MMA

5:21 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi What can we take away from a fascinating slate of title fights and marquee matchups at UFC 280? Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto offer up their thoughts from a highlight-packed

6:32 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim By becoming UFC lightweight champion Saturday, Islam Makhachev fulfilled a prophecy. Maybe it was really just a lifelong friend expressing faith and brotherhood, but when Khabib Nurmagomedov briefly interrupted a Makhachev news conference three years ago, it felt like something far more consequential. Let’s call it a coronation-in-waiting. Nurmagomedov was

5:38 PM ET ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts two years ago as an undefeated champion, Islam Makhachev‘s reclaiming that lightweight title felt like a preordained moment. That moment came Saturday. Makhachev (23-1) seized the UFC’s 155-pound championship by submitting Charles Oliveira (33-9) at UFC 280

10:12 AM ET When Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the UFC’s lightweight championship and retired from mixed martial arts two years ago, the sport’s expectations turned to his longtime teammate and protégé, Islam Makhachev. And now his time has come. Makhachev (22-1) will attempt to win the UFC’s 155-pound title on Saturday when he meets Charles Oliveira

2:12 AM ET ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Charles Oliveira still considers himself the UFC’s lightweight champion, but will look to make it official on Saturday. Both Oliveira (33-8) and Islam Makhachev (22-1) successfully made weight on Friday for their lightweight championship bout at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena. Both of them actually came

7:53 AM ET PEORIA, Ariz. — Sean O’Malley was feeling good. It was 5 p.m. on a Saturday in September, about five weeks into his camp for this weekend’s bantamweight fight against Petr Yan at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. O’Malley had looked great in sparring that morning and was sitting down

12:31 AM ET Two of the top women’s flyweight fighters in the world will meet in Brazil. Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade will face Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 on Jan. 21 in Rio de Janeiro, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. MMA Fighting first reported the news. Andrade is ranked No. 9

Oct 18, 2022 UFC president Dana White’s new combat sports venture — slap fighting — will be a licensed athletic competition in Nevada. Dana White’s Power Slap League will be regulated and overseen by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) following a vote Tuesday in Las Vegas at the commission’s monthly meeting. UFC chief business

9:30 PM ET Kamaru Usman is willing to travel into potentially hostile territory in an effort to get back the UFC welterweight title. Usman has asked the UFC for a trilogy fight with champion Leon Edwards in London, Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, told ESPN on Tuesday. Edwards is a Jamaican-born fighter who

9:18 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN A dominant champion lords over the fight game like a king. There’s respect piled on from all directions, sometimes admiringly, sometimes grudgingly. The champ’s every trip inside the Octagon draws the rapt anticipation of how greatness will manifest itself once again. The fans, even those generally hard to please, stand

9:22 PM ET The UFC will now prohibit its fighters from betting on UFC fights, according to a memo sent to athletes and their teams Monday by UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell. In the letter, obtained by ESPN, Campbell wrote that the UFC athlete code of conduct will now include a prohibition of wagering

Watch the fights live on ESPN+ on the ESPN app. BROOKLYN, N.Y. — When TJ Dillashaw agreed to fight Henry Cejudo for the UFC’s 125-pound title, he weighed 154 pounds with 8 percent body fat. So, how in the world did Dillashaw, the UFC’s 135-pound bantamweight champion, safely cut 29 pounds in the past 12

8:51 AM ET UFC 280 might be the deepest card the promotion has put on so far this year — as it features essential fights in two of the best divisions: lightweight and bantamweight. In the main event, the vacant UFC lightweight title will be decided in a bout between former champion Charles Oliveira and

10:47 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Alexa Grasso showed Saturday she has fully settled in as a flyweight, winning her fourth fight in a row since bulking up from strawweight two years ago. Her conquest in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas came by unanimous decision against a fellow top-10 contender in

2:25 PM ET The UFC has added a light heavyweight championship rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira to its December pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. Contracts have not been signed, but multiple sources confirmed the bout is close to being finalized. It will take place at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 inside T-Mobile Arena.

Oct 11, 2022 Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araújo meet in a matchup of top-10 women’s flyweights headlining UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex are on ESPN+, with the 7 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 4 p.m. You can stream the fights here. Grasso (14-3), a

7:04 PM ET The UFC has added a light heavyweight matchup between former champion Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev to its final pay-per-view of 2022, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. The 205-pound contest will take place at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 in Las Vegas. Blachowicz (29-9) will look to solidify his case for another

10:16 PM ET The UFC has confirmed its return to Australia for the first time since 2019, with the promotion heading back to Perth, Western Australia, in February next year. UFC 284 will be staged at Perth’s RAC Arena on Sunday Feb 12. [Saturday Feb. 11, ET] in what will be the second pay-per-view event