MMA

3:37 PM ET UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje has signed a contract extension that will keep him inside the Octagon, ahead of his upcoming fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 268 on Nov. 6. Gaethje (22-3) broke the news to ESPN during an interview Tuesday. The former interim champion had expressed some frustration with the UFC

7:16 AM ET The UFC will launch its fifth season of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday night inside the Apex facility in Las Vegas. The show, which pits unsigned talent against one another in a one-night audition for a UFC contract, is not terribly old, but it’s already produced 117 additions to the UFC

3:59 PM ET The UFC has rebooked Amanda Nunes‘ bantamweight title defense against Julianna Pena for UFC 269 on Dec. 11, the promotion announced on Monday. Nunes (21-4) was supposed to face Pena (10-4) at UFC 265 earlier this month in Houston, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. The UFC has

7:22 AM ET September’s UFC calendar kicks off with a key clash between middleweight contenders Derek Brunson and Darren Till. Brunson has won four straight fights since a 2018 loss to Israel Adesanya, and a win against Till could put him one fight away from his first championship opportunity in the UFC. Till already has

2:48 AM ET Jake Paul is 4-0 as a professional boxer after a split decision win over Tyron Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Sunday. It was a relatively convincing victory, despite one judge’s scorecard, but it was not a knockout like Paul’s previous three pro bouts. The fight

1:47 AM ET Giga Chikadze was out to prove a point in his first UFC main event. Facing one of the legends of the sport in Edson Barboza on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Chikadze displayed his striking prowess and stopped Barboza in the third round after a flurry of punches. The former kickboxing star

1:29 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Giga Chikadze has declared himself the No. 1 striker in the UFC. The man might have a case. Chikadze (14-2) improved his UFC record to 7-0 on Saturday, as he knocked out Edson Barboza with strikes at 1 minute, 44 seconds of the third round. The featherweight contest headlined

11:49 PM ET Andrew FeldmanESPN.com Close Andrew Feldman is ESPN.com’s Poker Editor. He is the host of the Poker Edge Podcast and co-host of ESPN Inside Deal. Andrew has covered the poker industry for ESPN since 2004. UFC 268 will be a night of title fight rematches at Madison Square Garden. On Saturday night’s UFC

6:59 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Edson Barboza feels like he’s close. The UFC’s No. 9-ranked featherweight has never fought for a championship but believes he is just two wins away from finally realizing that opportunity. He’s got a tough one ahead of him on Saturday, in the form of a five-round main event against

10:46 AM ET CLEVELAND — The highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley is now official. Paul, the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter, weighed in at 190 pounds Saturday morning at the Intercontinental Hotel for the catchweight bout, which is scheduled for Sunday night. Former UFC welterweight champion Woodley weighed in at 189.5 pounds — the

3:34 PM ET The UFC is targeting a bantamweight matchup between Frankie Edgar and Marlon “Chito” Vera for UFC 268 on Nov. 6, multiple sources have told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to the matchup. The pay-per-view event is expected to take place at New York’s Madison Square

Aug 27, 2021 Junior Tafa has been surrounded by UFC athletes throughout his combat sports career and he has at last been given a shot to put his own name up in lights via Dana White’s Contender Series. Tafa will be the second Australian to fight in the upcoming season when he enters the Octagon

7:50 AM ET Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event between Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze is a genuine, well-deserved, undisputable fire emoji. When the UFC first announced this 145-pound pairing, fight nerds around the world rejoiced on social media. It features world-class technique, skill, athleticism and power. There can be only one dark horse in

4:08 PM ET CLEVELAND — Tensions were already high this week between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley, and on Thursday things boiled over. After the Paul vs. Woodley news conference at the Hilton, Woodley heard a member of Paul’s team talking trash to Woodley’s mother, Deborah, who was sitting in the crowd of media and

7:00 AM ET Ryan Hockensmith THE GOLF CART is already moving when the driver, Ben Askren, waves his hand for me to get in. The tour of the Funky Farms ranch has begun. It’s a wild, rocky ride over 11 acres of property 20 miles east of Milwaukee. Funky Farms is tucked into a suburban

7:33 AM ET The 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter will officially come to its conclusion on Saturday, at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Bantamweight finalists Ricky Turcios (10-2) and Brady Hiestand (5-1) and middleweight finalists Bryan Battle (5-1) and Gilbert Urbina (6-1) will square up with a guaranteed UFC contract on the line.

10:45 PM ET CLEVELAND — Jake Paul is taking aim at a former ally. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter blasted UFC star Jorge Masvidal in a media scrum Wednesday following Paul’s workout here at Public Square and said he wants to fight him in the future. Paul takes on former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a boxing

2:03 PM ET CLEVELAND — Stipe Miocic just wanted a call, a nod that he was at least in the conversation. The most successful UFC heavyweight champion of all time told ESPN on Wednesday that the UFC never contacted him to offer an opportunity at the interim heavyweight title earlier this month. Instead, Ciryl Gane