7:27 PM ET When Dominick Reyes woke up Monday morning, he was greeted by Jon Jones. It wasn’t a physical presence, but it was impactful nonetheless. Jones posted a series of tweets criticizing Reyes’ athletic background, the opponents he’s beaten and even his small-town roots. “I woke up to it,” Reyes said Monday on Ariel
MMA
4:44 PM ET Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal is the fight the UFC wants. Now there is a targeted date for that potential clash as well. UFC president Dana White said Friday on “The Jim Rome Show” that the promotion is targeting Usman to defend his welterweight title against Masvidal in July. The bout has
4:15 PM ET UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili, who is scheduled to defend her title at UFC 248 on March 7 in Las Vegas, is working on getting out of her home country as soon as possible. Weili, who trains out of Beijing, originally planned to finish her entire fight camp in China, but is
3:24 PM ET A pair of UFC veterans — Diego Sanchez and Ovince Saint Preux — were given retroactive three-month suspensions by USADA on Friday for anti-doping violations. Sanchez tested positive for the banned substances ostarine and S-23, while Saint Preux failed for ostarine, di-hydroxy-LGD-4033 (a metabolite of LGD-4033), as well as GW1516 sulfone and
2:49 PM ET Ronda Rousey has never said she won’t return to the UFC. The word “retirement” has not come out of her mouth. But the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion said this week that she no longer feels any kind of pressure to return and prove herself as the best women’s MMA fighter ever.
12:36 PM ET Another prospect from the Barber family has been acquired by a major MMA promotion. Bellator has signed Wyatt Barber, brother of UFC up-and-comer Maycee Barber, to a contract, sources told ESPN on Friday. Wyatt Barber, 18, has yet to make his pro debut. Like his sister, he is considered a blue-chipper. Maycee
3:15 PM ET ESPN’s MMA Insiders The year has already gotten off to a bang. A couple of the biggest stars in the sport — Conor McGregor and Cris Cyborg — have already made headlines with huge TKO stoppages. The next few months don’t slow down at all, with Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya and Khabib
4:38 PM ET Josh Barnett‘s long-awaited return to the cage has been rebooked. A bout between Barnett, the former UFC heavyweight champion, and Ronny Markes is now targeted for Bellator 241 on March 13 at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun, promotion officials confirmed with ESPN. MMA Fighting was the first to report the news. Barnett, who has
4:54 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Dominick Reyes is from San Bernardino County, about 85 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Like many in his generation who grew up in Southern California, Reyes was a huge Lakers fan and his favorite player was Kobe Bryant. On Sunday, Reyes woke up and checked his phone and
7:56 AM ET ESPN’s MMA Insiders The year has already gotten off to a bang. A couple of the biggest stars in the sport — Conor McGregor and Cris Cyborg — have already made headlines with huge TKO stoppages. The next few months don’t slow down at all, with Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya and Khabib
8:05 AM ET Jorge Masvidal has made it very clear that 2019 is in his rear-view mirror. “That f—ing year’s over — 2020 is gonna be better,” the UFC welterweight star said after receiving the Helwani Nose Award for Fighter of the Year. It is hard not to look back and reflect on what Masvidal
9:01 AM ET After an impressive start on Jan. 18, Conor McGregor has a chance to record the biggest year of any martial artist in 2020. His popularity alone gives him a leg up on everyone else, as it’s a lot easier to have a big year if the entire sporting world is tuned in
3:14 PM ET UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and rival Jorge Masvidal had to be separated after an exchange Wednesday on Super Bowl radio row in Miami. Usman and Masvidal, who have been linked as potential future opponents, ran into one another between radio interviews. Usman provoked Masvidal, saying “do something” repeatedly. The two have
8:06 AM ET Lists are always fun. But dare I say, sports lists are even more fun. From now until the end of time, people will debate all things sports. I like to call these “barber shop debates.” You know, the kind of subjective, fun conversations you have while getting your hair cut. The list
7:41 AM ET ESPN’s MMA Insiders The year has already gotten off to a bang. A couple of the biggest stars in the sport — Conor McGregor and Cris Cyborg — have already made headlines with huge TKO stoppages. The next few months don’t slow down at all, with Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya and Khabib
12:12 PM ET The Professional Fighters League has announced a series of one-night tournaments around the globe that will ultimately feed five new athletes into the 2020 regular-season roster. The league has partnered with five separate organizations in United Arab Emirates, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Australia. Each international promotion will host a four-fighter tournament in
7:42 AM ET UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is recovering from eye surgery, and his manager isn’t sure when he’ll be able to fight again. Top contender Daniel Cormier is tired of waiting and said if his trilogy fight with Miocic doesn’t happen by this summer, he could just retire. ESPN’s No. 4 prospect Curtis
4:01 PM ET Daniel Cormier said Monday if he doesn’t get his trilogy bout with heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic by the summer, he would consider retiring. “You can’t wait forever,” Cormier said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “Every day that passes does not benefit me. I’m a realist, I understand that. Either we’re going to