MMA

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 21, 2024, 11:58 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions SALT LAKE CITY — Clay Collard officially made his third PFL postseason in four years Friday night, but it was not in the way he envisioned. Collard

ESPN News Services Jun 21, 2024, 06:25 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Taylor Wily, a former sumo wrestler who became known for his role as confidential informant Kamekona Tupuola on both “Hawaii Five-0” and “Magnum P.I.,” has died, his friend and a “Hawaii Five-0” producer both said Friday. He was 56. Before he began acting,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 21, 2024, 12:37 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions A broken toe is what prevented Conor McGregor from fighting Michael Chandler next week in Las Vegas, the UFC star revealed Friday. McGregor (22-6) was due to

Jun 21, 2024, 07:47 AM ET Open Extended Reactions On Friday and Saturday, fight fans will get their fill of MMA as the three largest promotions of the sport will be in action. PFL kicks things off on Friday (4:30 p.m. E.T. on ESPN/ESPN+) in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the lightweights and light heavyweights

Jun 19, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Robert Whittaker meets Ikram Aliskerov in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card at Kingdom Arena is on ABC and ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ at noon. Whittaker (26-7), a

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 18, 2024, 01:59 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions A pair of Bellator MMA title fights will headline two separate events in the month of September, promotion officials announced Tuesday. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0) will

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 17, 2024, 01:43 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya announced on social media that he will return from his self-imposed hiatus to face current champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305, which takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. “Never stole shine, never lost mine,”

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJun 15, 2024, 11:28 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended

Jun 16, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Tatsuro Taira continues to impress as he recorded another victory in his bout against Alex Perez in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Taira (16-0) won by taking Perez (25-9) down with a unique body triangle while on his back,

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 15, 2024, 11:47 AM ET Open Extended Reactions UFC 303 underwent a major overhaul once it was revealed that Conor McGregor had sustained injuries that would not allow him to face Michael Chandler. But he wasn’t the only fighter dealing with injuries as former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill was also

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 16, 2024, 01:40 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — The undefeated Tatsuro Taira earned the biggest win of his UFC career with a second-round stoppage of Alex Perez in the main event of UFC on ESPN 58 at the UFC Apex. The fight certainly didn’t end the way Taira would

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 15, 2024, 01:24 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor expressed confidence Saturday that he will still face Michael Chandler in the Octagon at some point, although he did not provide any indication as to

Jun 13, 2024, 11:35 PM ET Open Extended Reactions And just like that, we have a new main and co-main event at UFC 303. Out are Conor McGregor and Jamahal Hill, as both have been ruled out of the June 29 card due to injuries. The new main event is a light heavyweight title fight

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 13, 2024, 10:57 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor will no longer fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White said Thursday night. McGregor (22-6) was

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 13, 2024, 07:22 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The highly anticipated return of Khamzat Chimaev will have to wait. The undefeated fighter was set to headline the UFC’s first event in Saudi Arabia on June 22 against former champion Robert Whittaker. However, UFC president Dana White announced Thursday that Chimaev has been

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 12, 2024, 08:01 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The most exciting stretch of the PFL season starts Thursday in Uncasville, Connecticut, as the promotion returns for the second half of the season. In most other

May 30, 2024, 01:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions After what may have been the biggest season in the history of “The Ultimate Fighter” — as Conor McGregor, MMA’s biggest star, made his second run as a coach — the show is back for Season 32 in June. TUF was instrumental in the UFC’s explosion

Andreas Hale, ESPNJun 10, 2024, 08:26 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Dustin Poirier didn’t get a chance to finish his story at UFC 302 when he fell short against Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship. Following the loss, Poirier said he had been mulling the possibility of retirement. However, had he achieved his dream