MMA

8:04 AM ET October got off to a less explosive than expected start in the world of MMA, as powerful strikers Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker fought cautiously and went the distance in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event. But a busy month of October has just begun. Holly Holm returns to featherweight and main

8:02 AM ET The main event and co-main event of UFC 266 featured big victories for reigning champions Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko, but the real stories of the weekend were Nick Diaz, making his return after a lengthy absence from the UFC, and Jon Jones, who after getting his fight inducted into the UFC

12:26 AM ET Dustin Poirier will indeed get his chance to hold UFC gold by the end of the year. Poirier (28-6) has agreed to challenge Charles Oliveira (31-8) for the lightweight championship at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The matchup had been in talks for weeks, and Poirier told ESPN late last month there

9:58 PM ET A bout that was promoted as being a sure bet to produce fireworks ended up being a dud. Thiago Santos edged Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fight featured two of the most explosive knockout artists

7:36 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Michael Page made up for his only career stumble by securing the biggest victory of his career on Friday in his hometown, edging three-time Bellator MMA welterweight champion Douglas Lima by split decision in the main event of Bellator 267 at Wembley Arena in London. In a highly competitive fight,

2:44 PM ET A women’s bantamweight fight between Aspen Ladd and Macy Chiasson is off this weekend’s UFC card after Ladd appeared shaky at the weigh-in. Ladd was unsteady on the scale Friday morning as Nevada State Athletic Commission chief assistant Jeff Mullen was attempting to register her weight. Every time Ladd attempted to put

2:30 PM ET Less than one week after an impressive victory at UFC 266 in Las Vegas, lightweight Dan Hooker has already accepted his next task — and it’s a big one. Hooker (21-10) has agreed to face Islam Makhachev (20-1) at UFC 267 on Oct. 30, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday.

7:23 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight fight between two exciting bantamweight prospects in Sean O’Malley and Raulian Paiva, multiple sources told ESPN. Once finalized, the 135-pound bout will take place at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. The UFC has not yet announced a location for that pay-per-view event, but it is expected

2:34 PM ET UFC fighter Jon Jones allegedly pulled a woman’s hair and head-butted a police car hours after one of his fights was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last week. An arrest report released Tuesday by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department lays out the sequence of events that led to Jones

4:39 PM ET Two of the most explosive knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division will go to battle this weekend. Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker meet Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas — and it would be shocking if the bout between the two natives of Brazil

2:45 PM ET LAS VEGAS — UFC star Jon Jones was arrested Friday morning by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, just hours after a past UFC fight of his was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Jones is being charged with misdemeanor battery domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle, Officer

3:38 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a featherweight matchup between former champion Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez to headline an event on Nov. 13, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is expected to become official shortly. It will serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night

12:27 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The UFC featherweight title will officially be on the line Saturday. Alexander Volkanovski, the champion, weighed in at 144.5 pounds Friday morning and challenger Brian Ortega was 144 pounds at the official weigh-in here at the UFC Apex. The two will meet in the main event of UFC 266

9:02 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Nick Diaz never has been one to hold back, whether it be in the cage or talking with the media. On Wednesday, three days before he returns to the Octagon after more than six years away, Diaz spoke of his “resentment” toward mixed martial arts, wondered aloud why he

4:25 PM ET LAS VEGAS — A high profile rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler will apparently still happen at UFC 266 this weekend, following a last-minute request from Diaz’s camp to change the weight limit of the bout. Diaz (26-9) and Lawler (28-15) originally agreed to fight at the 170-pound welterweight limit, however

11:27 PM ET Miesha Tate‘s second fight during her comeback run with the UFC will have to wait. The popular former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has tested positive for COVID-19, and her main event bout with Ketlen Vieira is off the UFC Fight Night card Oct. 16 in Las Vegas, Tate’s manager Josh Jones told

7:39 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The return of Nick Diaz is complicated. I’ve been talking to professional fighters since 2009, but I have never had an interview go the way my conversation with Diaz went this week. Diaz, 38, returns from a six-year absence on Saturday, against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. He has

8:00 AM ET Marc Ratner was sitting cageside at UFC 255 last Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. It was part of his usual routine, one the UFC vice president of regulatory affairs had upheld for hundreds of fight nights. When a video started playing on the UFC Apex screen, though, things started to feel different