4:57 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Two MMA legends will fight, but it won’t be in a cage. Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz have signed contracts to meet in an eight-round cruiserweight boxing match on Sept. 11 in the chief-support bout before Oscar De La Hoya faces Vitor Belfort in the pay-per-view main event, Triller co-founder
MMA
3:58 PM ET Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, one of the best middleweight mixed martial artists of the past decade, has announced his retirement at age 41. Souza, who is originally from Brazil and fought out of Orlando, Florida, during the latter part of his career, broke the news to Brazilian outlet Combate. He retires with a
6:57 PM ET The UFC is heading back to Fight Island on Oct. 30, officials announced Tuesday. UFC 267 will officially take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will feature a series of fan events entitled Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. The event is part of a multiyear agreement the UFC signed with the
8:12 AM ET There were big winners all over the main card of UFC 265. Jose Aldo proved he has something left in the tank and potential in the bantamweight division with his victory over Pedro Munhoz. Tecia Torres defeated Angela Hill to win her third in a row, a victory that will continue her
2:33 AM ET Ciryl Gane dominated Derrick Lewis to win the UFC interim heavyweight title at UFC 265. There was no big punch or comeback moment from Lewis this time around as Gane dictated every moment of the fight. Now Gane is set up to face Francis Ngannou for the undisputed title. Gane is the
12:49 AM ET HOUSTON — Ciryl Gane is a living, breathing representation of the evolution of mixed martial arts. He’s a poised, smooth and tactical heavyweight who moves like a man two to three weight classes below him. He was born in France, a place that just legalized the sport of MMA last year. Gane
1:23 AM ET Ciryl Gane put on a dominant, smothering performance at UFC 265, ultimately scoring a TKO victory over Derrick Lewis to secure the UFC interim heavyweight championship. A lot of people were paying attention to the fight, including reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, and long-time light heavyweight champion (and current heavyweight) Jon
5:28 PM ET Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun HOUSTON — Derrick Lewis, who will headline Saturday’s UFC 265 main event against Ciryl Gane, got his first UFC title shot three years ago against Daniel Cormier. The self-deprecating slugger
8:05 AM ET Things are changing in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Over the past 10 years, the weight class has revolved around a handful of familiar names — relatively older names at that. For a long time, this small collection of veterans held off the up-and-comers and battled for the UFC championship among themselves. That
11:15 AM ET HOUSTON – Everything is bigger in Texas – including this weekend’s super-sized UFC main event. Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane both weighed in successfully Friday morning for their UFC interim heavyweight title bout. Lewis weighed 264.5 pounds and Gane came in at 247. The two men will meet Saturday night in the
8:00 AM ET It was Oct. 6, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Derrick Lewis was losing badly, on the verge of one of the worst losses of his career. Six-foot-7 Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov was seconds away from victory. To add insult to dominance, Volkov was talking trash midfight. When Lewis’ cornermen were
5:13 PM ET Fedor Emelianenko has an opponent for his homecoming fight. The all-time great MMA heavyweight will fight Tim Johnson on Oct. 23 in Moscow, Russia, Bellator announced Thursday. Emelianenko has not fought in his home country for five years and has not competed in Moscow in a decade. The bout is part of
10:05 PM ET The UFC is targeting a flyweight bout between Joanne Calderwood and Alexa Grasso for a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 20, sources said Monday. The bout is not yet official but is in the process of being finalized, sources said. The UFC has not announced an event or location for the date,
1:44 PM ET Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will return to the Octagon in November. Rockhold (16-5) has agreed to face Sean Strickland (24-3) at UFC 268 on Nov. 6, multiple sources told ESPN. The UFC has not announced a location for the pay-per-view event, but the current target is New York City. The
12:48 PM ET The UFC’s first-ever women’s flyweight champion is no longer with the promotion. Nicco Montaño was released by the UFC this week, officials confirmed with ESPN on Wednesday. The decision comes on the heels of Montaño missing weight last Friday by 7 pounds, forcing the cancellation of her scheduled fight with Wu Yanan
7:30 AM ET Mike Coppinger Marc Raimondi If Derrick Lewis beats Ciryl Gane in the UFC 265 main event Saturday night in Houston to capture the interim heavyweight title, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him scan the crowd for a familiar face. And he wouldn’t necessarily be searching for heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, who
Aug 4, 2021 After recently returning to Africa for the first time in nearly 30 years, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman told ESPN that an MMA event on the continent could be even bigger than the legendary Rumble in the Jungle. Usman, who became the first UFC champion from Africa when he defeated Tyron Woodley
7:52 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim In 2019, the last time the Professional Fighters League staged their playoffs and crowned six $1 million winners, the champion of each division looked indomitable on their title runs. Now, after a lost 2020 season because of the COVID pandemic, the PFL is back with playoff semifinals set for three