MMA

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 17, 2025, 02:13 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions LOS ANGELES — The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2025 underwent a major change Friday, as lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan was forced out of Saturday’s UFC

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 17, 2025, 05:44 PM ET Open Extended Reactions More than a decade after producing one of the most shocking knockouts in MMA history, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman announced his retirement on Friday during the UFC 311 weigh-in show. “Since 2009, the goal was to be a UFC fighter,” said Weidman.

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 17, 2025, 12:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions JiYí Procházka made his way up to the UFC 311 news conference stage at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, with a hood covering his head. When the fan favorite — who will face former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill on Saturday — pulled back

Jeff Wagenheim Jan 17, 2025, 07:48 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Talk about making a strong first impression by putting your best foot forward. The UFC is opening its 2025 pay-per-view schedule with a two-title-fight card headlined by its best fighter. Islam Makhachev, No. 1 in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, defends his lightweight championship in

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 16, 2025, 07:51 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — It’s Jan. 1, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is spending the start of this new year the same way he has spent most of his life.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2025, 09:34 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The PFL is set to make several major changes in 2025, including a complete overhaul of its signature “season” format. The promotion announced Wednesday that this year’s

Andreas Hale, ESPNJan 15, 2025, 08:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LOS ANGELES — When Kevin Holland enters the Octagon against Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311, it will be his 24th fight with the UFC. Holland, who has navigated between middleweight and welterweight, has fought at a breakneck pace since joining the promotion in

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2025, 01:00 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. A woman who accused Conor McGregor of sexually assaulting her after an NBA Finals game in 2023 has filed a lawsuit against

Open Extended Reactions Many MMA fighters had a great year in 2024. We saw some claim their first title in a major promotion. And there were those who reclaimed titles they previously held. But no MMA fighter had a better 12-month stretch than UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Pereira reeled off three successful title

Open Extended Reactions 2025 is starting out as a great year for MMA. ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Islam Makhachev, puts his UFC lightweight title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan and bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili defends against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in Inglewood, California, on Saturday. Then February kicks off with a bang

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 11, 2025, 10:34 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern avenged a loss from five years ago to Amanda Ribas on Saturday, as she submitted Ribas via armbar with just four seconds remaining

Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing InsiderJan 6, 2025, 06:27 PM ET Close Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger Open Extended Reactions Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo will fight No. 8 contender Song

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 6, 2025, 09:15 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions A new year is upon us. It’s time for optimism and hope, right? I believe in both, but unfortunately, mixed martial arts has not been fantastic about

Jeff Wagenheim Dec 23, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The year of the champion. That’s what 2024 has been in the UFC. How so?There were 16 title fights this year, and in 11 of those, the defending champion walked out of the cage still holding onto the belt. That might not seem so

Dec 17, 2024, 05:10 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor has not fought since a 2021 defeat to Dustin Poirer. John Locher/AP Photo Conor McGregor has said he intends to delay his return to MMA and has “agreed” to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion, has

ESPN News Services Dec 16, 2024, 11:30 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Colby Covington on Monday decried the fact that his UFC bout against Joaquin Buckley on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, was stopped in the third round due to excessive bleeding from a cut above his right eye. “I was just getting warmed up in

Open Extended Reactions We saw possibly the greatest knockout in MMA history — authored boldly by one fighter with the unspoken cooperation of the other — punctuate a fight for the ages. Then there was the iconic KO and celebration that helped establish a stoic UFC champion as perhaps the sport’s most revered star. And

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2024, 01:51 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions There’s a new era of welterweights taking over the UFC, and Joaquin Buckley is undeniably one of them. Buckley (21-6) extended his winning streak to six Saturday