MMA

Jeff Wagenheim Dec 23, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The year of the champion. That’s what 2024 has been in the UFC. How so?There were 16 title fights this year, and in 11 of those, the defending champion walked out of the cage still holding onto the belt. That might not seem so
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Dec 17, 2024, 05:10 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor has not fought since a 2021 defeat to Dustin Poirer. John Locher/AP Photo Conor McGregor has said he intends to delay his return to MMA and has “agreed” to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion, has
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Open Extended Reactions We saw possibly the greatest knockout in MMA history — authored boldly by one fighter with the unspoken cooperation of the other — punctuate a fight for the ages. Then there was the iconic KO and celebration that helped establish a stoic UFC champion as perhaps the sport’s most revered star. And
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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2024, 01:51 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions There’s a new era of welterweights taking over the UFC, and Joaquin Buckley is undeniably one of them. Buckley (21-6) extended his winning streak to six Saturday
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Andreas Hale, ESPNDec 14, 2024, 11:23 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will compete in his first nontitle fight since 2019 when he faces Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 1. Adesanya (24-4) is coming off
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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 11, 2024, 05:00 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Combat sports star Nate Diaz is facing a misdemeanor battery charge in Las Vegas. According to TMZ, the charge stems from an August incident in which Diaz, 39, allegedly shoved
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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 9, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions UFC 310 cemented the legitimacy of a champion and established new title contenders in two divisions. In Saturday’s main event, Alexandre Pantoja made quick work of Kai
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Andreas Hale, ESPNDec 7, 2024, 11:20 PM ET Open Extended Reactions A pair of title fights headline the UFC’s return to Sydney, Australia on Feb. 8. Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight championship in a rematch with Sean Strickland while Zhang Weili puts her strawweight title on the line against Tatiana Suarez at UFC
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Andreas Hale, ESPNDec 8, 2024, 01:27 AM ET Open Extended Reactions LAS VEGAS — Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended the flyweight champion by submitting promotional newcomer Kai Asakura in the second round of their UFC 310 main event showdown at T-Mobile Arena. Pantoja neutralized the former RIZIN bantamweight champion’s explosive striking by bringing the fight to
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Andreas Hale, ESPNDec 6, 2024, 09:20 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Dakota Ditcheva, who has been discussed as the best women’s fighter in the world to not compete in the UFC following her dominant PFL title win last week, revealed Friday that the UFC has made a play to acquire her through a potential trade.
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Jeff Wagenheim Dec 6, 2024, 07:40 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The UFC 310 main event is a mystery story, one that will play out in a narrative genre that’s not so much whodunit as who-is-it. Saturday’s fight pits a low-profile champion from a lower-profile weight class, men’s flyweight Alexandre Pantoja, against a challenger many
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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterDec 5, 2024, 06:54 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions Conor McGregor, who was recently found liable in a sexual assault case in Ireland, was ordered by a Dublin judge on Thursday to cover the complainant’s legal
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Andreas Hale, ESPNDec 4, 2024, 08:47 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Islam Makhachev will look to defend his belt and teammate Umar Nurmagomedov will challenge for a world title in the first UFC pay-per-view card of 2025. Makhachev, the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, will put his lightweight title on the line against the No.
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