MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 14, 2023, 04:29 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) established thresholds on certain prohibited substances Tuesday during its monthly meeting, meaning fighters who have those drugs in their system will now not automatically be in violation. The drugs listed are selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs);

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 13, 2023, 09:41 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC held its first event celebrating Mexican Independence Day back in September. The sequel promises to be even bigger. UFC CEO Dana White told reporters Saturday night that the promotion has booked the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas for Sept. 14,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 13, 2023, 09:18 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Dana White was on a stage in Las Vegas in late 2013. The UFC had just celebrated its 20th anniversary after a successful 12-month period, one that saw women fight in the Octagon for the first time. Behind White, the UFC president

Nov 12, 2023, 01:20 AM ET Open Extended Reactions UFC 295 concluded with two new champions, as Alex Pereira won the vacant light heavyweight title and Tom Aspinall took home the interim heavyweight title. But with two divisions plagued with questions, what’s next for the new champs and their weight classes? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 12, 2023, 12:29 AM ET Open Extended Reactions NEW YORK — Alex Pereira has been in the UFC for just two years. And now he has won championships in two weight classes. Pereira stopped Jiri Prochazka via TKO at 4:08 of the second round Saturday night in the main event

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterNov 11, 2023, 11:51 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions NEW YORK — Tom Aspinall said it was his destiny to win the UFC heavyweight championship in Madison Square Garden. Hard to argue with that after what

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 11, 2023, 04:43 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov has been suspended six months in California and fined $50,000 for testing positive for a prohibited substance, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster confirmed Saturday with ESPN. Nurmagomedov has been pulled from the Bellator

Nov 11, 2023, 09:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions NEW YORK — UFC 295 looks a bit different than it was originally constructed. The highly anticipated heavyweight title main event between two of the top big men in UFC history, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, had to be scrapped last week when Jones suffered a

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNNov 10, 2023, 07:36 AM ET Open Extended Reactions In the 30 years since it burst onto the sports scene with fists flying, the UFC has presented several hundred events all around the world. In all, the Octagon has been home to more than 7,000 fights. So, in celebration of the promotion’s three

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterNov 9, 2023, 04:16 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Kayla Harrison has a new opponent for her return to competition later this month. Harrison (15-1) will now face Aspen Ladd on Nov. 24 inside The Anthem

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 8, 2023, 08:50 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Cris Cyborg‘s next professional fight will be in boxing, and her opponent will be Kelsey Wickstrum, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Cyborg, the Bellator women’s featherweight champion and one of the greatest women’s fighters in MMA history, will face Wickstrum in a

Andres Waters Nov 8, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions After injuries created major short-notice shake-ups on last month’s UFC 294 fight card, the theme continued with this weekend’s pay-per-view. And once again both the main event and the future of the division are involved. Following the announcement that heavyweight champion Jon Jones had

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterNov 6, 2023, 03:11 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis in January, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Monday. Strickland (28-5) will be seeking

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 7, 2023, 05:06 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC’s return to China will be headlined by one of the best Chinese MMA fighters in the world. Song Yadong will face Chris Gutierrez in the UFC Shanghai main event Dec. 9, sources confirmed with ESPN on Tuesday. MagicM_MMABets on X

Ryan HockensmithNov 7, 2023, 07:00 AM ET Close Ryan Hockensmith is a Penn State graduate who joined ESPN in 2001. He is a survivor of bacterial meningitis, which caused him to have multiple amputation surgeries on his feet. He is a proud advocate for those with disabilities and addiction issues. He covers everything from the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 6, 2023, 03:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Sean O’Malley, one of the UFC’s top up-and-coming stars, will return to the Octagon in March. And the promotion has another big main event scheduled for February. CEO Dana White announced Monday on social media that O’Malley will defend his bantamweight title

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterNov 6, 2023, 01:43 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jorge Masvidal pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge Monday in a case stemming from an alleged attack on his former friend and UFC rival Colby Covington in March 2022, Masvidal’s attorney Saam Zangeneh confirmed with ESPN. The two felony charges

Mike Coppinger, ESPNNov 6, 2023, 09:54 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Francis Ngannou danced as he looked down at Tyson Fury and declared, “You’re a bad professor, motherf—er. … Who is taking who to school?'” That moment — really, any Ngannou success — was unimaginably hard to fathom during the buildup to the event last