MMA

7:23 AM ET Following a three-year hiatus, the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter returns Tuesday night on ESPN and ESPN+. No series has had a bigger impact on the company and the sport of mixed martial arts than TUF. UFC president Dana White has repeatedly said the show saved the company when it debuted

8:34 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Clay Collard was the other guy. He was the one standing across the cage from the PFL’s prized new signee, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. It was a big moment for the emerging fight promotion, and the vibe of the introductions for this season-opening main event last month in Atlantic City, New

1:57 AM ET City Kickboxing (CKB) fighter Fau Vake, who died earlier this month, will be firmly in the thoughts of both middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and rising lightweight Brad Riddell when the duo step into the Octagon at UFC 263 next month. Vake died on May 23 in an Auckland hospital, seven days after

7:51 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim MMA is doing pretty well for a sport less than three decades old. From the UFC to Bellator to the PFL and beyond, the fight game has grown from a shady niche to the spotlit mainstream, drawing in new fans by the day. A few fighters have broken through to

9:20 PM ET The UFC is working on a featherweight matchup between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez for July, according to UFC president Dana White. Contracts have not been signed, but the UFC is close to finalizing the 145-pound contest, sources told ESPN. Once official, it is expected to headline a UFC Fight Night event

2:09 PM ET Former UFC champion Jon Jones has enlisted veteran boxing promoter Richard Schaefer as a representative, he announced via social media on Wednesday. Jones, 33, is one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history, although he has not fought since February 2020. A former light heavyweight champion, Jones vacated his UFC title

7:31 AM ET With a rare off week on the UFC calendar, it’s a good moment to take a step back and look at the biggest stories across several key divisions, with each having its own questions surrounding the championship and the greater title picture. The heavyweight division is seemingly headed toward a rematch of

1:33 PM ET Aaron Pico has his next fight queued up. The top MMA prospect will fight Aiden Lee at Bellator 260 on June 11 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. That card will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Douglas Lima and challenger Yaroslav Amosov. Pico

7:29 AM ET The Ultimate Fighter was an instrumental force during the UFC’s explosion of popularity in the early 2000s — shining a spotlight on fighters like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who coached a variety of MMA hopefuls in a season-long competition in which all of the competitors were housed

11:27 PM ET If Rob Font was underrated heading into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against Cody Garbrandt, he took a big step toward establishing his presence in the bantamweight division with a unanimous decision win. The co-main event was considered by some to be a No. 1 contender fight. Carla Esparza was ranked

11:00 PM ET One of the best divisions in the UFC has a newly minted contender. Rob Font put on one of the best performances of his career, beating former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision (48-47, 50-45, 50-45) in the bantamweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Font’s

9:22 PM ET Paul Felder, a fan favorite and staple of the UFC’s lightweight rankings for years, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Saturday. Felder (17-6), of Philadelphia, broke the news during Saturday’s broadcast of UFC Fight Night, on which he was serving as a commentator. The announcement was a little surprising, as

10:07 PM ET Kevin Lee is officially moving to welterweight, and he’ll face one of the division’s fastest-rising contenders in his debut. Lee has agreed to face Sean Brady at UFC 264 on July 10 in Las Vegas, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed but both sides have agreed to the matchup.

3:29 PM ET The UFC has lost a bout from its event about one hour prior to bell time. A scheduled lightweight fight between Yancy Medeiros and Damir Hadzovic has been canceled because Hadzovic was experiencing health issues, the promotion announced Saturday afternoon. The bout was to be part of the UFC Fight Night: Garbrandt

4:50 PM ET Former UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt will take on the surging Rob Font in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. The winner will have the inside track on a future title shot in a wide-open division, one of the best in the UFC. ESPN has Garbrandt ranked

12:37 AM ET Cris Cyborg picked up yet another victory in a long, illustrious career. But this one, unlikely many of the others, wasn’t over quickly. Cyborg defended her Bellator women’s featherweight title, beating Leslie Smith by TKO at 4 minutes, 51 seconds of the fifth round in the main event of Bellator 259 on

12:45 PM ET Juliana Velasquez has her first Bellator title defense booked. The new Bellator women’s flyweight champion will face top-tier kickboxer Denise Kielholtz at Bellator 262 on July 16 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, the promotion announced Friday. The undefeated Velasquez beat Ilima-Lei Macfarlane to win the title this past December. Bellator 262

7:52 AM ET Four years ago, Cody Garbrandt delivered an all-time classic, five-round performance against Dominick Cruz to capture the UFC’s bantamweight championship. Garbrandt hasn’t looked the same since. Going into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event between Garbrandt (12-3) and Rob Font (18-4) at the Apex in Las Vegas (7 p.m. ET, prelims at