MMA

6:16 PM ET Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns have faced off hundreds of times with each other in practice. On Saturday, they’ll do it for real. Usman will defend his UFC welterweight title against Burns, his former sparring partner, in the main event of UFC 258 in Las Vegas. Purchase UFC 258 here. “I know

6:46 AM ET It’s one of the most intriguing prefight storylines in combat sports. Teammate versus teammate. Friends turned foes. In MMA, there’s a pretty common stance on teammates fighting each other: They typically refuse to do it — unless a championship belt is at stake. Well, there will be a belt on the line

12:51 PM ET Two former teammates will clash for the UFC welterweight title. And now that bout is official. Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns both weighed in successfully Friday morning for their UFC 258 main event. Usman weighed 170 pounds and Burns also was at 170. Usman will defend his welterweight belt against Burns on

6:37 PM ET The UFC’s highly anticipated welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev on March 13 is off. Again. UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday that Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the bout due to lingering physical effects caused by COVID-19. This is the third time the bout has fallen

3:06 PM ET The first heavyweight fight of Jon Jones‘ storied MMA career will have a UFC championship on the line. UFC president Dana White told TMZ this week that Jones (26-1) will face the winner of a heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou, which is scheduled to headline UFC 260 on

6:55 AM ET IT WAS SEPTEMBER 2020, and UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman raised some eyebrows as he entered the Sanford MMA gym in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It was his first visit since he changed teams in the spring. There was talk of Usman defending his title in December against former training partner and current

9:18 PM ET UFC president Dana White is refusing to throw in the towel on Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s retirement, even though the undefeated champion continues to state he’ll never fight again. Speaking to ESPN on Thursday, White said he has a meeting scheduled with Nurmagomedov at the end of the month in Las Vegas. Regardless of

8:06 AM ET UFC 258 kicks off a six-week stretch with three major pay-per-view events, which could leave the promotion’s hierarchy in a much different place by the end of March. Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns square off Saturday in the first of six title fights, and the backdrop is an intriguing one as the

2:10 PM ET UFC 258 has lost a key main-card fight. A scheduled bantamweight contender bout Saturday between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera has been canceled due to a coronavirus-related issue, the UFC announced Wednesday. Sources said the promotion is attempting to rebook the matchup as soon as later this month. In its place, Andre

8:53 PM ET Khasan Magomedsharipov, the younger brother of UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov, has signed an exclusive contract with Bellator MMA. Khasan’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, confirmed the signing to ESPN on Wednesday, following an initial report by MMAJunkie.com. Bellator has not yet announced the signing, or indicated when Khasan will make his promotional debut.

Feb 8, 2021 Kamaru Usman defends his welterweight championship against former training partner Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 258 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The title fight, which takes place at the UFC’s Apex facility, will be on pay-per-view, which fans can purchase here. The five-fight PPV main card begins at

3:00 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the UFC’s undefeated lightweight champion, although even he believes the belt should belong to Dustin Poirier. Speaking to Match TV, Nurmagomedov (29-0) said he believes Poirier “deserves” to be the UFC’s 155-pound champion, following his knockout victory over Conor McGregor last month. Before the fight, UFC president Dana

12:24 PM ET UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has agreed to take on Jimmy Crute on April 24, after Crute’s originally scheduled opponent withdrew due to injury. Crute (12-1) was scheduled to face Johnny Walker on March 27, but Walker was forced to withdraw from the bout this week due to injury. Smith (34-16) immediately

7:56 AM ET Nate Diaz wants to stay active in 2021, and he has two opponents at the top of his wish list. Diaz, one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in a video interview published Tuesday that he wants to fight top lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier or Charles

7:26 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim When UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and his challenger, Gilbert Burns, step into the Octagon on Saturday night, they will be kicking off an unprecedented run of title bouts. From this weekend’s UFC 258 event through UFC 260 six weeks later, there will be six fights in which a belt

4:54 PM ET The flying knee landed flush on the chin, just the second strike to connect for Cory Sandhagen. That was all that was necessary. Sandhagen stiffened Frankie Edgar with the knee, then watched the former UFC lightweight champion slowly fall to the canvas face-first, unconscious. Referee Keith Peterson immediately jumped in to wave

11:46 PM ET Alexander Volkov has had some impressive performances throughout his MMA career. His knockouts of Stefan Struve and Fabricio Werdum come to mind. His most recent win over Walt Harris, as well. Of course, his Bellator run was pretty great, too. But he’s never looked this good. He’s never looked so dominant. His

10:30 PM ET Cory Sandhagen made a statement on Saturday night in Las Vegas, knocking out veteran Frankie Edgar with a memorable strike that will be seen on highlight reels for many years to come. Sandhagen’s flying knee landed flush on Edgar’s chin, sending him to the canvas and knocking him out. Sandhagen has now