MMA

9:51 AM ET Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin and teammate of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, will be unable to make his UFC debut Saturday because he’s been hospitalized with a staph infection, according to Khabib’s Instagram post. Umar, a bantamweight who is 12-0, was set to face Sergey Morozov in the early prelims of UFC

4:04 PM ET Jessica Andrade was a powerful force in the UFC strawweight division, where she was champion less than 16 months ago. She opted to move up to flyweight, and on Saturday she showed that she did not leave her power behind. Andrade, No. 4 in ESPN’s 115-pound rankings, took out the 125-pound division’s

10:37 PM ET Ortega looked like a different fighter On paper, Brian Ortega had three things going against him heading into Saturday night: 1. He was coming off the worst loss of his career, a fourth-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) to Max Holloway. 2. He had not fought in 22 months. 3. He changed the majority

7:29 AM ET Brian Ortega earned his way to a UFC featherweight title fight in December 2018. That’s a fact. No one handed him that opportunity. He proved himself championship-worthy by winning six consecutive fights in the UFC. And at the same time, Ortega’s loss to then-champion Max Holloway at UFC 231 two years ago

12:35 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to Brian Ortega’s fight against Max Holloway at UFC 231. HARBOR CITY, California — On Aug. 8, 2008, Brian Ortega held one of his dearest friends on the side of the street as he bled to death from a gunshot wound. A local report

9:30 AM ET Saturday’s battle to determine the UFC’s next No. 1 featherweight contender is officially on, as Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung each successfully made weight during Friday’s weigh-in. Ortega (14-1), who hasn’t fought since December 2018, weighed in at 146 pounds. Jung (16-5), of South Korea, also came in at 146 pounds.

7:47 AM ET Angela Hill was sitting in the second row at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7 as Joanna Jedrzejczyk was walking out to challenge women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 248. Out of the corner of her eye, Hill saw UFC featherweight Brian Ortega coming toward

8:23 PM ET UFC flyweight Cynthia Calvillo has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout against Lauren Murphy at UFC 254 next week in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and has been replaced by UFC newcomer Liliya Shakirova. Calvillo (9-1-1) was forced to pull out of the bout after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday,

6:58 PM ET Conor McGregor is in. McGregor revealed on Twitter that he has accepted a Jan. 23 fight against Dustin Poirier. However, he also said he wanted the fight to happen at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. “Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd,”

7:38 PM ET Fresh off one of the most spectacular — and most-viewed — knockouts in mixed martial arts history, UFC middleweight Joaquin Buckley is ready to get back to work. Buckley (11-3) has agreed to face Jordan Wright (11-0) at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. Both sides have agreed to the bout, according to

7:30 PM ET UFC superstar Conor McGregor announced Wednesday that he will return to the Octagon and face Dustin Poirier as the main event of UFC 257 on Jan. 23, and he’s hoping the fight will be held at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Will the UFC, which hasn’t hosted an event

1:05 PM ET The UFC has offered Conor McGregor a fight against Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23, 2021 — and according to UFC president Dana White, that’s the date. Take it or leave it. The promotion formally offered McGregor the Jan. 23 fight against Poirier late last month, shortly after McGregor proposed a charity exhibition

9:20 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Cris “Cyborg” Justino has for years expressed a burning desire to venture beyond mixed martial arts and test herself in professional boxing. But the fact that she will be facing a two-time boxing world champion on Thursday night is not what she’s most excited about for Bellator 249. “No, it’s

11:44 AM ET For years, Khabib Nurmagomedov looked at Tony Ferguson as perhaps his greatest challenge in the UFC’s lightweight division. Those days, however, have come to an end. Nurmagomedov (28-0) will defend his 155-pound championship against Justin Gaethje (22-2) at UFC 254 on Oct. 24 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. He was scheduled to

12:45 PM ET Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was the first UFC fighter to be pulled from a bout due to coronavirus back in May. Now, he will make his Octagon return. Souza, a perennial contender, will meet surging middleweight Marvin Vettori at UFC 256 on Dec. 12, sources told ESPN. No location has been officially set

7:57 PM ET Never say never in combat sports, but it appears Khabib Nurmagomedov is done with Conor McGregor. In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Nurmagomedov confirmed he nixed any plans of a reboot of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2021, which would have featured McGregor and him as opposing coaches. UFC president Dana

10:16 AM ET The UFC isn’t lacking intriguing main events for its remaining 2020 schedule. One of those, however, the Kamaru Usman–Gilbert Burns welterweight title fight, was recently postponed, and the UFC 256 card on Dec. 12 needs a new main event. Will the UFC turn to one of its most highly anticipated matchups —

7:44 PM ET Joaquin Buckley delivered a knockout that MMA fans won’t soon forget on Saturday. Buckley, who faced Impa Kasanganay in a middleweight bout on Yas Island — dubbed “Fight Island” by the UFC — finished it in the second round in unique fashion. Buckley threw a left high kick that Kasanganay caught with