MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 22, 2023, 01:36 PM ET Chris Leben, a popular retired former pro MMA fighter, will make his Nevada debut as a judge Saturday on the UFC Fight Night card, sources told ESPN on Friday. Leben, who fought in the UFC from 2005 to 2013, has been a pro referee and

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNSep 22, 2023, 08:18 AM ET When Leon Edwards connected with an unexpected head kick on Kamaru Usman late in their August 2022 fight to become UFC welterweight champion, one of the Edwards cornermen remembers a chill running through his body at cageside as he let out a “Wow!” That reaction was shared

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 20, 2023, 10:48 PM ET Two title fights have been set up for the UFC’s end-of-the-year pay-per-view. Leon Edwards will defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 296 on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday on social media. In

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 20, 2023, 11:04 PM ET Two of the most exciting big men in the UFC will meet for gold at Madison Square Garden. Former light heavyweight champion Jirí Procházka and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira will fight for the vacant light heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 295

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 20, 2023, 09:14 PM ET Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director Jeff Mullen said on a judges training call Wednesday that he did not agree with a controversial score in last Saturday night’s UFC women’s featherweight title fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso and Shevchenko fought to

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 20, 2023, 07:02 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun In his first comments since losing the UFC’s middleweight championship earlier this month, Israel Adesanya said he is “quietly confident” he will beat Sean Strickland if and when the two

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 19, 2023, 07:48 PM ET Any potential for an Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko trilogy might have to wait a bit. Shevchenko, the former UFC women’s flyweight champion, will need surgery on a fractured right thumb, she wrote Tuesday on Instagram. She suffered the injury in the Noche UFC main

Sep 18, 2023, 09:12 AM ET After experiencing the rollercoaster that 2023 has been in MMA, it’s safe to assume that the remainder of the year will be just as chaotic. Jamahal Hill became the first-ever “Dana White’s Contender Series” winner to capture a UFC title. Sean O’Malley followed Hill’s footsteps, dethroning bantamweight great Aljamain

Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Sep 17, 2023, 01:51 AM ET Noche UFC 293 concluded with a split decision draw between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, thus allowing Grasso to retain the belt. Before that, some

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 17, 2023, 01:16 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The rivalry between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko might need a trilogy. Grasso and Shevchenko fought to a split draw (48-47, 47-48, 47-47) on Saturday night in the main event of Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Because of the

Sep 16, 2023, 12:41 PM ET It’s time for the rematch. Alexa Grasso defends her UFC women’s flyweight title against former longtime champ Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of Noche UFC on Saturday in Las Vegas.The fights at T-Mobile Arena are on ESPN+, with the 10 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 15, 2023, 05:54 PM ET AJ McKee has found himself back in the Bellator lightweight tournament mix after all. Sort of. McKee, the former Bellator featherweight champion and one of the promotion’s biggest stars, will face Sidney Outlaw on Nov. 17 in a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix alternate bout,

Carlos Contreras Legaspi Sep 15, 2023, 08:15 AM ET The rear-naked choke is the most commonly applied jiu-jitsu submission in MMA. Winning and losing by that method have marked the career of UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso. The Mexican standout, who dethroned Valentina Shevchenko in March at UFC 285 with that choke as a

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 15, 2023, 12:31 AM ET Longtime UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson and the promotion have mutually parted ways, Brunson’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, confirmed Thursday night with ESPN. Abdelaziz said Brunson is now a free agent, and he believes Brunson will seek opportunities in other promotions in the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 14, 2023, 09:29 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The UFC will celebrate Mexican Independence Day for the first time this weekend with a card centered around Mexican and Mexican-American fighters. Alexa Grasso, the UFC’s first Mexican-born women’s champion, will headline Noche UFC on Saturday, defending her women’s flyweight title against

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 13, 2023, 05:33 PM ET A pair of title fights will headline Bellator’s return to Chicago this fall. Yaroslav Amosov will defend the Bellator welterweight belt against Jason Jackson, and bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will look to unify the title against interim champ Patchy Mix on Nov. 17 at the

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 13, 2023, 11:15 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Kayla Harrison will make her first appearance of 2023 against Julia Budd on Nov. 24 in Washington D.C. Harrison (15-1) will face former Bellator MMA champion Julia Budd (17-6) in

Eddie Maisonet Sep 13, 2023, 12:15 PM ET Despite being arguably the closest person to Israel Adesanya in his fight camp, City Kickboxing head trainer Eugene Bareman couldn’t identify from cageside what many observers called out after his fighter’s loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday. “There’s a very small percentage, less than