MMA

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNOct 23, 2023, 09:24 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Tyson Fury, the greatest heavyweight boxer in the world, will step in the ring on Saturday (2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV) for a meeting with the other greatest heavyweight in the world, Francis Ngannou. But to portray this matchup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 21, 2023, 05:50 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions ABU DHABI — UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman via majority decision at UFC 294 on Saturday inside Etihad Arena, but he might have suffered a

Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Oct 21, 2023, 05:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions UFC 294 ended quickly with a head kick from Islam Makhachev to Alexander Volkanovski. Prior to that fight, Kamaru Usman put up

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 21, 2023, 04:36 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions ABU DHABI — The first fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski in February was a classic, five-round affair that saw both men enjoy a lot of

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Oct 21, 2023, 09:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Less than two weeks ago, the UFC was forced to shuffle its lineup for Saturday’s UFC 294 pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 20, 2023, 07:57 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS – HUNTER CAMPBELL WAS in Sydney, Australia, last month for UFC 293. On his final day in the city before heading back to the United States, the UFC’s chief business officer sat down for drinks with Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 20, 2023, 12:26 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Khamzat Chimaev, one of the UFC’s budding superstars, has signed a new long-term contract with the promotion. Chimaev’s manager, Majdi Shammas, told ESPN that Chimaev (12-0) signed

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 18, 2023, 03:39 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC is continuing to add to its year-end pay-per-view card. Josh Emmett will face Giga Chikadze in a featherweight contender bout at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Wednesday. The UFC also announced that Irene Aldana

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 18, 2023, 09:13 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun UFC star Conor McGregor reportedly will not face criminal charges stemming from an accusation of sexual assault at an NBA Finals game earlier this year in Miami. TMZ Sports reported

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 17, 2023, 03:06 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Alexander Volkanovski was more than 25 pounds over the contract weight the day before he accepted to fight in the UFC main event this weekend. Volkanovski, the UFC featherweight champion, will fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in a rematch at

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 17, 2023, 03:59 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) suspended UFC women’s bantamweight contender Mayra Bueno Silva and two other UFC fighters Tuesday for positive drug tests. Bueno Silva was suspended for 4½ months and her July win over Holly Holm was overturned to a

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 17, 2023, 09:31 AM ET Open Extended Reactions One of the biggest storylines in the UFC this year has been the question of when Conor McGregor would reenter the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool, the first step for the UFC’s biggest star to return to the Octagon. The news that

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNOct 16, 2023, 09:28 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Maybe every major UFC card should be left blank until a couple of weeks before fight night. Last-minute matchmaking sure has worked wonders for UFC 294. For months, the promotion had been building a potent lineup for Saturday’s return to Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterOct 14, 2023, 10:11 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Sodiq Yusuff absolutely pummeled Edson Barboza throughout the first round of their featherweight main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Yusuff, it wasn’t a one-round

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 10, 2023, 08:23 PM ET A first-of-its-kind retirement fund for MMA fighters was signed into law Sunday in California by Gov. Gavin Newsom, per a news release Tuesday. The new law will go into effect beginning Jan. 1, 2024, according to California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 13, 2023, 04:33 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Israel Adesanya‘s UFC career is seemingly on hold. The former UFC middleweight champion doesn’t plan to fight for a “long time,” he said Thursday on New Zealand’s “The Rock” radio show. Adesanya is coming off an upset loss last month to Sean

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterOct 10, 2023, 11:12 PM ET The UFC’s next pay-per-view main event fell apart Tuesday, only for the promotion to put together arguably an even bigger fight. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is injured and out of the UFC lightweight title main event at UFC 294 on Oct. 21 in

Alexander Volkanovski says he’s in a “no pressure headspace” ahead of his unexpectedly early re-match against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. The Australian was vaulted into the main event at UFC 294 after Charles Oliveira‘s decision to withdraw from his fight against Makhachev (24-1), after suffering lacerations above his right eye in the final stages of