MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 5, 2023, 01:11 PM ET UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier will weigh in as a backup for the UFC 293 main event this weekend, his manager Lou DiBono of First Round Management confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland in the

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 5, 2023, 12:59 PM ET The cover athletes for the next UFC video game were revealed Tuesday. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will grace the cover of the main EA Sports UFC 5 game. Israel Adesanya, the two-time UFC middleweight champion, will be

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNSep 5, 2023, 09:21 AM ET UFC 293 is Saturday in Sydney, and Israel Adesanya is the star of the show. This will be his first fight Down Under for the flamboyant New Zealander since he became UFC middleweight champion four years ago. Adesanya is more than just the weekend’s top attraction. He

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 2, 2023, 06:26 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun It’s amazing how much better Ciryl Gane looks in the Octagon when he’s not fighting Jon Jones. Gane (12-2) breezed to a second-round TKO over Serghei Spivac (16-4) in the

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 1, 2023, 08:21 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun A common belief in mixed martial arts is that once a fighter has one foot out the door into retirement, it’s probably time for them to hang it up. One

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 31, 2023, 03:25 PM ET Chris Weidman suffered a small fracture in his left leg during his fight at UFC 292 earlier this month, the former UFC middleweight champion said on his “Won’t Back Down Radio” show this week. Weidman released a video excerpt of the show on social media

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 30, 2023, 08:46 AM ET Share Open Extended Reactions Kurt Angle got on a plane in 2006 bound for Las Vegas. The former Olympic wrestling gold medalist was potentially about to embark on a new career path. He was finishing up after an excellent run with WWE that made him

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 30, 2023, 12:46 PM ET SRJ Sports Investments, a company launched earlier this month by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has acquired a minority stake in mixed martial arts promotion Professional Fighters League, it was announced Wednesday. As part of the agreement, SRJ will also be an investor in a

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 29, 2023, 01:18 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC has booked a middleweight main event between Brendan Allen and Paul Craig on Nov. 18, promotion officials announced on Tuesday. The 185-pound bout will headline UFC Fight Night

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNAug 28, 2023, 08:07 AM ET If you’re a mixed martial arts promotion and your name doesn’t begin with “U” and end with “FC,” the fight business can rough you up. How does your second-fiddle company attract athletes the MMA fan base has heard of and cares about? How do your fights even

Brianna Williams, ESPNAug 27, 2023, 10:22 PM ET Sean O’Malley hasn’t taken long to get accustomed to his new title as UFC bantamweight champion. Editor’s Picks 1 Related O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC), nicknamed “Suga Sean,” dethroned Aljamain Sterling (23-4) via a second round TKO in UFC 292’s main event to earn the title. In his

Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close Brett Okamoto ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Aug 26, 2023, 10:52 AM ET What were the biggest moments from UFC Fight Night in Singapore? Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto react to Saturday morning’s fights at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 26, 2023, 11:57 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Max Holloway picked up his 20th win in UFC’s featherweight division, and Chan Sung Jung exited the sport the only way he knew how — on his shield. Holloway (24-7)

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterAug 25, 2023, 07:48 AM ET Whether you’re staying up late to watch or getting up very early in the United States, there is a nice slate of UFC fights Saturday morning in Kallang, Singapore. The card is headlined by two of the bigger names in the UFC men’s featherweight division,

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 24, 2023, 12:29 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun NEW YORK — Two of the most exciting fighters in the PFL — and in mixed martial arts — squared off in a lightweight main event on Wednesday inside The

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 23, 2023, 08:26 AM ET Olivier Aubin-Mercier was counting the days until his PFL debut. It was March 2021 and he had not fought in the year and a half since departing the UFC. He’d had a strong run inside the Octagon for half a decade, but after suffering a third straight

Ryan HockensmithAug 23, 2023, 06:30 AM ET Close Ryan Hockensmith is a Penn State graduate who joined ESPN in 2001. He is a survivor of bacterial meningitis, which caused him to have multiple amputation surgeries on his feet. He is a proud advocate for those with disabilities and addiction issues. He covers everything from the

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 22, 2023, 12:55 PM ET For the third straight playoff semifinal card, the PFL faces the potential for a bizarre conclusion to its season after one of its competitors for Wednesday’s fight card in New York missed weight on Tuesday. That creates a circumstance in which a fighter can lose a semifinal