MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 8, 2023, 07:07 PM ET Israel Adesanya has his next challenger and the UFC has its Australia headliner. Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney, UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday. ESPN has Adesanya No.

Aug 8, 2023, 09:05 AM ET “Dana White’s Contender Series” returns this week for Season 7. The show has been the path for many of the talented fighters on the UFC’s roster today, including former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, “Suga” Sean O’Malley, who will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the men’s bantamweight belt at

Aug 7, 2023, 08:33 AM ET The UFC always looks for fresh faces, and “Dana White’s Contender Series” is the promotion’s most reliable vehicle for identifying them. Whereas “The Ultimate Fighter” has produced several UFC stars, including some champions, the show’s format removes prospects from their regular training routine and asks them to make weight

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 6, 2023, 01:31 AM ET DALLAS — In Jake Paul’s war against MMA fighters, he remains undefeated. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) Saturday night at a sold-out American Airlines Center. Paul hurt Diaz in the first round, and it seemed he would cruise or

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 6, 2023, 12:20 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun It wasn’t a fan-friendly performance, but UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen made Rob Font‘s life absolutely miserable for 25 minutes in their main-event matchup Saturday. Sandhagen (17-4) picked up his third

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 5, 2023, 12:03 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A pair of light heavyweights emphatically punched their way into the 2023 PFL finals Friday — but the big story was 27-year-old featherweight Jesus Pinedo. Pinedo (22-6-1), who is from

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2023, 09:51 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou will have Mike Tyson, one of the greatest and most feared heavyweight boxers of all time, in his corner when he faces Tyson Fury in

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2023, 10:13 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo with the gift of a new home, after he was inspired by Gorimbo’s story of his bank account dropping to $7

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 3, 2023, 07:53 PM ET One of the semifinalists on Friday’s opening fight card of the PFL playoffs in San Antonio, Texas, missed weight Thursday, setting up what could turn out to be a bizarre circumstance for the final. Featherweight Jesus Pinedo stepped on the scale at 146.4 pounds, which is 0.4

Aug 2, 2023, 05:56 PM ET Cory Sandhagen meets Rob Font in a 140-pound catchweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. The fights at Bridgestone Arena are on ESPN and ESPN+, with the 9 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 6 p.m. The matchup of top-10 bantamweights is

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterAug 2, 2023, 06:57 PM 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 featherweight boxing champion Amanda Serrano is heading back to her secondary sport — mixed martial arts. Serrano signed a deal with

Andres Waters Aug 1, 2023, 11:00 PM ET The move from Michael Chandler’s team to Conor McGregor’s team appears to have paid off for Brad Katona. On last week’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Katona, a Season 31 bantamweight semifinalist and the Season 27 winner, accepted the opportunity to swap teams and train with Team

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 1, 2023, 12:50 PM ET Kelvin Gastelum announced Tuesday that he is injured and out of the scheduled UFC Noche co-main event Sept. 16 due to a facial fracture sustained in training. His scheduled opponent was Shavkat Rakhmonov. Gastelum would have been making his return to welterweight for the first

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 1, 2023, 12:56 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Light heavyweight title contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker will meet at UFC 294 in October, sources confirmed to ESPN. The 205-pound bout will take place on Oct. 21 in

Jul 30, 2023, 11:38 PM ET The final week of July was huge in combat sports, from UFC 291 in Salt Lake City to a rare Bellator vs. Rizin event across the globe in Japan. The biggest news maker had to be Justin Gaethje, who added yet another chapter to his highlight reel by knocking

Jul 30, 2023, 01:34 AM ET Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi react to the biggest moments at Saturday’s UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and offer thoughts on what might be ahead for the standouts. Jeff Wagenheim adds his perspective on the Bellator and Rizin co-branded event. The Highlight has options: Makhachev or McGregor?

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 30, 2023, 12:57 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun SALT LAKE CITY — There have been a lot of special nights over the course of Justin Gaethje‘s career. UFC 291, though, has to be at the very top. In

Jeff Wagenheim Jul 30, 2023, 01:50 AM ET Bellator MMA took to a grand stage on Saturday with plans to crown an inaugural men’s flyweight champion, but the bout between Kyoji Horiguchi and Makoto Shinryu was waved off after just 25 seconds as a no contest after an accidental eye poke, leaving the title vacant