MMA

7:44 AM ET Following a rare weekend off, the UFC is back at its Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday with a heavyweight contest between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai. If we’re being honest, this UFC Fight Night offers a redo of sorts for Rozenstruik (11-2) and Sakai (15-2-1), as they are both coming off

8:47 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The MLB season fills a wide swath of the calendar with 162 games, an entire summertime (and beyond) of ups and downs. The NBA and NHL seasons have only half as many games, but the twists and turns keep the ride going for months. The same is true in the

10:51 AM ET Associated Press HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Former mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz has resigned from his position on the City Council of Huntington Beach, California, saying he was prompted to quit because of attacks by the media. Ortiz, who was the city’s mayor pro tem, announced his resignation Tuesday night during

6:05 PM ET The Jake Paul vs. MMA (but … in a boxing match) phenomenon will roll on this summer, as the popular YouTube star will take on former UFC champion Tyron Woodley in August. There are a lot of unanswered questions around the force that Paul (3-0, 3 KOs) has become in combat sports.

7:39 AM ET Since announcing he’s retained the services of Richard Schaefer as his advisor on May 26, Jon Jones‘ social media accounts have been fairly subdued, free of any confrontational posts aimed at the UFC. Coincidence? Maybe, but make no mistake, there will be interest in seeing if Schaefer, the former boxing promoter who

1:57 PM ET Kayla Harrison, the self-proclaimed “baddest woman” in mixed martial arts, will return to action against Cindy Dandois in the main event of PFL 6 in Atlantic City. PFL officials announced the league’s next round of heavyweight and female lightweight matchups on Tuesday, ahead of the PFL 6 event on June 25. Harrison

10:25 AM ET Jake Paul‘s next foe will be a former UFC champion. Paul will meet Tyron Woodley in a boxing match later this summer, both Paul and Woodley told ESPN. The 190-pound match is currently slated for Aug. 28, sources say. Several host cities are still under consideration, per sources, though an official announcement

7:23 AM ET Following a three-year hiatus, the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter returns Tuesday night on ESPN and ESPN+. No series has had a bigger impact on the company and the sport of mixed martial arts than TUF. UFC president Dana White has repeatedly said the show saved the company when it debuted

8:34 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Clay Collard was the other guy. He was the one standing across the cage from the PFL’s prized new signee, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. It was a big moment for the emerging fight promotion, and the vibe of the introductions for this season-opening main event last month in Atlantic City, New

1:57 AM ET City Kickboxing (CKB) fighter Fau Vake, who died earlier this month, will be firmly in the thoughts of both middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rising lightweight Brad Riddell when the duo step into the Octagon at UFC 263 next month. Vake died on May 23 in an Auckland hospital, seven days after

7:51 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim MMA is doing pretty well for a sport less than three decades old. From the UFC to Bellator to the PFL and beyond, the fight game has grown from a shady niche to the spotlit mainstream, drawing in new fans by the day. A few fighters have broken through to

9:20 PM ET The UFC is working on a featherweight matchup between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez for July, according to UFC president Dana White. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is close to finalizing the 145-pound contest, sources told ESPN. Once official, it is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night event

2:09 PM ET Former UFC champion Jon Jones has enlisted veteran boxing promoter Richard Schaefer as a representative, he announced via social media on Wednesday. Jones, 33, is one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history, although he has not fought since February 2020. A former light heavyweight champion, Jones vacated his UFC title

7:31 AM ET With a rare off week on the UFC calendar, it’s a good moment to take a step back and look at the biggest stories across several key divisions, with each having its own questions surrounding the championship and the greater title picture. The heavyweight division is seemingly headed toward a rematch of

1:33 PM ET Aaron Pico has his next fight queued up. The top MMA prospect will fight Aiden Lee at Bellator 260 on June 11 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. That card will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Douglas Lima and challenger Yaroslav Amosov. Pico

7:29 AM ET The Ultimate Fighter was an instrumental force during the UFC’s explosion of popularity in the early 2000s — shining a spotlight on fighters like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who coached a variety of MMA hopefuls in a season-long competition in which all of the competitors were housed

3:29 PM ET The UFC has lost a bout from its event about one hour prior to bell time. A scheduled lightweight fight between Yancy Medeiros and Damir Hadzovic has been canceled because Hadzovic was experiencing health issues, the promotion announced Saturday afternoon. The bout was to be part of the UFC Fight Night: Garbrandt

11:00 PM ET One of the best divisions in the UFC has a newly minted contender. Rob Font put on one of the best performances of his career, beating former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision (48-47, 50-45, 50-45) in the bantamweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Font’s