MMA

Nov 13, 2022 Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya by fifth-round TKO in the main event of UFC 281 to become the new middleweight champion Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Adesanya hurt Pereira at the end of Round 1 and then dominated the ground game in the third before Pereira took over in

1:44 AM ET What can we take away from a thrilling slate of title fights and marquee matchups at UFC 281? Jeff Wagenheim, Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto offer their thoughts from a highlight-packed event in New York. NEW YORK — Why are we surprised? Alex Pereira had shown us it could be done long

1:00 AM ET NEW YORK — Alex Pereira had Israel Adesanya‘s number in kickboxing. He has it in MMA too. Pereira, the only man to ever knock out Adesanya, stopped him again via TKO at 2 minutes, 1 second of the fifth and final round Saturday night in the main event of UFC 281 at

5:00 PM ET UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will officially move up in weight to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for a second title at UFC 284 on Feb. 11 in a fight that could determine the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. UFC officials announced the lightweight title fight Saturday. UFC 284 will

9:30 AM ET Eddie Maisonet III Few athletes are as kind and polite as Georges St-Pierre. St-Pierre, a UFC Hall of Famer and two-division champion at welterweight and middleweight, is regarded as an icon in MMA. Few were surprised with the news that the bona fide bilingual superstar from Montreal was crossing over into the

7:59 AM ET ISRAEL ADESANYA SAT DOWN for an interview with Sporting News Australia two years ago, ahead of his UFC middleweight title defense against Yoel Romero at UFC 248. In that video, published March 3, 2020, Adesanya, wearing a red windbreaker with the collar up and sporting a mid-high-fade haircut, was asked about his

10:24 AM ET NEW YORK — A superfight between two UFC champions is “close,” according to Alexander Volkanovski. The featherweight champion told ESPN that a bout against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is nearing completion for UFC 284 on Feb. 12 in Perth, Australia. Volkanovski, who hails from Australia, was called into the Octagon after Makhachev

9:14 PM ET NEW YORK — UFC fan favorite Marlon “Chito” Vera is going to look a bit different in his next fight. On Wednesday night, Vera got a new tattoo on the back of his head — a black panther-like cat with green eyes, yellow paws, some red shading around its body and red

4:18 PM ET PFL featherweight Shane Burgos has been forced out of his scheduled bout against Marlon Moraes on Nov. 25 because of an injury, according to promotional officials. Burgos (15-3) was scheduled to face Moraes (23-10-1) in a featured bout on PFL’s inaugural pay-per-view event in New York. Moraes will remain on the card

7:47 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN BETHEL, Conn. — “It’s difficult here,” says Alex Pereira. He is shirtless and his torso is covered with sweat as he sits on a bench in front of an open window, a welcome autumn breeze cooling off the gym. “It’s very difficult.” Pereira is not complaining. It’s a little challenging

6:47 PM ET Cain Velasquez was granted $1 million bail Tuesday after eight months in custody. The former UFC heavyweight champion is being charged with attempted murder and 10 other gun-related charges in Santa Clara County (Calif.). Velasquez is being accused of chasing down a man, Harry Goularte, in his vehicle and shooting at him.

7:15 AM ET Frankie Edgar (Editor’s note: This story was written with the assistance of ESPN’s Jeff Wagenheim) I remember the first time I ever saw a prizefight. It was sometime in the 1980s, and I was a young kid. I went to my next-door neighbor’s house with my old man to watch Mike Tyson.

9:05 AM ET The UFC will visit Madison Square Garden for the sixth time in the promotion’s history on Saturday (main card on ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET, prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ at 8 p.m.) with a middleweight championship bout between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. New York City has grown accustomed to the UFC

9:31 PM ET David Purdum Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2014 Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008 Marc Raimondi The UFC fight on Saturday between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke, which ended abruptly in the first round, is being investigated by a U.S.-based betting integrity firm after several sportsbooks in multiple states reported

9:55 PM ET Amanda Lemos might not be the most well-rounded fighter in her division, but her power makes her as dangerous as anyone at 115 pounds. Lemos finished Marina Rodriguez via TKO at 54 seconds of the third round Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Rodriguez was poised

4:11 PM ET The younger of the fighting Pereira siblings will be making a transition to MMA, much like her brother. Aline Pereira, a former Glory kickboxer, has signed a mixed martial arts deal with Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), the promotion announced Wednesday. Pereira will make her MMA debut Nov. 18 against Ultimate Fighter veteran

9:00 AM ET More than 10 years ago, Holly Holm was sitting in the JacksonWink MMA facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, discussing “what if” scenarios with her team. Holm was still a professional boxer at the time (she wouldn’t fully transition into MMA for several years), but when the conversation steered toward chokes and, more

7:05 PM ET Tyson Pedro will spend the best part of the next three months training alongside the likes of Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France and Alexander Volkanovski at City Kickboxing [CKB], after the Australian light heavyweight was added to the UFC 284 card set for Perth next year. Pedro will fight China’s Zhang Mingyang at