MMA

7:45 AM ET Edmen Shahbazyan already has his own identity, with his own career and his own athletic accolades — but admittedly, the Ronda Rousey connection is, for now, hard to ignore. Shahbazyan (11-0, 4-0 in the UFC) is the middleweight phenom who will face the toughest test of his career on Saturday when he

8:33 PM ET The UFC has added a heavyweight matchup between Alexander Volkov and Walt Harris to its UFC 254 pay-per-view lineup in October, sources confirmed to ESPN. UFC 254 is scheduled to take place on Oct. 24 at a location to be determined. UFC president Dana White revealed this week it will feature a

Jul 27, 2020 Edmen Shahbazyan, 22 years old and undefeated, will get his first big test on Saturday when he faces veteran middleweight Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. The fight was moved to the top of the bill from the co-main event

6:51 AM ET Roman ModrowskiESPN.com Ronda Rousey believes undefeated middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan will win UFC gold one day, and when that day comes, the man who coached both fighters will unload a burden he has been carrying since Rousey’s last loss. “Once he wins the title, I’m going to tell everybody to shut up and

6:11 PM ET Bellator MMA two-weight champion Ryan Bader will defend his light heavyweight title for the first time in nearly three years at Bellator 244 on Aug. 21. Bader (27-5) told ESPN on Wednesday that he has signed a contract to face Vadim Nemkov in a 205-pound title fight at Bellator 244 at Mohegan

5:46 PM ET UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic acknowledges the smaller Octagon he will fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 252 on Augus. 15 in Las Vegas probably benefits his opponent if anyone. But he does not see it having an impact on the result. Miocic (19-3) will face Cormier (22-2) for the third time at

9:06 AM ET It was not the rock-’em-sock-’em thriller that fans were hoping for when they saw that Jorge Masvidal was challenging for the UFC welterweight championship, but that was the whole point for Kamaru Usman. Making his second defense of the 170-pound belt in the UFC 251 main event on July 11, Usman relentlessly

5:27 PM ET UFC newcomer Khamzat Chimaev has already set the world on fire, recording two wins in 11 days this month at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. It was the quickest successful turnaround in UFC history — and both the company and the fighter are looking to keep that momentum going. 1 Related UFC

1:29 PM ET The UFC’s lightweight title will be unified on Oct. 24, Dana White announced on Tuesday, and compelling storylines surrounding Khabib Nurmagomedov defending his belt against interim champ Justin Gaethje serve as a backdrop for what is likely to be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. The most poignant question mark

8:05 AM ET Ronda Rousey said it’s not a matter of whether Edmen Shahbazyan will become a UFC champ — it’s just a matter of when. But that hype train has a legitimate roadblock on Saturday night in the person of Derek Brunson. The main event of the first Fight Night back in Las Vegas

9:52 PM ET If Khabib Nurmagomedov attempts to retire with a professional record of 30-0 — a feat his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, mentioned in 2019 — UFC president Dana White says he would allow the lightweight champion to choose his final opponent. Nurmagomedov (28-0) has not said much publicly since his father died earlier

5:22 PM ET After a controversial stoppage at Saturday night’s UFC event in Abu Dhabi, the referee and commentator involved in a postfight confrontation are defending themselves. After referee Herb Dean left the Octagon following a prelim bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till, he appeared to get

1:50 PM ET Light heavyweight prospects Ryan Spann and Johnny Walker have agreed to meet in September, per multiple sources. The UFC 253 pay-per-view event is slated for Sept. 19, at a location to be determined. Expectations are the event will either be held at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas or Yas Island,

Jul 25, 2020 Fight Island? How about Chimaev Island? Khamzat Chimaev, the hottest new prospect in the UFC, absolutely ran through Rhys McKee via TKO at 3 minutes, 9 seconds of the first round on the UFC Fight Night main card Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The UFC has dubbed Yas Island, where

4:08 PM ET Robert Whittaker and Darren Till have been enjoying friendly back-and-forth exchanges on social media for the better part of the year. It started with Till’s repeated question of “Rob?” on Instagram and Twitter. Then the two joked about the kind of junk food they were eating during their respective pandemic-related quarantines. In

12:54 AM ET The UFC’s stay on Fight Island is over, at least for now, but Saturday’s main event between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till was a fitting ending to a memorable and entertaining stretch of fights. Action throughout the 15-fight finale card will have far-reaching consequences across several divisions, most notably in Whittaker’s victory

11:35 PM ET The former champ is back on a winning track. Robert Whittaker edged out Darren Till via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Till dropped Whittaker in the first round, but Whittaker rallied beginning in a huge second to get the

1:08 AM ET The younger brother of a former UFC champion has begun carving out his own name in Bellator MMA. In Bellator’s return for the first time in five months, Sergio Pettis defeated Ricky Bandejas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in the bantamweight main event of Bellator 242 on Friday night. Bellator, the