MMA

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 11, 2024, 01:12 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Brian Ortega is a lucky man. The former UFC featherweight title challenger will face Diego Lopes at Noche UFC at The Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend. The pair were originally slated to meet at UFC 303 in a short notice bout booked when

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 11, 2024, 07:52 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions HELENA, Mont. — SEAN O’MALLEY IS standing at the living room window of his childhood home, taking in the panoramic view of his hometown. It’s been a

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 10, 2024, 02:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor‘s return to the UFC won’t happen in 2024. After an injury forced him out of a highly anticipated return to action at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler in June, McGregor sought to fight before the end of the year. However, UFC CEO

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNSep 9, 2024, 10:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions At first glance, the UFC’s approach to celebrating Mexican Independence Day this coming weekend seems perplexing. UFC 306, which takes place Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas, is headlined by a fight between an Irish-American from Montana and a New Yorker transplanted from

Sep 7, 2024, 10:15 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Sean Brady placed himself back in the welterweight title picture with an impressive win over Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Brady landed 274 strikes and recorded over 10 minutes of control time

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2024, 10:16 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Philadelphia’s Sean Brady solidified himself as one of the top welterweights in the world on Saturday, outpointing Gilbert Burns in a five-round main event in Las Vegas.

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 8, 2024, 01:18 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Usman Nurmagomedov retained his lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Alexander Shabliy in the main event of Bellator Championship Series 4 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The fight lacked much in the way of action and drama as Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1

Sep 7, 2024, 04:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Demetrious Johnson‘s legacy in MMA is up there with the best ever to do it. He reigned with the UFC flyweight belt through a record 11 consecutive title defenses, and in 2022, he became ONE Championship’s 135-pound champion. When news broke on Friday that the 38-year-old

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 6, 2024, 11:52 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is calling it a career. The former UFC flyweight champion, current ONE Championship flyweight champion and arguably one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time announced Friday night at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, that he will be

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterSep 6, 2024, 10:49 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Jorge Masvidal said Friday he intends to resume his career in mixed martial arts and already has discussed his pending return with the UFC. Masvidal (35-17) announced

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 6, 2024, 09:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Dustin Poirier says he will return to the Octagon for one last fight. Poirier, 35, teased the idea of retirement after his loss to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 in June but has reversed course. Responding to a post on X

Sep 6, 2024, 07:49 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Sean O’Malley makes the second defense of his UFC men’s bantamweight championship against Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of two-title-fight UFC 306 on Saturday, Sept. 14, in Las Vegas. The event, which the fight promotion is billing as Noche UFC becauase it falls on Mexican

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 4, 2024, 08:52 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Valentina Shevchenko said she is wary of allowing the judges determine the outcome of her trilogy bout with flyweight champion Alexa Grasso after their previous meeting ended in a controversial split draw. Shevchenko will try to regain the title when she meets Grasso for

Andreas Hale, ESPNSep 3, 2024, 06:02 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC’s return to Edmonton, Alberta on Nov. 2 has a new main event. UFC CEO Dana White announced on X that former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno will face Amir Albazi at Rogers Place in what will likely be a title eliminator. Editor’s Picks

Records are made to be broken, right? Try telling that to Wilt Chamberlain and Cy Young. “Wilt the Stilt” averaged an NBA-record 50.4 points per game in 1961-1962, a season in which he also set a single-game scoring mark with 100 points. No one has come close to either record in the six decades since.

Aug 26, 2024, 10:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Despite September being one of the lighter months on the UFC calendar, with only three weekends featuring fight cards, it is significant with the promotion’s ambitious endeavor into Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14 for Noche UFC — which is how the fight promotion is

Aug 13, 2024, 09:25 PM ET Open Extended Reactions “Dana White’s Contender Series” returns for Season 8 on Aug. 13. The show, which has been a pipeline to the UFC for top talent from around the world, has helped the UFC discover some of the best fighters in the sport today including bantamweight champion Sean

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 25, 2024, 01:48 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions It is not easy to break into a top five ranking in the UFC, but Caio Borralho has made it happen in a relatively short amount of