MMA

5:21 AM ET The UFC has announced it will return to London to stage a Fight Night on July 22. The MMA promotion was last in English capital in March when Leon Edwards (21-3) recorded his first defense of the UFC’s 170-pound championship in front of a home crowd at O2 Arena, earning a majority

9:37 PM ET UFC president Dana White went on a fight announcement spree Thursday night, making official several big upcoming bouts including a pair of pay-per-view co-main events. Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad will meet in a short-notice welterweight contender bout that will act as the co-headliner of UFC 288 on May 6 in Newark,

9:46 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Raufeon Stots has been tested repeatedly in the past year — as a fighter and owner of an unfailingly positive attitude. Shortly before the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix began last April, Stots had to move his fight preparation to a gym halfway across the country from where he’d been

Mar 14, 2023 Conor McGregor is back, lending his star power to the long-running reality TV show that might well have saved the UFC. “The Ultimate Fighter” was an instrumental force during the UFC’s explosion of popularity in the early 2000s, shining a spotlight on fighters such as Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and

2:08 PM ET Former UFC fighter Karl Roberson was arrested in New Jersey for his alleged involvement in a theft of more than $200,000 worth of jewelry and valuables from a home, the Howell Township (New Jersey) Police Department announced Saturday. Roberson, 32, is being charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled

9:04 PM ET The next UFC women’s bantamweight No. 1 contender will likely be decided next month. Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana will meet in a rematch May 20 in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Tuesday. The two fought in July 2019, with Pennington winning

10:27 AM ET The UFC has a new main event for its card next week. A scheduled bantamweight bout between Song Yadong and Ricky Simon will take the headlining spot of UFC Fight Night on April 29 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Monday night. Song vs. Simon was originally scheduled for the UFC Fight

9:24 AM ET It’s already April and much has gone on in the world of mixed martial arts in 2023. The sport saw, likely, the truest version of a pound-for-pound championship fight in February, between UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Makhachev prevailed, but the fight was so good, we might

12:19 AM ET Max Holloway is still one of the best featherweight fighters in the world, which has been the case for the better part of a decade. The former UFC featherweight champion beat Arnold Allen via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Kansas City on Saturday. It was a

12:43 AM ET The next UFC heavyweight title fight could be headed to the Big Apple. The UFC wants heavyweight champion Jon Jones to defend his title against former champ Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York, UFC president Dana White said Saturday at the UFC Kansas City postfight news conference. The UFC’s

9:50 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Defending PFL lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier spoiled the PFL debut of 2022 free agent signee Shane Burgos to earn three regular-season points late Friday night. Aubin-Mercier (18-5) defeated Burgos (15-4) via unanimous decision inside The Theater at Virgin Hotel. The 2022 finalist used a well-rounded plan to keep Burgos

Apr 13, 2023 The UFC has lost a five-round lightweight main event between Arman Tsarukyan and Renato Moicano after Moicano was forced to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. The UFC has not announced the withdrawal or commented on Tsarukyan’s status on the card. The UFC

11:52 PM ET Carlos Contreras Legaspi The lightweight co-main event between former champion Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, scheduled for UFC 288 on May 10, has been postponed after Oliveira suffered an undisclosed injury, sources told ESPN. According to a source, Oliveira has been forced to limit his training for the past few weeks due

7:40 AM ET Max Holloway still believes he’s a better mixed martial artist than Alexander Volkanovski. That’s a pretty simple, straightforward statement, but it answers the potentially difficult question facing Holloway. He is only 31 years old and undoubtedly one of the top featherweights in the world. But he’s also 0-3 in UFC title fights

11:07 AM ET Former UFC middleweight champion and multidivision kickboxing champion Alex Pereira is moving up in weight after his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya last weekend. Pereira, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, formally announced the news Thursday on his YouTube channel. Pereira won the UFC’s 185-pound championship by knocking out Adesanya in the fifth round

7:57 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN “This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” That’s a sentiment one might expect from a fighter who has worked his way up from lower-tier MMA promotions and is about to debut among the sport’s elite in the UFC. But the career journey of Shane Burgos is

12:45 PM ET Two of the biggest personalities in combat sports will clash this summer. YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul and ex-UFC bad boy Nate Diaz will compete in a boxing match Aug. 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, officials told ESPN on Wednesday. The bout will be contested at 185 pounds and is contracted for

11:15 AM ET Later this year, Brandon Moreno will look to avenge two previous losses. The two-time, reigning UFC flyweight champion will defend his title against old rival Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290 on July 8 in Las Vegas, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell confirmed Wednesday to ESPN. It is expected to be the