MMA

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 12, 2023, 12:36 PM ET The UFC and WWE are now officially under one roof. Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, and WWE announced Tuesday the closing of its merger and the launch of TKO, a company that will combine the forces of the two global-powerhouse live-event and sports promoters. TKO

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 11, 2023, 06:36 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC has canceled a featherweight bout between Khusein Askhabov and Daniel Pineda next month, following the arrest of Askhabov related to an alleged kidnapping and robbery in Thailand. The

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 11, 2023, 09:00 AM ET Sean Strickland is a UFC champion. Do not adjust your screen. That is not a typo. On Saturday, Strickland dethroned heavy favorite Israel Adesanya to

Sep 10, 2023, 01:21 AM ET UFC 293 concluded with a shock as Sean Strickland pulled off the major upset to grab the middleweight title from Israel Adesanya. Before that, some standout performances on the main card put Alexander Volkov and Manel Kape on an interesting path. Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim react

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 10, 2023, 12:32 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The greatest upset in UFC middleweight title fight history belongs to Sean Strickland. Strickland (28-5) stunned the mixed martial arts world on Saturday, as he claimed the 185-pound championship in

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 Sep 9, 2023, 06:46 PM ET To be clear, Sean Strickland has fought in the UFC since 2014, and his résumé is undeniably strong during that time. But the primary reason

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 9, 2023, 12:30 AM ET Junior Dos Santos demonstrated what a big heavyweight puncher can do in a bare-knuckle fight. In a fight featuring two former UFC heavyweight champions, Dos Santos opened up bad cuts near both of Fabricio Werdum‘s eyes en route to a split-decision win (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterSep 7, 2023, 05:15 PM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. SYDNEY, Australia —

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 8, 2023, 07:41 AM ET Jese Tuivoavoa was a student at Rotorua Boys’ High School in New Zealand in 2004 when he first met Israel Adesanya. The two were in their early teens and were introduced by a mutual friend during physical education class. Throughout his childhood, Adesanya had already

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2023, 10:43 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun The UFC has booked two new main events for October. A lightweight bout between Grant Dawson and Bobby Green will headline a UFC Fight Night on Oct. 7, sources confirmed

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterSep 7, 2023, 07:37 AM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. SYDNEY — Israel

Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff WriterSep 6, 2023, 08:30 AM ET UFC will use the program ProhiBet to expand its compliance with gambling regulations by catching fighters and others around the sport trying to place bets, the promotion announced Wednesday. Through ProhiBet, wagers made by prohibited bettors — described in a release as UFC athletes, coaches,

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