MMA

11:07 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Magomed Ankalaev‘s game plan, a bit perplexing as the fight unfolded, finally made sense as he was being interviewed inside the Octagon after his unanimous-decision victory over Thiago Santos in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. “I wanted to fight five rounds and see

10:13 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov put Dagestan MMA on the map, becoming one of the greatest lightweights in the sport’s history. Islam Makhachev is on the verge of earning his own UFC lightweight title shot. Soon enough, there could be another stalwart Dagestani fighter earning an opportunity at gold in the bigger weight divisions. Magomed

6:23 PM ET UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is scheduled to undergo knee surgery on March 18, according to his manager, Marquel Martin. Ngannou (17-3), 35, is wrapping up a trip in his native Cameroon this week and is scheduled to return to the U.S. for the procedure next week. He suffered a torn MCL

3:55 PM ET UFC announced Friday that a lightweight bout between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson is being set for UFC 274 on May 7 in Phoenix. Chandler and Ferguson have verbally agreed to the fight, but bout agreements have not been sent out and nothing has been signed, sources told ESPN. ESPN has Chandler

6:47 PM ET Paige VanZant just signed a professional wrestling contract to go along with her deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). But she has not closed any kind of doors on mixed martial arts, where she first made her name. VanZant told ESPN on Friday that she still plans to continue her MMA

7:56 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event is a light heavyweight bout between onetime title challenger Thiago Santos and rising contender Magomed Ankalaev. There is a lot of intrigue around this 205-pound matchup, as the division is wide open at the moment. Santos (22-9) is rebuilding from a rough stretch

8:35 PM ET The UFC is targeting a middleweight matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori in June, officials told ESPN on Thursday. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is close to being finalized for a UFC 275 pay-per-view on June 11. A location for the card has yet to be

11:02 PM ET One of the most popular women in mixed martial arts is crossing over into professional wrestling. Paige VanZant, a UFC veteran, has signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling, AEW president Tony Khan announced Wednesday night on Twitter. VanZant signed her AEW contract in a segment on Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” television show.

3:53 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has signed with Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s Eagle FC and will make his promotional debut against Yorgan De Castro on May 20. Nurmagomedov announced the heavyweight main event to ESPN on Wednesday. Additionally, Hector Lombard will face Thiago Silva on the card’s co-main event. The Eagle FC

8:10 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight bout between Rob Font and Marlon Vera to headline a UFC Fight Night event next month, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts are expected to be signed shortly. The 135-pound contest will serve as the main event of UFC Fight Night on April 30. The

9:00 AM ET Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev meet in the light heavyweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. It is a crossroads fight in some respects, as the 38-year-old Santos is nearly three years removed from an unsuccessful challenge for the UFC’s 205-pound title and Ankalaev, 29, is one

6:52 PM ET The UFC has announced a welterweight matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns for UFC 273. The 170-pound contest had been in the works for some time but was finalized only recently. The UFC announced Saturday the bout is now official for its next pay-per-view event on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida.

10:48 AM ET Bellator is bringing one of its deepest cards in some time to Hawai’i. Cris Cyborg, one of the top female fighters of all time, will defend her Bellator women’s featherweight title against Arlene Blencowe in a rematch April 23 in Honolulu, Hawai’i, the promotion announced Wednesday morning. ESPN has Cyborg ranked as

9:30 AM ET The hottest free agent in MMA has chosen her home for 2022. And it’s the same as her previous home. Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, has re-signed with PFL, ESPN has confirmed. Bellator made her a lucrative offer earlier this year, but PFL had the right to match any offer

8:53 PM ET UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev claims he never turned down an offer to fight Rafael dos Anjos on short notice last weekend. Quite the opposite, in fact. Makhachev (22-1), who defeated Bobby Green in a UFC Fight Night main event on Feb. 26, publicly offered to face dos Anjos in a 170-pound

2:09 PM ET Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was denied bail Monday in his attempted murder case, per a Santa Clara County (California) court spokesperson. Judge Shelyna Brown of Santa Clara County Superior Court said the “risk is too great” to let Velasquez out on bail because of the “extreme recklessness” of the retired

7:53 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Kamaru Usman stood on stage Friday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena, his daughter Samirah next to him. The UFC welterweight champion and ESPN’s pound-for-pound MMA king was participating in a question-and-answer session with UFC interviewer Megan Olivi ahead of the UFC 272 ceremonial weigh-ins. Usman was asked if the winner

10:49 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov is headed to the UFC’s Hall of Fame. The UFC announced on Saturday that Nurmagomedov (29-0), the undefeated former champion from Dagestan, will be inducted as part of the UFC Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 during the promotion’s International Fight Week in July. Nurmagomedov was in