MMA

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

3:04 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Liz Carmouche will defend her Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship against DeAnna Bennett in the main event of Bellator 294 on April 21, part of the fight promotion’s two-night visit to Honolulu, Bellator announced Wednesday. Carmouche (18-7) won the title last April with a TKO of Juliana Velasquez, then submitted

8:00 AM ET Four weeks after she scored a dominant top-10 win, former strawweight champion and onetime women’s flyweight title challenger Jessica Andrade is back this weekend, taking on rising prospect Erin Blanchfield in a short-notice booking at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at the UFC Apex are on ESPN+,

9:24 AM ET Following one of the more dramatic fights the sport of MMA has seen, there are still plenty of unanswered questions after an instant classic over the weekend at UFC 284 between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC lightweight title and the pound-for-pound crown. Who or what stole that show in

1:39 AM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Everything was different this time. Islam Makhachev successfully defended his UFC lightweight championship Saturday night in a performance that did not at all resemble the victory last October that earned him the belt. On this night, Makhachev mostly stood and traded punches to win his superfight against featherweight champ Alexander

11:57 PM ET Yair Rodriguez is the UFC’s interim featherweight champion following a masterful finish over Josh Emmett at UFC 284. Rodriguez (15-3) submitted Emmett via triangle choke at 4 minutes, 19 seconds of the second round. The 145-pound bout co-headlined UFC 284, which took place on Sunday morning local time at RAC Arena. The

Feb 11, 2023 Jens Pulver will be inducted into the pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame later this year, the promotion announced Saturday. Pulver, 48, became the UFC’s first lightweight champion in February 2001, when he defeated Caol Uno at UFC 30 in Atlantic City. Nicknamed “Lil Evil,” he went on to defend

2:00 AM ET What were the biggest moments from UFC 284 in Perth, Australia? Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Sam Bruce offer up their final thoughts after the 12-fight card from Down Under. Now an interim champ, Rodriguez’s growth as a fighter is clear Yair Rodriguez might be the most exciting fighter on the UFC

7:08 PM ET Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade will fill in for Taila Santos in the UFC Fight Night main event Feb. 18 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Saturday. Andrade will face top prospect Erin Blanchfield in a women’s flyweight contender bout. Santos’ cornermen, including her husband, Pedro Barbosa, were denied visas

8:08 AM ET Alexander Volkanovski Alexander Volkanovski is ranked by ESPN as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s never lost in the UFC, compiling an impressive 12-0 record since his 2016 debut. The Australian has won 22 straight fights and owns four successful title defenses as the UFC featherweight champion. Yet, despite all