MMA

2:10 AM ET Much of the talk in recent years surrounding Holly Holm has focused on retirement. When will the 38-year-old Holm hang up the gloves? After her performance on Saturday in the UFC Fight Night main event on Fight Island, that discussion could be about a title shot. Holm, ranked sixth in the ESPN

6:55 PM ET Holly Holm has said time and again that she does not want her UFC career to be defined by her shocking knockout of Ronda Rousey. Saturday on “Fight Island,” Holm has a chance to forge her first winning streak since that 2015 victory — and perhaps earn another title shot. Holm, one

8:39 AM ET Usman Nurmagomedov, the younger cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has signed a multifight deal with Bellator, according to promotion officials. Khabib Nurmagomedov announced the signing on his Instagram page Friday. Usman Nurmagomedov is 11-0 since turning pro in 2017. Ten of his 11 victories have come via finish. He is

10:57 AM ET Former UFC stalwart Rustam Khabilov has signed a multifight deal with Bellator, sources told ESPN. Khabilov (24-4) has won seven of his past eight fights. He most recently fought for the UFC last November, defeating Sergey Khandozhko via unanimous decision. That was the last fight on Khabilov’s UFC contract. Khabilov has been

11:01 AM ET Bellator MMA lightweight prospect Aaron Pico has booked his next fight, against John de Jesus on Nov. 12, according to multiple sources. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to the matchup. The Nov. 12 event is expected to take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

12:21 PM ET Deiveson Figueiredo‘s first flyweight title defense won’t come against Cody Garbrandt after all. Figueiredo (19-1) will now face Alex Perez at UFC 255 on Nov. 21 after Garbrandt was forced to withdraw from the title fight because of an injury, sources told ESPN. The news was first reported by Combate. The fight

1:16 PM ET Another UFC veteran is headed to Bellator. This time it’s Welsh bantamweight Brett Johns, who has agreed to a multifight deal with the promotion, sources told ESPN. Johns, 28, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Montel Jackson, recently fought out his UFC contract. After testing free agency, he decided

8:04 AM ET For the first time in Holly Holm‘s MMA career, she is accepting fights with no clear path to a UFC championship. From the moment Holm crossed over from boxing in 2011, it was almost certain she would sign with the UFC and fight for a title. And over the past five years,

1:09 PM ET Isabella Mir, the daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, is going to follow in her father’s footsteps. Mir, 17, has signed with Ikon Fighting Federation to make her pro MMA debut on Oct. 22 in San Carlos, Mexico, her manager, Malki Kawa, told ESPN. She will be fighting Danielle Wynn

10:30 PM ET The UFC has formally offered Conor McGregor a non-title lightweight fight against Dustin Poirier, Dana White told Barstool Sports on Wednesday. Additional UFC sources confirmed to ESPN that the promotion on Tuesday sent a physical contract to McGregor for a potential bout against Poirier. Sources close to McGregor confirmed to ESPN’s Ariel

9:16 AM ET Thursday’s Bellator 247 main event has been canceled after headliner Paul Daley failed to make weight for his fight against Derek Anderson. Daley, who weighed 1.6 pounds over the 171-pound limit, was forced to go to the hospital due to the bad weight cut. As a result, the fight has been canceled,

9:06 AM ET UFC fans might not have seen the last of Israel Adesanya in the Octagon in 2020. The undefeated UFC middleweight champion told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in an interview posted Wednesday that he’s hoping to compete one more time this year. Adesanya is coming off a second-round TKO of Paulo Costa at UFC

2:52 PM ET Israel Adesanya put on a spectacular performance at UFC 253. The middleweight champion’s second-round TKO of previously unbeaten Paulo Costa on Sept. 26 was as dominant a title fight victory as we’ve seen in a while. It was the kind of performance that can send a fighter skyrocketing in the rankings. Problem

10:11 PM ET Conor McGregor has attempted to book himself in yet another fight, despite past remarks that he’s retired. On Monday, the UFC superstar proposed a charity MMA fight to former opponent Dustin Poirier on Twitter. The exhibition, McGregor wrote, would be on pay-per-view and proceeds would go to Poirier’s The Good Fight Foundation

9:10 PM ET UFC middleweight Paulo Costa referred to his recent opponent and UFC champion Israel Adesanya as “human trash” on Monday, for Adesanya’s postfight actions at UFC 253 on Saturday. Costa (13-1) lost to Adesanya (20-0) via second-round TKO on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Adesanya finished the fight with punches

7:59 AM ET Did anyone really think Jon Jones wouldn’t at least flirt with the idea of challenging the winner of Saturday’s light heavyweight championship bout? It didn’t take long after Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes in the UFC 253 co-main event on Fight Island for Jones to tweet about the possibility of challenging Blachowicz.

1:32 AM ET Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz entered UFC 253 on Saturday with their share of doubters, which made what happened in the Octagon even sweeter for both men. Adesanya had a “boring” tag hung on him by critics after a lackluster win over Yoel Romero in March. But that label didn’t fit on

12:47 AM ET The return to Fight Island saw the continued domination of the middleweight champion, the crowning of a new light heavyweight champion and the emergence of a new flyweight contender. Israel Adesanya found a way to keep his title and undefeated record with a victory over the previously undefeated Paulo Costa. While Costa’s