MMA

9:37 PM ET How excited am I for the recently booked Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa UFC middleweight title fight on Sept. 19? Let me count the ways. For starters, when it happens, it will mark just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated men will fight for a UFC title. The first

3:14 PM ET Jack Hermansson wasted no time in reasserting his place among the upper echelon of UFC middleweight contenders. The native of Sweden, who fights out of Norway, had won four in a row prior to having his momentum abruptly halted by last September’s TKO loss to Jared Cannonier. On Saturday, in the co-main

9:37 AM ET The Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez rematch is official — and this time the flyweight title will actually be on the line. Both Figueiredo and Benavidez made weight Friday in Abu Dhabi, coming in at 125 pounds. The two men will compete for the vacant UFC flyweight title at UFC Fight Night

1:12 PM ET UFC strawweight contender Rose Namajunas had successful nose surgery Friday, her team told ESPN. Namajunas told ESPN she broke her nose in the third round of her eventual split decision victory over Jessica Andrade last weekend at UFC 251. The win marked her first in over two years. Namajunas, 28, had not

Jul 15, 2020 Timothy Fiorvanti Four days removed from her victory over Jessica Andrade at UFC 251, Rose Namajunas says she is looking forward to an opportunity to fight Zhang Weili and regain the UFC strawweight championship. The fight left Namajunas, who won by split decision, with several noticeable injuries to her face, including a

7:24 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim It was looking as if Joseph Benavidez might just get the job done. Early on in his Feb. 29 fight with Deiveson Figueiredo, Benavidez looked sharp. He escaped a submission threat in the opening minutes and, after getting the fight back to standing, was landing hard, straight punches that started

11:06 AM ET Joseph Benavidez is one of the best fighters in UFC history to have never won a championship. Benavidez, who fights Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant men’s flyweight title at UFC Fight Night on Saturday on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is 15-4 inside the Octagon. Three of those losses

2:56 PM ET Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says he is willing to face Colby Covington next but told ESPN that the current date proposed doesn’t work for him. “My answer to whether I would fight Colby is eternally yes,” Woodley wrote via text message. “At 96 years old in a nursing home it’s

1:25 AM ET There was a different feel to the second card on Fight Island. Saturday’s UFC 251 featured three title fights and star power across the card. Wednesday’s event had a must-see main event and 11 other fights that offered a true showcase on the future of the UFC. The prospects seized their moments

1:32 AM ET Calvin Kattar landed a knee, Dan Ige slipped to the canvas and Kattar got on top, throwing punches downward as hard as he could. The time on the clock expired. The fight was over. By then, Kattar had the decision in the bag. But he was still trying to finish, even in

6:39 PM ET A new featherweight title contender will emerge Wednesday night on “Fight Island.” Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The card is the second of four consecutive events the UFC has scheduled for Yas Island, which has been dubbed

9:16 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Calvin Kattar can relate to where Dan Ige stands at this point in his career. He understands the big-picture mindset of his opponent in Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night main event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Kattar has been there himself. “I think we’re similar in the fact that many

5:24 PM ET Jorge Masvidal said Tuesday that he wants an immediate rematch with UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, even if it would mean passing on a potential bout with Conor McGregor, which Dana White said could be the biggest fight in UFC history. Usman won a unanimous decision over Masvidal early Sunday morning on

9:37 AM ET A critical matchup in the UFC’s surging featherweight division is now official. Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige both successfully made weight Tuesday for their UFC Fight Night main event bout in Abu Dhabi. Kattar weighed in at 146 pounds and Ige was 145 pounds. Both co-main event fighters also weighed in successfully

8:06 AM ET With this past Saturday’s UFC 251 welterweight title fight out of the way, I think this is an appropriate time to take a look at the rest of the division. After all, welterweight is fascinating these days, and it’s always fun to matchmake a hot-and-heavy weight class, so let’s get to some

11:13 PM ET Gustavo Faldon Marlon Moraes, the No. 1-ranked UFC bantamweight contender, told ESPN Brazil that he has recently been diagnosed with COVID-19. Moraes said he started to feel symptoms about 10 days ago. Both he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, but the couple’s two children were not infected. “Unfortunately, I

6:16 PM ET Jorge Masvidal‘s journey to Fight Island started much the same way his fighting career did: in a South Florida backyard. On July 4, Masvidal attended a barbecue at the Miami home of his longtime manager Malki Kawa of First Round Management. Gilbert Burns, who had been scheduled to challenge welterweight champ Kamaru

4:03 PM ET Marc Raimondi Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Fourteen months after losing her UFC strawweight title to Jessica Andrade in Brazil, Rose Namajunas evened the score Saturday night with a split-decision win at UFC 251 on Fight Island.