MMA

11:46 PM ET It seemed as if Cory Sandhagen could sense that a finish was coming. The ESPN+ broadcast picked up Sandhagen shouting to his corner, “His orbital’s broke” in the second round of his fight with Marlon Moraes on Saturday. Moments later, wham! A spinning wheel kick from Sandhagen landed on the top of

4:42 PM ET The UFC bantamweight contender picture will gain some clarity Saturday night. Marlon Moraes meets Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The card will take place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island, which the UFC has dubbed “Fight Island,” the promotion’s international

10:40 PM ET Cory Sandhagen, like many other UFC fighters, wasn’t able to go to his gym early this year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the bantamweight contender was home, working striking techniques on an inanimate “body opponent bag.” One of the techniques he drilled ended up paying dividends at

7:00 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Bellator MMA made history in Paris on Saturday, but many of the local fans at Accor Arena went home disappointed. Timothy Johnson eked out a split-decision victory over Paris-born veteran heavyweight Cheick Kongo in the main event of the first major mixed martial arts card ever held in France. France,

11:55 PM ET Brian Ortega‘s most-tenured coach won’t be able to corner him for a huge fight next week. Rener Gracie, the well-known Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach and member of the world-renowned Gracie family, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and was unable to make the trip with Ortega to Abu Dhabi, Gracie announced Friday night

2:10 PM ET Two of the best grapplers in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division will meet in December. Top prospect Mackenzie Dern and former Invicta FC champion Virna Jandiroba have verbally agreed to fight each other at UFC 256 on Dec. 12, sources confirmed to ESPN. No location has been made official yet for that

7:50 PM ET A story about former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones hiding under the cage at his gym years ago to avoid taking a drug test has been part of MMA lore for years. But it had never been verified, often chalked up to trash talk from an opponent, a tall tale that

8:19 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim You might not think so while watching a particularly brutal fight, but MMA is a pretty forgiving sport. Barely 16 months ago, Marlon Moraes was knocked out by Henry Cejudo in his bid to become UFC men’s bantamweight champion. Moraes later suffered a different sort of indignity, defeating Jose Aldo

9:58 PM ET UFC 254 is down one of its main-card matchups. Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos announced Thursday on Twitter that he is out of his scheduled fight with Islam Makhachev because of a positive test for COVID-19. UFC 254 is set for Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. “COVID19 caught me big

1:22 PM ET Conor McGregor is closer to returning to the Octagon than he has been in months. McGregor said Thursday on Twitter that he “accepted the UFC offer” to fight against Dustin Poirier. Sources close to McGregor confirmed it as well. And while McGregor accepted the rematch against Poirier, whom he beat at UFC

8:17 AM ET With a key matchup between UFC men’s bantamweight contenders Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) and Cory Sandhagen (12-2) set to headline this weekend’s event on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, it feels like a good time to talk about one of the UFC’s most intriguing divisions. As far as the promotion’s

6:04 PM ET Mark Raimondi One of the best comeback victories of the year in MMA is now null and void, at least in the official record books. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) overturned Trevin Jones‘ second-round TKO over Timur Valiev, making it a no-contest Wednesday following a Jones positive drug test for marijuana.

3:04 PM ET Georges St-Pierre is leaving the door slightly open for a return to UFC — and Khabib Nurmagomedov would be the only opponent he’d consider. The UFC legend told ESPN on Wednesday that he has “mixed feelings” about an Octagon comeback but would not completely rule it out. If it does happen, St-Pierre

7:09 AM ET Scott Coker was sitting in the stands at the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, California. It was May 10, 2014. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was promoting an amateur MMA card that night, and Coker went with a friend to see Jackson. At the time, Coker, the longtime combat sports promoter, was

9:05 AM ET The buzz is getting louder, and the reality of another major boxing-MMA crossover event seems more likely by the day. But who will be involved? Could it be a rematch between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, which was an incredibly successful venture the first time it happened, in 2017? They’ve certainly been

10:57 AM ET Former UFC stalwart Rustam Khabilov has signed a multifight deal with Bellator, sources told ESPN. Khabilov (24-4) has won seven of his past eight fights. He most recently fought for the UFC last November, defeating Sergey Khandozhko via unanimous decision. That was the last fight on Khabilov’s UFC contract. Khabilov has been

6:07 PM ET The Kamaru Usman–Gilbert Burns UFC welterweight title fight is not happening on Dec. 12 after all, sources said Monday. The previously reported UFC 256 main event has been postponed due to Usman needing more time to recover from undisclosed injuries, sources said. The UFC has already explored the possibility of Stipe Miocic

6:31 AM ET When Conor McGregor talks — or tweets — everyone in the MMA world is sure to take notice. That’s a pretty strong reaction for a guy who has had one cage fight in two years. But for McGregor, that’s where the problem lies. As he geared up for his January Octagon return