MMA

11:19 AM ET LAS VEGAS — UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic has a gym in the basement of his Cleveland-area home, and occasionally his 2-year-old daughter, Meelah, will walk over and hit the heavy bag a few times. “Punch, punch,” she says. That’s the extent of Meelah’s exposure to her father’s career as a professional

8:43 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Rory MacDonald‘s 2015 challenge of UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler was an absolute classic. A year and a half after Lawler had edged out MacDonald by split decision in a nontitle bout, they went at each other relentlessly for the belt for 21 bloody, bruising minutes. MacDonald wobbled Lawler with

4:12 PM ET One of the biggest stars in the history of female mixed martial arts has decided to make a comeback. Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (18-7) told ESPN on Wednesday she has accepted a fight against Marion Reneau (9-7-1) on July 17. In a bit of irony, Reneau told ESPN she has

6:21 PM ET UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is now targeting a return to competition in July, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz. Chimaev (9-0) was a breakout star for the UFC in 2020, and was scheduled to face highly ranked welterweight Leon Edwards in a main event on March 13 in Las Vegas. Chimaev,

7:29 AM ET LAS VEGAS — It was Jan. 20, 2018, when Stipe Miocic outclassed Francis Ngannou to defend his UFC heavyweight title. The truth about that fight, however, was that Ngannou wasn’t ready to be a champion. Take nothing from Miocic, who was terrific that night in Boston, but Ngannou was so inexperienced, so

8:56 PM ET Boxing great Antonio Tarver is out of a scheduled matchup with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Tarver was set to meet Mir on the undercard of the boxing event headlined by Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren on April 17 in Atlanta. But Tarver, 50, did not meet the requirements to compete

7:50 AM ET Francis Ngannou, Tyron Woodley and Sean O’Malley all will be looking for redemption Saturday at UFC 260, for reasons varying from avenging a title fight loss to possibly having to hang onto a roster spot. Ngannou faces heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in the main event, trying to avenge a 2018 unanimous decision

1:12 PM ET A popular former UFC title challenger has her next fight booked. Cat Zingano will face Olivia Parker at Bellator 256 on April 9 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, officials told ESPN on Monday. The bout will be contested at featherweight and a win could set Zingano up for a title fight with

12:55 PM ET The One Championship roster of MMA fighters has added a top name to its list of elite grapplers. Gordon Ryan, a multiple-time grappling world champion considered to be among the greatest jiu-jitsu competitors, has signed with the Singapore-based fight promotion to make his pro debut in MMA and also compete in submission

8:06 AM ET LAS VEGAS — It was early 2017, and UFC president Dana White was giving a tour of the promotion’s headquarters to Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, whose entertainment and media agency had recently purchased the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa. While walking down a second-floor hallway, the Hollywood agent turned and looked out an

1:16 AM ET There were many possible ways for the main event at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland to play out. The veteran — don’t call him a gatekeeper — Derek Brunson was placed in the Octagon once again to stop the rise of a star in the making. Kevin Holland, known for his

1:24 AM ET Kevin Holland talked to opponent Derek Brunson while the two were on the ground. He chatted with referee Herb Dean several times during the fight. And Holland even had a full-blown conversation in between rounds with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was watching from cageside. But while Holland was yucking it up

9:13 PM ET Alexander Volkanovski is out of his featherweight title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 260 because of promotion COVID-19 protocols, the UFC announced Saturday night on the UFC Fight Night broadcast. Volkanovski vs. Ortega was scheduled for the co-main event March 27 in Las Vegas. Volkanovski, a native of Australia, had already

11:02 PM ET The UFC is finalizing a bantamweight main event between former champion Cody Garbrandt and Rob Font in May, multiple sources told ESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the 135-pound bout will headline UFC Fight Night on May 22 once finalized. The UFC has not announced an official venue for the event.

7:15 PM ET Derek Brunson has five losses over the past seven years. Every single one of them has come against a former or current UFC champion or perennial contender — Israel Adesanya is the UFC middleweight champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva are former UFC

2:59 PM ET Many fighters and fans woke up on Thursday morning to a number of major UFC announcements. Khabib Nurmagomedov was finally deemed officially retired by the UFC and his lightweight title would be up for grabs between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. It was also revealed that TJ Dillashaw would be returning from

1:31 PM ET A UFC fighter stumbled and fell attempting to weigh in Friday morning, prompting the cancellation of her bout. Julija Stoliarenko, a women’s bantamweight fighter, collapsed twice attempting to make weight for her scheduled UFC Fight Night bout Saturday with Julia Avila in Las Vegas. The bout has been canceled due to weight-cutting

11:28 PM ET Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will return to action May 8 against rising contender Cory Sandhagen, sources said. The UFC is finalizing a five-round bout between Dillashaw and Sandhagen to headline UFC Fight Night. Contracts have not been signed; however, both sides have agreed to the matchup. The UFC has not