MMA

7:20 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Israel Adesanya, who headlines UFC 259 vs. Jan Blachowicz on Saturday, has become one of the most talked-about fighters in the world. “The Last Style Bender” says he is comfortable with the idea that he could one day transcend MMA, like a Conor McGregor or a Ronda Rousey. “It’s

Feb 27, 2021 The UFC is about to hit a compelling stretch of events in which we will see five title fights (featuring six champions) in the span of one calendar month. It starts on Saturday night with UFC 259, which will be the seventh event in UFC history to feature three title fights. In

12:46 PM ET LAS VEGAS — Israel Adesanya will be significantly lighter than Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Though, not as much as he indicated earlier this week. Adesanya weighed 200.5 pounds Friday morning at the official UFC 259 weigh-ins at the UFC Apex. He didn’t strip down, as athletes usually do. He just wore

7:06 AM ET In the 27-year history of the UFC, only seven fighters have won championships in multiple weight classes — and only four of those have held both titles simultaneously. Such is the rare air UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (20-0) is hoping to reach Saturday, when he challenges Jan Blachowicz (27-8) for the

6:32 PM ET LAS VEGAS – The UFC has not done a show in the United States outside its home of Las Vegas in more than a year. That could be changing soon, according to UFC president Dana White. White said Thursday at the UFC 259 prefight press conference that as soon as he heard

7:30 AM ET The UFC is increasing its presence in the sports betting industry in a big way, partnering with DraftKings on a deal that president Dana White says is one of the most important his MMA organization has ever done. The UFC on Thursday named DraftKings as its first official sportsbook and daily fantasy

8:14 AM ET Amanda Nunes will defend her featherweight title at UFC 259 on Saturday, marking her first competition since she and her wife Nina Ansaroff — a UFC strawweight — gave birth to their daughter, Raegan Ann Nunes, on Sept. 24, 2020. Nunes, who is also the bantamweight champ and considered the women’s MMA

7:21 AM ET As Petr Yan prepared for his Zoom interview, the UFC bantamweight champion kept getting up and moving around until he found the right spot. The background he finally settled on — sun-drenched palm trees and sparkling ocean water — could not have been more different from the surroundings planned for him just

8:40 PM ET The UFC has released two of its most popular heavyweight fighters. Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos were recently informed by the promotion that they were being released, sources confirmed with ESPN. Dos Santos broke the news himself on his Instagram account, while MMA Junkie first reported Overeem’s release. UFC officials subsequently

11:14 AM ET The Professional Fighters League has announced all of its opening welterweight and light heavyweight matchups for the 2021 season, including Rory MacDonald’s PFL debut. MacDonald (21-6-1) was the company’s top free agent acquisition in 2020, but his debut was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a year away from

8:00 AM ET DOROTA JURKOWSKA WAS sitting in her home in Warsaw, Poland, in the middle of the night on April 8, 2017, her face illuminated by the glow of a computer screen. She was nervous, nearly to the point of feeling ill, and wouldn’t sleep at all until the following day. She had just

2:04 PM ET Israel Adesanya was always going to be the smaller man moving up a division to fight Jan Blachowicz. But the UFC middleweight champion might be even lighter than many expected. Adesanya told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in an interview that published Tuesday that he is currently walking around at less than 200 pounds

2:52 PM ET UFC featherweights Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos have agreed to meet in May, both sides confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The 145-pound bout will take place at UFC 262 on May 15. The UFC has not announced an official venue for the pay-per-view event. In addition to the bout, Barboza (21-9) has

7:20 AM ET UFC 259 represents a milestone during a stretch of fights that will have major consequences for the rest of the year. Three title bouts will shape the future of four divisions, with the card in Las Vegas headlined by a champion-vs.-champion clash between light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz and middleweight Israel Adesanya. If

Feb 14, 2021 Kamaru Usman accomplished much on Saturday night at UFC 258 in Las Vegas. He won his 13th straight UFC welterweight fight, which broke Georges St-Pierre‘s record for most victories at 170 pounds. Usman also tied the great Khabib Nurmagomedov for the second-most wins in a row to start a UFC career, and

6:54 AM ET IT WAS OCT. 25, 2020, and Daniel Cormier was in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, talking to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who had shocked the MMA world the previous night by tearfully announcing his retirement in the Octagon after defeating Justin Gaethje. There was plenty for the old friends to talk

11:37 PM ET Ciryl Gane, the UFC heavyweight contender, picked up a critical notch in his belt. Ciryl Gane the budding UFC star? Maybe not so much. Gane completely controlled Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a one-sided, unanimous decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. But

1:13 PM ET Angela Hill and Ashley Yoder agreed to fight just last week. Now, the fight will no longer be happening Saturday. The women’s strawweight bout between Hill and Yoder was removed from UFC Fight Night just hours before start of the event due to COVID-19 protocols, the promotion announced Saturday. Yoder said in