MMA

12:37 PM ET A pretty good indication that a UFC fighter is hot is when Conor McGregor is calling him out, rather than the other way around. And when Nate Diaz, who rarely calls out anyone, joins the chorus, the heat is undeniable. That’s the position Dustin Poirier finds himself in after his second-round TKO

3:34 PM ET UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje says he is eager to find out his next assignment, and acknowledges there are plenty of options given the current state of the division. Gaethje (22-3) hasn’t fought since a failed title bid against undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October. He is still No. 2 in the UFC’s

7:14 PM ET A UFC Hall of Famer is in trouble with the law once again. Former UFC two-division champion BJ Penn was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence Saturday in Honokaa, Hawaii, Hawaii Police Department spokesperson Denise Laitinen told ESPN on Monday. Penn was released pending an investigation, Laitinen said. A request for

11:01 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between Darren Till and Marvin Vettori to headline a UFC Fight Night event in April, according to multiple sources. Contracts have not been signed, but verbal agreements are in place, sources said. The 185-pound contest will headline a UFC Fight Night event April 10. The

10:02 AM ET Jake Paul, the Internet personality turned pro boxer, has his next fight set, and this time he’ll be competing against an actual professional fighter. Paul will face former UFC fighter Ben Askren in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17, Triller co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh told ESPN. The fight will take place

8:30 AM ET One performed heroically on the biggest stage possible. The other put on a historic performance. Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway grabbed the attention of the mixed martial arts world in different ways in the last couple of weeks, but for both the results show in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. Poirier made

9:00 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight contest between former champion Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa to headline UFC Fight Night on April 17, officials confirmed to ESPN on Monday. The 185-pound contest will take place at a location to be determined. Whittaker (22-5) lost the middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya in October

1:01 PM ET Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh said Monday that McGregor is hoping to get a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier for the UFC lightweight title, possibly in May. Poirier stopped McGregor in the second round of Saturday’s UFC 257 main event, avenging a loss to McGregor in 2014. “He’s already harassing everybody to

7:27 AM ET After the events of UFC 257, a lot of attention is rightfully being paid to the lightweight division and the state of play at the top. Dustin Poirier staked his claim to a title shot with his victory over Conor McGregor, while Michael Chandler made a statement of his own in his

8:10 PM ET The UFC heavyweight championship will be on the line on March 27. A rematch between champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou will headline UFC 260, sources told ESPN. The co-main event will feature UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski against Brian Ortega, according to sources. The date and location for UFC 260 have

6:09 AM ET The UFC is working to finalize a welterweight matchup between former champion Tyron Woodley and Vicente Luque at UFC 260 on March 27, per multiple sources. Contracts have not been signed, but the promotion is close to officially booking the 170-pound contest. The UFC has not officially announced a location for the

2:19 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The bad news for Conor McGregor fans is that he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in the second round of their UFC 257 main event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday morning. The good news for fans of the Irish superstar? Their man immediately recognized he had

12:44 AM ET Dustin Poirier pulled off a stunner Saturday night, scoring a TKO victory over Conor McGregor in the second round in the main event of UFC 257. The finish came at 2 minutes, 32 seconds. The fight, a non-title bout contested at 155 pounds, took place inside Etihad Arena on Yas Island in

9:52 AM ET Conor McGregor still has a Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch on his mind, though he acknowledges that the chances of it happening have greatly diminished. The former UFC double champion said Thursday at the UFC 257 news conference that he considers there to be a great deal of unfinished business between himself and Nurmagomedov.

7:43 AM ET ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — When Conor McGregor is involved, there is always potential for hyperbole. When you have a star that big, everything tends to dial up a notch — including any comments related to him or an upcoming fight. But allow me to say, I have genuinely looked forward to this

1:30 PM ET UFC cut undefeated lightweight Ottman Azaitar from its active roster Friday, just one day before he was scheduled to face Matt Frevola at UFC 257 on Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Azaitar (13-0), an exciting German-Moroccan lightweight with 10 career knockouts, was pulled from UFC 257 after committing a “violation

6:57 AM ET When Conor McGregor arrived at “Fight Island” on a massive yacht for his UFC 257 main event against Dustin Poirier, it was yet another illustration of a career that has reached unprecedented heights for an MMA fighter. It wasn’t always this way. McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, remembers a time in 2013 when

6:25 AM ET ABU DHABI — A non-title UFC lightweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is official for UFC 257 on Saturday, as both fighters successfully made weight during Friday’s weigh-in. McGregor (22-4), a former undisputed champion at lightweight, weighed-in at 155 pounds. Poirier (26-6), who won an interim lightweight champion in 2019,