MMA

4:08 PM ET Robert Whittaker and Darren Till have been enjoying friendly back-and-forth exchanges on social media for the better part of the year. It started with Till’s repeated question of “Rob?” on Instagram and Twitter. Then the two joked about the kind of junk food they were eating during their respective pandemic-related quarantines. In

12:54 AM ET The UFC’s stay on Fight Island is over, at least for now, but Saturday’s main event between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till was a fitting ending to a memorable and entertaining stretch of fights. Action throughout the 15-fight finale card will have far-reaching consequences across several divisions, most notably in Whittaker’s victory

11:35 PM ET The former champ is back on a winning track. Robert Whittaker edged out Darren Till via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Till dropped Whittaker in the first round, but Whittaker rallied beginning in a huge second to get the

1:08 AM ET The younger brother of a former UFC champion has begun carving out his own name in Bellator MMA. In Bellator’s return for the first time in five months, Sergio Pettis defeated Ricky Bandejas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in the bantamweight main event of Bellator 242 on Friday night. Bellator, the

12:18 AM ET Lance Palmer, a two-time PFL tournament champion and $1 million prizewinner, is officially requesting a release from the promotion. Palmer, 33, told ESPN on Friday he has asked PFL executives to release him from his exclusive contract, which he signed in December. The two-time featherweight tournament winner said the strained relationship reached

7:54 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a welterweight bout between Geoff Neal and Neil Magny in late August, sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but both sides have agreed to meet at UFC Fight Night on Aug. 29, sources said. The event is expected to take place at the UFC’s

9:15 AM ET The next middleweight title challenger could be decided on Fight Island. And that pivotal bout is now official. Former champ Robert Whittaker and Darren Till both made weight at 186 pounds on Friday in Abu Dhabi. The two will meet on Yas Island — dubbed “Fight Island” for this monthlong slate of

7:16 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Less than nine months ago, Robert Whittaker was UFC middleweight champion. That seems like a lifetime ago. Even though he is No. 2 in ESPN’s divisional rankings, right behind champion Israel Adesanya, it feels as though the weight class has moved on without Whittaker. Last weekend news broke that Adesanya,

8:12 AM ET UFC middleweight Darren Till wouldn’t reveal what he added to his fighting repertoire during the pandemic lockdown — fans will find out Saturday night when he faces Robert Whittaker on Fight Island — but there was one development in Till’s game that was impossible to ignore. The native of Liverpool, England became

1:35 PM ET The UFC has been forced to change next weekend’s main event. The Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana headliner has been canceled after Aldana was forced to withdraw. The current plan, according to sources, is to rebook Holm and Aldana for an Oct. 5. main event. As a result, the Derek Brunson vs.

1:50 AM ET Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is confident of silencing his critics this weekend when he makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon. On Saturday night (Sunday afternoon AEST), the Australian will face Britain’s Darren Till (18-2-1) — who is making just his second appearance at 185 pounds — on Fight Island

7:29 AM ET MIKE BROWN WAS sitting at a desk in Jorge Masvidal‘s Las Vegas hotel room. It was July 5, hours before Brown was scheduled to accompany Masvidal on a flight to “Fight Island” for UFC 251. While Brown, one of American Top Team’s head MMA coaches, was on his laptop, Masvidal’s manager, Abe

12:35 PM ET UFC women’s flyweight contender Joanne Calderwood has decided against waiting for a title shot. Calderwood, who was supposed to fight UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in June before Shevchenko injured her knee, has agreed to fight Jennifer Maia on less than two weeks’ notice after Maia’s original opponent, Viviane Araujo, withdrew

2:50 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The Combate Americas mixed martial arts promotion postponed its return to competition Tuesday because of the coronavirus surge in Florida. Combate Americas had planned to return Aug. 28 with the first of three fan-free shows from a television studio in Miami. Instead, CEO Campbell McLaren decided the

7:47 AM ET The UFC certainly brought excitement to Fight Island, including a loaded UFC 251 lineup that featured three title fights and four championship bouts overall in an eight-day span. It’ll bid adieu to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday with another card that’s filled with intriguing storylines. The main

11:58 AM ET Robert Whittaker fights on Saturday for the first time since losing his UFC middleweight championship in October, taking on former welterweight Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the fourth and final event in the UFC’s two-week run on Yas Island,

11:13 PM ET Deiveson Figueiredo left no doubt on Saturday night as to who is the top flyweight in the UFC. Figueiredo knocked down Joseph Benavidez three times in the first round and finished the fight late in the round with a rear-naked choke to capture the vacant flyweight championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab

11:25 PM ET Deiveson Figueiredo dominated Joseph Benavidez to cap off the third main event on Fight Island and become the UFC flyweight champion. The first-round finish featured a tremendous display of striking power, grappling and ultimately a successful submission. Benavidez showed incredible heart, surviving multiple rear-naked choke attempts, but he couldn’t figure out a