MMA

6:08 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi LAS VEGAS — Israel Adesanya had a look into a proverbial crystal ball Thursday at the UFC 276 news conference. Behind him on the dais were Sean Strickland and Alex

2:07 AM ET Kayla Harrison‘s quest for a third PFL championship is very much alive following a first-round finish over Kaitlin Young on Friday night in the main event at PFL 6 in Atlanta. Harrison (14-0) won the 155-pound bout via TKO at 2:35 of the opening round, solidifying the No. 2 seed in the

12:27 AM ET There will be a pretty hefty cash prize at stake at UFC 276 — and not only for the combatants. 2 Related In a call to Israel Adesanya, who is set to face off against Jared Cannonier on Saturday night in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV), rapper Drake told

12:26 PM ET LAS VEGAS — The top four fighters competing at UFC 276 all made weight successfully Friday morning here at the UFC Apex. Israel Adesanya weighed in at 183.5 pounds and Jared Cannonier was 184.5 pounds for their main event fight. Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Cannonier on Saturday night

8:05 AM ET Randy Couture made his UFC debut on May 30, 1997, at UFC 13. UFC held the card in front of just more than 5,000 people in Augusta, Georgia. There was no regulation for the event; the rules changed from card to card to accommodate local fighting commissions or avoid political scorn. It

12:27 AM ET LAS VEGAS — The UFC inducted MMA’s version of “The Odd Couple” into its Hall of Fame on Thursday, as former titleholders Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov officially joined its Modern Wing. Cormier and Nurmagomedov were both in attendance on Thursday inside T-Mobile Arena. Cormier, 43, is a former two-weight champion in

4:59 PM ET Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion accused of trying to kill the man he claims molested his 4-year-old son, is suing the man and his family who own a day care where the alleged molestation occurred. Velasquez was arrested in San Jose, California, last February

2:45 PM ET Valerie Loureda, a top women’s MMA prospect with Bellator, has signed a multiyear contract with WWE, she told ESPN on Wednesday. Loureda, 23, said she’ll move to Orlando from Miami and report to the WWE Performance Center on July 19. She’ll remain under contract with Bellator, the promotion told ESPN in a

10:00 AM ET Ian ParkerESPN With the playoff seeding set for four of the six weight classes in the PFL, all eyes turn to welterweight and women’s lightweight divisions. Both weight classes will have their second and final regular-season fights of the year this Friday at PFL 6 (main card on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m.

12:35 AM ET Teammates, friends — champions. Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski are the headline events at UFC 276 Saturday in Las Vegas on Saturday (10 p.m. on ESPN+ PPV, Sunday afternoon AEST), the duo defending their middleweight and featherweight crowns against Jared Cannonier and Max Holloway respectively. It is also a huge night for

9:00 AM ET With two title fights and a slew of rising stars on the main card, UFC 276 could be the year’s biggest event. And with the stakes being what they are, there’s a good chance it lives up to the hype. Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title for a sixth consecutive time

2:21 AM ET IT HAS BEEN almost a year since South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis (16-2), entered the Octagon — a successful UFC 264 outing last July that only lasted two rounds, knocking out Trevin Giles. But his quest to return has been a prolonged battle, complete with injury, opponent changes, fight cancellations and incredible

1:48 PM ET A scheduled women’s flyweight contender bout between Miesha Tate and Lauren Murphy has been moved to UFC Long Island on July 16, the UFC announced Monday. The bout was moved from UFC 276 on Saturday, the UFC said, due to COVID-19 protocols. Murphy wrote Sunday on Twitter that she tested positive for

9:06 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim A pay-per-view event headlined by two championship bouts used to be a special occasion. Now it’s practically a business model. UFC 276, which takes place Saturday in Las Vegas (10 p.m. on ESPN+ PPV), will be the company’s fourth straight PPV with a pair of fights with belts on the

12:30 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Max Holloway should be under a lot of pressure. It’s Saturday, June 25, seven days before he is set to face Alexander Volkanovski for the third time at UFC 276 and Holloway (23-6) is sitting inside T-Mobile Arena for the first time since December 2019, when he surrendered the

1:45 AM ET If Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot was a look into the future of the UFC lightweight division, then that future looks awfully bright. Gamrot beat Tsarukyan by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. But the result could have gone either

12:18 AM ET UFC women’s flyweight contender Lauren Murphy had to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Miesha Tate at UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas for undisclosed reasons, sources told ESPN. The UFC is seeking a new, short-notice opponent for Tate, sources said, but it’s unclear if she’ll compete on the card.

11:46 PM ET ATLANTA — Stevie Ray needed to finish former UFC champion Anthony Pettis on Friday in order to make the 2022 PFL playoffs. Well, mission accomplished for the 32-year-old veteran. Ray (24-10) punched his ticket to the PFL playoffs with a rare finishing move against Pettis. The Scottish fighter tapped Pettis via modified