MMA

8:00 AM ET IT’S A SATURDAY morning in one of the final weeks of winter, and I’m standing in Allstars Training Center for precisely one reason. I have traveled all this way because I need to see it for myself. I’ve heard the stories. It feels like everyone has, at this point. Tales of a

8:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim A championship prizefight makes a Saturday night feel special. And when there are two tussles for titles on the fight card, that doubles the big-event exhilaration. This weekend’s UFC 273 (Saturday, 10 p.m., on ESPN+ PPV) offers all that and more. The 13-fight event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in

12:31 PM ET UFC 273 is a fight card that keeps on giving. The April 9 pay-per-view event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, will be headlined by a men’s featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung. For Jung, whom the UFC bills by his nickname, “The Korean Zombie,”

11:58 AM ET UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum will not fight at UFC 273 on April 9 because of an undisclosed injury. Gastelum (17-8) was forced to withdraw from a bout against Dricus du Plessis (16-2) scheduled next weekend in Jacksonville, Florida, per UFC officials. Additional sources told ESPN that du Plessis, of South Africa, is

7:33 PM ET Bellator MMA welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov, who has postponed his professional career in order to serve his native Ukraine, posted a video of himself recovering his 170-pound title belt amid the ongoing Russian invasion on Friday. Amosov, 28, posted several videos on Instagram, as well as a picture of himself with a

8:30 AM ET We’re in the middle of a very rare off week in the UFC schedule — and in MMA, in general, actually — with no big fights to watch as we close out March and kick off April. That said, there is plenty to discuss and reflect on in this sport, including the

9:00 AM ET WWE will begin talent tryouts Wednesday for 45 current and former college athletes, including 19 football players, as part of WrestleMania Week in the Dallas area. The three-day tryout, taking place at Dallas Cowboys headquarters in Frisco, Texas, will include evaluations for performance and promotion as well as interviews and technical sessions

3:11 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Editor’s note: Khamzat Chimaev faces the biggest test of his career on April 9 at UFC 273, taking on top-five welterweight Gilbert Burns. This story has been updated since being published in October following Chimaev’s most recent fight. After an absence of over a year, Khamzat Chimaev returned to the

9:00 AM ET The PFL announced on Tuesday its opening regular-season matchups for the heavyweight and featherweight divisions on April 28. A heavyweight matchup between 2021 champion Bruno Cappelozza (14-5) and Stuart Austin (15-7) will headline the PFL 2 event at Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas. PFL’s regular-season format begins April 20 with the light

8:43 PM ET A promising young middleweight fighter is out of what would have been his biggest test to date. Nassourdine Imavov has been removed from a scheduled fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 273 on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, because of visa issues, the UFC announced Monday. The bout has been canceled from

7:53 AM ET The first three months of the year are nearly in the books, but which UFC fighters have surprised and stood out most thus far? More importantly, are they here to stay? The heavyweight division looks to be making way for new stars, as Tai Tuivasa survived a rock fight with Derrick Lewis

10:52 PM ET UFC Fight Night in Columbus, Ohio, delivered with the dust settling on three divisions as Curtis Blaydes, Alexa Grasso and Kai Kara-France put on a show while putting the current champions on notice. Will any of the three get a title fight with their next matchup? Blaydes certainly hopes so, as the

10:29 PM ET Curtis Blaydes, one of the most unapologetic wrestlers in the UFC, decided to show off his hands on Saturday. A former collegiate wrestler, Blaydes (16-3) produced a highlight-reel finish over Chris Daukaus (12-5) in the main event of UFC Fight Night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The finish came just 17

7:48 PM ET The UFC lost a top women’s bantamweight contender fight on its pay-per-view card next month but is replacing it with another. Irene Aldana is out of a scheduled fight with Aspen Ladd at UFC 273 on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, because of an undisclosed injury, sources confirmed Saturday to ESPN. In

2:32 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a middleweight bout between Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira in July, multiple sources told ESPN. Contacts have not been signed but both sides have agreed to the 185-pound matchup. It will take place on what is expected to be a UFC 277 pay-per-view on July 30. The UFC

3:49 PM ET UFC superstar Nate Diaz has publicly requested a release from his exclusive contract with the promotion. Diaz, 36, issued the request on social media on Saturday. He tagged the accounts of the UFC and UFC president Dana White. He also included a tag aimed at Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief business officer.

11:34 AM ET The UFC is finalizing a flyweight matchup between Jessica Eye and Casey O’Neill for a pay-per-view event on July 2, sources told ESPN. The 125-pound contest will take place at UFC 276, which is expected to be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC has not announced a main event

1:53 PM ET Bellator has shuffled its upcoming tournament after a pair of injuries to significant names. Bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis and the popular James Gallagher are both out of the scheduled Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix, the promotion officially confirmed Thursday. Former champ Juan Archuleta will replace Pettis and fight Raufeon Stots for the