MMA

12:44 AM ET Israel Adesanya stopped Paulo Costa in the second round to retain his UFC middleweight title in the main event Saturday night at UFC 253 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The TKO came at 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Adesanya went to work on Costa’s lead leg early on, whipping

12:11 AM ET The UFC’s light heavyweight division might not have Jon Jones — but perhaps it might still have a dominant champ. Jan Blachowicz (27-8), an overlooked slugger from Poland, defeated Dominick Reyes (12-2) via TKO at 4 minutes, 36 seconds of the second round of their light heavyweight title fight on Saturday at

9:19 AM ET One of the biggest middleweight title fights in recent UFC history is officially set. Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa both successfully made weight Friday in Abu Dhabi ahead of the UFC 253 main event. Adesanya weighed 184 pounds and Costa was 185 pounds. Adesanya questioned Costa’s ability to make the 185-pound limit

8:44 PM ET You have to give it to the UFC. The promotion has pulled off this 2020 concept of “Fight Island” remarkably well, and I’m not just referring to stringent COVID-19 measures. The UFC’s pay-per-views this year on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have offered a lot. From the “BMF” champion

3:28 PM ET Former UFC champion Conor McGregor tweeted on Friday that his next fight will be against boxing’s only eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao. McGregor, who announced his retirement (again) over Twitter in June, yet stayed in the USADA testing pool, has only fought in the UFC twice in the last four years, a

1:58 PM ET The UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion can add another title to her collection: mother. Amanda Nunes and her fiancée, UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, had their first child Friday. Ansaroff gave birth to a daughter, Raegan Ann Nunes. Nunes and Ansaroff each made the announcement on social media. “Speechless,” Nunes tweeted. Nunes,

7:28 AM ET In February 2012, a 20-year-old realtor from Contagem, Brazil, made a quiet professional debut in mixed martial arts inside a modest gymnasium in nearby Santa Luzia. His name: Paulo Henrique Costa. Costa’s skills were raw, but he took his opponent down and won via first-round TKO. A ring girl appeared and placed

2:34 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a light heavyweight matchup between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira in November, according to multiple sources. The 205-pound bout is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 7, most likely in Las Vegas. Once official, it will mark the third date this fight has

8:28 AM ET UFC president Dana White said his promotion will not “muzzle anybody,” when he was asked early Thursday morning about the backlash to recent Colby Covington comments, which several UFC fighters labeled as racist. During a news conference in Abu Dhabi to promote Saturday’s UFC 253 card on “Fight Island,” White was asked

8:42 AM ET Rob Wilkinson was thirsty. He was hungry. Throat as dry as the Australian Outback, the UFC fighter could barely speak. The plan coming in for Wilkinson was to be heavier — about four or five pounds more than usual — so he could outmuscle debuting striker Israel Adesanya. What Wilkinson didn’t count

4:57 PM ET UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and other black athletes scheduled to compete at UFC 253 on Saturday spoke out about recent comments made by welterweight Colby Covington during a virtual media call on Wednesday. Covington, who is an avid supporter of President Donald Trump and visited him in the White House in

7:39 PM ET Former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler believes he’s deserving of a UFC lightweight title shot but says he’s willing to take a fight in order to prove it. Chandler (21-5) signed with the UFC this month, bringing a 10-year relationship with Bellator to an end. The 34-year-old was a former three-time lightweight

THERE IS NO special treatment at City Kickboxing, not even for the six UFC fighters mixed into this gym of some 350 members training at various levels of competence and interest. Not when two UFC championship belts, belonging to Adesanya and teammate Alexander Volkanovski, lie parallel on a table in the makeshift lobby area of

4:46 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim For the first time in nearly a decade, the UFC’s light heavyweight division is about to have a new king. Both Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz have earned this moment — their places at center stage under the spotlight, each poised to launch his era as champion — and yet

7:09 PM ET The UFC’s light heavyweight title will be up for grabs Saturday, and Jon Jones‘ only involvement will be on social media. Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will vie for the title that Jones vacated in August, when he announced that he is moving to heavyweight. Reyes-Blachowicz will be the co-main event of

7:42 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim For the first time in nearly a decade, the UFC’s light heavyweight division is about to have a new king. Both Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz have earned this moment — their places at center stage under the spotlight, each poised to launch his era as champion — and yet

8:09 AM ET As the MMA world prepares for two championship fights at UFC 253 on Saturday, another storyline developed when the promotion signed former Bellator champ Michael Chandler and immediately put him in position to possibly debut with a title shot at UFC 254. Chandler will fill in if either champ Khabib Nurmagomedov or

1:21 PM ET Former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler has signed an exclusive contract with the UFC, and will serve as a potential backup to the company’s highly anticipated lightweight title fight in October. UFC president Dana White announced Chandler’s signing on SportsCenter. Chandler (21-5) has been considered one of the top fighters competing