5:37 PM ET The UFC has elected to run back one of the most controversial fights of the year, as light heavyweights Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba will meet for the second time at UFC 249. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is in the process of finalizing the matchup, per sources. The
MMA
4:07 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The UFC’s double champion Amanda Nunes will defend her featherweight title against Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 in Brazil, according to UFC president Dana White. Contracts have not been signed, but verbal agreements are in place, White and additional sources told ESPN. The 145-pound title fight will serve as
10:20 PM ET Josh Barnett‘s Bellator debut has been pushed back yet again. The former UFC heavyweight champion is out of his Bellator 241 fight against Ronny Markes because of what Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation director Mike Mazzulli described Wednesday as a failed medical test. Mazzulli declined to elaborate. UFC veteran Matt Mitrione
6:07 PM ET “The Canadian Gangster” has found a new home. Former UFC veteran Olivier Aubin-Mercier has signed with the Professional Fighters League, he said on Wednesday’s episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. Aubin-Mercier (11-5) last competed in July, when he lost a unanimous decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
10:44 PM ET Kansas will host what could be a historically significant MMA event Friday night, and Max Holloway wants to have a front-row seat for it. Holloway, the former UFC featherweight champion, will fly from his native Hawaii all the way to Kansas City, Kansas, so he can be in attendance for the Invicta
7:56 AM ET LAS VEGAS — When a UFC champion calls out a challenger, it’s typically for one of two reasons: money, or because they view that challenger as a very beatable opponent. In a perfect world, it’s both. The biggest name with the least amount of risk. You can’t blame them. Being a champion
7:52 AM ET Israel Adesanya didn’t have to pick Yoel Romero for his first title defense. The UFC middleweight champ could have waited until top contender Paulo Costa healed from his biceps surgery before putting his belt on the line. But Adesanya wants to stay active and beat the toughest guys in the division, so
5:50 PM ET Watch a replay of the show here. UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya said Monday that the circular mark on his left forearm is just “a little scrape” and that his title defense against Yoel Romero in the main event of UFC 248 on Saturday is not in jeopardy. “It’s just a little
4:33 PM ET In the aftermath of a wild and brutal slugfest against Dan Hooker on Feb. 22 in Auckland, New Zealand, Paul Felder hinted that he was contemplating retirement after the 35-year-old Philadelphia native had just lost a split decision by the thinnest of margins. But with a couple of weeks to think it
7:31 AM ET Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight championship against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on Saturday night. But before they take center stage in Las Vegas, both main-event participants are set to join Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday. It’s the first title defense for Adesanya (18-0), while Romero has lost three of
10:42 PM ET NORFOLK, Va. — The UFC’s flyweight division is still champion-less, but Deiveson Figueiredo sure looked the part on Saturday. Figueiredo knocked out Joseph Benavidez with a right hand in the second round of their main event bout at UFC Fight Night inside Chartway Arena. Figueiredo did not win the crown, however, as
10:25 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Deiveson Figueiredo added to the turbulent history of the UFC men’s flyweight division Saturday by winning a title fight in which he was not eligible to capture the belt. Figueiredo opened up a cut on Joseph Benavidez‘s forehead, possibly on a clash of heads, and knocked him out with a
9:52 PM ET The largely dormant UFC women’s featherweight division got a shot in the arm Saturday night. Two of them, in fact. Felicia Spencer put on a dominant performance in defeating Zarah Fairn by first-round ground-and-pound TKO in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo in Norfolk, Virgina. And earlier in
Mar 1, 2020 GLENDALE, ARIZONA — IT was March 2018, shortly before Sean O’Malley‘s first appearance on a UFC pay-per-view card, when he got a small, fake tattoo of a star just below his left eye. A star, because that’s what O’Malley believes he’ll be when it’s all said and done. And fake, because, you
5:36 PM ET Tito Ortiz has his win back. The UFC Hall of Famer was disciplined by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) last month, which included the overturning of his December victory over Alberto Rodriguez to a no-contest. On Friday, the TDLR said Ortiz’s win had been reinstated. As ESPN reported Thursday,
5:19 PM ET Jessica Penne‘s case with USADA has reached a conclusion — with a better outcome than she previously believed. USADA, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, announced Friday that Penne has accepted a 20-month suspension due to a positive drug test for the banned steroid stanozolol. The ban is retroactive to April 8, 2019, so
11:19 AM ET NORFOLK, Va. — The UFC was set to usher in a new era for its flyweight division in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event. Now only one of the participants is even eligible to win the title. Brazilian flyweight Deiveson Figueiredo (17-1) weighed in at 127.5 pounds on Friday, 2.5 pounds over
Feb 25, 2020 For many years, UFC flyweight Joseph Benavidez kept an old 4-inch-by-6-inch photograph of a UFC championship belt on his mantel. Keeping the spot warm until the real belt could take its place. But a few years ago, Benavidez and his wife moved to a new home in Las Vegas, and the photograph