MMA

8:19 AM ET Valentina Shevchenko moved up a spot to No. 1 in the women’s rankings following the upset loss of Amanda Nunes. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Valentina Shevchenko has not fought since September, but the UFC women’s flyweight champion nonetheless has moved to the No. 1 spot in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. That’s because the

Aug 6, 2021 Editor’s note: This story originally was published in August, ahead of Derrick Lewis’s interim title bout with Ciryl Gane. Lewis lost that one and is back this Saturday, facing Chris Daukaus. It was Oct. 6, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Derrick Lewis was losing badly, on the verge of one

8:00 AM ET There’s always some fluidity in the MMA rankings, but often that movement happens at a glacier’s pace. In this latest update of the ESPN divisional rankings, however, there are two brand-new No. 1s and also the return of a former champion. Leading the way is Julianna Peña, who moves up from No.

3:46 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s MMA promotion Eagle FC will host its first-ever U.S. event on Jan. 28, and there has been a change to the main event. The event, Eagle FC 44, was originally supposed to feature Tyrone Spong (2-0) against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (19-13) in a three-round heavyweight main event. Eagle FC officials

2:03 PM ET Ryan Bader is returning to the Bellator heavyweight division — where he holds the title — for the first time in more than two years. Bader will face interim champion Valentin Moldavsky in a heavyweight title unification fight in the main event of a Bellator card Jan. 29 in Phoenix, the promotion

8:00 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Julianna Peña’s face was blank, and emotionless. She was on her knees and reached over to hug Amanda Nunes. A Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) inspector came over and pointed Peña to her corner, where a ringside physician tended to Peña’s bruised left eye. Peña had just beaten the

1:53 AM ET Charles Oliveira had something to prove on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Sure, he was already the UFC lightweight champion, but many still doubted his status, opting to believe that Dustin Poirier was the best lightweight in the world. No longer. With a third-round submission victory over Poirier, Oliveira secured his place

12:43 AM ET Charles Oliveira has retained his UFC lightweight title, submitting Dustin Poirier by rear-naked choke in Round 3 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The stoppage came at 1 minute, 2 seconds. Oliveira (32-8, 1 NC), 32, was making the first defense of the vacant title he won when he

12:07 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Julianna Peña swore she’d do it. She swore she would take out the greatest of all time in double champion Amanda Nunes. Next to no one believed her. Then she went out and did exactly that. Peña (11-4) scored one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history

11:04 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The two best middleweight fighters in the world will meet again early next year. Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston, the promotion announced Saturday during the UFC 269 broadcast. Adesanya

5:45 PM ET LAS VEGAS – The UFC is capping its year with something of a celebration of the hardcore fan, a reward for those who have been following the sport of MMA for a long time. Charles Oliveira defends his UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 269 on

7:52 AM ET It is true, the UFC’s lightweight division has moved on from Khabib Nurmagomedov, as hard as that has been. It’s been more than a year since Nurmagomedov’s sudden retirement, and the UFC crowned a new undisputed champion, Charles Oliveira, in May. Nurmagomedov remains happily retired, and there is no indication he will

12:15 PM ET LAS VEGAS — One of the best lightweight matchups in UFC history is official. UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira weighed in at 155 pounds and challenger Dustin Poirier hit the scale at 154.5 pounds Friday during the UFC 269 weigh-ins at the UFC Apex. Oliveira will make his first title defense against

8:00 AM ET COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — Dustin Poirier was at a crossroads early in his career. It was May 2012, and he had just lost his first UFC main event to Chan Sung Jung. It was Poirier’s third UFC fight, and he was only 23 years old. But he felt like he needed a

2:08 PM ET Kai Kara-France has promised to make Cody Garbrandt feel the weight cut in the American’s UFC flyweight debut, as the New Zealander dreams of a shot at the title in 2022. The duo will face off in what promises to be one of the fights of the night at UFC 269, Kara-France

May 13, 2021 Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of Charles Oliveira’s title shot at UFC 262. He defeated Michael Chandler to win the UFC lightweight title. This story has been updated to reflect the new matchup against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. UFC 269 headliner Charles Oliveira has come a long way

8:04 AM ET Like it or not, UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley is on the short list of potential stars in mixed martial arts. And for the record, there are plenty out there who do not like it. O’Malley (14-1) has been a polarizing figure since he signed with the UFC off Dana White’s Contender Series

2:10 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s MMA promotion has its first United States main event. Tyrone Spong and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will headline Eagle FC 44 on Jan. 28 in Miami, officials told ESPN on Monday. The three-round heavyweight bout will mark Spong’s return to MMA after eight years. Spong is a world-class kickboxer and an