MMA

6:22 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim As the PFL playoffs continue with semifinals in two weight classes on Thursday in Hollywood, Florida (live on ESPN+; 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+), the emerging narrative could be that a dominant champion remains in the driver’s seat. Or it could be that someone new is about to take the

11:58 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Kayla Harrison made it look easy once again on Thursday night, moving one final step away from her second straight $1 million championship in the PFL playoffs. The two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka remained undefeated in MMA with a first-round TKO of Genah Fabian in the women’s lightweight semifinal in

8:02 AM ET Genah Fabian‘s phone rang the night of May 23. It was a video call from Carlos Ulberg, her teammate at City Kickboxing in New Zealand. For nearly a week, Fabian had been distraught. Fau Vake, another teammate, was clinging to life in a Wellington hospital after being brutally assaulted six days earlier

11:03 PM ET The return of The Ultimate Fighter has hit an unforeseen snag. Tresean Gore is injured and out of the TUF middleweight final at UFC Fight Night on Aug. 28, UFC officials confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. Gilbert Urbina, whom Gore beat in the semifinals, will now fight Bryan Battle in the championship bout.

11:40 AM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published in Sept. 2019. Cannonier fights Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC Fight Night on August 21, 2021. Jared Cannonier was living in Anchorage, Alaska, and doing maintenance on air traffic control equipment for the Federal Aviation Administration. It was 2009, he was almost

7:26 AM ET After a rare off weekend in the world of UFC, action returns to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday as middleweights Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum each try to come back from losses to Robert Whittaker in their most recent bouts. While it would seem to be more pressing for

Aug 12, 2021 After recording her first victory as a professional mixed martial artist in June, Claressa Shields will return to the PFL cage on Oct. 27, the boxing champion announced Thursday. PFL officials confirmed to ESPN that she will face Abigail Montes, 21, of Mexico. “I’m always in training. I’m always working,” Shields said

6:22 AM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed his intentions to transition to football in January. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired from Mixed Martial Arts in last October, has signed for third-tier Russian side FC Legion Dynamo. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement following his submission victory over American Justin Gaethje

11:58 PM ET Gegard Mousasi‘s near-perfect run as a Bellator MMA middleweight continued on Friday, as he defended his 185-pound championship against John Salter in Uncasville, Connecticut. Mousasi (48-7-2) earned a TKO finish at 2:07 of the third round, via unanswered strikes on the ground. The 36-year-old veteran weathered an early, grappling-heavy approach from Salter

5:39 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim The welterweight champions from both of the PFL’s past seasons are here. So is a champ from another promotion who was brought in to raise the bar for this season. And then there’s the surprise star who’s found recent success in both boxing and MMA who spoiled the party for

7:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Mohegan Sun Arena is an ocean away from Gegard Mousasi’s hometown in the Netherlands. But the casino resort venue in Uncasville, Connecticut, has provided him with the comfort of home. Mousasi made his Bellator debut in the building in 2017, defeating former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko. That earned the former

6:55 PM ET UFC fighter Jordan Williams stopped a man from stealing his car on Thursday, and gave him a quick MMA lesson in the process. Williams, 30, left his car running in a gas station parking lot in Denver, as he quickly ran in to buy a drink. As the UFC welterweight exited the

9:39 PM ET Brazilian middleweight Paulo Costa says he made a series of poor decisions the night before his first UFC title fight in September, which led to the worst performance of his MMA career. Costa, 30, is scheduled to fight Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Oct. 23. It

8:25 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Keeping alive a quest to pocket $1 million would seem to be all the motivation Ray Cooper III really needs as he heads into Friday’s PFL welterweight playoff semifinal (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+). But Cooper does have an added incentive driving his desire to defeat Rory MacDonald. It has nothing

4:57 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Two MMA legends will fight, but it won’t be in a cage. Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz have signed contracts to meet in an eight-round cruiserweight boxing match on Sept. 11 in the chief-support bout before Oscar De La Hoya faces Vitor Belfort in the pay-per-view main event, Triller co-founder

3:58 PM ET Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, one of the best middleweight mixed martial artists of the past decade, has announced his retirement at age 41. Souza, who is originally from Brazil and fought out of Orlando, Florida, during the latter part of his career, broke the news to Brazilian outlet Combate. He retires with a

6:57 PM ET The UFC is heading back to Fight Island on Oct. 30, officials announced Tuesday. UFC 267 will officially take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will feature a series of fan events entitled Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. The event is part of a multiyear agreement the UFC signed with the

8:12 AM ET There were big winners all over the main card of UFC 265. Jose Aldo proved he has something left in the tank and potential in the bantamweight division with his victory over Pedro Munhoz. Tecia Torres defeated Angela Hill to win her third in a row, a victory that will continue her