MMA

8:01 AM ET Javier Mendez didn’t know what to expect when he flew out of San Jose, California, on Sept. 10, bound for Dubai. A five-hour flight from California to New York, then a layover in JFK Airport. Thirteen more hours in a plane would take him to the United Arab Emirates. And all the

7:58 AM ET Want to know what it’s like to compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the Octagon? Ask someone who thought he would take it easy sparring with Nurmagomedov because he was about 70 pounds heavier — only to realize he needed to give it more gas. Ask Daniel Cormier. “There have been times when

11:52 AM ET UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov said Tuesday that Georges St-Pierre is the only person he’d be motivated to fight after Saturday’s bout against interim champ Justin Gaethje. “I really become excited when I think about Georges St-Pierre,” Nurmagomedov said on ESPN’s First Take. “I don’t know if he wants to fight with

10:51 AM ET Jon Jones sat in the bowels of Houston’s Toyota Center in the early morning hours of Feb. 9, when he was asked by reporters about his controversial unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes about 90 minutes earlier in the main event of UFC 247. The light heavyweight title fight was a close

8:10 AM ET The wait will soon be over for UFC fans eagerly anticipating the battle between interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and world titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov. The popular fighters are set to meet Saturday at UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. Gaethje will rely on power strikes and athleticism in attempting to

3:10 PM ET Saturday’s UFC card is down one fight, but this time it’s not because of an injury or a positive COVID-19 test. The Ciryl Gane (6-0) vs. Ante Delija (17-3) fight has been canceled due to a contract dispute with PFL, which Delija fought for in 2019. Per sources, the UFC pulled Delija

10:03 PM ET UFC featherweight Brian Ortega said he didn’t even want people to recognize him on Saturday, as he came off a nearly two-year layoff from the Octagon. It’s safe to say he succeeded. Fighting for the first time since he was badly outclassed in a UFC championship fight in late 2018, Ortega (15-1)

9:51 AM ET Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin and teammate of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, will be unable to make his UFC debut Saturday because he’s been hospitalized with a staph infection, according to Khabib’s Instagram post. Umar, a bantamweight who is 12-0, was set to face Sergey Morozov in the early prelims of UFC

4:04 PM ET Jessica Andrade was a powerful force in the UFC strawweight division, where she was champion less than 16 months ago. She opted to move up to flyweight, and on Saturday she showed that she did not leave her power behind. Andrade, No. 4 in ESPN’s 115-pound rankings, took out the 125-pound division’s

10:37 PM ET Ortega looked like a different fighter On paper, Brian Ortega had three things going against him heading into Saturday night: 1. He was coming off the worst loss of his career, a fourth-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) to Max Holloway. 2. He had not fought in 22 months. 3. He changed the majority

4:04 PM ET A pair of former UFC title challengers will collide on Fight Island on Saturday night as Brian Ortega takes on Chan Sung Jung, also known as the Korean Zombie, at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Dana White says the winner of this bout will receive the next shot at Alexander Volkanovski‘s

7:29 AM ET Brian Ortega earned his way to a UFC featherweight title fight in December 2018. That’s a fact. No one handed him that opportunity. He proved himself championship-worthy by winning six consecutive fights in the UFC. And at the same time, Ortega’s loss to then-champion Max Holloway at UFC 231 two years ago

12:35 PM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to Brian Ortega’s fight against Max Holloway at UFC 231. HARBOR CITY, California — On Aug. 8, 2008, Brian Ortega held one of his dearest friends on the side of the street as he bled to death from a gunshot wound. A local report

9:30 AM ET Saturday’s battle to determine the UFC’s next No. 1 featherweight contender is officially on, as Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung each successfully made weight during Friday’s weigh-in. Ortega (14-1), who hasn’t fought since December 2018, weighed in at 146 pounds. Jung (16-5), of South Korea, also came in at 146 pounds.

7:47 AM ET Angela Hill was sitting in the second row at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7 as Joanna Jedrzejczyk was walking out to challenge women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 248. Out of the corner of her eye, Hill saw UFC featherweight Brian Ortega coming toward

10:44 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Bellator MMA announced on Thursday that it will resume its featherweight grand prix next month, starting with Patricio Freire defending his 145-pound championship in a grand prix quarterfinal against Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252 on Nov. 12. Freire, who competes under the nickname “Pitbull,” is No.

8:23 PM ET UFC flyweight Cynthia Calvillo has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout against Lauren Murphy at UFC 254 next week in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and has been replaced by UFC newcomer Liliya Shakirova. Calvillo (9-1-1) was forced to pull out of the bout after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday,

7:38 PM ET Fresh off one of the most spectacular — and most-viewed — knockouts in mixed martial arts history, UFC middleweight Joaquin Buckley is ready to get back to work. Buckley (11-3) has agreed to face Jordan Wright (11-0) at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. Both sides have agreed to the bout, according to