MMA

8:46 PM ET UFC fighter Kevin Holland says he helped apprehend a man who shot a gun off at a Houston restaurant Monday night. Holland told ESPN on Tuesday that he was eating sushi with his friend, Patrick Robinson, when he heard a loud bang and saw people running away in fear. Holland said he

Jan 23, 2022 Dan Hooker says the chance for a fresh start and the opportunity to put himself back into the title mix are behind his move down to featherweight, which was officially rubber-stamped by the UFC on Monday. Hooker has been booked to fight Arnold Allen, ESPN’s 10th-ranked featherweight, for the UFC’s return to

8:29 PM ET UFC president Dana White and some of the best fighters in the world — like UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and retired former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov — wrote letters in support of Cain Velasquez to the Santa Clara County (California) Superior Court last week. Velasquez is being charged with attempted murder

9:00 AM ET The UFC spotlight will fall on its heavyweights over the next two weeks, as four fighters from the division will headline the promotion’s next two events. On Saturday, England’s Tom Aspinall (11-2) will take on Alexander Volkov (34-9) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in London (1 p.m. ET on

11:07 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Magomed Ankalaev‘s game plan, a bit perplexing as the fight unfolded, finally made sense as he was being interviewed inside the Octagon after his unanimous-decision victory over Thiago Santos in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. “I wanted to fight five rounds and see

10:13 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov put Dagestan MMA on the map, becoming one of the greatest lightweights in the sport’s history. Islam Makhachev is on the verge of earning his own UFC lightweight title shot. Soon enough, there could be another stalwart Dagestani fighter earning an opportunity at gold in the bigger weight divisions. Magomed

6:23 PM ET UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is scheduled to undergo knee surgery on March 18, according to his manager, Marquel Martin. Ngannou (17-3), 35, is wrapping up a trip in his native Cameroon this week and is scheduled to return to the U.S. for the procedure next week. He suffered a torn MCL

3:55 PM ET UFC announced Friday that a lightweight bout between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson is being set for UFC 274 on May 7 in Phoenix. Chandler and Ferguson have verbally agreed to the fight, but bout agreements have not been sent out and nothing has been signed, sources told ESPN. ESPN has Chandler

6:47 PM ET Paige VanZant just signed a professional wrestling contract to go along with her deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). But she has not closed any kind of doors on mixed martial arts, where she first made her name. VanZant told ESPN on Friday that she still plans to continue her MMA

7:56 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event is a light heavyweight bout between onetime title challenger Thiago Santos and rising contender Magomed Ankalaev. There is a lot of intrigue around this 205-pound matchup, as the division is wide open at the moment. Santos (22-9) is rebuilding from a rough stretch

8:35 PM ET The UFC is targeting a middleweight matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori in June, officials told ESPN on Thursday. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is close to being finalized for a UFC 275 pay-per-view on June 11. A location for the card has yet to be

8:10 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight bout between Rob Font and Marlon Vera to headline a UFC Fight Night event next month, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts are expected to be signed shortly. The 135-pound contest will serve as the main event of UFC Fight Night on April 30. The

3:53 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has signed with Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s Eagle FC and will make his promotional debut against Yorgan De Castro on May 20. Nurmagomedov announced the heavyweight main event to ESPN on Wednesday. Additionally, Hector Lombard will face Thiago Silva on the card’s co-main event. The Eagle FC

10:48 AM ET Bellator is bringing one of its deepest cards in some time to Hawai’i. Cris Cyborg, one of the top female fighters of all time, will defend her Bellator women’s featherweight title against Arlene Blencowe in a rematch April 23 in Honolulu, Hawai’i, the promotion announced Wednesday morning. ESPN has Cyborg ranked as

11:02 PM ET One of the most popular women in mixed martial arts is crossing over into professional wrestling. Paige VanZant, a UFC veteran, has signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling, AEW president Tony Khan announced Wednesday night on Twitter. VanZant signed her AEW contract in a segment on Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” television show.

8:53 PM ET UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev claims he never turned down an offer to fight Rafael dos Anjos on short notice last weekend. Quite the opposite, in fact. Makhachev (22-1), who defeated Bobby Green in a UFC Fight Night main event on Feb. 26, publicly offered to face dos Anjos in a 170-pound

2:09 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was denied bail Monday in his attempted murder case, per a Santa Clara County (California) court spokesperson. Judge Shelyna Brown of Santa Clara County Superior Court said the “risk is too great” to let Velasquez out on bail because of the “extreme recklessness” of the retired

1:08 AM ET Colby Covington dominated Jorge Masvidal to claim a one-sided unanimous decision Saturday night at UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena in a grudge match between former teammates turned bitter rivals. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 50-44 and 50-45 for Covington. Covington wasted little time going to his bread and butter in the