MMA

1:17 PM ET Bellator flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-0) will defend her 125-pound title against fellow undefeated fighter Juliana Velasquez (10-0) on Dec. 10, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The fight will serve as the main event that takes place at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, which has been the promotion’s unofficial home during

8:37 AM ET “I know only one thing what I want from UFC,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said moments after his victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. “You guys have to put me No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, because I deserve it.” That he does. And despite the undefeated lightweight champion having announced his

10:26 PM ET The UFC is working on a light heavyweight fight between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka in February, according to UFC president Dana White. White told ESPN on Tuesday the 205-pound contest will headline a UFC Fight Night on Feb. 27. The UFC has not yet announced an official venue for any of

7:53 AM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Khabib Nurmagomedov hadn’t even left the Octagon on Saturday before the debate began. Was he retiring as MMA’s greatest of all time? Former UFC two-weight champion Daniel Cormier, who was

6:27 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Khabib Nurmagomedov closed out his MMA career in style Saturday with a victory and, according to his teammate, an act of compassion. Numagomedov successfully defended his UFC lightweight championship by finishing Justin Gaethje with a second-round triangle. He used that submission rather than the armbar he initially had set up,

12:19 PM ET The UFC lightweight division, regarded by many as the promotion’s most competitive division, has suddenly become wide open with the retirement of champion Khabib Nurmagomedov this past Saturday. But how will the UFC determine a new champ at 155 pounds? There are at least five fighters who can make a case for

3:57 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s sudden retirement from mixed martial arts on Saturday has left a massive void in the sport in general, and a very specific one in the lightweight division. The top of the 155-pound division goes from a dominant champion in his prime, to a vacant seat with no obvious heir. The

4:35 PM ET Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is right back at the top of the division — and some would say he never left. Whittaker (22-5) defeated Jared Cannonier (13-5) via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 254 on Saturday on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. It is Whittaker’s second win in

5:09 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov kneeled down and put his head in his hands. Tears streamed from his eyes. The burden he had been carrying for the last three months had been released. The typically stoic champion’s emotions got the better of him. Nurmagomedov, one of the best fighters in mixed-martial-arts history, submitted Justin Gaethje

9:21 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim The tears flowed immediately. Khabib Nurmagomedov had just let go of the triangle choke he used to render Justin Gaethje unconscious, and all that was left for the UFC lightweight champion was a different release, one of a painfully personal nature. As medical staff moved in to attend to Gaethje

6:31 PM ET There were so many questions surrounding Khabib Nurmagomedov heading into Saturday’s title fight, his first without his late father, Abdulmanap. Would he be as dominant? Would he care as much? Would he be too emotional? Would he win? In the end, Nurmagomedov looked better than ever. That’s not hyperbole. That’s fact. He

9:22 AM ET UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will look to extend his perfect record to 29-0 against Justin Gaethje on Saturday in the main event of UFC 254 on Fight Island, and the circumstances will be much different than he has ever faced before. The 32-year-old will compete in Abu Dhabi for the first

5:31 PM ET Leon Edwards is finally back, and his next opponent is a rising star who has taken the MMA world by storm. The UFC has booked Edwards versus Khamzat Chimaev on Dec. 19, sources said. The fight will serve as the main event of the final UFC card of 2020 and will be

3:18 PM ET Henry Cejudo is retired from mixed martial arts and says he is comfortable if he never competes again. However, the former UFC double champion said he could return before the end of 2020 — for the right price. Cejudo told ESPN during a video interview Friday that he has not spoken to

7:16 AM ET One of my favorite things anyone has said in the buildup to the UFC 254 main event this weekend came from Khabib Nurmagomedov as he was discussing being on “Fight Island.” Nurmagomedov (28-0, 12-0 in the UFC) will be looking to unify his lightweight championship against interim belt holder Justin Gaethje (22-2,

1:34 AM ET One of the biggest UFC fights of the year is now official. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje successfully weighed in Friday in Abu Dhabi for their UFC lightweight title unification bout. Nurmagomedov and Gaethje each weighed in right at the limit of 155 pounds. Nurmagomedov, the first fighter to hit the scale,

8:04 AM ET Editor’s note: Some content has been edited for clarity and brevity. More than anything, Khabib Nurmagomedov and I are friends. I’ve watched this guy grow from a young, Russian kid who didn’t speak English to a global superstar. He came with a dream, not much money. American Kickboxing Academy teammate Shawn Bunch

7:49 PM ET It’s the most cursed fight in UFC history, but former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson swears the world will still see him fight Khabib Nurmagomedov one day. Ferguson (25-4) was supposed to challenge Nurmagomedov (28-0) for the 155-pound championship in April, but the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It