MMA

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 14, 2024, 11:18 PM ET Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended

Aug 14, 2024, 04:18 AM ET Open Extended Reactions South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis takes on Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on August 17/18 [depending on where you are in the world]. ‘Stillknocks’, the current middleweight champion, spoke to ESPN about his gym in Pretoria, his love for his country, and why he

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 13, 2024, 10:18 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor‘s long-awaited return to the UFC won’t happen this year. UFC president Dana White addressed the future of the former two-division champion after the season debut of “Dana White’s Contender Series” on Tuesday. While he was optimistic that McGregor would compete again for

Jeff Wagenheim Aug 12, 2024, 10:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions There’s something special about a mixed martial arts event Down Under. Maybe it’s the time warp a North American fan experiences while watching fights on TV on a Saturday night and realizing that they’re taking place the following morning, local time. That’s about as

ESPN Aug 10, 2024, 10:20 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Serghei Spivac knew he had the advantage on the mat against Marcin Tybura, so that’s exactly where he took the fight to lock in the first-round submission for the win. Spivac (17-4) wasted little time securing the takedown, where he secured an armbar

Andreas Hale, ESPNAug 10, 2024, 10:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — Serghei Spivac made short work of Marcin Tybura and secured a first-round submission Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex. The fight was a rematch of their 2020 meeting when Tybura won a unanimous decision.

Aug 9, 2024, 09:45 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Nothing thrills MMA fans more than watching two fighters clinching against the cage, sweaty arms wrapped around each other’s sweaty backs for minutes at a time, right? If we can’t watch a fight unfold in that manner, how about the joy found in round after round

Aug 7, 2024, 10:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Finally, Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg will make their PFL debuts. On Oct. 19, two of the best fighters in MMA history will have their first matches in the promotion. Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, will face 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in the

Associated Press Aug 7, 2024, 09:39 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is set to return to MMA when he makes his Professional Fighters League debut in October, stepping back inside the cage after a pair of high-profile paydays in boxing. Ngannou fights 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 4, 2024, 01:30 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC Abu Dhabi was a display for rising stars and a former champion, all ready for bigger and better things in their respective divisions. In the main

Aug 3, 2024, 01:15 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Ilia Topuria seized the moment at UFC 298 when he faced one of the featherweight GOATs, Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria dethroned Volkanovski in February and became the 145-pound champion. Eight months later, Topuria will now take on arguably the other featherweight GOAT, as Max Holloway will look

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2024, 06:50 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions In his first UFC main event, Umar Nurmagomedov soundly defeated Cory Sandhagen over the course of 25 minutes, and he didn’t even really need to wrestle to

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2024, 05:35 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Former UFC interim champion Tony Ferguson has set a new record for consecutive defeats in the Octagon. Ferguson (25-10) suffered a submission loss to Michael Chiesa in

Aug 3, 2024, 06:15 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Umar Nurmagomedov continued his winning ways as he defeated Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision on Saturday night. Nurmagomedov (18-0) is now on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC, and with the win over ESPN’s No. 3 ranked bantamweight in Sandhagen (17-5), “Young Eagle” will likely

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 3, 2024, 11:01 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Coming off arguably the greatest knockout in UFC history, Max Holloway will try to regain his featherweight championship when he challenges Ilia Topuria in October. A featherweight

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 2, 2024, 11:32 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Dakota Ditcheva is erasing any doubts around her overall skill level in mixed martial arts, one sensational knockout at a time. Ditcheva (13-0) punched her way to

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 2, 2024, 08:53 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions The UFC’s event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday on ABC has been a bit overshadowed by last weekend’s festivities in Manchester, which featured two title fights at

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterAug 1, 2024, 09:00 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Kayla Harrison has booked her second UFC appearance, a non-title bantamweight matchup against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 in October. Both fighters confirmed the matchup via social