MMA

Aug 12, 2021 After recording her first victory as a professional mixed martial artist in June, Claressa Shields will return to the PFL cage on Oct. 27, the boxing champion announced Thursday. PFL officials confirmed to ESPN that she will face Abigail Montes, 21, of Mexico. “I’m always in training. I’m always working,” Shields said

6:22 AM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed his intentions to transition to football in January. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired from Mixed Martial Arts in last October, has signed for third-tier Russian side FC Legion Dynamo. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement following his submission victory over American Justin Gaethje

11:58 PM ET Gegard Mousasi‘s near-perfect run as a Bellator MMA middleweight continued on Friday, as he defended his 185-pound championship against John Salter in Uncasville, Connecticut. Mousasi (48-7-2) earned a TKO finish at 2:07 of the third round, via unanswered strikes on the ground. The 36-year-old veteran weathered an early, grappling-heavy approach from Salter

5:39 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim The welterweight champions from both of the PFL’s past seasons are here. So is a champ from another promotion who was brought in to raise the bar for this season. And then there’s the surprise star who’s found recent success in both boxing and MMA who spoiled the party for

7:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Mohegan Sun Arena is an ocean away from Gegard Mousasi’s hometown in the Netherlands. But the casino resort venue in Uncasville, Connecticut, has provided him with the comfort of home. Mousasi made his Bellator debut in the building in 2017, defeating former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko. That earned the former

9:39 PM ET Brazilian middleweight Paulo Costa says he made a series of poor decisions the night before his first UFC title fight in September, which led to the worst performance of his MMA career. Costa, 30, is scheduled to fight Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Oct. 23. It

6:55 PM ET UFC fighter Jordan Williams stopped a man from stealing his car on Thursday, and gave him a quick MMA lesson in the process. Williams, 30, left his car running in a gas station parking lot in Denver, as he quickly ran in to buy a drink. As the UFC welterweight exited the

8:25 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Keeping alive a quest to pocket $1 million would seem to be all the motivation Ray Cooper III really needs as he heads into Friday’s PFL welterweight playoff semifinal (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+). But Cooper does have an added incentive driving his desire to defeat Rory MacDonald. It has nothing

4:57 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Two MMA legends will fight, but it won’t be in a cage. Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz have signed contracts to meet in an eight-round cruiserweight boxing match on Sept. 11 in the chief-support bout before Oscar De La Hoya faces Vitor Belfort in the pay-per-view main event, Triller co-founder

3:58 PM ET Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, one of the best middleweight mixed martial artists of the past decade, has announced his retirement at age 41. Souza, who is originally from Brazil and fought out of Orlando, Florida, during the latter part of his career, broke the news to Brazilian outlet Combate. He retires with a

6:57 PM ET The UFC is heading back to Fight Island on Oct. 30, officials announced Tuesday. UFC 267 will officially take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will feature a series of fan events entitled Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. The event is part of a multiyear agreement the UFC signed with the

8:12 AM ET There were big winners all over the main card of UFC 265. Jose Aldo proved he has something left in the tank and potential in the bantamweight division with his victory over Pedro Munhoz. Tecia Torres defeated Angela Hill to win her third in a row, a victory that will continue her

2:33 AM ET Ciryl Gane dominated Derrick Lewis to win the UFC interim heavyweight title at UFC 265. There was no big punch or comeback moment from Lewis this time around as Gane dictated every moment of the fight. Now Gane is set up to face Francis Ngannou for the undisputed title. Gane is the

12:49 AM ET HOUSTON — Ciryl Gane is a living, breathing representation of the evolution of mixed martial arts. He’s a poised, smooth and tactical heavyweight who moves like a man two to three weight classes below him. He was born in France, a place that just legalized the sport of MMA last year. Gane

5:28 PM ET Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun HOUSTON — Derrick Lewis, who will headline Saturday’s UFC 265 main event against Ciryl Gane, got his first UFC title shot three years ago against Daniel Cormier. The self-deprecating slugger

8:05 AM ET Things are changing in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Over the past 10 years, the weight class has revolved around a handful of familiar names — relatively older names at that. For a long time, this small collection of veterans held off the up-and-comers and battled for the UFC championship among themselves. That

11:15 AM ET HOUSTON – Everything is bigger in Texas – including this weekend’s super-sized UFC main event. Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane both weighed in successfully Friday morning for their UFC interim heavyweight title bout. Lewis weighed 264.5 pounds and Gane came in at 247. The two men will meet Saturday night in the

8:00 AM ET It was Oct. 6, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Derrick Lewis was losing badly, on the verge of one of the worst losses of his career. Six-foot-7 Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov was seconds away from victory. To add insult to dominance, Volkov was talking trash midfight. When Lewis’ cornermen were