MMA

4:09 PM ET Marc Raimondi Mike Coppinger The combat sports landscape is about to undergo a seismic shift. Two of the biggest live event and broadcast promoters in the combat space, the UFC and WWE, will be merged into one company, an unprecedented and stunning business move. Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, announced Monday it

9:24 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim There is no such thing as being down to your last chance in mixed martial arts. Just about everyone in the sport loses at some point, and even a multifight skid doesn’t necessarily deposit you at the end of the road. Unlike in boxing, where the zero in the “L”

7:31 AM ET Associated Press WWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company. A new publicly traded company will be formed that houses the UFC and WWE brands. Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company once the

12:06 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The first event of PFL’s 2023 regular season sure looked a lot similar to 2022, as far as Brendan Loughnane and Rob Wilkinson are concerned. Loughnane (27-4) and Wilkinson (18-2) each won PFL titles in 2022, at featherweight and light heavyweight, respectively. On Saturday, they kicked off their quests

2:11 PM ET Former Bellator MMA champion Phil Davis and Corey Anderson will meet for the first time in June, promotion officials told ESPN on Thursday. The two will square off on the Bellator 297 main card on June 16 inside Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The event, which airs on Showtime, will feature a light

9:17 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN If you’ve ever watched an evening of PFL fights, you know the company runs its show differently from other mixed martial arts promotions. In a sport fueled by star power and talking a good game, the PFL’s season format shifts the focus to the nitty-gritty of fight results. Viral tweets

8:32 AM ET After the UFC’s March schedule gifted MMA fans with four straight weeks of exciting fight cards capped by stellar main events, including the much-anticipated return of Jon Jones, the promotion takes a one-week break this weekend. The UFC returns on April 8 will return with another can’t-miss main event as former UFC

6:44 PM ET UFC flyweight fighter Alex Perez said it was a seizure that forced him out of his 125-pound contender bout against Manel Kape at UFC San Antonio this past Saturday. On Sunday, Perez wrote on social media that he suffered a seizure while doing his prefight warmup, which is why he withdrew from

1:12 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Mixed martial arts has had a small number of standout fighters who have won championships in two weight classes. Bellator MMA soon might have the first three-division champ in a major fight promotion. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who reigns at featherweight and vacated the lightweight title in 2021, will go for

10:55 PM ET It’s not easy to stand out in the UFC’s absolutely stacked 135-pound bantamweight division, but Cory Sandhagen is finding a way to do just that. Sandhagen (16-4) was brilliant over the course of a five-round split decision over Marlon “Chito” Vera (22-8-1) on Saturday, in the main event of UFC Fight Night

10:56 PM ET What were the biggest moments from the first UFC event in San Antonio since 2019? Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim offer up their final thoughts after the 10-fight card at the AT&T Center. It was trendy a few years ago to call Cory Sandhagen a future UFC bantamweight champion. After back-to-back jaw-dropping

7:30 PM ET Saddle up. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, one of the most active and popular fighters of the past several decades, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer, the promotion announced Saturday during the UFC San Antonio broadcast. Cerrone, 39, will join a prestigious class that includes former longtime UFC champions

10:38 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a lightweight bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Renato Moicano as its headliner for a UFC Fight Night on April 29, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.. Moicano posted the news to his social media on Thursday, and sources told ESPN Tsarukyan has also agreed to the 155-pound bout.

8:48 AM ET 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 Bantamweight is arguably the deepest division in the UFC. The list of potential fighters who could one day be champions is long — perhaps longer than in any

10:27 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight main event between Jack Hermansson and Brendan Allen for June 3, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday. The promotion has not officially announced the 185-pound contest or a location for the UFC Fight Night event, but both sides have agreed to the matchup, per sources. Hermansson

9:17 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN To call Kayla Harrison the face of the PFL is to state the obvious. One could argue that she’s been not just the most eye-catching face but the only face, as none of the recognizable names the fight promotion has imported — talking about you, Anthony Pettis and Rory MacDonald

11:35 AM ET Holly Holm‘s fight career is showing no signs of slowing down, as the former MMA and boxing champion has signed a new six-fight deal with UFC, her manager, Lenny Fresquez, told the Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday. Holm, 41, is scheduled to face Yana Santos at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in San

12:36 PM ET An up-and-coming UFC bantamweight fighter is going to be on the shelf for a bit. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) temporarily suspended Kyler Phillips for a positive out-of-competition drug test for the banned substance ostarine Tuesday. The suspension is pending a disciplinary hearing, which could come as soon as next month.