MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJan 11, 2024, 08:37 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Brandon Moreno has a new opponent in his return to his home country. The former two-time UFC flyweight champion will fight Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Amir Albazi,

Dec 27, 2023, 11:23 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Magomed Ankalaev meets Johnny Walker in a rematch of top-10 light heavyweights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex are on ESPN+, with the 7 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 4 p.m.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJan 10, 2024, 11:25 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC’s next milestone event will have a first — two Chinese athletes fighting one another in a title bout. Zhang Weili will defend her UFC women’s strawweight title against countrywoman Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas,

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJan 10, 2024, 11:50 AM ET Open Extended Reactions ONE Championship will return to the United States with two events late in 2024, officials told ESPN on Wednesday. ONE Fight Night 26 will take place Sept. 6 at Ball Arena in Denver, and ONE Fight Night 28 will be held Nov.

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJan 9, 2024, 10:14 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jorge Masvidal‘s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA will crown its first heavyweight champion early in 2024. Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos will fight fellow UFC veteran Alan Belcher for the title on March 2 in Orlando, the promotion announced Tuesday night. In

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterJan 8, 2024, 08:54 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Jon Jones had a second surgery in four months Monday, the MMA all-time great announced on social media. The UFC heavyweight champion said that he had a procedure done by Dr. Neil S. ElAttrache in California to shave down bone spurs in

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 8, 2024, 10:16 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will look to solidify himself as the division’s next title challenger against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April, UFC CEO Dana

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 8, 2024, 10:08 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The UFC has added a major lightweight matchup between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis to its pay-per-view in March, UFC CEO Dana White announced Sunday evening.

Jan 8, 2024, 08:31 AM ET Open Extended Reactions This year is going to be a for MMA. Even with the sport having just a limited number of events already booked, there is plenty to look forward to. The UFC is set to host its 300th pay-per-view event in Las Vegas in April. The PFL

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 5, 2024, 02:54 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Former UFC champion Chris Weidman‘s return from a serious leg injury will continue in March, when he takes on Bruno Silva at a UFC Fight Night event

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 5, 2024, 03:17 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions While Michael Chandler‘s fight against Conor McGregor in June is not official, that won’t stop Chandler from getting into fight camp as early as this month. Chandler

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 3, 2024, 01:21 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell says he will avoid contact training for six months after he was on the wrong end of one of the most vicious knockouts

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJan 3, 2024, 09:28 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Let’s go, baby. It’s my annual “Fights I want to see most” for 2024, and you know what? I’m optimistic we’ll actually get to see a lot

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 31, 2023, 01:37 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor intends to make his UFC return against Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas. Whether or not that actually happens still remains to be

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNDec 27, 2023, 09:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions In 2023, UFC champions put their belts up for grabs 16 times, and on six of those occasions the challenger walked out of the cage with the gold. If you add in the three bouts for vacant titles it becomes clear how turbulent the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterDec 21, 2023, 10:28 PM ET Open Extended Reactions UFC 300 has its first three official fights. UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday night on social media that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will face Aleksandar Rakic and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will move up to featherweight to

Dec 21, 2023, 09:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions 2024 is shaping up to be a fascinating year in MMA. The UFC will celebrate its’ 300th pay-per-view event in April, Francis Ngannou — the “baddest man on the planet” — will make his debut in PFL (though we don’t know if it’ll be MMA or

Editor’s note: Watch Stephania Bell’s documentary on Chris Weidman’s recovery on ESPN+. Chris Weidman lay face down in the Octagon, writhing in pain and trying to understand the severity of his injury. The former UFC middleweight champion was just 17 seconds into his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, on April