MMA

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,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 17, 2023, 10:25 PM ET Daniel Rodriguez has withdrawn from a scheduled bout with Santiago Ponzinibbio at Noche UFC on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas due to an atypical finding in a USADA drug test, he announced Thursday night on Instagram. Rodriguez wrote that he tested positive in an out-of-competition

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 17, 2023, 05:01 PM ET Raul Rosas Jr. will try to get back on track at the UFC’s Mexican Independence Day show. Rosas Jr., a Mexican-American bantamweight, will face Terrence Mitchell at Noche UFC on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Thursday. ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Contreras Legaspi

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNAug 16, 2023, 10:10 AM ET When Larissa Pacheco throws her first punch on Friday, she will be aiming at two opponents. The recipient of her heavy leather inside the cage will be Olena Kolesnyk, as part of a PFL fight card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Andres Waters Aug 15, 2023, 11:00 PM ET Cody Gibson picked up another first-round finish to secure the last spot in “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 finale. Gibson, coached by Michael Chandler, capitalized on a mistake by Rico DiSciullo, coached by Conor McGregor, and got the submission win to earn the right to face former

Aug 14, 2023, 09:00 AM ET The UFC returns to New England this weekend as the promotion hosts UFC 292 in Boston on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+). The fight card will be headlined with a bantamweight title fight as Aljamain Sterling looks to set

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 12, 2023, 10:52 PM ET Vicente Luque returned to the cage Saturday and pulled out his first victory since suffering a brain hemorrhage in a knockout loss in 2022. Luque defeated Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in the welterweight main event of UFC Fight Night in

Aug 12, 2023, 09:38 PM ET Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has pulled out of his UFC 292 bout against Mario Bautista because of an undisclosed injury, it was announced during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night broadcast on ESPN. According to the broadcast, Garbrandt was injured while training for the fight, which was scheduled for Aug.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 11, 2023, 12:55 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC title challenger and fan favorite Derrick Lewis isn’t leaving the Octagon any time soon, as the 38-year-old has signed a new eight-fight deal, according to UFC officials. UFC

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 11, 2023, 06:00 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun This weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas features a pair of well-known welterweights — Rafael dos Anjos and Vicente Luque — in the main event. It’s a 170-pound showcase

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 10, 2023, 01:15 PM ET Ian Garry called out Neil Magny after his last fight. Now, he’ll get his wish. The Irish welterweight prospect will face Magny at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, the UFC announced Thursday. Garry was initially supposed to face Geoff Neal, but Neal withdrew

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 06:38 PM ET The plaintiffs seemingly earned a strategic victory in an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC in 2020. Nearly three years later, that win has been made official. Federal judge Richard F. Boulware granted the plaintiffs class certification on Wednesday, according to a document from the U.S.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2023, 03:37 PM ET Bellator is stacking the deck for a landmark show coming this fall. Ryan Bader will defend his Bellator heavyweight title against Linton Vassell in the main event of Bellator 300 on Oct. 7 in San Diego, one of four title fights on the historic card,

Andres Waters Aug 8, 2023, 11:00 PM ET Ahead of this week’s “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 lightweight matchup, coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler competed in the traditional coaches challenge. This season, the coaches went head-to-head in a UFC trivia game, but with an added twist: taking an ice bath in 39-degree water the