MMA

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

7:30 AM ET In the UFC’s light heavyweight division, 40 is the new 30. The current champion, Jan Blachowicz, turns 39 years old in February. No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira, who will challenge Blachowicz for the title at UFC 267 on Oct. 30, is 41. Blachowicz and Teixeira both have exhibited longevity and perseverance. Blachowicz

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.

Oct 30, 2019 Anna Katherine Clemmons Close Anna Katherine Clemmons is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine. Editor’s note: This story was originally published before UFC 244. Walker’s next fight takes place on Oct. 2 against Thiago Santos. Good luck finding a recent UFC fighter who’s had quite the rapid rise as that of

10:40 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Douglas Lima is a master at rematches. A three-time Bellator MMA welterweight champion whose punches and kicks land with fight-ending power, he’s difficult enough to handle the first time you tussle with him. But if you find yourself facing Lima a second time? Watch out. Lima was in his second

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

4:45 PM ET Julia Budd, the former Bellator women’s featherweight champion, has signed a contract with PFL, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Budd will make her debut Oct. 27 on the undercard of PFL’s championship event in Hollywood, Florida, against an opponent to be determined. She will then be a part of PFL’s season structure

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

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

Mar 26, 2020 Jeff Wagenheim Jon Jones was just 23 years old when he became light heavyweight champion in 2011, making him the youngest belt holder in UFC history. He looked unbeatable and the sky was the limit, it seemed. But it has been a bumpy road for “Jonny Bones” ever since, with a mixture

9:30 AM ET The first thing you might notice in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound rankings is the absence of Jon Jones. The former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, perhaps the greatest mixed martial artist ever, was No. 2 in the men’s top 10 the last time these rankings were updated. Over the years, he has

9:48 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a heavyweight main event between Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus on Dec. 18, according to UFC president Dana White. The heavyweight fight will headline UFC Fight Night in December, most likely in Las Vegas. Lewis (25-8) is coming off an interim title loss to Ciryl Gane

10:11 AM ET UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has been pulled from his title defense against Petr Yan at UFC 267 on Oct. 30 because of medical reasons, per sources. According to sources, Sterling (20-3) was denied medical clearance by doctors for the five-round fight. The UFC has not announced an official change to the

Sep 26, 2021 Alexander Volkanovski has quieted the doubters once again. With a tremendous performance and successful featherweight title defense over a very game Brian Ortega, Volkanovski continues to own one of the most dominant championship runs in recent history. One of the sport’s other dominant champions, Valentina Shevchenko, also defended her title on Saturday

2:02 AM ET Why can’t all nights of fighting be like this? Why do we get swept up in trashy melodramas when we instead could stimulate our minds and endorphins with a night of fighting such as what we just witnessed at UFC 266? Saturday night had everything. Alexander Volkanovski stood up to another challenge

12:03 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Robbie Lawler came over to a sitting Nick Diaz and grabbed his hands. The two put their foreheads together as a sign of respect. Lawler and Diaz, two aging fighters revered for their classic MMA fights, went to battle again Saturday night at UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena. The

12:38 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Not that anyone was questioning it, but Valentina Shevchenko‘s reign is as strong as ever. Shevchenko (21-4) defended the UFC’s flyweight championship for the sixth time on Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 266 inside T-Mobile Arena. The 125-pound title fight came to a quick and decisive finish

1:28 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Alexander Volkanovski‘s status as the best featherweight in the world has been solidified. After escaping several close submissions attempts, Volkanovski poured on the damaging blows to beat Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44) Saturday night in the main event of UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena. Volkanovski retained