MMA

8:52 AM ET International Fight Week represents the midpoint of the UFC “season” as fight fans watched the promotion’s 22nd fight card and seventh pay-per-view of the year at UFC 276 on July 2. After this past weekend’s festivities, the upcoming schedule is marked with plenty of title fights and major cards in intriguing international

Jul 6, 2022 Shortly after former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos dropped the belt in 2016, he moved up to welterweight, where he had an up-and-down run against the iron of the 170-pound division. He won three in a row to earn a shot at an interim championship, but a loss in that fight

8:00 AM ET Since the last update to the ESPN divisional rankings, Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski solidified their positions with victories at UFC 276. Both both fighters already were No. 1 in their respective top 10s, though, so there was nowhere for them to rise. Then there’s Alex Pereira. He also fought on the

7:45 PM ET The UFC is putting together a new co-main event for its return to the United Kingdom. Darren Till is out of the scheduled middleweight co-headliner against Jack Hermansson at UFC London on July 23 due to an undisclosed injury, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Hermansson will remain on the card, and UFC.com

7:29 AM ET Alexander Volkanovski has won 22 straight fights, the last 12 of them in the UFC. Last Saturday at UFC 276, the featherweight champion defeated former champ Max Holloway for the third time. It was a shockingly dominant performance by the Australian fighter, one worthy of a boost in the ESPN pound-for-pound MMA

9:56 PM ET Chris Wade is unhappy with the PFL over what he said is about a 30% pay cut from his regular-season fights to the playoffs. Wade, the top seed in this year’s PFL featherweight playoffs and the featherweight runnerup in 2021, told ESPN on Tuesday that he is locked into a fixed purse

1:34 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Bellator MMA lightweight champion Patricky Freire‘s first title defense, scheduled for July 22 against Sidney Outlaw, has been postponed because of an unspecified injury, the promotion announced. The title bout was to headline Bellator 283 in Tacoma, Washington. With Freire sidelined, Bellator is elevating a fight between former welterweight champ

1:34 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Bellator MMA lightweight champion Patricky Freire was scheduled to make his first title defense this month, but an unspecified injury has postponed his July 22 fight with Sidney Outlaw. The title bout was to headline Bellator 283 in Tacoma, Washington, but a source with knowledge of the fight booking confirmed

8:22 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Max Holloway was walking backstage at the UFC Apex last week, just three days before he challenged Alexander Volkanovski in a trilogy bout for the featherweight title at UFC 276. When pressed with a question, the former featherweight champion — long one of the top fighters on the planet

3:03 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Pedro Munhoz suffered a right corneal abrasion from an accidental eye poke by Sean O’Malley at UFC 276 on Saturday night, Munhoz told ESPN on Sunday. Munhoz said he was taken to the hospital after the fight, which ended in a no-contest in the second round when he could

12:19 AM ET LAS VEGAS — It’s safe to say Alexander Volkanovski has buried his rivalry with Max Holloway for good this time. Volkanovski (25-1) defended his featherweight championship for the fourth time Saturday night, defeating Holloway (23-7) via unanimous decision in their highly anticipated trilogy bout. All three judges scored the 145-pound title fight,

9:52 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone decided it was finally time to ride off into the sunset. Cerrone (36-17) retired from the sport of mixed martial arts on Saturday, immediately following a loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. Before the bout, Cerrone said he intended to fight two more times beyond

1:21 AM ET UFC 276 was a night of standout performances. Israel Adesanya avoided any powerful strikes that could’ve given Jared Cannonier momentum and won a unanimous decision victory. Alexander Volkanovski made sure there was no debate after the trilogy fight, pitching a shutout against Max Holloway to retain the featherweight title. Alex Pereira had

1:14 AM ET LAS VEGAS — In a clinical, albeit unspectacular, performance, Israel Adesanya outpointed Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision to retain his middleweight title in the main event of UFC 276 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. Adesanya’s superiority in striking was evident throughout the

10:11 PM ET After 11 years in the UFC, and following a second-round submission loss to Jim Miller, his sixth defeat in a row, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone announced his retirement in front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 276. Cerrone leaves the sport with the second-most finishes in the

2:07 AM ET Kayla Harrison‘s quest for a third PFL championship is very much alive following a first-round finish over Kaitlin Young on Friday night in the main event at PFL 6 in Atlanta. Harrison (14-0) won the 155-pound bout via TKO at 2:35 of the opening round, solidifying the No. 2 seed in the

12:27 AM ET There will be a pretty hefty cash prize at stake at UFC 276 — and not only for the combatants. 2 Related In a call to Israel Adesanya, who is set to face off against Jared Cannonier on Saturday night in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV), rapper Drake told

12:26 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The top four fighters competing at UFC 276 all made weight successfully Friday morning here at the UFC Apex. Israel Adesanya weighed in at 183.5 pounds and Jared Cannonier was 184.5 pounds for their main event fight. Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Cannonier on Saturday night