MMA

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNJun 9, 2023, 08:19 AM ET It’s a rare treat to witness a performance by the greatest in a sport’s history. It is especially rare in the case of Amanda Nunes. The GOAT of women’s MMA will be making her first appearance of 2023 when she headlines UFC 289 on Saturday in Vancouver,

Jeff Wagenheim Jun 9, 2023, 12:56 AM ET Brendan Loughnane won last year’s PFL men’s featherweight championship by rolling to four straight victories. In 2021, the season champion was Movlid Khaybulaev, who defeated Loughnane along the way. On Thursday night, the two champs were in position to set up a rematch in the 2023 playoffs,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 8, 2023, 04:38 PM ET The UFC is ramping up its women’s divisions with highly regarded up-and-comers. Four women’s MMA prospects were signed by the promotion this week, including undefeated British women’s bantamweight fighter Melissa Dixon, her rep Maurice Blanco of First Round Management confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. In

Jun 7, 2023, 09:00 AM ET The PFL resumes its season this week with a fight card that was originally built on the enticing drama of last chances and no tomorrows. That was most prominently the case for the light heavyweight division, where 2022 champion Rob Wilkinson had won his first fight of the 2023

Andres Waters Jun 6, 2023, 11:15 PM ET “The Ultimate Fighter” returned last Tuesday with two of the biggest strikers in the sport, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, splitting up this year’s roster of fighters and beginning training. Last week’s fight went by quickly, with a Chandler-coached Roosevelt Roberts getting one step closer to returning

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 5, 2023, 07:20 PM ET Chris Weidman will return to the UFC this summer after more than three years following a devastating leg break during a 2021 fight. The former UFC middleweight champion will fight Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, sources confirmed Monday with ESPN.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 5, 2023, 09:25 PM ET MMA veteran Ilir Latifi has fought out his contract and is no longer on the UFC roster, promotion officials said Monday. Latifi, who had developed something of a cult following among fans, lost May 20 via split decision to Rodrigo Nascimento on a UFC Fight

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJun 5, 2023, 12:08 PM ET The UFC will return to the City of Lights this summer. The promotion announced Monday it will be making its return to Paris on Sept. 2 for a Fight Night card at Accor Arena. It will be only the second UFC event ever in France,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 4, 2023, 12:54 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun LAS VEGAS — Iraq’s Amir Albazi picked up a massive win in the UFC’s flyweight division, as he narrowly edged former title challenger Kai Kara-France via split decision at UFC

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJun 1, 2023, 06:37 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A marquee heavyweight matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida will headline a UFC Fight Night in November, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Contracts have not been issued,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMay 31, 2023, 12:11 PM ET UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili won’t be back in the Octagon until later in the year. Dvalishvili recently had surgery on his right hand is currently sporting a cast, his manager Oren Hodak of KO Reps confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. Hodak said Dvalishvili will be

Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterMay 26, 2023, 07:40 AM ET Close Previously covered University of Michigan for ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com Also covered Notre Dame for Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Jared Allen entered U.S. Bank Stadium’s field last year the same way he went into retirement — on horseback. Cowboy hat on his head, sport coat

Andres Waters May 30, 2023, 11:30 PM ET ESPN’s “The Ultimate Fighter” is back, as the reality show returned in dramatic fashion with two polarizing fighters in the sport, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, taking over to coach the two teams for Season 31. (Watch the replay of the first episode of TUF 31 on

May 29, 2023, 09:00 AM ET For the entirety of its era-bridging run as a reality TV show — 30 seasons over 18 years — “The Ultimate Fighter” has served dual purposes. Ostensibly, it is a talent search, sorting out mostly up-and-coming fighters in order to freshen the UFC roster and perhaps unearth a gem.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterMay 27, 2023, 06:11 AM ET Former Bellator champions AJ McKee and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire will compete in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals July 30 at the storied Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo in one of the headlining fights for a card billed as Bellator x Rizin 2, it

Reed Kuhn Close Reed Kuhn Special to ESPN.com Reed Kuhn is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and strategy and analytics consultant. He is the author of “Fightnomics: The Hidden Numbers and Science in Mixed Martial Arts,” the first book to quantify drivers and performance metrics in combat sports. Ian Parker May 25, 2023, 09:26 AM ET

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterMay 23, 2023, 09:33 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun WHEN FRANCIS NGANNOU officially announced he’d signed with the PFL earlier this month, he promised the deal would allow the next chapter of his career to be “tremendous.” Under the

Jeff Wagenheim May 20, 2023, 10:36 PM ET Mackenzie Dern did not add to her record number of submissions but showed off a different dimension of dangerousness in dominating Angela Hill in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Dern (13-3), a two-time jiu-jitsu world champion whose four submission wins