MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 14, 2023, 02:30 AM ET The UFC light heavyweight title is vacant — again. Jamahal Hill, who has been champion for six months, announced Thursday night on his YouTube page that he ruptured an Achilles tendon and will be relinquishing the belt. Hill said in the video that he will

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 12, 2023, 11:00 AM ET The Professional Fighters League is coming back to New York for its final two semifinal dates, with matchups now set for the entire cards, officials told ESPN. Knockout artist Renan Ferreira will take on Maurice Greene in the Aug. 18 main event, a heavyweight semifinal.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 13, 2023, 02:34 PM ET Social media influencers have been all the rage in boxing over the past several years. Now, one is going into MMA. Jawy Mendez, a Mexican reality show star and recording artist, has signed with Combate Global to compete as a pro mixed martial arts fighter,

Jul 13, 2023, 09:23 AM ET The UFC has put on 23 events featuring 11 title fights this year, plus one in which an interim belt was at stake. We’ve seen five new champions crowned. There have been a couple of high-profile retirements: Amanda Nunes, the greatest fighter in the history of women’s MMA, vacated

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 12, 2023, 07:40 PM ET Former UFC star Chael Sonnen took a plea deal Wednesday in a criminal case stemming from an incident that happened in December 2021 at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, according to his attorney Dayvid Figler. Sonnen pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 12, 2023, 08:10 PM ET UFC heavyweight Walt Harris is out of his scheduled UFC Fight Night bout Saturday against Josh Parisian after testing positive for a banned substance, he posted Wednesday on Twitter. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirmed to ESPN that Harris has been notified of the

Jul 12, 2023, 09:40 AM ET Jon Jones will face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Their matchup is set to be one of the biggest MMA fights of the year and one of the biggest heavyweight MMA fights in some time. Jones is the longtime

Andres Waters Jul 11, 2023, 11:00 PM ET Seven weeks into “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 and coach Michael Chandler still has not lost to coach Conor McGregor. Landon Quinones of Team McGregor lost by submission to Team Chandler’s Jason Knight. Knight joins the other six members of Chandler’s team in the semifinals and Team

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 11, 2023, 09:50 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Former UFC interim title challenger Kevin Lee announced his retirement from mixed martial arts via social media on Tuesday. Lee, 30, leaves the sport with an overall professional record of

Mike Coppinger Marc Raimondi Jul 11, 2023, 10:50 AM ET Two of the biggest stars in combat sports will clash when boxing’s Tyson Fury meets MMA’s Francis Ngannou in a crossover event on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fans have been clamoring for a boxing match between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 11, 2023, 12:23 AM ET Jack Della Maddalena has an opponent. Again. The top UFC welterweight prospect will fight UFC newcomer Bassil Hafez on Saturday at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Monday, confirming a report by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. Hafez is Della Maddalena’s third

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 10, 2023, 07:14 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Will Conor McGregor actually fight Michael Chandler? Will it be in 2023? Only McGregor seems to know … and frankly, even he might not know at the moment. McGregor (22-6)

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 9, 2023, 01:10 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Yair Rodriguez had his best moment of the fight, landing a grazing kick that snapped Alexander Volkanovski‘s head back, then following with a combination, including a left that landed flush to Volkanovski’s jaw. Volkanovski nodded his head in acknowledgment of the blows.

Jul 9, 2023, 01:42 AM ET The UFC put on a tremendous International Fight Week finale on Saturday night. UFC 290 featured finishes galore, and when the fights didn’t end in a finish, they were memorable with non-stop action. From the first fight on the card to the successful Alexander Volkanovski title defense, this was

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 9, 2023, 12:26 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun LAS VEGAS — Fans of the UFC’s flyweight division have been absolutely spoiled with one classic title fight after another in recent years. Saturday’s meeting between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre

Jul 8, 2023, 05:55 PM ET LAS VEGAS — It has been a tremendous 2023 already for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski — despite the fact he is officially 0-1 this year. Volkanovski (25-2) looks to defend his 145-pound championship tonight against interim title holder Yair Rodriguez (15-3) in the main event of the UFC’s

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 7, 2023, 07:28 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Jon Jones will fight Stipe Miocic in a battle of the most decorated light heavyweight and heavyweight, respectively, in UFC history. Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight title against Miocic, the former two-time champ, at UFC 295 on November 11 at New

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 7, 2023, 06:51 PM ET LAS VEGAS — A rare brain disease has forced UFC newcomer Josiah Harrell out of his debut fight. A prefight MRI, required by the UFC and Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), showed that Harrell has a previously undiagnosed affliction called moyamoya, which is “a rare