MMA

11:07 AM ET ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — JON JONES was giddy entering the Zia Strength Systems gym one afternoon last summer. Jones could not wait to tell Jordan Chavez, his strength and conditioning coach, the good news. Jones had fought the entirety of his accolade-filled career at light heavyweight — 205 pounds. Before cutting to that

10:27 AM ET The UFC has released former title challenger Darren Till from his exclusive contract. Till, 30, confirmed his release from the UFC on social media Wednesday. According to Till, the UFC severed his contract at his request. “What’s happening everyone,” he wrote on Twitter. “Me, [UFC president Dana White and UFC Chief Business

8:47 AM ET Andres Waters Valentina Shevchenko will make her first Octagon appearance of 2023 at UFC 285 on Saturday. The UFC women’s flyweight champion will put her title on the line against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m ET). Shevchenko has been one of the most dominant fighters in the

2:28 PM ET The UFC has rebooked a light heavyweight fight between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann for March 11, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday. The 205-pound bout was supposed to headline UFC Fight Night last Saturday in Las Vegas, but was canceled just hours before it was scheduled after Krylov fell ill. The

12:30 PM ET One of the top fighters in the world outside the UFC will make his debut on United States soil later this year. Roberto Soldic, a former KSW double champion, will fight Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes 3 on May 5 in Broomfield, Colorado, promotion officials told ESPN

9:18 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Jon Jones returns this weekend. Allow me to repeat that with appropriate emphasis and enthusiasm: Jon Jones! Returns! This weekend! I had to resist the urge to go all caps there, because this is BIG. Jones will be fighting for the first time in over three years when he steps

8:23 PM ET The UFC lost a light heavyweight main event between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann on Saturday after Krylov was forced to pull out of the bout because of illness just hours before it was scheduled to take place. UFC officials announced Krylov’s withdrawal at the start of the main card of UFC

7:46 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Yaroslav Amosov had not competed inside the Bellator MMA cage since the summer of 2021. He had been busy with a more consequential fight. Amosov, the welterweight champion from Ukraine who stepped away from MMA over a year ago to help defend his country against the Russian invasion, returned on

6:41 PM ET Jim Miller‘s goal of competing at UFC 300 is undeterred despite an alarming injury. Miller, a lightweight veteran who has the most wins (24) and fights (41) in UFC history, announced Thursday on Instagram that he suffered a traumatic cataract in his right eye in his fight last weekend with Alexander Hernandez,

8:44 AM ET The UFC schedule is about to enter a monster stretch, with marquee pay-per-view events in Las Vegas and London within the next three weeks. UFC 285, March 4: Jon Jones at heavyweight, finally. UFC 286, March 18: Leon Edwards–Kamaru Usman trilogy bout — in London! There are other fantastic fights on those

11:53 AM ET Politicians in California are hoping to give back to retired fighters. A proposal in the California Legislature would set up a pension fund for former MMA fighters who have a certain number of fights in the state, bill sponsor Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) told ESPN. The legislation was introduced in state

1:27 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a heavyweight matchup between Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes to headline an event on April 22, multiple sources told ESPN. The promotion has not announced the heavyweight fight or a location for the UFC Fight Night event, however both sides have agreed to a five-round main event per

11:30 AM ET Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will face top contender Beneil Dariush in May. The UFC has not officially announced the 155-pound bout, but Oliveira referred to it as official on social media, and sources told ESPN Dariush’s side has agreed. The lightweight fight will take place May 6 at an event

11:03 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo, both fighters announced on social media. Contracts have not been signed, but the 135-pound title fight is being targeted for May 6. The UFC has not officially announced an event on that date, but it is expected to

4:16 PM ET Bellator fighter Sidney Outlaw tested positive for three prohibited substances in an out-of-competition drug test administered by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, department director Mike Mazzulli told ESPN on Tuesday. According to Mazzulli, Outlaw tested positive for ostarine, GW-501516 and anastrozole, all prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Because

8:07 AM ET Mixed martial arts will never experience anything like this year’s NBA trade deadline — when second-round draft picks seemingly turned into Monopoly money — but it’s fun to dream. So, in the spirit of all the drama that unfolded on the hardwood, here are a few trades we’d like to see take

10:03 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Erin Blanchfield might just be one of the best young title prospects the UFC has seen in years. Blanchfield, 23, picked up the biggest win of her career on Saturday, submitting former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade via rear-naked choke at the 1-minute, 37-second mark of the second round. The

8:34 AM ET Megan Anderson On just one week’s notice, Jessica Andrade has stepped in for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against rising women’s flyweight prospect Erin Blanchfield (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET main card, prelims at 4 p.m.). Andrade (24-9), a former strawweight champion and one-time flyweight title challenger, is replacing Taila Santos and