MMA

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 Jul 29, 2023, 05:43 PM ET The BMF title is back. Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, two of the most exciting action fighters in MMA, will fight for the symbolic belt

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 28, 2023, 06:59 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — An anticipated welterweight fight between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Michel Pereira has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC 291 card, the promotion announced Friday. Pereira missed weight by three pounds Friday morning, coming in at 174 pounds. The non-title welterweight limit is

Jul 28, 2023, 07:56 AM ET Nate Diaz had just had his hand raised after ending a three-year absence from the Octagon with a rugged victory over Anthony Pettis in summer 2019. It was a crowd-pleasing performance, as Diaz’s fights typically are, and when he stepped to the microphone for an interview inside the cage,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 27, 2023, 02:03 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC is finalizing a lightweight main event between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot in September, UFC president Dana White told ESPN Thursday. The 155-pound contest will headline UFC Fight

Andres Waters Jul 24, 2023, 04:01 PM ET After a near-clean sweep of the quarterfinals of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31, the remaining members of Michael Chandler’s team were offered a chance to train with Conor McGregor’s team ahead of their semifinal matchups. Brad Katona, who trains at SBG Ireland with McGregor and Lee Hammond,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 26, 2023, 01:03 AM ET Bellator’s franchise fighter, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, will fight this weekend on short notice as part of the Bellator-Rizin co-promotional card at Saitama Super Arena in Japan, it was announced Wednesday. Freire, the Bellator featherweight champion, will face Japanese kickboxer Chihiro Suzuki at a 154-pound catchweight

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNJul 24, 2023, 09:32 AM ET Fighters looking forward to this weekend as their big chance to draw attention to themselves should head back to the gym to work on their timing. They picked the wrong Saturday to expect to make the night’s biggest splash with fans, since they will be competing for

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 22, 2023, 06:51 PM ET Almost one year ago to the day, in the same arena, Tom Aspinall suffered a freak knee injury when he threw a leg kick on the first strike of his fight against Curtis Blaydes and lost via TKO in just 15 seconds. After 364 days

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 20, 2023, 03:36 PM ET UFC bantamweight contender Rob Font will replace the injured Umar Nurmagomedov and fight Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Nashville on Aug. 5, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Sandhagen vs. Font will take place at a catchweight of 140 pounds rather than the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 20, 2023, 11:00 AM ET After a successful debut in the United States, ONE Championship is coming back for more. The Asia-based fight promotion, which holds bouts in MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and grappling, will return to the U.S. with four shows in 2024, officials told ESPN on Wednesday. No

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 19, 2023, 11:38 PM ET Two of the most popular fighters in the UFC middleweight division will face off this fall. Undefeated Khamzat Chimaev will return to the Octagon at 185 pounds and fight Paulo Costa at UFC 294 on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, UFC president

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 19, 2023, 11:23 PM ET Islam Makhachev’s next title defense is no longer a mystery. The UFC lightweight champion will defend his belt against former champ Charles Oliveira in a rematch in the main event of UFC 294 on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 19, 2023, 05:50 PM ET The UFC is looking for a new main event for its first card of August. Umar Nurmagomedov is out of his scheduled headliner against Cory Sandhagen because of undisclosed reasons, sources confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. The UFC is seeking a new opponent for Sandhagen, a

Andres Waters Jul 18, 2023, 05:12 PM ET It took until the final week of the quarterfinals, but, in the last fight of the first round, coach Conor McGregor got his first win on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31. Team McGregor’s Rico DiSciullo ended Team Chandler’s seven-fight win streak with a knockout win over Hunter

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 18, 2023, 01:40 PM ET ONE Championship has one of its most original cards yet coming this fall, headlined by four women’s fights in four different disciplines. Stamp Fairtex will face UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham for the interim ONE women’s 115-pound title in the main event Sept. 29 in

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 17, 2023, 07:58 PM ET Michael “Venom” Page has been one of the most popular and recognizable fighters in Bellator MMA for nearly a decade. Now, he’s hitting the open market. Page announced Monday on “The MMA Hour” that he is a free agent and will be exploring his options

Jul 17, 2023, 09:40 AM ET The first half of the MMA year came and went, leaving us with some special moments and memories, including the UFC 290 and International Fight Week, the event that marks the midway point on the MMA calendar. Now it’s time to look ahead to the biggest questions that need

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 16, 2023, 01:18 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC’s female bantamweight division is in need of new blood following the recent retirement of dominant champion Amanda Nunes — and it seems to have found new blood in