MMA

11:41 AM ET Yoel Romero, the former multiple-time UFC title challenger, has agreed to a new multifight deal with Bellator, sources told ESPN. Romero is expected to sign his new deal imminently. The deal comes less than two weeks after the UFC released the Cuban-born fighter after more than seven years in the promotion. Initially,

8:09 AM ET ESPN’s panel of Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Phil Murphy breaks down the biggest stories coming out of UFC 256, including who’s next for Deiveson Figueiredo after the majority draw with Brandon Moreno, and the rise of Kevin Holland. Okamoto: Who’s next after UFC 256? Deiveson Figueiredo, flyweight champion Who should be

7:45 AM ET Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway says he’s moved on from a controversial decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in July — but he has not moved on from Volkanovski himself. Holloway (21-6) lost his 145-pound championship to Volkanovski (20-1) in a five-round decision at UFC 245 in 2019, and was granted an

2:39 AM ET Earlier this week, I called Saturday’s fight against Charles Oliveira a crossroads moment for Tony Ferguson. Ferguson’s loyal fan base didn’t like that label. They felt it was too harsh. After all, he had just won 12 fights in a row before losing to Justin Gaethje in May, they said. How could

2:42 AM ET ESPN’s panel of Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Phil Murphy breaks down the biggest stories coming out of UFC 256, including who’s next for Deiveson Figueiredo after the majority draw with Brandon Moreno, and the rise of Kevin Holland. Okamoto: Who’s next after UFC 256? Deiveson Figueiredo, flyweight champion Who should be

1:48 AM ET The UFC flyweight division was on the verge of elimination as recently as 11 months ago. Now, it might have just produced the best MMA fight of 2020. In one of the best fights of the year, Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fought to a majority draw (47-46, 47-47, 47-47) in a

6:59 PM ET Brandon Moreno will challenge Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title in the main event of UFC 256 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Moreno will be the first Mexican-born fighter to compete for a UFC title. A win wouldn’t just change the fortunes of the athlete, his wife and his children. It

7:51 AM ET I think I might have been wrong about Deiveson Figueiredo. Prior to UFC 255, which was a whopping three weeks ago, I said I didn’t know if Figueiredo was the guy to make people care about the flyweights, at least to a degree they haven’t before. I thought it was more likely

5:20 PM ET The lawyer for a well-known mixed martial arts coach says a video that triggered the coach’s sexual assault arrest actually shows he did not commit a crime. Rafael “Barata” de Freitas, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach for prominent UFC fighters such as Holly Holm and Michelle Waterson, pleaded not guilty to a charge

7:31 AM ET Marc Raimondi Eric Gomez The half-made piñata would be sitting on the floor of Pinatas Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico, and business owner Alfredo Moreno would not be happy. The job was not done, and his son’s other interest was probably to blame. Brandon Moreno started his mixed martial arts training when he

12:24 PM ET For the second time in three weeks, a pay-per-view main event for the UFC flyweight title is official. Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo weighed in successfully Friday morning at 124.5 pounds and challenger Brandon Moreno was also 124.5 pounds. The bout will take place in the UFC 256 headliner Saturday night in Las

1:18 AM ET Bellator has a new flyweight queen. Juliana Velasquez beat Ilima-Lei Macfarlane via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to win the Bellator women’s flyweight title Thursday night in the main event of Bellator 254 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Macfarlane had been the only women’s flyweight champion the promotion had ever known

5:52 PM ET The plaintiffs in the long-running antitrust lawsuit against the UFC have earned a victory. Judge Richard Boulware of the United States District Court in Nevada granted the plaintiffs class certification on a status conference call Thursday, opening the door for nearly 1,200 fighters to be included in what will now be considered

8:00 AM ET LAS VEGAS — Tony Ferguson believes he is a big reason the UFC resumed operations as quickly as it did in 2020, and he theorizes that everyone profited from that quick return — except for him. Ferguson (25-4) will face Charles Oliveira (29-8) at UFC 256 on Saturday, in his first appearance

10:00 AM ET Deiveson Figueiredo will make history Saturday when he puts his UFC men’s flyweight championship on the line for the second time in 21 days, the shortest span between title defenses ever in the promotion. But Figueiredo (20-1) has another fight in mind beyond this weekend’s UFC 256 main event against Brandon Moreno,

7:54 AM ET Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is headed to Bellator. In an unexpected move, the former two-time UFC title contender has agreed to terms with Bellator, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Johnson, who has not fought in over three years, is expected to sign his deal imminently, sources said. Johnson recently mutually parted ways with

8:07 AM ET Igor Resende Deiveson Figueiredo needed less than two minutes to submit Alex Perez on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas to retain his flyweight title. The plan was to return home to Brazil shortly after the fight, but then everything changed — quickly. Now, Figueiredo is set to make

1:18 PM ET UFC 256 has lost two more fights because of coronavirus, but the event also has named a replacement fighter for a third bout that previously had been canceled because of COVID-19. Dwight Grant (10-3), who was to face middleweight Li Jingliang (17-6) in an early prelim on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas,