MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 25, 2023, 07:48 AM ET Whether you’re staying up late to watch or getting up very early in the United States, there is a nice slate of UFC fights Saturday morning in Kallang, Singapore. The card is headlined by two of the bigger names in the UFC men’s featherweight division,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 24, 2023, 12:29 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun NEW YORK — Two of the most exciting fighters in the PFL — and in mixed martial arts — squared off in a lightweight main event on Wednesday inside The

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 23, 2023, 08:26 AM ET Olivier Aubin-Mercier was counting the days until his PFL debut. It was March 2021 and he had not fought in the year and a half since departing the UFC. He’d had a strong run inside the Octagon for half a decade, but after suffering a third straight

Ryan HockensmithAug 23, 2023, 06:30 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

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 22, 2023, 12:55 PM ET For the third straight playoff semifinal card, the PFL faces the potential for a bizarre conclusion to its season after one of its competitors for Wednesday’s fight card in New York missed weight on Tuesday. That creates a circumstance in which a fighter can lose a semifinal

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 22, 2023, 07:34 AM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein. Undisputed super middleweight champion Savannah Marshall is the latest female fighter in the ESPN boxing pound-for-pound top 10 to make a foray

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 21, 2023, 06:58 PM ET UFC women’s bantamweight contender Mayra Bueno Silva, in an Instagram post Monday, said she failed a drug test taken the week of her fight against Holly Holm last month. Bueno Silva is facing discipline from the USADA, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, and the Nevada State

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 21, 2023, 09:17 AM ET The UFC’s bantamweight division got a fresh coat of paint Saturday night — in a shade of pink. Sean O’Malley, the cotton-candy-haired, face-tattooed Gen Z striker, knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 292 in Boston, signaling a new era

Jul 13, 2023, 03:42 PM ET A Americana: arm lock submission in which an opponent’s arm is pinned to the mat, bent at the elbow, palm facing upward, hyperextending the shoulder. Also known as a keylock. Note capitalization. anaconda choke: arm triangle choke hold applied from front headlock position, facing the opponent, with the opponent’s

Aug 20, 2023, 02:12 AM ET Sean O’Malley not only changed the bantamweight division, but the entire landscape of the UFC after finishing Aljamain Sterling. Zhang Weili cruised in her title defense, while Ian Machado Garry remained undefeated. Marc Raimondi, Brett Okamoto, Jeff Wagenheim and Carlos Contreras Legaspi highlight the biggest takeaways from a big

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 19, 2023, 08:47 PM ET BOSTON — There is still a possibility for Conor McGregor‘s return to the UFC before the end of the year. Michael Chandler, McGregor’s would-be opponent in his comeback, said Saturday that he has spoken to the UFC twice in the past two days and that

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 20, 2023, 01:27 AM ET BOSTON — Sean O’Malley climbed out of the Octagon, spread his arms wide and took a beer from a fan. He chugged it as the TD Garden rocked with cheering fans. The UFC has a new superstar. Welcome to the “Suga” era. O’Malley, the Gen

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 20, 2023, 12:55 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Chinese strawweight champion Zhang Weili turned in a near-flawless performance at UFC 292 — and that’s considering the impossibly high standards she’s come to be judged by. Zhang (24-3) dominated

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 Aug 19, 2023, 07:06 PM ET BOSTON — Aljamain Sterling‘s swan song at bantamweight could be Sean O’Malley‘s crowning moment and the birth of a new UFC superstar. Sterling will defend

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNAug 18, 2023, 11:52 PM ET Larissa Pacheco is one step — or maybe one punch? — away from becoming the first two-division PFL champion after a lightning-fast brutalization of Olena Kolesnyk in a women’s featherweight playoff semifinal Friday in New York. Pacheco (22-4), who won the 2022 championship when the PFL women’s

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 17, 2023, 12:23 PM ET BOSTON — Chris Weidman is poised to complete a return after one of the most devastating in-cage injuries in UFC history. The former UFC middleweight champion will face Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on Saturday at TD Garden. It will be the first time Weidman

LAS VEGAS — ALJAMAIN STERLING, arguably the best bantamweight in UFC history, casually walks into a downtown apartment complex in phenomenal spirits. He’s about to engage in one of his favorite pastimes — an activity that challenges his mind and resolve unlike anything else. It can play tricks on him, give him a sense of

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 18, 2023, 10:42 AM ET Kevin Holland remains one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster and he’ll be back again less than two months after his last bout. The popular Holland will face top prospect Jack Della Maddalena at Noche UFC on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas,