MMA

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 7, 2023, 03:43 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Perennial Top 10 bantamweight Pedro Munhoz will face Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 292 on Aug. 19, after Vera’s original opponent Henry Cejudo withdrew from the bout due to injury.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 7, 2023, 12:22 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Two of the fighters who helped build the popularity of MMA in Brazil have now been immortalized by the UFC. Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena. They headlined a

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 6, 2023, 08:27 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Georges St-Pierre is returning to competition — in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu match. St-Pierre, one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, will compete in a grappling bout Dec. 14 at the Fight Pass Invitational 6 in Las Vegas, it was announced Thursday

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 5, 2023, 11:59 AM ET Bellator fighter Cris Lencioni, who suffered cardiac arrest last month while training, took his first steps, with assistance, according to a video published Tuesday by MMAFighting.com. Lencioni’s wife, Marca, told the website that her husband is showing improved cognitive function and has been trying to

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 5, 2023, 07:55 AM ET YAIR RODRIGUEZ AND Brandon Moreno stood barefoot on the mat, each with one arm around the other. Their sweaty, wet hair stuck to their baby faces and the wrinkled Brazilian jiu-jitsu gis they wore hung from their shoulders haphazardly. Moreno posted the grainy photo on

Andres Waters Jul 4, 2023, 01:10 PM ET Is anyone surprised anymore? Six weeks into “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31, and six wins for coach Michael Chandler over coach Conor McGregor. Lee Hammond of Team McGregor, lost by submission to Team Chandler’s Kurt Holobaugh. With the win, Holobaugh becomes the sixth fighter coached by Chandler

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 4, 2023, 01:01 PM ET Val Woodburn will replace Tresean Gore in Saturday’s middleweight bout against Bo Nickal at UFC 290, sources confirmed to ESPN. Gore announced Tuesday on Instagram that he was out of the fight because of a wrist injury, writing that he might need surgery on the

Megan Anderson Jul 3, 2023, 02:56 PM ET The UFC will close out International Fight Week this weekend with its eighth pay-per-view event of the year as the promotion hosts UFC 290 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, and early prelims on at 6 p.m. on

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJul 3, 2023, 12:59 PM ET Top welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena has a new opponent on short notice for this weekend. With Sean Brady out, Della Maddalena will now face UFC newcomer Josiah Harrell at UFC 290 on Saturday in Las Vegas, sources confirmed with ESPN. MMA Fighting was the

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNJul 3, 2023, 08:23 AM ET The PFL completed its regular season earlier this month. and now it’s on to the playoffs. The 12 semifinals in six weight classes will be spread across three fight cards in August, with the winners advancing to the finals in the fall. Three champions from the 2022

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 2, 2023, 12:37 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Sean Strickland earned the 11th knockout of his career on Saturday, with a second-round finish of Abus Magomedov at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. The TKO came at 4

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 30, 2023, 02:47 PM ET Two of the top UFC heavyweights of their generation will meet in a rematch – in an unexpected setting. Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum, both Brazilian-born former UFC heavyweight champions, will fight each other in bareknuckle mixed martial arts Sept. 8 in Jacksonville, Florida

Jun 30, 2023, 09:40 AM ET With the UFC schedule midway through 2023, there is plenty to discuss and break down in every division. So far this year, the UFC has seen arguably its most dominant champion, Amanda Nunes, hang up her gloves. It’s also seen one of its most dominant champs, Valentina Shevchenko, lose

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 29, 2023, 06:58 PM ET Former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo announced Thursday he has a partially torn right shoulder and is out of his scheduled UFC 292 matchup with Marlon “Chito” Vera on Aug. 19 in Boston. Cejudo made the announcement on his YouTube page and Twitter. He said

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 28, 2023, 11:50 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC will celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a UFC Fight Night event headlined by a women’s flyweight championship bout. Alexa Grasso will defend her 125-pound championship against former champion

Andres Waters Jun 27, 2023, 05:02 PM ET We’re five weeks into “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31, and for the fifth week in a row, Michael Chandler‘s team got a win over Conor McGregor‘s. Team Chandler’s Brad Katona used his ground game to control Team McGregor’s Carlos Vera and pick up a unanimous decision victory

Jun 26, 2023, 09:29 AM ET With the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, the first half of the year is behind us. Starting with a surprise faceoff between the best heavyweights in the sport, Marc Raimondi, Brett Okamoto, Eddie Maisonet III and Andres Waters discuss the biggest moments we’ve seen so far in the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 24, 2023, 06:30 PM ET The UFC has one of its next big international stars — and its first from Spain. With Spanish soccer legend Sergio Ramos cheering him on from cageside, the undefeated Ilia Topuria dominated Josh Emmett for the biggest win of his MMA career in the main