wriggle free and get his opponent into a rear-naked choke”

CORROBORATED

While the Wikipedia results provided for this specific claim were irrelevant, the web search results for Claim 0 and Claim 2 explicitly describe Stephenson grabbing a rear-naked choke to finish the fight after Beasley's failed attempt.

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Claim 9: “The fight card also featured a bout between Johnny Manziel and social media influencer Bob Menery, who the former NFL quarterback defeated by TKO in the first round.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources confirm Johnny Manziel defeated Bob Menery by TKO/victory in the first round at the Brand Risk 14 event.

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web search NEUTRAL — Johnny Manziel picks up MMA victory with first-round win over social media influencer. Manziel and Bob Menery acknowledged their lack of skill, with Manziel saying 'we both fight like s---' after the …
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/johnny-manziel-picks-mma-vict…

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web search NEUTRAL — Johnny Manziel was a professional athlete, and Bob Menery is a comedian, and their fight went as one would expect. On Saturday, Manziel and Menery squared off in the main event of Brand Risk 14, the i…
https://www.mmafighting.com/videos/490486/video-johnny-manzi…

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web search NEUTRAL — Johnny Manziel, Bob Menery Wager $50K For Brand Risk 14 Main Event. 11 hours ago.Johnny Manziel and Bob Menery's huge size difference is clear in first face-off after weight debacle.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

help

Claim 10: “Stephenson, now 35, was drafted by Indiana in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results regarding Lance Stephenson's age or draft position.

info

Claim 11: “Beasley, whom he played against in the BIG3”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about 'lances' and 'truck campers'. No evidence was found confirming their participation in the BIG3 against each other.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms, the use of lances was widespread throughout East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa wherever suita…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance

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web search NEUTRAL — Lance Camper builds America's favorite truck camper and ultra light weight travel trailers all DSI award winning and eco-green friendly.
https://www.lancecamper.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Notícias de futebol e outros esportes, resultados, tempo real, jogos, estatísticas, fora de campo, tabela, simulador e mercado da bola. Um LANCE! muda tudo.
https://www.lance.com.br/

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Claim 12: “The former Indiana Pacer entered the cage on Saturday night for an MMA scrap against fellow NBA alum Michael Beasley”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources (MMA Fighting, and other news reports) confirm that Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley fought in an MMA match on a Saturday night at the Brand Risk 14 event.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of people from Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Omaha,_Neb…

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web search NEUTRAL — Stephenson breaks free and Beasley rolls and Stephenson to the back as Beasley rolls! He grabs the rear-naked choke! Stephenson doesn’t have any sort of control here, but Beasley has no clue what he’s…
https://www.mmafighting.com/latest-news/490414/brand-risk-14…

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web search NEUTRAL — Lance Stephenson stunned fans by choking out Michael Beasley in just 65 seconds during a chaotic MMA fight.The former NBA players squared off Saturday night at Brand Risk 14, the influencer combat spo…
https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/lance-stephenson-chokes-…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 13: “Just one round into the pair’s fight at Brand Risk 14, a promotion run by influencer Adin Ross, Stephenson choked out his basketball rival and former Lakers teammate and got him to tap out.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that Stephenson defeated Beasley by choking him out in the first round (specifically 65 seconds) at Brand Risk 14, an event promoted by Adin Ross.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by rapper and actor Ice Cube and businessman Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big3

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of continuity announcers in the United Kingdom – the term "continuity announcer" is used for those broadcasters who provide the voiceovers between television/radio programmes. The six p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_continuity_announcers_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). D…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Davis

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 14: “The two also squared off in a much-hyped one-on-one game for $100,000 that Beasley won last year.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the $100,000 one-on-one game.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.